Chapter 316: Chapter 132: With Aid from Two Divine Power Realm Experts, the Maple Valley Assassination
"Lately, he’s been popping Elixirs like candy and has consumed who knows how many precious Treasure Plants. With that massive pile of resources, it’d be stranger if he *hadn’t* broken through to the Bone Tempering Realm."
Just as she said that, Zhao Tianxing himself walked out of the adjacent room, scratching his head.
He wore a good-natured, slightly bashful smile, and his aura was indeed more condensed and substantial than before.
Cyan Snake’s tone shifted, her expression growing a little more serious as she said to Zhao Tianxing, "But kid, your sister’s gotta warn you. For a while, don’t just randomly consume any more of those Treasure Plant Elixirs."
Zhao Tianxing froze. "Why?"
Cyan Snake said, "You haven’t undergone ’Mortal Transformation,’ so you can’t truly control your Primordial Qi. You’ve relied on external resources to force your way into the Bone Tempering Realm. The Spiritual Mechanism in your body is surging, and you’ve also gathered a massive amount of Primordial Qi. But all that Primordial Qi is like a masterless army inside you. You have no control over it at all!"
"It might be fine on a normal day, but if an enemy hits you with a strike infused with Primordial Qi, that external force could act as a catalyst. All that uncontrolled Primordial Qi inside you could instantly run rampant. The consequences... would be unthinkable!"
Zhao Tianxing’s face paled as he listened. He nodded quickly, engraving her words into his mind.
A crafty glint appeared in Cyan Snake’s eyes, and a sly smile returned to her face.
She leaned in closer. "Since you don’t dare to eat those Treasure Plant Elixirs for now, it’s a waste to just let them sit there. Why don’t you hand them over to your big sister for safekeeping?"
"I happen to have a use for them... When you need them later, I’ll give them back. How about it?"
Chu Fan, who had been listening from the side, was utterly exasperated. He couldn’t help but rebuke her, "So all that buildup was just for this last part?"
"Haven’t I given you enough these last few days? And now you’re even targeting Tianxing!"
"He’s the most honest person in the entire Seven Stars Gang!"
"How could you do something like that!"
Her intentions exposed, a blush crept onto Cyan Snake’s cheeks, and she looked a little embarrassed.
After spending so much time with them, she naturally knew Zhao Tianxing’s personality.
She remembered back in the Mist Marsh, when she saw Chu Fan give a Spirit Fruit to Cao Yan, she had tried to sweet-talk Chu Fan into giving her one for her injuries.
But Chu Fan hadn’t fallen for it and had ignored her completely.
Zhao Tianxing, on the other hand, had been on the verge of handing her the Spirit Fruit himself.
"AHEM!" Cyan Snake said awkwardly. "I wasn’t spouting nonsense. Everything I just said was the truth, and it’s all for Tianxing’s own good. If you don’t believe me, ask that Paperman you’re carrying. See if I’m right!"
After a moment of silence, the Paperman Yue Mankong’s indifferent voice echoed in Chu Fan’s mind. ’She’s telling the truth. For someone who has yet to enter a formal cultivation grade, losing control of Primordial Qi does pose a real risk of their body exploding.’
Just then, Zhao Tianxing emerged from his room with several Jade Boxes and medicine vials, handing them to Cyan Snake.
He gave a simple, good-natured smile. "Sister Bai, you should take them... I can’t use them right now anyway. I already gave back a lot of the stuff Old Chu gave me before."
Chu Fan slapped a hand to his forehead.
’Tianxing is way too gullible...’
’In the future, whether I find her sister or not, I have to keep her around.’
’Otherwise, it would be a massive loss.’
Still, from a certain perspective, what Cyan Snake said made sense.
Leaving these items with Tianxing, who couldn’t process them at his current level, was actually a liability.
Giving them to Cyan Snake, who could make full use of them, would strengthen their group. It was putting the resources to their best use.
It was just that the Snake Demon’s scheming against her own people was both infuriating and amusing.
Only Tianxing would be so easily fooled.
...
「The sky was growing dark...」
Chu Fan carefully inspected the Sunset Bow and Thunder Blade on his back, then placed the shrunken Cyan Snake into his sleeve.
Then, he picked up a bundle.
Inside the bundle was a jacket woven from the "Black Gold Silk Gloves."
He took the bundle and slipped out the door.
"Old Chu, be careful!" Zhao Tianxing called softly from behind him, his voice filled with concern.
Chu Fan waved, his figure melting into the night as he moved like a phantom through the silent streets and alleys.
Before long, he arrived near Constable Lu Tao’s residence.
He took out a ghastly ghost mask, slowly put it on, and concealed himself in the shadows to wait.
His Spiritual Sense told him that Lu Tao was not at home.
「After a long while...」
Lu Tao finally appeared, walking from an alley in the distance, supported by two Government Officials.
He clutched a wine jar, his body swaying. His eyes were heavy with drink, and the reek of alcohol wafted off him, detectable from a great distance.
The two Government Officials supported him with looks of resignation.
"I’m... I’m fine... I’m fine! C’mon, let’s drink more! We’re not going home until we’re smashed!" Lu Tao slurred.
Just then, his blurry, drunken gaze shifted and happened to land on the ghost-masked figure standing silently at the alley’s entrance.
In an instant, it was as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over Lu Tao’s head, and he sobered up almost completely.
He shot upright, his eyes instantly sharpening. He waved away the Government Officials, who still wanted to speak, with a tone that permitted no argument.
The Ghost-faced Man at the entrance of the alley met his gaze, then turned and walked deeper into the darkness.
Lu Tao’s pupils constricted. He quickly scanned his surroundings. After confirming no one was watching, he tossed the wine jar aside, and with a flash, followed him.
One following the other like cats in the night, they soon reached a secluded, deserted dead-end alley.
"Why were you looking for me?"
Lu Tao’s voice was hoarse. The earlier drunkenness was gone, replaced by a deep-seated weariness.
Through the mask, Chu Fan carefully studied Lu Tao.
Compared to the constable he had met twice before—a man who, though repressed, still possessed a sharp edge—the Lu Tao before him was utterly dejected. His face was covered in stubble, and his eyes were sunken and hollow.
Chu Fan understood. ’Lu Tao knows about the conspiracy between County Magistrate Zhang Yunpeng and the Moon Worship Sect, but he’s powerless to fight back. He’s fallen into despair and is on the verge of just giving up.’
Chu Fan sighed softly, his voice muffled by the mask. "So you really don’t want to do anything about it?"
Lu Tao let out a wretched laugh, full of bitter self-mockery. "Do something? What can I do? Heh... I’m just a worthless piece of trash. A good-for-nothing who can’t do a single thing!"
"I’d love to go kill that bastard Zhang Yunpeng! But you told me I’m no match for him!"
"You also said he has some damned thing called a ’Resentful Spirit’... You tell me, what am I supposed to do?!"
