Plan

"Kiss me!"

Nangong Ru repeated herself, and only then did Zhang Yunhao confirm he hadn't misheard. He looked at her, utterly bewildered. What was going on? She actually wanted him to kiss her? This female constable was a little cold, but she was stunningly beautiful. Surely she wasn't that desperate?

A thought occurred to him, and his eyes lit up. "Will kissing you help us escape? If it will, I'll do it right now. I don't mind making that sacrifice."

Nangong Ru answered bluntly, "It won't."

Zhang Yunhao's excitement vanished. He said crossly, "Then what's the point of kissing you? Female constable, please have some self-respect. Even if you have some special needs, could you at least take a look at our current situation?"

Nangong Ru glared at him. Then she said coldly, "I have poison hidden in my teeth. Come kiss me. I'll bite through it and pass it into your mouth. Then we'll die together."

"What the hell? You're trying to kill me? Are you crazy?"

Zhang Yunhao was astonished. He never would have guessed she wanted to kill him. Good thing he hadn't lost his head—or he would have died an utterly unjust death.

"I don't know what that demon's plan is, but it clearly needs both of us. If we both die, his plan will naturally fail."

As she spoke, Nangong Ru struggled to inch closer. "That way, he won't be able to escape. No matter what, we can't let this demon leave Qianshan City alive!"

Zhang Yunhao hurriedly scooted backward. "Hey, hey, let's think of another way. It's not time to despair yet! I don't want to die. Besides, even if we die, he can just find other people!"

"There's no other way right now. As for him finding someone else later, that's not our concern. Besides, then there's a chance he'll be discovered."

Nangong Ru gazed at Zhang Yunhao, her expression righteous and resolute. "For the Empire, please make this sacrifice with me."

"Sacrifice my ass! What era is this? How has a weirdo like you not gone extinct yet?"

Zhang Yunhao rolled his eyes and refused outright. "Sorry, I don't want to die at all. Stay away from me. And don't tell me you're going to force me!"

Nangong Ru replied with utter seriousness, "I can't rule it out."

"Don't despair. Maybe a miracle will happen."

Zhang Yunhao felt like he was going crazy. What was this nonsense? As he tried to persuade Nangong Ru, he used what little strength he had left to crawl away. He didn't want to be kissed to death.

Nangong Ru pursued him without wavering. "There's no other way. Death is the only thing we can do now."

And so the two poisoned people crawled along at a tortoise's pace. Even more absurdly, one was chasing the other, like a scene in slow motion.

When Poisonous Snake Young Master returned carrying a bundle of herbs, he happened to see the scene and looked utterly astonished. "What are you playing at? Trying to escape? You're going the wrong way."

"Would you believe me if I said I was exercising?"

When Zhang Yunhao saw Poisonous Snake Young Master return, he was instantly relieved. At last, he wouldn't have to keep crawling around. Sitting upright, he got straight to the point. "What's your plan? Tell me, so I can die knowing why."

"Fine. I'll let you die knowing why."

Poisonous Snake Young Master smiled. "The mountain's been sealed off, so I can't escape. I need someone to draw everyone's attention and open a gap in the defense. Then I can slip away."

Zhang Yunhao was puzzled. "I'm not you, and I'm not very strong. Even if I run down the mountain screaming at the top of my lungs, what good would that do?"

"You're useful, of course. Your body's in good shape. I'll pour my demonic power into you and make you fall into demonic madness. Then I'll use my secret method to detonate all your potential, drive you mad, and increase your strength tenfold."

Poisonous Snake Young Master spoke smugly. "That way, you can draw everyone's attention in my place, and I can escape with ease. See? I just went to prepare the materials for the demonic transformation and the secret method. I'll also need the heart's blood from those corpses over there."

"I see. You really are vicious."

Zhang Yunhao sucked in a sharp breath. If that happened, he was as good as dead—and he'd die without even a shred of dignity. But if the bastard wanted him dead, he'd kill the bastard first!

Nangong Ru glanced coldly at Zhang Yunhao. It was a shame the kid wouldn't cooperate; otherwise, she wouldn't have to worry about becoming a pawn. She asked coldly, "Then why are you keeping me?"

"What else would I be keeping you for? Obviously..."

Poisonous Snake Young Master looked at Nangong Ru greedily. "Obviously, I'm going to take you. After completing the demonic transformation and secret method, my power will temporarily drop a lot. But with you here, I'll surely recover quite a bit."

"I see."

Nangong Ru understood the truth, but she wasn't afraid. Instead, she said with unwavering resolve, "You won't escape the Martial Immortal Empire. The members of the Demon Extermination Alliance will catch you and bring you to justice."

"Of course I'll escape—and I'll take the Li Family's treasure with me. But you're definitely going to die. Hahahaha! Kid, I'm going to prepare the demonic transformation ritual. Just wait here!"

Poisonous Snake Young Master laughed loudly and began processing the materials at the cave entrance. He mainly ground them into juice and mixed them together. He'd also killed the giant snake from earlier and turned it into an ingredient.

Inside the cave, Nangong Ru raised her head to look at Zhang Yunhao and whispered, "Can I kiss you now?"

"Could you stop saying 'kiss'? I'm afraid I'll end up with a psychological scar. I've never had a woman ask to kiss me before, and now one kiss is a matter of life and death."

Zhang Yunhao grumbled. Before Nangong Ru could say anything else, he suddenly leaned close to her ear. Nangong Ru seemed a little uncomfortable, but she didn't pull away.

Zhang Yunhao whispered instructions to her. "Don't kill yourself before I die. We're not at a dead end yet."

Nangong Ru didn't believe him; in fact, she seemed disdainful. "What could you possibly do? You're poisoned right now. Even if you weren't, you still wouldn't be a match for him. Just hurry up and kiss me."

Zhang Yunhao didn't say more. Instead, he asked, "Forget about what I can do. There's something I want to know. Poisonous Snake Young Master seems to have a demonic art that attacks people mentally. Can you explain exactly how it works?"

Nangong Ru had no faith in Zhang Yunhao, but she still answered, "The Divine Sea Realm focuses on the mind and has some unusual abilities. But techniques in this area generally only work on those of lower realms, and they have severe limitations. If you can find a way to cause yourself intense pain, you can break the mental pressure."

Zhang Yunhao's eyes lit up. "All I need to do is make myself feel intense pain? Great! Just wait and see. I'll make that demon regret it!"

Nangong Ru still had no faith in Zhang Yunhao. "You can't beat him. Just kiss me now. Don't make me force you."

Zhang Yunhao was speechless. "Hey, do you know where Poisonous Snake Young Master is right now? If you dare try anything, I'll report you to him immediately."