Chapter 2263: A Man's Reputation! A Tree's Shadow!
(꒦ິ益꒦ີ#(#꒪ͦ)益(꒪ͦ#)#꒪ั益꒪ั)
"Yah hoo hoo~"
Heart-wrenching screams came from Ta Luo's three heads, eyes rolling white!
"Who! The hell is it? Who struck me with such a dirty move? Beating me is one thing! But you can't do this, can you?"
"For the sake of past brotherhood, spare me... hey hey hey? Still reaching? You're still reaching?"
Jiangnan had a face full of satisfied smile, space wormhole constantly opening!
꒨ԅ(˶‾᷄〰‾᷅꒨ԅ)
From within the Bully Gang, screams like a groundhog rang out!
(▼皿▼#) "Well well well, Ta Luo? Playing dirty, are you? Daring to fight back? Brothers! Cut him down! Kill him dead!"
Ta Luo: ???
What the hell is going on? Who's playing dirty with you? I've been getting beaten the whole time, dammit!
In an instant, he got hammered even harder.
Jiangnan stood to the side, letting out strange, unidentifiable laughs as his sinful little hands kept reaching out, like a conductor at a concert!
Every time he struck, it was accompanied by a high-pitched scream, forming a rhythm, composing a splendid movement!
꒨ԅ(˶ಡʖ̫ಡ꒨ԅ) "Don't worry! No rush! I'll take care of everyone in turn, okay? After all, I, Jiang Tao Tao, am always fair and never biased!"
"Hmm? This one doesn't have any?"
Jiu Lan: !!!
With a jolt, did someone just do that dishonorable thing to her?
Looking down? Already gone without a trace!
(◦≥﹏≤◦) "Ta Luo! I think you really are tired of living! Thirty-six consecutive nail punches!"
"Puh wah~"
Ta Luo was pounded until blood sprayed from three mouths, one head already passing out!
Shengyi's mouth twitched. Isn't there a possibility that this is the work of Boss Nan? Nothing to do with Ta Luo?
Shengcai's face turned red. Boss Nan is definitely not right, right? Earlier, when offered it, he didn't want it, but now he's going after the peach garden!
Could it be that Boss Nan? Sigh~
Having thoroughly indulged his hand habit, Jiangnan had enough to tide over the side effects.
Meanwhile, Chong Feiyu crawled out from Jiangnan's heart and returned to her own close guard swarm body!
She would probably never live in Jiangnan's heart again—too hot-blooded for her to take!
The scene was extremely lively, with no sense of loss from the mission failure.
But Chong Feiyu seemed a bit emo, sitting alone hugging her knees, staring at her toes.
(◦ớ～ờ)
Jiangnan couldn't help but sidle over:
(๑◔◡◔ิ๑) "What's up? Got something unhappy? Tell me, so I can be happy?"
Chong Feiyu pouted, shot him a displeased glance, raised her fist, and hammered Jiangnan in the stomach, making him spit out a mouthful of old blood!
(◦`~´◦) "Stop making me laugh... Hey, how about we just let it go? Maybe this is the ending fate has destined for me."
"Back then, I spent money like water, was arrogant, self-important, looked down on everyone, didn't know how to respect others, didn't listen..."
"Easily trusted others, couldn't keep a secret, had no cunning. This is probably my retribution."
(｡ᵒ̴̶̷̥́﹏ก̀｡) "If we can't get the immortal spirit chrysalis shell back, then forget it. Wuwu~ I don't want it anymore. Let her have it."
As she spoke, she couldn't help crying in grievance, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
(｡˚˃̣̣̥᷄﹏ก̀｡) "Don't misunderstand, this is just pupil insect bodily fluid, used to wash my eyes. My eyes are too dry. Wuwu~ I'm not crying or anything!"
At this moment, Chong Feiyu's mood was very complicated—wronged, helpless, lost, and more than that, self-blame for her own lack of ambition.
Jiangnan crouched down and patted her head:
(。ớ₃ờ)ھ "No way, no way? Giving up already? You're the Insect Emperor, you know? What's one failure?"
Chong Feiyu rubbed her eyes:
(ﾉ)ᯅ(ヾ) "Wuwu~ Don't comfort me. It's my fault for ending up like this. You tried very hard, everyone tried very hard. I see it all."
"But let's just leave it at that. If we keep trying and get our brothers killed, it's not worth it."
"I don't want you to get hurt because of me. I can't even help much anyway. This is fine. I gave you my little treasury. It's not too much to ask you to support me until I die, right?"
"Lying flat isn't so bad."
Jiangnan gently wiped her tears away:
(∗ᵒ̴̶̷ںᵒ̴̶̷)ھ "What about that drive you had to skin her alive and pull her tendons? If you're like this, won't that bitch be even more smug?"
"Besides, who said we can't get the immortal spirit chrysalis shell back?"
Chong Feiyu froze, face tear-streaked:
(๑ᵒ̴̶̷̥́△ᵒ̴̶̷̣̥̀) "Huh? You still want to get it? How? She's already on guard, with her swarm protecting it. No way to get it."
"Besides, our identity as starry sky fugitives is exposed now. We'll face more trouble, not just Chong Bishi alone."
"If we keep targeting the immortal spirit chrysalis shell, isn't that just suicide?"
Jiangnan grinned wide:
(๑¯ิں¯ิ๑) "Who says we can't get it? If we can't steal it secretly, then we'll just rob it openly!"
"If conspiracy doesn't work, there's also open strategy. Who wants to support you for life? I'm not doing that! I'm waiting for you to support me!"
"A real troublemaker always has two plans. Ever heard of 'Plan B'? It doesn't matter if our identity is exposed. Exposure has its own way of playing. Hehehe~"
"As the saying goes, better to be afraid of a thief than to be coveted by one. Once I set my sights on a treasure, I've never failed to get my hands on it."
Chong Feiyu's eyes went wide:
(*꒦ິᯅ꒦ີ) "Robbing it openly? H-how do we rob it?"
Jiangnan looked utterly confident:
(︶.̮︶〃) "Don't worry about that. I have my own plans. Just wait obediently to get back your immortal spirit chrysalis shell, recover to Star Devourer rank, turn into a little rich lady, and support me!"
"What's a little failure like this? I never took it to heart at all!"
Chong Feiyu stared blankly at Jiangnan's smiling face, eyes sparkling as if twinkling with light. Her lips pouted, and then she suddenly threw herself into Jiangnan's arms in a torpedo-like hug, holding tight.
Her shoulders trembled nonstop, tears soaking his shirt front.
Jiangnan patted her back:
(。ớ₃ờ)ھ "There, there, don't cry, okay? It's a small matter. There's no hurdle in life you can't get over. Just wait and see. I'll do what I promised you."
Chong Feiyu let out a muffled "mm" and nodded heavily:
(∗ᵒ̴̶̷̥́﹏˂̶́) "I wasn't crying! I told you, it's the pupil insect washing my eyes!"
Jiangnan: (≖_≖)
And at that moment, Chong Feiyu suddenly realized something:
(°ー°〃) "Hey, did you just use the hand that was reaching for peach gardens to pat my head and wipe my tears?"
Jiangnan: (⑉་⍸་⑉)
(•́﹏•̀٥) "Um... I can explain..."
"Chong Feiyu Head Hammer! A-da!"
"Puh wah~"
Jiangnan was sent flying by Chong Feiyu's hammer, spitting out another mouthful of old blood. But Wang Youzhi took the chance to sidle over, a mischievous grin on his face.
(˵ಡʖ̫ಡ˵) "I didn't know you had a Plan B either. What's the plan afterward?"
Jiangnan grinned slyly: "I didn't have one before. I just thought of it halfway. Let's head back to 666 mine first and let things brew for a while."
"As for how to do it... I've left a spy over at Chong Bishi's place!"
Wang Youzhi was stunned: (๑•̌.•̑)ˀ̣ˀ̣ "When did you leave a spy? I didn't know?"
Jiangnan spread his hands, looking matter-of-fact:
ʅ(･´‸･｀)ʃ "Isn't Xuan Se Si over there?"
Wang Youzhi's forehead broke out in black lines. What the hell kind of spy is that!
(´-﹏-`；) "Honestly... aren't you going to pick someone else to mess with? Xuan Se is pretty pitiful too..."
Although the group's mission failed, they still swaggered back toward 666 mine!
So what if their identity as starry sky fugitives was exposed?
Small matters, small matters~
Jiangnan could already imagine how lively things would get once the news spread.
...
Chaos Mine, Chaos Saint Hall!
꒰ঌ(٥⋟3⋞)໒꒱ "A-cha cha cha~"
Xuan Se, seated in the main position within the fallen angel vessel, immediately did a triple sneeze!
He ground his teeth in fury:
꒰ঌ(ꐦ°᷄益°᷅)໒꒱ "Damn it all, damn it all! It was Jiangnan!"
The Black Barrier had been blasted through by Jiangnan, and the memories had synchronized back.
Good thing he'd self-destructed early and preserved this 60% strength!
But unfortunately, Xuan Se Si had fallen into Chong Bishi's hands!
Although Jiangnan had kept his promise, nothing had fundamentally changed!
Sixty was back, but forty was lost—just a change of the suffering owner!
And Chong Bishi was greedier than Jiangnan. She wanted the resources Xuan Se controlled, to be the puppet master behind the scenes, making him her marionette!
Back then, she'd schemed to put Chong Feiyu in power, and now she was dragging him down too. This bitch was never satisfied!
But Xuan Se had no good way out. He couldn't just give up those 40%, could he? Otherwise, how could he keep being the big mine lord?
But to truly become Chong Bishi's puppet? Xuan Se refused to accept it!
He grabbed his head, almost going crazy with worry. Why was he so unlucky?
Wu Feng swallowed his saliva: "Now that we know Black's true identity, should we report this to the Sacred Law Council?"
"Since he screwed us over, let's screw him back! That'll be satisfying! Jiangnan will naturally be dealt with by the Sacred Law Council, and humanity's good days are over!"
Xuan Se ground his teeth: "Forget it! Don't bring trouble on yourself. From now on, I'm not getting involved in anything having to do with Jiangnan!"
"That kid is no ordinary guy—he escaped from an insect nest, survived the Thousand Stars Catastrophe, and is still doing fine!"
"Let Chong Bishi handle the dirty work. I'm drawing a line with Jiangnan! If I have anything to do with him again, I'm a dog!"
Xuan Se was shaking with rage.
...
Meanwhile, in the Ni Shen Star Mine meeting room!
Silicon-based big mine lord Tie Zu and Bose big mine lord Creation Faction Danding were both present!
Danding absentmindedly teased the Creation Beast on his shoulder:
(￢_￢☫) "What, ready to accept the terms and let everyone develop Heaven's Domain? You handled the 666 mine incident beautifully!"
"Can't eat it yourself, so you threw it to humans to eat? Pretty clever, huh? Trying to disgust us two families?"
"Too bad, the result won't change anything."
Chong Bishi said lightly: (͡°_͡°) "Don't overthink it. I didn't call you here today to talk about Heaven's Domain."
"I just kindly came to tell you a piece of news: Jiangnan escaped from Ming He Death Prison. Just now, in 665 mine, he led people to blow up my imperial nest insect palace!"
"You can go check and see if Jiangnan is still in Ming He Death Prison!"
Danding's eyes shot wide open, and he sprayed out a big mouthful of jelly, shooting to his feet!
∑(°口°☫) "What? What the hell did you say? Who escaped? Jiang... Jiangnan?"
Tie Zu instantly went berserk, pulling the huge black staff from his back!
༼[┘⊡皿⊡└]༽ "Maximum combat mode activated! Opening latest virus firewall! Cutting all data transmission on this mechanical body! Terminal defense mode initiated! Core power furnace self-destruct countdown started!"
"Full-spectrum life form tracking scan! Jiangnan? Where is Jiangnan?"
Chong Bishi: =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪‧̣̥̇)
Seriously? I just said one sentence, and you two are going that far?
You're already in self-destruct countdown?