The Height of His Own Cleverness

Zijing's face was deathly pale, not a trace of color in it, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. The starkly contrasting scene played out right before Uchiha Chen, yet it gave Zijing a uniquely sickly beauty. Though she fell a little short of Ino and Konan, she was hardly unattractive.

Each of the three women had her own appeal, but Uchiha Chen paid it no mind. What kind of woman hadn't he seen? He regarded Zijing with simple appreciation, without any other look in his eyes.

Though Zijing felt a little uncomfortable under Chen's gaze, she didn't feel the slightest aversion to it. That struck her as strange; nothing like this had ever happened to her before. Still, being watched by Uchiha Chen like this made her feel very strange.

"Mr. Chen?" Zijing looked at Chen in confusion.

"What is it?" Chen smiled faintly and stopped looking at her.

"Gan Feng told me you agreed to our request?"

"More or less." Uchiha Chen shrugged indifferently.

Uchiha Chen's tone was casual, but Zijing didn't take it that way. She abruptly rose to her feet, swaying slightly from the sudden movement.

Still, she forced herself to stand and looked at Uchiha Chen solemnly before bowing deeply to him.

"Thank you for making such a tremendous contribution to the Land of Demons and to the entire world, sir. We will never forget this kindness!" Zijing said, looking at Uchiha Chen earnestly.

"Don't mention it." Uchiha Chen waved a hand, then said with an amused expression, "The Land of Demons paid such a hefty price. It's not as if I'm helping you for free. I asked for quite a lot in return!"

At Chen's words, Zijing covered her face with both hands and chuckled softly. "You're far too modest. How could