Chapter 103. It's Time to Crush Him Hard!
Deep in the forest, the damaged blood-colored armor carried the unconscious little fat man as it floated slowly through the trees. Cha Naxue and Yin followed closely behind.
Yin looked confused. "Master, I could still fight. Why did we run away?"
"Because I saw the future."
"The future? Master, you used your ability again?" Yin was slightly surprised.
Cha Naxue narrowed her beautiful eyes and gazed at the dark sky. "It was different from last time. The first time I used my lifespan, I only saw a five-word guide: [Follow Sirius]. But this time, I saw a clear image."
"An image?"
"Yes. The Spade Man was holding the Tears of the Moon Goddess in his right hand and the head of a god in his left."
"A god's head?"
Yin Wushen's pupils constricted slightly, and his eyes widened. "Master, are you sure? You mean not only will a Venerable appear later, but also a god?"
"Of course." Cha Naxue replied calmly. "I never make mistakes."
A look of confusion crossed Yin's dull face. "No, you were wrong once—about Xia Feng."
The woman in the snow-white skirt paused for a moment, then quickened her pace. "We need to move faster. Let's return to the starting point."
Yin hurried to catch up, raising his voice slightly. "Master, you didn't answer my question. And about Xia Feng, you—"
"Yin, can you shut up?"
"Why? Master, I corrected your mistake. You should—"
"Because if you don't shut up, you won't eat for the next week."
"Oh." Yin decided that dinner was more important than correcting her master's errors.
Soon, they arrived back at the starting point, where they saw the four members of the Holy Department gathered around a tree stump emitting a silver glow. The round stump served as their makeshift table.
"Pair of tens."
"Bomb." Mu Qingtong tossed out four threes.
"Hey, we're teammates! I played a pair of tens, and you bombed me?!" Xia Feng cursed.
"Don't be like that. Pair of tens." Mu Qingtong smiled faintly and threw down two tens.
"!" Xia Feng raised his eyebrows. "Alright, alright, Mu Qingtong, you've really pissed me off now! Bomb!"
He slammed down four nines without hesitation.
"Hey, we haven't even played any cards yet!" Cai Kuihua and Chen Xingdao exchanged exasperated glances. It was supposed to be two against two, so why were these two teammates fighting each other?
"King bomb." Mu Qingtong casually tossed down two jokers, then met Xia Feng's gaze with her beautiful eyes. "Four to eight."
She laid out a pile of cards and raised the last one in her hand, smirking. "One card left. Do you surrender?"
Pah! Xia Feng immediately threw down four twos, followed by a four, then spread his hands helplessly to show he was out of cards. He tilted his chin up and squinted.
"Is that all you've got, Mu Qingtong?"
Cai Kuihua and Chen Xingdao's eyes twitched slightly as they silently glanced at the twos in their hands, choosing not to say a word.
"You… don't you want to find the key?" Cha Naxue, who had been watching the entire exchange, was speechless. Do these Holy Department agents have any professionalism at all?
"The outcome is already decided. There's no point in searching."
Chen Xingdao looked up, his gloomy eyes narrowing slightly. "Besides, isn't the key already in Lady Naxue's possession?"
"It's with Gongsun Ze."
"Is that so? Then there's even less reason to look." Chen Xingdao nodded. He lived by the principle of survival first—if the mission failed, so be it.
Sigh.
Xia Feng exhaled dramatically, his tone dripping with disappointment. "This game is boring. No one can match me."
As he spoke, he shot a glance at Mu Qingtong with his dark eyes.
"...!" The woman in the black dress raised her eyebrows. Truly, she could no longer suppress the raging fire in her heart.
Over the past few weeks, Xia Feng had provoked her daily, yet she had restrained herself for the sake of more important matters.
But now—she decided it was time to make him understand that even among their kind, there existed an insurmountable gap!
It was time to crush him thoroughly!
"Mr. Xia, I've always been fond of the word 'loneliness.' Do you know why?" The woman in the black dress arched her delicate brows, her gaze deceptively gentle as it settled on Xia Feng.
Xia Feng paused, then reflexively asked, "Why?"
The woman didn't answer aloud. Instead, her cold, detached voice resonated directly in his mind:
"Because I am the king—unique and unrivaled. Mr. Xia, it's time you learned the chasm between us."
"..." Xia Feng's pulse quickened as he met the serene golden eyes behind her gold-rimmed glasses. A thrill of anticipation surged through him.
Was she finally going to strike?
He had waited endlessly for this moment. To rouse this languid woman into genuine action, he needed to overpower her physically—to prove that even she could be dominated!
That she was not unparalleled!
Xia Feng's lips curled into a taunting smirk. "Ms. Mu, I'll admit—I'd begun to think you feared facing me. But it seems you've mustered some courage after all~"
Their gazes locked: his pitch-black eyes gleaming with provocation, her golden ones eerily tranquil. Sparks seemed to crackle invisibly between them.
"Once we leave this disaster zone," Mu Qingtong murmured, her tone soft yet laced with the promise of a gathering storm, "I'll come for you."
"Deal." Xia Feng's voice was a whisper, his grin widening. He craved the tempest she threatened—the fiercer, the better!
The others glanced between the two, baffled by their silent standoff. What were they doing?
An odd tension thickened the air.
Even Cha Naxue studied them, perplexed. She'd strained to hear Mu Qingtong's explanation about "loneliness," only for the woman to fall silent mid-conversation.
A peculiar suspicion nagged at her—that her childhood friend and Mu Qingtong shared secrets far beyond her understanding.
But no matter.
Securing the Moon Goddess's Tears took precedence now.
In the river of time, every moment spawned countless tributaries; the future was never fixed. Yet her ability allowed her to glimpse the most probable outcome—or pluck warnings from destiny's flow.
If the vision she'd seen held truth, contacting the Spade Man was critical.
The Tears held no value for him—only for devotees of the Moon Goddess. A trade could be brokered. Perhaps even an alliance with the enigmatic [Peach] organization.
Her vision had shown the Spade Man clutching the severed head of what seemed an eight-eyed Nightmare Beast.
These abominations were ranked by ocular marks: one to nine eyes, with one-eye being weakest and nine-eye strongest. One to five eyes matched the first to fifth tiers of spiritual masters.
A "Evil God" referred to an eight-eye beast—a true deity.
Thus, the Spade Man—or the power he represented—was no mere Venerable.
The Holy Department's fools had gravely underestimated [Peach].
This was an organization capable of killing gods.
(End of Chapter)