Free Web NovelAs Lu Yibei strode out of the simple cottage, she saw “Li Tieniu” waiting in the small courtyard. She paused slightly and took two deep breaths.
She was a bit nervous, her palms sweating.
Although both were Calamity-level individuals with hidden identities, the pressure Nanling Commander and Zhang Huainan exerted on her was completely different.
After all, saying the wrong thing in front of Zhang Huainan would at most result in her staying on Zhenwu Mountain as a Zhenshan Divine Beast, but saying the wrong thing in front of Nanling Commander would likely lead to a miserable end, perhaps even her head being used for a flag sacrifice.
Sacrificing a flag with the head of a beautiful Demoness, adorned with fresh blood, would undoubtedly be exceptionally effective!
In fact, in the short distance from inside the cottage to its front door, Lu Yibei had already considered several different approaches: soft, hard, frank, morally coercive, fantastically absurd... a myriad of tricks, but the more she thought, the less confident she felt.
She had no idea what kind of approach the guy outside would respond to, and there was almost no room for error.
“......”
If only she didn't have to worry about Shen Baiwei’s condition, falling back into that hellish place that resembled a biochemical laboratory, and being unable to freely choose save points when reloading.
In this world, is there really a problem that the save/load trick can't solve?
However, if she could truly reload infinitely, using it to conquer “Li Tieniu” would be a bit small-minded. Wouldn't it be better to wait for the war to start, use the Shaman King’s army to hone various skills, farm hundreds or thousands of waves of monsters, and directly level up all skills to max? frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Finally, she would loot their equipment, bury it somewhere, dig it all out when she returned, and put it into her God Kingdom Prototype to take away. “I’d get rich overnight!” Lu Yibei thought secretly.
After waiting for a moment, Li Tieniu saw her walk out of the cottage and revealed a simple, honest smile, waving his hand somewhat clumsily.
It had to be said, his appearance was exactly like Dragon Tang possessed; the only difference was perhaps between a simple country bumpkin and a landlord’s simple-minded son.
“Miss, are you ready? If so, please come with me!”
“His acting isn't bad. If I hadn’t already guessed his identity, I might have truly been fooled. I’ll give this performance a 7.602!” Lu Yibei evaluated Li Tieniu’s performance in her mind, then shook her head.
“I’m sorry, General, we appreciate your kindness, but please allow us to refuse.”
No matter what approach Li Tieniu responded to, taking the most difficult yet simplest first step—refusing his proposal—was always the right move.
As for the reason for refusal, she would improvise and make it up as they went along. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
“You’re not going?” Li Tieniu pondered for a moment, frowning as he asked, “And the reason?”
He cupped his hands and said, “Miss Shen, to be frank, the General has already returned to the city. I and my comrades were ordered to find you, and we unexpectedly met you here.”
“Military orders are like mountains; they cannot be easily defied. If there is no reasonable explanation, please do not make things difficult for me, Miss.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yibei froze, suppressing ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ the surprise in her heart, and said expressionlessly, “You recognize me?”
“Of course.” Li Tieniu smiled, “Miss Shen’s heroic act of assisting Dragon Commandant in clearing out the enemies in the city last night—who among our Long Xiang Army brothers doesn't know about it?”
“The General also heard about Miss Shen’s deeds and wanted to meet her, which is why he sent us to find you.”
Lu Yibei, “......”
The General wants to see me? Well! Now you’ve seen me, so you can leave, right? Do you want me to sign something for you to take back as proof?
She couldn't not speak trash; not speaking felt like constipation, it was stifling.
It was just a matter of choosing whether to say it in her mind or out loud, depending on the situation and the person.
Lu Yibei muttered to herself, thought for a moment, and decided to give a relatively risky answer.
“Even so, we won’t leave here. Please forgive me for not being able to explain the reason. You already know that I helped Dragon Commandant and Miss Xia, so I believe you should also be able to tell that we mean no harm.”
After speaking, she waited for a second, and seeing no particular reaction from Li Tieniu, she boldly added, “If Prince absolutely must see us, he can certainly come here to meet.”
When Li Tieniu mentioned helping Dragon Tang and Xia Lianqing, Lu Yibei’s tense nerves relaxed slightly.
One of her biggest worries was that this guy in front of her either didn't know she had helped Dragon Tang and Xia Lianqing, or was pretending not to know, and was determined to act against her and Shen Baiwei. But since the other party was willing to bring it up proactively, things would be much easier.
In her opinion, as long as the other party was willing to bring it up, for the sake of his prestige in the Long Xiang Army, he probably wouldn't directly kill them. This was like having an extra resurrection coin when playing a game.
A resurrection coin meant a chance to make mistakes, an opportunity to push the boundaries and test the limits.
One of the things Disaster was best at was dancing on other people's bottom lines.
Like a Thomas flare directly into a windmill kick and then tap dancing!
“Oh?” “Li Tieniu” was also a little surprised by “Shen Baiwei’s” answer, raising an eyebrow slightly and falling into a brief contemplation.
He had originally thought that these two Miss Shen were very likely to harbor intentions detrimental to Yumen Pass.
Their assistance to Dragon Tang and Xia Lianqing was merely to gain trust. Their subsequent efforts, even despicable and underhanded methods, to avoid Hong Bian’s invitation, were due to their fear that their sinister tricks would not escape Hong Bian’s eyes, and thus they naturally dared not face him directly.
But now, this Miss Shen, aside from her unwillingness to leave this simple thatched hut, showed no fear whatsoever of meeting him, which was intriguing.
She certainly had an ulterior motive, but it seemed she didn't intend to harm Yumen Pass?
In that case...
Li Tieniu thought, nodded, and suddenly straightened his back, looking directly into “Shen Baiwei’s” eyes. Then he activated his Spirit Mark, releasing Spiritual Energy fluctuations.
Terrifying Spiritual Energy fluctuations suddenly descended. Lu Yibei’s heart tightened, and as her vision blurred, she vaguely saw a colossal creature, with a dragon’s head, fish body, and bird feathers on its tail, leaping out of the water on a stormy sea with lightning and thunder, spewing hurricanes and torrential rain from its mouth.
It was as if she heard a hallucination, a long, lingering dragon's roar that shook her soul.
Then.
In her vision, only a pair of eyes remained.
Those were Nanling Commander’s eyes, and also Chiwen’s eyes.
In the depths of the golden vertical pupils, torrential rain that seemed to envelop the entire world was reflected.
“Then I have come myself now...”
Lu Yibei stood rooted to the spot, countless thoughts swirling in her mind, but they were churned into a chaotic mess by fear, panic, and shock. Her vision went black, as if someone had choked her throat, leaving her unable to breathe.
Dragon Xiang released Spiritual Energy fluctuations merely to reveal his identity and slightly intimidate, not intentionally targeting Lu Yibei. Seeing Lu Yibei looking terrified and pale, he couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled.
Am I really that scary? Was I too fierce towards a young lady? But I clearly held back, didn't I? Dragon Xiang thought.
Xia Lianqing used to complain that he didn't know how to cherish women, but he never believed it, always thinking he understood women's thoughts. But now, he believed it...
However, what he didn't know was that what temporarily paralyzed Lu Yibei was not entirely due to the terrifying Spiritual Energy fluctuations, but rather primarily due to the suppression of authority.
His Spirit Mark authority originated from the legendary urban legend—Chiwen, symbolizing Disaster suppression, evil warding, fire warding, and rain praying. Lu Yibei’s authority, the mythical species, originated from the legendary Drought God, and the Witch Seed was evil itself.
Although, from a certain perspective, their authorities could be said to be mutually restraining, when one party was Calamity-level and the other was not, it would become a simple suppression.
It was like even the weakest adult could easily beat up a five or six-year-old child.
In fact, even if he and Lu Yibei were both A-Level, or if Lu Yibei were replaced by Shen Baiwei, who rushed out of the house upon sensing the Spiritual Energy fluctuations and was hesitating whether to watch the Disaster suffer or quickly reload, such an extreme situation would not occur.
After a long while, Lu Yibei spoke with difficulty, instinctively questioning, “What do you want?! I have rendered meritorious service to Yumen Pass, I have shed blood for Yumen Pass, you cannot treat me like this, this is ingratitude!”
As her words fell, in the silence, the two looked at each other.
Dragon Xiang froze for a long time, then laughed awkwardly, “I’m sorry, I scared you so much your face turned pale... I just wanted to state my identity, I didn’t mean to harm you.”
Lu Yibei was silent for a long time, her eye twitched slightly, and finally, due to the other party's larger fist, she said expressionlessly, “Can’t you speak? Do you have to display your Spirit Mark authority? Do you know this will scare people to death...?”
And...
You just threw away your disguise like that? Why aren't you playing by the rules?
It’s like a first date skipping straight past holding hands, hugging, and kissing, fast-forwarding to having children. Who can stand that? Lu Yibei thought.
As she pondered, Dragon Xiang asked, “So, what exactly is Miss Shen’s purpose? Can you tell me now? Or rather, whose side are you on? Yumen Pass, or the Shaman King?”
Lu Yibei thought about it and decided to tell the truth. After all, there was nothing to hide about this matter, and continuing to hide it at this point would only create misunderstandings.
“Neither. I just want to witness, to witness your stand with the Shaman King, uh... how do I put it? It’s like a neighborhood auntie watching the young couple next door fight, just watching the excitement... Do you believe that?”
Dragon Xiang looked at Lu Yibei in surprise but said nothing.
“Is there a problem?” Lu Yibei asked weakly.
“Hahaha, no problem!” Dragon Xiang laughed, “Absolutely no problem, Miss Shen can watch as she pleases. I can even prepare the best seat for you, for example... how about accompanying me on the expedition?”
Lu Yibei, “???”
What the heck? Is he taking me hostage, or is this a generous invitation?
