Before Kong Yang could react, Jiang Sui popped out from under the desk, startling him so much that he stumbled back several steps.
Kong Yang initially wanted to crush the golden Elemental Crystal in his hand, but on second thought, doing so would only attract more enemies. He chose to keep his cool instead, sizing up the girl in front of him from head to toe.
“I haven’t seen you before. You aren’t a servant of the Luo Family.”
“And I haven’t seen you either.” Jiang Sui tilted her head slightly, looking at him with a beaming smile. “The manager of the Luo Family, Mr. Kong Yang—sneaking into the Library while your master is holding a Ceremony… you surely didn’t come here out of a sense of responsibility to help him clean up, did you?”
“Which faction do you belong to? The Execution Division?”
“Take a guess.”
Excluding the Execution Division and his own organization, Kong Yang truly couldn’t think of anyone else who would send an infiltrator into the Luo Family at a time like this. Moreover, her goal was likely the same as his.
The two remained silent for a moment before Jiang Sui spoke up again.
“Since we’re both here for the Luo Family, why don’t we make a deal?”
“Oh?”
“I saw how carefully you were searching just now. I’m sure you’re here for some secret as well,” Jiang Sui continued. “Can we avoid fighting and deal with the Luo Family together first?”
Mainly, she just didn’t want to start a fight in a place like this. Once the guards and Lu Yunze were drawn here, Jiang Sui’s secret identity would be impossible to maintain.
Last time she was caught by Lu Yunze, her bottom had been slapped until it was swollen. If she were caught in the Luo Family this time, she didn’t even want to imagine what kind of inhumane methods that guy would use against her.
Since it would be a capture in his own home, even if Lu Yunze willfully locked her in a small dark room and did whatever he pleased, no one would ever find out.
In a subterranean Black Zero where no one would ever discover her, a pitiful girl would be held tightly, her clothes in tatters. Lu Yunze would walk in from the outside, chuckling sinisterly as he used various tools on her…
The small dark room would echo with the sounds of flesh being struck and muffled sobs. Once Lu Yunze grew bored, he could even call in other servants to continue in his stead.
It was exactly like a tragic ending that would only occur after choosing the wrong option in an adult game.
To prevent such an imagination from becoming reality, Jiang Sui could only seek a peaceful resolution as much as possible.
Although she really wanted to capture this guy for interrogation, now was not the time. At the very least, they had to be somewhere where no one would disturb them.
To make Kong Yang believe her, Jiang Sui put on the friendliest expression possible, making herself look completely harmless.
After a minute of silence, Kong Yang lowered the hand gripping the crystal and smiled.
“Alright, I accept your proposal.”
“Really?”
“I’m not lying to you. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. In the face of a common enemy, we are temporary friends.”
As he spoke, he took two steps forward and proactively extended his hand.
Jiang Sui hesitated for two seconds before also extending her hand.
At that exact moment, Kong Yang’s expression suddenly turned distorted. The crimson Elemental Crystal hidden in his sleeve slipped out, and he crushed it instantly.
An explosion of flames enveloped his fist, and he threw a straight punch aimed directly at the girl’s abdomen.
If this punch landed solidly, Jiang Sui would experience a momentary loss of focus from the searing pain and would likely collapse to the ground clutching her stomach, leaving her at his mercy.
However, reality was not as wonderful as he imagined.
Before the fist could touch her, Jiang Sui’s body dissolved into a cloud of Black Mist, and the punch struck nothing but air.
When Jiang Sui’s body reformed behind him, she had already raised the Waning Moon Scythe, swinging it down in a heavy slash.
Kong Yang had a green crystal in his other hand. After crushing it, a powerful blast of wind was generated, forcing Jiang Sui to squint and retreat.
“Despicable fellow, you still tried to sneak attack me from behind!” Kong Yang let out a cold snort.
“You were the one who moved first, so don’t blame me.”
Since the truce was broken, they had no choice but to fight.
But Jiang Sui truly didn’t want to waste time on him. It was extremely dangerous to start a fight on a tiger’s territory; she had to find a way to get rid of him as quickly as possible.
Jiang Sui’s Soul Tether landed on the crystals held in his hand, and she began to ponder what kind of ability this guy’s Qi Technique was.
Did different colored crystals have different effects?
The red one was related to fire, the green one to wind—what were the effects of the other colors?
As she was mulling it over, the golden crystal was crushed by Kong Yang. A light as dazzling as the sun immediately flooded the entire Library.
Jiang Sui shielded her eyes. Even if she opened them just a crack, she felt a searing pain, as if she were staring directly at the actual sun.
When the light dissipated and Jiang Sui opened her eyes again, she found that Kong Yang’s figure had disappeared.
Did he run?
The moment that question arose, her sharp senses felt a surge of killing intent from behind.
Even though Jiang Sui jumped away from her previous position in time, her back still felt a jolt of pain, and several drops of fresh blood splattered onto the floor.
That guy was still here; he had just used some other means to hide himself.
If it were Lu Yunze, he probably wouldn’t have been able to handle this for a moment.
Since her eyes were being deceived, Jiang Sui simply closed them and focused her attention on her other senses.
The sound of light footsteps was approaching from behind. Jiang Sui immediately turned and swung her Bracelet Knife, delivering a horizontal slash into the empty air.
The air emitted a muffled groan, and even fresh blood sprayed out.
Kong Yang’s figure manifested as he looked at the wound on his body in disbelief, then stared at her.
“My apologies, but my hearing happens to be quite good.”
Jiang Sui raised her Bracelet Knife again.
“Since you want to hide, you should hide the sound you make completely.”
The scythe grazed Kong Yang’s wrist. She would disable his arms first, then the rest would be easy.
But Kong Yang still had a blue crystal. After crushing it, his entire body seemed to melt in Jiang Sui’s line of sight, turning into a puddle of water that moved rapidly across the floor until he reformed in a safe spot.
“He even has a water form.”
Wind, water, light, and invisibility—Jiang Sui was starting to get a bit dizzy trying to track the truth of Kong Yang’s abilities.
If she could just get one more chance, she could completely map out the structure of this guy’s power. She might even be able to take it for her own use.
“Hey, the light just now came from here, right?”
The voices from outside interrupted them both. Jiang Sui’s ears twitched slightly.
The sound of chaotic footsteps indicated that many people were coming. As expected, the commotion had drawn quite a few nuisances.
If she let him escape like this, he would likely be a source of trouble in the future.
While Jiang Sui was still considering her next move, she suddenly saw Kong Yang pull out a red crystal again, aiming it at her.
“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Jiang Sui’s eyebrow twitched.
At the exact moment the Library door was kicked open, a cloud of Black Mist whistled past the guards, making them dazed for a second.
The next second, flames like a roaring beast illuminated their faces, billowing out from the Library and sweeping into the Corridor outside.
The guards looked at the burning Library and hurriedly called for people to put out the fire while checking to see if anyone was inside.
None of them noticed a transparent, blurry shadow rushing out from within, heading in the direction where the Black Mist had fled.
—
Since things had blown up so much, it was now impossible to conduct a secret investigation tonight.
He had lurked for half a year just for tonight, staying on guard against the Zhu Family every day, never imagining that his plan would be ruined by a little girl he had never even met.
Kong Yang was furious, but for now, he could only find a way to retreat.
As long as he made it back alive to explain things to the Bishop in charge of the Central City, he believed he would be given another chance.
But when he reached another corridor, a scythe suddenly swung toward him. Startled, he raised his hands to defend himself while jumping back.
The result was Kong Yang falling to the ground, a piece of flesh gouged from his shoulder, the sharp pain jarring his nerves.
Looking back, Jiang Sui, who had been lurking at the corner, was still holding her Bracelet Knife, smiling like a little girl who had successfully pulled off a prank.
“You…”
“Take care, Mr. Kong. Why are you running without looking where you’re going?”
Jiang Sui chuckled, causing the fury in Kong Yang’s heart to rise to another level.
He decided that before leaving tonight, he would give her a proper lesson.
No sooner said than done—Kong Yang pulled out a khaki-colored crystal and threw it toward Jiang Sui.
The floor beneath the girl’s feet immediately caved in, but she reacted quickly and wasn’t trapped.
Success! The last piece of the puzzle!
Jiang Sui could finally confirm what his ability was.
Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, plus Light and Moon—a total of six crystals with different attributes. They covered almost every combat scenario; it was a very convenient ability.
If it weren’t for Jiang Sui, anyone else trying to deal with this ability would indeed find it very troublesome.
Now that she knew the ability, she could formulate a strategy.
Before moving, Jiang Sui wiped a bit of blood onto the scythe. Just as she was about to pull out the Ancient Book, several ice spikes shot directly toward her.
Interrupted, Jiang Sui had no choice but to stop all her movements for the moment, dragging her scythe as she ran into the distance.
Kong Yang had completely lost his head and chased after her directly.
Furthermore, he no longer planned to stay entangled with her. Kong Yang threw out his remaining red crystals, all of them at once.
A massive fireball bloomed above his head. The surging flames made Jiang Sui feel the temperature in the vicinity rise significantly.
If a thing like that landed a direct hit, even if she were tough, she’d likely lose half her life.
The moment she looked back at Kong Yang, an earthen wall suddenly rose in front of her. She barely managed to stop before crashing into it.
Pincer-attacked from front and back, she had no more choices.
“Can you still run now?” The corners of Kong Yang’s mouth curled up.
Just as he launched the massive fireball, Jiang Sui instead showed a smile of relief.
“Now, the one who truly can’t run away… is you.”
—
On the way here, Jiang Sui had been dragging the tip of her Bracelet Knife against the floor, all to find a suitable location and lure Kong Yang there.
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Sui slammed her scythe heavily into the floor.
The floor beneath Kong Yang’s feet suddenly collapsed, and he fell straight through.
Fortunately, the height wasn’t very great; he was just a bit dizzy from the fall.
Where was he?
When Kong Yang opened his eyes again, he was instantly stunned.
Everyone at the Ceremony venue was staring at him as he fell from the ceiling.
Among them were the siblings of the Luo Family, as well as Lu Yunze’s Soul Tether, radiating an unmistakable killing intent.