As she listened to Lu Jing's answer, the surprise on Bibi Dong's face gradually turned into deep, complex appreciation. In the end, a praising curve formed at the corner of her lips. She lightly clapped her hands and said, "I have to admit, Lu Jing, you truly are intelligent. You see farther and more clearly than I imagined."
She lowered her hand, a sharp gleam flashing through her purple eyes.
That in itself was an admission—an admission that Lu Jing's deductions were accurate.
"Since you understand things so clearly."
Bibi Dong rose to her feet and gracefully walked around the desk. Rather than heading toward the window or the room door, she slowly approached the sofa where Lu Jing was seated.
The soft fabric of her purple dress brushed against the edge of the sofa, bringing with it a barely perceptible fragrance and an overwhelming presence.
Instead of sitting on the sofa opposite him, she unexpectedly settled gently into the vacant spot beside Lu Jing.
That action instantly narrowed the distance between them, both physically and mentally, while also bringing an invisible sense of oppression.
Her gaze fell upon Lu Jing's youthful yet composed face. Her tone became exceptionally soft and gentle, as though she were discussing some ordinary household matter. "Then I have also learned about what happened during the day."
Lu Jing blinked, his long eyelashes casting a small shadow beneath the lamplight.
His thoughts raced, and the conflict with Yan outside the Scripture Depository during the day immediately resurfaced in his mind.
Why was Bibi Dong bringing it up now? Was she going to hold him accountable? Or...
With that thought, Lu Jing asked in a suitably puzzled, probing tone, "Since you know, then what does Your Majesty the Pope intend to do? Help Yan deal with me, or something else?"
He calculated rapidly in his heart. Over the past few years, the relationship between the Pope Palace and the Worship Hall had indeed grown increasingly worse, just as the history book recorded. Their open and covert struggles had never ceased.
Yet strangely, Bibi Dong had always treated him quite well. She even seemed deliberately gentle and eager to draw him in.
That was absolutely unusual. Did she want to poach him from the Worship Hall's camp?
But the question was, why did she think he could be won over?
And what could she offer that he would care about? Power? Wealth? Or women?
Lu Jing did not understand, but his expression remained calm as he quietly watched the Pope sitting so close beside him and waited for her answer.
Candlelight danced across her peerlessly beautiful profile, casting intertwined shadows and light that made it impossible to fully discern the meaning hidden in her eyes.
Bibi Dong gently shook her head. Her bearing remained elegant, and her voice was still soft and gentle, yet it carried an unquestionable force. "Since Yan was the one who started the trouble and made a move to seize your belongings first, you were merely defending yourself. He was inferior in skill, so his injuries were his own fault. Naturally, I will not take his side and help him deal with you."
She leaned forward slightly, carrying an icy fragrance with her as her purple eyes met Lu Jing's directly. "On the contrary, I will help you."
"Help me?"
The doubt in Lu Jing's heart deepened, and his brow faintly furrowed.
What exactly was Bibi Dong plotting? And what price would her "help" demand?
"How do you intend to help me?" he asked cautiously.
Yan was part of the Golden Generation and one of her loyal followers. Why would she choose to help him?
Bibi Dong did not answer directly. Instead, she tilted her head slightly and looked toward the heavy Carved Wooden Door of the study. Her voice was not loud, but it clearly passed through the door leaf. "Come in."
"Creak—"
The room door was silently pushed open.
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, who had long been waiting outside and was dressed in the attire of a Spirit Hall high-ranking official, entered without a sound.
His movements were gentle, and his expression respectful.
And behind him—or rather, clutched in his hand like a torn sack being dragged along—was Yan, covered in blood and utterly bedraggled!
At this moment, Yan had none of the arrogance he had displayed when provoking Lu Jing at the Scripture Depository during the day.
The injuries Lu Jing had inflicted upon him with thunderous force had clearly not been properly treated. His clothing was torn, congealed and fresh blood mixed across his body, several joints were twisted at unnatural angles, and his face was as pale as paper. His breathing was weak and rapid.
The intense pain and blood loss had left his eyes unfocused. But when Yue Guan mercilessly tossed him onto the expensive carpet with a thud, the excruciating pain forced a muffled groan from him. Once he recognized the study, especially Bibi Dong and Lu Jing seated there, his unfocused eyes were instantly filled with immense terror and despair.
After throwing Yan down, Yue Guan did not even spare him a glance. He merely respectfully bowed to Bibi Dong, then silently withdrew just as he had entered, gently closing the room door behind him.
The entire process was crisp and efficient, without a single unnecessary movement, displaying his absolute obedience and efficiency as the Pope's confidant.
The study fell silent once more, leaving only Yan's rapid, pained breathing to rise and fall faintly against the carpet.
Bibi Dong's expression was so calm that not even the slightest ripple disturbed it, as though the person lying on the floor was not a living human being but a useless piece of trash.
She looked down from above at Yan, who was trembling in fear. Her gaze was cold and devoid of even a trace of warmth.
Then she turned to Lu Jing. Her voice was calm and level, yet it carried a judgment that chilled the heart.
"Lu Jing, as long as you nod, I can kill him right now."
She paused. Every word struck Yan's heart and Lu Jing's nerves with perfect clarity. Then she softly said, "Spirit Hall's grand plans for the future have no need for trash like this—someone with no brains, who only knows how to stir up trouble and undermine internal unity."
"Pfft—"
Yan's pupils abruptly contracted to the size of pinpoints, and overwhelming terror instantly drowned out the pain wracking his body.
He wanted to struggle, wanted to scream and beg for mercy, but his grievously injured body and the lingering suppression of Yue Guan's Soul Power left him unable to move even a finger. He could only make ragged gasping sounds, his face streaked with tears and snot in utter despair.
Lu Jing's brows immediately drew together.
He looked at Yan, lying on the ground like a lamb awaiting slaughter, then at Bibi Dong beside him, whose expression was calm and even faintly cruel. He had never expected this to be what Bibi Dong meant by "helping" him!
Kill Yan?
That choice flashed through Lu Jing's mind like a cold bolt of lightning.
He truly did not like Yan. The man was arrogant, foolish, and had repeatedly provoked him.
To be honest, Lu Jing did not care whether Yan lived or died. But... could things really be that simple?
Bibi Dong's intentions could not possibly be as simple as helping him vent his anger.
Was she merely trying to win him over, or did she want to use this opportunity to distract the Worship Hall and make them suspicious of him, creating a divide between him and them?
However, he was certain that if he nodded right now, Yan would die immediately. But the trouble and vortex that followed were absolutely not what he wanted.
What he needed now was not to choose a side, much less become entangled in the deeper conflict between the Pope Palace and the Worship Hall. He needed to accumulate strength and make himself the strongest.
In a flash of lightning, Lu Jing made his decision.
Meeting Bibi Dong's seemingly gentle yet deeply oppressive gaze, he slowly shook his head. His voice returned to its usual calm.
"Your Majesty the Pope, there is no need for that."
He glanced at Yan, whose eyes suddenly lit with a faint glimmer of hope for survival at his words, and calmly added, "Although this man is foolish and arrogant and has repeatedly provoked me, he is ultimately part of the Golden Generation that Spirit Hall has cultivated. He is a Core Member and a future Title Douluo prospect. Moreover, he is quite close to Hu Liena."
He deliberately emphasized Hu Liena's name. "Since I have already taught him a lesson during the day, then if he knows what is good for him, this matter will end here. No matter what, he is still a genius. But if there is a next time, it will not be too late to kill him then."
Lu Jing's answer was clear and unequivocal. He had refused to deal the killing blow while also stating why he would not kill Yan—for Spirit Hall's interests, and to give Hu Liena some face.
Upon hearing this, Bibi Dong gave Lu Jing a deep look. Her gaze seemed capable of seeing straight through his soul.
Lu Jing's watertight response surprised her, yet it also seemed to be within her expectations.
This little fellow was more slippery than she had imagined, and even more capable of keeping his composure.
The sharpness and coldness in her eyes gradually faded, once again veiled behind a layer of gentleness. She lightly nodded.
"Fine. Since you say so, I respect your decision."
She did not insist further, as though she had not just been the one proposing murder.
"Yue Guan."
As her words fell, the study door was pushed open again.
Yue Guan slipped inside like a ghost, still wearing that respectful and silent expression.
He did not even ask a question. He simply walked over to Yan once more and lifted this outstanding member of Spirit Hall's younger generation as though he were a piece of merchandise.
Yan seemed to no longer have the strength even to be afraid. Only the enormous exhaustion and confusion of surviving a catastrophe remained as Yue Guan dragged him out of the study that had decided his life and death.
The room door closed again, cutting off Yan's final faint traces of breath.
At that moment, only Lu Jing and Bibi Dong remained in the study.
The air seemed even more stagnant than before.
The doubts in Lu Jing's heart had not diminished in the slightest. Instead, they had accumulated even more deeply.
Bibi Dong's series of actions appeared to be supporting him, yet every part of it reeked of strangeness and testing.
She had summoned him from the Worship Hall to the depths of the Pope Palace for a high-level discussion about unifying the continent, then suddenly thrown Yan's life and death before him... Everything seemed far too deliberate and disjointed.
"Your Majesty the Pope."
With that thought, Lu Jing suppressed the turmoil in his heart and spoke again. There was an almost imperceptible trace of inquiry in his tone as he asked, "Other than this, did you summon me here late at night for anything else?"
Bibi Dong picked up the teacup on the table, which had long gone cold, and lightly took a sip. Her manner remained elegant as ever.
She raised her eyes to Lu Jing. Her purple eyes were as deep as an abyss, while a faint, unreadable curve seemed to appear at the corner of her mouth.
"No."
She set down the teacup and softly said, "I merely wanted to see you, and let you see... my sincerity and attitude in handling this matter."
That answer completely bewildered Lu Jing.
See him? Show him her attitude? Her sincerity?
What kind of reason was that? If Qian Daoliu or Qian Renxue had done something like this, he could still understand. After all, they were on the same boat. Qian Renxue even had obvious affection for him, while Qian Daoliu had placed great hopes in him. Thus, whether they actively tried to win him over or gave him warnings, it would all be understandable.
But Bibi Dong... This female Pope, whose relationship with the Worship Hall was tense and whose mind was as deep as the sea—Lu Jing realized he could not grasp the logic behind her actions at all.
Could it truly be only because, as she had said before, she valued his potential and his perspective that differed from ordinary people?
But merely to display sincerity and win over a promising prospect who had not yet shown which side he stood on, she was willing to use Yan's life, a Spirit Hall Core Member's life, as a prop?
The cost and risk were far too great. It completely contradicted Bibi Dong's cautious image in the history book.
Or perhaps... she had another objective?
Was it to drive a wedge between him and the Worship Hall?
Or did she want to use the matter of Yan to convey some sort of message to Qian Daoliu?
Lu Jing felt his thoughts becoming somewhat chaotic.
Bibi Dong's thoughts were like the flickering candlelight deep within the Pope Palace. They appeared bright, yet the shadows they cast made truth and falsehood impossible to distinguish.
"Thank you, Your Majesty the Pope, for your... favor and sincerity."
Lu Jing suppressed the countless questions in his heart, rose to his feet, and respectfully bowed. "If there are no further instructions, then this junior will take his leave."
He chose to leave for the moment. Before a chess game he could not see through, keeping his distance and responding to all changes with constancy was perhaps the best choice.
Bibi Dong gave a slight nod and did not ask him to stay. "Go. As I said before, you may visit the Scripture Depository whenever you wish. If you need anything, you may also come find me."
Her expression was calm and indifferent, while her voice remained as gentle as before.
She finally understood why the Rakshasa God had entertained such thoughts six years ago. Judging solely from the talent and caution Lu Jing had displayed, if she were the God of Destruction, she would also choose him as an inheritor, even though the Divine Seat Inheritance had not yet descended.
"Yes, this junior will remember." Lu Jing bowed once again, then turned and walked toward the heavy Carved Wooden Door.
When he pulled open the room door and stepped out of the study filled with a subtle fragrance, candlelight, and invisible pressure, he could clearly feel Bibi Dong's gaze falling upon his back like something tangible. It carried scrutiny, inquiry, and perhaps even a trace of... indescribable expectation and calculation.
He gently closed the door behind him, cutting off that gaze and the suffocating atmosphere within the study.
Outside lay the empty, deep corridors of the Pope Palace, where moonlight streamed through the high windows and cast a cold radiance.
Lu Jing took a deep breath of the slightly cool air, yet the fog in his heart did not disperse in the slightest.
"This woman's attitude... really is impossible to figure out."
Lu Jing muttered under his breath, his brows tightly furrowed. "First she asked about Spirit Hall's future direction, then she handled Yan's matter... Could she really be trying to show me goodwill? But this way of showing goodwill is a little too..."
He shook his head and stopped thinking about it. Then he began walking toward the Worship Hall.
No matter what, increasing his own strength and reaching level 50 as soon as possible was the most important thing before him.
Only sufficient strength could give him the power to choose and the foundation for self-preservation in this turbulent era.
As for Bibi Dong's true intentions... perhaps only time could provide the answer.
Beneath the moonlight, the youth's tall figure moved through the towering pillars of the magnificent Pope Palace. He gradually walked farther away, eventually disappearing at the end of the corridor.
Inside the study, the candlelight flickered, illuminating the seated figure in purple. She lifted the cup of tea that had long gone cold and looked toward the deep night sky beyond the window. Within her purple eyes, no one knew what undercurrents were surging.
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