Chapter 248

Before long, a cold wind suddenly rose, and an evil pressure descended upon them.

Dugu Qingli instinctively gripped the hilt of her sword.

A strange, cackling laughter drifted from the cold wind: "Where did this righteous swordswoman come from, and how does she have our Yama Hall's... eh?"

The words trailed off into a tremor, the cackling laughter turning into a fawning chuckle. A withered, pale old man suddenly appeared from the cold wind, bowing so low his body was almost touching the ground: "G-Greetings, Judge."

Lu Xingzhou said, "You recognize me?"

The Cold Wind Elder said cautiously, "When I first joined Yama Hall, Mr. Ji showed us images of important friends and foes. He ordered us to memorize the Judge's appearance, saying that if we ever offended you, Tan Xinhong would be our example."

Lu Xingzhou: "..."

The Cold Wind Elder glanced at Dugu Qingli's hand on her sword hilt and the icy killing intent she couldn't help but radiate, then said carefully, "My lord, have you been threatened by this woman? Rest assured, with your subordinate here, I will capture her immediately and present her to you..."

Dugu Qingli: "?"

The Cold Wind Elder quickly realized his mistake and added, "Ah, so she is the Judge's confidante. It was our ignorance..."

Dugu Qingli searched her mind for what a "confidante" was, but couldn't find the term for a moment.

Lu Xingzhou truly couldn't bear to watch: "You had better go back to dealing with corpses. I don't think you're suited for interacting with humans."

The Cold Wind Elder chuckled fawningly: "The Judge is right to lecture me."

Lu Xingzhou didn't bother emphasizing that he wasn't any "Judge" anymore, just smiling: "You were once a hegemon in your own right, and now you are one of the Five Ghost Emperors, with ten thousand people beneath you and only the Yama King above. How have you ended up acting like a mere lackey? Even the Judge isn't your superior..."

"No, no, no, the Judge is the one with ten thousand people beneath him and only the Yama King above," the Cold Wind Elder said hurriedly. "The Yama King has already ordered our Western Division to fully cooperate with the Judge. May I ask what instructions you have for this summons?"

Lu Xingzhou was almost rendered speechless by him.

Even in the past, he had never reached the status of "ten thousand beneath him and only the Yama King above." It was mainly because his cultivation was insufficient to command respect. Not to mention Tan Xinhong's faction, even with his closest friend Ji Wenchuan, he couldn't converse from a position of superiority; he had always been on equal footing with the various Ghost Emperors.

Now that he had left, he had somehow become the one with ten thousand beneath him and only the Yama King above. This new Western Ghost Emperor really treated him like a big shot... it was hard to keep a straight face.

He thought to himself that since the Corpse Yin Sect was this cooperative, there seemed to be more he could do. His original plan could be scrapped; he would think of a more direct approach.

Ling Qixuan had watched as the "Yama King" grabbed the little white-haired girl and left. Even if he saw the little white-haired girl alone now, he would think this was a reconciliation between the Yama King and the Tianyao Sacred Land, and he would definitely not dare to stir up any more trouble. He had originally planned to have the Cold Wind Elder ask, claiming the Yama King regretted releasing Dugu Qingli and wanted to know Ling Qixuan's original line of thinking.

How to put it—Ling Qixuan wasn't a fool, so the probability of getting the truth remained low. He could only try his best.

Now that the Cold Wind Elder was as cooperative as a subordinate, he could think of another strategy. For example...

Lu Xingzhou thought for a moment and asked Dugu Qingli in a low voice, "Do you want to find out the truth about your connection to the Frozen Moon Cold River?"

Dugu Qingli nodded: "Of course."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Then are you willing to make some sacrifices..."

Dugu Qingli looked at him vigilantly: "If it's that kind of thing you're thinking of, then no."

This AI could even predict human thinking. It seemed that because the data fed to it previously was all of that type, its reaction to related questions was extremely sensitive.

Lu Xingzhou coaxed her: "It's not like it hasn't happened before..."

"Clang!" Dugu Qingli instinctively drew her sword, wanting to place it against his neck, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, so she just clutched it in front of her: "You are my martial aunt now! Even if you deliberately say that seniority doesn't matter, it's useless!"

Look at how stressed the little white-haired girl had become... Lu Xingzhou helplessly pinched the tip of the sword and moved it away: "Where is your mind wandering? I only meant creating the illusion that the Yama King sealed your cultivation and gifted you to me. And I, knowing the Ice Prison Sect wants to capture you and having my own ulterior motives, take you to trade for benefits from them. This will be more convincing than just having the Cold Wind Elder go and ask."

Dugu Qingli looked at him suspiciously: "If it's just that, why say 'it's not like it hasn't happened before'?"

"If I take you directly to the Ice Prison Sect, something will go wrong. We must set the location at a Yama Hall branch, our home turf," Lu Xingzhou said. "I will take you to the branch to 'toy' with you, and send the Cold Wind Elder to notify Ling Qixuan, asking if he is still interested in the Ice Soul Sword Body. If he is, he can come to the branch to talk. This is safer and more realistic."

Dugu Qingli's blue eyes were like ice, staring fixedly at Lu Xingzhou without a word.

In reality, her mind spun dozens of times, but she couldn't find a way to refute Lu Xingzhou's scheme. No matter how she thought about it, it was indeed very realistic and fit the behavior of a demonic cultivator. Ling Qixuan was highly likely to believe it.

Dugu Qingli thought for a long time and hesitated: "Are you sure it's just acting?"

"Of course it's just acting. I can't beat you, so why would I be afraid of your divine sword if I were serious?"

Dugu Qingli thought to herself, if I really fought you, Master wouldn't even know who to help right now; it's infuriating.

Oh wait, if I say you molested me, Master would definitely beat you to death.

Thinking of this, Dugu Qingli's courage suddenly grew, and she sheathed her sword: "Then it's settled. Where is the Yama Hall branch?"

The Cold Wind Elder on the side had watched the whole show. The icy melon of the Tianshuang Kingdom was quite refreshing, though it was poisonous.