There’s a strange feeling in the air, and when asked if you’re interested, the mixed signals are clearly intentional, almost teasing. If you dare to say you are interested, you’re in big trouble. Qin Yi awkwardly escaped from the royal palace and felt cold sweat dripping down his back by the time he reached the palace gates.
Dealing with such an unpredictable enchantress is really troublesome. You can’t tell which of her sweet words are genuine, but her charm is so tempting that without some willpower, you could easily fall into her trap.
If I had known I would run into such a woman, I should have read more novels about how to handle enchantresses before I crossed over. Books like "Entertainment Spring and Autumn," which covers all kinds of enchantresses, would have been helpful. Unfortunately, now I can’t even revisit those stories.
Eagle Li slowly walked over to him, hands behind his back, observing him with interest. Suddenly, he laughed and said, “Mr. Qin seems to have a unique attitude towards monsters. That saying in the mirror, not to mention its second half, the overall meaning certainly shows great concern for Ye Ling... Is it because Ye Ling doesn’t bite? Or is there another reason?”
“Maybe both,” Qin Yi thought for a moment and replied. “Anyway, I definitely can’t coexist with a monster that bites. Even if its temperament suits me, I can’t shake off that uncomfortable feeling.”
Eagle Li chuckled, “Before reaching the stage of fasting, there aren’t many monsters that don’t bite.”
Qin Yi fell silent.
He wasn’t sure what Eagle Li meant by that, but his first thought was that Eagle Li had definitely bitten someone before, and the monster king likely had too. Was he hinting that they’re not on the same side, and that politeness is meant for Ye Ling, not for him, a human?
Thinking of this, he said, “Once I find a way to break the curse of shared death, I’ll leave. Ye Ling doesn’t understand things, so I hope Commander Eagle will take care of her.”
Eagle Li seemed pleased with his response and nodded, “While you were bathing, I instructed someone to post a notice. As long as this item exists in the White Kingdom, we’ll have results soon. Even if it’s in the other two kingdoms, with a generous reward, someone will come.”
Qin Yi thanked him, and the two returned to the residence without further conversation.
An invisible barrier was clearly felt; Eagle Li looked down on humans, and Qin Yi had no intention of trying to win his favor. To be honest, Eagle Li’s attitude was already acceptable; there was no need to push for more.
After a short walk, Eagle Li led him to a large house. “This is my villa. It’s fully staffed, and I’ve made arrangements. You can settle in comfortably.”
“Thank you.” As Eagle Li turned to leave, Qin Yi hesitated for a moment and finally asked, “Commander Eagle, do you know where that human woman lives? She’s an old friend, and I’d like to visit.”
Eagle Li’s expression turned a bit strange as he replied slowly, “That woman is the owner of the brocade shop in the east of the city.”
“The owner?”
“What about it?”
“Oh, nothing. I just thought she was a young lady from a wealthy family, but she’s actually the owner.”
“Her parents passed away early, and she supports herself in this monster city. Considering the interests of my White Kingdom, I think it would be better for her to find a monster husband to help her.” Eagle Li glanced at Qin Yi. “If you don’t have anything important, it’s better not to provoke her, since you won’t be staying long.”
Qin Yi sighed, “Got it.”
Watching Eagle Li walk away, Qin Yi sent a thought into his ring. “Hey, what do you think?”
“Which one? About Cheng Huang? Eagle Li? Or Cheng Cheng?”
“Tell me about all of them.”
“As for Cheng Cheng, you really have no reason to seek her out. Is it meaningful?”
“Uh, it seems not. It just feels strange... that Eagle Li would consider a human woman’s marriage…”
“If you never see her again, it won’t matter. She’s just a passerby.”
“Hmm…”
Liu Su began to get to the main point. “Eagle Li is at the third or fourth level of Condensing Dan. The monster king Cheng Huang is at the peak of the Condensing Dan stage, which is equivalent to a human at the Golden Dan completion stage. I really don’t understand why someone at the Condensing Dan stage can be called a king. Has the cultivation world really fallen so low in this era?”
Come on, being at the Golden Dan completion stage is impressive. Many novel protagonists take hundreds of thousands of words to reach that level, sometimes even millions…
Qin Yi could only say, “This is a monster city relying on the remains of Kunpeng, hidden in a valley away from the world, so it doesn’t represent the true cultivation world. Besides, she’s only one-third of the monster city’s king.”
“Maybe,” Liu Su replied. “Based on this, that wizard should be at the initial stage of Golden Dan. Even with the home advantage, he still can’t defeat the monster king. But since it’s his territory, the monster king wouldn’t dare to be too arrogant and would wait for the right moment to strike.”
Qin Yi nodded; that seemed right. Although it wasn’t important anymore, it felt good to sort things out.
Liu Su continued, “Next time you see that Heart Mirror, just use the Clear Heart Technique, and you won’t be probed. The true value of that mirror is to reflect on oneself, not to fight against others.”
“Reflect on oneself?”
“Exactly. Do you really think you can see your own heart clearly?”
Qin Yi was taken aback and fell silent.
As they talked, they pushed open the gate of the residence, where two rows of strange-looking creatures were waiting, led by a thin, bamboo-like humanoid.
Seeing Qin Yi enter, the thin figure stiffly asked, “Are you Mr. Qin?”
Qin Yi wasn’t in the mood for pleasantries and casually replied, “I’m Qin Yi.”
“Which Qin, which Yi?”
Qin Yi’s mind returned to various events, and he snapped, “Didn’t Commander Eagle tell you which Yi I am? He probably doesn’t even know himself!”
The thin figure replied stiffly, “Although Commander Eagle didn’t say, we still need to confirm to avoid not knowing the name of our honored guest.”
Qin Yi felt he was being deliberately difficult and maintained a blank expression. “You don’t need to know. If you think I’m an imposter, feel free to ask Commander Eagle to confirm.”
“What do you mean by imposter? Do you have a token?”
Qin Yi was too lazy to argue and walked inside, sarcastically saying, “Being overly ‘dedicated to your duties’ can be a double-edged sword; be careful.”
The thin figure chased after him, saying, “A sword is inherently double-edged; a single-edged weapon is a knife.”
Qin Yi couldn’t take it anymore and turned around. “Did Commander Eagle send you to pick a fight?”
Just then, a round-faced, chubby creature rushed over with a smile. “Sorry, sorry! This one is just a gatekeeper transformed by Commander Eagle, and his temper is usually like this. It’s not aimed at our honored guest; please forgive him…”
“Turns out he’s just a nitpicker!” Qin Yi couldn’t help but laugh and slammed the door behind him.
Liu Su chuckled, “Eagle Li has an interesting attitude.”
“Yeah.” Qin Yi understood that he had intentionally placed a nitpicker here. If he complained about such a small matter, it would make him seem petty. The real intention was to make sure he didn’t feel too comfortable and would leave sooner.
“Is it really necessary? I don’t even eat his rice.” Qin Yi truly didn’t know how to describe it. How could a seemingly calm and imposing monster commander act in such a strange way?
…
As Qin Yi left the palace, Ye Ling timidly looked at Cheng Huang.
Her posture was still charming, but her tone had become much more serious, no longer teasing Qin Yi.
Of course, there was no need to tease a little kid.
“Ye Ling, do you know that your true nature has been cleansed by a master?”
Ye Ling was surprised. “I’ve always been like this.”
Cheng Huang looked at her meaningfully. “Really? Think carefully.”
Ye Ling scratched her head and thought for a moment. She realized she was indeed different from before, but that was because the people around her were different. Li Qinglin was always gloomy, scolding people and thinking about how to deal with Dong Huazi, making her kill people; while Qin Yi laughed every day, told her stories, and protected her, always thinking about how to keep her from being bullied.
So how could she be the same as before?
Seeing her confused expression, Cheng Huang shook his head and directly asked, “Regardless of whether you feel any change, if I were to restore you to the true form of a Teng Snake, how would you feel?”
Ye Ling instinctively replied, “I don’t care how a Teng Snake should be. My brother likes me this way; I don’t want to change.”
“If you stay this way, you will never achieve the strongest cultivation. Do you still insist on this?”
Ye Ling firmly said, “What’s the point of being so strong? I can just run away!”
Cheng Huang chuckled, “While you are right in this regard, you can’t rely on running away forever.”
Ye Ling thought for a moment. “I have my brother; he will stand in front of me.”
Cheng Huang fell silent, his expression suddenly becoming complicated.
After a long while, he sighed softly and handed her a jade slip. “Since you don’t want to look back, I won’t force you. This is a fragment of our monster clan’s classic, ‘Opening the Heavens of the Past Saints.’ Read it and destroy it; it must not be leaked.”
(End of this chapter)