Chapter 2269: A Fateful Encounter
Actually, it wasn't that Xuanse was going back on his word—Jiangnan had simply proposed an offer he couldn't refuse!
He'd just hear it out for now!
(￢_￢◕) "I'm warning you, don't expect me to do any more favors for you. If I help him now, I'll be making enemies of the entire starry sky!"
"I'm not that crazy. You say you can get Xuanse Four out of Chong Bishi's control? How? Let's hear it!"
If there was such a chance, Xuanse naturally wouldn't pass it up. After all, who wanted to be someone else's puppet, with someone else sitting on their head?
Jiu Lan suppressed her anger, forced herself to calm down, recalled the talking points Jiangnan had taught her, and began to speak.
"Honestly, getting your Xuanse Four back and shaking off those parasitic bugs is actually very simple. The simplest and most direct method is..."
As she spoke, Jiu Lan raised her hand and made a cutting motion across her own neck!
Xuanse shuddered, then let out a contemptuous laugh.
(◕͡°_͡°) "Kill Chong Bishi? You think I need you to tell me that? Any idiot knows that method. The problem is, can it actually be done?"
"Chong Bishi is a genuine Star Devourer-level powerhouse, with an insect swarm guarding her. Have you ever seen any Star Devourer in the starry sky that could be killed so easily?"
"Once you reach that level, no matter what race you are, you're extremely hard to kill. Most die of old age. Kill Chong Bishi? That's wishful thinking!"
Jiu Lan's expression turned serious. (˵ಠ～ಠ˵) "You think I'm joking? You can't do it—that doesn't mean our boss can't!"
"Do you know what kind of power he wields? At this stage, we have a common enemy, don't we?"
"If that bitch dies, it benefits both you and us. The enemy of my enemy is my friend!"
"Think carefully. Do you really want to live your whole life with that bitch riding on top of you?"
Xuanse narrowed his eyes, his gaze flickering. Before, he hadn't known Jiangnan's identity or his background.
But now he was well aware. Jiangnan's Black Hole Devouring Star power, if used properly, indeed had the potential to end a Star Devourer.
(ꐦ°᷄д°᷅) "That sounds nice, but don't think you can use me as your pawn. You're probably going to ask me to do something dangerous again, aren't you?"
"I'm not doing it! I've fallen into the same pit three or four times already. Could I fall again? Absolutely not! Do you take me for a fool?"
Jiu Lan pressed her palms together, resting them on her nose, her face solemn.
(˵ಠʃƪಠ˵) "We don't actually need you to do much. All we need is your cooperation—specifically, the Xuanse Four that's still in the insect nest."
"No matter how big this gets, it won't affect your sixty percent. Your Xuanse Four is already in deep trouble anyway."
"Why not give it a try? The risk you're taking is already very small."
"Our boss will handle the main job. All you need to do is work from the inside. If it succeeds, you'll become whole again. If it fails, so what? Chong Bishi spent so much effort to get leverage on you—would she really be willing to destroy Xuanse Four?"
At this moment, Jiu Lan was like a demon continuously tempting Xuanse to step into the abyss.
Xuanse's gaze flickered.
(◕◔益◔ิ) "I'll think about it..."
Wufeng said anxiously: (｡͡ຈ口ຈ͡) "Boss! Don't fall for it! This is a fire pit right in front of you! If you jump in, you'll become an old dog—pwah!"
Before he could finish, Xuanse punched him right onto his knees!
"Damn it, old dog? Can you stop bringing that up? This little brother is definitely not to be kept around!"
Xuanse's mind was in turmoil. Should he do it? If not, he'd never escape Chong Bishi's control for the rest of his life.
If he did it, he might get Xuanse Four back, but he could also fall into another trap!
Jiu Lan felt a thrill inside. Nanshen's persuasion techniques were absolutely brilliant. She hadn't even used backup talking points, and Xuanse was already on the verge of giving in!
Hesitation meant this was basically settled.
Seizing the moment, Jiu Lan pulled out a colorful snail shell and pushed it over to Xuanse.
"If you agree, take it. Subsequent plans will be communicated to you through this. You don't need to do anything extra."
"All we need is for Xuanse Four to cooperate and do a few small, manageable tasks. The rest—just wait for things to work out, and it's done."
Xuanse stared at the snail shell, caught in an intense internal struggle.
Take it... or not?
Jiu Lan wasn't in a hurry. She sat there quietly, waiting for his answer, while also thinking about how to contact the Netherworld clan's pursuit squad later.
...
Beimian Star Capital, terminal building. Zhong Yingxue and the others had squeezed their way over from Wuxian Pass.
They'd skipped the Dimensional Star Navigation because it was too slow, so they went through Wuxian Pass instead.
They knew about the Beimian Great Migration, but they hadn't expected it to be on this scale.
Anyone heading toward Beimian Star Capital at this time was basically a rebel.
Xia Yao and the others had given up on disguises and came with their real faces.
They weren't afraid of the Sacred Law Council causing trouble, because they were confident they could retreat into the dimensional rift at any time. If they got caught, so be it.
Qian Benying, with her pink hair, looked around.
(*´ﾟ～ﾟ) "Hey... shouldn't we tell that bad guy Jiang that we've come to find him?"
Xia Yao grinned slyly. (◦‾᷄⥎‾᷅◦) "We're bounty hunters. Since when do bounty hunters inform criminals that they're coming to catch them? That would be unprofessional!"
"We need to give Xiao Nan a surprise, right, Xuexue?"
Zhong Yingxue nodded in agreement.
(∗❛ั◠❛ั) "Xiao Nan didn't tell us he escaped from prison, so we won't tell him we're here!"
Xiao Jiuwo covered his face. Even Sister Xue has turned bad, huh? Is this out of spite?
Just then, Xing Cheng's stomach rumbled like thunder.
(͡°〰͡°)☛ "Cheng Bao is hungry! Eat fire biscuits!"
She pointed at the fire biscuit shop on the corner. If Qian Benying hadn't held her back, she'd have rushed over and eaten the whole shop.
Everyone's gaze followed where Cheng Bao was pointing.
But that one look froze all their expressions.
There was Jiu Lan sitting opposite Xuanse, discussing business.
Zhong Yingxue and Xia Yao's eyes glowed with a crimson light.
(◦͡ᵔ～͡ᵔ)(◦͡’～͡’)
"Is it her? Are we sure? Xiao Ya?"
Olivia didn't hesitate. With a wave of her hand, she generated the photo they'd obtained earlier.
In the photo, Jiangnan was being beaten up, while Jiu Lan raised her hand in a peace sign, laughing brightly.
Comparing that image with the scene now—it was exactly the same!
(｡･ˇ◠ˇ･) "Yes! That's her! Deputy Warden of Ming He Death Prison. Even though she has a yellowish skin tone now, it's her!"
At this moment, the entire "Whatever Jiangnan Says" team's eyes were red, and the sound of grinding teeth filled the air.
Wu Liang said indignantly: (｡•皿•｡｀) "Right! I heard Ming He Death Prison sent out a pursuit squad. I didn't expect them to chase all the way here!"
Zhong Yingxue narrowed her eyes. (๑¯ิ～¯ิ) "Just to be safe, let's confirm. Xiao Ya?"
Olivia nodded, fixed her gaze on Jiu Lan, and simulated an encounter scenario in her mind, using the Whisper of the Divine to foresee.
(ꐦ͡°皿͡°) "Tch! It's her. The one named Jiu Lan. She even cursed at me! Pretty hot-tempered!"
Just then, Jiu Lan shuddered violently and whipped her head around.
But aside from the surging crowd, she saw nothing unusual.
For some reason, Jiu Lan felt a creepy sensation on her back.
Strange...
(˵ಠ◠ಠ˵) "Have you made up your mind? Hurry up! I don't have all day to waste here!"
Meanwhile, Zhong Yingxue and the others had already foreseen this moment and teleported ahead into a corner of the terminal building.
They huddled in a circle, eyes burning with nothing but rage.
Xia Yao bared her sharp wolf fangs. (งᵒ̌皿ᵒ̌)ง "Since we've run into her, we can't let her go. This is a fateful encounter!"
"He beat Xiao Nan that badly! Every single punch we'll pay back on her!"
Zhong Yingxue narrowed her eyes. (ꐦ͡ᵔ～͡ᵔ) "No mercy! She's not leaving this planet standing!"
Qian Benying raised her hand, a bit scared. (〃☍﹏⁰)ฅ "But she's a Netherworld clan member, with ability suppression. At least a Planet Destroyer level. Can we take her head-on? And she might have helpers nearby."
Mila's small face was cold. (◦`~´◦) "That bitch who hit Jiangnan Gege—she better not expect an easy time. I have a mature plan."
Then they formed a tight little circle and started whispering and nodding. Olivia listened and felt her scalp tingle. This little blonde girl—so young, yet her methods were so ruthless?
After discussing, Mila turned to Olivia. (๑◔～◔ิ) "Success rate?"
Olivia did another foreseeing and then gave Mila a thumbs up.
Mila raised her little hand and made an OK sign, then stretched it toward Lan.
Lan immediately pulled out a cloth doll and a lollipop from the alternate dimension.
Mila's body flashed with golden light, instantly turning into a six-year-old. With the lollipop in her mouth and the doll in her hand, she rolled on the ground twice, then headed toward the fire biscuit shop with Lan.
ᥬ(˚˃̣̣̥᷄口˂̣̣̥᷅)᭄
(づᙏ̤̫ど)
"Wahhh—Mommy! Where are you! Baby is scared! Mommy, wuwuwu—"
Mila's tiny figure stumbled through the crowd, covered in dust, clothes dirty, with a lollipop in her mouth.
She cried pitifully, looking as miserable as could be.
Accidentally bumped by the crowd, she staggered to the side of the fire biscuit shop and collided with Jiu Lan.
She fell on her bottom.
Jiu Lan frowned. The side effects of the sugar tangerine were still there, making her irritable and prone to anger. She turned and snapped, (ꐦ°᷄д°᷅) "Are you blind? Don't you watch where you're—huh..."
She saw a little blonde girl sitting on the ground, hugging a doll and crying sadly.
After being yelled at by Jiu Lan, she cried even louder.
˚‧º·(˚#˃̣̣̥᷄ᯅ˂̣̣̥᷅)‧º·˚
Jiu Lan's heart tightened, and she suddenly felt guilty. She shouldn't have lost her temper with a child.
So she moved to get up and help Mila up.
But at that moment, Lan—wearing overalls and a little felt hat, looking about fourteen or fifteen, with a childlike face—ran over panting.
She beat Jiu Lan to it and helped Mila up, saying apologetically, (∗❛ั﹏❛ั) "Sorry, miss. My little sister bumped into you. We'll leave right away and won't bother you anymore."
Jiu Lan withdrew her outstretched hand. "It's nothing..."
Time Stop Sphere!
The Mila who had been crying just a second ago instantly turned serious, leaped up, and released a Time Stop.
ᥬ(#⁰̷̴◠⁰̷̴)᭄
A golden sphere enveloped Jiu Lan on the spot.
Jiu Lan: ???
Under Time Stop, even moving a finger was impossible.
Lan immediately hoisted Mila up, placing her on her shoulders to ride. She turned her small hand and slashed through the air, tearing a huge rift.
With Mila and Jiu Lan, she supported the Time Stop sphere and charged into the dimensional rift.
Then the space closed, and everything returned to calm. But Jiu Lan was gone, as if she had never been there.
The entire kidnapping took less than 0.1 seconds, smooth as flowing water, clearly not the first time.
At that moment, Xuanse and Wufeng, sitting across the table, stared in horror at the instant abduction of Jiu Lan.
Σ(͡;口͡;|||)(͡ຈ口͡ຈ|||)
Holy crap! What the hell?
One second they were chatting, the next she was kidnapped by two kids?
A time user? And a space user?
That move—if it had been aimed at them, they wouldn't have been able to defend against it either!
Xuanse shuddered violently, grabbed the colorful snail shell on the table, turned, and left.
Damn! Beimian Star Capital was really a gathering of all kinds of talents these days. Even eating a meal could get you kidnapped? Time to bail!
Jiu Lan was completely confused. Not only could she not react, she couldn't even release any power.
What were they doing? Was the Sacred Law Council making a move? Kidnapping her to threaten Jiangnan?
Inside the dimensional rift, Zhong Yingxue and the others were already waiting.
Lan ran over with Mila on her back.
∠(｀～´*) "The person is back! No attention drawn! Time to get revenge!"
At this moment, the entire "Whatever Jiangnan Says" team had red eyes.
Wu Liang let out a roar and pointed a big hand straight at Jiu Lan.
☚(｡•益•｡ꐦ) "Fight her!"
The next second, a red light flashed on Jiu Lan's body!
Jiu Lan: !!!