Zhang Shuangxi's duel and workplace scheming

Just as Su Xiao reached the statue, the red light of the Chiyang Gu suddenly flickered violently, scalding the box's walls so hot they were practically impossible to hold—this wasn't a reaction to a demonic formation, but rather a warning sign of a similar Gu Qi. She turned sharply and saw that Hongyang's previously serious expression had vanished, replaced by a calculating smile. The golden mandarin duck on her red robe shone coldly in the sunlight, and the silver bell chain on her hem had strangely stopped ringing.

"It seems your little bug is smarter than you." Hongyang's voice no longer imitated anyone, but was filled with a hint of lazy sarcasm. "But isn't it a little late to react now?"

Before she finished speaking, the fog at the town entrance suddenly parted, and a woman in a dark purple gauze dress emerged. Her skirt was embroidered with entwined ghost flowers, and with every step, a silver bell rang, a tone more feminine than Hongyang's. Her black hair was loosely tied, a carved bone hairpin tucked in, the black beads dangling from the end swaying gently with her movements. Her face was the most striking feature, half painted with delicate flower ornaments, the other half covered in sheer black gauze. Her voice was deliberately gentle, yet concealed an undeniable dominance: "Hongyang, there are some rules for stealing business, right? It was Hua Liang who first targeted the evil core in Qingwu Town."

Hong Yang raised an eyebrow, tossed her red robe, and the silver bell rang again, but without the previous playfulness, it was full of provocation: "Hua Liang, you can't say that. The rule in this business is 'first come, first served'. I've already led the 'chess piece' to the core of the formation, and you come out now to intercept it. Isn't that a bit unkind?"

Su Xiao finally understood that she had been Hong Yang's pawn from the beginning. She gripped the Chiyang Gu box tightly, quietly retreated to Chen Mo's side, and whispered, "They're all after the evil core under Qingwu Town. We're being used."

Chen Mo immediately raised the bronze compass. Although his strength had not yet recovered, the pointer spun wildly, pointing to the underground of Qingwu Town - there was a stronger evil force than the source of Guixu, and there was obviously an evil core.

Hua Liang chuckled, raised her hand to move the black beads in her hair, her tone full of disdain: "'First come, first served'? With your little tricks, you are qualified to talk about rules with me? You are trying to get close to me by imitating my personality and deceiving children?" As she spoke, she suddenly changed the subject and imitated Hong Yang's soft tone before: "'Brother, does your arm still hurt? I have better herbs here~'" She imitated it vividly, even imitating Hong Yang's eyebrow-raising action at that time.

Hong Yang's face darkened instantly, and the silver bell chain on her hem jingled. She said angrily, "Stop pretending! At least I put in the effort to plan this, and you? You're hiding in the fog, peeking like a thief!"

"Thief?" Hua Liang took two steps forward, her dark purple gauze skirt sweeping across the ground, leaving a faint black mark. "I call this 'wait and see'. Unlike some people who are so eager for quick success that they can't even imitate properly—the way you imitated Meng Meng's worry just now, your eyes were too fake, and the corners of your mouth were too tense. It was obvious you were acting." She suddenly pointed at Meng Meng, her tone returning to Meng Meng's gentleness: "Sister Meng Meng, do you think I'm right?"

Meng Meng was stunned for a moment when she suddenly called her name, and nodded subconsciously - the tone that Hua Liang imitated was indeed more like her own than Hong Yang, even the little gesture of blinking slightly when speaking was the same.

Hong Yang was so angry that the silver jewelry clashed even louder. "What do you know?! I was trying to gain trust quickly! Unlike you, who only hides behind and finds fault! If you have the guts, let's fight for the evil core with our own strength, and stop talking nonsense here!"

"Rob?" Hua Liang sneered, raised his hand and waved it at the stone statue. A stream of black Gu flew out, and more black mist instantly poured out of the stone statue's eyes. "Do you think I'm unprepared? I've already tampered with the formation under this stone statue. You want to use Su Xiao's Red Sun Gu to break the formation and then take the opportunity to get the evil core underground? Unfortunately, this formation is now only controlled by my 'Ghost Flower Gu'."

Hong Yang's expression changed, then suddenly returned to her previous serious expression. She shouted at Su Xiao, "Su Xiao! Don't believe her! She's trying to trick you into handing over the Red Sun Gu! Let's work together. After we get the evil core, I'll give you 30% of the benefits!"

"Thirty percent?" Hua Liang sneered, her tone becoming as serious as Chen Mo's. "Brother Chen Mo, do you think thirty percent is reasonable? Hong Yang is playing you for fools. After she gets the evil core, she will get rid of you first to avoid future troubles." As she spoke, she turned to Lin Xi, her tone becoming Lin Xi's eagerness. "Sister Lin Xi, the copper bell in your hand can restrain the evil spirit. Why don't you cooperate with me? I promise to let you safely get the credit for eliminating the evil spirit, and I can also help you increase the power of the copper bell!"

Su Xiao watched the two men's back-and-forth, resembling colleagues vying for projects at work: one eager to win over with "benefits," the other skilled at driving a wedge between them with "threats." She suddenly spoke up, "Don't waste your energy! I have the Red Sun Gu, and we won't let you get the Evil Core either."

Hongyang and Hualiang looked at her simultaneously, their eyes full of calculation. Hongyang spoke first, her tone returning to its previous softness. "Sister Su Xiao, don't be so stubborn. We're both demon hunters, and our goal is to eliminate evil spirits, just in different ways. If you work with me, I'll teach you how to use the Red Sun Gu to absorb evil energy and enhance your abilities. Isn't that good?"

"No." Hua Liang interrupted her immediately, her tone turning into Meng Meng's gentleness: "Su Xiao, don't listen to her. She wants you to absorb the evil power, but in fact she wants you to become a vessel for the evil spirit. Then she can control you and the evil core together, and you'll be completely finished. Cooperate with me, I will help you completely seal the evil core and heal the wound on your arm."

The two of them exchanged words, constantly switching between imitating different characters, sometimes trying to win over, sometimes threatening, and sometimes sowing discord, playing the "office politics" game to the fullest. Chen Mo couldn't help but frown: "What on earth do you want to do? If you have the guts, come here openly and honestly, don't use these tricks here!"

Hongyang stopped imitating and her face was cold: "Open and aboveboard? Where is the open and aboveboard in this business? Whoever gets the evil core will be the winner." As she spoke, she suddenly pounced towards Hualiang. The golden mandarin duck on the red robe suddenly lit up red, and countless tiny poisonous insects flew out of the red robe and flew towards Hualiang.

Hua Liang was prepared. With a wave of her dark purple gauze skirt, the entwined ghost flowers on the hem suddenly came to life, forming a barrier that blocked the poisonous insect. "Is that all you can do?" Hua Liang sneered, raised her hand and waved at Hong Yang. A black poisonous aura flew out and hit Hong Yang's shoulder.

Hong Yang frowned in pain, but suddenly smiled: "Do you think this is all I have?" She raised her hand and pulled off the silver hairpin on her head. The poisonous insect pattern on the hairpin suddenly came alive and turned into a huge poisonous insect, flying towards Hua Liang.

The two instantly engaged in a fight, their red robes and purple skirts fluttering in the air. The sound of silver bells intertwined with the clashing of black beads, and the poisonous insects and black mist entwined, turning the town entrance into their "workplace arena." Su Xiao seized the opportunity to say to everyone, "Let's hurry down to the underground of Qingwu Town, find the evil core, and seal it!"

Everyone nodded immediately and ran towards Qingwu Town. Seeing this, Hongyang and Hualiang both tried to catch up, but were entangled by the other party. "Don't stop me!" Hongyang shouted, and the poisonous insect attacked again.

"Want to leave? Not that easy!" Hua Liang sneered, and the ghost flower wrapped around him again.

The two could only watch Su Xiao and the others run away, unable to escape. Hong Yang was so angry that the sound of silver jewelry clashing became louder: "Hua Liang, you really want to go against me, right?"

Hua Liang's tone was icy: "Either we can't get it together, or it depends on who has the greater ability. You don't understand the rules of the workplace, do you?"

Hongyang gritted his teeth and suddenly changed his tactics. The insect flew towards Hualiang's weak spot: "Let's see who will have the last laugh!"

In Qingwu Town, Su Xiao and the others had already found the entrance to the underground. Chen Mo looked at the bronze compass in his hand, the needle of which was moving deep underground. "The evil core is down there. We must find it as soon as possible and seal it before Hongyang and Hualiang arrive!"

Everyone nodded and headed underground. They knew a new battle was about to begin—and this time, they would not only face the threat of the Evil Core, but also be wary of sudden attacks from their two "workplace rivals," Hongyang and Hualiang.