Chapter 34 (Part 2)

Why should he care whether she had been bullied?

Recently, he had been overthinking. Was it the influence of the formation?

Just as he thought this, he looked up and saw that Yu Zhengzheng, who had been lost in thought, was now rushing toward him like a happy little bird.

An Ning lifted his chin, sneering slightly.

It had only been a short while; why was she so excited?

She had her arms open wide. Was she planning to hug him?

Women were really clingy creatures.

As he thought this, he slightly flexed his arms, his palms subtly spread, prepared to catch her clothes just in case she came rushing too quickly and ended up falling.

As she ran faster, An Ning calmly reminded her, “Slow down.”

As soon as his words fell, Yu Zhengzheng threw herself into the arms of the man in front of him, her voice soft and clingy. “Shanshui, I thought I’d never see you again.”

Shanshui patted her back gently and whispered comfortingly, “No matter where you are, Zhengzheng, I will always find you.”

Sauerkraut Fish · Rong Shang: “…”

He opened his palm, trembling slightly for a moment, then calmly closed it again.

At that moment, Hengwu Immortal Lord happened to witness the scene and struggled to hold back his laughter. “Was the Ghost King trying to swat a mosquito just now? There are plenty of them around here.”

Rong Shang remained expressionless. “I shouldn’t have taken your eyes back then.”

Hengwu Immortal Lord, surprised, asked, “You’ve had a change of heart?”

Rong Shang replied coldly, “I should’ve cut out your tongue instead.”

Hengwu Immortal Lord: “…”

Fine, he knew it. The Ghost King didn’t have any conscience.

Rong Shang directly asked, “How do we pass through this illusion?”

Hengwu Immortal Lord smiled. “This level isn’t difficult. You just need to survive here for three days without dying.”

He added, “There’s no ready food or water supply here, but three days without food is manageable. After all, you won’t die.”

Before Rong Shang could reply, Yu Zhengzheng glared at Hengwu Immortal Lord. “Man’s mouth, lying ghost.”

She was still resentful about the lies he’d told her earlier.

Hengwu Immortal Lord laughed heartily. “The little lady really holds a grudge. Don’t worry, if I lie to you again, I’ll swear that my whole family will perish.”

Rong Shang chuckled lightly. “Your whole family is already dead.”

Hengwu Immortal Lord: “…”

In order to gain everyone’s trust, he reluctantly held up three fingers and made a toxic vow. “If I lie, I will live a lonely life and watch my loved ones die in front of me.”

Yu Zhengzheng thought the vow was quite strong, but Rong Shang didn’t take it seriously.

Hengwu Immortal Lord had once been engaged, but the marriage was called off before it could take place due to his background.

Although there were no real feelings involved, it was still a matter of face. Hengwu Immortal Lord might still harbor resentment toward that woman, and his vow was clearly aimed at her.

Rong Shang decided not to push further. He noticed that Yu Zhengzheng, who had been standing with Shanshui earlier, was now walking towards Xiao Yuqing.

He noticed Yu Zhengzheng’s face was slightly flushed as she stood behind Xiao Yuqing but hesitated to touch him. She eventually only covered her face with her hand, as if shy, looking like a lovesick girl.

In truth, Yu Zhengzheng’s face was drenched in sweat as she wiped her forehead, still unsure how to play her part.

Whether or not Ning was a puppet, and who controlled her, wasn’t directly related to her nor did it threaten her interests.

But she didn’t want Xiang Feng to repeatedly hurt Shanshui over a puppet. Even though Xiang Feng was a scoundrel, Shanshui didn’t deserve such treatment.

Yu Zhengzheng had suffered for over a decade and had only one true friend—Shanshui. She couldn’t stand anyone harming her friend.

Advanced puppets were almost indistinguishable from living people, and Ning was cunning. With Xiang Feng’s self-deception, unless there was undeniable proof, he would find excuses to absolve Ning.

But if she could expose the puppet master, it would be much easier.

When creating advanced puppets, the puppet master’s blood had to be mixed in. If a knife soaked with the puppet master’s blood were stabbed into Ning’s heart, she would return to being a corpse.

The opportunity to act was limited. To avoid alarming the snake, she had to act in secret. She needed to probe the two of them first.

Hengwu Immortal Lord seemed very friendly with his constant smiling, but people like him were the hardest to approach; his defenses were high, and it wasn’t easy to probe him.

Xiao Yuqing, on the other hand, seemed easier to approach.

It was just a process of elimination. If one of them could be ruled out, the other would surely be the puppet master.

Yu Zhengzheng straightened her expression and gently patted Xiao Yuqing’s arm. “Xiao Dage…”

Xiao Yuqing’s arm slightly trembled, and he paused before slowly turning around, a gentle smile on his jade-like face. “Is there something you need, Yu girl?”

She lowered her head and spoke in a soft voice. “About yesterday… I’m sorry…”

Xiao Yuqing was momentarily taken aback before remembering it was about the medicine she had applied the previous day.

He smiled warmly. “There’s no need to apologize, Yu girl. I overstepped. Men and women shouldn’t be so familiar. I should be the one to apologize.”

Yu Zhengzheng let out a quiet sigh of relief. “It’s good that Xiao Dage isn’t mad at me. What I said yesterday was all out of anger.”

“Was the Ghost King’s woman also angry?”

Yu Zhengzheng nodded. “Yes, I was being stubborn. I felt like Xiao Dage wasn’t helping me, but really, it was all just out of anger…”

Before she could finish, her body stiffened.

The person asking wasn’t Xiao Yuqing.

Rong Shang looked down, a cold smile tugging at his lips. “Why don’t you continue?”

Yu Zhengzheng was internally panicking. While she hadn’t spoken ill of the Ghost King behind his back, her words could certainly be interpreted as complaining about him. She was afraid he had misunderstood her.

“That’s not what I meant,” she said hastily, forcing a smile. “I mean, I didn’t know my own place.” She awkwardly continued, “How could I be the Ghost King’s woman? I’m not even worthy to serve him.”

Rong Shang had no expression. “You’re very self-aware.”

Yu Zhengzheng: “…”

The three of them stood together. Rong Shang didn’t speak, so the other two were left awkwardly standing there.

Yu Zhengzheng wanted to kick him out. If he had something to say, he should just say it! Why stand there like a wooden post?

The awkward atmosphere lasted for a long time until she finally spoke to break the silence. “Xiao Dage, the medicine I put on my foot still hurts. Could you… take a look at it?”

Her face was shy, and she tightly clutched her clothes with her small hands, biting her lip slightly. “Do you know any medicine? Can you… help me check the wound?”

Yu Zhengzheng was quite proud of her acting skills. With this performance, she would’ve won an Oscar back in the day.

If Xiao Yuqing knew medicine, it would increase his suspicion. After all, he was a sword cultivator, not a doctor. Only puppet masters needed to study medicine, and they also used it to create pills.

She looked at him expectantly, and even a man would be hard-pressed to resist such a pleading gaze. Xiao Yuqing hesitated for a moment. “I don’t know medicine, but I have some pills that may help alleviate the pain. I can help treat the wound a little.”

This tells her that he can’t heal, but he can still help her check her foot.

Yu Zhengzheng hesitated for a moment, preparing to nod.

This was a good opportunity—while he was checking her injury, she could pretend to accidentally soil his sleeve, then apologize flustered, and take the chance to roll up his sleeve to check the red birthmark.

Just as she was about to nod, Rong Shang interrupted her. “Men and women should not touch each other.”

Yu Zhengzheng forced a smile. “In urgent matters, we should act according to the situation. I don’t mind.”

Rong Shang lazily raised his eyes. “Since that’s the case, I’ll check it for you.”

Then he casually added, “Anyway, is there any part of you that I haven’t seen?”

Yu Zhengzheng: “…”

See you, damn it! See you at your grandmother’s legs!

Xiao Yuqing, agreeing with Rong Shang, said, “What the Ghost King says is not without reason.”

Yu Zhengzheng was on the verge of losing her composure, nearly losing it. She barely managed to say, “It doesn’t hurt much anymore. There’s no need to trouble you with such a small matter.”

Before the two could speak again, she quickly left with large, graceful steps.

Rong Shang gave Xiao Yuqing a meaningful glance, his lips curling slightly. “That old man Xiao Bichi isn’t honest, and neither are the small things under his command.”

Xiao Yuqing wanted to refute, but when he raised his eyes and met Rong Shang’s cold, murderous gaze, he couldn’t say anything.

Everyone was resting where they were, since they had to stay here for three days, which also helped conserve their energy.

Hengwu Immortal Lord leaned against a tree trunk, his nose blocked by two pieces of cloth.

Yu Zhengzheng, curious, asked, “Did you get a nosebleed?”

Hengwu Immortal Lord shook his head. “How could that be? I never get nosebleeds.”

She was puzzled. “Then why are you blocking your nose?”

Hengwu Immortal Lord grinned with a mysterious smile. “Because there are cannibal tribes nearby.”

Yu Zhengzheng still didn’t understand. “What does that have to do with blocking your nose?”

He extended three fingers and patiently explained, “The cannibal tribe comes here to hunt. The air here is poisonous. If I count to three, all of you will faint. When you wake up… oh no, you might not wake up at all. You’ll become the dinner for the cannibal tribe.”

He then reduced his fingers to two. “Three, two—”

Yu Zhengzheng finally understood why the Ghost King liked to hit him. If it weren’t for her lack of strength, she too would want to slap him.

Just as she was about to cover her nose, Hengwu Immortal Lord smiled and spit out the last number between his teeth. “One.”

Suddenly, there was a ‘thud,’ and everyone collapsed onto the ground, rolling their eyes as they lost consciousness.