Chapter 180
Chapter 180: Are They About to Make a Wedding Gown for Someone Else?
The familiar voice caused Shi Zi Chu to relax slightly. She deliberately called out pitifully, “Clan Chief Ye, save me~”
In response, there was silence.
The surroundings fell quiet, as if Ye He Qi had already left.
After a moment, footsteps stopped in front of her, and the familiar scent of sandalwood filled her nose.
A sharp light flashed, and Shi Zi Chu squinted her eyes. She saw Ye He Qi crouching down, seemingly untying the black cloth around her.
Dropping the black cloth, Ye He Qi took Shi Zi Chu’s arm and helped her up before turning her around.
Shi Zi Chu looked around.
The room appeared to be a woman’s private chamber, but there were too many light curtains hanging, giving it a slightly frivolous and improper atmosphere.
Red lantern quarter.
Shi Zi Chu quickly deduced where she was.
This spirit was playing on her last nerve!
If she didn’t act now, wouldn’t that make her seem like a soft, unassertive fool?
Ye He Qi swiftly untied the knots, saying, “Done.”
Shi Zi Chu moved her wrist and then turned to face the dashing Ye He Qi. “Clan Chief Ye, how did you end up here?”
“This place is not an illusion, but the real red lantern quarter. As for those people earlier, they were cultivators lured here by the enchantments of Liao Xin Zhi,” Ye He Qi answered, sidestepping her question.
Shi Zi Chu narrowed her eyes.
Ye He Qi gently asked, “Can’t use spiritual power?”
Shi Zi Chu lifted her gaze to look at him.
She was indeed powerless right now. What was Ye He Qi planning?
Ye He Qi seemed to have no other intentions. He responded to Shi Zi Chu’s previous question, “The price for asking such questions is steep, and the journey has been quite perilous.”
Shi Zi Chu wasn’t surprised.
“Clan Chief Ye, shall we cooperate?”
Ye He Qi lightly tapped his arm with his folding fan, his warm voice tinged with helplessness. “Daoist Shi, we’re not on the same side, are we?”
Without needing to see Shi Zi Chu’s arm, he could guess she was from a hidden third faction. If they cooperated, it would be too much of a disadvantage for him.
“How do you know we’re not on the same side?” Shi Zi Chu retorted.
Ye He Qi raised an eyebrow, then rolled up his sleeve to reveal the markings on his inner arm.
Shi Zi Chu mimicked Ye He Qi, rolling up her sleeve.
The markings on their inner arms were identical!
Ye He Qi’s surprise flashed briefly, “You and I are on the same side?”
Had he guessed wrong?
Shi Zi Chu raised an eyebrow again and asked, “Shall we cooperate?”
Ye He Qi lowered his sleeve, and with perfect synchronicity, they raised their hands to clap together.
“Pleasure doing business.”
The words echoed in unison.
“To show my sincerity, I’ll give Clan Chief Ye a little surprise,” Shi Zi Chu added with a smile.
As her voice faded, she unleashed her soul force.
Within her spatial storage ring, Xue Gu was frantically jumping around. “Master!”
Shi Zi Chu ignored the strain her powerful soul force was putting on her body. She was focused on tracking the spirit’s trail.
Sensing the impending danger, the hidden spirit tried to flee. But before it could escape, an unstoppable, fierce soul force locked onto it.
“I’ve found you!”
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, a confident, almost arrogant grin that said everything was under her control.
Her delicate, pale fingers reached out, and the gray-white light orb appeared instantly in her palm, unable to escape.
The spirit’s childish, playful voice turned sharp and shrill, “Ah!!! I’m a spirit! How could you catch me?!”
It was the spirit from Ascending Towers Island!
Shi Zi Chu spat out a mouthful of blood, then grinned.
So what if it was from Ascending Towers Island?
Ye He Qi’s gaze was steady on Shi Zi Chu.
Her wild, beautiful, and daring smile was like a blooming poppy—dangerous but captivating.
Even if he hadn’t stepped in to help, Shi Zi Chu wouldn’t have become fish on the chopping block.
As for the gray-white light orb in Shi Zi Chu’s hand, Ye He Qi only glanced at it. While surprised, his expression mostly showed a sense of “I knew it.”
Shi Zi Chu’s soul force was very strong, and this was likely one of her trump cards. He hadn’t expected it to be this strong!
But now wasn’t the time for questions. Shi Zi Chu was bleeding from all seven orifices and looked to be in bad shape.
Ye He Qi took out a few spirit pills and placed them one by one in her mouth, then performed a dust-dispelling spell.
The spirit pills dissolved the moment they touched her tongue, and Shi Zi Chu, slightly revived, clenched her fingers, the spirit’s sharp screams still echoing.
Shi Zi Chu squinted, seeming to enjoy it.
“It’s so loud,” Ye He Qi frowned and remarked.
Shi Zi Chu tilted her head, and with a swift motion, she silenced the spirit.
With the dimming light orb, Ye He Qi poked it twice with his folding fan. “Is it dead?”
“Not yet,” Shi Zi Chu said, playing with the spirit’s essence in her hand without mercy.
“What should we do next?” Ye He Qi asked in a gentle voice.
With the spirit in hand, there was much they could manipulate.
Shi Zi Chu replied softly, “Let’s first go for the demi-god rank magic artifact Clan Chief Ye is most interested in.”
Ye He Qi glanced at her, and in the same gentle tone, he agreed.
At the top of the palace hall, the pure white, holy gates loomed before them. The two stood at the entrance.
After handling countless dangers on the way, both of them now showed signs of fatigue.
“It seems this is the place,” Shi Zi Chu said, reaching out to push the door.
Ye He Qi grabbed her wrist gently, his voice filled with concern. “Daoist Shi, don’t be so hasty. What if there’s danger inside?”
Their gazes met, and in an instant, the once harmonious atmosphere turned tense.
Shi Zi Chu’s silk threads and Ye He Qi’s whip both struck at the same time.
With Shi Zi Chu’s spiritual power suppressed, Ye He Qi lashed out with his whip and dashed toward the door.
As Shi Zi Chu blocked the purple whip with her silk threads, Ye He Qi’s palm already touched the door.
The door seemed to sense something and slowly began to open.
Just as Shi Zi Chu’s silk threads came flying, Ye He Qi had already slipped inside.
A barrier technique at the door blocked the silk threads.
One was outside the door, the other inside, and they gazed at each other from afar.
Watching Shi Zi Chu, who remained still outside, Ye He Qi summoned his life-bound artifact, transforming the whip into a folding fan. The fan opened, covering half of his face, leaving only his mischievous, smiling peach blossom eyes visible.
“Daoist Shi, why don’t you come in?”
His voice was warm, like an invitation, yet with an undercurrent of a subtle, probing question.
“Clan Chief Ye, you don’t trust me?” Shi Zi Chu said, feigning hurt.
Ye He Qi’s eyes curved with a sly smile, his expression that of a cunning fox.
He didn’t trust Shi Zi Chu, but Shi Zi Chu didn’t trust him either.
To put it plainly, if the spirit hadn’t been so focused on targeting Shi Zi Chu, he wouldn’t have made it inside.
“Then, I’ll trouble Daoist Shi to wait for me outside for a moment.”
With that, Ye He Qi turned and entered.
Outside, Shi Zi Chu pulled out the spirit, staring at the dimmed essence, and mused with a smile, “You almost succeeded, but so did I.”
The spirit mocked in a strange tone, “A demi-god rank magic artifact has a spirit! You think you can soul contract it? Dream on!”
As the spirit’s voice faded, Ye He Qi’s figure appeared in the doorway.
Looking into his mesmerizing peach blossom eyes, an icy chill seemed to seep through.
Shi Zi Chu smiled brightly.
What was this between them?
Were they paving the way for Chu Zhi Rou?
Ye He Qi, whose expression was gentle yet his eyes icy cold, looked at Shi Zi Chu.
Shi Zi Chu was smiling, but there was no trace of mirth in her eyes.
Ye He Qi’s smile deepened slowly, but the coldness in his eyes only grew sharper.
Were they really going to make a wedding gown for someone else?