Chapter 899: Probing Ming (1/2, Request Moon Tickets)

The tail wanted to kill some too, to gain some stats, but the power of the Xiantian Realm meant nothing against these black-blood guais.

All he could do was let Fang Yue weaken them, then let the tail sneak in for the final kill.

Even so, watching the stats climb up and up, the tail couldn't help but grin broadly.

She suddenly felt like those old gaming days, when a pro player carried her through leveling.

I still remember Ye Ge used to say he was a professional player—turns out, expertise really is expertise! Carrying noobs like this is so smooth! Top-tier service, no doubt!

As they traveled this way, the two soon arrived at Qi Huang Fu.

Just as the tail had predicted, Qi Huang Fu showed no signs of chaos—only that the number of guards had increased significantly from usual.

Previously, when Jing Yan and Chen Qing disappeared, and Tian Ruichi vanished, the Seventh Prince told him all three had been captured by Juan Niao Lou.

But in reality, Juan Niao Lou held only Jing Yan.

Tian Ruichi, in fact, was completely free!

Thus, Fang Yue harbored deep suspicions toward the Seventh Prince.

After hesitating, he decided to first probe the Seventh Prince's true intentions.

Upon arriving at Qi Huang Fu, the servants immediately recognized Fang Yue.

"Lord Ye, welcome back to the mansion."

"Is the Seventh Prince here?"

"The Seventh Prince is not in. But he left a message for Lord Ye."

A message?

Fang Yue looked at the servant, but the servant merely kept his head bowed, silent—as if waiting for someone to appear.

Soon, the steward emerged from inside the mansion.

"Lord Ye, strange anomalies have suddenly appeared outside, wreaking havoc—thankfully you weren't harmed, or I wouldn't know how to explain it to the Seventh Prince."

Fang Yue waved his hand and asked directly: "I told Ming to bring Jing Yan back here—where is he now?"

"Jing Yan?" The steward looked puzzled. "No, Lord Ming refers to Lady Nian, right? She hasn't come to Qi Huang Fu, nor has she returned Jing Yan…"

Before the steward finished speaking, he suddenly felt a terrifying killing intent surging toward him, swallowing him whole—like a bucket of ice water poured from head to toe, the bone-deep chill freezing him in place.

The steward stared in terror at Fang Yue, who was gazing at him with the eyes of someone looking at a corpse.

"I told Ming to bring him back. She knows my strength—if she refuses, she dies. Conversely, if Qi Huang Fu is behind this, the same fate awaits you. With Jingcheng in chaos right now, adding one more ruined place won't raise any eyebrows."

Fang Yue's emotionless, calm words made the steward instinctively lower his head, unable to meet his gaze, his body trembling with overwhelming fear, sweat pouring from his forehead.

When he closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down, then looked up again, Fang Yue and the other had vanished.

The steward exhaled deeply in relief, yet the lingering sense of dread refused to fade.

…

On the other side, Fang Yue and the other were already on their way to Nian Fu.

The Nian family of the Four Great Clans represents the Red Branch.

The Red Branch, though tied to law and order, also possesses formidable strength.

Similar in some ways to the Blue Branch, its martial arts focus is also geared toward human combat.

In gaming terminology, the Blue Branch is PVE against anomalies; the Red Branch is PVP for player-vs-player combat.

But at the highest levels, warriors from both branches cross-train and master both functions.

"Ye Ge, you're still not ruthless enough," the tail whispered. "If Jing Yan wasn't returned to Qi Huang Fu, someone there must be involved."

"It's still Qi Huang Fu. If I can avoid it, I don't want conflict with the Seventh Prince. He's… Sisi's former fiancé."

The tail froze, suddenly understanding something, then fell silent, saying no more.

The two soon arrived at Nian Fu.

The guards at the gate, upon seeing Fang Yue, let them pass without hesitation and rushed inside to notify Ming.

Soon, in the reception hall, they saw Ming walking out, laughing brightly—and beside her, Jing Yan, scratching his head like an idiot.

At a glance, the two seemed to have a hint of… flirtation??

Fang Yue's face darkened—he'd gone through hell to find Jing Yan, yet this fool, once awake, didn't contact him first, instead flirting with a woman.

Flirting was bad enough—but with a married woman? How desperate are you?!

And Ming—you've seen her before. Back in the village, you felt nothing. Now that she's a wife, suddenly you're interested?

"Lord Ye!"

Ming spotted Fang Yue and greeted him with a bright smile.

"Ye Ge!"

Jing Yan hurried over, shuffling his feet.

As soon as he reached Fang Yue's side, Fang Yue received a private message from Jing Yan, pouring out his heart.

"Ye Ge, I can't hold it anymore! That married woman is so good at flirting—she's driving me crazy! But she's already married—what's the point flirting with me? I'm not Cao Cao!"

"... I think you're enjoying it."

"Damn it! Can't I even enjoy it? As long as I don't act, I'm still the pure boy I once was—not changed one bit!"

"... Scumbag."

【Scumbag!】

Sheepskin Paper, shut up.

Ming invited Fang Yue to stay for dinner, but he refused—he had other matters to attend to.

Moreover, compared to the chaos outside, Nian Fu was as tranquil as a paradise beyond the world.

Ming glanced at the tail, whose face was hidden beneath the misty cloak beside Fang Yue, then said: "Lord Ye, Jing Yan has indeed been brought back by you—but do you know where Chen Qing is now?"

Fang Yue:!

Frowning, Fang Yue glanced at Jing Yan, who shook his head slightly, then sent a message.

"Ye Ge, I don't know where Qing Chen was taken. At the time, Qing Chen and I were captured together at the clinic. Right after we were seized, we were locked in the same white room.

Later, a man in a white coat came in, peeled off some of my scales, then took Qing Chen away.

After that, I remained in that white room until yesterday, when I was moved into an iron cage. What happened after that, I don't know—Ming said Ye Ge bought me back from the auction…"

So they were still separated and held in different locations.

Fang Yue could understand Jing Yan being imprisoned and put up for auction; after all, Jing Yan still had scales all over his body, resembling a fish-man, and such an unusual appearance could fetch a high price at auction.

But Qing Chen was different—his strength lay in his mind, his knowledge of the strange phenomena. Merely by appearance, he was just an ordinary human martial artist, and a low-level one at that, utterly valueless.

If Fang Yue hadn't still seen Qing Chen on his friend list, he would have thought Qing Chen had been disposed of due to his lack of value.

Fang Yue tried sending Qing Chen a message, but due to distance, he couldn't deliver it.

(End of Chapter)