Chapter 75 Seventy-Five Cuts "Give me my money back now!"...
"No way." Fan Qing would never give Luo Mingshu money. "I'll just wear this."
She walked out of the palace still wearing her flamboyant red dress.
Luo Mingshu carefully carried the tiles back, and together with Xie Changming, they jumped off the roof. The palace maids who were standing in the room looked at them in surprise.
"Next time someone tries to steal a prop, just take it back," Luo Mingshu instructed.
In her haste to catch up with Fan Qing, she grabbed Xie Changming's hand and led him out of the palace.
Xie Changming looked down at their clasped hands and thought, "This time, it was Luo Mingshu who took the initiative."
Fan Qingfei was moving very fast ahead, and Luo Mingshu couldn't catch up even by running. Xie Changming grabbed her hand and pulled her back: "There's a speed limit."
"What speed limit?" Luo Mingshu was exhausted from running and panting. Xie Changming patted her on the back and looked into the distance.
Before Fan Qing, several dark streaks of fire silently descended, blocking her path and forcing her to retreat repeatedly.
"No flying over Yingtian Palace." This was a rule Xie Changming added on the spot because he felt that Luo Mingshu would get very tired running.
Of course, most of the cultivators in Yingtian Palace were there to immerse themselves in the palace intrigue, so they temporarily forgot their identities as cultivators. Only Fan Qing was flying.
Fan Qing was hit twice by the dark flames and felt a pain in her chest. She quickly took out the high-level healing medicine she had exchanged in the system and recovered.
She secretly thought that after leaving this place, she would definitely expose the scam of this Yingtian Palace experience program on the Spirit Network. The so-called 800,000 yuan admission ticket was just a filter to identify the fools. After filtering out a group of stupid cultivators, they would then fleece them. It was truly despicable.
However, Fan Qing forgot that cultivators have long lifespans, and a few million spirit stones are nothing to them. With everyone's material life being extremely rich, what they pursue is spiritual fulfillment, such as interesting experiential projects that can bring them happiness.
Fan Qing has not yet avenged her great grudge, and it is not yet time for her to enjoy life, so she cannot understand this kind of happiness. Of course, the boredom of the present world is also the reason why many cultivators choose to escape into the Misty Star Sea after ascending, because in the Misty Star Sea they can experience a variety of different lives.
She finally made it to the Queen's palace, where she happened to run into two people.
Luo Mingshu and Xie Changming disguised themselves as palace maids and guards passing by, drinking tea and eating pastries in a nearby pavilion, enjoying a meeting of the century.
Shui Qingnian and Shui Qingsi were dressed in gold and silver, and after hearing that they could recharge their accounts, they bought every item pack they could get their hands on.
So, the current situation is that two princesses from the demon realm, dressed in flamboyant clothes and wearing charm items given as a gift for first-time top-ups, have encountered Fan Qing, whose aura clashes with theirs.
To be honest, Fan Qing and their demon race had a deep-seated grudge. Even though they didn't know each other's identities, it didn't stop them from disliking each other.
"No way, there really are people who can afford the 800,000 spirit stones for the ticket but can't afford the recharge package for the experience?" Shui Qingsi glanced at Fan Qing and said loudly, "What a stingy human."
Fan Qing is rich, but she doesn't want Luo Mingshu to earn it, since her original intention was to cause trouble.
"You think dressing like this will win the Empress's favor?" Fan Qing was a bit more intelligent than the other two; she knew they were dressed in the wrong clothes. Even though they had spent a lot of money on in-game purchases, it had only backfired.
"What does it matter to me whether the Empress likes me or not?" Shui Qingsi smiled disdainfully. "As long as I look good, that's all that matters."
“Foolish,” Fan Qing said.
"Just have fun, who cares if it's stupid or not? This isn't some kind of Misty Star Sea, it's all about having fun." Shui Qingsi saw things very clearly.
Shui Qingnian came to find love online and meet in real life, Fan Qing came to cause trouble, but only she came to have fun.
Even though she didn't like the two princesses from the demon realm, Luo Mingshu still agreed with Shui Qingsi's words.
"Yes, happiness is priceless. It seems the recharge gift pack can be priced higher." Luo Mingshu noted down the key points in the booklet.
She and Xie Changming had a clear division of labor: she was responsible for finding strategies to improve the business, while Xie Changming was responsible for finding and fixing any unexpected situations that might arise.
"Two idiots." For some reason, Fan Qing felt irritated whenever she saw Shui Qingsi and Shui Qingnian—because the demon race and her family had a long-standing feud.
Her anger surged, and the grievances she had suffered in the room just now erupted in an instant. She was a Nascent Soul cultivator, so how could she be so humiliated in front of them? If she had dealt with these two foolish cultivators in Yingtian Palace, she could have shifted the suspicion to the formation of Yingtian Palace—for example, the formation's judgment malfunctioned, since the formation that maintained the operation of Yingtian Palace had indeed attacked her just now.
"You're the one—" Shui Qingnian took a step forward, about to retort, when a cluster of sparks floated towards her.
Xie Changming had a rule that anyone who used offensive spells within Yingtian Palace would be punished. Dark flames fell from the sky in response, and Fan Qing tried her best to dodge them, while she continued to launch a dense attack on Shui Qingnian.
Shui Qingnian was also a proud and arrogant person. Her pupils suddenly shrank, turning into eerie vertical lines. Then, bright silver threads unfolded from behind her, forming a net to protect her chest. She kept waving and counterattacking. Her strength was not weak. The only one weak was Shui Qingsi.
As soon as the spell was cast, Fan Qing, who had a long-standing feud with the demon race, recognized the identities of the two women.
"Demon race? Die!" she muttered to herself. Then, a raging fire rose up in front of her. Shui Qingsi was so frightened that she covered her head and hid in the corner, screaming. But Fan Qing had already surrounded the two of them with an array, and no sound could be heard.
Xie Changming's formation was restrained. The first few streams of fire only served as a warning, and only the later ones would cause real harm to the cultivators. After all, the cultivators who came to experience it were all in a playful mood. Who would be like Fan Qing, who would take someone's life at the slightest disagreement?
Soon, Xie Changming began to modify the formation. Countless mimicking vines emerged from under the floor tiles in front of the palace, binding Fan Qing's body. As soon as the vines touched her, all her magical power was drained, her meridians were blocked, and she could not move.
Of course, Shui Qingnian's side was also under control. As soon as she made a move, she would be forcibly stopped, leaving her no room to dodge.
Fan Qing struggled, trying to call out to the system: "There are two demons in front of me—"
Xie Changming concealed his aura before the system dared to speak: "Host, do not take action for now. That black-clad cultivator has targeted me again. I cannot communicate with those above. To ensure our safety, I will not communicate with them for the time being."
"Stop for now. We'll deal with these two demons after we leave Yingtian Palace," the system advised.
He didn't care about Fan Qing's so-called hatred at all; all he wanted was to use Fan Qing's hatred for the demon god and the demon race to achieve their own goals.
"Alright." Fan Qing withdrew her hand, her fighting spirit subsided, and the binding vines naturally fell away.
Shui Qingnian stared at her wrist. During the battle, only she noticed the tattoo on Fan Qing's wrist, which was the ancient lotus pattern representing the Eastern aristocratic family. After being stumped by the history questions at Yingtian Palace, she had crammed on history knowledge after returning to the Demon Realm, so she could now recognize the ancient lotus pattern. It was the totem representing the aristocratic family that enslaved the demon race back then.
She wanted to make a move; her murderous intent had not yet subsided, but the vines still bound her.
Luo Mingshu observed Shui Qingnian from afar and felt that something was wrong with her expression. It was true that these two princesses of the demon realm were hostile to everyone, but at the beginning, Shui Qingnian at most looked down on Fan Qing. Why did she suddenly become hostile now?
Did she have some kind of grudge against Fan Qing, or had she discovered something? Luo Mingshu was puzzled.
As Xie Changming's handpicked loophole solver, Fan Qing will continue to shine. Thanks to her constant disruptions, Xie Changming has already fixed several loopholes that he hadn't anticipated, which is why she wasn't thrown out of Yingtian Palace.
She looked at Shui Qingnian, who was bound by vines, and sneered, "Still want to fight? You can't beat me. I'm going in to see the Empress."
Fan Qing swaggered into the palace, and the vines on Shui Qingnian's body only disappeared after she left.
"Her eyes were strange; perhaps that person has some special identity," Xie Changming also noticed.
"I'll go ask." Luo Mingshu put down the pastry she was eating halfway through.
Xie Changming casually brushed away the crumbs of pastry that were stuck to her lips. Luo Mingshu felt a little itchy, so she grabbed his finger.
"Fine, I'll scold you when I get back," Luo Mingshu said angrily.
She originally intended to wipe it clean herself with a handkerchief, but Xie Changming did it for her instead.
Luo Mingshu ran up to Shui Qingnian—she was still using the face of an ordinary palace maid—and asked, pretending to be an ordinary person, "Your Highness, what happened?"
This matter is a grudge between the demon race, so Shui Qingnian naturally wouldn't talk about it in front of others. She glanced at Luo Mingshu and said arrogantly, "Does your Yingtian Palace just let her come and beat people up like that?"
“Anyone who makes a move will be restricted by Yingtian Palace,” Luo Mingshu said. “Given that you are one of ours…you’ve already spent over nine million spirit stones?”
Luo Mingshu glanced at Shui Qingnian and the others' recharge amounts. Even though she was rich, she was shocked by the amount of money these two unfortunate sisters spent.
“Yes, we are your valued customers. Aren’t you going to throw out that cultivator who just assaulted someone?” Shui Qingnian raised her chin and looked at Luo Mingshu.
"Oh, she's the chief disciple of the Xuanxu Sect. If you have any grudges, just go find her offline." Luo Mingshu couldn't keep Fan Qing's privacy, so she directly revealed Fan Qing's sect.
Right now, she's just watching the show, hoping these people will start fighting as soon as they go out so she can cheer them on from the sidelines.
"The Xuanxu Sect is nothing more than one of the four major sects in the human realm." Shui Qingnian smiled disdainfully. "They're just waiting to die."
"Do you have a grudge against her?" Luo Mingshu asked.
“This is my business, why should I tell you?” Shui Qingnian glanced at Luo Mingshu.
As soon as she finished speaking, Shui Qingsi, who had been so frightened that she covered her eyes, finally came to her senses. She let go of her hands covering her eyes and saw Luo Mingshu.
Unfortunately, the disguise pill that Luo Mingshu is using now is the same product she used when she was in Fengshadu, so the face it creates on Luo Mingshu's face is very similar.
"It's you—" Shui Qingsi recognized Luo Mingshu, "Fengshadu, the human cultivator who wrecked my pink carriage?!"
Shui Qingnian's mind took a moment to process what was happening. Since the current setting was Yingtian Palace, a long-forgotten title slipped out: "Beautiful Consort, is that you?"
Luo Mingshu, having been exposed, simply stopped pretending: "Yes, it's me."
"You started this project with Gao Fei?" Shui Qingnian was stunned. She didn't want to give money to her competitor!
“It’s us,” Luo Mingshu readily admitted. “Alright, I didn’t kick you out because you’re a demon. Why did you look at Fan Qing with such hatred? Tell me.”
"Why should I tell you?" Shui Qingnian refused. "The matter of you causing havoc in our Demon Realm's Wind and Sand Ferry hasn't been resolved yet."
“I also don’t get along with her.” Luo Mingshu thought for a moment and didn’t ask any further questions, because no matter what their answers were, it wouldn’t affect her dealing with Fan Qing. “That’s it. Fan Qing was someone I deliberately left behind to test the shortcomings of the formation in Yingtian Palace. You can have fun, I will take care of her myself.”
“You?” Shui Qingnian turned her head and said coldly, “This is a grudge between our demon realm.”
"I understand. It has nothing to do with you personally, but with the Demon Realm." Luo Mingshu instantly realized that Shui Qingnian had probably discovered something, and she regarded Fan Qing as an enemy of the Demon Realm.
"You—" Shui Qingnian realized she had let something slip.
"Have fun." Having gotten the answer she wanted, Luo Mingshu drifted away.
Shui Qingnian, standing behind, was so angry she jumped up and down: "Damn it, give me my money back!"
Luo Mingshu entered the range of Xie Changming's concealment spell and disappeared from Shui Qingnian's sight. She picked up the half-eaten pastry on the table and continued eating.
She chewed slowly, lost in thought. If Fan Qing was an enemy of the Demon Realm, then Fan Qing's hostility towards her would be easy to understand. The Demon God had helped the Demon Realm, and it was precisely because of the Demon God's help that the Demon Realm was able to bide its time and embark on the path of independence and revenge.
However, if it was the help of a previous demon god, then you should go to the previous demon god. Why look for her? Does she look like someone who would do good deeds?
Luo Mingshu was lost in thought, forgetting that she had finished the pastry in her hand, and accidentally bit her finger.
If she were alone, there would be no problem, but Xie Changming is sitting next to her.
"Did you see that?" Luo Mingshu suddenly put her bitten hand behind her back and asked Xie Changming.
Xie Changming was an honest man in front of Luo Mingshu: "I saw it, you're so silly."
"You didn't see it? I'm not stupid." Luo Mingshu rubbed her fingers together helplessly.
Xie Changming echoed her, "Then I didn't see it."
"Don't tell anyone," Luo Mingshu warned him fiercely.
"I won't tell anyone." Xie Changming lowered his head, looking into her beautiful dark purple eyes, and said, "So, did it hurt when you bit me?"
"It doesn't hurt at all." Luo Mingshu said it was just an accident.
"Hmm." Xie Changming poured her a cup of tea and handed it to her. "Would you like some?"
Luo Mingshu lowered her head to drink her tea, and Xie Changming's voice floated above her head: "The look in that demon princess's eyes must have been filled with hatred for her to the bone. This is not just personal hatred, but hatred for the entire race. Tell me, who else has such a deep grudge against the demon realm now?"
“Those families that enslaved the demon race back then have all died out.” Luo Mingshu puffed out her cheeks, blew away the steam from her tea, and answered casually.
“There will also be cultivators who change their names and survive by any means necessary. There are so many of them, we can’t kill them all,” Xie Changming said.
"They were the ones who owed the demon race in the first place, so they should just lie down and admit their mistake." Luo Mingshu's thinking clearly reflected a neutral attitude.
"Shushu, this is different. For the descendants of those families, the demon race is a blood feud that wipes out their entire clan." Xie Changming's voice was slow and quite calm.
“But their family wronged the demon race first, and their descendants enjoy the resources they obtained by enslaving the demon race. Aren’t they also guilty?” Luo Mingshu asked rhetorically.
“Such hatred is impossible to unravel,” Xie Changming said.
"In short, it's their feud. Getting involved with me is just bad luck for Fan Qing." Luo Mingshu finished her tea in one gulp and made a conclusion.
“Sometimes, mere hatred isn’t enough to fully stir up emotions. Giving a favor and then taking it back only breeds more resentment. The Demon God once helped humanity, but when the surviving descendants of noble families sought his help, he refused. His reasons were the same as you described. As a result, those descendants will hate the Demon God even more for refusing to help them in their time of need.” Xie Changming, with his keen insight into human nature, spoke slowly.
“That’s just how people are,” Luo Mingshu replied softly, resting her chin on her hand. “But I won’t let her hurt me.”
"I don't know either," Xie Changming replied immediately.
“You…” Luo Mingshu turned her head, looked into Xie Changming’s eyes, and asked seriously, “Why do you care about me so much?”
"Is it because I have a little fish tail? But Xie Changming, let me tell you, there are many beautiful demon women in the Demon Realm with tails prettier than mine. Besides, my tail isn't just a fish tail, it's a dragon's... a little dragon's tail." Luo Mingshu felt it was necessary to emphasize her race to Xie Changming, who was obsessed with external things.
“I just like it—” Xie Changming said, but his words were interrupted by the voice of the palace maid outside.
"Consort Gen's attire is improper; her red robes disrespect Her Majesty the Empress. She is hereby confined to her quarters for one month as punishment!"
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