Images of Mu Guiyun chatting and laughing intimately with unfamiliar girls kept appearing in Ma Xiaotao's mind.
At the thought of it, Ma Xiaotao, whose expression was already gloomy, burned with rage. On top of that, she was plagued by the flaw in her Martial Soul. Tormented by both her inner fire and Evil Fire, her peerlessly beautiful face twisted against her will.
Mu Guiyun had still been smiling a moment ago, but suddenly sensed that something was off. He felt the delicate body in his arms gradually tense, and even Ma Xiaotao's fair skin took on a rosy flush.
Looking down, he saw Ma Xiaotao gazing at him with a sweet smile, though a dangerous glint flickered in her eyes.
At the sight of this, Mu Guiyun's mouth twitched, and a bad premonition welled up inside him.
"Gui Yun, can you tell me where you went? And who you went with?"
As Ma Xiaotao's voice fell, Mu Guiyun felt the jade arms wrapped around his waist slowly tighten until they had him firmly locked in place.
They were so close that even her enormous headlights were being squeezed out of shape.
Mu Guiyun could clearly feel Ma Xiaotao's delicate body growing hotter by the second, especially around her lower abdomen, which was scorching.
"This..."
Mu Guiyun's Adam's apple bobbed. A flash of inspiration suddenly struck him, and he hurriedly put on a righteous expression. "I was secretly investigating corruption in the Shrek City Defense Army. Sister Xiaotao, you have no idea what those bastards have been doing behind everyone's backs..."
"So that's what it was?"
The corner of Ma Xiaotao's mouth curled into a dangerous smile. She didn't believe a single punctuation mark of what Mu Guiyun had said.
Remembering how Zhang Lexuan and Mu Guiyun had been acting so ambiguously lately, along with the unfamiliar scent of perfume on him, Ma Xiaotao licked her slightly dry lips.
"Your big sister here has run into a little trouble too. I need Detective Gentleman to investigate it thoroughly. What do you say?"
When she said the word "investigate," Ma Xiaotao emphasized it noticeably.
Huh? Wait, is this investigation actually on the level?
Mu Guiyun quickly leaned back. The last thing he wanted right now was to experience Ma Xiaotao's Rich Lady's Happy Fire.
"This... I'm not feeling well today. I promise I'll do it next time!"
Mu Guiyun gave an awkward smile and was about to make his escape, only to realize that Ma Xiaotao's jade hand had already settled behind his neck.
"Next time, huh? Heh heh heh~"
Ma Xiaotao chuckled wickedly, then exerted a little force with her jade hand and pulled Mu Guiyun's head right in front of her.
Gazing into those bright golden eyes, Ma Xiaotao could no longer hold back. The corner of her mouth curled up again.
"My temper's really flared up!"
Several hours later, Ma Xiaotao rose first, feeling delighted. She quickly tidied her rumpled white nightgown and her hair, which had stuck together with sweat, then padded barefoot toward the mirror nearby.
Looking at her still-flushed face in the mirror, Ma Xiaotao smiled with satisfaction.
Seeing Mu Guiyun lying on the floor, looking as if he were about to cry, Ma Xiaotao couldn't resist teasing him again. "You're pretty good at that!"
Mu Guiyun didn't answer. He simply rolled over in silence, leaving Ma Xiaotao with the sight of his limp, defeated back.
He'd been worked over like a pair of walnut worry beads...
He hadn't been burned by her Evil Fire, but Ma Xiaotao had made him reenact several hours of a famous battle from the Three Kingdoms, and in the end he'd even been forced to get his face washed several times.
Seeing that Mu Guiyun wasn't responding, Ma Xiaotao's pretty face flushed again.
She then took two gold cards out of her Soul Tool and slowly placed them on the table. "Here. You did pretty well, so this is your reward. I'm going to cultivate now!"
After doing all that, Ma Xiaotao turned and left the secret chamber, refreshed and invigorated.
Now that she was free of the torment of Evil Fire, she planned to cultivate like crazy!
Looking at the gold cards glittering on the table, Mu Guiyun immediately started pointing and grumbling at Ma Xiaotao's retreating figure.
What was that supposed to mean? It was practically a naked insult!
After putting away the gold cards, Mu Guiyun turned to look at his damp clothes. The faint seafood smell on them made him frown instinctively.
Ugh, that stinks.
At the same time, in a residential district of Shrek City, a squad of fully armed City Defense Army soldiers surrounded Baldy Zhao's home several layers deep.
Looking at the corpse in front of him, covered with a white cloth, Wu Lie's expression turned displeased.
As an officer in the City Defense Army, Wu Lie had been resting at home when he was informed of a murder in the southern residential district. That was what had forced him out of bed.
His gaze fell on Little Yellow Hair, who was trembling nearby. Wu Lie's expression darkened as he asked, "What happened here?"
When he saw Wu Lie looking at him, Little Yellow Hair shuddered. Even his speech turned into a stammer.
"Um... I, I came to have a drink with Big Brother Zhao. But as soon as I walked in, I saw Big Brother Zhao lying on the floor..."
Hearing this, Wu Lie frowned instinctively and turned to look at the public security officer beside him.
The officer immediately understood and said gravely, "The deceased was named Zhao Lei, thirty-seven years old, a level twenty-two Soul Grandmaster. He was a drifter in this area."
"As for the cause of death, our preliminary judgment is that it was revenge. The wounds on Zhao Lei's body struck vital points, and, and..."
By the end, the officer's expression had turned rather strange.
"And what?"
"And when we got here, Zhao Lei's... thing and Lan Zhi were both gone, too."
The officer's words left Wu Lie stunned.
What did you say was gone?
Not quite believing his ears, Wu Lie squatted beside Baldy Zhao's body. The moment he lifted the white cloth, the sight before him made his lower body clench.
Damn! Who was the culprit? What a vicious method!
Wu Lie shuddered involuntarily, then fell into deep thought.
Could this have been the work of an Evil Soul Master? That didn't make sense. What kind of nerve would an Evil Soul Master need to come cause trouble in Shrek City?
Since he could rule out an Evil Soul Master, why had the culprit cut off that thing? To use it as an ingredient for medicine?
"Oh, right. We also found this at the scene."
Just then, the public security officer beside him remembered something and handed the card in his hand to Wu Lie.
Looking down, Wu Lie's heart suddenly clenched at the image of the green monster on the card.
As a graduate of Shrek Outer Court, he knew all too well what that symbol meant.
"Fine. Let's leave this matter here. Classify it as suicide."
"Huh? But if the higher-ups look into it..."
Wu Lie had made the decision outright, and the officer looked troubled.
He couldn't exactly write in the report that the deceased had been stabbed eighteen times in the back and died by suicide, could he? And that he'd cut off his own... before he died?
Who would believe that?!
At the mention of the higher-ups, Wu Lie felt a headache coming on. He naturally knew about the City Defense Army officers' dirty business; he was involved himself.
If this blew up, nobody would get away unscathed.
"Just write it that way for now."
After sending the public security officer off, Wu Lie summoned one of his trusted subordinates and sent him a secret message. "Go tell them this: if they don't want to die, they'd better keep a low profile for a while!"