Chapter 134

"You have to take off your veil first so I can have a look."

"..."

Out of a maiden's reserve, Shi Hongying was hesitating when Jiang Sishui suddenly reached out and yanked off her veil in one motion.

As expected, what came into view was precisely that pitifully lovely, touchingly beautiful face.

A textbook absolute beauty!

Shi Hongying was startled by his sudden move, then felt a touch of embarrassed annoyance and said angrily, "You—how can you be so rude!"

"Jiang Sishui."

"What? Your name?"

"Yes."

It really was him!

Having received Jiang Sishui's affirmative answer, Shi Hongying's eyes lit up, and she no longer cared to settle the score for his earlier impropriety.

She was in a very good mood—excitement was not too strong a word.

Because by convention, now that the two of them had met, tonight's diary entry would most likely be about her, and she had a very high chance of drawing today's reward!

Thinking of this, Shi Hongying's heart felt as if it had been dipped in honey, and she could not help but beam with delight.

At this moment, having finished off all the Xueyueshen Sect cultists, Dong Shisanniang hesitated and said, "You... you're the new Sect Leader of the Xiaoyao Sect?"

That day on Leigu Mountain, Jiang Sishui had only said he was a member of the Xiaoyao Sect.

However, after the "Zhenlongqi Society" ended, Suxinghe officially announced to the outside world that he was the new Sect Leader of the Xiaoyao Sect, which drew the attention of many local powers in Suzhou.

The Liuhe Gang was no exception.

As one of the four Incense Masters, Dong Shisanniang naturally knew about this.

No wonder even Hei Qiling, the foremost of the Xueyueshen Sect's four Protectors, had fallen at his hands.

Thinking that she had run into such a figure halfway through a mission, she was rendered speechless.

This really was setting out without checking the almanac.

However...

Dong Shisanniang glanced at Yuanhai, who had died with grievances unavenged, and was immediately relieved.

Compared to her partner, she was already very lucky.

Hearing this, Jiang Sishui turned his head to look at Dong Shisanniang.

Just as he was about to speak, Shi Hongying beside him hurriedly said, "Young Master Jiang, could you... could you spare her?"

Hearing Shi Hongying plead on her behalf, Dong Shisanniang, beyond her anxiety, also gained a hint of expectation in her eyes, staring unblinkingly at Jiang Sishui.

In her view, since Jiang Sishui was willing to stand up for Shi Hongying, if Shi Hongying spoke up now, he should not refuse either.

But things did not go as wished—Jiang Sishui shook his head without hesitation and refused.

Both women's hearts sank.

Just as Dong Shisanniang gripped her long whip tight, ready to fight to the death, he said again, "I can refrain from killing her, but I cannot let her go."

A sudden turn of events—both women were stunned, and Shi Hongying blurted out, "Why?"

Jiang Sishui glanced at her, and instead of answering, asked in return, "You pleaded for her—do you want her to live, or to die?"

"Of course to live."

"But if I really let her go, will she be able to live?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean: if I don't let her go, she is actually the safest."

"..."

Shi Hongying was still puzzled, but Dong Shisanniang had already reacted a step earlier—her seductive face turned deathly pale, drained of all color.

Her panicked gaze swept around, lingered briefly on Jiang Sishui, then locked onto Shi Hongying, and she stepped forward to kneel: "Please save me, Young Lady!"

Shi Hongying's heart gave a jolt, realizing the gravity of the situation.

One had to know that within the gang, she and Dong Shisanniang had always been at odds, constantly competing with each other.

And yet now, the other was actually kneeling before her for help—clearly the situation must be desperate to the extreme.

"Shisanniang, get up first and then we'll talk." Shi Hongying reached out to help her up.

Although the two had too many disagreements, seeing the other in trouble, Shi Hongying felt no schadenfreude, nor any thought of adding insult to injury.

She then heard Jiang Sishui say, "One mission, two factions with several dozen people executing it together, and in the end only she returns alone—what do you think others will think?"

"Even if the Liuhe Gang Leader does not pursue it, what about the others? How will they answer to the Xueyueshen Sect?"

"Hei Qiling was a favored general under Aibiluo Wang. Now that he has died here, do you think in his grief and rage he might take it out on the only survivor, making her go down to be buried with him?"

"When that time comes, faced with the Xueyueshen Sect's pressure, what will Shi Bai do?"

"If I let Dong Shisanniang go back, do you think she has a path to survival?"

Shi Hongying understood upon hearing this, then asked again, "Then if she doesn't go back, and finds some place to secretly hide, would that work?"

Jiang Sishui still shook his head.

"That won't work either? Why?"

"Hide? How long can she hide? Besides, if she doesn't go back and is discovered, it won't just be a possibility of being taken out on—it'll be guilt-ridden flight, and she'll be suspected as a traitor."

Shi Hongying: "..."

Neither this nor that would work—Shi Hongying was a bit at a loss.

"Right, you said if she follows you, she'll be safe?"

"Correct. I can arrange for her to go to a hidden place."

A hidden place?

Could it be Mantuo Shanzhuang?

Shi Hongying immediately grew wary, casting a suspicious glance at Jiang Sishui, then at Dong Shisanniang…

This stinking man, talking in such roundabout ways—could he be scheming to get his hooks into Dong Shisanniang?

From the contents of the diary, she already knew that Jiang Sishui had practically turned Mantuo Shanzhuang into his own harem headquarters.

Now he wanted Dong Shisanniang to go in too—what did that mean?

Looking at the alluring, enchanting, infinitely charming Dong Shisanniang, Shi Hongying couldn't shake the feeling that Jiang Sishui's motives weren't that simple.

But the moment Mantuo Shanzhuang was mentioned, Shi Hongying recalled the scene in the diary of riding the "Water Jiao" soaring into the sky and diving into the waters, and a wave of longing and yearning rose unbidden in her heart.

Dong Shisanniang saw Shi Hongying hesitating and immediately grew anxious: "Young Lady, Shisanniang is willing to follow your arrangements."

Shi Hongying hesitated a moment, then finally nodded.

After all, compared to everything else, Dong Shisanniang's life was more important.

Jiang Sishui gave a faint smile, about to strike while the iron was hot and send the person (good-good) straight to Mantuo Shanzhuang, when he suddenly noticed something off about Wang Yuyan's condition.

Her skin was flushed red and burning hot, steam rising straight from the top of her head.

This was caused by absorbing too much Wu Gong in one go.

"Wait a moment, you two."

Jiang Sishui gave the instruction, then stepped forward to help Wang Yuyan refine the true Qi.

The two's Wu Gong shared the same root and origin, so naturally there was no problem.

Watching the two meditating, a thought rose in Dong Shisanniang's mind.

But in the next instant, she snuffed it out.

The reasoning was simple—she didn't think Jiang Sishui would be so careless as to put himself in danger.

In her view, the two's complete lack of guard at this moment looked more like a test.

The moment she really made a move, she feared the next instant she'd follow in the footsteps of Yuanhai and Hei Hei Qiling, who had their Wu Gong scattered and died.

Thinking through all this, Dong Shisanniang felt a chill of dread and lingering fear.

Fortunately, she hadn't acted on impulse in the heat of the moment and committed an irrevocable mistake.

After calming down, Dong Shisanniang took out the "Corpse-Dissolving Water" and began cleaning the scene, destroying the bodies and erasing the evidence.

Watching the two women vanish into the light formation, Jiang Sishui fell into deep thought.

Dong Shisanniang was going to Mantuo Shanzhuang to escape death, but why was Shi Hongying so insistent on going along, and why did she believe everything he said without a shred of doubt?

One had to know that although he did owe Shi Hongying a "life-saving grace," when all was said and done, the two had only just met, and hadn't even exchanged more than a few words.

She trusted him just like that?

Far too reckless!