Chapter 086
Chapter 86: Your Moral Bottom Line is This High?
As soon as the guest room door closed, Shi Zi Chu flung her arm and tossed Nan Rong Wen Jin onto the floor.
When Nan Rong Wen Jin finally managed to struggle back onto her feet, Shi Zi Chu had already gracefully settled onto a stool, lifting her skirts as she sat. Raising a delicate hand to gently caress her slender, snow-white neck, Shi Zi Chu smiled sweetly and said, “Miss Nan Rong, if you slit my throat again, do you think Master would sever ties with me?”
Seeing the sincerity in Shi Zi Chu’s eyes, Nan Rong Wen Jin staggered backward in fright, her voice sharp and filled with fear as she cried out, “You’re a lunatic!”
Back then, Shi Zi Chu had calculated the exact moment Xing Lan would arrive. Had Nan Rong Wen Jin’s blade struck even a second earlier, Shi Zi Chu would have died; a second later, and the wound wouldn’t have seemed grave enough.
The moment Xing Lan appeared, she had immediately wounded Nan Rong Wen Jin with a single sword strike. If it hadn’t been for several ancestors of the Nan Rong Clan stepping out to intervene, the entire Nan Rong Clan would have needed rebuilding from scratch.
“You knew I wasn’t sane, yet you still dared provoke me?” Shi Zi Chu rested her chin on her palm, leisurely gazing at Nan Rong Wen Jin.
Nan Rong Wen Jin stared fearfully at Shi Zi Chu, who sat calmly, completely at ease, and retreated further, terrified she’d be framed once again.
Shi Zi Chu casually touched the jade pendant at her waist. Seeing Nan Rong Wen Jin’s eyes drawn to it, she smiled and said lightly, “You guessed part of it correctly.”
[What?]
Nan Rong Wen Jin’s mind went blank for a moment as she stared dumbly at the butterfly-shaped jade pendant.
A few breaths later, her eyes widened in shock. “You’ve been possessed by a soul?”
Shi Zi Chu slightly raised her eyebrows.
“If Miss Nan Rong had come a few months earlier,” Shi Zi Chu said regretfully, “perhaps your wish might have come true.”
Nan Rong Wen Jin stared blankly for a long moment before overwhelming regret began drowning her thoughts.
“What a pity,” Shi Zi Chu said, resting her chin gracefully on her palm. “Miss Nan Rong, I’m usually gentle and easy to reason with. How about you kneel down and apologize?”
“In your dreams!” Nan Rong Wen Jin spat viciously. “A wretch like you thinks you’re worthy of my kneeling? Do you believe I’ll tear—”
With a thud, Nan Rong Wen Jin abruptly fell to her knees. Her crimson eyes glared hatefully, as if she wished to devour Shi Zi Chu alive.
“I was wrong!” she forced out word by word through clenched teeth, her gaze locked hatefully onto Shi Zi Chu. “Please, be merciful, my lord, and forgive me!”
Only after a long pause did Shi Zi Chu calmly reply, “Forgive you?”
She stood slowly, adding softly, “Forgiveness is Heaven’s domain.”
Before the words fully settled, Shi Zi Chu had already turned and left the room, pulling the door closed behind her.
Left behind, thoroughly humiliated, Nan Rong Wen Jin trembled with uncontrollable fury. Yet, afraid to truly destroy anything, she could only rage helplessly in place.
Outside the guest chamber, Shi Zi Chu felt uncertain of what to do next.
Chu Zhi Rou had now been demoted to an outer sect disciple; just two words changed, yet the difference was as vast as heaven and earth. If Chu Zhi Rou wished to regain her inner sect disciple status, or even become a personal disciple, she would have to climb step by step.
The fastest way to regain inner sect disciple status was placing in the top ten at the Golden Core stage during the sect’s competition in a few years. But Jade Void Sect had many talented disciples. For Chu Zhi Rou to reach the top ten would not be easy.
Aside from that, she would need 300,000 contribution points. An early Golden Core task offered only about a hundred points. For 300,000 points, Chu Zhi Rou would have to complete over three thousand tasks. Even doing one task every day, it would still take nearly ten years.
Thinking about this, Shi Zi Chu suddenly remembered something.
All the contribution points she’d painstakingly earned from missions had been taken by the female villain system and handed over to Chu Zhi Rou with some shabby excuse!
Smiling faintly, Shi Zi Chu took out a communication talisman and summoned Meng Xi Yu.
Meng Xi Yu arrived quickly.
After exchanging talisman contacts with Shi Zi Chu, he patiently listened to her request.
When Shi Zi Chu finished explaining, Meng Xi Yu stretched out his hand towards her and said, “Contribution points are easy. Give me your disciple token.”
Shi Zi Chu removed the token from her waist and handed it over.
Meng Xi Yu had barely left when Ye He Qi slowly emerged.
After exchanging glances, they both left the spot without a word.
In a secluded corner, Shi Zi Chu casually picked a clean stone step and sat down.
Ye He Qi stood silently, gazing down at Shi Zi Chu seated comfortably on the ground. Being somewhat particular about cleanliness, he made no move to join her.
“Clan Chief Ye, I might need your help with something,” Shi Zi Chu said politely, placing her hands demurely on her knees, appearing perfectly obedient.
“Speak.”
Shi Zi Chu tilted her head upward, blinking her lovely peach-blossom eyes and said earnestly, “Could you go and seduce Chu Zhi Rou?”
[What?]
Ye He Qi searched Shi Zi Chu’s face for any trace of humor, but found none.
“Daoist Shi, what kind of matter has suddenly driven you mad?” His gentle, refined voice failed to hide his biting sarcasm.
After all, he and Chu Zhi Rou were siblings, though only half-siblings. Asking him to seduce Chu Zhi Rou? Aside from Shi Zi Chu losing her mind, he couldn’t imagine any other reason.
Shi Zi Chu blinked innocently and purely, but Ye He Qi remained unmoved. If not for his good manners, he might have pried open Shi Zi Chu’s skull to see what exactly lay inside.
Seeing Ye He Qi’s cold peach-blossom eyes, Shi Zi Chu smiled warmly and added, “Chu Zhi Rou’s intentions towards you aren’t pure.”
Chu Zhi Rou’s attitude towards Ye He Qi indeed wasn’t simple. Besides reverence and fear, there was a hint of desire. If she hadn’t been slated as the next Clan Chief of the Ye Clan, Ye He Qi might truly have become a guest behind her curtains.
[What?]
Ye He Qi stepped back instinctively, but behind him were stairs. Shi Zi Chu swiftly reached out and grabbed his arm, preventing him from falling. If he injured his face now, how could he seduce anyone?
Once steady, Ye He Qi withdrew his arm, involuntarily pressing the back of his hand to Shi Zi Chu’s forehead, his refined voice becoming tense, “Are you crazy, or am I?”
Shi Zi Chu pushed his hand away firmly and said, “Trust me.”
“I’d rather kill her first.”
This was revolting!
Shi Zi Chu desperately clutched Ye He Qi’s arm, but the huge gap in cultivation caused her to be dragged along.
“Clan Chief Ye, calm down! Don’t act impulsively!”
If Chu Zhi Rou died now, how would Shi Zi Chu continue her schemes?
Stumbling down the stairs after Ye He Qi, Shi Zi Chu shouted again, but Ye He Qi paid no heed. Not killing Chu Zhi Rou now would disturb his cultivation heart forever!
“Ye He Qi!”
Shi Zi Chu suddenly leaped up, aiming for his throat. Already on guard, Ye He Qi easily caught her arm, using just a little strength to swing her around. Still mindful of not hurting her, he gently caught her as she landed, letting her regain balance.
“Calm yourself!” Shi Zi Chu wished dearly to punch some sense into him. “Don’t you want your things?”
Ye He Qi quietly said, “That isn’t an excuse for me to degrade myself.”
Seduce Chu Zhi Rou—how dare Shi Zi Chu even suggest it?
“Starlight Iron!” Shi Zi Chu emphasized clearly, “Eighth-rank Starlight Iron!”
Ye He Qi smiled softly. “I’m not lacking.”
After all, he was from the Ye Clan, who had plenty of resources.
Shi Zi Chu smiled stiffly. One day, she’d fight all these wealthy elites!
“What if there’s something even more valuable?” Shi Zi Chu patted Ye He Qi’s arm gently. “Just keep her dangling. I promise you won’t lose.”
Ye He Qi sincerely considered prying open Shi Zi Chu’s head again to see what nonsense filled it.
“Benefits! Think of the benefits!” Shi Zi Chu clapped her hands. “Just be a good, aloof big brother.”
“I’m disgusted,” Ye He Qi said lightly.
Now, even hearing Chu Zhi Rou’s name made him nauseous.
Shi Zi Chu stared in disbelief. “Clan Chief Ye, your moral standards are this high?”
Ye He Qi’s forehead vein twitched lightly. At moments like these, he sincerely wished to sew Shi Zi Chu’s mouth shut!