Chapter 252: Please Just Hand It Over

At the moment the blade drew near, Ren Yidao was originally still thinking about just letting her stab him again.

Then, he remembered a crucial issue.

No!

This is no longer an illusion.

This is damn reality!

If he really let her stab him, there would truly be a problem.

Whoosh—

At the critical juncture, Ren Yidao hurriedly dodged and shouted:

"Calm down!"

"If you have something to say, say it properly; don't resort to violence the moment you come up!"

And responding to him was Li Qiushui's ruthless blade.

"Hmph!"

She kept a cold face and said resentfully:

"There's nothing to say!"

Ren Yidao:?

No.

What is wrong with you?

Didn't we already settle everything before?

Weren't you already not angry at that time?

Why are you starting again now...

Even though Ren Yidao understands the human heart very well, sometimes it is still hard to understand a woman's heart.

A woman's heart is a needle at the bottom of the sea.

Li Qiushui's mood right now is very complicated.

She has a feeling she can't quite put into words, both ashamed and annoyed.

Ashamed of the role she played in that illusion... an innocent and naive young lady from a wealthy family.

Is that me?

That is not me!

It isn't!

Annoyed at why she fell into the other party's trap, actually listening obediently, and why she chose to retreat temporarily.

She felt angry at her own lack of resolve.

Take a step back, and the sea and sky are vast.

No.

Take a step back, and the more you think about it, the angrier you get!

The more Li Qiushui thought about it, the angrier she felt, and the more she felt she lacked resolve.

Usually, people wouldn't dare to talk to Li Qiushui, and now that she was wearing a face of frost, even fewer people paid her any mind.

Originally, according to habit, Shi Xue would act as the ice-breaker at this time and face Li Qiushui alone.

But this time, for some reason, she was frowning and sitting to the side hugging her legs, turning her head away to avoid looking at Li Qiushui.

To others, this seemed like proof of a falling out between the two.

But in reality, it was for another reason.

"... Cough, pfft."

Shi Xue, who was keeping a straight face, occasionally let out a laugh she couldn't hold back, secretly pinching the base of her own thigh.

"No, I must hold it in."

"Can't laugh, absolutely cannot laugh!"

It wasn't that Shi Xue didn't want to pay attention to Li Qiushui, but that she didn't dare look at her face at all.

This actually wasn't Shi Xue's fault.

As soon as she saw her face, Shi Xue would think of the wealthy young lady version of Li Qiushui who had been pestering her all day in the illusion.

"Qiushui is just too cute, hahahaha..."

Although Li Qiushui pestered her when they were young, she wasn't good at expressing herself, and a lot of the time she was quite dull.

But it was different in the illusion; the Li Qiushui of that time was practically a walking, human-shaped affection-showing machine.

So cute.

Shi Xue's snickering did not escape Li Qiushui's eyes, and she also guessed what her best friend was laughing at.

... Even angrier.

Thus, the moment Ren Yidao appeared, Li Qiushui, whose patience had reached its limit, no longer restrained her inner impulse and charged straight at him!

Don't you run!

Just let me slash you once! Slashing you once will vent my anger!

Just one slash!!!

Ren Yidao naturally would not allow her to actually slash him.

I don't have a masochistic fetish; don't bring that BDSM stuff here.

While lightly dodging the wind-and-rain-like stabs, Ren Yidao didn't forget his main business.

With a brilliant smile, he waved at the dumbfounded crowd from the Eastern Wasteland and struck up a conversation:

"Everyone, are you having fun?"

Having fun?

Hearing these words, Chu Yiping felt his anger rise from nowhere, and his eyes widened instantly.

"You still dare to say..."

At the mere thought of the various tortures he had suffered in the illusion, Chu Yiping almost shed tears.

Was that any way for a person to live?

And you ask me if I'm having fun?

Are you even human!

Damn it, I can't take it anymore.

I'm going to blow up at him!

At this moment, Chu Yiping could not care less about the relationship between the two nations; he only wanted to vent to his heart's content, and even imagined rushing up to give him a few stabs just like Li Qiushui.

But just as Chu Yiping was about to rage, the participating disciples behind him spoke up one after another:

"Fun! It's fun, hahaha!"

"Oh my, although I don't want to admit it, this thing from Beigan is indeed much better than those in the Eastern Wasteland."

"Hahahaha, it wasn't a wasted trip! I never expected Beigan to have such good things."

"I'll have my clansmen get one after I go home."

Except for Chu Hairen, who remained silent, and Jiang Mingzhi, who had a dull gaze and was drooling, the others actually gave unanimous praise.

Even Pang Lixing, who was always unsociable, revealed a smile at this moment and agreed with what the others said.

The evaluation was very high.

Chu Yiping:???

"What are you all saying? Didn't you all have a bad time in the illusion?"

Each of your identity configurations—either your parents were both dead, you were burdened with a blood feud, or you had your bones dug out and marrow extracted...

Not a single one was good!

What is wrong with you all?

Seeing Chu Yiping so agitated, the several Princes were a bit confused. They looked at each other, and Hu Wanwan explained:

"Although it was indeed not great inside, but, isn't it all fake?"

Everyone looked at Chu Yiping as if he were a fool, but no one dared to say it out loud.

After a moment of silence, Hu Wanwan was pushed from behind and walked to the very front.

Hu Wanwan: Which little bastard is trying to harm me!!?

But facing Chu Yiping's incredulous gaze, he could not retreat even if he wanted to, so he could only bite the bullet and continue:

"Oh, although it felt a bit strange at the beginning, after waking up, it actually felt quite interesting."

"Moreover, this experience gave me some unexpected insights."

"It felt like I had lived a completely different life; I feel my state of mind has improved slightly."

After finishing his stumbling speech, Hu Wanwan shrank back into the ranks and punched the hateful guy who had just pushed him out.

You dog, have you eaten?

If you haven't, eat my fist!

The few of them started making a scene, but Chu Yiping no longer had the heart to discipline them.

He felt that everything was very unreal.

Why?

Why did he and they arrive at such completely different answers?

Do you know how much suffering I endured in this wretched illusion, how much torture I bore?

Do you know how much I suffered just to get you little brats to wake up?

You don't know.

You don't care!

You only care about yourselves!

Chu Yiping wanted to scold this group of idiots awake and make them open their eyes to see reality.

But in the end, he held back.

It was meaningless.

Right...

At this point, no matter how much he, the loser, said, it was meaningless; he could not reverse the fact that he had already failed.

"Defeated..."

Smiling bitterly, Chu Yiping knew he had lost completely.

Whether it was the Eastern Wasteland in this Two Domains Conflict, or his own competition with Ren Yidao, he had already lost.

After returning to the clan once this mission ended, he would certainly be punished for his poor leadership.

A total defeat.

Although the future looked pitch black, Chu Yiping was not crushed.

After thinking everything through, Chu Yiping quickly adjusted his mindset and recovered his usual calm and profound demeanor.

He was the leader of the Eastern Wasteland; he could not throw a tantrum like an immature child.

He could not bring himself to do such embarrassing, unreasonable things.

Turning his head back to look at Ren Yidao, who was still dodging, the anger in Chu Yiping's heart was stirred up once again.

"This young lady! You must stay calm when encountering things, you really must stay calm!"

Whoosh!

"That's enough!"

Whoosh!

"This is my last warning to you! I'm going to fight back!"

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Chu Yiping: "... Inhale! Exhale!"

Taking a deep breath and then slowly exhaling, he finally managed to calm down with great difficulty.

No.

He could not get angry at this moment; he would fall into the other party's trap and could not let himself be led by the nose by him again.

"Fellow Daoist Ren."

As Chu Yiping spoke, Li Qiushui stopped her continuous thrusts, glared at Ren Yidao with unwillingness, and then sheathed her sword and walked back.

She still knew the gravity of the situation and did not continue to make a scene at this time.

Or rather, Chu Yiping's speaking gave her a perfect step down to stop.

Ren Yidao gently patted the messy robes on his body and cupped his hands toward Chu Yiping:

"Fellow Daoist Chu."

Looking at Ren Yidao's relaxed appearance, Chu Yiping said slowly:

"This time, it is our side that has lost."

"This Two Domains Conflict between the Eastern Wasteland and Beigan is your victory; everything hereafter will be delivered to you according to the agreement."

There was no shirking, nor was there any unreasonable pestering.

Chu Yiping calmly admitted his side's defeat just like that.

In any case, the city used as a wager was not his own possession, so he did not feel the heartache.

It is easy to spend a grandfather's land when it is not one's own.

Not to mention, the Eastern Wasteland was not a monolith to begin with, so having one extra independent city was of no consequence.

The only thing he cared about now was the safety of these Princes and Princesses.

A bad feeling lingered in Chu Yiping's heart.

"Since the competition has ended, may we leave this place?"

This was the space of the Qian Mirror, completely isolated from the outside world; once something happened, it would be impossible to send news to the outside.

But when this question was asked, Ren Yidao, who had been smiling the whole time, suddenly changed his expression.

He said:

"That, I'm afraid, is not possible for the time being."

The calm voice made all the noise disappear, and everyone's gaze gathered upon him.

In the eyes of the people from the Eastern Wasteland, this youth who had always been smiling suddenly changed his temperament.

He transformed from harmless to extremely dangerous.

The smile on his face vanished, and he just stared quietly at Chu Yiping and the people from the Eastern Wasteland behind him.

His eyes swept over every single person, carefully observing everyone's expression.

His pitch-black eyes were cold and piercing, making every Prince who met his gaze feel a chill from the bottom of their hearts.

In an instant, they remembered the thing they had deliberately forgotten.

That terrifying night...

They had almost forgotten that the person opposite them was not a good person at all!

Chu Yiping stepped forward, blocking in front of the group, shielding them from Ren Yidao's aura, his expression serious:

"What does Beigan mean by this?"

"Do you intend to kill us here!?"

"Do you know what this implies?"

His aura gradually became violent; he glared at the cold-faced Ren Yidao and said loudly:

"These ten are all the most outstanding heirs of the Eastern Wasteland's Kings; have you prepared yourselves to kill them?"

"Does Beigan want to ignite a war with the Eastern Wasteland once again?"

"Are you prepared for the destruction of Beigan?"

Although trapped in a dangerous situation, Chu Yiping did not beg obsequiously, but chose to confront him head-on.

His unyielding aura also caused the people from the Eastern Wasteland behind him, who had been somewhat panicked, to calm down; infected by his atmosphere, their eyes became firm.

Even if trapped, so what?

Death is all there is!

Feeling the change in the aura behind him, Chu Yiping felt a sense of relief in his heart.

What he feared most was someone suddenly defecting to the other side at this time, destroying the will of the remaining people.

Fortunately, these guys who were usually unreliable had not forgotten their identities.

However, before Chu Yiping could continue to stir their emotions, Ren Yidao's words caused their momentum to stall.

"Kill you? Who said that?"

He looked at the agitated crowd strangely, as if he were looking at a group of unknown creatures.

"Could it be that you don't want to live?"

"I, for one, have no such intention; don't you go trying to frame us."

Chu Yiping:?

The people of the Eastern Wasteland:?

Since it had not reached the point of a fight to the death, the preparations made just moments ago had turned into a joke.

A single drum beat rouses the spirit, the second exhausts it, and the third drains it dry.

Their taut momentum leaked away instantly, and they no longer had the impulse to face death as they had just before.

You aren't going to kill us, so why make it so serious?

Are you sick or something?

Chu Yiping, in particular, cried out in his Heart Star that things were looking bad.

Oh no, it's a trap.

The opponent did not block the path completely; leaving a gap on purpose was certainly not out of kindness.

This was meant to add more fuel to the hearts of those who were still wavering.

If they have a choice, many people would choose to live.

Especially since these people, who have lived in luxury, do not have as much recognition for the Eastern Wasteland as one might imagine.

They are the heirs of their kingdoms, not the heirs of the entire Eastern Wasteland.

To sacrifice themselves for the Eastern Wasteland—they likely have not reached that level of cultivation.

Among these people, only Chu Hairen had a guess in his Heart Star; he roughly knew what the other party was trying to do.

"Could it be..."

And Ren Yidao, upon sensing that the opponent's momentum had collapsed on its own, revealed a smile once again.

"Alright, since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, I will continue."

"The reason I am not letting you all leave is not because I, Ren, want to do anything to you."

"Whether you can leave or not depends on yourselves."

He looked at the people of the Eastern Wasteland, his eyes full of suspicion, and spoke in a deep voice:

"One of you has taken something that should not have been taken."

"As long as you hand it over, you may leave the Qian Mirror; otherwise... I must ask you all to stay for a while longer."

What thing?

Chu Yiping originally wanted to deny it outright, but a second thought brought the true nature of the group behind him to mind.

Wait... it couldn't be!

Did you really take it?

Chu Yiping turned his head to look at the expressions of the crowd.

Confusion, hesitation, doubt...

Could it be that the vast majority of them seemed to have thought of something?

Is this slander?

Looking at it this way, it seems that might not be the case...

Ren Yidao's follow-up sounded immediately after:

"That item is of vital importance to the Qian Mirror, no less important than a heavy treasure, so I must ask you all not to hide it."

He said:

"Please hand it over."

Hand over that non-existent thing.

I'm having a hard time holding on.

New subscriptions have plummeted... an average of 1,100, and yesterday the new subscriptions were only a little over 700.

The follow-read rate is also miserable; even with automatic subscriptions, it hasn't exceeded 200 within 24 hours of updating.

There are almost no comments either, less than ten a day.

The recommendations that should have come didn't, and with these numbers, I can't even go to the editor to ask for them...

This really makes me feel like breaking down, feeling desperate.

I don't know what I'm working so hard for; it feels completely meaningless.

I don't want to abandon the story, but this is really making me unable to hold on.

It's not that I look at the data every day, but it has been dropping for a month straight, and only now do I say it—I'm about to break through my mental defense line.