Chapter 69

Yang Xin several times glanced toward Wang Tingwan's direction, and each time it provoked Wang Tingwan's dissatisfaction with Yang Xin.

A stone again struck Yang Xin's head; Wang Tingwan hid in the darkness, wearing only a thin shirt, she clutched herself tightly, and whenever she saw him turn his head and look over, she hurled a stone at him while shouting, "Move your dog eyes away!"

Yang Xin knew he was in the wrong—perhaps it's just male nature. Seeing a girl in white, wearing only a thin shirt, he kept wanting to look at Wang Tingwan, but each time he was spotted and hit on the head with a stone; after several times his head was covered in bumps. Rubbing his head, he wondered, "Why can't I control my eyes?"

As time ticked by, the mud on Yang Xin's clothes gradually dried, but Wang Tingwan's outer garment was utterly ruined; the coat used to pull him ashore had been wrung into a rope, now stiff as a wooden stick—striking a wall would emit a 'thud' and likely kick up dust, forcing one to cover mouth and nose.

"Ha, this is really······ leaving one speechless," Yang Xin sighed, then asked Wang Tingwan, "So, let's continue."

Hearing Yang Xin's words, Wang Tingwan glanced at her clothes, which left her fully exposed; she was at a loss, Yang Xin urged her to move on, and she clearly understood what he was thinking.

Food and lust are also part of human nature.

Confucius's words still hold meaning today; though Wang Tingwan found it troubling, seeing the mud pit behind Yang Xin gave her an idea.

Yang Xin watched Wang Tingwan step by step approach the mud pit's edge, feeling puzzled; he watched her step by step reach the edge, then stop, and with both hands scoop up mud and smear it on himself.

Wang Tingwan's white clothes gradually turned the color of mud, accompanied by the distinctive smell of sludge; once it was enough to cover her modesty, she stood up, ignored the mud on her hands, lifted the hair by her ears, and said to Yang Xin, "Let's go."

"Why? Will you save me?" Yang Xin asked, puzzled.

Wang Tingwan stopped, her back to Yang Xin, closed her eyes, and coldly said, "You can still count as a teammate—that's one point; also, you're both friends, and I don't know what happened between you when I wasn't aware. But I hope that one day you'll tell me."

Wang Tingwan said this, then walked slowly ahead; Yang Xin, not knowing what to say, hesitated, wondering whether to tell her.

Their upper garments were covered in mud; one refused to leave the pile of gold and silver, and at the instant of pulling out the golden scepter, watched his own body slowly sink; the other recalled the treasure scene from when they were in the Giant Country, and the two mutually slaughtered each other.

That arrow directly pierced Feng Yan's heart.

Wang Tingwan watched Yang Xin fire the first bolt from that crossbow, which directly killed his old friend; she was shocked and broke into a cold sweat, saying nothing, she stared fixedly at the hole where Feng Yan fell, praying for his safety.

Yang Xin's mouth curled into a triumphant smile, his heart equally triumphant, his visage ferocious; Chen Hao below watched, already gritting his teeth in anger.

Yang Xin also felt sorrow inside, for that was once his best friend in memory; but the next second, Feng Yan suddenly appeared before him, swinging a black sword straight at Yang Xin's arm.

Each sought to kill the other, utterly disregarding their former friendship.

Once inseparable friends who could talk about anything, they are now mortal enemies!

Wang Tingwan walked ahead, the surroundings pitch black; as she recalled past events, she also tried to restore their relationship to how it was, so she stopped, turned, and asked Yang Xin, "If Feng Yan voluntarily reconciles with you, would you agree?"

Seeing Wang Tingwan suddenly stop, Yang Xin was first puzzled, then heard her question; for a moment he didn't know what to say.

"Probably not," he said. Facing Wang Tingwan's eyes, she seemed to want a definite answer; this time it was clear she got an answer, but it was the one she least wanted to hear, making her unease grow stronger.

Yang Xin's answer was clearly not what she wanted.

"Is that so?" Wang Tingwan lowered her head, then turned and continued forward.

They walked on the road, one ahead, one behind; Wang Tingwan led, Yang Xin followed; after her question, they spoke no more on the way. They walked through the pitch-black cavern, the narrow, rugged path, and visibility all around was extremely poor.

After stumbling along for a while, Yang Xin also rubbed the bump on his head, looked up, and saw ahead a scepter flashing with golden light.

Yang Xin prepared to run over, but hesitated a moment, stopped, and stayed where he was.

"Let's observe a bit more before moving on!" Yang Xin saw Wang Tingwan continue toward the scepter and shouted at her.

Wang Tingwan ignored Yang Xin's words, she walked toward the scepter emitting golden light, walking while staring fixedly at it—that was brightness, or rather the sinister gleam of money's evil; people pursue money but often overlook the evil behind it.

When Wang Tingwan reached the scepter, it seemed to possess a special attraction for her, continually urging her to pull it out!

Wang Tingwan reached out with both hands, gripped the scepter; its surface brightness flared for an instant, then quickly returned to normal. Wang Tingwan had little strength, making it somewhat difficult to pull out the scepter. Meanwhile, Yang Xin watched from behind, afraid to step forward.

Meanwhile, Wang Tingwan had successfully pulled out the scepter!

Wang Tingwan gripped the scepter tightly, fearing it might vanish from her hand; at the same moment, a large hole appeared in the ground, and they fell through into the depths!

"Ah!" they cried out in anguish.

Inside the palace, the prince held a cup, savoring fine wine, with beauties on either side; the scene was extremely licentious.

The prince slowly savored the wine in his cup, swirling the glass; the cup caught the light, projecting a beautiful scene—like people's lives, like a caravan's profits—ultimately reflected in the swaying red wine cup, symbolizing royal wealth and the poor's sorrow.

The poor expend all their strength to earn their wages, yet they receive less than a tenth!

"Fine wine!" the prince raised his cup again and drained the remaining wine; the red liquid slowly slid into his mouth, passing his Adam's apple step by step into his stomach, producing a few tiny sounds that quickly faded.

"Fine wine!" the prince laughed, he pulled the woman beside him into his arms and skillfully undressed her; she feigned resistance, then quickly helped him undo his clothes while blushing and saying, "Your Highness, you're wicked."

The prince gave no response to the woman, and the two sped up undoing her clothes.

"Report!" a soldier shouted outside the prince's hall.

At that moment the prince felt myriad reluctance, yet had to suppress his anger; he coldly approached the reporting soldier and coldly demanded, "What is it? Speak!"

"Your Highness, our nation's strengthening potion has been successfully researched and mass-produced! This is a sample given by the Red-clothed Devil; I've brought it for you to see!" the soldier replied, simultaneously presenting a strengthening potion with both hands for the prince's inspection.

The prince examined the sample; its color differed greatly from the previous strengthening potion—formerly deep red, now a light purplish-red, lacking the red stimulus. He laughed loudly and said, "Haha! Feng Yan, your good days are over! Now let's see how you fight me! Come, reward this soldier with ten gold coins, then go to the Red-clothed Devil to fetch a newly made magic potion for him!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" the soldier took the prince's reward, bowed his head in thanks while slowly retreating.

The prince stared at the strengthening potion in his hand, pondering something; after a while he revealed a faint eerie smile, he beckoned, an attendant came forward awaiting his orders. Then the prince handed the potion to the attendant, who nodded, performed a salute, and respectfully replied, "Yes, Your Highness, I will surely accomplish the mission!"

"Then I wish you early success in your mission!" the prince laughed.

"I borrow your lord's auspicious words! Subordinate, ding-dong, horse arrives at success!" the attendant said, then slowly walked out of the prince's residence.

The prince watched his retreating back, a faint smile of satisfaction appearing, and said, "So then, what should you do? Feng Yan!"