First Kiss Gone

"I, I am called Nanali..."

Nanali took a deep breath, struggling to make her expression look natural, her voice carrying just the right amount of timidity.

Nanali?

Luo Yang's gaze flickered slightly.

This name... it felt like he had heard it somewhere before.

His mind rapidly scanned through intelligence regarding the Holy Spirit Cult: Dark Bell, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Holy Spirit Cult, known for using bizarre methods and a sweet appearance to bewilder opponents, while her true self was a ruthless and vicious lunatic.

Could this "pitiful" little girl before him be that very person?

So, she was also coming for him?

Acting on the Cult Master's orders to capture him and take him back to be the Holy Son?

No, brother, is there no end to this?

Luo Yang felt a bit numb all over.

A Death Messenger wasn't enough, so one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Dark Bell, had to come out in person?

What virtue or ability did he possess to make the Holy Spirit Cult value him so much?

He sighed inwardly, yet his face remained fixed in that harmless, innocent smile. Looking at Nanali, he said with a grin:

"So that's your name. Nanali... it sounds quite nice. Rest assured and follow us; you'll be fine. Right, Ye Guyi?"

Ye Guyi cast a meaningful glance at Luo Yang, then looked at Nanali, and gave a soft "Mm."

She didn't say anything more.

But that one look had already said everything.

Swept by that gaze, Nanali stiffened, nearly losing her footing.

She felt like a mouse that had voluntarily crawled into a cat's den, thinking she was hidden perfectly, only to realize the cat had been awake the whole time, just lying there lazily, not wanting to eat her yet.

And the most terrifying part was that she couldn't run.

Because that "cat" was currently looking at her with a smile, an expression that clearly said:

Run, just try running and see what happens.

Nanali felt like crying without tears.

She began to regret, with a frantic intensity, taking on that wretched mission from Qiangu Zhangting.

Qiangu Zhangting, you idiot!

What kind of monster have you made me provoke!!!

At the same time, Ye Guyi retracted the eight wings behind her and slowly descended to Luo Yang's side.

The divine light gradually receded, making her appear like an ordinary, stunningly beautiful young girl, though the faint, ethereal aura of holiness surrounding her still made people afraid to look directly at her.

Yuanen Yehui watched all of this in silence. She vaguely felt that the little girl named Nanali was problematic, but she couldn't put her finger on what was wrong.

Luo Yang and Ye Guyi's reactions left her even more confused; they had clearly said she was "picked up on the road," so why was the atmosphere so strange now?

But she wisely chose to remain silent.

The journey back to the plaza was much smoother than the way there.

After the Death Messenger's domain was forcibly shattered by Ye Guyi, this area had returned to normal. The ruins remained, but the nauseating, decaying stench in the air had been completely purified by the divine light.

When Luo Yang and his group stepped back into the town center plaza, the scene before them left them all silent.

On the plaza, there were several more corpses.

They were the members of the security team from earlier, the ones who had set up a betting pool on them "not living past noon."

At this moment, they lay scattered in pools of blood, their expressions twisted in terror, clearly having suffered immense agony before death.

Some of their bodies had partially liquefied into pus; others remained in a running posture, having collapsed after only a few steps.

Wiped out.

Yuanen Yehui turned her face away, unable to bear looking any longer.

Luo Yang was silent for a moment, then gently patted her shoulder.

"Let's go," he said.

Nanali kept her head down, trying her best to minimize her presence.

She could feel that gaze from Ye Guyi, constantly and faintly locked onto her, like needles on her back.

She dared not make any sudden moves.

If she dared to show even the slightest hint of danger, that angel girl would undoubtedly draw her sword without hesitation.

Just then, a figure as brilliant as a raging fire descended from the sky!

Leng Yaozhu!

She landed steadily in the center of the plaza, her crimson dress fluttering slightly in the night breeze, powerful soul power fluctuations still lingering around her body.

A trace of imperceptible anxiety lingered on her face, but upon seeing Luo Yang and Yuanen Yehui safe and sound, that anxiety was quickly replaced by a sense of relief.

"You two little ones, are you alright?" She stepped forward quickly, her gaze sweeping carefully over them, and only after confirming there were no obvious injuries did she let out a sigh of relief.

"We're fine, Aunt Leng." Luo Yang shook his head with a smile.

He concisely recounted their encounters along the way: meeting an Evil Soul Master at the Soul Ancestor level, Yuanen Yehui getting injured, him using the Gold of Life to heal her, then encountering an even stronger Death Messenger, and finally summoning Ye Guyi to slay him.

Of course, he kept the parts regarding Nanali very vague.

Leng Yaozhu listened with a trembling heart.

When Yuanen Yehui was injured, she had been trapped at the edge of the Death Messenger's domain, having used all her strength to break free within a few minutes.

If Luo Yang hadn't had Ye Guyi as his trump card...

She dared not think further.

Leng Yaozhu's gaze fell upon Ye Guyi, and even as a woman herself, a flash of astonishment couldn't help but cross her beautiful eyes.

Tall and statuesque, the golden palace dress perfectly outlined her graceful curves—plump where she should be plump, and slender where she should be slender. She looked like an angel untainted by dust, having descended into the mortal world.

Furthermore.

If her senses were not mistaken, this person's cultivation seemed to be at the level of a Limit Douluo.

So strong!!

Leng Yaozhu couldn't help but marvel at the outrageous nature of Luo Yang's martial soul.

Just how heaven-defying could it be to actually resurrect the departed powerful?

Ye Guyi naturally noticed the gaze Leng Yaozhu was casting upon her.

"It is truly fortunate that you were able to return alive. That Death Messenger... was at least at the Title Douluo level. If not for this young lady's assistance..."

She looked toward Ye Guyi and nodded solemnly in greeting. "Thank you."

Ye Guyi gave a slight nod, saying nothing more.

Leng Yaozhu withdrew her gaze and looked back at Luo Yang, a gentle smile appearing on her face: "However, you have indeed exceeded the mission requirements. Not only did you eliminate the target, but you also resolved a much greater hidden danger."

"So, is there any reward?" Luo Yang smiled.

Leng Yaozhu was slightly taken aback, then chuckled.

"There is," she said.

Then, in the eyes of everyone caught off guard.

She crouched down and cupped Luo Yang's face in her hands.

Luo Yang's pupils reflected her stunningly beautiful face.

Then...

A dragonfly-light, warm, and soft sensation touched his lips.

It was gone as soon as it touched.

It was so fast that he didn't even have time to savor it.

Luo Yang's pupils dilated slightly, his mind going blank for a split second.

Leng Yaozhu straightened up, her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled with the slyness of a successful prankster: "A kiss as your reward."

His first kiss... just like that?

Luo Yang stared blankly at the woman in front of him who was smiling like a fox, at a loss for words.

Leng Yaozhu watched his dazed expression, her mood seemingly improving even further; that smile was practically that of a scumbag who had just taken advantage of someone.

Yuanen Yehui silently averted her gaze, pretending she hadn't seen anything.

Ye Guyi raised an eyebrow slightly.

Nanali: "..."

Wait, are you people from the Spirit Pagoda all this wild?

Even in our Holy Spirit Cult, we have never had rewards like this...