Treat me to dinner? Zhang Yuanqing thought, *When did that awkward brat get so sensible?*
Zhang Yuanqing knew that Kou Beiyue was deeply grateful to him—whether for his sister's case, resolving his parents' lingering regrets, or helping him advance to Saint...
Having received so much help, if that kid had been a girl, she would have had the decency to strip naked and wait in bed for his favor; only then could one repay Tianzun's boundless kindness.
It was just that an adolescent in his chuunibyou phase was selfish, awkward, and thin-skinned. Squeezing out a simple "thank you" would make his face flush crimson; asking him to treat someone to a meal was harder than asking him to risk his life.
*It must have been Beiyue's mother's doing. Even though she's given me the cold shoulder lately, she probably felt they owed me so many favors that they ought to treat me to dinner...* Zhang Yuanqing casually dialed the number.
It rang for a long time before connecting. Zhang Yuanqing asked, "Is Xiao Yuan there?"
"Xiao Yuan hasn't arrived yet," Kou Beiyue's voice came through the speaker. "Just tell me if you're coming or not!"
"Send me the address!" Zhang Yuanqing said.
"I'll text it to you in a bit." Kou Beiyue seemed unwilling to say more and hurriedly hung up.
While waiting for the address, Zhang Yuanqing used a ride-hailing app to book a car to Jinshan City, tentatively setting the destination to "Wuhen Hotel."
Although it was quite late, for a Night Wanderer, a new day felt like it was only just beginning, brimming with vitality.
He had long wanted to take the time to visit Wuhen Hotel, but his progress had been held up by the case involving Lust Divine General.
This was a good chance to talk with Xiao Yuan about the details of investigating Lust Divine General and mend their relationship along the way.
Though he had lost his life mentor's guidance, he had picked up a few things after all. He had realized where he went wrong: back when their relationship was not yet stable, he would text Xiao Yuan whenever he cleared an instance, dropping by Wuhen Hotel every three to five days.
Yet ever since coming out of the killing trial, his soul had been completely hooked by that vixen Guan Ya. He spent all his time thinking about sweet romance with her, helplessly lost in the Eurasian mature beauty's bountiful bust and long legs, soaking in the bliss of love. Naturally, he had neglected Xiao Yuan.
His life mentor had once told him that Xiao Yuan was extremely sensitive inside. Even if she felt hurt or disappointed, she wouldn't say anything or ask; she would simply choose to pull away in silence.
*Ding-dong!*
Right as he was thinking this, Kou Beiyue sent a text.
The address was Shijing Village Agritainment.
Zhang Yuanqing opened his phone and searched for the destination. It was a rural area over thirty kilometers outside Jinshan City.
Opening the ride-hailing app, he changed the destination to "Shijing Village Agritainment." Then, he opened the window, activated Night Walk, and leaped down from more than a dozen floors up.
***
Shijing Village Agritainment.
In the backyard, a middle-aged woman had a somber expression:
"Why choose my place as the hunting ground? You must know that if the hunt fails, I'll have no choice but to abandon the territory I've built up over years. Even if it succeeds, with the Five Elements Alliance's capabilities, they're very likely to trace it back here."
Lust Divine General chuckled.
"Treating someone to dinner requires a venue, and we couldn't possibly set an ambush in the city—you wouldn't want your Morality Points wiped out either. Your place borders a reservoir, surrounded on three sides by mountains, with hardly anyone around. Tsk, tsk, lush mountains and clear waters—it makes for quite a scenic burial ground.
"Besides, once Yuanshi Tianzun is dead, you'll get a cut of fifty million, tax-free. What's a tiny agritainment farm compared to that? You could open ten, a hundred more if you pleased."
Blood Swallow snorted coldly and said nothing more, tacitly accepting his reasoning.
Lust Divine General added:
"Once Yuanshi Tianzun arrives, neither of us should strike right away. Let Kou Beiyue test him first, in case Yuanshi Tianzun has hidden backup ready to counter-ambush us."
With that, he turned his head toward Kou Beiyue and said:
"You are responsible for killing Yuanshi Tianzun."
The orange light illuminated his gaunt face, the smile playing at the corners of his mouth dripping with malicious amusement.
Kou Beiyue furrowed his brows tightly.
"Master, killing is wrong. Besides, Yuanshi Tianzun belongs to the officials. I don't think there's any need to kill for money. Master Wuhen has always taught us..."
Lust Divine General wasted no breath on words and directly deployed Bewitchment. Two faint, crimson gleams lit up in his eyes like dim lanterns in the dark.
Lust Divine General enunciated word by word:
"From now on, Yuanshi Tianzun is your enemy. You are plotting an assassination against him. He has done you favors, but they were all false kindness. If you don't kill him, your Xiao Yuan will be taken away, and your family will all die.
"Only I, your master, can help you through this crisis. Furthermore, you have defied my will many times. Remember your place; do not let there be a next time."
After repeating the Bewitchment several times to reinforce its influence, Kou Beiyue's contorted expression gradually smoothed out, his eyes turning resolute:
"Master, you are right.
"Yuanshi Tianzun really is about to take my Xiao Yuan away. Her temper has been terrible these past few days—she must be brooding over Yuanshi Tianzun! I can't let this go on. For Xiao Yuan, for my family, I am willing to assist you."
Lust Divine General's expression relaxed slightly. Just as he was about to offer a few words of praise, he heard Kou Beiyue say with a troubled look:
"But Master, I... I don't know how to lie..."
*What kind of useless piece of trash is this?!* Veins bulged on Lust Divine General's forehead. He rarely lost his temper like this—unless he truly couldn't hold it back!
Taking a deep breath to suppress his surging fury, Lust Divine General cast another round of Bewitchment, finally removing Kou Beiyue's psychological barrier against lying.
*Even though he's a Saint, he's far too stupid. Keeping him around will only mess things up...* Lust Divine General held a very low opinion of this servant.
A fool like this might be to Demon Eye's liking, but if he served under Miejue, he wouldn't last three days.
*Ring, ring, ring...*
At that moment, Kou Beiyue's phone rang. The caller ID showed "Xiao Yuan."
Lust Divine General and Blood Swallow frowned at the same time. The former said:
"Keep her calm."
Kou Beiyue obeyed his master's order and answered the call.
Xiao Yuan's strict voice came from the speaker:
"What time do you think it is? Why aren't you back at the hotel yet?"
Kou Beiyue, who had just claimed he didn't know how to lie, spun a falsehood without missing a beat:
"Xiao Yuan, I'm out delivering food. There were a ton of orders today, so I wanted to earn a bit extra to help with the hotel's expenses."
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds before her tone softened: "Does the hotel really need your pocket change? Come back early."
With that, she hung up.
Lust Divine General sneered:
"Hurry on home, or Mommy's going to spank your bottom."
Kou Beiyue's face instantly flushed red.
About half an hour later, a phone rang. Blood Swallow produced an old-fashioned mobile phone, answered it, and switched on the speakerphone.
"Sister Yan, a taxi has entered the village. It should reach the agritainment farm in about ten minutes," came a henchman's voice from the other end.
Blood Swallow asked:
"Only one taxi? Any tail following behind?"
"None spotted," the henchman replied.
Lust Divine General's eyes gleamed with greed and excitement. He licked his lips like a glutton awaiting a feast. "We finally baited him out."
Blood Swallow hung up the phone. "Proceed as planned!"
***
The taxi traveled along the winding, rugged concrete road, flanked by rolling mountain ridges. In the height of midsummer, lush vegetation formed a dense canopy, wrapping the mountains in a snug, verdant mantle.
After rounding several more turns, it finally arrived at the destination.
Under the deep shroud of night, the red-brick house was brightly lit. Outside the courtyard gates stood an illuminated sign glowing with the words "Shijing Agritainment."
Not far off, the reservoir lay like a smooth mirror, reflecting the faint farmhouse lights, rippling gently in the slow night breeze.
"It's a bit out of the way, but the scenery is nice."
Zhang Yuanqing took in the view through the car window.
The taxi pulled up on the open ground outside the agritainment farm, where only a single black sedan was parked. Though the red-brick house was ablaze with lights, there were no patrons.
The driver said, "We're here!"
Zhang Yuanqing had already spotted Kou Beiyue waiting by the sign.
He promptly paid the fare on his phone, pushed open the car door, and walked up to Kou Beiyue with a chuckle.
"Tsk, tsk, the sun must have risen from the west today! To be treated to a meal by our Mist Lord Beiyue—this Tianzun is truly honored..."
Looking around, he didn't see the familiar white sedan, so he asked:
"Xiao Yuan isn't here yet?"
With a taut expression, Kou Beiyue stepped up to him and murmured:
"Xiao Yuan was held up by something, but she'll be here soon. Oh, right, let me show you something."
"What is it?"
Mid-stride, Zhang Yuanqing instinctively turned to look, only to see a dagger appear in Kou Beiyue's hand, its blade etched with twisted, sinister runes.
His vision suddenly blurred, his mind instantly flooded with chaotic hallucinations and phantom sounds.
*Thwack!*
In the very next second, the sharp dagger plunged into Zhang Yuanqing's chest, piercing straight through his beating heart.
Zhang Yuanqing's pupils dilated violently.
"I'm sorry... all of this was Master's orders..."
Having struck down his "enemy" with his own hands, tears streamed uncontrollably from Kou Beiyue's eyes—even he didn't understand why.
The dagger pierced through the heart while ravenously siphoning away the life force from this body.
Through the searing agony, Zhang Yuanqing broke free from the hallucinatory barrage. Instead of questioning why Kou Beiyue had repaid kindness with betrayal, he kicked the emotionally crumbling traitor away.
Immediately after, Zhang Yuanqing's body dissolved into ethereal starlight, reappearing over a dozen meters away. Clutching the bloody, gaping wound on his chest, he fled toward the reservoir.
He had fallen into a trap.
An agritainment farm devoid of patrons in the middle of nowhere, Xiao Yuan never showing up, Kou Beiyue suddenly turning on him—everything pointed to a premeditated assassination plot.
And before coming here, he had actually forgotten to use astromancy to read his own countenance.
During the entire journey, he hadn't called Xiao Yuan once, nor had he sent a text to verify.
This went completely against his nature.
The enemy was capable of distorting his habits without his awareness—a chilling thought that filled him with dread.
A middle-aged woman dressed like an ordinary village wife walked out of the courtyard. Stepping up to Kou Beiyue, she picked up the dagger coated in Zhang Yuanqing's blood and lightly wiped the flat of the blade across her palm.
Then, clenching the blood in her fist, she began muttering an incantation under her breath.
Having just used the Star Escape Technique to break out of the clearing, Zhang Yuanqing let out a wretched scream as if struck by some terrifying assault. His flesh tore open in an instant, gruesome wounds splitting across his entire body as scarlet blood poured freely, leaving him with no strength left to cast the Star Escape Technique.
A curse-killing technique!
In just two exchanges, Zhang Yuanqing had suffered two fatal wounds, teetering on the brink of death.
A figure dropped from the sky, landing beside the reservoir. Gaunt and dark-skinned, it was none other than Lust Divine General.
Curling the corner of his lips, the divine general sneered:
"How does it feel to be the prey, Yuanshi Tianzun?"
Chapter 309