Chapter 418: The Bottomless Pit Long Qingyue Had Dug (3^rd Update)

Compared to Long Qingyue punishing her, Ye Wenxin found Long Qingyue punishing the others even more distressing. Despite this, Ye Wenxin was unwilling to admit defeat. She tried to use the peach blossom chains to seize Ghost Mother and Sword Ghost’s hearts and minds, preventing them from developing partiality towards Long Qingyue as if spellbound.

However, the peach blossom chains didn’t move an inch, frustrating Ye Wenxin. Unbeknownst to her, Xiao Zhang was secretly laughing, while Ghost Mother and Sword Ghost concealed their amusement.

It was all a scheme Long Qingyue had set up to discipline Ye Wenxin…

During breakfast, Ye Wenxin observed everyone’s expressions. Long Qingyue looked refreshed and invigorated, but the women who had been with her yesterday all wore peculiar expressions, constantly yawning.

Ye Wenxin found the situation odd and curiously inquired about what they had done the night before. The group responded with dreamy smiles and didn’t provide any answers, but their expressions suggested they had had a very enjoyable time.

“Miss Ye?” Seeing Ye Wenxin keep staring at the others, Long Qingyue couldn’t help but call out again.

Ye Wenxin apologized, “Sorry, I was lost in thought. What did you just ask me?”

“I was asking if we should set out now. With Yangzhou City in such peril, we should aim to arrive as soon as possible.” Long Qingyue’s appearance was like that of a passionate young man, which made several of the girls crazy for her. Unlike yesterday, however, these women’s eyes currently held respect and they were even practicing proper dining manners, as if they had been thoroughly educated during the time unbeknownst to Ye Wenxin.

They no longer made boorish noises while eating, nor did they make unnecessary movements. Ye Wenxin felt she might have misunderstood Long Qingyue. However, suspecting it could be part of Long Qingyue’s scheme, Ye Wenxin remained cautious. She swallowed the food in her mouth and continued, “I had originally planned to set out today, but after thinking it over, I’ve decided against it.”

Long Qingyue’s face showed some surprise. “Why aren’t we leaving today? If the Jiangshi King comes after us, there could be dire consequences.”

Ye Wenxin smiled and said, “Lord Mo, you might not know, but the Jiangshi King is skilled in clone magic, which is why she can expand the jiangshi forces so quickly. Her true self is extremely weak and can’t be seen.”

Ye Wenxin expressed her thoughts, reminding Long Qingyue that the jiangshi were not as difficult to deal with as they might seem. Since her goal was to kill Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng and find Mo Niancheng, it might be better to let Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng into the fray.

Long Qingyue was slightly stunned, but quickly understood. “So, you mean to lure out the Jiangshi King here?”

Ye Wenxin nodded. “Yes, Xiao Zhang is an expert in disguise. Since the Jiangshi King wants to kill the Demon Lord, we’ll give her a Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng.”

Xiao Zhang, who was still eating, immediately choked and began to cough violently. She thought she wouldn’t be assigned such a tough task again, but unexpectedly, Ye Wenxin had pushed her into it once more.

Xiao Zhang wasn’t afraid of jiangshi or death, but she dreaded the soul-crushing sensation of the Soul Suppressing Eighteen Needles. Even against the Jiangshi King’s clone, her current Nascent Soul stage cultivation was practically useless, and she couldn’t even block a single attack from a clone.

After hearing that Ye Wenxin wanted her to disguise herself as Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng, Xiao Zhang grew perturbed. On one hand, she was worried about angering the real Demon Lord, and on the other hand, she feared displeasing her own master. She managed a wry smile.

“What’s wrong, Xiao Zhang?” Ye Wenxin observed Xiao Zhang’s exaggerated reaction and had a rough idea why. Ye Wenxin was a petty and highly vengeful person, so Xiao Zhang’s current inclination towards Long Qingyue was making her little grievances surface.

However, when it came down to actually taking action, Ye Wenxin would ultimately play the role of Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng herself.

“No, it’s just that I’m injured, and it’s really inconvenient for me to act,” Xiao Zhang said, showing her bandaged arm. When she thought about the traditional medicine she had to take every day, she resisted with even more determination.

“But among us, you’re the only one who has seen the Demon Lord.” Ye Wenxin continued to entice her.

“Well, I’ve only seen her briefly. After all, she is a friend of Her Highness, and the Demon Lord, not someone we subordinates can easily interact with.” Xiao Zhang awkwardly glanced at the others present. As if sensing what Xiao Zhang was thinking, their eyes shifted away, unwilling to make eye contact with her for fear of becoming the Demon Lord’s substitute.

“I’ve had the honor of seeing Lady Qingcheng. Why don’t I draw a portrait of her? This way, regardless of who ultimately plays Lady Qingcheng, there will be no variances,” Long Qingyue offered, shocking Ye Wenxin.

Long Qingyue’s skills in both literature and martial arts were well-known throughout the world, but there were scarce records of her other aspects. Even as her best friend, Ye Wenxin was surprised to learn that Long Qingyue was also an artist.

“What is it? Do you not believe I have this ability?” Seeing Ye Wenxin’s surprise, Long Qingyue smiled again.

The others, eager to see Long Qingyue’s work, quickly called for someone to bring out brushes and ink. Long Qingyue began to paint, and soon, a beautiful woman appeared on the paper. She was so gorgeous that it even gave Ye Wenxin the impression that the painting was more beautiful than the real person.

In the painting, Demon Lord Gu Qingcheng was dressed in red, but Long Qingyue wasn’t finished. She added red paint to the center of her forehead, drawing three dots that resembled a flame or petals.

These three dots seemed to bring the beauty in the painting to life. “Is this really the legendary Demon Lord?” The people of the Mo Clan Stronghold were astonished as they looked at the beauty on the paper, as if it was their first time seeing someone so true to life and devastatingly beautiful.

Long Qingyue still hadn’t responded. It wasn’t until she set down her brush and looked over the painting that she finally said, “I’ve captured about seven-tenths of her essence.”

The beauty in the painting was already so astonishing, so the others found Long Qingyue’s words even more difficult to believe. If this stunning beauty was only seven-tenths of her essence, they wouldn’t dare imagine how beautiful the real person could be.

Ye Wenxin, the person depicted in the painting, showed a wry smile. She felt that Long Qingyue was overpraising her, as she didn’t consider herself nearly as beautiful as Long Qingyue seemed to believe. However, seeing how Long Qingyue was lifting her up like this, Ye Wenxin couldn’t help but feel a bit pleased. She praised, “Lord Mo, you truly have uncanny workmanship, to be able to paint something so lifelike.”

Long Qingyue merely nodded modestly, further boosting everyone’s impression of her. Ye Wenxin felt like she had completely lost in cross-dressing, but she would wholeheartedly accept this defeat if it was to Long Qingyue.

“Alright, this is what Lady Qingcheng looks like. Miss Wenxin, you should use this depiction as a reference and quickly transform.” Long Qingyue got the topic back on track. Ye Wenxin nodded, but then she suddenly sensed something was off.

It seemed the trap she had planned to skip over, had been dug into a bottomless pit by Long Qingyue.