Chapter 276
He Qipa and Yu Xunge turned to look at each other simultaneously, and the atmosphere became extremely awkward.
The nine tails of Wu Ren spread out like a peacock's fan, and a thin mist began to fill the alchemy shop, pressing down on them until it was hard to breathe. If it weren't for the fact that the World Tomb on the other party would disappear upon their death, Wu Ren would have likely made a move already. She glanced at Yu Xunge and said, "This is your last chance."
Yu Xunge sighed inwardly. There were two reasons she hadn’t left just now.
First, she wanted to see if He Qipa would still protect her in the face of Wu Ren.
Second, she couldn’t abandon He Qipa and Xiao Maqi. If she hadn’t arrived in the Dark City, it would have been one thing, but now that she was here and had discovered something was wrong, her first instinct to leave would be impossible to hide from He Qipa...
Even without mentioning the bond she had formed with these two undead since they met, from a purely practical standpoint, she couldn’t leave.
To completely abandon He Qipa and Xiao Maqi would mean cutting off her connection to Lucia as well.
Although He Qipa never admitted to being Lucia's student, and their interactions were minimal on the surface, the fact that He Qipa organized notes from the Moon Fox books for her to deliver to Lucia, and that Lucia's first choice for receiving the Moon Sand was He Qipa, indicated that their relationship was anything but ordinary!
Moreover, her ability to negotiate peacefully with Lucia was undoubtedly heavily reliant on He Qipa.
In a sense, betraying He Qipa would mean severing ties with Lucia.
If she left these two masters, who would she learn alchemy from in the future?! In the tower, she had to focus on cooking, not because she wanted to showcase her culinary skills, but because she had nowhere else to learn alchemy. She understood all too well how crucial it was to have a powerful alchemy master as a teacher.
Yu Xunge took out her prepared bargaining chip: "Do you need a translator for the languages of the myriad races? I can speak 555 of them."
Wu Ren's gaze shifted noticeably. For a moment, her murderous intent surged, but it quickly faded. She waved her hand, ordering all the Moon Fox guards to leave the alchemy shop. Once the door was closed, she looked at Yu Xunge and asked, "Do you want to follow me?"
Yu Xunge's eyes widened in terror: ?!
No! She just wanted a part-time job! She never intended to join a faction!
Wu Ren read the expression on Yu Xunge's face...
The feeling of having her handcrafted master potion auctioned off came rushing back to her.
**[Chapter 358: See You on the Battlefield on the 15th of Next Month]**
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Yu Xunge hurriedly clarified, "I admire you, my lord, I truly do. But unfortunately, I’m not a Moon Fox, so I can’t follow you!"
Wu Ren sneered, "Hypocrite! If you really admired me, how could you put the potion I gifted you up for auction?"
He Qipa looked at Yu Xunge with the eyes of a warrior, noticing a hint of confusion on her face. She quietly reminded her, "The potions made by Wu Ren, the Moon Empress, either command a high price for custom orders or only appear at high-end auctions."
Yu Xunge understood, and so did Tu Lan: "You put a limited edition LV on the second-hand market!"
Yu Xunge immediately pulled out 10ml of dragon blood and handed it to Wu Ren, saying, "I was terrified at the time. I saw the Moon Fox clan's research on fragrances in the library, and I was worried you would trace it back to me, so I had to part with it quickly. Please forgive my rudeness."
Dragon blood... Wu Ren's eyes lit up. Ever since Li Zhi left Songgui, she hadn’t been able to acquire any dragon blood for a long time.
Currently, in Zelan, the easiest way to obtain dragon blood was probably through that little dragon from the Dragon Clan. Ever since the little dragon arrived on the battlefield of another world, all the alchemy masters had been waiting for its contractor to sell dragon blood. The Fenglian clan had even been lying in wait on Blue Star for a long time, but unfortunately, there had been no news...
She accepted the dragon blood, nodding in satisfaction. "Considering your good attitude, I’ll let this matter slide... How did you steal the World Tomb from me?"
Yu Xunge replied without hesitation, "There’s a skill crystal called [Miao Shou Kong Kong] that has a 10% chance of stealing an item from the opponent."
Wu Ren said nothing, unsure if she believed this explanation or if she sensed that Yu Xunge hadn’t directly answered her question.
Seeing that Wu Ren didn’t pursue the matter further, Yu Xunge breathed a sigh of relief, but she couldn’t shake the chill running down her spine. When she turned to look, He Qipa was staring at her with a gaze that felt like a wife discovering her husband had given all their savings to someone else.
When she fought with Tu Lan, she had only managed to acquire 70ml of pure dragon blood, later giving 20ml to He Qipa and now 10ml to Wu Ren. Plus, she had used a drop when she transformed into Tu Lan. Now, she had less than 40ml left, and she didn’t plan to use it herself; she needed to save it for when she might "accidentally" offend someone again and need it for her life...
Yu Xunge silently turned back, pretending not to see.
Wu Ren put away the dragon blood and laid a stack of photos on the table. "I know you’re an outsider. Your kind has harmed my subordinates. Go kill these outsiders, and in exchange for this dragon blood, I’ll forgive your disrespect."
Yu Xunge picked up the photos and saw they were all members of the Han family. Ah, the grass on their graves must be several meters high by now. She tucked the photos away and said, "I guarantee, on my honor, that I will wipe them out!"
"Then let’s talk about how you stole the World Tomb," Wu Ren said, clearly pleased with Yu Xunge's response. "Are you planning to give me the languages of the myriad races?"
Yu Xunge was taken aback. Are you a bandit?!
Without hesitation, she extended her hand. "How about you return the dragon blood to me? I’m willing to die to atone for my sins."
Wu Ren flicked her fox tail lightly, sending a gust of air that knocked Yu Xunge's hand away. She asked, "Have you collected the keys?" This person must have obtained the qualification to enter the battlefield; otherwise, she wouldn’t have proposed to be her translator for the myriad races.
Yu Xunge replied, "Yes."
Wu Ren's expression was inscrutable. After a moment of contemplation, she asked in a deep voice, "Is the one you stole part of the key?"
Yu Xunge carefully assessed Wu Ren's expression. "Um..."
Wu Ren didn’t seem angry. Her gaze drifted into the air, clearly contemplating the World Tomb in her game backpack.
Tu Lan: "That expression looks just like when you’re playing mahjong and don’t know how to play your hand. The same kind of serious confusion."
Before Yu Xunge could retort, Wu Ren said, "How about I trade you 45,000, 56,000 for your 5, 6, and 7?"
She had indeed stolen Wu Ren's 6, but why the 5, 6, and 7?
How could Wu Ren be so sure that her key was 5, 6, and 7? What if it was three 6s, or 6, 7, and 8?
Yu Xunge and Tu Lan both thought of this question simultaneously.
The seasoned mahjong player Tu Lan immediately said, "She must have at least two 6s. Didn’t you say you also got an 8 from her? Does she know that 8 is also stolen from her? If she doesn’t, she probably has three 8s left, and you’ve taken away her meld... That’s a deep-seated grudge!"
Yu Xunge: "It’s also possible she’s trying to bluff me..."
Yu Xunge didn’t dwell on what the key actually was, nor did she argue with Wu Ren about it. She directly refused, "I’m very satisfied with the skill of the current key. I’m sorry, my lord, but I can’t trade. Next time I enter the world battlefield, I can translate for you three times. How about that?"
Although she still didn’t know what the situation was inside, and even the timing was unclear—entering the battlefield at midnight, but with time differences everywhere, which midnight was it?—her tone was confident as if she had been there countless times before.
Wu Ren’s murderous intent flared up again. This outsider seemed timid, but since entering, she hadn’t shown any fear towards her. Instead, she had been joking and testing her temper, spinning real lies with ease, and was even trying to find ways to cooperate with her.
He Qipa had already stood up and pulled Yu Xunge behind her. Unlike when she had grabbed Xiao Maqi to warn them, at this moment, she sensed that Wu Ren was serious.
Suddenly, two intricate purple magical patterns appeared in Wu Ren's eyes. She scanned Yu Xunge from top to bottom through He Qipa, then glanced at the meerkat in her arms. Her anger quickly dissipated, replaced by a smile, as if she had seen something amusing.
Wu Ren laughed, "You might not have the guts to play all three rounds. If you want me to forgive you for stealing my World Tomb, fine! On the 15th of next month, you will translate for me. If after you come out you decide not to go to the world battlefield again, you will give me all the remaining World Tombs on you."
Why was she so sure that she would enter the world battlefield on the 15th of next month? Yu Xunge asked, "What if I still plan to go to the world battlefield after I come out? How many times do I need to translate for you?" There had to be a limit, right?
Wu Ren drank the tea in her cup in one gulp, turned the cup upside down, and looked intently at Yu Xunge. "Ten times, how about that?"
Yu Xunge didn’t feel relieved; instead, her unease grew stronger. It wasn’t just Wu Ren’s expression that made her feel uneasy, but also her attitude.
That kind of provocation made her feel that the ants daring to challenge her would face even greater misfortune, so she was willing to temporarily hold back and watch the show from the sidelines.
But no matter what, she couldn’t retreat any further: "So as long as I agree, you won’t cause me trouble over the World Tomb anymore?"
"Yes."
"I agree."
"Good! I look forward to seeing your true self on the battlefield on the 15th."
**[Chapter 359: [Moon Midnight Melody] & Xiao Maqi's Invitation]**
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