Venerable Ye slowly turned his head toward Jiang Ke’er, deliberate and calm, pushing that terrifying sense of oppression to its limit.
Jiang Ke’er sighed. “You’re adding so many flourishes just to turn your head. Are you some kind of comedian who transmigrated from the Age of Intelligent Machines?”
Venerable Ye could tell those weren’t kind words.
“I’ve caught you,” Venerable Ye said in a low voice. “Are you not afraid?”
“Afraid of what? I’m curious about who exactly wants to see me,” Jiang Ke’er tapped her chin.
“Let me guess… behind you, there’s an existence far more terrifying than a Honored One. Perhaps his individual strength isn’t top-tier, but he’s very skilled at playing politics.”
“…?”
“I unintentionally offended this guy’s interests, making me a thorn in his side. So he started figuring out how to get his lackeys to deal with me.”
Jiang Ke’er was just guessing blindly, but the more she guessed, the more carried away she got. She couldn’t stop.
Prattling on, she even started getting addicted to the idea, following this line of reasoning: “So far, the one who hates Qing Yi the most should be the Dan Sect Alliance, but the Dan Sect Alliance is already finished… which proves even more that there’s another power behind them.”
“Venerable Ye, you must belong to the same camp as the Dan Sect Alliance, which is why you’re targeting me. However, to even have a free-roaming Honored One like you in their palm, the methods and reach of the person behind you… have already far exceeded my imagination!”
Jiang Ke’er was frightened by her own reasoning.
But soon, her eyes sparkled, and she became jubilant.
“The Final BOSS?”
“No, that’s not right,” Jiang Ke’er frowned.
“If this were a Long’aotian Novel with that Stinky Dragon as the Protagonist, then the Final BOSS should definitely be the State Preceptor. An existence like the State Preceptor shouldn’t deign to manage mundane affairs. In other words… this guy isn’t the State Preceptor; he’s just an Elite Monster.”
Venerable Ye listened, his head full of question marks.
“Then, what is the meaning of this Elite Monster’s existence? Why would it involve me?” Jiang Ke’er muttered to herself. Suddenly, she slammed her fist into her palm.
“I get it! Next, I should fall into an extremely miserable and dangerous situation, a danger I can’t solve with my own strength… and that Stinky Dragon who is the Protagonist will take the opportunity to appear, gallantly defeat the powerful enemy, and maximize my favorability!”
“So, if I’m not mistaken,” a confident smirk played on Jiang Ke’er’s lips, “before anything happens to me, he will definitely show up to save the day. If you show killing intent toward me now, Venerable Ye, then I bet within three seconds… Oh? Killing intent?”
Sensing Venerable Ye’s killing intent, Jiang Ke’er grew excited and began the countdown: “Three, two, one…”
Thud.
Three seconds later, Qiao Xiaoxian crouched beside Jiang Ke’er with an expressionless face—her hands were handcuffed just like Jiang Ke’er’s.
Jiang Ke’er stared at her for three seconds.
“Trash,” Jiang Ke’er turned her head away.
“It’s me,”
“Qiao Xiaoxian” sent through Secret Voice Transmission, revealing Si Lian’s voice.
It was actually the Honored One, Si Lian.
Excellent!
After a brief moment of joy, Jiang Ke’er’s face filled with horror.
Wait… is this book’s taste that extreme?
The one who came to the Hero’s rescue isn’t Qiao Xiaoxian, which means Qiao Xiaoxian isn’t the number one Dragon-Aotian Protagonist… Si Lian is?
Could it be… this is the trope where the miserable female lead is forced by the villain to be a Furnace, and the Protagonist breaks through countless obstacles to rescue her and restore her freedom?!
But the Protagonist and the villain seem to be… mother and daughter!
It’s over, it’s over, her world was falling apart.
With the plot deviating so far from the tropes, Jiang Ke’er couldn’t guess the bizarre direction the future would take at all.
“This is your reinforcement?” Venerable Ye glanced disdainfully at “Qiao Xiaoxian.”
“Peeking over there and thinking her movements were hidden—I spotted her at a single glance.”
Before Venerable Ye could finish his sentence, Si Lian suddenly grabbed Jiang Ke’er’s hand and flew toward the city outskirts at her maximum speed!
The sudden explosion of a Honored One’s speed and that familiar aura made Venerable Ye instantly realize the other’s identity.
“What a cunning Si Lian!”
Venerable Ye seemed to fly into a rage, hurriedly rising to give chase, but he seemed unable to keep up. He could only watch as Si Lian flew further and further away with Jiang Ke’er.
Once they were far away, however, a smirk appeared on Venerable Ye’s face as he returned to the city.
He pulled out the Soul Seeking Crystal and quietly watched as Si Lian’s marked location moved further away.
On another Crystal, Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn’s current position was displayed—she had just met up with Si Lian.
This was wonderful.
In reality, that existence hadn’t required him to capture Qing Yi alive.
To that person, Qing Yi was just an insignificant little stumbling block, not worth his attention.
But Venerable Ye also knew that directly killing Qing Yi would be difficult because Si Lian was certainly watching from the shadows, prepared to save her.
If he acted directly, it would result in a bitter battle.
He had always preferred obtaining the most pleasing results with the least amount of effort; it was a mark of high efficiency.
Therefore, everything he did was to let Si Lian save the day, ensuring that Qing Yi, Si Lian, and Gan RuÇŽnruÇŽn remained together as they fled.
When the time comes…
BOOM!
All unpleasantness would be purified the moment the Button was pressed—whether it was Si Lian, who had once tricked him, or Qing Yi, whom that person had ordered him to kill.
“Honored One?”
The Punishment Official looked at Venerable Ye expectantly, wearing an eager expression.
This plan was a secret shared between him and Venerable Ye.
They were operating it together, so he was also looking forward to the moment the results were witnessed.
This anticipation even suppressed the faint discomfort in his kidneys.
“Wait a bit longer, they’re still too close,” Venerable Ye sat in a large armchair, smiling as he toyed with the two Crystals in his hand.
“If we blow it up now, we’ll be caught in the blast. A little further…”
“Is the power that great?” The Punishment Official was horrified.
“What do you think? It’s something refined from the cores of over a dozen 8th-Grade Void Beasts.”
Venerable Ye took out his best tea leaves.
Although Si Lian had nearly emptied his Magic Crystal Card, once she was blown up, he could collect the fragmented biological samples of Si Lian and the Bagpipe Squad to claim the bounty on the black market.
Not only would his current losses be compensated, but he would also make an extra fortune.
Tonight, he was going to celebrate properly.
“Young man, bring some of those treasures you’ve collected,” Venerable Ye said, his interest piqued.
“Today, this Honored One will let you taste the skills of a Honored One. I guarantee it will be a meal you’ll never forget!”
The Punishment Official was overjoyed.
He never imagined he would find a kindred spirit in his lifetime. This was great—Venerable Ye was truly wonderful!
The Punishment Official quickly ran back to his small storage room and retrieved the Honey Badger kidney that he had placed at the very top and cherished as a treasure.
Speaking of which, a massive “surprise” was currently placed where that kidney originally belonged.
On the glowing charcoal fire, the sliced meat sizzled, and a rich, oily aroma filled the entire City Lord’s Mansion.
“Prepare.”
With a sense of ritual, Venerable Ye raised the Crystal and placed his thumb lightly on the Button at the top.