Hah, hah…
Kong Yang only took a moment to catch his breath once his staggering pace finally came to a halt.
He didn’t even know how far he had run; he just wanted to stay as far away from the Lu Family Mansion as possible. There was a park nearby with a small forest, which provided a good place for him to hide from the guards while he rested.
Whenever he thought back to what happened tonight, Kong Yang couldn’t help but grit his teeth. Why did such a perfect plan turn into this?
He had planned everything so carefully, yet so many obstacles appeared once execution began. The situation had spiraled completely out of his control, and he hadn’t even achieved his most basic goal.
“How am I supposed to face the Bishop when I go back?”
Thinking it over, the person who made him the angriest was definitely that girl he ran into in Luo Tianyu’s library.
“Just what kind of person is she?”
If they met again, Kong Yang would definitely grab her and tear her apart, turning the arrogant smile on her face into endless cries for mercy.
Despite all the trouble, at least his life was spared.
Kong Yang suddenly remembered something good and immediately reached into his pocket. At a time like this, he needed a little something to pick himself up and enjoy.
However, as he fumbled around in his pocket for a moment, the expectant smile on his face instantly froze.
Wait, it’s not here?
Kong Yang couldn’t believe it. He turned his pocket inside out, his pupils trembling at the sight of nothingness.
“Why is it gone? I clearly had half left!”
Failing the mission was fine, being reprimanded by the Bishop was fine, but Kong Yang couldn’t be without that thing because it was far too important to him.
“Did I lose it while I was running?”
Confronted with this possibility, Kong Yang’s mind went blank. He even considered returning the way he came to look for it. But if he went back now, the guards from the Lu Family Mansion would surely catch him!
Kong Yang gripped the trunk of a tree behind him, his fingernails digging into the bark and scraping it away bit by bit.
Right then, a sudden meow startled him so much he jolted.
“Who’s there?!”
Kong Yang looked toward the source of the sound. He thought someone was stalking him, but it was just a cat that walked out from the shadows.
For some reason, the way its golden pupils stared fixedly at him felt very unsettling. Kong Yang deliberately took two steps forward, trying to scare it away.
However, the Black Pig didn’t run away immediately. Instead, it turned around and slowly walked in another direction.
Kong Yang peered closely and noticed that something purple was wrapped around its tail.
“Isn’t that my Surging Blood?!”
Kong Yang’s eye twitched, and he let out a breath of relief.
“It was you. Hurry up and give that back to me!”
Kong Yang was so desperate he was about to pounce. His gaze remained fixed on the Black Pig’s silhouette, and then a pair of cute leather boots entered his field of vision.
After only a moment of shock, Kong Yang turned to run. He didn’t care who the owner of those shoes was; he just knew they definitely weren’t one of his people.
“Damn it, I’ve used up all my Moonlight Crystals, otherwise I could turn invisible…”
But before he could run very far, his body lost balance and he fell forward, slamming headfirst into the ground.
Why can’t I move?
Kong Yang looked back and saw only two severed lower legs. The smooth surfaces of the stumps were still spurting blood.
“Ahhh—!”
He screamed in agony.
***
The sharp sickle was planted in the ground in front of him, and Kong Yang immediately shut his mouth. As expected, the owner of those leather boots was Jiang Sui, who had caught up to him.
Seeing the Black Pig run to her side, Kong Yang couldn’t help but speak:
“That’s your cat? Hurry and give that thing to me!”
“I can tell you really like this.”
Taking the purple reagent from the Black Pig’s tail, Jiang Sui’s nimble fingers spun it around.
“If you want it, answer my questions.”
“Fine, I promise you,” Kong Yang panted heavily.
“Are you a Budaoshi?”
“No, but if I finished this mission, I would have been close to a promotion.”
“What was your goal?”
“Drawings.” Kong Yang paused for a moment. “Architectural drawings. I can’t say anything else. I have a Secret Art on me; if I speak, I’ll die.”
As expected… getting more useful information wasn’t going to be that simple.
Architectural drawings? Why were they looking for those?
Jiang Sui recalled the underground secret site she had seen at the Jin Family Mansion and spoke again:
“Unless there’s something underground at the Lu Family Mansion too?”
“I don’t even know that,” Kong Yang replied.
“My task was to investigate Luo Tianyu’s Secret Art. My supervisor didn’t tell me the details; they just told me to focus on Luo Tianyu.”
“Is your supervisor in the Central City as well?”
Kong Yang opened his mouth, but before he could make a sound, he fell into a daze again.
It seemed that was a yes.
“How much manpower do you have in the Central City?”
“More than you can imagine.”
Is that so? It seemed the influence of the Black Star Cult was indeed massive. Likely, most large cities had their subordinates.
While she was thinking, Kong Yang crawled over to her and grabbed the hem of her skirt.
“I’ve done everything you asked. Can you give it to me now?”
“You mean this?” Jiang Sui dangled the purple reagent in front of him, tempting him.
“Yes, yes!”
“How about we become friends?”
“What?”
Jiang Sui’s smile turned cold once more.
“Since you’re going to die anyway, just give it to me as a gift.”
“Wait—!”
The last thing Kong Yang saw was the girl bathed in moonlight raising her sickle and swinging it down toward him.
After finally dealing with this troublesome guy, Jiang Sui let out a breath and put away her sickle. She summoned her Ancient Book and caught a bit of the blood splashing out, smearing it on the cover of the book.
The Ancient Book emitted a Red Glow and began to flip through its pages on its own.
Finally, I’ve gained a new ability.
Jiang Sui waited expectantly for a new page to open, but the result was different from what she had imagined. The flipping pages stopped at a place that already had text. This page began to burn on its own under her Soul Tether, leaving not even ashes behind.
Before Jiang Sui could recover from her surprise, the Ancient Book flipped again. This time, it finally reached a new page, and brand-new twisted characters appeared on the blank space. The amount was double what it had been before!
The Red Glow faded, and Jiang Sui caught the Ancient Book, immediately beginning to check it.
She thought she had already figured out how the Ancient Book worked, but she didn’t expect it to have even more secrets. The page that originally belonged to the Blazing Gold ability had been burned away completely, but the newly written page not only retained the original content but even fused it with Kong Yang’s ability.
The description of the original Alchemy ability was already complex, but now it had become even more profound. However, after reading it twice, Jiang Sui understood what was going on.
“It can actually fuse and upgrade?”
Closing the Ancient Book, Jiang Sui reached this conclusion.
In the future, even if she collected more abilities, they might not necessarily become separate powers; instead, they might fuse with her current abilities to exert the advantages of both.
Could this Ancient Book be hiding even more mysterious functions?
It held many secrets now—its origin, why it appeared in her body, and why some people’s Secret Arts couldn’t be absorbed. There must be a set of criteria for the Ancient Book’s absorption, but Jiang Sui hadn’t figured it out for the time being. Once she finished researching it, she wouldn’t have to feel frustrated about being unable to absorb an ability again.
“What do you think? Are you satisfied?”
“Yes, very satisfied.”
Stowing the Ancient Book away, Jiang Sui picked up the purple reagent.
“Now, can you tell me what this thing actually is?”
She had thought it was just an ordinary potion, but the Black Pig’s reaction upon seeing it and Kong Yang’s obsession with it made Jiang Sui feel something was wrong. Just now, Kong Yang seemed to have called this thing “Surging Blood.”
“Surging Blood potion. It’s a forbidden drug that was popular among Secret Arts Practitioners a long time ago,” the Black Pig said. “It’s said to strengthen a Secret Arts Practitioner’s power and can even allow ordinary people to gain Secret Art abilities.”
“Oh?” Jiang Sui was stunned for a moment. “It can even turn ordinary people into Secret Arts Practitioners?”
Then this thing really was extraordinary. No wonder it was a taboo item.
“Who invented this?”
“Hard to say. There are many theories about its origin.”
Some said a heartless Secret Arts Practitioner accidentally brewed it while experimenting on living humans. Others said it was the culprit behind the Heavenly Disaster a hundred years ago. In short, there was still no definitive explanation.
However, one thing was certain: Surging Blood was now something everyone despised. Once the Execution Division discovered someone distributing it, they would be sentenced regardless of the reason.
“Can it make the Execution Division that wary?” Jiang Sui swirled the Surging Blood in her hand, watching the swaying purple liquid.
“Because although its effects are miraculous, it easily makes the user lose their mind or even turn into a non-human monster,” the Black Pig continued. “In short, it’s dangerous. You’d better destroy it. If you still want to have a complete life, don’t even think about using this kind of thing.”
“You don’t need to worry about that. I naturally know what to do.” Jiang Sui let out a light laugh. “After all, I value my life quite a bit. I wouldn’t play that kind of joke on myself.”
“That’s good.”
Having finished her business here, it was time for Jiang Sui to return to the Lu Family Mansion. By now, the commotion from the banquet had long since died down. The servants had already cleaned up the mess, though the ceiling and the floor would have to wait until tomorrow for someone to repair them.
“Brother, aren’t you going to rest yet?”
Luo Yao noticed that Lu Yunze had no intention of leaving before she walked away and couldn’t help but ask.
“Yes, I plan to stay a bit longer. You go ahead.”
Luo Yao remained silent for a moment before saying, “Brother, you don’t need to blame yourself anymore. Father isn’t pursuing it, is he?”
“Hahaha, true.” Lu Yunze laughed awkwardly.
“That’s just how you are.”
“I’m not a fool. I’ll just sit for a bit longer. You go back quickly.”
“Alright.”
Luo Yao actually believed what he said. Once she left the area, Lu Yunze finally breathed a sigh of relief. If she knew I was waiting for another girl to arrive, she’d probably lose her temper on the spot.
The lights remained on, but Lu Yunze was the only one left. He was waiting—waiting for the girl who had agreed to meet him.