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Chatting with Lu Bei had been thoroughly unpleasant. Even when she ignored him, he could still think of ways to infuriate her.

She Ruan secretly reminded herself that anger harmed the body. Her body was her own, so there was no need to hurt herself over Lu Bei. She immediately began seeing him out. "Sect Leader Lu, instead of making a fortune at Sanqing Peak, what brings you to my little shop?"

"You investigated my entire background so quickly. I can only say, that's very heartwarming. Snake Aunt, I accept your concern." Lu Bei looked flattered and flustered.

"Sect Leader Lu, you're joking. Concern is only natural."

She Ruan said irritably, "The headquarters of the SITONG Trading Company is in Langyu County. It has plenty of partners in Dongyang County and a very broad sales network. A few years ago, it recruited quite a few minor proprietors to expand its operations, and I was one of them. Sect Leader Lu joined forces with the Zhu Family Trading Company and snatched away the Spirit Bamboo business, shrinking my monthly earnings. You could say I think about Sect Leader Lu day and night!"

At that, She Ruan secretly lamented her bad luck.

Ever since she had encountered Lu Bei, nothing had gone her way. First, she had suffered two consecutive defeats in the underground palace and been forced to make a Blood Oath. Then her business had been hijacked. It was as though Lu Bei were her destined nemesis. The whole thing was downright sinister.

"Something like that actually happened?!"

Lu Bei gave an awkward laugh. "What a small world. Maybe... this is what they call fate!"

"Sect Leader Lu, what brings you here?"

She Ruan began seeing him out again, telling him to spit out whatever he had come to say and leave as soon as he was done.

"There are two matters."

Lu Bei's expression turned solemn. "First, Snake Aunt, you're a Demon Cultivator. Although your strength isn't very high and your horizons are fairly ordinary, you've cultivated for decades and can still be considered experienced. I have a few questions about Demon Cultivators that I'd like to ask you about."

She Ruan: "..."

"I have a friend whose demon pet is about to take human form. He asked me for a few suitable cultivation arts. As it happens, I picked up several in the underground palace last time. Can my friend's demon pet use them? If not, Snake Aunt, do you happen to have any suitable cultivation arts on hand?" Lu Bei asked.

"That depends. Generally speaking, no."

"Why not? Aren't they all Demon Cultivators?"

"Demon Cultivator is merely a general term. Each situation has to be analyzed separately. It's too complicated to explain in detail..."

She Ruan frowned for a moment before saying, "To put it simply, even if both are Demon Cultivators, the demon pet you raised is fundamentally a demon, while I'm human. Understand?"

"My friend raised it."

Lu Bei's voice rang out like a struck bell. When She Ruan answered with a cold laugh, he changed the subject. "Snake Aunt, is it possible for me to become a Demon Cultivator like you?"

"You want to exchange your blood?"

She Ruan asked in surprise, "As far as I know, it is indeed possible. The Myriad Monster Kingdom tried it in the past, but the risks were enormous. Fewer than one in ten survived, so the matter went no further."

Halfway through her sentence, She Ruan suddenly froze. Her cold voice warmed, and she asked with concern, "But that was other people. You're different. Not only are you extraordinarily lucky, your constitution is far beyond that of ordinary people. The heavens favor the virtuous, and your chances of success are very high. I suggest you give it a try."

Lu Bei rolled his eyes. "Snake Aunt, is this how you repay your savior?"

"When did you become my savior?" She Ruan asked with an exasperated laugh.

"At the time, I had a knife pressed to your neck. You lived because of me. Isn't that a life-saving favor?"

"..."

"Second, when we were in the underground palace last time, Snake Aunt, you mentioned another business deal and invited me along. I didn't ask much then, so please tell me more about it."

Lu Bei narrowed his eyes slightly. Honest people didn't beat around the bush. His experience had run out, and he was here to get a quest.

"All right."

She Ruan nodded. Although she was extremely unhappy about her subordinate relationship with Lu Bei, she had to admit that because of this passive bond, the trust between them surpassed that between her and anyone else.

In fact, even if Lu Bei had not brought it up, she would have come to him of her own accord over this matter.

She Ruan then explained the situation concerning the ruins. The tomb was indeed a tomb, but it did not belong to an ancestor of the Zhu Family. It was the tomb of a descendant of the royal family of the Qinggan Dynasty.

In the Kyushu World, a hundred years could be called a dynasty, five hundred years an imperial dynasty, and a thousand years a divine dynasty.

Qinggan had been founded long before Wu Zhou. It was vast and rich, with formidable national strength, but it fell because of internal strife and external threats, missing the threshold of a Millennial Divine Dynasty by only a few decades.

Wu Zhou bore a large share of the responsibility for those external threats.

When Wu Zhou was founded, Qinggan's national strength had already plummeted. Internal turmoil and strife continued without end, and the tide of history could not be reversed. Even a ruler capable of restoring prosperity would have been powerless. The dynasty's fall was merely a matter of three generations.

One was a fully armed strongman; the other was a sickly man leaning on an IV stand. The outcome was obvious. When the two nations met on the battlefield, Wu Zhou pinned Qinggan to the ground and gave it a thorough beating.

The war was fought several times, and each time Qinggan ceded territory and paid reparations. The Battle of Dasheng Pass was one of the more famous examples.

To put it this way, the three eastern provinces and dozen-or-so commanderies of Wu Zhou, including Dongqi Commandery and Dongyang County, had all belonged to Qinggan eight hundred years ago.

Such a succulent, plump morsel was naturally something the surrounding countries refused to let Wu Zhou enjoy alone. A pack of wolves descended upon it, and the sickly man, covered in strongmen, died with hatred in his heart, becoming a part of history.

After Qinggan fell, the surviving members of its royal family lay low for a century and plotted several restoration attempts. Though all ended in failure, their bloodline had still not been severed to this day.

The descendants of Qinggan hated Wu Zhou bitterly. If Wu Zhou had not raised its armies and invaded, Qinggan would certainly have joined the ranks of the Millennial Divine Dynasties. If Wu Zhou had not torn away the last scrap of its fig leaf, Qinggan would not have fallen into the dead end of being besieged by multiple nations. If Wu Zhou had not hunted them down, they would not have been forced to hide like rats crossing the street, concealing their names and fleeing from place to place.

In short, Wu Zhou deserved to die.

This also explained why, although the tomb belonged to the Qinggan Royal Family, its Bloodline Mechanism had nothing to do with its own descendants and instead required the blood of the Zhu Family to open.

Their hatred ran so deep that they wanted to drain the Zhu Family's blood dry in a single go.

This trip had not been a waste. While She Ruan was speaking, the Personal Panel displayed a notification: You have a new quest. Please check your inbox.

[You received the Ruin Exploration quest]

[Quest Description: An ancient tomb from a former dynasty has drawn various factions into a power struggle. It seems to conceal unknown secrets. Is it a conspiracy or something else? And who is pushing everything from behind the scenes? Aren't you curious?]

[Main Quest: Survive. Reward: 800,000 experience]

[Main Quest: Explore the ruins. Rewards will be issued according to contribution]

[Side Quest: Not triggered]

[Accept?]

Whether to accept it or not.

Lu Bei frowned in silence. The basic reward of 800,000 experience was hard to refuse, but the Quest Description made him hesitate. This Ruin Exploration clearly concealed other circumstances and could very well involve the main quest of Version 1.0. With his current strength, he could bully weaklings, but once he became entangled in a struggle among major factions, he would be the dish served up to someone else.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Is it because the Bloodline Mechanism requires Zhu Family blood, and you don't want to invite this trouble?" She Ruan raised her brows slightly. "When you were in the cave abode of that senior Demon Cultivator last time, you were much bolder than you are now."

"Don't try to provoke me. It won't work."

Lu Bei shook his head. In the end, he could not resist the temptation of experience. The bold got to eat their fill while the timid starved, so he would take this gamble.

Looking on the bright side, if it really involved the main quest of Version 1.0, any one of them could bring him long-term, enormous experience gains. Giving up the quest would be too much of a pity.

Lu Bei glanced at the Personal Panel. The attributes that had skyrocketed overnight had suddenly become pathetically weak. After pondering for a moment, he fixed his gaze on She Ruan.

His naked stare held nothing back and was brimming with provocation. She Ruan, who had been reclining on her side, shuddered and abruptly sat up. Frowning, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Come on. Follow me out of the city. We'll find somewhere deserted."

"Do! What!"

"You're carrying such a huge grudge. I'll help you vent it."

Lu Bei rose to his feet. "I know you're very unhappy with me, Snake Aunt. I'll give you one chance. Let's have a match. No matter who wins or loses, I won't hold it against you."

"Is that really true? What if I injure you?"

She Ruan secretly rejoiced, though her expression did not change. She asked about it because she knew Lu Bei well: he could eat anything except a loss. For him to suddenly perform a good deed was nine times out of ten a sign that he was digging a pit for her.

She had to make him clarify it.

"If you injure me, I'll take responsibility."

Lu Bei rolled his shoulders and flexed his limbs. "Stop wasting time. I know you're afraid I'll set a trap for you, so I'll ask you one question: if you had a chance to beat me up right now, would you do it?"

"Beat you up!"

She Ruan answered decisively. As long as she could beat Lu Bei up once, she would accept falling into a pit.