79 Hiring a Cat for a Small Matter 4

She gazed around in a daze, taking in the familiar faces—her dearest friends whom she had not seen for three years—though one of those faces had departed this world forever. The lawns flanking the path had also begun their slow descent into autumn’s desolation; once a vibrant emerald, today they seemed bleak and forlorn. Stalks and leaves, tinged with yellow, grew thickly on both sides of the road, and in the company of the pines, an indescribable beauty mingled with sorrow.

Inside the hall, both soldiers and devotees paused their struggle, turning in unison to gaze at the sudden surge of green fire and the face that emerged within the flames.

“Once you enter the Divine Palace of Lingyun, your first priority must be to seek out Wan Ying’s whereabouts. Within the palace, avoid conflict with disciples from other sects as much as possible.”

“Very well, I understand.” Su Qingcheng smiled faintly and resumed her conversation with the three men from Korea.

Yet, in that brief moment of delay, Murong Ping had already moved to another gathering of citizens and begun his slaughter anew.

It was just that Li Wuxian spent most of his time in seclusion; matters of selection were always managed by Song Gang and Lin Ziyue. Xu Lin had heard that it was not Li Wuxian himself seeking disciples, but rather that he was leading his sect in the search for a true successor.

On her chest, the twin snowy peaks of jade stood out, with two faintly rosy points, as if stirred by some unseen stimulus, rising slightly.

Zhao Hui took a few steps forward, smiling at Li Zhenguo as she arranged her posture; Li Zhenguo then took her photograph.

All eyes watched as a crimson mist exploded from the blood-robed cultivator’s body, and then that blood-red vapor seeped into the earth below.

Yao Yuan’s gaze never left me; when I emerged again, he was the first to notice.

“My thanks to you both for granting me my revenge, but I have a bit of a headache now, so I’ll take my leave.”

Chen Fei, seeing this, wasn’t sure where the Gear Beast was leading him, but he simply followed. He certainly couldn’t just stand there foolishly.

They had barely regained their feet when a mushroom was flung at them—before anyone could react, it exploded in their midst.

The wriggling mass burrowed into their combat uniforms, constantly inventing new ways to slip into noses, ears, and mouths.

Seeing that Qin Yang had discerned her thoughts, Bibi Dong showed no embarrassment; instead, she nodded in confirmation.

Jin De, the first who was about to kneel and kowtow, was held up, and the other grand salutes of the Holy Masters were likewise excused.

In recent days, they had stayed mostly in their dormitory, keeping out of trouble. Fortunately, their earlier feats in Han City—slaying zombies with such prowess—had left others wary, or else many would have tried to steal their food by now.

A pair of phoenix eyes was filled with worry and fatigue; the usually neat and tidy beard now hung in slight disarray over his chest.

No wonder that after Xiang Ning was abducted, she imitated Princess Changle—locking herself in her palace, both to avoid suspicion with Xiang Chong and to protect herself.

Zhao Yun and Lü Bu exchanged glances, then rushed to me with smiles. “Big brother, you’re alright!” I nodded and glanced at the physician; truth be told, he had miraculously survived—it seemed he was truly blessed.

The Ancestor of the Encircling City had once been formidable, but what became of him? In the end, he too was slain by the Vortex Demon General. Such is the might of the demon race—if I join the Vortex Demon General, surely there’s more to be gained.

Meanwhile, Elena, in a remote duel, had used her sublime archery to defeat another ancient guardian god—Madoc the Axe-Thrower.

Zhang Mu’s reputation had reached 991, the highest in camp, and he had more than enough gold coins, so he didn’t hesitate to found a mercenary company.

I laughed and said, “Naturally, we’ll rendezvous with Yuan Shao before splitting up to search!” Ding Yuan nodded, and I ordered, “The whole army will act on my command!” The messenger went to deliver the orders at once. I donned my armor, followed by Lü Bu with Hao Meng and Wei Xu’s three thousand cavalry, and Ding Yuan; together, we set out towards Yuan Shao.

Reading these “explosive” news stories, all released on the same day, it was clear that the purge had begun, and the wolves had started to act.

Neither bothered to clean up after their meal; instead, they donned their gear, fastened their weapons, and strapped on their packs—ready to set out.

A look of derision crossed Long Hao’s face. Although the Mind Matrix was dead and had become a splinter, the consciousness lingering in its corpse was beyond mortal resistance. At best, Zhang Mu was merely a Holy Spirit—even with a trace of divine chaos within him, it was not enough to destroy the Matrix.

The Vice Magistrate Diao? During the Jin invasion, he led Hu Yanchuo to meet the enemy. At Huangshan Pavilion near Huang County, the Song army was defeated, Hu Yanchuo died in the chaos, yet Diao? fought on alone, dying with seven arrows in his body; even the Jin soldiers marveled at his fearlessness.

Moonlight seeped through the misty clouds, flowing quietly within, casting mottled patterns on the stone-paved ground. The noise of the central square was far removed from here.

Tian Yang shouted, and Ma Tianci’s eyes flashed at the words. Gazing at the colossal creature before him, he immediately issued his orders.

“He’s Liu Chuang, twenty-six years old, from Noxus. Here’s his identification—it’s been verified, there are no issues.” As Gudun spoke, he handed Caitlin a printed copy of the registration documents.

The dragon egg had barely finished speaking when its consciousness was kicked out by Qi Yu. It took a long moment for it to recover, then began wailing to be let back into Qi Yu’s mind.

But it wasn’t just Sun and Moon Consort at the scene; Shishi eyed us both with suspicion, stroking her smooth chin as she scrutinized us from head to toe, looking every bit the schemer.

In truth, Zhang Yue watched him in much the same way—only, no one had ever seen the look in Zhang Yue’s eyes.

“Where have you been lately? I heard from Feifei that you seemed to have left Linhai City.” Moran’s gaze lingered on Lu Yu; from the moment he entered, her eyes, which had looked a little weary before, curved into crescents of joy—no matter how you looked, she was simply happy.