Volume One, Chapter 63: The Guardian of the Flower

With a broken leg and having suffered a vicious beating from Leng Hao, who insisted it was Shu’er who corrupted Mu Haoran, Shu’er felt wronged, yet had nowhere to voice her grievance.

Ye Qingcheng’s lips curled into a seductive smile, once again gracing her face. So clever—if the Wolf King discovered their presence and saw that they were formidable, he would surely deal with them first. Then, the other ten would have a chance to escape.

When everyone finally saw the true form of those black dots, a realization dawned on them, yet their scalps tingled and their mouths twitched involuntarily.

Nian Yun originally ordered someone to watch Zheng Qiaoqiao, so that if she did anything, they could catch her in the act. But Hui Xiang intervened directly, which was for the best; it spared Guo Cong from becoming gossip fodder.

After speaking, he himself jumped off his horse and bowed three times respectfully toward Monkey Head Peak. The officers and soldiers followed suit, dismounting and bowing three times to Monkey Head Peak in imitation.

The only advantage belonged to Wang Kai’s group. Though he claimed many heads, even encountering a spider in the wild, it was hard to say if he could utterly defeat it.

Held close to the heart? Perhaps there had been days like that once. But now, he could only think of her when possible; the grievances she must endure were inevitable.

This Forty-First Army before him seemed mad, possessed... As he pondered, Major Qing Gujian from the Tokko hurried in again, bearing some urgent intelligence. He looked anxious, and as he approached Mogi to whisper, Mogi swung his arms and slapped him four times, leaving him reeling in dizziness.

Such a length of time, as if spanning an entire century—for Qixi, there was nothing to do now but endure.

“But he suddenly came to us not long ago. It’s said his brother was killed by the Lord of Asura City. I suppose it’s related to you.” Ao Jin revealed the matter.

After finishing their shopping, the group laughed and chatted all the way to Han Yuan’s residence. Before long, they arrived at Han Yuan’s uniquely designed gates.

Consort De’s hand paused with the teacup, as she took a closer look. Only then did she remember the cup in her hand, lifted it, and took a sip.

Surveying the surroundings, Zhuang Hei pressed a hand to his brow, swept his hair upwards, and took a deep breath. His wildly beating heart gradually calmed.

The man was rather handsome, though his expression was cold and stern. After scrutinizing them, his gaze lingered a few seconds longer on Lan Feiyan, Sheng Lanlan, and Liang Yan’s faces. He remained silent, then lazily walked onward.

“Ask Young Master Xu to come in; I have matters to discuss with him.” Chu Lanzhi tossed out the words and headed straight to the main hall, waiting for Xu Jue to enter.

Percy, delighted by the hunt, picked up the protective charm, activated it as he would any old talisman, and perused its contents with keen interest.

Su Shiqing was consumed with thoughts of how to protect them, but with his hands and feet bound, he could do nothing.

While the two exchanged punches, outside, Yu Mao and Ape Mountain had already led their subordinates to the gates of the underground factory, swiftly dispatching the guards.

Li Weiling and the regulars went hunting at the foot of the mountain, spotting wild chicken droppings and flattened grass, searching carefully for wild chickens and rabbits, moving at a decent pace.

Yet, in recent years, humans have become increasingly careless with their diets, their bodies laden with toxins, severely affecting flavor. This young master no longer wishes to eat them, turning instead to consume their souls.

Xia Fan signaled to Fo You, who then grabbed Xia Fan’s shoulder. Xia Fan dashed forward in a heartbeat, instantly plunging into the depths of the cavern and hiding behind a massive boulder.

Fang Tian was slightly taken aback, nodded, and replied, “Yes.” He pulled several rare herbs, each over a thousand years old, from his storage ring and handed them to Fang Yan.

Yes, it was Chu Qing who, clearly having learned much from conversations with Short Stout and other sources, seemed to know long beforehand that Hou Muyun had intentions for ILM. When Hou Muyun voiced his thoughts, she produced a pile of documents and explained its operational feasibility.

The entire Divine City felt eerily strange—not in the least like the lair of the ancestral dragon. At the very least, no one saw any remnants of dragon veins or traces of dragon energy, nor did they find any treasures. It was all thoroughly odd.

Meanwhile, Fatty was being chased by Wang Chen, his corpulent body rolling through the corners of the arena like a bouncing ball. Enraged, Wang Chen unleashed a brutal move, delivering a powerful punch to Fatty’s lower body, striking blood across most of the stage.

Hou Muyun, speechless, signed his name, tossed one copy of the agreement back to Chu Qing, picked up a chicken claw to gnaw, then asked about other matters related to the crew.

Highly intelligent processing equipment no longer required specialist operators—basic skills sufficed. Zheng Bo and his team led over a hundred workers, working overtime.

“Gu Xin, do you think we should go snatch those holy treasures? Surely we can’t let resources go to waste?” Fang Yan and Fang Feiyun ignored Zhou Dashen, so he sidled up to Gu Xin, whose expression remained calm, and flattered her.

After more than twenty minutes, the paper figure was burned to ashes, nothing left but gray remnants on the ground.

Agh! The black-clad man who was kicked screamed, sliding back more than ten meters before finally stopping, then collapsed into unconsciousness.

The considerate demeanor seemed unreal. I once again retreated behind the counter, rubbing the jade thumb ring over and over.

Fu Bingying’s brows knit in concern, thinking to herself, how could the three of them possibly defeat those from the Palace of the Sun Chaser?

Even if they don’t cooperate, we can build relationships, get close, and probe for information. Eventually, something useful will come out.

Nowadays, I dare not hold it in my hand and examine it repeatedly; I can only stare at the jade thumb ring.

I searched the entire counter, rummaging through every inch, but could not find the thumb ring.

Yet the flowers, bejeweled with crystalline droplets, appeared wilted and spiritless, their colorful fragrance dulled.

Ye Chen never approved of meddling in others’ affairs—after all, he was not involved, and could not distinguish right from wrong.

And for a moment, his mind seemed to stop working, even forgetting to cover his embarrassment.

So many twists and turns today; right now, the best course is to return and wait for news, and once the situation is clear, make further plans.

His medical skills are not cheap. He already granted them one free consultation, but some people simply do not know how to appreciate it.