A Trap for Zhao Ji (iPad Giveaway)

Tonight?

It had to be said that the news Hui Ming had given him was far too sudden. Even with Qiu Tu's composure, his heart skipped a beat.

Even though he was currently copying Cloud Cat God King's state, he still could not quite suppress his body's instinctive reaction.

But Qiu Tu had weathered countless storms. His mind wavered for only an instant before he forcibly calmed himself down.

He knew this was very likely Hui Ming's final and most lethal test.

If he revealed even the slightest trace of Qiu Tu's shock or concern, rather than a reaction belonging to Cloud Cat God King, then all the efforts he and Zhao Ji had made over this period would collapse in an instant.

Thus, beneath Hui Ming's icy gaze, he continued copying Cloud Cat God King's expressions and movements. He lightly shook his fluffy head and let out a leisurely yet slightly deliberative, "Meow?"

"Act the moment you meet Qiu Tu?"

"That really is a good idea."

"It avoids dragging things out and creating more variables."

"But..." At this point, Qiu Tu had fully assumed Cloud Cat God King's perspective. A hint of hesitation flashed through his mismatched cat eyes. "From my two encounters with Qiu Tu, he is an extremely cautious person."

"When meeting a stranger for the first time, he will very likely use only an avatar rather than his true body."

"Ghost Face and the others should be prepared for that."

Cloud Cat God King's perspective and manner of speaking were clearly entirely different from Qiu Tu's.

If it had been Qiu Tu, he would most likely have questioned how Ghost Face God King had arranged the trap and planned to hunt him down. He would have tried to understand Ghost Face God King's preparations, then analyzed just how dangerous the situation was.

But Cloud Cat God King spoke from an entirely different angle.

She was clearly not interested in how Ghost Face God King intended to proceed. She merely raised the concerns she had.

This was actually how normal people behaved in the workplace: don't ask about the Details, and it was as good as not participating in the operation. If the plan went wrong, they would not be held accountable. As for raising perceived loopholes, that merely showed the leader that they had truly been paying attention.

And sure enough, after hearing Qiu Tu's words, Hui Ming's gaze lingered on him for a moment before slowly withdrawing.

Clearly, she had wanted to catch something from Qiu Tu's reaction, but she had failed.

However, Princess Hui Ming had spent an entire day laying the groundwork. Naturally, she could not have done all that merely for a single probing remark.

So she raised a hand and lightly tapped a point of light representing a location in Chaos West Capital on the sand table. Her voice was calm and unruffled, as though she were describing something that had nothing to do with her. "That is indeed a problem."

"But Ghost Face should have considered it too."

"This time, he brought the Shadow Department's elite forces and borrowed thirteen God Kings under Mad War God King, setting up an inescapable net."

"Even more so, to ensure nothing went wrong, he took several treasures from the Royal Court Treasury and had Mad War oversee the operation, all just to keep that Qiu Tu there."

"Using an avatar as a petty trick should be within his expectations."

Her tone was indifferent, as if everything had already been decided.

Qiu Tu's heart tightened again at that.

He had not expected Ghost Face to mobilize such a massive force just to "kill" him. But upon further thought, it was understandable. "He" had held no low status in the Order Shrine to begin with, and after infiltrating the Destruction Royal Court and stirring up trouble, he had become a thorn in the Shadow Department's side.

More importantly, when Hui Ming had examined Cloud Cat God King's memories, she had already seen several people's plans against him. In other words, this matter had reached the attention of the "top boss."

So even if Ghost Face God King and Mad War God King had not cared much about this matter before, they now had to put in one hundred and twenty percent effort to demonstrate their dedication to Hui Ming.

Zhao Ji, you'll have to work hard this time.

Qiu Tu silently worried for Zhao Ji. Yet his feet moved in elegant catlike steps as he walked before Hui Ming and rubbed his fluffy cheek against the ankle wrapped beneath her Black Python Robe, his throat producing a contented purr.

Cloud Cat God King clearly did not wish to continue this topic.

That was understandable.

After all, Ghost Face God King and she restrained one another. Though they were colleagues, they were also competitors.

The task of liaising with Qiu Tu had also been transferred from Cloud Cat God King's hands to Ghost Face God King's because of Hui Ming.

Cloud Cat God King would love nothing more than to see Ghost Face God King fail. How could she possibly want to hear about this?

As for whether failure would affect Cloud Cat God King?

It had to be said that the arrangement Princess Hui Ming had made in a single second back then had actually been extraordinarily clever.

The one contacting "Qiu Tu" this time was Cloud Cat God King's subordinate, while the information that person was to report to "Qiu Tu" concerned Cloud Cat God King's betrayal.

It could be said that this subordinate's position was completely opposite to Cloud Cat God King's.

Under such circumstances, even if "Qiu Tu" encountered an ambush, he would only believe that this subordinate was the traitor. In fact, because the subordinate's position was completely opposed to Cloud Cat God King's, he would trust Cloud Cat God King even more.

All these reasons ultimately led Cloud Cat God King not to care about or pay attention to this plan.

Yet upon seeing Qiu Tu like this, an imperceptible trace of doubt flashed through Princess Hui Ming's long, phoenix-shaped eyes.

Clearly, after two days of testing, even though she had been utterly certain of her own intuition, she had now begun to waver.

Dinner was soon brought in by Ruolan. The dishes were still exquisite, but Hui Ming had little appetite. She casually took a few bites before setting her chopsticks down.

Qiu Tu, meanwhile, was held in her arms as she absentmindedly stroked him. He enjoyed the soft touch and warmth of her fingertips. He appeared content, but his mind was racing as he guessed at the great battle that would take place in the Destruction Royal Court tonight.

Time slowly passed amid an eerie calm.

Just as Qiu Tu thought the night would pass so simply, Ruolan suddenly entered briskly from outside carrying a document, then approached Hui Ming.

She bent down and softly reported, "Your Highness, Ghost Face God King has sent over the latest battle plan and wishes to ask you to review it."

Upon hearing Ruolan's words, Hui Ming, who had been lowering her head to stroke Qiu Tu, paused slightly. Then her hand resumed its absentminded movements over Qiu Tu's fluffy body as she said indifferently,

"A mere containment plan. What is there for me to review?"

"If they cannot even handle something this trivial, lock them in the Heavenly Prison and use them as resources."

Hearing Hui Ming so casually decide a Garrison God King's fate, Qiu Tu could not help raising his head slightly.

Yet at that moment, Ruolan said in a low voice, "Lord Ghost Face and the others know you are not interested in this operation."

"But... the revisions they made to the plan this time involve His Majesty."

Ruolan's voice grew softer and softer. "They are worried that if this operation fails and makes Qiu Tu wary, he will become harder to deal with in the future."

"So... if the operation fails, they wish to directly request His Majesty's intervention. Through his status as World Master of the Royal Court and the clues Qiu Tu left behind, they will lock onto Qiu Tu's location and kill him."

As she spoke, Ruolan extended the battle plan document to Hui Ming.

At this moment, Hui Ming had yet to react to Ruolan's words, but Qiu Tu's mind was violently shaken!

To ensure nothing went wrong, Ghost Face actually wanted to invite the Destruction Tyrant to act?

Had he gone mad?

The tacit understanding among the Six Great Paths was that, barring special circumstances, the High-level God Kings of each Path could not act freely.

But considering the current state of chaos in the Ancient World, as well as the Destruction Royal Court's growing emphasis on him, it seemed understandable again.

With that thought, Qiu Tu could not help glancing at the battle plan Ruolan was handing over.

However, before he could see it clearly, Hui Ming reached out to block his view and said, "Put it on the table. I'll look at it later."

Hearing Hui Ming's words, Ruolan hurriedly responded with an "Mm," then took the battle plan to the long table and set it down.

After setting it down, she seemed to deliberate and hesitate before saying, "Your Highness, Ghost Face's operation is rather urgent. You may need to give them a response as soon as possible."

Hearing Ruolan's words, Hui Ming gave a dignified "Mm."

Then, as she lifted Qiu Tu off her lap and handed him to Ruolan, she said, "I'll take a look."

Ruolan reached out and took Qiu Tu into her full, soft embrace.

Qiu Tu's head was pressed against that curve of softness, but his heart sank.

Because Hui Ming had deliberately blocked him twice just now. She clearly did not want him to see the battle plan.

That very likely meant this matter was real...

With that thought, Qiu Tu strained to recall the contents he had caught in that fleeting instant.

Thanks to a God King's camera-like memory, Qiu Tu found part of that battle plan in the corner of his memories.

It clearly stated the time of the operation: eleven o'clock at night, two hours from now. The location was an abandoned library in Black Flame City. As for the people carrying out the mission and the contents that followed, they were incomplete.

Qiu Tu could barely make it out. He could only vaguely see the character for "Mad."

Mad War?

Repeating that name in his mind, Qiu Tu felt it was almost certainly him.

After all, Hui Ming had previously said that Ghost Face wanted to ask Mad War, a Half-step "High-level God King" expert, to take action.

As for any other information, there was none.

So, while leaning against Ruolan's soft embrace, Qiu Tu firmly committed all this information to memory and considered how he should handle the situation.

Very soon, Hui Ming finished reading the battle plan and picked up a vermilion brush, making a few marks on it.

After marking it up, she folded the document, stamped it with her Small Seal, casually placed it at the edge of the long table, and said with authority, "Send it to Ghost Face."

"Tell him to begin the operation."

Hearing Hui Ming's words, Ruolan hurriedly carried Qiu Tu over and reached out to pick up the document.

As she lifted it, a purple ripple flashed over the document's seal, like a seal.

This was to ensure that no one else had read or tampered with the document before it was opened.

Ruolan bent down and set Qiu Tu on the ground. Then, holding the document, she bowed to Hui Ming and said, "Understood, Your Highness. I'll handle it right away."

With that, she swiftly left the tent carrying the document.

Watching her departing figure, Qiu Tu suddenly felt even greater pressure in his heart.

At this moment, Cloud Cat God King happened to look up at Hui Ming, so Qiu Tu followed her gaze as well.

Hui Ming was dressed in a black python robe embroidered with golden patterns. She sat imposingly behind the long table, her face neither joyful nor sorrowful, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Is this really a trap... or psychological torture?

To be honest, perhaps because this matter was simply too serious, even with Qiu Tu's intelligence, he could not make a judgment in such a short time.

Especially since he had yet to fully build a model of Hui Ming's personality.

Therefore, it was difficult for him to determine whether Hui Ming had already noticed something strange about him and was deliberately placing psychological pressure on him to force him into revealing a flaw.

Or perhaps... she had guessed his identity and truly prepared to capture both him and Zhao Ji in one sweep. Perhaps she was deliberately torturing him psychologically, letting him watch Zhao Ji get captured and killed before dealing with him.

Do not doubt whether Hui Ming could do such a thing. From what Qiu Tu understood, at least half the God Kings of the Destruction Path were mentally twisted and enjoyed tormenting their enemies.

And according to Hui Ming's records, she had done no small amount of tormenting enemies herself over the years.

She was a true beauty with a serpent's heart.

With that thought, Qiu Tu found it even harder to tell whether this was real or not.

Hui Ming personally clashed with me at close quarters. So... having the Destruction Tyrant act and kill the danger in its cradle does not seem all that unusual.

So... should I take the risk and find a chance to notify Zhao Ji?

As he continued copying Cloud Cat God King's expressions and movements to avoid exposing any flaws, Qiu Tu quietly thought and weighed his options.

And as he weighed them, Zhao Ji's breathtakingly beautiful face kept appearing before his eyes.

Ten minutes passed before Qiu Tu finally made his decision.--

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