"Divine Sister, please accept Duan Yu's bow!"
Meanwhile, Duan Yu and Zhong Ling arrived in the stone chamber where Nalan Sheng stood. The instant Duan Yu saw the jade statue of the beautiful woman, he seemed possessed, unable to stop himself from kneeling and bowing before it.
Just as Zhong Ling was at a loss, Nalan Sheng suddenly walked over to the jade statue and swept it into his Storage Ring with a wave of his hand.
[Ding! The host has intercepted the fated male protagonist's jade statue of his Divine Sister. Reward: 200 Villain Points!]
"You... what did you do? What did you do to my Divine Sister?"
Seeing the beautiful jade statue vanish into thin air, Duan Yu became so anxious that he forgot his fear of Nalan Sheng and demanded an answer.
Smack!!!
Faced with Duan Yu's questioning, Nalan Sheng wasted no words. He raised his right hand and delivered a solid slap across his face, knocking him to the ground and sending him tumbling like a rolling gourd.
[Ding! The host has beaten the fated male protagonist. Reward: 3 Villain Points!]
The corners of Nalan Sheng's mouth lifted slightly. "Must I explain my actions to you?"
After that hefty slap, clarity immediately returned to Duan Yu's eyes. He clutched his swollen, reddened cheek, looking utterly pitiful.
Seeing this, Zhong Ling could not help pleading, "Brother Sheng, let's talk things out nicely~"
"Hmph!"
Nalan Sheng snorted at her words. "Girl, don't forget that I just saved your lives. Otherwise, you would have been buried alive.
"If I weren't in a good mood right now, I would have slapped an ungrateful wretch like him to death."
"..."
With Nalan Sheng putting it that way, Zhong Ling had no idea how to refute him.
"Enough. I've already obtained what I wanted, so we're even now. Let's part ways here."
Having said his piece, Nalan Sheng gave Zhong Ling no chance to ask him to stay. He left without so much as looking back.
"Brother Sheng..."
Watching Nalan Sheng's departing figure, Zhong Ling instinctively wanted to chase after him, but she could not leave Duan Yu without worrying.
Before Zhong Ling could decide what to do, Nalan Sheng had already vanished without a trace.
"This is all your fault! You made Brother Sheng so angry that he left."
Feeling as though she had missed an opportunity as vast as the heavens, Zhong Ling glanced at Duan Yu, who was still sitting on the ground clutching his aching cheek, and stamped her foot in frustration.
"H-how is this my fault again...?"
The corner of Duan Yu's mouth twitched, his face full of speechless disbelief.
First Nalan Sheng kicked me off a cliff and nearly killed me, then he took away my Divine Sister's jade statue right before my eyes, and he even slapped me across the face. Clearly, I'm the victim here!
"Obviously it's your fault!"
Zhong Ling glared at Duan Yu. "If you knew martial arts, we wouldn't have nearly been buried alive by the Shennong Gang, and we wouldn't have owed Brother Sheng a favor.
"But even though we both owed him, you still talked back to him over some lousy statue. Tell me, didn't you deserve that slap?"
"It wasn't some lousy statue! It was a jade statue of my Divine Sister!"
"You still dare talk back to me? Fine, I'm done with you..."
Zhong Ling angrily waved her delicate fist, then stamped off, leaving the seemingly bewitched Duan Yu alone.
What Zhong Ling failed to notice was that, as she left the stone chamber, two patches of darkness silently merged into her shadow and Duan Yu's.
Duan Yu paid no attention to Zhong Ling's departure. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the nearby stone wall.
Several dozen lines had been carved into the wall, all passages from the Zhuangzi. At the end was an inscription: "Written by Xiaoyao Zi for my dear Qiushui. Within this cave, neither sun nor moon marks the days; here lies the greatest joy in the mortal world."
"Dear Qiushui? So my Divine Sister's name is Qiushui! What a lovely name~"
Duan Yu stared at that inscription for a long while, his expression filled with boundless envy.
If only I could live here in seclusion with my Divine Sister... no, even if I could exchange just a single word with her, I could die without regret.
Meanwhile, after leaving Langhuan Blessed Land, Nalan Sheng followed the river outside for a short distance before discovering a main road.
His sharp eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of a tea stall beside the road, and he walked toward it.
"Old Huang, we need to set off once we finish our tea. We absolutely cannot let that filthy bitch escape this time."
"Don't worry. Granny Rui is leading us herself this time. That bitch won't get away."
Nalan Sheng had barely approached the tea stall when he heard the curses coming from within.
Their accents sound a little strange. They're different from Zhong Ling's and the others', more like accents from Jiangnan. Could the bitch they're talking about be Mu Wanqing?
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Nalan Sheng walked into the tea stall without betraying anything. "Old sir, a bowl of cool tea."
"Coming right up! Please wait a moment, sir."
The white-haired old man running the tea stall promptly poured a bowl of cool tea and set it on the table in front of Nalan Sheng.
"Old sir, we've left the tea money on the table."
Before Nalan Sheng could take a drink, the two foul-mouthed men suddenly called out, then tossed two copper coins onto their table.
After paying for their tea, the two men picked up the saber and tasseled spear beside them, mounted the swift horses outside the stall, and rode away.
An amused gleam flashed through Nalan Sheng's eyes. He drained his bowl of cool tea in one gulp, then casually took out a small silver bead and tossed it onto the table.
It was not that Nalan Sheng was a fool with money. The silver beads were simply the smallest currency he had on hand.
Before using the [Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils Instance Card], Nalan Sheng had specifically asked the blacksmith at his residence to make some silver and gold beads for convenient use in this world.
"Sir..."
Just as the white-haired old man was about to give Nalan Sheng his change, he discovered that his customer had already left without his noticing.
By then, Nalan Sheng was following the two men as silently as a ghost.
Although the two men rode swift horses, compared with Nalan Sheng's Lightning Divine Movement Technique, they were as slow as children who had only just learned to walk. There was no danger of losing them.
Nalan Sheng followed the two men at a swift pace for several dozen li before finally stopping in front of a courtyard.
Several dozen figures had already gathered outside the courtyard. Their attire was much like that of the two men, and they all looked like martial
artists. Armed with common weapons such as sabers, spears, staffs, and clubs, they surrounded the entire courtyard so tightly that not even water could seep through.
Clang, clang, clang...
Just as Nalan Sheng was about to send Shadow Ninjas into the courtyard to gather information, the sounds of a fierce fight suddenly rang out from within.
"Stop that little bitch! Don't let her escape!"
Amid that hoarse shout, a fine horse, pitch-black from head to hoof with a glossy coat, charged out of the courtyard carrying a young woman dressed in black.
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