Chapter 226: Love and Hate
Su Junqing had his plans too. This Blood Slave had served beside the Bloodthirsty Patriarch for so long, so she probably had a better idea of the present situation.
He had just arrived at Bloodcloud Peak and needed information. The Blood Slave was a good source.
The Blood Slave, whose head was down, gradually lifted her face. Her black hair swayed as she moved and fell on the sides of her face. A tender, beautiful face was revealed, and the red mole on her forehead was a striking vermillion under the dim candlelight.
“Yun…Yunzhi!” Su Junqing looked at Ye Yunzhi in disbelief, his eyes widening in shock.
How was she still alive?
“Young Master Su, it’s been a while.” Ye Yunzhi’s bitter and resentful voice rang out in the cave-dwelling as if resounding from the depths of hell.
“Yunzhi, how…how are you doing?” Su Junqing recovered fast. He changed his expression to a complicated mix of awkwardness, depression, worry, and guilt.
“Thanks to Young Master Su, I’m still alive,” Ye Yunzhi spoke word by word.
“I know you resent me.” Su Junqing sighed deep and long. His mind churned with ways to deceive Ye Yunzhi.
He had never thought that Ye Yunzhi would still be alive, or that the Bloodthirsty Patriarch would return her to him as a gift.
In which case, could the Bloodthirsty Patriarch be giving him a warning?
“You ruined my life and eliminated my clan. Do you not think I should resent you?” Ye Yunzhi’s heated gaze burned with hatred.
If not for the fact that her Spiritual Force did not match up to Su Junqing’s, she would have rushed up to this heartless, ungrateful jerk and gone “kamikaze” on him.
“I know that you hate me, Yunzhi. But I have my reasons.” Su Junqing appeared to have more to say. He sighed painfully before continuing helplessly. “You’ve been in the Bloodthirsty Sect for quite some time now, so you should understand my predicament. I am just a lackey, and I can’t go against the Patriarch’s orders.”
“So, you mean that the filthy things you did were all forced on you by the Patriarch?” Ye Yunzhi laughed coldly.
“The Patriarch wanted the treasure map. The Ye Clan only fell because it had the map. If other members of the Bloodthirsty Sect had been in my position, your entire clan would have been captured and used as Blood Fertilizer. Besides, Ye Yu wouldn’t have been able to escape.” Su Junqing was smart in choosing his words.
While he did not deny his guilt, his explanation made it seem like he had already let the Ye Clan off lightly.
At the very least, she and Ye Yu were still alive.
“So, you’re saying I should thank you?” Ye Yunzhi was no longer an innocent, carefree young girl. She would not believe the rubbish that Su Junqing spouted.
“I know you resent me, and I have no excuses. But since the Patriarch gifted you to me, I will treat you well to make up for my sins.” Su Junqing looked gentle, appearing as if he wanted to make up for past mistakes.
“Haha! Do you think the Patriarch gifted me to you because he wanted to reward you?”
Ye Yunzhi laughed mockingly. Then, she continued maliciously, “All he wanted was to ensure that the rest of the sect is appeased. When the threat of invasion has passed, your existence will be put to an end.”
Su Junqing’s eyes widened in shock, and he stammered, “What do you mean by that?”
“You should know about the Bloodthirsty Patriarch’s temper. He never tolerates people who fail.” Su Junqing’s rapidly paling face gave Ye Yunzhi an indescribable sense of satisfaction.
“The failure at Medicine Refinery City wasn’t my fault. It was all because Ye Jiuge was too cunning and thwarted the Patriarch’s grand plan. I even offered my grandfather as a gift to the Patriarch.” Su Junqing was grasping at straws.
“What’s the use of telling me these things? I’m not the Patriarch,” Ye Yunzhi drawled.
Su Junqing’s face turned green. Deep down, he knew that Ye Yunzhi was right.
The Patriarch had an eccentric personality, and he loathed failure.
The Medicine Refinery City plot, in particular, had played a significant role, which could have affected his advancement. There was no room for error.
But Liu Yunfei and Xiong Yunhu were both dead, and he was the only one still alive.
Originally, Su Junqing had thought about escaping with Liu Yunfei’s body. But his Mental Manipulation had reached a crucial point of advancement, so he’d needed to return to the Bloodthirsty Sect to retrieve the next portion of the technique.
Su Junqing had considered his next move carefully, before finally deciding to present the old man as a gift.
The Bloodthirsty Patriarch had much praise for him after seeing how he was so filial and well-behaved.
Although the Patriarch did not hold him responsible for the failure at Medicine Refinery City, he still did not return the Mental Manipulation Technique.
Su Junqing had already thought of the worst-case scenario, but Ye Yunzhi’s words struck home.
“Yunzhi, you have to help me.” Su Junqing squeezed Ye Yunzhi’s shoulders hard. His eyes flickered red; this was the sign of Mental Manipulation at work.
Ye Yunzhi looked into Su Junqing’s eyes, and her head started to spin.
The feeling was very familiar. She immediately knew Su Junqing was using Mental Manipulation on her again.
Mental Manipulation played a significant role in why she had wholeheartedly sided with this heartbreaker in the past.
She longed for revenge day and night. How could she not be prepared against Su Junqing’s technique?
Ye Yunzhi clenched her fist tightly under her sleeve.
Her red nails, which had been coated with the Heart Devouring Powder, broke through her skin. The Heart Devouring Powder’s stinging pain brought her back to her senses.
Ye Yunzhi’s mind was clear, but her face portrayed a dreamy expression as she murmured her reply to Su Junqing’s questions.
“The Patriarch’s cultivation has failed. The Blood Lotus Flower is about to bloom, and the Spiritual Practitioner Alliance is waiting for an opportunity to strike. The Bloodthirsty Sect’s members are wavering in their loyalty…”
Su Junqing heard this stream of good news from Ye Yunzhi’s lips, and his expression revealed his greed and exhilaration.
If this were true, not only could he take the opportunity to obtain the full Mental Manipulation Technique while the Spiritual Practitioner Alliance attacked, but he could also secure other benefits, like the precious Blood Lotus Flower.
Through glassy eyes, Ye Yunzhi looked at Su Junqing’s face shining with unconcealed greed, and her lips curved into a small smile.
Su Junqing, I swear that the pain that I felt last time we were together will be returned to you a thousand-fold—a million-fold!
While the tension at Bloodcloud Peak was building up, the Capital was peaceful.
After Ye Jiuge had finished protecting Jun Yichen, she left a bottle of Spiritual Replenishing Pills and Cherry Pills for Luo Tian, who had woken up. Then, she left with Zi Shang in tow.
Just as they stepped past the doors, they heard a buzzing sound.
A black and imposing fat earthworm flapped its wings and flew toward Ye Jiuge. It was complaining endlessly, “Where have you been? My Master and I had been waiting for you for a very long time now.”
This was a new experience, being questioned by a parasite. Ye Jiuge replied in all seriousness, “I went to visit Jun Yichen. There was an issue with his cultivation.”
“Right.” Black Dictator did not care for its parasite father, who had cultivated it. Instead, it flew around Ye Jiuge in circles, buzzing continuously, “Where is my Master’s remuneration? Give it over.”
Since when were parasites in charge of claiming remuneration?
Ye Jiuge felt that the parasites were going in a direction where their personalities were getting more and more interesting. To encourage their personality growth, she swiftly decided to give Ye Yu’s remuneration to Black Dictator.
“This is a Spiritual Beast Pill with a new recipe. It’s called the Cherry Pill.” Ye Jiuge took out a bottle of Cherry Pills.
Black Dictator’s small eyes glowed with an excited light. It rushed up to the jade bottle, which was larger than its body, and hugged it tightly. Then, with a swish, it transformed into a black light and disappeared.