Chapter 719: Going Home Isn

"It's not that I wanted to use this—mainly, compared to the others, this is already the best option…"

After glancing around the empty Jade Valley, Li Ang replied with a sigh:

"I dare not pull the sword from Emma's chest, so I had to use something from her office. If you don't like the spiked club, there's the nail board, the Iron Maiden, the crushing cart, the spiked whip, the guillotine blade taken off the execution rack… which one do you pick?"

"…"

Looking at the grotesque torture devices on the ground, the lazy youth's cheek twitched twice, then realized Li Ang was right—compared to those horrific tools that killed slowly, the spiked club really was the best for quickly solving the "problem."

But being beaten to death by a spiked club… was truly a bit…

"How about… you just pull out Emma's sword instead?"

Glancing at the still-damp blood on the spikes of the spiked club, the lazy youth swallowed hard, truly unwilling to be crushed to death by something still warm, and suggested:

"I've seen Emma use her 【Heart's Balance】. It mainly judges the soul; physical damage is just incidental, rarely fatal. Even if it were fatal, it wouldn't matter—her immortality can still be used three hundred more times. Dying once more won't hurt her.

She's unconscious now because her soul was too severely wounded, leaving her will unable to control her body. This sword, designed for the soul, lodged in her chest doesn't cause secondary physical trauma, but it hinders her soul's recovery. Pull the sword out!"

"I see…"

Hearing this, Li Ang nodded, reached out, and touched the hilt of 【Heart's Balance】. After confirming it matched what the youth said, he carefully gripped the hilt, steadied his arm, and gently pulled outward.

"Puff!"

With a faint hollow sound as the blade left flesh, Emma's body trembled slightly, and blood immediately soaked her front.

But as the lazy youth said, though the act of pulling the sword caused secondary injury, as soon as 【Heart's Balance】 left her body, Emma's previously chaotic and sluggish soul-fire suddenly became smooth and stable, and faint signs of awakening emerged.

"Not bad. Her condition is much better than I expected."

Noticing Emma's fingertips twitch slightly, the lazy youth's pupils flickered twice, then spoke:

"She'll probably wake up soon. If her condition holds, you might not even need to kill me.

My return ritual doesn't consume much, but having your body utterly destroyed and painstakingly remade, your soul completely extinguished and then reignited—it's hard to say whether that's worse than being pounded to death by a spiked club… Wait!"

As he raised his head to check Emma's condition, he seemed to notice something strange. The lazy youth suddenly stiffened his neck, eyes urgent, and shouted:

"Turn around! Look at that crocodile!"

Crocodile?

Hearing Tang Mu's warning, Li Ang was suddenly startled.

The Crocodile God summoned by 【Heart's Balance】? Didn't he already leave?

…

Damn it, we've been spotted!

Hearing the commotion from the mountaintop, the Crocodile God, who had been stealthily dragging his hind legs inch by inch away, instantly shuddered.

Because the 【Heart's Balance】 contract hadn't ended, the unlucky Crocodile God couldn't leave. Li Ang, in his drunken rage, had grabbed him and used him as a weapon to smash the Goddess of Wealth's forehead.

After being caught and casually tossed aside by the Goddess of Wealth, the weak, pitiful, and helpless Crocodile God dared not interfere further in the battle between the two elites, and quietly hid far away.

Originally, the Crocodile God planned only to lie low, wait for Li Ang and the Goddess of Wealth to finish fighting, then charm the victor and beg for mercy—this whole affair would be over. After all, he'd merely followed the contract to snatch a snack; he had no direct conflict with either of them, and he had the backing of several bigwigs in the Underworld. Whether it was the Clearance Bureau or the Goddess of Wealth, they'd all give him some leeway.

So no matter who won, they were unlikely to kill him outright. As long as he stayed hidden and avoided collateral damage, he'd be perfectly safe.

But circumstances took a sudden turn: Li, the former native of Old Earth who had infiltrated the Clearance Bureau with ill intent, suddenly revealed his identity. The Goddess of Wealth uncovered his origins as an Old Earth visitor, and the two even reached a secret agreement.

And "secret" meant: don't tell anyone—or anyone who knows must die.

Having witnessed Li Ang's conversation in full and seen the Goddess of Wealth swear an oath on her power to keep the secret, the unlucky Crocodile God nearly burst into tears on the spot.

Fearing he'd be killed by these two dangerous people who wanted silence, the Crocodile God pushed his crocodile instinct for playing dead to its limit, reducing his presence to the bare minimum—even his soul fell silent, barely better than outright extinguishment—and silently prayed in his heart: please, don't let anyone notice me.

Unfortunately, while his concealment could fool humans, it was useless against a true god—the Goddess of Wealth spotted the feigning Crocodile God with one glance.

Yet though she noticed him, she didn't act immediately. She assumed the Old Earthman would kill him himself to protect the "infiltration" secret, and simply stepped into the Dream Realm and left.

And just as the Crocodile God, trembling with dread, repeatedly begged in his heart that he wouldn't be killed by the Old Earthman, a miracle actually happened.

The Old Earthman, who had nearly killed the Goddess of Wealth, scanned his surroundings with his soul vision—and, like an ordinary person with dull soul perception, completely ignored the Crocodile God's hidden soul!

So lucky!

Watching the Old Earthman, now pretending to be even weaker, hoist the unconscious female clearance officer onto his back and grunt as he began climbing the mountain, the lucky Crocodile God's heart pounded wildly, nearly breaking his feigned death state.

In his desperate hope, the Old Earthman who had infiltrated the Clearance Bureau truly ignored him, climbed straight up the mountain, and even, at another clearance officer's suggestion, pulled out the sword that had maintained the contract and kept him trapped!

Thank heaven!

Feeling Li Ang's "murderous" gaze, the Crocodile God leapt up and used the fastest speed of his life to open the gate between life and death, then dove through it onto the "path of no return" to the Underworld.

Finally escaped!

After leaving the dangerously volatile world of the living, gazing at the dark, gloomy Underworld and the wailing dead on the path of no return, desperately clawing to turn back, the Crocodile God, who had barely escaped, was so moved he nearly cried.

That damned world was too deep. He'd merely been desperate, wanted to sneak over for a warm bite, and nearly lost his life.

The Underworld is so much better!

Sure, the scenery is a bit dull, the wailing dead a bit noisy, the souls of the damned a bit stale, not as fresh as newly dead ones—but at least life here is stable, no need to worry about being attacked out of nowhere. The Underworld is truly…

"Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!"

???

In the Crocodile God's terrified expression, a vivid splash of color suddenly appeared in the monochrome world of the dead—black, white, and gray.

From the surging Yellow Springs River beneath the path of no return, countless strands of bright red hair erupted, stretching from earth to sky, and instantly formed a blood-red cocoon over a hundred meters in diameter, trapping the Crocodile God, who had just stepped onto the path.

"No wonder the scent felt familiar."

Watching the Crocodile God's terrified face inside the cocoon, the Director, who had been brushing his teeth by the Yellow Springs River, spat out his toothpaste foam and frowned:

"If I remember right, you're the crocodile who signed a contract with Emma. Why do you smell like the Goddess of Wealth? Wait—why do you also smell like Li Ang?"

(End of Chapter)