LWGP - Chapter 200
Chapter 200: Emei Mountain
In terms of attributes, Shen Wan was no less than Wen Juanzhi. With the bonus from her profession, she should have had an even easier time.
How was it that Wen Juanzhi had broken free, yet she had allowed the Undead Charm Spirit to succeed?
Ning Memeng’s question wasn’t entirely baseless, but it could also be an insinuation. Anyone who had arrived in Bashu a few days earlier would know of Shen Wan’s reputation. She was known as the number one beauty of Bashu. However, she was an official, working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an elite assigned to her hometown of Bashu after the descent. Unfortunately, she attracted too much romantic attention, and one of those rotten peaches was the man next door. He had angered the cool-headed goddess who disliked commotion, a fact known even to outsiders.
This time, did she deliberately let the Undead Charm Spirit kill him?
Shen Wan ignored her. Instead, Ning Memeng was warned by her own father, and Liu Wuren let Shen Wan proceed as she saw fit.
Shen Wan manipulated the light arcana with both hands. After forming a seal, golden threads of light wrapped around the corpse, not to unlock it, but to inspect its abilities.
She closed her eyes, her soul entering the void, following the lines of light to capture the Undead Charm Spirit’s memories… She was searching for the process of how it harmed its victims, as well as its purpose and methods.
She saw the underground. The Undead Charm Spirit was traversing the earth with great purpose, without any hesitation, fully aware of its target’s location. It went directly beneath Wen Juanzhi’s residence and released a gas that could induce hypnotic dreams. Soon, Wen Juanzhi was bewitched and fell into a dream.
It was his dream, a dream where his desires and thoughts were tempted.
The residence was elegant yet cold in style. From Shen Wan’s perspective, it was clearly a man’s home, but it was also apparent that it was trying to cater to a woman’s tastes.
For example, despite being a musician, there were many medical books on the shelf.
But the living room was empty. There were sounds coming from the bedroom—low, suppressed moans.
The Undead Charm Spirit pried into his memories, approached the bedroom, and saw clothes scattered all over the floor, a messy black duvet, and two entangled figures.
It was a pulse-pounding sight, for the beauty of their forms was fully revealed, for the aesthetic of that restrained yet indulgent intimacy was perfect.
He was a genius who had captivated countless fans across the nation, who worshipped him as a god. He was aloof, ascetic, taciturn, and melancholic, always restrained and polite. Aside from busking and singing at a subway entrance during his younger, difficult years, he had no dark past. Besides music, nothing else seemed to matter to him. Some called him a statue whose heart was held captive by guitar strings and a microphone.
But now, he was so careful, yet finding it hard to restrain himself, as if trying his utmost to please her. But her eyes were indifferent, and she remained silent even in the throes of physical pleasure.
The sounds were his, bewitched and irrepressible.
She was the one being pleased, yet she remained aloof and superior.
He would never see her lose her senses, not until he couldn't resist kissing her neck, his fiery kisses sliding down, attempting to get closer to her snowy, delicate back, only to have his lips covered by slender, soft fingers.
She closed her eyes, speaking wearily and hoarsely, “Not here. The rest is up to you.”
Her voice sounded gentle, somewhat tolerant and doting. In truth, he had been “kept” by her for several years. During that time, she rarely came. When she did, it was only to have him teach her about music. She didn't seem very dedicated to learning; it was unclear if it was a hobby or just a way to pass the time. Most of the time, she would just drink here, or read, as if this was just one of her leisure spots.
Her attitude towards him was very cold, as if he were just an ordinary accessory in this house, no different from a book, a lamp stand, or a trash can.
Today was the first time she had finally let him fulfill his duty as a “plaything.”
He froze, then couldn't help but ask daringly, “Anywhere is fine?”
He admitted that deep down, he still had a bit of the ferocity of the young master he was before his family was ruined.
Probably because his bones hadn’t been completely broken yet.
She opened her eyes. The light in them was like a thin leaf that had fallen onto the water during the transition from summer to autumn, drifting with the wind. “Where do you want to kiss?”
It was a half-smile, as if she wanted to see what kind of trouble he dared to stir up.
In the end, he lost his nerve, only daring to lower his head and kiss her lips.
Gently, as if in worship.
She neither refused nor accepted. During their most intimate contact, she just quietly watched the night scenery outside, her thoughts unknown. The moment it ended, he couldn't help but ask her, “Why did you come looking for me tonight? Is it because you got divorced? Because you were sad, so you…”
Whether it was humiliation from his lowly status or pure jealousy, he couldn't say. He only felt anger and resentment, yet he found it hard to voice the secret delight in his heart.
She turned her face to look at the person above her. A moment later, he was suddenly flipped over and pinned beneath her. Her fingers clasped his throat, powerful and cold.
It was as if she had become a different person in an instant.
Though their bodies were still connected, she had turned into a block of ice.
As his heart pounded in terror, she leaned down slightly. Thousands of black silk strands of hair cascaded from her shoulders, spreading over her enchanting, beautiful back and curves, half-concealing, half-revealing, an ethereal sight.
The ice melted, absorbing all the heat, yet it became even colder, making one shudder to look at it.
“Investigating me?”
“I… I didn’t. You’re very famous.”
“Is that so?”
She asked simply, but then lost interest. The killing intent came and went quickly. She pulled away from his body, got out of bed, casually grabbed a nightgown, put it on, and tied the sash. She went into the bathroom, and after the sound of running water, she came out a while later, drying her hair, without looking at the bewildered and lost man.
Just like that, she left his world.
Her arrival was abrupt, her departure casual.
She never looked back.
He might have angered her. Realizing this, he hastily threw on some clothes and chased after her, only to see her leaning against the railing on the living room balcony, playing a harmonica.
The moonlight was like water, the melody light, slow, and lingering.
Until it ended.
He said, “How did you…”
She turned her face, toying with the harmonica in her fingers, and tilted her head to ask, “It was packaged so nicely over there. If it wasn’t for me, was it for another woman?”
He felt a lump in his throat and said, “No, it’s for you.”
She asked, “Does it sound terrible?”
He replied, “No, it’s just… it feels very sad. I never thought someone like you could be sad.”
She smiled. “When I saw you at the subway station, you looked like a quiet gourd. Turns out you’re a thorny one too. You’ve got a lot of nerve.”
He frowned, subconsciously recalling the experience of having his throat seized, feeling a slight fear, yet he continued to offend her again and again.
“Back then, why did you choose me?”
Her long, slender fingers paused, gently tapping the harmonica against the glass, a sound that landed on his heart. She lowered her eyes, her voice melting into the night.
More lonesome than fireworks, more desolate than the night.
“Perhaps… I needed a child. A child who could help me escape all my suffering.”
He was stunned, utterly dumbfounded. But then he saw her suddenly laugh, a wild and contemptuous laugh.
Like a demoness.
Cruel, cunning, and hiding secrets.
Shen Wan ended the seal and said to the crowd, “It first releases a toxin to hypnotize, then enters a person’s dreams to deeply understand their emotions. It transforms into someone close to them to lure them near and assassinate them. At that time, the victim’s body will be weakened by the toxin, their mind controlled, completely unable to resist. Unless the victim has a strong will and senses something is wrong, allowing them to forcibly break free, death is certain.”
Her words were concise, without going into specific details, but everyone generally understood.
“That’s amazing, to be able to capture even that.”
“Beauty Shen is just that incredible.”
“So amazing.”
“The toll must have been significant too.”
Liu Sheng hurried over and asked with concern, “Sister Shen, you must be tired. I see your face is all red.”
A faint, exhausted crimson had indeed appeared on her jade-like cheeks. Shen Wan’s gaze lowered slightly, sweeping naturally past a certain person as she said in a low voice, “I’m fine.”
She didn’t deny that the exertion was great.
System: “Pardon my bluntness, but you only used a few hundred points of Spirit Power.”
Shen Wan ignored the System and said to Liu Wuren, “There’s one thing I’m not sure about.”
Liu Wuren: “What is it?”
“The Undead Charm Spirit can pry into human memories. I’m not sure if they have already extracted confidential information from those memories and sent it back to their race.”
The crowd fell silent at once.
Today’s arrangements had just been made, and they were already compromised?
“Whether it was sent or not, it probably doesn’t matter anymore.” Lin Yong appeared and said to Liu Wuren, “I just examined the bodies of these people and checked them against the list you gave me. The deceased are all lightning and fire-type arcanists, and the sole survivor is also a lightning-type, correct?”
Ning Kungui: “Does this mean the other side is carrying out targeted assassinations?”
At this moment, Shen Wan had already sent a voice transmission to Liu Wuren: “Their route was precise; they knew the targets’ residences.”
She spoke privately because this discovery was enough to prove that there was a traitor within the alliance colluding with the Undead Race.
Liu Wuren was no fool; he instantly understood Shen Wan’s meaning.
1. They needed to know the attribute information of these deceased individuals.
2. They needed to know their residential information.
Those who met these two conditions were either high-level members of the Bashu Territory or people who had stayed in Bashu for at least a few days, long enough to gather this information.
He didn’t say much, only addressing the crowd, “The Undead Charm Spirits are the vanguards of the Undead Race. Logically, the previous Undead Race didn’t have any special troop types that were extremely afraid of fire and lightning magic. After all, these two attributes have a natural lethality against living beings. For them to act so hastily means there must be an important and powerful troop type within their ranks that is particularly afraid of these two types of arcanists. This is too big of a change. We need to speed up and prepare to move out to our respective assigned areas immediately.”
It had only been a few days, and special troop types were already appearing one after another. This was unsettling.
If they couldn’t root out the traitor, changing their deployment would be meaningless. They could only stick to the original plan but race against time.
They had to set out tonight.
No one objected, and they all began to disperse. But Liu Wuren looked at Shen Wan. “Get some rest. I’ll have Huzi and the others handle the redeployment and reorganization. Your face is still red.”
Shen Wan was slightly embarrassed but nodded. Just then, Wang Shu and his group arrived. Many people were keen to curry favor with the Gobi Territory (or Lao Wang), and Luo Sheng, at least, beat Xie Jiang and the others to it by proactively relaying the information.
Wang Shu was both shocked and scared. “So vicious! My god! I’m a fire arcanist too. I’m lucky I’m okay.”
Luo Sheng: “The ones who died so far all have attributes above five thousand.”
Wang Shu: “What’s that supposed to mean? You’re looking down on me?”
Luo Sheng: “No, you’re Sister Ah Jiu’s little darling. She even gave you such a beautiful butterfly.”
Wang Shu: “…”
This passive-aggressive crap. Could I tell them I bought it? Of course not. I’m going to piss you all off!
So Wang Shu blushed and acted all shy and coy, which thoroughly disgusted Liao Luo and the others.
This damn dog. He was crying like his whole family was at a funeral during the day, and now he’s acting all cheap.
However, Luo Sheng was disgusted by Wang Jiu, because she was thoughtfully observing Shen Wan.
Her gaze was a bit deep.
What was more subtle was that not far away, Wen Juanzhi had just finished collecting all the fragments. He gathered every last piece, carefully placed them in a handkerchief, wrapped it up, and then struggled to his feet, his body heavily injured. He also avoided the helping hands of Jiang Yun and others.
Jiang Yun was mortified and couldn’t help but look at Wang Jiu, even taking a step towards her.
But Wen Juanzhi said, “My business has nothing to do with anyone else.”
“Thank you.”
A single “thank you” was both ruthless and face-saving, but he steadfastly refused to mention anything about Wang Jiu.
Was he afraid of his embarrassing past, or was he trying not to cause trouble for Wang Jiu?
Jiang Yun knew Wen Juanzhi’s personality all too well, and his attitude hurt her even more.
“Oh, my little ancestor, you’re so injured. I’ll give you a couple of heals in a bit.”
The effeminate agent went over to support Wen Juanzhi. As they left, he didn’t forget to bow his head to Wang Jiu.
“Boss, we’ll be leaving now.”
“…”
The word “Boss” was extremely clever, instantly tearing away the veil of unspoken ambiguity.
Wen Juanzhi was in utter disbelief, glaring at his agent as if he wanted to eat him alive.
Wang Shu and the others: “…”
What the hell, was this sissy doing it on purpose, trying to latch onto our Lao Wang?
The scene was a bit complicated.
But the most embarrassed person was surprisingly Shen Wan. She didn’t look at Wen Juanzhi, nor at Wang Jiu, and she avoided Wang Jiu’s gaze. She turned and left. Back at her place, she was halfway through packing when she kept thinking about the profound look Wang Jiu had given her. Finally, she sighed softly. “It’s not like I wanted to see it.”
She finally opened her social network.
Shen Wan contacted Wang Jiu and got straight to the point. “Lord of Gobi, the memories seen by the Undead Charm Spirit may have already been transmitted back to the Undead Race. Please be vigilant.”
Wang Jiu was probably busy on her end. A moment later, she replied, “Is that so? What did it see?”
Someone as cunning and intelligent as you wouldn’t know? If you didn’t know, why were you looking at me like you wanted to silence me?
Shen Wan wasn’t actually afraid of Wang Jiu; she just felt that if something could be explained, it shouldn’t be left to fester as a hidden danger.
“Some of Mr. Wen’s memories.”
“What memories?”
“Some memories involving you.”
“Oh, about sleeping together?”
“…”
Just when I think you’re playing dumb, you pull out a knife.
However, from her time as a diplomat dealing with the ever-changing faces of politicians, Shen Wan had some resistance. She didn’t take the bait, as it would be an admission that she had seen it all, from beginning to end, without being able to skip ahead.
She couldn’t be blamed for that.
She said calmly, “Private matters are not for outsiders to interfere with. I am merely informing you out of courtesy. I hope the Lord of Gobi will not take offense.”
“Afraid I’ll kill you to silence you?”
“I simply have no intention of provoking a person like you, Lord of Gobi.”
“You already have.”
Shen Wan was startled. Her first reaction was that this woman, a master of manipulation and extremely powerful in matters between men and women, was teasing her. But her second reaction was—in that memory, there must be a secret that Wang Jiu cared about.
Wen Juanzhi? Unlikely.
She could see Wang Jiu’s heartlessness towards Wen Juanzhi. That left only one possibility.
The child.
The last thing she mentioned, seemingly casual, might actually be a secret.
Needing a child—this should be a wish any woman might have, but it didn’t seem to fit Wang Jiu.
Moreover, the purpose of escaping suffering was contradictory and illogical.
If it really was a secret, then she would have to be careful around this Wang Jiu in the future.
Thinking of how she had pierced Wen Juanzhi’s palm without a moment’s hesitation, so ruthless and cruel, a chill ran down Shen Wan’s spine.
Meanwhile, deep underground somewhere in Sichuan, the information transmitted back by the Undead Charm Spirit had indeed reached the Undead Race.
Amidst a gas that was both cold and scorching, a monstrous, colossal creature seemed to emit a low growl.
“A child?”
“Perhaps our allies will be very interested in this secret.”
There wasn’t much to pack. Wang Jiu had only brought her main team. There was no rush to bring the larger group over. The original plan was to spend the night and head to Emei Mountain the next day. Now that the schedule was moved up, they just needed to do a headcount and they could leave.
The next day at dawn, Emei Mountain was a bit cold.
“The Annals of Emei Prefecture say: ‘Clouds like coiffed hair of verdant green, dark tresses painted from afar, truly like the head of a cicada and the brows of a moth, slender and long, beautiful and enchanting, hence the name Emei Mountain.’ This place is truly beautiful.”
Seeing the beautiful scenery, Qi Shuanghan showed off his literary knowledge.
Wang Shu rolled his eyes. “Sounds like you’re complimenting a beautiful woman.”
Qi Shuanghan: “That diplomat Shen is truly elegant.”
He was also in the same profession, though not at her level. Her career was the ceiling of his dreams, so it was normal for him to admire her.
But with several beautiful women present, he didn’t dare say more. He rubbed his nose and turned to ask Wang Jiu about the upcoming battle plan.
“I don’t know, haven’t thought about it yet.”
“??? Didn’t you already submit the report?”
“When you write in your weekend diary, do you think it’s going to be published?”
“…”
Once on Emei Mountain, Wang Jiu came up with a battle plan.
1. Find the spirit vein.
2. Contact the people in Gobi and prepare for them to come over.
3. Make some food. Haven’t had breakfast yet.
Lao Wang was an oddball, and oddballs naturally had their own style of doing things. The people of Gobi were used to it. They did whatever she said. She didn’t like to blabber, and the people of Gobi had learned not to blabber either.
Those who were supposed to cook, cooked. Those who were supposed to make contact, made contact. Those who were supposed to find the spirit vein, found the spirit vein.
Wang Jiu had the Spirit Bamboo Shoot, which made finding the spirit vein on Emei Mountain a breeze. However, she gave it to Qiao Xuejing and had her, Liao Luo, and Dao Dao go find it. She herself went to look for the array.
The shell covering the Seven Star Day Array—she had to go take a look.
By the time Wang Shu was halfway through cooking, Qiao Xuejing had just reported to Wang Jiu that the spirit vein had been found.
Liao Luo’s talent was truly remarkable. With him, her, and Dao Dao, they found the underground secret even faster than Wang Jiu could have.
“Is that so? Secure the location, but don’t go down yet. Eat well, and wait for me to get back.”
While Wang Jiu was chatting with Qiao Xuejing, she was looking at an array hidden within a very ordinary thicket of bushes.
At first glance, it was a very ordinary array, but it concealed a great secret.
“Another water-light array. Truly impressive. The shells come in so many varieties.” Wang Jiu marveled once again. The System asked if she was going to do something.
“If even one star of the Seven Star Day Array explodes, you won’t be able to handle it.”
The System asked with great interest.
Wang Jiu mused, “Not only will I not be able to handle it, I won’t even have a chance to revive on the spot… If it were just a simple explosion and destruction, I’d just die and revive. A group of people dying together and reviving together—even if the person behind this has such grand means, they couldn’t swallow all the benefits in one go. It wouldn’t actually affect the big picture.”
“So, behind the Seven Star Day Array, there must be a bloodthirsty method. The person controlling the Seven Star Day Array can use its physical destructive power to amplify their own bloodthirsty techniques. It’s like my methods, which are actually a chainable system.”
In other words, this was a grand conspiracy to annihilate both the Undead Race and the human alliance.
System: “Makes sense. As expected, a villain understands a villain best.”
This damn Dog System was being quite sarcastic.
Wang Jiu ignored the System and also ignored the array. She just calmly went back to eat.
Thirty high-attribute experts who had once dominated their fields were now huddled on the magnificent cliffs of Emei Peak, eating and enjoying the scenery. It felt a bit surreal.
“It’s a bit like a college student outing,” Zhao Si said cheerfully, biting into a steamed bun and sipping seafood soup.
Bai Bai glanced at him. “An old cabbage leaf like you, still a college student? You humans are so shameless.”
Ever since Bai Bai had roasted Gao Qu that day, it was as if its meridians had been cleared. Its mouth never stopped, but few dared to talk back.
Wang Jiu put down the milk soup Wang Shu had specially made for her, wiped her mouth, and pulled over the people from Gobi.
Three thousand of their strongest fighters. There were so many people that the cliff couldn’t hold them all. Many were so scared their legs trembled, nearly falling off.
My god, can Lord Lao Wang be a decent person for once? This is so damn wicked.
Cursing inwardly, they remained outwardly obedient and well-behaved, waiting for Wang Jiu’s command.
Emei has its Golden Summit, its light filling the sky with splendor.
In the valley below the Golden Summit, narrow and pathless, Wang Jiu tapped her foot and swooped down on her flying device.
???
Damn it, we can’t fly!
“Hahaha, I can!”
Wang Shu jumped onto the large butterfly and zipped down.
“That damn fatty.”
“We have flying pets too.”
Xie Lu and the others had them too, bought from Wang Jiu before. They were quite happy with them back then, but now, compared to Wang Shu’s, they felt a bit disgruntled.
That large butterfly was purple-gold grade. The ones they had were platinum grade, focused on flight capability with little combat power.
But it was still better than not being able to fly. The others could only follow Liao Luo, sliding and leaping down through the forest on the valley’s slope.
More than three thousand people, a mighty procession. By the time they reached the valley floor, Lin Fengmian examined the surrounding tracks. “No signs of Undead movement. Looks like they’re taking an underground route?”
“Maybe they haven’t arrived yet. Moving underground is definitely slower than on the surface.”
“But there are no tunnels. How are we supposed to get down?”
As the crowd discussed, Wang Jiu opened her right hand. Countless Spirit Tentacles in the form of green silk strands flowed out from her palm, crawling across the ground upon landing.
Drill a hole directly?
These green silks couldn’t possibly do that, right?
Although the crowd was amazed by the delicacy of Wang Jiu’s technique, they had yet to experience its power—because they had never seen it before.
Wang Shu and the others had seen it, but not directly, as Wang Jiu mostly used her blade to attack.
But this time… Crack!
Liao Luo was the first to hear the sound of tree roots and soil cracking and separating under the surrounding trees. Then he saw the ground where the large trees were rooted split open. The trees were pulled out, huge underground boulders were dislodged by the green silks, and then the thickening Spirit Tentacles hollowed out the soil… with a thunderous roar.
The ground split open, revealing a massive underground cavern.
“This… these hair strands are this powerful? They’re even more amazing than Sadako.”
Wang Shu muttered.
“Master, Master, what skill is this?”
“A skill that can get thicker or thinner, and apply force however I want.”
“…”
A lot of Lao Wang’s dark history was exposed yesterday, so she was probably in a bad mood. Her words were full of traps, and no one dared to respond.
Are we going down?
“No.” Wang Jiu looked at the dusty crater, narrowed her eyes, and said faintly, “They’re coming up.”
These Undead were already prepared!
Sure enough, just as Wang Jiu finished speaking, the crowd heard a loud buzzing from underground. Immediately after, a large black shadow, seemingly with wings, shot out with a whoosh.
Holy crap, there are flying-type Undead!!
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