A bleak autumn wind swept by.
In the lands beneath the Divine Mountains, seasons changed with little difference in temperature. According to Chi Mei, however, it was currently autumn.
It was clear that every aspect of Chi Mei’s invitation to accompany her to ruin the Xiao and Gao Family’s exchange was intentional.
As soon as he agreed to help her, she told him that….
The exchange was tonight.
He had no time to warm up or get ready. Obviously, she’d been confident he’d agree even before she got there.
“This woman….. Isn’t as simple as I imagined,” he couldn’t help but mutter to himself. They were currently walking the ancient path. From the night they first met up until this very moment, Chi Mei had always seemed mysterious and inscrutable.
They walked down the path as a group of four. If they were going to ruin the Xiao Family’s business, they naturally needed Jiao Qi and Meng Huairong to accompany them.
After all, these two earth supreme heavenly yao were their only means of overcoming the Xiao Family emissary.
“Are you dressing like this is a good idea?” Everyone on their expedition was uncovered and undisguised. They were wearing their usual clothes; not even their faces were hidden.
“It’ll be fine. The Xiao Family is concerned that should any emissary meet with the Gao Family too often, they’ll get closer, start conspiring together, and cause problems with this translation. In order to prevent this from occurring, the Xiao Family sends someone different each time. Also, the Gao Family hasn’t sent their family head to offer tribute tonight; his son is going in his stead. Neither party is acquainted with the other, so there will be no problems just going as we are. If we disguise ourselves, all we’ll do is make the emissary suspicious.
Chi Mi chuckled as she led the way forward. Ye Zichen, suspicious at how she possibly knew so much, asked, “In that case, they undoubtedly have some secret signals and checks to ensure a smooth transaction. We don’t know those!”
When she heard that, Chi Mei came to a sudden stop. Ye Zichen and the others stopped as well, only to hear Chi Mei laugh, “I’m the one who invited you here, so stop being so flighty and overcautious. If I asked you to help me with this, I naturally know all that.”
As soon as she said that, her hand lit up with fluorescent light. She slapped a towering, ancient tree by the side of the road. Before long, it lit up as well, and Chi Mei started muttering a few acerbic, unintelligible commands.
“Open!” With one final shout, a gate appeared within the tree.
Chi Mei turned to Ye Zichen and his subordinates and said, “Let’s go!”
With that, she was the first to charge inside. The others waited outside. Jiao Qi frowned at the door and said, “Master, don’t you think she knows a little too much?”
Even Jiao Qi and Meng Huairong were a bit suspicious about Chi Mei’s behavior. She’d appeared in front of them at just the right moment, just as a team prepared to ambush them. Now, she knew the exact spot their targets intended to carry out their transaction.
It just seemed too strange.
She even knew the designated time and place, as well as how to enter this secret miniature dimension. Even with all the heavenly yao of the Yao-Sealing Pagoda and Upheaval’s extensive information network, they hadn’t discovered any of this.
At that moment, Meng Huairong frowned and said, “Master, Jiao Qi and I think there’s some chance that the people who swarmed our general store earlier might actually have been her subordinates.”
She’d been discussing this with Jiao Qi the whole way here. When they considered this series of events as a whole, the only possibility they could think of that made sense was that Chi Mei had planned the whole thing.
If not, it just seemed like far too unlikely a coincidence.
Since they’d considered this possibility, how could Ye Zichen not have realized this might be Chi Mei’s plot? He’d suspected this from the moment they left, but it didn’t matter whether this was a trick or not. He had to go out and do this either way.
He’d rather believe the treasures she spoke of existed than write them off as lies.
If everything she said was true, then what? Ye Zichen considered his wealth enough to tempt even residents of the Divine Mountains. If they sent people down, he couldn’t let aura-hiding treasures cast him into an absolutely passive state.
“Let’s go inside and take a look.” Ye Zichen didn’t bother discussing the matter. He simply fixed his gaze ahead and stepped through the gate. As occupants of the Yao-Sealing Pagoda, Jiao Qi and Meng Huairong’s duty was to ensure their master’s safety. Ye Zichen went inside, so they naturally had to follow him.
Once they’d all stepped through, the tree’s light faded as it returned to its original appearance.
“You’re too slow!” As soon as they stepped inside, they heard Chi Mei’s somewhat disdainful pout. At the same time, they saw the true face of this mysterious pocket dimension.
The world inside the door was very simple. Inside was nothing but an endless plain of grass.
Aside from a single thatched hut, there wasn’t a single building in sight.
“The Xiao Family Emissary is inside. In a moment, prepare a fire element spatial ring. They decided on this in advance. Jiao Qi and Meng Huairong should go with me, and when the time comes, the three of us will kill him before he knows what hit him!”
She’d already arranged their lines, but when he heard that she intended to take Jiao Qi and Meng Huairong with her, Ye Zichen couldn’t help but frown.
The reason he dared follow her with such confidence was largely due to his subordinates.
Their expressions darkened as well. Their mission was to protect Ye Zichen’s safety no matter what. Even before stepping inside, they suspected Chi Mei, but now she wanted to separate them from their master…..
“What are you doing? Hurry up! It won’t be long before the Gao Family gets here, and when they do, we’ll get exposed!”
When she saw them hesitate, her gaze grew increasingly urgent. When she noted their expressions, she couldn’t help but say, “You aren’t suspicious of me, are you? Sweetie, there’s absolutely no way I’d do anything to hurt you!”
Chi Mei was visibly hurt. If she could, she would have shouted, “I’ve been wronged!”
Ye Zichen just stared right at her…. This woman….. He truly couldn’t see through her.
Don’t be fooled; she might act sweet and silly, but she was craftier than anyone else he’d ever met.
That, and her seemingly endless tricks meant that Ye Zichen had no choice but to stay on high alert around her.
“Wah, you’re not really suspicious of me, are you? But if you suspect me, why did you follow me inside?”
Despite Chi Mei’s aggrieved pout, Ye Zichen stared right at her and asked directly, “Can I trust you?”
“Of course you can! I swear it,” she said, raising her little hands into the air.
Ye Zichen gnashed his teeth, turned to his subordinates, and said, “You two, follow her!”
