The central area of the ancient town.
Li Xianzong stopped before a large manor. The lacquer on the main gate was peeled and mottled, riddled with wormholes, and the plaque above was worn and draped in cobwebs.
Through the dusty haze covering the plaque, the characters were faintly discernible: Zhao Residence.
Li Xianzong climbed the steps to the manor gates and pushed gently.
*Creak—*
The long-neglected gates let out a teeth-grating screech as they swung slowly open.
The group stepped over the threshold into the courtyard. Glancing around, they found that the place had long since fallen into ruin; the flowerbeds in the front courtyard were completely abandoned, overgrown with sparse weeds.
Outside the outer hall with its upturned eaves stood half-person-high water vats. Their purpose was to provide readily available water in the event of a fire—standard fixtures for wealthy households, akin to modern fire extinguishers.
As the group crossed the front courtyard and reached the outer hall, waves of foul stench wafted from the vats, stinging their nostrils.
The young man missing his left ear frowned, walked over slowly, peered inside, and cursed under his breath, "Fuck."
Inside the vat was a bloated, rotting corpse.
"Be careful. Whatever is here might be fiercer than Blacksmith Wang," Li Xianzong cautioned, pushing open the doors to the outer hall.
Inside, rotten furniture littered the floor. As far as the eye could see, there was only ruin and dust.
Beside the doorway lay a heavily decomposed corpse; judging by the clothing, it was likely a household servant.
Li Xianzong crouched beside the body. Without the slightest squeamishness, he slit the corpse's garments with a butterfly knife and, after a careful examination, said:
"Her heart and liver have been gouged out."
Leaving the corpse behind, the six ventured deeper into the inner courtyard. Along the way, they spotted multiple bodies, all killed the same way—their hearts and livers gouged out.
The bodies were scattered about, facing away toward the manor exit, as though slaughtered in the middle of fleeing.
It seemed the Zhao Residence had endured a horrific massacre.
The young man missing his left ear scanned their surroundings and cursed, "I can't make heads or tails of this plot."
The ancient town was utterly deserted. Blacksmith Wang, a story-related NPC, had been cursed, and now the Zhao Residence had clearly met with an ominous fate as well.
There had to be a reason, but with so few clues, there was no way to deduce it, leaving them with an unsettling sense of uncertainty.
Of course, that did not stop them from progressing the storyline. Deducing from the present circumstances, since misfortune had befallen the Zhao Residence, their next objective was definitely to eliminate the evil creature here.
Even so, confusion naturally bred negativity and a lack of security.
Li Xianzong said calmly, "Under these circumstances, there are only two possibilities. One, the Yinyang Town dungeon has hidden quests. Two, unraveling the storyline yields extra rewards and increases the loot.
"However, that inevitably comes with higher difficulty. For an average team, sticking to the standard plot is plenty."
The emaciated middle-aged man asked, "Should we try unraveling the hidden story?"
Li Xianzong pondered for a moment. "We can, but not right now."
"Why?" asked the young man missing his left ear.
"From the information on Blacksmith Wang, we can deduce that every character has an associated 'story.' Even if we collect all the clues on our end, we won't be able to solve it completely, because the other half of the information is with the orthodox faction." Li Xianzong's thought process was clear as he continued, "Yinyang Town is a symmetrical dungeon. Half of the content is on our side, and half is on theirs. If we want to unravel the hidden storyline, we'll probably have to wait until the final confrontation.
"At least, that's how it stands on our side. As for whether the orthodox faction can decipher the story on their own, I have no idea."
The emaciated middle-aged man licked his lips. "I can hardly wait. I wonder if there are any pretty broads among the orthodox faction."
What the others cared about was whether there were experts on par with Li Xianzong among the orthodox walkers.
Without dallying, they crossed the inner courtyard and reached the doors of the inner hall.
Li Xianzong paused outside. Just as he reached out to push the door, his hand froze.
From the crack of the door came a low, muttered raving: "No one's taking my treasures... No one will take my treasures away..."
The teammates behind him braced as if facing a formidable foe. The emaciated middle-aged man lowered his voice: "It's right inside."
Li Xianzong took a deep breath and shoved the hall doors open.
As the wooden doors swung open, the group took in the scene within, and astonishment washed over their faces.
In the spacious inner hall stood a towering mountain of riches, piled high with gold, fine silks, coins, calligraphy scrolls, paintings, porcelain, and other luxuries.
Beside the golden hoard knelt an obese figure dressed in a squire's robes. He was oblivious to the uninvited guests behind him, his mouth continually muttering the same raving chant.
*Hoo... hoo...*
Li Xianzong heard heavy breathing—breathing coming from behind him.
His five companions were staring fixedly at the mountain of gold, naked greed in their eyes. Silently, they edged away from each other, eyeing one another with suspicion.
Each wanted the treasure for himself, and none wanted his companions to have it.
Seeing this, Li Xianzong's heart sank.
*These fools have been bewitched...*
The pile of gold harbored bewitching power. The only reason he had remained clear-headed was that he was a Bewitching Demon himself, possessing an inherent degree of resistance.
Before him was Squire Zhao, whose danger level was unknown, and behind him were companions on the verge of turning on one another. One wrong move, and they could face a total party wipe.
Just then, Squire Zhao in front of the gold turned his head. It was a severely rotted face swarming with maggots. His sockets were hollow, and his eyeballs dangled down his cheeks.
"Hungry... so hungry..."
Squire Zhao opened his massive mouth, the corners splitting all the way to his ears, and roared, "I'm going to eat your hearts and livers!"
***
Queen nearly jumped out of her skin and whipped her head around. Sure enough, perched upon her shoulder was an infant with dusky-blue skin and chilling white pupils.
"I... I can actually see a vengeful spirit? Am I really that depleted..."
Queen's face grew even paler.
As a member of the official organization, her knowledge far surpassed that of wild Spirit Realm walkers. She knew that without a specialized class or skill, one could only see spirit bodies if their body was weak and their yang energy was severely depleted.
Guan Ya said in a low voice, "Don't move!"
She reached into thin air and pulled out a rifle roughly 1.2 meters long, engraved with golden patterns. Its craftsmanship belonged to the previous century—both ornate and archaic.
Guan Ya raised the rifle, pressed the stock against her shoulder, planted her long legs firmly on the ground, aimed at the dusky-blue infant on Queen's shoulder, and pulled the trigger.
*Bang!*
The massive recoil jolted Guan Ya's right shoulder back.
The high-velocity spinning bullet punched straight through the infant spirit's head, gouging a deep crater and blasting cracks into the wall behind it.
The infant tumbled from Queen's shoulder and squirmed on the ground, heavily wounded.
It had been injured by the evil-warding effect imbued in the bullet. This rifle was a high-grade item of the Scout class, and it had only a single function: sheer physical lethality.
At higher levels, the Scout class possessed a pure, crystalline heart capable of piercing illusions and shattering evil balefulness.
"This treats the symptom, not the cause. To deal with vengeful spirits, we need a Night Wanderer..."
Guan Ya cycled the bolt, ejecting the spent casing, lowered the muzzle, and aimed at the vengeful spirit once more.
Just then, the infant spirit on the ground let out a shrill, piercing wail.
In the next instant, cries erupted all around them. From the river, the alleys, and the rooftops lining the street crawled dusky-blue infant spirits, one after another.
Before long, Guan Ya and Queen were surrounded.
"This is bad. Where did so many infant spirits come from?" Queen swept her gaze across the area, counting seven or eight vicious infant spirits.
"Isn't it obvious?" Guan Ya said, holding the rifle ready, watchful and braced. "We triggered Widow Xu's storyline. They're clearly connected to her."
"You mean these infant spirits are hers?" Queen gasped, thinking that sounded completely far-fetched.
Just then, an infant spirit ambushed from the side, scuttling swiftly toward Guan Ya.
The seasoned driver pivoted and fired; the shot cracked the bluestone pavers, sent stone chips flying, and elicited a wretched screech from the infant spirit.
Queen took off a hoop earring and hurled it toward another infant spirit. The hoop turned into a ring of water in an attempt to bind the creature, but failed.
Water was tangible; it could not bind an intangible spirit body.
"It's useless!" Queen said anxiously. "We still need Yuanshi Tianzun. He's a Night Wanderer; dealing with these vengeful spirits would be a breeze for him."
Vengeful spirits this powerful and terrifying had reached the level of a beginner spirit servant. One would never encounter them in the real world. Besides, in the real world, they had Night Wanderer colleagues and official teammates; facing spirits of this caliber was troublesome at most, never fatal.
Encountering them in a dungeon, however, was extremely thorny.
Guan Ya calmly cycled the bolt, ejecting the casing, and spoke: "Yuanshi won't be coming. If his enemies were vengeful spirits, he would've dealt with them and rushed over to back us up by now. The fact that he hasn't means his enemy isn't a spirit, and he's probably struggling to save himself. These spirits were set solely upon the two of us."
As she spoke, she fired another shot, driving back another vengeful spirit.
"Why?" Queen realized she could only watch from the side, playing the part of a straight man in a double act.
Guan Ya paused thoughtfully. "Probably because we're pretty."
"Huh?" Queen stared in bafflement.
"Haven't you noticed? The condition to trigger Widow Xu's storyline was separating men and women. We've entered the storyline, yet we didn't meet Widow Xu—we met these infant spirits. She most likely sent them to kill us, while she herself is probably dealing with the men on the team."
Though trapped in mortal danger, Guan Ya's mind remained razor-sharp: "Where would a widow get so many infant spirits? Did her late husband leave them behind before dying? Only if she were a breeding sow delivering octuplets in one litter. Combine that with the fact that Widow Xu only sees men, and Yuanshi might have guessed wrong. Widow Xu wasn't the one who cursed Granny Wang's son. How could a wanton woman harbor a grudge over losing her chastity? Faced with a pervert, she ought to be so delighted she can barely keep her legs together."
"What kind of time is it to be cracking dirty jokes?" Queen understood her point and fumed, "Are you saying the men on our team are probably fooling around and having a grand old time with that wanton woman? Men really can't be trusted! What do we do now?"
"Our only choice is to wait for Yuanshi to save us. Trust him, even if he's a lecher." Guan Ya fired another shot.
The eight infant spirits circled them like hunting hyenas, poised to pounce.
Just then, Queen whispered, "Guan Ya, there's another infant spirit behind you."
Startled, Guan Ya whipped around.
Over by the riverbank beside them, a chubby, adorable infant spirit was lying on its belly, head dipped into the water, its little butt pointed straight at them.
Compared to the dusky-blue, fiercely frenzied infant spirits, this little infant possessed a much purer aura—at the very least, Guan Ya saw no malevolence in it.
*When did it get behind me? What is it looking for in the water?* Subconsciously, Guan Ya swung her rifle around, aiming at the little infant spirit by the river.
Seizing the opening, one of the dusky-blue infant spirits paddled its limbs, scuttled over like lightning, and latched onto Guan Ya's calf.
An icy chill instantly washed over her entire body. Guan Ya felt her vital energy draining at alarming speed. Her heart sank; she jammed the muzzle downward and pulled the trigger.
*Bang!*
The bullet struck the infant spirit, shattered the bluestone paver, and ricocheted into Guan Ya's calf, instantly tearing through flesh and bone-deep in a gruesome wound.
*This rifle really does make me unlucky...* Supporting Queen, Guan Ya staggered back toward the river.
"How are you?" Queen's face changed.
"Not great." Ignoring the bleeding wound, Guan Ya said, "If that kid Yuanshi doesn't get here within five minutes, we're done for."
***
To think such alluring beauty, such a breathtaking woman, could exist in this world.
That was the sole thought running through the minds of all four men present.
A faint fragrance drifted through the air. The woman by the window was draped in sheer gauze, her body partially revealed and partially concealed. She turned with a smile as radiant as spring peaches and said softly, "My lords, this humble woman has been widowed for many years, lonely in her boudoir. Might I beg for your lords' pity, that you leave behind a child to keep me company?"
The men's breathing grew increasingly ragged. Huode Xingjun muttered, "Sure... sure..."
Though words of agreement left his lips, his heels remained planted. His legs trembled slightly as he exerted every ounce of willpower to suppress the urge to step forward.
The quiet, melancholic Wood Demon youth showed signs of struggle, but bit by bit, the clarity in his eyes was replaced by lust.
Li Chunfeng whispered under his breath, "Bloated cadavers... giant cadaver appearance..."
Yet his eyes remained glued to Xu Xiu'er, the desire in his gaze blazing ever hotter, burning away his sanity.
Zhang Yuanqing's throat was parched, lust churning like a tempest inside him. He wanted nothing more than to sweep the beauty by the window into his arms and vent all his energy without restraint.
Yet that last sliver of reason fought desperately back.
*I can't go over. The hidden quest is to resist sensual temptation... But food and sex are human nature! How could I pass up such an enchanting woman? Who cares about the hidden quest... I've been bewitched! Hurry, transfer the lust to Little Doubi...*
*Guan Ya and Queen are still outside in grave danger, I have to save them... Why save them? It's not like they'll sleep with me... Snap out of it! This trial isn't just about beauty; sleeping with her will probably get the whole team killed... But to die beneath a peony makes one a gallant ghost! As long as I can have her, dying is worth it...*
Reason was like a tiny skiff tossed upon an ocean of desire, swallowed one moment and stubbornly breaking the surface the next.
What little reason he possessed was consumed entirely by this fierce internal friction, rendering him powerless to take practical action.
All four men were striving in their own ways to resist the carnal pull.
Xu Xiu'er glanced at the unmoving men and let out a gentle sigh. Rising from the vanity, she took graceful, delicate steps to the edge of the bed and sat down.
Throughout this, the eyes of Zhang Yuanqing and the others never strayed from that luscious, voluptuous body.
With brimming, seductive eyes and pursed red lips, Xu Xiu'er murmured softly, "What are you lords waiting for? Could it be that you disdain my humble charms and find me unworthy of your sight?"
With that, she raised a pale hand, gently sliding the sheer gauze off her snow-white, fragrant shoulder, letting it glide down her fair, smooth body.
All her charms were laid bare.
*Gulp...*
Zhang Yuanqing heard a swallow of saliva, unable to tell whether it came from his teammates or himself.
His last shred of reason was completely submerged. Eyes bloodshot, he lunged at Xu Xiu'er, tackling her onto the soft, carved bed.
Behind him were his companions, their eyes just as crimson.
The men turned into wild beasts of lust, stripped of all reason. Guided solely by primal urges, they stripped off shirts, pants, and shoes, casting them in heaps across the floor.
Zhang Yuanqing peeled off his T-shirt, his head throbbing. His eyes hungrily raked Xu Xiu'er's body. Just as he was about to get down to business, his gaze caught her plump, rounded buttocks, and an uncontrollable, spontaneous thought flashed across his mind:
*Why doesn't such a pretty butt have a pig's tail?*
The moment this thought surfaced, an inexplicable revulsion welled up within him. He suddenly felt that the woman on the bed didn't match his aesthetic at all. A man couldn't—or at least shouldn't—get aroused by a woman without a pig's tail...
The surging tide of lust instantly receded, reason resurfaced, and Zhang Yuanqing snapped back to his senses.
Xu Xiu'er's breath was ragged, her cheeks flushed scarlet. Reaching out with her lotus-root arms to embrace him, she urged impatiently, "My lord, quickly..."
The reason Zhang Yuanqing had fought so hard to reclaim began to sink once more.
By this point, Huode Xingjun had stripped himself stark naked and shoved Zhang Yuanqing impatiently aside, like a wild beast battling for mating rights.
Zhang Yuanqing yielded to the momentum and fell to the side. He attempted to transfer the "lust" to Little Doubi, but failed; it felt as though a hazy veil stood between him and Little Doubi.
*Is it because I'm inside the storyline (the house) while he's outside?* Thoughts spinning, Zhang Yuanqing remembered the Demon-Subduing Pestle. This item had purification and demon-breaking effects, though he wasn't sure if it worked on lust.
The sharp triangular spike of the Demon-Subduing Pestle plunged into his thigh, gorging on copious amounts of his essence blood and bursting with pure, resplendent golden light.
With the demon-breaking and purification effects layered together, the mind-clouding allure dissipated, and reason reclaimed the high ground.
Yet the lust did not vanish entirely, because inherently it wasn't an "external force." The pestle's purification and demon-breaking could not turn a person into a serene monk whose heart was still as water.
*Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!*
Zhang Yuanqing struck with swift chops, knocking his three teammates unconscious to save them from plunging into the abyss.
Having dealt with his frenzied teammates, Zhang Yuanqing waited a moment, but received no notification that the hidden quest was complete.
Sensing something was amiss, Xu Xiu'er opened her eyes. By now, the flush on her cheeks was even more vivid, a rosy tint staining her snow-white skin, her eyes glistening like liquid heat.
Her red lips parted slightly, letting out a cloying, honeyed murmur: "M-My lord... give it to me..."
*Huh, why didn't the prompt for the hidden quest pop up? I've clearly broken free from the temptation of her beauty...* Zhang Yuanqing frowned inwardly.
There had to be a reason why the hidden quest hadn't triggered. He decided to probe the storyline further.
Pondering for a few seconds, Zhang Yuanqing avoided looking at Xu Xiu'er's body, suppressed the remaining traces of lust in his heart, and said, "Widow Xu, let's talk."
At the word "Widow," the desire in Xu Xiu'er's eyes receded slightly, only to be overtaken once more by surging lust. She cooed in reply, "My lord... what, what do you wish to ask? Please have mercy on me... give it to me~"
"Answer my questions, and I'll satisfy you," Zhang Yuanqing offered as an empty promise, asking, "Do you know Granny Wang's son?"
Xu Xiu'er giggled foolishly. "I do. He's my lover~"
*Wait, what?* The answer caught Zhang Yuanqing off guard. He hadn't expected them to have such a relationship; it didn't align with Granny Wang's burning hatred toward her.
"Why was he cursed? And why are you here?" Zhang Yuanqing asked further.
Xu Xiu'er fell silent, offering no answer.
After a brief stalemate, an alluring moan escaped her lips, and she reluctantly gave in: "It was that woman... My lord, please don't tease me anymore. Love me properly..."
Unmoved, Zhang Yuanqing pressed, "Who is she?"
In Xu Xiu'er's glistening eyes, venomous hatred suddenly flared. She gritted her teeth: "The descendant of Yinyang Sanren—the true ruler of Yinyang Town."
"Why did she curse Granny Wang's son?"
Xu Xiu'er stopped speaking again, grabbing Zhang Yuanqing's trousers and pleading, "My lord, it hurts so much... Please have mercy, give it to me quickly..."
The Demon-Subduing Pestle had purified the supernatural charm coming off this woman, but terrifying enchantment aside, any normal man would find it impossible not to feel a stir when an exquisite, curvy woman was begging him to bed her.
*Competing with me in endurance? The pestle's effect only lasts a few minutes, but at worst I'll just stab myself a few more times...* Zhang Yuanqing forced himself not to look at her body, his face deadpan.
Seeing that she could no longer seduce him, Xu Xiu'er surrendered and lamented:
"I was born beautiful, yet I was married off to a sickly weakling. Only a few years into our marriage, that sick ghost died. In those years, all alone without anyone to rely on, I suffered nothing but cold shoulders and bullying.
"Granny Wang's son was a local hooligan who idled around all day. One night, he snuck into my house and... and violated me.
"How could a frail woman like me resist? Besides, having kept an empty boudoir for so many years, one thing led to another, and... and I ended up taking him as a lover. But as time went on, that heartless man grew tired of me, constantly rambling about *her* all day long..."
Gritting her teeth, tears rolling down her cheeks, Xu Xiu'er said, "That ruffian didn't even look at what kind of trash he was! She was a descendant of Yinyang Sanren and knew magic arts. The townsfolk loved and revered her, worshiping her like a deity! How could a rascal like him ever touch her?"
Though words of praise left her mouth, the jealousy in her eyes surged like a tidal wave.
"One day, that ruffian came to me again. He gave me a vial of medicine and told me to secretly slip it into her tea. She was around my age and had been my childhood playmate, so approaching her wasn't difficult.
"At first I didn't dare, but the scoundrel said he had secretly made arrangements with Squire Zhao, swearing they would handle everything cleanly so she wouldn't dare retaliate."
"So you drugged her?" Zhang Yuanqing narrowed his eyes.
"Yes!" Xu Xiu'er did not deny it. Malice and jealousy surged in her eyes once more as she spat through clenched teeth, "After my husband died, she visited me every day to comfort me. But the more she pitied me, the more I despised her! I wasn't any less pretty than she was, so why was my life so miserable? Widowed in my twenties, bullied by a ruffian, while she was born noble and adored by everyone in town!
"Why? What right did she have to remain spotless and pure in white? I wanted her to become just like me—defiled by a rascal and condemned by thousands!"
"What happened after that?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
"Afterward..." Xu Xiu'er giggled shrilly. "Afterward, I never saw her again. That vile man said she was dead. Good riddance! She deserved to die!"
*So that was it.* The curses on both of them finally made sense. Granny Wang's visceral hatred of Widow Xu was understandable now as well: in a mother's eyes, what wrong could her lustful son have done? It had to be the widow's fault for seducing him, turning him into a monstrosity that was neither human nor cat.
*However, if Xu Xiu'er isn't a Witch Doctor, whose hand was behind the layout in Granny Wang's home?*
*Granny Wang's son conspired with Squire Zhao, and Squire Zhao hired a sorcerer... What roles did Squire Zhao, Blacksmith Wang, and the sorcerer play in all of this?*
*Truly vicious. To abandon all conscience out of pure jealousy...* Zhang Yuanqing looked down at the woman whose seductiveness penetrated to her very bones, without a single shred of lust remaining in his heart.
At that very moment, a Spirit Realm prompt chimed in his mind:
[Ding! You have triggered the hidden quest: Unquenchable Lust (2/3)]
[Unquenchable Lust: Jealousy and desire led her to fall into becoming a shadowy fiend, committing unforgivable sins. Under no circumstances should you yield to her seduction, or you will plunge into the abyss.]
[Remarks: I shall make her wallow in lust, turning her into a slut available to any man.]
[Quest Item: A broken jade piece]
*I see. Only by completely resisting her charms on my own could I gain recognition; the Demon-Subduing Pestle couldn't do that for me...* Zhang Yuanqing checked his inventory. The two broken jade pieces had merged into a complete jade pendant.
The item for the hidden quest had been fully assembled, but the quest progress was still short by one step.
Xu Xiu'er laughed hysterically for a moment before lust overwhelmed her once more. Rubbing her legs together, she clutched at Zhang Yuanqing's trousers and pleaded, "My lord, I can't take it anymore... please have mercy, have mercy..."
*This is her curse on you!* Zhang Yuanqing said, "One last question: before we arrived, did a fat guy come up here?"
Xu Xiu'er hesitated, then glanced beneath the bed.
Zhang Yuanqing immediately bent down, and sure enough, he spotted Chi'ou under the bed.
Beneath the bed lay an emaciated body with sunken cheeks, resembling a starving refugee who hadn't eaten a full meal in years.
Zhang Yuanqing dragged him out and checked him thoroughly. He breathed a sigh of relief. The little fatty had turned into a withered beanpole, and his breathing was extremely faint, but he still had breath in him—he wasn't dead.
Xu Xiu'er sneered with contempt. "Useless man. He only thrust against me a few times before giving out."
In his heart, Zhang Yuanqing silently muttered, *Sorry, bro.*
When he sent Chi'ou to scout earlier, on the one hand it was because Earth Monsters possessed high endurance and defense; on the other hand, the Demon Lord had succumbed to sensual pleasures and still cleared the trial, which suggested the lethality of this stage ought to be lower than Granny Wang's.
And indeed it was: Chi'ou hadn't died.
But in hindsight, he had still misjudged—he had underestimated the Demon Lord and overestimated Chi'ou.
Fortunately, they had arrived in time; otherwise, the chubby guy might well have died of complete vital exhaustion.
Zhang Yuanqing bent down, grabbed his teammates by their ankles, and tossed them out the window one by one.
"My lord, don't leave... don't leave..."
Xu Xiu'er rolled off the bed, scrambling and crawling after him.
One could see she was in agony—an agony she yearned for a man to alleviate.
"Stay here and endure your curse."
Without another glance at Xu Xiu'er's body, he braced his hands on the windowsill and vaulted down.
Xu Xiu'er's shrieks echoed behind him.
"What happened to me?" Huode Xingjun groaned as he woke, rubbing the back of his neck. "My whole body aches, like I took a beating."
Lili Yuanshangcao and Li Chunfeng woke right after, groaning under their breath.
After dazing out for a few seconds, the three gradually recalled their memories prior to blacking out. Looking around, they were utterly bewildered, having no idea what had happened.
Zhang Yuanqing said, "Widow Xu's storyline is finished."
Meeting their blank stares, he gave a brief summary of what had occurred, shaking his head in deep disappointment: "You three useless bums, have you never seen a woman before? A mere widow made you lose your minds."
Huode Xingjun and the other two looked sheepish and ashamed.
"How did you manage it?" Li Chunfeng asked, surprised on top of being grateful.
*As long as my kinks are depraved enough, women can't tempt me...* Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Zhang Yuanqing said nonchalantly, "I naturally have my methods."
Just then, Huode Xingjun stared at the stick-thin Chi'ou and asked, "Who's this?"
"Chi'ou," Zhang Yuanqing said.
Li Chunfeng and Lili Yuanshangcao were stunned. They both looked down to inspect Chi'ou, gasping, "How did he end up like this?"
"That's the price of giving in to beauty," Zhang Yuanqing sighed, shaking his head.
*This...* Looking at the unconscious Chi'ou, the three fell into silence.
They finally realized that they had truly just skirted the gates of hell.
*If Yuanshi Tianzun hadn't resisted the temptation and brought us out, Chi'ou's fate would have been ours. As expected of a genius who cleared S-tier dungeons back-to-back. Having a teammate like him really puts one's mind at ease...* Li Chunfeng thought with heartfelt admiration.
Huode Xingjun and Lili Yuanshangcao looked at Zhang Yuanqing with deep gratitude.
"Time to find Guan Ya and Queen."
Zhang Yuanqing closed his eyes, settled his emotions, and sensed for Little Doubi's location.
Chapter 132