Stranger Danger

“What else is amiss? Oh right. On your second day here, there were a lot of more dead people than normal. Some of them must’ve been killed by you, right?”

Some things couldn’t bear to fall under scrutiny. If they did, then their lies would be exposed instantly.

Huo Linglong continued to walk down the memory lane when suddenly, her smile stiffened. “Wait... was it you who did that to me yesterday?!”

Yesterday was one of, if not the unluckiest days of her life. First, she had mistaken the Peach Blossom Smile for water and drank it. Then, when she was busy treating the blisters on her face, her back couldn’t stop aching, her concentration kept slipping here and there, and she couldn’t stop making one mistake after another. As a result, what should’ve been a one-hour task at most had taken up a whole day...

Then, she realized another thing. Sun Xuanzhen and Yue Juejiang had looked very odd today, and she wasn’t able to leave her room at all yesterday because of the string of ill fortunes. Assuming that Sun Xuanzhen and Yue Juejiang had experienced the same thing as her, assuming they hadn’t left their rooms as well because they didn’t have time to refine the Profound Yellow Qi they had already absorbed...

That would explain why they looked somewhat weak today, and why the aura of their Profound Yellow Qi wasn’t as thick as she expected.

This would also mean that yesterday’s stock of Profound Yellow Qi had all fallen into Ye Qing’s hands.

When she realized this, a kaleidoscope of emotions struck Huo Linglong. She felt shock, astonishment, suspicion, fear, trepidation and more.

Who would’ve thought that someone had been stealing their Profound Yellow Qi from right under their nose this whole time?

Who could’ve thought that none of them would notice it?

If she hadn’t acted on a whim today, heavens only know how much longer she would have been kept in the dark. Had Ye Qing’s plan gone perfectly, he could’ve killed all of them, and they might not even know who their killer was until the very end.

“Yes, it’s all me,” Ye Qing admitted without hesitation. “What else do you want to know?”

Huo Linglong was taken aback for a second. She wasn’t expecting Ye Qing to admit it so frankly, so for a moment she didn’t know what to say.

A short while later, Huo Linglong finally gathered herself and smiled like a succubus. “Hahaha... For now, I want to know your name. I’ve never met a man who could play me and my peers like a fiddle. I feel like swooning just being in your presence.”

“You’re not the first woman who fell in love with me, so let’s move on already, shall we?” Ye Qing said indifferently while sneering on the inside. The last person to call me hubby betrayed me as soon as she was done with me. Women!

His indifferent reaction was unexpected, but Huo Linglong quickly recovered and giggled again. “I love confident, manly men like you, dearie. It makes me feel very at ease... So, how do you want to do this?”

Ye Qing made his offer without any fanfare. “Let’s work together to eliminate Sun Xuanzhen and Yue Juejiang. Once they’re dead, we’ll split the Profound Yellow Qi between the two of us.”

“You truly are an audacious man, dearie. Sun Xuanzhen is the direct disciple of the leader of the Sword King City, and Yue Juejiang is a descendant of the Earthly Sovereign Hall. Aren’t you worried that these two factions will come after you?” Huo Linglong asked smilingly.

“Sure I am. But they won’t know who killed their precious junior, would they?” Ye Qing countered. Here in the Earthly Sovereign’s Coffin, they existed in an isolated space where they were completely hidden from the rivers of fate. There was no way they would ever find out the truth.

“You’re right. But even if you don’t fear their factions, you must know that Sun Xuanzhen and Yue Juejiang aren’t easy foes. Are you sure the two of us will be able to kill them?” Huo Linglong voiced her worries. “It would be most troublesome if we fail to end them in one strike.”

“Worry not. They have no idea that we’re coming for them. So long as we plan properly, there is no chance they will survive our ambush,” Ye Qing declared confidently.

“It sounds like a good idea, but how will this cooperation benefit me?” Huo Linglong asked.

Ye Qing shrugged. “You’ll only have to share the Profound Yellow Qi with me. Isn’t that good enough? Besides, cooperation is your only choice unless you wish to fight me to the death and give up all the spoils to Sun Xuanzhen and Yue Juejiang. Surely you don’t want that to happen?”

“Your argument makes a lot of sense.” Huo Linglong nodded seriously but changed her tune suddenly. “But I still think it’s too risky. You can make light of it all you want, but in the end, killing Sun Xuanzhen and Yue Juejiang is no easy feat. Not only that, no one knows who you are, so you can just pat your bum and walk away when all is said and done. But me? They know exactly who I am. Assuming the ambush goes poorly, I’m the one who has to suffer all the consequences.”

“What do you want then?”

Ye Qing wasn’t surprised by this. It would be far more suspicious if Huo Linglong accepted his offer without arguing to better her position. This was a negotiation after all.

Huo Linglong pretended to think for a moment before saying, “You know, you don’t actually need to kill them to get what you want. I have a plan that will allow grant us our wishes without having to take Sun Xuanzhen and Yue Juejiang’s life.”

“Tell me.” Murder was just a tool to Ye Qing. If it was possible to obtain the Profound Yellow Qi without killing, then why not?

Huo Linglong explained, “I have a secret art that can make Sun Xuanzhen and Yue Juejiang submit per se. All I ask is that you help me in capturing them.”

“This way, we can obtain more Profound Yellow Qi without risking the wrath of the Sword King City and Earthly Sovereign Hall, effectively killing two birds with one stone. Isn’t that nice?”

“It’s much harder to capture two people instead of killing them,” Ye Qing said with a frown. He had a feeling that Huo Linglong was plotting something, though he couldn’t say what.

Huo Linglong giggled. “Perhaps, but it’s much safer than killing them outright, isn’t it?”

Ye Qing fell silent for a moment before asking, “How reliable is this secret art of yours?”

Huo Linglong giggled. “Don’t worry, dearie. I can swear on my soul that my secret art is perfect.”

Suddenly, a new voice interjected, “Ahem. The Earthfire Palace of Demons has a secret art called the ‘Demon Planting Art of Mercury’. It plants a demonic seed in its victims and transforms them into living incubators that are hopelessly in love with the person who implanted the seed. In other words, she would be gaining two subordinates who are eternally loyal to her.”

“Besides that, the demonic seed could awaken the victims’ potential and drastically improve their cultivation speed. Am I right, Fire Princess?”

Yi Pin was the speaker, of course. He had been playing dead until this moment.

“Who are you, Reverend? How do you know my sect’s secret?” Huo Linglong looked at him in astonishment.

She knew that the old Taoist was awake from the beginning. She just didn’t pay him any attention because he was clearly a small fry. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have succumbed to her “Flames of Desire” at the first exchange.

She was clearly wrong. Not only did the old Taoist know about the “Demon Planting Art of Mercury”, he was clearly well-versed with it. In fact, the secret art was a taboo and an absolute secret even within the faction itself, and only the head, the Fire Princess, and a handful of influential figures of the Earthfire Palace of Demons knew about it. Most of them had never even heard of the name “Demon Planting Art of Mercury”, much less outsiders.

Naturally, she was stunned that this seemingly useless Taoist knew so much about her secret art.

“I’m just a small fry and a nobody. You have nothing to worry about.” Yi Pin stroked his beard to give himself airs. “I just happened to hear about the Demon Planting Art of Mercury from a friend, that’s all.”

Huo Linglong frowned. She was now taking Yi Pin much more seriously, so much so that she was weighing if the risk of silencing the old Taoist was worth the reward.

The way the old Taoist put it, the “Demon Planting Art of Mercury” wasn’t a heretical martial art. In fact, manipulative martial arts like this were a dime a dozen in the jianghu. Some people might even want to be an incubator since it would awaken their potential and drastically improve their cultivation speed. All it would cost was their love and loyalty, so why not?

However, that wasn’t all the “Demon Planting Art of Mercury” could do. When the demonic seed within the incubator had matured, the implanter only needed to fuck the incubator once to obtain all of their cultivation and martial arts. Of course, the incubator would lose everything and turn into a powerless cripple.

This was why the “Demon Planting Art of Mercury” was considered a taboo. This was why it was kept a secret even within the faction itself. The reason the heads, Fire Princesses and other influential figures in the Earthfire Palace of Demons progressed unnaturally swift in their cultivation was because they harvested the genius warriors of the jianghu, and their own disciples for their selfish desires.

If this secret were to be made public, the Earthfire Palace of Demons would be in serious trouble to say the least. They might not be attacked by the entire jianghu, but their lives would certainly become a lot more difficult than before.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆novelkiss