Chapter 899

Under the night curtain, the forest seemed to be veiled with a layer of mystery and danger.

Darkness concealed all traces of existence; beneath the vast canopy, even the campfire grew dim.

In Chen Wuji's Camp Tent, Lu Wanwan cleaned off the dirt she deliberately applied, changed into clean clothes, lay limp on the field bed, and sighed, "Finally I'm alive."

Qin Zhanhong still wore her previous outfit; it seemed she had no intention of reverting to her former look. "You're alive, but I reckon husband won't be holding you to sleep for a while."

Lu Wanwan sprang up at the words, "Husband, won't you be so cruel? I was just disguising; I'm not really that dirty, I put peach gum in my hair, just a bit troublesome to wash, nothing else."

Chen Wuji was processing documents under the lamp, looked up and asked, "Do you think I'm that shallow?"

Qin Zhanhong's eyes lit up, she immediately urged Lu Wanwan, "Quick quick quick, give husband another makeover!"

"'Husband, is that for real?' Lu Wanwan pursed her lips and gave a hehe evil laugh."

She was naturally unrestrained; following someone as utterly wicked as Qin Zhanhong, the 'near ink turns black' effect was practically lightning-fast — learn good in three years, turn bad in just three days.

Chen Wuji: ……

He speechlessly pinched his forehead, "No need, I have no special feelings for beggars."

"'Husband, let Wanwan dress up? I want to see, this must be exciting!' Qin Zhanhong's eyes shone bright."

Chen Wuji's old face darkened instantly; hearing that, it was no different from a demon's whisper.

He waved his hands repeatedly, "Just drop it, don't add fuel to the fire. Also, what's up with you? Why not change your clothes?"

Qin Zhanhong giggled, "I just want to be a village woman tonight, husband, do you think I'm pretty?"

Chen Wuji wanted to throw a punch at her.

It's only because Qin Zhanhong's looks are holding up; otherwise her deliberate old-lady act would truly fail to spark any interest.

Even San Niang, when she lacked clothes and food, would never dress like that.

"'Please be serious, don't pull this dead act.' Chen Wuji said speechlessly."

Qin Zhanhong took light lotus steps, deliberately swaying her hips to slip up to Chen Wuji, "Husband, aren't you giving me face? What's wrong with my outfit? So alluring and graceful. You've surely never tried a village woman; why not give it a go?"

"'What kind of memory is this, forgetting I used to be a hunter? I am a hunter, and San Niang is nothing but a genuine village woman.' Chen Wuji asked."

Qin Zhanhong suddenly stalled, "Seems true enough; it's just that San Niang's aura makes it hard for me to picture her as a village woman."

……

Qin Zhanhong's slender fingers lightly kneaded Chen Wuji's arm, "Then husband, try my village-woman act tonight, how about it?"

…… "Fine, you're so insistent, what else can I do but try?"

"'Not letting husband labor in vain, I still have a very secret piece of information.'"

Chen Wuji snapped his head, "No, you're keeping secrets from me?"

"'No secrets, I'm just waiting to tell husband later; this info isn't urgent, knowing it later won't hinder husband at all, I'm sure of that.' Qin Zhanhong threw a charming glance and explained."

Chen Wuji silently cursed a fairy, snapped the documents shut, "Come on, sleep?"

"'Husband, aren't you going to attend to your proper duties?' Qin Zhanhong chuckled, like a female demon encountered by Tang Sanzang on his westward journey."

Chen Wuji sprang up, scooped Qin Zhanhong into a princess carry, "Not doing that, I'm now attending to proper business."

Qin Zhanhong laughed wantonly and alluringly, her giggle like silver bells.

……

Half an hour later.

Chen Wuji embraced left and right, briefly entering a sage state even more ethereal than the Buddha's.

"'Husband, you seem a bit quick today.' Qin Zhanhong lay on Chen Wuji, her lovely face flushed with a hint of rosiness, an expression of unfinished desire."

Lu Wanwan squeezed against Chen Wuji's right side, nestled in his embrace, nodding like a chick pecking grain, "Seems indeed a bit quick; husband, are you feeling off, or just haven't done this in a while, so you can't hold back?"

Chen Wuji raised his hand and delivered a sharp slap.

These two demons!

We've been in the mountains for some days, conserving energy, yet these two demons hit him with high intensity right away—how could he not be quick?

"'What is that secret information of yours?' Chen Wuji asked."

Qin Zhanhong pursed her lips, "Is it because you're thinking about this that you're so quick?"

"'No relation, just haven't done it in a while, that's how it is.' Chen Wuji said, 'Don't keep me in suspense, spit it out. Some info you might think delaying is fine, but from different perspectives the answer could differ.'"

Seeing Chen Wuji turn serious, Qin Zhanhong dropped the joking manner and said solemnly, "Li Yu is a man of the Wise King; the Snake Staff Elder should be one of the Wise King's early placements across the lands, also an advisor. The Wise King long ago gathered talents under the guise of poetry meetings, then secretly sent them out to station them everywhere."

Chen Wuji's face turned grave, "The Wise King… isn't that the prince who has always been utterly trusted by the Emperor, his right-hand man?"

The Emperor previously mentioned some things in his letter, but never clarified the Wise King's identity, always referring to him as Imperial Uncle.

"'Yes!'"

"'The Emperor's poor son is indeed miserable, abandoned by all!' Chen Wuji murmured."

When a giant shows weakness, his former subordinates hardly think to help; instead they harbor ulterior motives, eyeing his fallen corpse and the vacant position.

"'If Li Yu is of the Wise King, then the events in Yanzhou Cheng are easily explained.' Chen Wuji said, 'But how did you come by such secret information? Have your spies progressed that fast?'"

From a single leaf one knows the leopard; the Snake Staff Elder works deep and hidden, and the Wise King has long played the good Imperial Uncle beside the Emperor—these two points show the Wise King's faction is a profoundly secretive and patient, sinister group.

Such vital information couldn't possibly leak out easily into the hands of ordinary scouts.

Unless, it's false!

"'I pulled a bit of family influence.' Qin Zhanhong hesitated, then added, 'Well… never mind, I'll be frank: they sent it over voluntarily, hoping to curry favor with husband using this news.'"

Chen Wuji blinked, "You say that, I'm actually a bit flabbergasted—your Qin Clan is trying to curry favor with me?!"