Partners

"I want to see with my own eyes the Obedience of Heavenly Voice."

As Lai Er uttered the words carefully and deliberately as instructed by Bai Wei, he could clearly see a flicker of surprise in the envoy's eyes. Although it was only for a moment, he still caught it.

As expected of Visas-sama, one sentence was enough to startle that poker face.

For some reason, Lai Er was happy to see such expressions on the faces of these "big shots" from the Contract Land, as if only then could he feel that these guys were no different from himself.

And that wasn't enough. When the messenger asked, "May I know the reason?" Lai Er, following Bai Wei's instructions, added, "Because I feel that our transaction needs to be more frank, dear Ring Finger."

Ring Finger... Miss?

Lai Er was surprised when he read out the title, but not because of the title itself, since they also called Visas-sama"Tongue-sensei".

The surprising part is the word "Miss".

This guy in front of me is a "Miss"? He doesn't look like it at all! Is his disguise really that good? Or is "Miss" his real name?

Although he knew he shouldn't do this, Lai Er couldn't help but look the messenger's body up and down, which was full of masculine features.

Indeed, there's absolutely no trace of feminine characteristics, except... in her eyes.

Lai Er could clearly sense that after he said those words, the messenger's eyes narrowed slightly, just like last time, revealing a "charming" quality completely inconsistent with his gender characteristics, making him exclaim in his heart, "Damn, he really is a sissy."

Of course, he only thought it to himself and didn't dare to say it out loud. He just continued to maintain the inscrutable expression of "I guessed it long ago" and wanted to see "shock" on the envoy's face again, but this time he was disappointed.

"How did you guess it was me?" Although it was a question, the envoy's expression was very calm. "You can guess it right from any of the three choices? It can't be a coincidence."

"Of course not." Lai Er continued to speak slowly, word by word, as Bai Wei had instructed, to avoid making a mistake. "I've fought that guy Hand Eye countless times. I know very well what that eye can do. Although I don't know what the rules of the right eye are, the two eyes are definitely not that different. It should definitely not be like you."

"I see. And what about Mr. Thumb ... Ah, I forgot, he just escaped from your grasp." The messenger said with a smile. "So the nominal choice of three is actually a one-to-one choice, but there's still a prerequisite: you must be sure that I'm speaking to you personally through the [Rules], not through a subordinate... So how did you make that determination?"

"There are far too many flaws." Lai Er tried to mimic Bai Wei's calm tone. "When I found the first envoy from the Contract Land a few days ago, his suddenly different eyes and state before his death alerted me to something amiss, and the main reason was..."

Lai Er paused, his lips twitched slightly, and he gave an extremely stiff smile.

"Would you dare entrust such a serious matter as the trade in body parts to an uncontrollable subordinate? For someone like you, no living person is worth relying on, right?"

After saying this, Lai Er sensed that something was amiss, but before he could figure out what it was, the envoy opposite him had already given him the answer with a smile.

"And what about you, Tongue-sensei?" the messenger said with a smile. "Is the one I'm communicating with now not you, or is he also a dead man?"

Lai Er broke out in a cold sweat instantly.

"Hmm, he's not exactly a man who can control his emotions." The envoy observed Lai Er's expression with interest and said with a smile, "Isn't it a bit too unreliable to let someone like this complete the transaction for you? I can use rules to restrain my servants, so what are you going to use to restrain this one?"

Lai Er wanted to say, "Thanks to my unparalleled loyalty to Visas-sama!"

But he also knew that he couldn't interrupt at this time, so he gritted his teeth and waited. After a while, he finally said Bai Wei's words, "I am different from you. I have my own plans."

Hmm... those are definitely not reassuring words.

Lai Er's mind was in turmoil, and he kept thinking, "Would Visas-sama really just use me and then discard me?"

The messenger, or rather Diana, was carefully observing Lai Er's expression before slowly speaking, "It seems that it is indeed you who is speaking to me, but I am somewhat curious. I can transfer my consciousness into my subordinates' bodies because of my [rules], but what about you? None of your Three Corpse Pieces should have this ability, right?"

"It's just some trivial tricks." Bai Wei said leisurely. Lai Er wanted to show the same leisurely feeling, but because he was still worried about whether Visas-sama would use him and then discard him, he didn't perform very well. "I can only establish real-time connections with my subordinates. It's not to the point where you can turn your subordinates into puppets without even self-awareness."

Have they become puppets?

Lai Er couldn't help but glance at the messenger twice more.

"That would put people at ease, wouldn't it?" Diana looked at Lai Er with the eyes of a messenger, as if trying to see another pair of eyes in Lai Er's eyes. "I'm quite certain that my servant will not betray me, but what about you? Are you really going to hand over this deal, which, if discovered, will drag us both into the abyss, to an ordinary person with his own thoughts?"

Lai Er was sweating profusely, and in the end, Bai Wei gave an answer that he couldn't understand at all.

"At times, one's own thoughts can drive a person to do things they would not normally want to do, more than the reins can."

What does this mean?

Lai Er didn't understand, and then subconsciously looked at Diana, wanting to see if she understood.

But Diana simply said "I see," clearly showing she wasn't interested in the topic.

"Let's get back to the point, Tongue-sensei," Diana said. "You want to witness the Obedience of Heavenly Voice firsthand. May I know why?"

"It's not that hard to understand, is it? I need to see what kind of thing you're using to threaten me," Lai Er said. "I can't just hand over a body part based on your words. You have to prove to me that you have the ability to control the Heaven's Obedience."

"Why don't you just say you need to see me use the Heaven's Obedience to kill Hand Eye for you?" Diana said calmly.

"Of course I'd like to do that, but I don't think you'd agree."

"Don't you think it's a bit too risky for you to go to the meeting point yourself?" Diana said. "Both for yourself and for me."

"I certainly won't go myself," Lai Er said, "But these eyes are enough for me to see everything."

Lai Er grew increasingly uneasy as he spoke. He wasn't stupid; he realized just how dangerous the meeting place Bai Wei wanted him to go to was. He was likely to die without a burial place if his identity was exposed.

But he dared not refuse Visas-sama, so he could only look at the messenger in front of him with longing, hoping that the other party could refuse Visas-sama on his behalf.

To his disappointment, after a brief moment of thought, Diana asked, "You mean, once you've confirmed that the Obedience of Heavenly Voice is capable of killing Hand Eye, and that I have the ability to control the Obedience of Heavenly Voice, you'll give me one of the body parts... before the device is activated?"

"You can understand it this way," Lai Er said. "For a normal transaction, the first thing to confirm is whether the other party has what you need. Only after confirming this can you negotiate and uphold the spirit of the contract. But you don't need to worry about the latter. Peach Blossom Paradise will ensure that everyone keeps their promises. It's much more effective than your Seed of Covenant."

"The process is so complicated, aren't you afraid I'll find it too troublesome and just go and make a deal with the Hand Eye?" Diana raised the male messenger's eyebrows charmingly. "I don't think he wants to verify the Obedience of Heavenly Voice, he just wants your life."

"That's why you won't make a deal with him," Lai Er said. "You come from the Contract Land, so you naturally value contracts, but those things are something that the Hand Eye don't have. He can betray me, so he can betray you too."

Diana didn't speak, but she had already tacitly accepted Bai Wei's statement.

Yes, if she had to choose between the Hand Eye versus the tongue, Diana would have preferred to help the tongue rather than the Hand Eye.

It wasn't just the cunning displayed by her Hand Eye and the precedent of betrayal; there was another reason: Diana had already experienced what it felt like to be "stared at."

In her previous transaction with the Hand Eye, Diana received the [Gaze] and was immediately drawn to its power.

That unobstructed view was far too tempting for Diana, who had never left the Contract Land. She also understood why the tongue with Three Corpse Pieces was being chased and attacked by the Hand Eye with only two pieces of flesh. Once this eye had its sights on you, it was really hard for anyone to escape.

Faced with this intoxicating power, Diana was like a little girl who had tasted forbidden fruit, wanting to possess it forever.

Therefore, helping the tongue deal with the Hand Eye is her best option.

But Diana certainly wouldn't reveal her desires at this moment, so she simply nodded and continued Lai Er's words, "You're right, I do hate people who don't keep their promises."

Lai Er, who had been hoping that Diana would reject Visas, felt a pang of unease upon hearing this. He then cautiously asked, "So you agree?"

"No problem, I can take you to the meeting place and let you see the Obedience of Heavenly Voice. This is my sincerity," Diana said calmly. "However, you will have to bear the risks of this sincerity yourself."

"Risk?"

"Yes, my only responsibility is to get you there," Diana said. "But if your identity is exposed, I will not only not help you, but I will also make sure I am not implicated."

"... So what do you want to do?" Lai Er became even more uneasy.

"Before I take you in, we need to make a deal." Diana spread out her raised hand, revealing a Seed of Covenant. "I demand that you... no, to be precise, that your Stand user shut up the moment his/her identity is exposed."

Lai Er opened his mouth, this time saying what he really wanted to say, "How do you mean to shut your mouth?"

Diana smiled, "Bite off your tongue, swallow poison, do whatever you want, as long as you can keep the secret forever."

Lai Er was shocked. "You fucking want me dead?!"

"See, Tongue-sensei," Diana said calmly, unsurprised by Lai Er's reaction. "That's the difference between you and me. I can ensure that every one of my servants will be devoted to me, but yours cannot. Forgive my bluntness, Tongue-sensei, but this man's existence is detrimental to both of us. If possible, I would prefer to speak with you in person."

Upon hearing Diana say this, Lai Er's heart leaped into his throat.

That damned hermaphrodite, how could he say such vicious things!

Lai Er wanted to yell at Diana, saying that he was Visas-sama's most loyal dog and would never betray Visas-sama.

However, his passion paled in comparison to the real "puppet" before him.

After all, even the most loyal dog can betray its master, while a lifeless puppet doesn't even have the option of betrayal.

What a blatant conspiracy!

Lai Er panicked immediately, wanting to explain to Bai Wei in his mind, "Visas-sama, don't listen to his nonsense, I would never betray you! If you tell me to go east, I will never go west!"

"Don't be nervous," Bai Wei said with a smile. "I've never worried about your betrayal."

Bai Wei's words delighted Lai Er, who was about to say something to express his loyalty, but then he heard Bai Wei speak slowly.

"And I am not your master."

The brief joy turned to panic again, and he thought that Visas-sama no longer wanted him as his lackey, "Visas-sama, I..."

"I prefer a partnership to the stale master-servant relationship. You get what you give. As a businessman, you should be very familiar with this model," Bai Wei said. "I'm trading with her and with you. There's no point in forcing a sale. If you don't want to, then just refuse."

Lai Er opened his mouth, clearly not expecting Visas-sama to say such a thing.

Did they not treat him as a lackey, but as a trading partner?

Lai Er is indeed very familiar with this model; after all, even black market traders believe in free trade.

But Lai Er also knew very well that what he missed out on from the merchants, he could still have the opportunity to buy later.

But what I missed from Visas-sama...

He lowered his head and looked at the Seed of Covenant in Diana's hand, and in a daze, he was transported back to five years ago, to the day when Ha Luo reached out his hand to him, who had just become a father.

After a brief silence, Lai Er reached out, grabbed the Seed of Covenant, and then bit into it hard.

The ruthlessness and determination in his eyes were exactly the same as they were five years ago.