Chapter 2231: Cause and Effect
The corpse of that Supreme Realm Great Saint stepped out from the spatial hole and stood beside Princess Luo Sha. The might erupting from within was like a mountain or a giant peak. Any being below the Great Saint realm would likely be intimidated into kneeling.
"First, pour this princess a cup of tea."
Luo Sha's fingers lightly smoothed her hair, composed and elegant, as if she had Zhang Ruochen completely figured out.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fixed on the purple clay pot already boiling on the low couch. He walked over and lifted it with his bare hand.
"Splash."
He filled a cup to the brim.
With a flick of his finger, Zhang Ruochen used his energy to slide the purple cup across the low couch, bringing it before Luo Sha.
Luo Sha pursed her lips, displeased. "Is this your attitude for trying to win me over?"
"I never intended to win you over."
"Then why should this princess tell you about Mu Lingxi? You need to understand, this princess doesn't owe you an answer. You're the one asking for a favor, so you should act like it."
Zhang Ruochen stared intently into her eyes.
Luo Sha didn't back down, staring right back.
"Fine, what does the princess want me to do?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen relent, Luo Sha felt a secret joy but kept up her angry expression. "The tea is so hot. How do you expect this princess to drink it?"
Zhang Ruochen picked up the cup again, brought it to his lips, and gently blew on it.
Luo Sha finally showed a satisfied smile, waving her jade hand. "Come here."
Zhang Ruochen had been restraining himself. After a moment's hesitation, he walked over to Luo Sha's side, immediately catching a whiff of a captivating fragrance. His heart remained calm. "Princess, please have your tea. I hope that after this cup, our past grievances will be settled once and for all."
"Settled once and for all? You think it's that easy? The Sundial, the hilt of the Divine Sword, the Confucian Ancestor Tea Tree—each one is a rare treasure that even gods covet. The debt you owe this princess isn't so easily repaid."
Luo Sha lifted her sharp, snow-white chin arrogantly. "Feed me."
Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath but didn't obey her command. He stood upright and said, "Are you going to tell me about her or not?"
"First, make this princess happy, and then I'll naturally tell you," Luo Sha said.
"I am not your servant."
Luo Sha shrugged her delicate shoulders indifferently. "If you can't stand it, you can leave. No one here will stop you."
Zhang Ruochen nodded, flipped his hand, and tossed the cup away. "Your sacred maidservant lured me to the Life-and-Death Platform, trying to kill me. If this were the Kunlun Realm, you would already be dead by my sword. The only reason I'm still speaking to you calmly is that I don't believe you would use such means against me, so I wanted to hear your explanation."
"If you had straightforwardly told me about Mu Lingxi, I would have let this matter drop. But you've repeatedly used this to threaten me, trying to manipulate me. Don't blame me for being harsh."
Zhang Ruochen moved like lightning, sealing Luo Sha's Qi Sea and spiritual power.
"Zhang Ruochen, what are you doing? This is the Hell Realm, the Fate Divine Domain, where gods reside and Great Saints enforce the law. If you dare harm this princess in the slightest, you will face severe punishment."
Luo Sha couldn't muster any power to control that Supreme Realm Great Saint corpse, growing anxious inwardly. She realized that no matter how strong an external force was, it was still external. Faced with a true expert, she remained utterly defenseless.
She needed to break through to the Great Saint realm quickly.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you."
Zhang Ruochen formed a claw with his right hand, gripping Luo Sha's fragrant shoulder. He applied force with his fingertips, using a technique to dislocate bones and sever tendons.
"Ah... Zhang Ruochen... you... you're so ruthless to this princess, showing no tenderness at all. Even if this princess dies by your hand, I will never speak."
Luo Sha gritted her teeth, looking pitiful and sorrowful, tears of grievance and pain streaming from her eyes.
Zhang Ruochen couldn't stand seeing women cry. He withdrew his fingers from her shoulder and, in the next instant, pressed a finger to her brow. A powerful spiritual force seeped into her body.
Luo Sha felt a strange change in her body. Even sitting on the ground, her sense of touch became extremely acute.
"What did you do to this princess?" Luo Sha asked resentfully.
Zhang Ruochen said, "You said my earlier method was too harsh, so I decided to use a gentler approach to make you talk. Just now, I used my spiritual power to increase your body's sensitivity a hundredfold, especially your sense of touch."
With that, Zhang Ruochen grabbed Luo Sha's wrist and pulled her delicate, beautiful jade hand in front of him.
"Slap."
He lightly struck her palm.
An intensely sharp pain shot from her palm through her entire body, making her delicate frame tremble. It was even more painful than the bone-dislocating claw mark from before.
This time, Luo Sha truly cried out. "Zhang Ruochen, you've gone too far! How dare you treat this princess like this? Even if you beat me to death, you won't get your answer."
Zhang Ruochen struck her palm more than a dozen times.
Luo Sha gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her face, but she glared at him fiercely, refusing to yield.
"Since you can endure so much, I'll have to use heavier force."
Zhang Ruochen lifted Luo Sha up, laying her slender, graceful body across his knees.
"Great Saint Ruochen, please show some respect and release the princess."
Hanying wanted to rescue Luo Sha, but Zhang Ruochen used space power to freeze her in place, unable to move.
"Zhang Ruochen, you bastard, what are you doing? This princess will never forgive you!" Luo Sha lay across Zhang Ruochen's thighs, her full chest and sexy abdomen pressed against his knees.
"Slap!"
Zhang Ruochen pressed one hand on Luo Sha's back and struck her firm, round buttocks with the other.
The pain was amplified a hundredfold, making Luo Sha cry out.
"Will you talk?"
"No. Hit me if you dare. Kill me if you have the guts."
"Slap!"
Zhang Ruochen struck again.
He wasn't hitting hard, but it made Luo Sha cry and scream, her body convulsing.
After who knows how many strikes, Zhang Ruochen gradually noticed that Luo Sha's cries had changed. What should have been painful sounded soft and drawn out.
After countless strikes, her slender waist suddenly twisted rapidly. Her soft abdomen rubbed heavily against Zhang Ruochen's knee, and then her body shook violently. Her cries came out with a tremble.
After a long moment, she recovered, burying her head and breathing heavily.
Zhang Ruochen naturally understood what had happened. He froze for an instant, his raised hand unable to strike again.
With her sensitivity increased a hundredfold, the pain was also amplified a hundredfold, yet it had brought Luo Sha to a peak of pleasure amidst the extreme pain?
Did she have a tendency toward masochism?
Luo Sha's face was as red as a peach, filled with shame and anger. She whispered, "Let me go. This princess will tell you everything, alright?"
Zhang Ruochen felt quite awkward. He withdrew his spiritual power, unsealed her, and set her down on the ground. "If you had spoken earlier, you wouldn't have had to endure so much... pain."
Was it really pain?
Earlier, it seemed she was quite enjoying it.
"I'll change my clothes first, then I'll talk to you."
Luo Sha was extremely embarrassed, unable to meet Zhang Ruochen's eyes. She fled behind the screen. Whether it was because the pain hadn't subsided, her walking posture seemed rather odd.
Zhang Ruochen felt strange inside. He sat alone by the low couch, filled a cup of tea, and drank it in one gulp.
Hanying stood nearby, glaring at him coldly.
No cultivator had ever dared to be so disrespectful and insolent toward the princess.
If the princess hadn't secretly sent her a voice transmission, ordering her to keep silent, she would have immediately reported this to the Divine Prince. With the Divine Prince's cultivation and the might of the Heavenly Luo Divine Kingdom, couldn't they deal with a Zhang Ruochen?
After a while, Luo Sha emerged wearing a light green Ten Thousand Saints Plain Garment, a divine crystal crown on her head, and seven green feather hairpins in her bun. She looked noble and sacred, with no trace of her earlier dishevelment.
She was nearly as tall as Zhang Ruochen. In terms of temperament, few mortal women could compare to her.
Luo Sha sat down opposite Zhang Ruochen, as if she had completely forgotten what had just happened. "I can tell you everything about Mu Lingxi, but you have to promise me one thing first."
"What is it?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Luo Sha said, "This princess wants to borrow the Sundial to cultivate for a hundred years."
Having experienced Blood Butcher's "borrowing" of the Interminable Purgatory, Zhang Ruochen was wary of lending out such treasures. He was about to refuse.
Luo Sha added, "This princess only wants to use the Sundial's power to cultivate for a hundred years, to break through to the Great Saint realm as soon as possible. I can provide the divine stones needed to activate the Sundial."
"Fine, I agree. Before the Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet, if you want to enter the Sundial to cultivate, you can come find me at the Hanhai Estate anytime. I won't lend out the Sundial, but I can open it to you," Zhang Ruochen said.
Having achieved her goal, Luo Sha didn't press further. She tapped the table with her jade finger.
Immediately, the sacred maidservant Yao Li was brought forward, kneeling and kowtowing while crying, "Your Highness, it was all this servant's fault alone. I deserve to die a thousand deaths. Please spare my family and let them live."
Luo Sha didn't even glance at her, keeping her eyes on Zhang Ruochen. "I found Mu Lingxi's space jade bracelet outside the Central Imperial City of the Kunlun Realm."
"Outside the Central Imperial City?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Luo Sha said, "To be precise, it was in the area stained red by your sacred blood. In the Kunlun Realm, that place is now called the Bloodfall Plain. All cultivators thought you had fallen. Of course, the news that you're still alive might have already spread back."
Zhang Ruochen kept watching Luo Sha's eyes and could tell she wasn't lying.
Mu Lingxi must have learned of his supposed death and rushed to the Central Imperial City without hesitation.
What had happened? Why had the space jade bracelet been left on the ground?
At that time, outside the Central Imperial City, it was filled with Hell Realm sacred army troops, extremely dangerous. Had she met with misfortune?
Seeing the worry in Zhang Ruochen's eyes, Luo Sha felt a twinge of jealousy. "You don't need to look so troubled. This princess believes she's still alive and well."
"Why do you say that?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Luo Sha said, "First, the cultivators of the Hell Realm aren't that stupid. If they had killed her or captured her, why wouldn't they have taken the most valuable space jade bracelet?"
"Second, I examined the space jade bracelet. Inside, it contained all of Mu Lingxi's belongings, including clothes, accessories, and even various sacred artifacts and sacred pills."
"In other words, she put everything she owned into it. What do you think that means?"
Zhang Ruochen looked troubled, fearing Mu Lingxi might do something foolish.
With her personality, knowing Zhang Ruochen was dead, she was capable of anything. She might even end her own life at the place where he died.
Seeing through Zhang Ruochen's thoughts, Luo Sha chuckled lightly. "If it were a suicide pact, she would have been utterly grief-stricken. How could she have had the presence of mind to put all her belongings into the space jade bracelet?"
"What do you mean?"
Zhang Ruochen felt incredibly dull-witted at that moment, unable to think clearly.
Luo Sha said, "Mu Lingxi is a disciple of the Moon God. If she had sought death, how could she have hidden it from the Moon God? And the Moon God is one of the few gods who knew you were still alive. Is it possible that when she tried to die, the Moon God told her the truth that you were still alive?"
"Knowing you went to the Hell Realm, what do you think she would do?"
Zhang Ruochen's mind gradually calmed. He thought to himself, "If it's as Luo Sha deduced, Lingxi would definitely come to the Hell Realm. She put all her belongings into the space jade bracelet to sever ties with her past, leaving no trace behind. I should have guessed—she's always been that kind of reckless woman."
But in what way and under what identity would she come to the Hell Realm?
"I can only wait for her to find me."
Zhang Ruochen let out a long sigh, thinking to himself.
Luo Sha's gaze shifted to the sacred maidservant Yao Li, a cold glint in her eyes. "When I found the space jade bracelet, this wretched girl was right beside me, learning quite a bit."
"Why did she lure me to the Life-and-Death Platform?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Luo Sha said, "Before I talk about her, I need to mention Moluo War Emperor. Moluo War Emperor has always pursued this princess, but he's too ugly. I don't like him at all and never paid him any attention. So, Moluo War Emperor bribed Yao Li to become his spy by my side, monitoring my every move."
"Mu Lingxi's space jade bracelet was stolen by her, becoming the bait for Moluo War Emperor to set you up."
Zhang Ruochen finally understood the whole cause and effect. As he had guessed, the one who wanted to kill him wasn't Luo Sha.
Luo Sha waved her hand dismissively. "Cut off her head and throw it into the Jinsheng River."
"Plop."
Yao Li was dragged to the edge of the sacred ship's deck. Before she could even beg for mercy, a sacred maidservant cut off her head with a sword, sending it tumbling into the river.
Her sacred blood mingled with the river's waters.
Although killing and private fighting were forbidden in the Hanye City Domain, Yao Li was merely Luo Sha's maidservant, so Luo Sha could decide her life and death with a single word.
Having learned what he needed to know, Zhang Ruochen didn't want to stay any longer. He stood up. "Princess, I was rude earlier. I take my leave."
Thinking of what had happened, Luo Sha's cheeks flushed with a rosy hue. "Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Can't you stay and enjoy some time with this princess?"
"I need to go to the River Market District to buy some important things. I don't have time for leisure," Zhang Ruochen said.
Luo Sha's eyes lit up. "Then you should sit down. This princess's sacred ship is heading to the River Market District to attend an auction hosted by the Star Sea World. There, you'll surely find what you want to buy."
"Forget it. It'll be more convenient for me to go alone," Zhang Ruochen said.
Every time Luo Sha mentioned "destined one" in front of Zhang Ruochen, he didn't believe it at all. But after hearing it so many times, a seed of doubt had been planted in his heart.
Mainly because their interactions were growing deeper. They always seemed to bump into each other inexplicably, as if an invisible thread of fate were pulling them together.
It was precisely because of this concern that Zhang Ruochen didn't want to get too close to Luo Sha, fearing that baseless things might become real if she said them enough.
Luo Sha said, "Don't you want to know why it was my imperial brother who appeared on the Life-and-Death Platform instead of a Thousand Questions Realm Great Saint from the Disheng Divine Kingdom? Don't you want to know which powerful enemies at this Heaven Hunting Grand Banquet want you dead? And which powerful cultivators could become your allies? Heh, this princess knows all of that."
(End of Chapter)