Chapter 130: Honesty Revealed

“Do you know Doudou?” Shen Siyuan asked, surprised.

Ruan Hongzhuang nodded. “Of course I know her—I’m close with Taozi, so I’ve met Jiang Wenxin a few times, and Jiang Wenxin always brought Doudou along.”

“And when Doudou had the accident and they held the funeral, I went too.”

Hearing this, Shen Siyuan understood at last, and in that same instant, Ruan Hongzhuang realized why Jiang Wenxin had introduced Taozi to Shen Siyuan.

Too bad fate played tricks.

Just as the Nian Chengfo’s Fear State ended, Su Yi pulled out her dagger and engaged Nian Chengfo in close combat again—left hand staff, right hand dagger, no skills used, only pure martial technique.

Besides, Sun Li excelled in both spear and whip, could draw a powerful bow, and ride even the worst horses—he was truly an excellent general suited for battlefield slaughter. Though Xiao Tang knew his own martial realm could surpass Sun Li’s, it would still take considerable effort to defeat him.

The three vanguard burrowing skeletons used their most basic attack: grabbing the boss crocodile’s feet with both hands.

The private room at Taobao’s miscellaneous store was just an ordinary room—just a table, a few chairs, nothing else. Stingy Su Yi hadn’t even bothered to put a fruit platter or a pot of clear tea on the table.

The first list submitted was nearly identical to the one Han Qi had slipped in during his impeachment: the top scorer in the metropolitan exam was Chen Bo’gu, son of Chen Yaozuo, and all four of Han Yi’s uneducated grandsons passed—none failed.

A thousand li away, Zhou Yu released Xiu Luo, but Xiu Luo still trembled with dread; had Zhou Yu not teleported him out just now, he would never have escaped the self-destruction of the Stone Demon Immortal—such an explosion made Xiu Luo shudder just thinking about it.

Tony said nothing, radiating an aura of “I’m spoiled, I’m moody, I need comfort,” as he reached over to a display shelf, grabbed a bottle of high-proof vodka, and downed it straight.

Luo Hong’s voice interrupted Qi Yu’s daydream; after scratching his head, he walked into Luo Hong’s room. Having already seen the Golden Corridor outside, he was now immune to the gold inside the room.

The Anger Demon’s ordinary attack slashed across Bai Song’s body—the trajectory of this slash was painfully familiar to Bai Song, and his heart instantly turned cold.

Whoever treated him well, Lu Zhishen treated well in return; whoever looked down on him, Lu Zhishen had no qualms about returning their contempt with equal scorn.

In truth, Ou Ting couldn’t even see what he was doing—he simply made the motion out of habit.

She’d only thrown three like this, left and right, when the medical staff hadn’t even had time to rush in and fill the gap—Su Yi had already spotted the attacker.

She ignored Situ Yan, grabbed his tattered, barely-covering clothes, and yanked them off, forcing him to turn his back to her.

Even if he desperately wanted Zong Shu’s help, or hoped to gain some advantage, he wouldn’t allow Zong Shu’s people to act recklessly under his very eyes.

Song Shi’s face twisted with outrage; Song Lin arrived with his two younger brothers to deliver gifts to their uncle, and upon entering, he was startled by his uncle’s expression.

Yu You rubbed his head, hesitating whether to go back to rest or check the studio to see if anything remained unfinished.

Without bothering with manners, he quietly pulled out his phone and changed the rent for the other apartment to four thousand. Though according to the old man’s words, he was still losing money, at least the first tenant paid four thousand—how could the second tenant’s rent be much higher?

She followed the sound and glanced sideways, seeing Ou Ting standing beside her—somehow, he’d arrived without her noticing.

Sun Sidao was serving in Zhejiang and hadn’t yet entered the capital; exposing this matter would ruin his chance of joining the ministry—he’d never tell anyone. Huan Ling wasn’t always obedient, but he was always cautious and skilled at reading the emperor’s intentions; more importantly, he himself had personally refused this marriage—how could he possibly tell anyone?

And this suspicion, in the time that followed, became undeniable fact—the blazing firestorm shrank again.

Since ancient times, common folk never fought with officials—they couldn’t win—and this belief was deeply rooted even in mountain villages.

Gong Nianxi’s eyes still wouldn’t open, no matter how much he bowed; Ming Haoxuan had no choice but to deploy his ultimate technique—tickling. He knew exactly where Gong Nianxi was most sensitive, moved his fingers to her waist, and suddenly began tickling with nimble precision.

Gong Nianxi heard him, still trying to act tough, pinched his thigh hard. Ming Haoxuan didn’t expect her sudden move—“Ow!” he cried out, looking at her with wounded eyes.

Here’s the key: there’s no such thing as a free lunch—Long Hao knew this well. Even if he was on friendly terms with the Five Elements Holy Master, how could such a secret realm be casually opened to an outsider?

Gong Nianxi understood: the child was truly her son. Knowing the child’s usual behavior, he’d surely realized they needed something from him, so he wouldn’t treat her poorly. As for going north—that meant the child had truly been taken to Qianyuan Kingdom, since only that kingdom lay north of Haoyue.

The Fang family had remained here, and recently they’d discovered some crystals near the volcano—crystals that seemed to appear out of nowhere, yet when refined, they greatly boosted one’s strength.

So he spent the entire night thinking. When dawn came, he carried gifts and walked openly into the Summer Retreat Villa.

One can imagine how long it would take, how many long years a normal cultivator would need to reach the Eternal Supreme Realm.

Although their guesses differed slightly from reality, the outcome was largely the same.