Wu Yu was at a bit of a loss for words; he could only admit that his boss, Lin Chuan, was not exactly suited for a hands-on approach—he seemed much better at using his head.
Originally, Wu Yu could have taken care of the little girl, Yin Luoling, directly, but Lin Chuan had taken it upon himself to shoot a dart, startling the little girl in an instant.
Not only that, he had let her escape, vanishing from their sight entirely.
They had even snuck off with a compass on par with a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s spiritual sense, yet Lin Chuan couldn’t read it properly, nearly allowing the little girl to turn the tables and kill them instead.
But what shocked Wu Yu even more came next.
Yin Luoling’s dagger had fallen, but she didn’t stop moving.
She grabbed the dagger, kicked aside the person holding the compass with one foot, and with her other hand, picked up the dagger and stabbed directly at Wu Yu’s throat.
Her movements were clean and sharp, precise and quick, completely at odds with her childlike appearance.
Rather than a child, a mere little girl, Wu Yu thought Yin Luoling seemed more like a well-trained assassin.
But even compared to an assassin, her killing intent was too strong, too thick.
It would be more accurate to say that Yin Luoling was like a ruthless character who had slowly crawled out of a mound of corpses—someone just like him.
Wu Yu moved just as swiftly; despite his plump figure, his actions were agile and quick.
He instantly put distance between them, brushed aside Yin Luoling’s stabbing dagger, and even stepped forward, crashing early into Yin Luoling’s chest.
Yin Luoling was caught a little off guard; she hadn’t expected the other to have such skills.
And the other party seemed to be only at the first level of Qi Refining.
No, that was wrong—he was definitely stronger than just the first level.
It felt as though he was treating her like a plaything, deliberately suppressing his cultivation to match hers.
Do you think I’m that easy to handle?
Yin Luoling sneered inwardly, but she felt no anger.
Being underestimated by the enemy was the best advantage.
She wished everyone she faced would look down on her, would see her as a mere girl who could be dealt with casually.
Clearly, this fatty was not about to do so.
But behind him—
“Wu Yu, what are you doing? You hit me—are you tired of living?”
Lin Chuan’s scolding was cut short as he climbed up from the branch he’d nearly fallen from, only to see that the Yin Luoling who was supposed to have been killed was now facing off with Wu Yu.
“What are you doing, you useless thing? Hurry up and kill her! She’s just a brat! And if you dare kick me off again, or even push me, I’ll have your head!”
Lin Chuan didn’t realize what had just happened.
Of course, as a cultivator at the eighth level of Qi Refining, Lin Chuan was a top expert here in Qingmu City.
How could he possibly tolerate being treated so rudely by a chubby fellow at the fifth level of Qi Refining, when he himself was the nephew of the Flowing Cloud Pavilion’s front desk clerk and manager?
But chubby Wu Yu paid him no mind, focusing all his attention on Yin Luoling.
He could feel it—the unusual aura coming from Yin Luoling.
It was dangerous, the kind that, if you let your guard down even a little, would bite into you and kill you on the spot.
He no longer cared to play the little brother to Lin Chuan’s boss, but instead felt a spark of interest—he wanted to play with Yin Luoling, to see what she was really made of.
The two immediately clashed.
Their moves weren’t flashy, but any expert present would have noticed: each strike was lethal, with no mercy spared.
They were evenly matched at first, but soon, Yin Luoling began to falter.
Spiritual energy was the key for Yin Luoling to contend with Wu Yu, but it was also her weakness at the moment.
Bit by bit, her spiritual energy was rapidly being exhausted.
Even though Wu Yu had suppressed his cultivation, his physical strength was still there.
A child’s body could not match an adult’s physique; the outcome was inevitable.
Yin Luoling had no delusion of absolute victory.
When she heard mention of the Flowing Cloud Pavilion, she suspected this had something to do with Ling Huan, but there was no need to dig deeper for now.
At present, all she wanted was to retreat as quickly as possible, but the fatty before her was proving to be a real nuisance.
It wasn’t that her techniques had been seen through, but that the fatty simply didn’t care about self-injury or exhaustion; he was intent on going head-to-head.
It was the right approach.
Her skills, limited by her body, couldn’t be fully unleashed, but even that fraction would be enough to grant her victory—if not for the brute force.
The fatty clearly realized this through their fight and abandoned a cautious, unscathed approach, instead opting to wear her down, trading blow for blow.
This kind of reckless fighting was fatal for Yin Luoling, since she couldn’t afford to trade injuries.
Bit by bit, she lost her balance.
And Lin Chuan, watching from the side, thought his chance had come and shouted excitedly, “Wu Yu, let me!”
Lin Chuan pounced like a rabid dog at the sight of a bone, but he never expected to fall for Yin Luoling’s trick.
Yin Luoling, seemingly at her limit, was only feinting.
As Lin Chuan lunged, she spun around, leapt from the branch, used Lin Chuan’s body as a springboard, and with a kick, escaped Wu Yu’s range, even sending Lin Chuan flying straight at Wu Yu, cutting off his pursuit.
With that leap, Yin Luoling vanished into the secretive forest, her trail lost.
With their quarry gone, Lin Chuan’s anger flared up.
“How can you be so useless?”
Lin Chuan roared, “You let her get away, you piece of trash! How blind was I to take in a lazy, gluttonous fatty like you as my underling? Damn it!”
“I was about to get her, and you just stood there like a damn idiot! Why didn’t you move with me to grab her? I told you not to move, and you really didn’t move? Couldn’t you see it was my perfect plan? You were supposed to feint and make her think you wouldn’t move, then jump in and grab her! Damn it, you’re an absolute moron!”
“Get lost! You’re fired! Out! Get out of my sight!”
Without hesitation, Lin Chuan pinned all the blame on Wu Yu, convinced it was his incompetence that ruined their chance to catch Yin Luoling.
“Fired me?”
Wu Yu asked blankly, blinking. “Really?”
He asked again.
“Damn right!” Lin Chuan bellowed.
“With your level of uselessness, of course I’m firing you! You’re no longer qualified to be my underling!”
Before Lin Chuan could finish, a sudden “puchi” pierced the air, flesh and bone.
He felt something run through his chest.
Dizziness swept over him, his vision blurred, his breath quickened—he couldn’t seem to draw air.
He looked down in confusion to see Wu Yu’s hand sticking through his chest.
He couldn’t understand—how dare Wu Yu kill him?
He was the nephew of the Flowing Cloud Pavilion’s manager, someone destined to dominate the cultivation world!
Fortune-tellers had said he was fated for greatness—so why was he dying?
There was no answer.
He closed his eyes and stopped breathing.
Wu Yu, the little fatty, expressionless, gently pushed Lin Chuan’s corpse aside as if brushing away a bug, letting him fall to the ground.
He stood up.
That pair of heavy, gleaming waist sabers looked particularly light in his hands.
Wu Yu let out a soft sigh, pressed his hand to his cheek, and pulled hard.
Suddenly, there was a “crack” as if a wooden framework had been undone.
He slowly peeled off his own face. With a flash of crystal light, the chubby flesh vanished, leaving only a slender, naked figure standing atop the branch.
Thick, jet-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, revealing a stunning face.
She looked about fifteen or sixteen, but her features held nothing of innocence—only a dangerously seductive beauty, even though she did nothing at all.
Her phoenix eyes seemed to contain endless allure; with a mere glance, she could captivate a soul.
She sighed softly, then sighed again.
F“Ah, why is it so hard to find a reliable boss? Good people need saviors, but villains need leaders too. I don’t have the brains for grand schemes, but I can cultivate an outstanding villain—a savior for the wicked. That’s all I want, why is it so difficult?”
“They always say, ‘A wise man’s careful plan is no match for a fool’s sudden idea.’
Sometimes I think a fool might make the perfect villain—after all, a fool’s ideas are always unexpected.But reality proves that a fool is just a fool.”
She needed a new boss, but before that, she needed a break.
A reward for herself, after all these years of playing along with that fool.
She needed a break—and maybe to set a fire or two.
Her gaze drifted off into the distance, where a group of children were walking home together.
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