23. Joy

The more she dwelled on it, the more unbalanced she felt. Her growing displeasure was written all over her face; her mouth turned down in a pout, and she sat on the bed with her arms crossed, looking thoroughly indignant.

"What is wrong with you?" Zack asked. After meeting Xia Huanhuan’s gaze, he opened his mouth, but some words remained unsaid. Seeing this, Xia Huanhuan didn't press him. Instead, she directed people to hoist the bow and arrow onto the city wall and build a frame to secure it in place.

After nearly two months of hard work promoting two capable people to replace Lin Wanbai, she had finally carved out time for a quiet weekend alone together, only for it to be ruined.

A rumbling sound erupted from the Demon Emperor, shaking the entire Origin Heavenly Realm. Then, he slammed his feet down, causing the very fabric of space and time in the Origin Heavenly Realm to tremble violently.

It was as if I were being guarded like a national treasure; forget about escaping, even a fly would struggle to get in, let alone me jumping out of a window.

As the eldest grandson of the Guo family, he was accustomed to being pampered and adored throughout the Jiangnan region. To be ignored repeatedly today was, to him, an unbearable humiliation.

Ye Chen didn't dwell on the matter. He handed the item over to the curator for safekeeping and continued his appraisals, though he was already calculating how he might get his hands on it.

Only Ye Chen knew that this wasn't because he was a tea connoisseur, but because his body had been enhanced, making his sense of smell exceptionally keen. Naturally, he couldn't tell Old Qian about this.

When I dodged just a moment ago, several skeletal hands had sprouted from the wall, gripping me tightly, while a dagger flew toward my wrist.

"I am very sorry, Mr. Lorraine," she said. She knew she was in the wrong, but caught between a rock and a hard place, she had to grit her teeth and stand her ground. She was about to continue when Caesar interrupted her.

The result was that the two of them were reduced to a pulp of flesh before they could even let out a scream.

Effect: Bring this to the ancient Ghost Clan, or possess the elements of the ancient Ghost Clan; perhaps that will reveal its properties.

At this point, Tai Hao paused, then instinctively turned to look at Wang Bao, Qing Yan, and Qing Bing, who sat in the main seats.

Chopin had to close his mouth; he had been about to ask if this would happen many more times. Hearing Jenny’s question, he sighed and nodded.

***

However, since the other party dared to reveal such a trump card, they naturally possessed the confidence to ensure that anyone who knew the secret would keep their mouth shut.

In other words, since Raleigh and the Second Elder were already dead, how could they possibly be a match for this Dao-level powerhouse?

Zhao Qian kept his face stoic, but he was secretly delighted. If they had just brought this out earlier, it would have been settled; instead, they waited until now. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to demand three extra farms—and if they still didn't hand it over, he would have kept pushing until they did.

My heart leaped with joy. I had been planning to go find Luo Xiang, and I hadn't expected to get news of him so easily. Luck was truly on my side once I started acting.

As Ruoxi arrived, the family dispute began. Everyone had their own side of the story, and the eldest brother and sister-in-law remained relentless.

Although she didn't know how to play, she could tell that Director Liang was no match for Lu Mubai. Now, he was dragging her along to hold him back.

Yet, bound by the Taiyi whisk of the Supreme Venerable Sovereign, no matter how he struggled, it was all in vain.

A-Tong nodded, but before leaving, he stuffed all the remaining dried fruit from the dish into his pockets.

If a fire had truly broken out, he was in the ward—how could he have heard nothing? Besides, if there were a real fire, they would have been running for their lives by now.

Sitting opposite him, Li Qianchen wanted to reach over and massage his temples, but the proud Lu Mubai would surely have dodged him.

Once married, she was a member of the Li family, bidding farewell to the innocence of a girl, the freedom of a girl, and the life of a girl.

On such an important day, she, who was usually never nervous, felt a sudden flutter of anxiety, yet she still maintained her confidence and poise as she stepped out of the private room.

A moment later, the maidservants created by the magic of the Holy Mother of Wudang brought out a spread of delicious vegetarian dishes.

In short, she couldn't quite describe how she felt about the young man’s chin, other than that it was perfect.

***

Today, forest ranger Cowell was patrolling the outskirts of the pine forest with his border collie companion, doing his best to stop those idiots with rocks in their heads from venturing deep into the woods.

The flames attacked the strange snake wildly, but the power of the Mirror of Eternity kept interrupting them; after all, the Mirror had stolen a portion of the flame’s authority, which was enough to stall for time at this critical moment.

The burly man looked tall and clumsy, but he was quite agile and possessed a high level of internal energy—a top-tier expert who forced Huang Ying into a purely defensive stance.

"Exactly. Hello, my name is Li Ke. I am the commander of this army, here to help you fight the Burning Legion." Li Ke extended his hand toward Fordring. Fordring hesitated for a moment before shaking Li Ke’s hand, which was already dusted with snowflakes.

Murong Rui and Tang Xia left the room, went to eat with the children, and then returned to their room to rest—truly, just to rest.

"Then add a few more sets of clothes for these two girls to change into; they can't travel with me in rags. Also, buy a carriage. I don't know if you have any skeletal warhorses here; I’m in a hurry," I said.

I mischievously called him nephew on purpose, and sure enough, Tang Dongmei was delighted to see Gou Tangkang’s face darken.

"I just spoke with Minister Yan about the allocation of funds," the Crown Prince said, looking rather unwell. "I got a lecture for my trouble." He briefly recounted Yan Kuan’s words.

"Instead of having an opponent who can cause trouble at any time, it’s better to keep them by our side as a goose that lays golden eggs. As long as we hold the key technology that is their lifeline, the better their development goes, the more they will be unable to function without us. It’s the same logic as when the U.S. sanctioned that tech company in our country recently."

While the Mirror of Eternity had infinite power, it was far from invincible; otherwise, the Wan Hua Dao would not have had their mountain gate breached and their lineage extinguished. He had relied on it too much; if something like this happened again, he feared he would fall into a trap.

He didn't know much about the Tenseigan. Compared to the Sage of Six Paths, the deeds of Otsutsuki Hamura were far more ethereal and elusive, almost completely hidden in the depths of history.