71 Tasks

◎My first time as a "beauty" in a "honey trap"◎

This is a protracted contest, a game between the emperor and the demons, which was already set up long before Du Zhijin and Ying Jianhua entered the fray.

Now, the black and white sides are locked in a stalemate, and they have stumbled into this situation, like two square chess pieces, appearing strange wherever they go.

Du Zhijin: "No matter what, I'm determined to kill this demon."

Not only because it is one of the great demons on the Master's map, including Lady Hou and Wu Ti, but it has also harmed too many innocent people, and even implicated Tianshui Zhenren and Yu Nie Zhenren.

Ying Jianhua had no other feelings for this demon. Even if it might be related to his father, the only living person he cared about in this world was Du Zhijin. If she wanted to kill it, he would do everything in his power to help her.

"The timeline is roughly as follows: The first orchid represents the first demon, which was killed by the current emperor to extract its demon core and establish this city of Ya and the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) numbered one to twenty. When the second orchid appeared, my father disagreed with the emperor about 'killing demons and extracting their cores' and resigned to return to his hometown. Over the next ten years, the second demon gradually grew up and began its revenge three years ago."

Spanning over a decade, a single thread connects two demons. As Du Zhijin watched, a question suddenly arose in his mind: "Amo, did Prince Chengduan really harm your parents just for that painting?"

The painting should stop there.

Yes, his father was likely one of the few people who knew about that incident, a witness to the emperor's dark side. Did Prince Chengduan really kill him just because of a painting?

If Prince Chengduan's actions were at the emperor's behest, would the emperor know that he was the one who killed his relatives?

He openly gave his name... If the emperor were to send the Imperial Guards to investigate even slightly, they would know that "Ying Jianhua" of Wuling Village was already dead. His current inaction—is it due to ignorance, or is he plotting something else?

A series of questions arose, and Ying Jianhua realized he had left countless flaws. The best-case scenario now was that the emperor would be too preoccupied with his identity to care about him and would devote himself entirely to the fight against the monsters.

Although, the possibility is extremely slim.

"...I'll tell you about this later." He pursed his lips, a deep ink mark left by the pen tip from pausing for too long. Du Zhijin could tell he was unwilling to talk about the past, and her heart ached as if pierced by needles.

Why are there so many things that even with a sword in hand, there are still things that cannot be resolved? Why can she only judge the fairness between humans and demons, when there are clearly many injustices in the human world as well?

He shouldn't have been displaced in his youth. If he had grown up on Dengxian Mountain, Amo would be a different person now.

Gathering her thoughts, she carefully reached out and smoothed the furrow in his brow.

"After this is all over, would you be willing to come back to Dengxian Mountain with me?" she asked, her words sounding almost like a marriage proposal.

Secretly, she hoped that she could persuade him to go back to his original self and live his original life again.

Ying Jianhua was taken aback.

Under her slightly trembling gaze, which was filled with nervousness, he didn't ask her why she suddenly said that, but instead smiled and agreed.

"good."

Du Zhijin thought to himself, "He's so easy to fool."

She hasn't made any promises yet.

Ying Jianhua thought, "She's so easy to fool."

He is actually a demon.

————

Now that she knew the emperor had his own countermeasures, Du Zhijin was no longer in such a hurry. All she had to do was wait patiently for the monster to come knocking so she could wipe it out in one fell swoop.

Feeling more relaxed, she started tinkering with other things, such as auspicious days.

Although she was a little far from achieving her goal of having seven demons, she felt that her master would forgive her for daydreaming. After all, she often daydreamed during lectures, and her master would be called in by the elders and scolded.

However, because her master's rank was relatively high, only the sect leader could verbally abuse her. When the sect leader was not around, she could do even more rebellious things.

For example, catching all the fish that someone keeps and then releasing them back.

After hearing her story, Ying Jianhua was filled with longing and became even more determined to take Du Zhijin back to Dengxian Mountain.

She said, "After you go there, you can choose any mountain you like to live on. I am Master's only disciple, and after she ascends to immortality, all the mountain treasures will belong to me."

The painting reads: "Living in the mountains sounds like being a monkey. Which mountain do you live in?"

"Dongliu Mountain".

He tentatively asked, "Then...can I stay there?"

Du Zhijin was surprised that she didn't even need to introduce herself. She widened her eyes and whispered, "It's possible... but there are quite a few monkeys on the mountain."

She hasn't been back for several years, and those unruly monkeys must be even more rampant now. If she really goes back, she'll definitely give them a good beating first.

He smiled and said gently, "Quite cute."

!

On the other hand, if Amo liked monkeys, she might be able to show mercy.

The warm and peaceful daily life came to an abrupt end when the twelfth appeared.

Unlike the indifference at their first meeting and the enthusiasm of yesterday, today Twelve carried an obvious sense of panic, and Du Zhijin instinctively felt that he had come to see her.

She told Ying Jianhua and went straight out to meet Twelve, not wanting Amo to see her.

Upon seeing her come out, Twelve visibly relaxed a lot and reached out to hold her hand, but she avoided him.

Du Zhijin said sternly, "Please have some self-respect."

She and Amo have made a major breakthrough and are now more mindful of boundaries.

12: Weren't we able to hold hands yesterday?

Then he remembered that she had asked him a lot of questions yesterday, so he tentatively asked, "What is it? What do you want to ask?"

"She wasn't home during the National Day holiday."

Du Zhijin: It sounds like their relationship is even more abnormal now!

"Ahem, let's talk in private." Without waiting for a reply, she pulled him into an empty alley and said seriously, "Don't come looking for me again. This is the end of our relationship."

She paused for a moment, then added, "I'll soon be a Daoist partner."

Amo agreed to go back to Dengxian Mountain with her and wanted to live with her. According to the book, this is called cohabitation after marriage!

Twelve's eyes dimmed, and he reluctantly let go. But soon, as if remembering something, he clung to her again.

"Enjoy life while you can."

"I'll be leaving soon too."

Du Zhijin was drawn in by the content of his words: "Leave? Where are you going?"

Seeing that she was finally paying attention to him, Twelve smiled slightly and nodded: "I have a mission."

Du Zhijin thought for a moment and asked, "Is it also a special mission?"

He nodded again.

Thinking that her silence was because she was worried about him, Twelve added, "Don't worry. I'm very strong."

Once this mission is over, he will plead with His Majesty to exchange his merits for his freedom. He can tell she doesn't want to stay in Yacheng, so he will go with her.

I feel very safe and secure when I'm with her. That's why I'm willing to leave the familiar environment where I've lived for many years.

Eleven reminded him that she already had a man in her life. He thought it was okay, that they could get along peacefully.

However, she didn't seem to like him very much, which made Twelve a little disappointed.

Fortunately, he knew what she wanted, and he could tell her anything.

Do you have any more questions?

Du Zhijin was shocked for a moment.

Judging from his expression, it didn't seem like he was lying or trying to extract information so easily.

Being the "beauty" in this "honey trap" for the first time, she was a little nervous due to her lack of experience. She cautiously asked the boldest question yet: "What is your special mission?"

12: "Not yet. I don't know."

After saying that, he glanced at her hurriedly, afraid that she would be disappointed.

Fortunately, Du Zhijin hadn't expected him to actually answer. Following a roundabout strategy, if the first request wasn't met, the next best one was more likely to be satisfied.

Sure enough, Twelve answered her second question.

"Are Number One and the others also in Atlanta?"

nod.

She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "To carry out special missions in places even more central than ours?"

He hesitated, but nodded nonetheless.

Du Zhijin's mind raced as he quickly processed various messages.

The more crucial element likely refers to the vicinity of the dragon vein, or even the dragon vein itself. What kind of special missions would revolve around the dragon vein?

She suddenly realized that she and Amo had both overlooked a problem.

Why did the emperor kill the demon?

She looked at Twelve, trying to discern something from him.

There were twenty people, each with their own disability. It's highly likely that they weren't born disabled, but rather that they possessed some demonic characteristics due to the influence of the demon core.

Short tongue, whites of the eyes.

But these effects aren't too severe; they are still "human." So, what would happen if someone completely absorbed the demon core?

Is he even human?

Did the emperor only kill one demon and take only one demon core?

She remembered what Zhao Zhonggan had once said.

He hadn't seen his aunt for a very, very long time.

A terrible thought popped into her mind.

"Twelve, have you ever seen the Emperor?"

————

"Summon the descendant of the Ying family, the Imperial Painting Supervisor, to an audience—"

Ying Jianhua was genuinely startled when he received the imperial edict.

Du Zhijin has not returned yet.

He hesitated, then asked, "Could you please ask the chief eunuch to wait a moment?"

The person in front of him was the first person he had seen without a mask since entering Yacheng, and his intuition told him that this person should be Supervisor Hu.

One of the three people targeted by a monster.

Suspiciously, the emperor actually allowed Eunuch Hu to operate under his nose... Was he indifferent or did he have other plans?

Hu Dajian smiled slightly, but there was an undeniable air in his smile: "Painting Director, please don't make things difficult for this old servant. As His Majesty's subject, you can understand my predicament, can't you?"

"Please wait a moment, as an untidy appearance would tarnish Your Majesty's honor." Since Du Zhijin was not present, they could only stall.

This reason was not rejected. He deliberately slowed down, but Du Zhijin still hadn't returned by the time he had changed all his clothes.

He realized that she must have been held up by something.

The sleeves of his official robe were wide enough to conceal the hairpin. He carefully put the jade hairpin away, took a deep breath, and went outside.

Supervisor Hu maintained his polite smile, but the deep wrinkles around his eyes made him feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

"Let's go, Young Master Ying. You must know, not just anyone can come to Yacheng. Only those who are favored by the Emperor can enter and leave. Young Master Ying is so young to have received such an honor; he truly has a bright future."

At first, Ying Jianhua took it as just polite talk from Supervisor Hu. But as they entered an unfamiliar place, he gradually realized something was amiss.

His body began to ache slightly.

These symptoms are exactly the same as Twelve's description. He is a demon, and although he doesn't know what method his mother used to conceal his demonic characteristics, at this moment, just like on a full moon night, he has finally revealed his demonic side.

He immediately realized that the dragon vein might be nearby.

Panic and excitement surged through his blood simultaneously. Ying Jianhua held the hairpin tip to his palm, using the pain to maintain his composure.

However, the next moment, when he saw who was in front of him, he could no longer remain calm.

Lady Hou, Grand Tutor Sun, Consort Li.

Including Hu Dajian, who was by his side. Everyone who still had the chance to be possessed was here.