Chapter 255: Ren Yidao's Calculated Strategy!

Although he did not have much of an in-depth understanding of Ren Yidao, based solely on these few encounters, Chu Yiping had already categorized the other party as a madman.

This guy is not right, very not right!

His gentle and kind appearance is merely a disguise; the real him has extremely unstable emotions, changing from one moment to the next.

Sometimes he is like a harmless young lad, and other times he reveals a hidden, icy nature.

If he were alone, Chu Yiping certainly wouldn't be afraid; he might even have to have a proper go at him.

But now he still bears the responsibility of delivering the Princes back to the Eastern Wasteland intact, so he can only endure the humiliation and avoid the sharp edge for now.

"I'll let you be arrogant for a while! Next time we meet, I will definitely make you pay dearly to avenge today's humiliation!"

This trip to Beigan was, for Chu Yiping, nothing short of a nightmare.

His experiences along this journey were truly enough to make those who hear them sad and those who listen to them weep.

Fortunately, he finally let his own unpolished jade shine, otherwise Chu Yiping wouldn't know how to answer to his family.

It was Chu Hairen's transformation that gave this muddled journey a decent result.

"Moreover, there is an unexpected bonus besides this."

From Chu Yiping's observations, the "treasure" in Ren Yidao's words was not without foundation.

Although Hu Wanwan and the others didn't say anything on the surface, appearing as if they knew nothing, they had been maintaining vigilance ever since leaving the Gan Mirror Space.

There was almost no communication; they all acted as if they had become different people, quiet as a mouse.

This vigilance was not just directed at Beigan, but also at the teammates beside them, as if they were terrified that the others would suddenly rise up to snatch it from them.

That "treasure" is in their hands!

The plan has changed.

Evacuate immediately!

Without staying even for a single night, Chu Yiping rejected Beigan's entreaties to stay and immediately chose to take everyone to the Cross-Boundary Teleportation Array.

Everyone had their own thoughts, but they all chose to agree, following obediently behind Chu Yiping.

On the way to the teleportation array, Chu Yiping was still on high alert for the mad dog that might jump out halfway.

"I hope that guy doesn't do anything foolish, otherwise I'll have to risk everything to stop him."

However, this was Chu Yiping overthinking things.

No matter how reckless Ren Yidao was, he had no intention of blocking their path and keeping them in Beigan at this moment.

Even in war between two nations, one does not execute the envoy.

No matter what, this group of people came to Beigan as envoys; if something were to happen to them in Beigan, it would have a bad impact on Beigan.

Even for the sake of the little hair Prime Minister Wang had left, the always understanding Ren Yidao would not act recklessly.

Of course, this was only one reason; the main reason was because... unfortunately, he simply couldn't leave.

Just a short while ago, after silently finishing the detailed contents of the Jade Slip, Ren Yidao pondered for a moment and rose to leave.

Since the third clue pointed to the Eastern Wasteland, there was no reason not to make some simple arrangements regarding them first.

But just as he was about to rise, he was pressed down by a weight on his shoulder.

"Wait a moment, you're leaving already?"

Li Fengyao chuckled as she pressed down on the rising Ren Yidao, looking at him languidly.

"Does Daoist Ren not feel he has forgotten something?"

"... What have I forgotten?"

"What do you think?"

Stared at by this burning gaze so close at hand, Ren Yidao instinctively felt something was wrong and swallowed his saliva.

Gulp.

Wait, this feeling is...

A familiar sweet, cloying scent flooded his nasal cavity, and the fur on Ren Yidao's tail stood up instinctively.

This scent, there's no mistake.

She wants to practice swordplay with me!

"This..."

"Daoist, since you've taken the information, shouldn't you pay the corresponding price?"

The slender fingers pressing on his shoulder gradually tightened; it didn't hurt, but it restrained Ren Yidao, making him feel a bit flustered.

Ah, this!

Feeling the body beside him gradually heating up, Ren Yidao argued with insufficient confidence:

"Didn't I already pay last time?"

Pfft.

Li Fengyao laughed, her laughter full of playfulness.

"Last time? Daoist, you must be joking."

"Even market merchants know to change prices according to the situation; daily prices are different, let alone such important intelligence."

"Isn't that so?"

Looking at the woman straddling him, Ren Yidao very much wanted to shout righteously:

You are forcing a sale!

Get off me quickly!

Otherwise, I will definitely make you regret it!

At this moment, Li Fengyao's brows twitched, and her body bounced up slightly as if avoiding some hard, poking object.

"What is this thing... oh."

Only stunned for a moment, Li Fengyao then understood exactly what he had encountered.

"... Heh, it seems the Daoist's body is not as honest as his mouth, but it is stiffer than his mouth."

"..."

Having been poked in a stiff spot, Ren Yidao's gaze began to shift unnaturally around the room.

His gaze scanned the corners of the room, wanting to see that familiar figure who would disrupt the situation.

If you are here, come out quickly.

Stop hiding!

It is time for you to come out and pull back from the brink.

Otherwise, what happens in a moment will not be something I can control.

But unfortunately, this time, the hero did not make an appearance.

The disruptor who had caught the two of them off guard last time was actually not peeking from the sidelines this time.

Where is Senior Sister?

Come out and save me!

I am about to be taken!

Jing Yueqin—

"Daoist, where are you looking?"

With his head gently turned back to the front, Ren Yidao saw the beautiful face close at hand, as well as the desire for possession in her eyes.

"Now, look at me, and please, only look at me."

Outside Wentian City, outside the Mei Family Old Site.

"Little fox, hehe!"

And while Ren Yidao was being forced to draw his sword, sheath his sword, and sharpen his sword repeatedly, the woman surnamed Jing, in whom he had placed high hopes, was holding a fiery red fox and sniffing it with devotion.

Ever since she brought Huji back that day, Jing Yueqin had lost count of how many times she had sniffed it.

And judging by Huji's half-dead reaction, having no thoughts of resistance at all, its heart had likely already died.

What is the use of resisting?

Huji deeply understood one truth.

When the gap in strength is so great that you cannot even distinguish it, you might as well just lie down.

Why bother resisting?

Might as well start enjoying it...

Moreover, Huji had an innate sense of fear toward this woman whose hair changed color from time to time.

This feeling was very similar to facing Ren Yidao; both were like seeing a terrifying fierce beast.

Scary!

It was truly too scary!

Therefore, from the day it sobered up, Huji had been shivering and fawning over this lady.

As long as you don't eat me, you can sniff me all you want...

Huji's submissive attitude made Jing Yueqin very satisfied, and she often held it while talking to herself:

"Oh my, you don't know, the little one I raised before used to let people touch it, but now that it's grown, it's actually learned to resist."

"That fox doesn't let people sniff it, but instead it has started sniffing people! It really is a bad child!"

Suddenly, not knowing what she thought of, her cheeks flushed with a rosy glow, she blinked her eyes, turned her face away, and muttered:

"However, well, isn't that also quite good?"

"Quite good, yes, quite good."

Having convinced herself while talking to herself, Jing Yueqin's mood quickly calmed down, and she returned to her previous happy-go-lucky appearance.

Smiling, she held Huji high with both hands, shook it left and right, and watched its tail sway from side to side.

"Big tail, it's really great—"

Suddenly, a genius idea flashed through her mind.

Holding Huji level in front of her chest, Jing Yueqin stared straight at it, her brows lightly furrowed.

!!!

Frightened by Jing Yueqin's gaze, Huji instinctively felt that something was wrong.

This, what is she going to do!

After staring at each other for a long time, Jing Yueqin finally withdrew her gaze, and then smacked her lips:

"I say, why don't you transform?"

"Change for me!"

Huji:?

"The strength of you little fox should be about enough, right?"

"I remember that although the Demon Race can only transform after reaching the Earth Realm, can't foxes do it a little earlier?"

Ren Yidao transformed very early, and he was no different from an ordinary person.

So it wasn't a talent of the Fox Clan?

And while Jing Yueqin was puzzled, Huji had completely entered a system-crash mode.

It did not dare to move at all.

What?

When was I exposed?

Huji had always thought she was acting well, just an ordinary little fox.

But she never expected that she had actually been exposed long ago?

Ah—

She could not help but let out a miserable wail.

And after she finished howling, Jing Yueqin added another sentence, smiling as she spoke the extremely terrifying truth:

"By the way, I can understand the language of the Fox Clan~"

It was just learning a foreign language; for someone as naturally gifted as Jing, what was there to be surprised about?

I only spent thirty years learning it!

"So, I heard everything you've been muttering these past few days."

Huji:!!!

It's over!

Everything is over...

Just escaped the tiger's den, only to enter a wolf's lair.

It seems there is no way to escape this miserable fate, but the food this person provides is not as good as that man's from before.

Sad.

At the thought that this miserable life of hers would continue for who knows how long, Huji's tail drooped, and the whole fox went limp and listless.

Sway left—sway right—

Huji's head swayed from side to side along with the movement.

"Homesick? Don't be so sad."

Jing Yueqin was not exactly a Demon after all; seeing it in this state of giving up and accepting its fate, she said with some amusement:

"Don't worry, I will send you back."

"However, of course, if you are willing to come with me, that is not impossible either."

Jing Yueqin looked at Huji expectantly, wanting to get an answer, but in the end, it only flicked its tail weakly in response.

"Hehe, how cute."

Although she was clearly being shunned, Jing Yueqin was not angry; she smiled and cradled her in her arms.

Her appearance, holding a fox, was very common in Wentian City, where keeping foxes had become a trend, and it did not look out of place at all.

At this moment, she walked barefoot while holding Huji, just like a young girl out for a spring outing.

If only the ground beneath her feet were not the pitch-black earth that had been turned into scorched soil by grenade bombardments.

No, it was not entirely pitch-black.

Some time had passed since Ren Yidao turned the Mei Family Old Site into a wasteland.

Life is very tenacious, tougher than many people imagine.

From time to time, greenery pushed through the scorched black ground, poking its head out from beneath the earth, breathing the air, and dispelling the haze of death.

The forbidden zone was only on the surface; true life had never actually gone far away.

"Wildfires cannot burn it all away; the spring breeze brings it back to life."

Muttering the poem she had once heard from Ren Yidao, Jing Yueqin passed through the long-shattered barrier and walked toward the deepest part of the Mei Family Ruins.

This place had once been shattered, but later, someone had performed simple repairs, barely blocking the trend of collapse.

Jing Yueqin walked slowly, ignoring the spatial rifts around her caused by the unstable barrier.

She treated them as nothing, and even if one blocked her path, she simply brushed it away.

Just like that, she walked step by step, proceeding unimpeded until she reached the deepest part of the barrier.

And in the deepest part of the village, there was no other scenery, but rather an ancestral hall enshrining many spirit tablets.

Everything here was made of wood, even the incense burner was no exception.

In front of the ancestral hall, there was an incense burner with a few sticks of wood incense still inserted, the smoke drifting slowly.

Stopping in front of the ancestral hall, Jing Yueqin examined the tablets that were clearly newly carved.

"Mei Family..."

On the back of the ancestral hall, there was also a wooden stele with a line of text carved on it.

"Erected by the unworthy descendant Mei Suo."

Jing Yueqin looked at the tombstone, then at the slowly burning incense burner, knowing that the person who erected the monument might have just left.

If she were to search seriously, she might still be able to catch up.

However, after thinking about it, she ultimately shook her head.

Putting Huji down, Jing Yueqin took out three sticks of incense, lit them, and inserted them into the incense burner.

Without bowing or worshipping, she just nodded slightly, then turned around, picked up Huji, and walked out.

She had originally only come to assert her sovereignty, and after discovering that Ren Yidao was unharmed, she should have returned to the sect.

However, just as she was about to leave a few days ago, she unexpectedly sensed a familiar aura.

Someone had broken out of prison!

Upon realizing this, Jing Yueqin excitedly took Huji and began tracking the fugitive.

But the other party was exceptionally alert and slippery, playing hide-and-seek with her for several days, until today when they finally made a mistake and were caught.

Even though she was only one step away from catching the other party, Jing Yueqin no longer wanted to continue.

Upon seeing this ancestral hall of the other party, Jing Yueqin understood.

Why did that little one dive headfirst into Luoyue Peak, and why did Xiaojian, who always upholds the law impartially, fail and let her go?

"I understand now, so that's how it is."

Connecting various clues and details, the story in Jing Yueqin's eyes became more and more complete.

"So, she is actually Xiaojian's lover, and her faked death that year was to cover up the truth that she is a demon!"

"But now, the two have rekindled their old flame, and one couldn't help but meet in private again, only to be accidentally bumped into by me."

"Oh, so that's why Xiaojian always had that hesitant look back then."

Reasonable, this is truly so reasonable!

Everything makes sense, it all adds up!

Jing Yueqin felt that she was simply a genius.

Under her meticulous logical thinking, no secret could remain hidden!

"However, aren't humans and demons incompatible?"

Thinking of the "truth" she had deduced, Jing Yueqin lowered her head to stroke the half-squinting Huji, smiling as she shook her head:

"Things like this, how could they be that important."

"Junior brother, you are too attached to appearances."

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt like seeing the little white fox she raised.

No sooner said than done, Jing Yueqin sensed the general location and set off directly toward her destination.

"Hehe! Your dearest Senior Sister is coming!"

It was just that, at that time, she was completely unaware of what her free-roaming white fox was doing...

And Ren Yidao, who was sharpening his sword, suddenly felt something in his Heart Star, and in a moment of carelessness, spilled the lubricating oil used for maintenance onto the scabbard.

"Ah!"

I have the qualifications for illustrations now, I need to refine a few images to use.

I have inserted the previous few images (Chapter 8, Chapter 35) into the text, you can check the effect.