Dog Blood Rules, Offering Oneself

I was about to overlap the two jade pendants.

Abe Ichinan didn't stop me. In fact, I felt she was even more eager than I was, a glint of greed flashing in her eyes.

I suddenly changed my mind, placing her jade pendant back on the table and taking mine back.

"Why not give it a try?" she seemed displeased with my last-minute retreat.

I shook my head, "We can't try, because we don't know what the outcome will be."

She appeared somewhat disappointed.

"Zhuanghe and the others' main bodies weren't killed by you, so you killed them later because you took this jade pendant from them. You were silencing witnesses."

She regained her composure and said coldly, "You can think of it that way. After all, even if I didn't go after them, they would have come for me, especially Zhuanghe. He dreamed of getting this jade pendant back. It's just that they didn't have the ability. Otherwise, I would be the one being chased."

"You clearly had the ability to kill them, so why play this idiotic game of entering dreams?" This was something I couldn't understand.

She shook her head, "With your intelligence, I really doubt you're not just making up the numbers at the Ninth Bureau."

My face flushed with anger and embarrassment. This woman really didn't know how to save face for anyone.

What was wrong with my intelligence? I didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

"If I didn't play these tricks, how would the Ninth Bureau have been alerted? And if the Ninth Bureau hadn't been alerted, how would the other jade pendant have been revealed?"

"You knew the other jade pendant was at the Ninth Bureau long ago?"

She sneered, "I not only knew the other jade pendant was at the Ninth Bureau, but I also knew it was in the hands of that man named Shu. I originally thought he would give the jade pendant to that guy Xie Yi, which would have made it much harder to get it from him. He's a tricky one. Who knew they would assign you to this case and even give you the jade pendant?"

Her target was the jade pendant in my hand.

And in her eyes, I was just a brainless weakling.

No intelligence, and my combat power was trash.

Was I really that bad?

If Duan Hongbin and the others were here, I'd definitely show her a thing or two and let her know why the flowers were so red.

But now, I was alone.

It's over. It seems I really am incredibly dependent on those three. Without them, I'm truly nothing.

No wonder Old Shu had Fatty come to protect me.

"However, there's one thing I admire about you, and that's your courage." She smiled at me, a rare sight, but her smile was filled with endless mockery.

"You actually dared to be alone with me."

She looked like she had me completely figured out.

I felt very depressed. Was I really going to be like fish on a chopping board this time, at her mercy?

I looked at her coldly, "The item is right here. Come and get it if you have the guts."

I took out the Twin Fish Jade Pendant and held it in my hand.

She frowned, seemingly surprised by my boldness.

My legs trembled slightly, but I couldn't back down now. If I showed even a hint of fear, she would see right through me.

I said calmly, "Since you've been watching me all along, you must know my situation, right?"

She nodded, "Of course I know. You have a few very powerful helpers, but I heard they were all sealed by that fat bastard. Actually, I'm quite curious, why would they do that to you? They know you rely entirely on your companions, yet they sealed them away at such a crucial moment."

I remained silent. In my opinion, she was clearly trying to sow discord.

"You really don't believe me? Do you think they truly care about you? I won't say anything else, but do you know why Old Shu handed such a precious item to you in this case?"

I shook my head. She continued, "Let me tell you, they were also after the jade pendant I have. Your role in this was merely bait. They used you to catch a fish, and that big fish was me. But they never expected that I could bring you into this alternate dimension right under that fat bastard's nose. This is my territory, and in this space, I am the master."

I let out a disdainful laugh, "Is that so? Do you really think you can do whatever you want in this space? Do you really think this alternate dimension of yours can truly isolate us from the outside world?"

My words shocked her. She knew I wasn't speaking without reason.

"Fatty, come out!" I called out.

Then, I saw Fatty's lewd figure appear beside me.

At first, I didn't even know Fatty had followed me. At that moment, I was filled with despair. If it really came down to a fight, I would definitely not be her match. Although Fatty said Old Shu told me to believe in myself, that the abilities of those three guys were all granted by me, and I definitely possessed the same abilities, even stronger.

But I could only take his word for it. At least, I couldn't do it now. Besides the knowledge of human nature and psychological profiling from Eccentric Song, I couldn't even use a tenth of Duan Hongbin's or Chu Ge's skills.

"You damn fatty, why do you have to meddle in other people's business? You're just taking money, you don't have to risk your life for them!" Abe Ichinan seemed somewhat intimidated by Fatty, as if she had a lingering trauma.

Fatty chuckled, "You actually know I'm here, impressive!"

I rolled my eyes at Fatty, "Your cologne is so strong, I couldn't not know you were here." Fatty reeked of men's cologne. I didn't mind perfume, but only on women. For a man like Fatty, with such a unique physique and appearance, wearing cologne was somewhat nauseating.

I looked at Abe Ichinan, "Does your nose not work very well?"

She knew why I said that, but she let out a cold snort. Then, she threw something onto the ground, and a cloud of smoke erupted. In the next moment, Abe Ichinan was nowhere to be seen.

Fatty and I were back on the riverbank.

"Fatty, what was that alternate dimension thing?"

Fatty rolled his eyes, "It was just an illusion. Not a space at all, just a hallucination. But Abe Ichinan really had some tricks up her sleeve. After you followed her into the illusion, it took me almost three minutes to get in."

"Can she snatch the jade pendant from me even in an illusion?"

Fatty nodded seriously. "Yeah, illusions are just a form of misdirection, blinding you to the truth. But for her, she's in reality, guiding the you in the illusion, making you follow her train of thought. If she hadn't been so overconfident, she could have taken your jade pendant the moment you entered the illusion, and you wouldn't have even had a chance to defend yourself. But she just had to talk so much nonsense, sigh, it's almost like on TV, villains always die because they talk too much."

"Actually, that was a great opportunity just now. You should have been able to snatch the jade pendant from her, especially when it was in my hands," I said with some regret.

Fatty's reply left me speechless. "I only took money to protect you. Taking the jade pendant would have cost extra."

I shook my head helplessly and turned around, seeing Purple Clad not far behind me.

She was smiling at me. Her smile was indeed beautiful, especially her eyes that seemed to speak, like a trap, a trap full of allure.

"Your trouble has arrived. She might latch onto you," Fatty said, laughing heartily.

Why would she latch onto me? What does she have to do with me?

I said to Fatty, "Let's go back. We don't want Qiu Yan to worry."

"Hey!" she suddenly called out as I pretended to walk past Purple Clad.

I stopped. "Thank you for letting me see Abe Ichinan."

Purple Clad replied, "You're the first person to truly see her real face."

I was stunned. "Does it matter?"

My mind drifted to stories in martial arts novels where if a beauty's true face was seen, she would only marry that man.

Could Abe Ichinan have such a melodramatic rule?

"Of course, it matters. Abe Ichinan said that if she willingly shows her true face, the first person to see her proactively remove her veil will be her man. That's also why she didn't make a move at first. Although she wanted to get what you had, she couldn't resort to force against you."

So that was the reason, not because the villain died from talking too much, as Fatty had said.

"But why would she do that?" I truly didn't understand why she would proactively remove the misty energy that concealed her face, her mysterious veil.

I don't consider myself someone universally loved, nor am I so handsome that even mirrors would be jealous. Why would she do this?

Purple Clad glanced at Fatty, who cleared his throat. "How would I know? Maybe it's a case of the toad eyeing the swan, you know, you just hit it off. But kid, I'm warning you, she's definitely not someone easy to deal with, and you're on different sides. Don't let beauty blind you. Besides, you already have someone you care about. If you really want a mistress, she's better than that woman!"

Fatty pointed at Purple Clad as he spoke. Purple Clad wasn't angry; instead, she smiled and nodded at me. She actually agreed with Fatty. This woman is too much!