Chapter 80: Her Conditions

Qin Tian, Qin Tian—I called his name twice, but there was still no response. Could he really be dead? “Brother Qin, how could you die just like this?” Holding Qin Tian’s corpse, my heart was overcome with an indescribable sorrow. This guy, though often exasperating in daily life, had proven to be someone who would sacrifice everything for his brothers. Even if it meant his own death, he would accept it without complaint. And yet, I had always harbored suspicion toward him. I was truly ashamed. Such a good man—why did he have to die so inexplicably?

“Brother Qin, may you rest in peace.” I laid his body down, took a deep breath, and felt an ache in my chest. I had never imagined that my dearest friend would die, and I didn’t even know how it happened.

“Old Li...” It was Qin Tian’s voice—no doubt about it. I hurriedly tossed away my cigarette and looked at him. Was I hallucinating? The guy’s eyes were tightly shut; he didn’t look like someone resurrected from the dead. Was it a corpse waking up?

“Old Li...” Again came that weak cry; this time I could not have misheard—it was definitely Qin Tian calling me. I quickly reached out to check his breath. Nothing. What was going on? Was I truly hallucinating?

Then, all of a sudden, Qin Tian’s eyes shot open. The iron chains binding him snapped violently apart, and in the next instant, he sat bolt upright, wordlessly tackling me to the ground.

“He’s come back from the dead! Help!” I shouted and struggled, but of course, no one could hear. The others from the Feather Realm were at the far end of the passageway, separated from us by a water channel. After Qin Tian slammed me down, his large hand lunged toward me. I mustered all my strength and kicked him away.

“What the hell, Old Li? What do you think you’re doing?” Qin Tian sat on the ground, clutching his chest in confusion. His expression was so absurd that I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So, the guy wasn’t dead after all—thank goodness!

“What do I mean? I should ask you that! Why did you attack me?”

“Me, attack you?” Qin Tian stood up and glared at me.

“I thought you’d come back as a corpse,” I muttered, averting my gaze from his face. The look he gave me was full of resentment, entirely like a wronged housewife.

“I just crawled off the ground and you greet me with a kick, then accuse me of attacking you?” Qin Tian’s tone was laced with both confusion and grievance.

“Really? But I saw you tackle me and try to do me harm.”

“Old Li, are you sure you don’t have a fever?” Qin Tian placed a large hand on my forehead in concern.

“Old Li, could you really have turned into an idiot? I get it—it must be a side effect. This is bad. I thought I could have you take over the Azure Dragon Gang so I could retire, but now you’ve lost a soul fragment. What am I supposed to do?” Qin Tian paced back and forth, clapping his hands with a look of deep worry.

Could I really be turning into an idiot? Was it all a hallucination just now? Or was Qin Tian deliberately messing with me? That seemed unlikely. It must have been my own illusion. Am I really going to lose my mind? Will I become a fool?

“Old Li, see? I was right. You’re muttering to yourself. That never happened to you before!” Suddenly, it dawned on me—how could this be? I quickly summoned a surge of genuine energy, letting it flow through my body, but nothing improved. I still felt unwell; my head started spinning and my limbs were weak, as if I’d just survived a passionate battle with my lover. What should I do? Murong Xue said my soul fragment had been stolen by a Soul Enslavement Spell and I had to recover it within three days, but she never told me how. Was I supposed to just walk up to the High Priest and demand it back? I doubted he would oblige.

The only way was to take the High Priest hostage and force him to return my soul fragment, but I’d already tried that once without success. Besides, the burly man at his side was a terrifyingly powerful opponent. I felt helpless—an emotion I hadn’t experienced in ages, as if the whole world had abandoned me. Was I really going to accept fate? No, I wouldn’t give in. I summoned a trace of demonic energy; the weakness vanished, my mind grew clear, and I tensed my muscles, trying to break free of the iron chains. They were unbearably uncomfortable, but no matter how hard I struggled, the chains showed no sign of breaking. Strange—Qin Tian could break free, so why couldn’t I?

“Brother Qin, how did you do it?”

Qin Tian lit a cigarette, blew smoke in my direction, and said, “Want to learn? I’ll teach you.”

“Cut it out. Just tell me how you broke these damn chains. I need to find the High Priest and get my revenge.”

Qin Tian’s smile faded. “When I woke up, I felt a force inside me surging to the surface. The moment I opened my eyes, the chains just snapped.”

“That’s impossible. It makes no sense. Did you have a breakthrough?”

Qin Tian just shrugged, giving me a noncommittal look.

“By the way, how did you end up here?” I asked, having wanted to ask that question for a while but only just now regaining my senses after summoning my demonic energy.

“It was that woman, Leng Wushuang, who brought me here. After that, I blacked out. Where is she? Did you see her?” Qin Tian looked around.

Leng Wushuang—wasn’t she that female general? She was one of the High Priest’s people. Why would she look for Qin Tian? Could it be that she’d fallen for his dashing good looks?

“She didn’t say anything?”

Qin Tian walked to the water’s edge. “She dragged me all the way here, and I swallowed half a mouthful of water, nearly drowned. How could I remember anything she said?”

“I thought you were dead.” Suddenly, a jet-black head surfaced from the water, with tangled hair draped across the face. Good lord, it was like a real-life Sadako.

“Leng Wushuang.” I took a step back, my right hand instinctively tightening around my revolver.

“Relax. If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn’t have escaped from the altar just now.” Leng Wushuang made a circular motion with her right hand, and all the water on her body evaporated instantly.

“What do you want?” Qin Tian asked.

“I know you’ve fallen victim to the Soul Enslavement Spell. I can help you break it, but I have one condition.” Leng Wushuang pointed at me. She had changed into a black bodysuit, her long hair cascading over her shoulders, exuding a seductive allure—nothing like the domineering figure she cut on the battlefield. In this moment, Leng Wushuang was so captivating that one glance could steal your soul. I’d considered myself well-acquainted with countless beauties, even surrounded by a few peerless ones, but compared to Leng Wushuang, theirs was a natural elegance, hers a seductive charm. Any man’s blood would surge at the sight of her.

“What’s your condition?” I asked, struggling to quell the flames burning in my chest.

Leng Wushuang swayed her hips as she walked up to me, gazing into my eyes. “I want you to help me steal the Heavenly Demon Codex.”