Refusing Tea

The Lingren was drinking tea in his room.

The simple room looked no different from the first day, except that although the cabinets were neatly arranged, there was more dust around them than in other places.

It looks like it was scattered because of a collision and movement.

When Yu Xing and Zhao Yijiu came in, they took the opportunity to observe carefully, since they had never had the chance to step into the Lingren's private territory before.

--Perhaps there was an opportunity, but compared to the potential cost, they chose not to take the risk.

Yu Xing was somewhat concerned about what the Lingren had mentioned. She glanced at the Lingren's bed, where there seemed to be some torn strips of cloth left behind, suggesting a struggle had taken place.

He imagined the scene again, his expression turning slightly strange.

I can't imagine it...

"Are you here to make a deal with me?" The Lingren asked calmly, setting down his teacup, resting his chin on his hand, and scrutinizing the two of them.

Although he appeared somewhat lazy, his back was very straight, exuding a natural, dignified bearing.

"Hand it over." Yu Xing didn't approach, remaining standing with his hands in his pockets. "Yi Qing won't agree to you, and besides, I'm the one making the deal with you; I won't drag anyone else into this."

The implication was that even if the Lingren wanted Zhao Yijiu to do something, it wouldn't be possible.

"Alright." The Lingren agreed easily, tucking a stray strand of hair behind his ear, raising his eyes, his light-colored pupils fixed intently on Yu Xing, "Then you'll exchange information with me using yourself."

Zhao Yijiu interrupted, "Excessive demands are unacceptable. We can simply forgo the information."

"Sigh... your captain already said it's a deal between two people." The Lingren chuckled, his tone suddenly turning sinister halfway through his sentence: "Who gave you the right to speak, you little brat?"

Zhao Yijiu's expression shifted, and he strode forward, placing his arms on the Lingren's tea table. Looking down at the Lingren, his expression was gloomy and indifferent; visually, it was even difficult to tell who was more sinister, "Compared to you, I'm not small."

This pose made the muscular muscles on his arms even more prominent, as if he were showing off.

Indeed, he has quite a lot of muscles.

Zhao Yijiu still remembered what the one-ninth slice of the Lingren had done to him. Now that the gap between their strengths was not as large as before, he would never allow this person to treat him like an insignificant ant with such a condescending tone again.

Moreover, he harbored deep resentment towards Lingren. Every time he saw one, although he was no longer traumatized, his lips still seemed to ache slightly.

Zhao Yijiu scoffed coldly, her face expressionless. "If you're talking about age, then that's true, you're an old man."

The Lingren slowly raised his head, looked at him with interest, and reached out to Zhao Yijiu's arm, as if wanting to feel how hard his muscles were. "If you put it that way, then A Xing is actually an old man too."

Just as his fingertips were about to touch Zhao Yijiu pulled out a knife from somewhere and slammed it into the table with the force of piercing the Lingren's hand.

The Lingren quickly withdrew his hand, but still touched the cold blade. His hand was unharmed, but the blade began to spread rapidly with dense red lines from the point of contact, and then disintegrated and collapsed along these lines.

With a few cracking sounds, the knife shattered instantly.

"Oh dear, what a pity." The Lingren rubbed his fingertips, calmly stating his earlier plan, "If you had been a little slower, you would have been the one who shattered."

Yu Xing was very close by and could naturally feel the cursed power attached to the Lingren's hand when he reached out.

The Lingren and his power originated from the same source, and they would sense each other to some extent when using their powers. However, their powers manifested differently after merging with their bodies; the Lingren's red markings seemed more aggressive and sharper.

There's one thing the Lingren is wrong about. If Zhao Yijiu hadn't realized what he was trying to do and had reacted a little too slowly, Yu Xing have acted in time and wouldn't have allowed the Lingren's devastating curse to fall on Zhao Yijiu.

"You're underestimating me." Zhao Yijiu didn't regret the knife at all; it was just an ordinary thing, not even worthy of being called a sacrifice. He was just thinking that he wished he could have hit the target with that last strike.

"With your current strength, I wouldn't overestimate you," the Lingren chuckled. "Actually, I preferred you before you couldn't speak; now your mouth is somewhat annoying. How about we melt your tongue away?"

Yu Xing raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you give it a try?"

Zhao Yijiu remained calm, showing no awareness of being threatened by a Reality-level Deducer.

He's not stupid. There are more than just the two of them here; Yu Xing is also there. When the Lingren pulled him into the Yin Yang Corridor alone, he was very quiet and didn't do anything to upset the Lingren.

Arrogance can be appropriate for any situation.

Hearing the protective tone in Yu Xing's words, the Lingren finally showed a hint of annoyance between his brows. He rubbed his temples and said, "I really don't want to do anything to you before A Xing can stop me. So... after we get out, let's torment your brother a bit."

Zhao Yijiu: "You--"

Yu Xing stepped forward and pulled Zhao Yijiu away, staring at the Lingren with a half-smile, "If you really wanted to take action against Zhao Mou, given your personality, you would have tortured him thoroughly before saying it, instead of giving prior notice. Teacher, you're just joking, right?"

The Lingren looked at him without saying a word.

Yu Xing pulled up a chair and sat down, smiling slightly. "Weren't we talking about the deal? Why is the atmosphere so tense? Come on, let's get back to the topic. Don't get angry; getting angry is bad for your health."

The last five words were drawn out a bit, saying "Don't be angry," but it sounded like they wanted the other person to get hurt.

"Here, have a cup of tea. I poured it for you myself." Yu Xing's smile widened as she pushed the tea towards the Lingren.

The Lingren lowered his eyes, lost in thought, and his expression was anything but pleasant. It wasn't the effortless performance of an actor, where joy or sorrow was exaggerated; rather, it was a deeper, more profound silence.

Zhao Yijiu thought to himself that the Lingren seemed to be in a particularly bad mood at the moment, not because of his provocation, but because he seemed to be thinking of something else.

A few seconds later, Lingren picked up the tea Yu Xing had given him, and gazing at his reflection in the clear tea water, he said with a half-smile, half-sigh, "Young Master, you weren't always like this."

No one knew what he was referring to, and then they heard him sigh, "... It doesn't have to be like this."

With that, he flipped his hand and poured all the tea onto the ground.

This was the first time he had refused something from Yu Xing.

During the Republican era, as an actor, he never refused any gifts from the young master who was his friend, from a painting to a uniquely shaped stone.

Once the pretense was torn away, even as an enemy, he never refused any insults or malice from Yu Xing. He even endured Yu Xing's overt schemes that Yu Xing disdained to conceal, such as the one against Han Yan.

But the Lingren refused the cup of tea; he couldn't drink it.