Chapter 189: Sneak Attack

The day after Lian Mu finished her match, word spread throughout the entire Flying Sea Pavilion: General Bean was going to face off against Gong Yu.

Gong Yu had challenged General Bean a long time ago, but now that the decisive day was finally upon them, everyone was buzzing with anticipation.

To outsiders, this wasn’t just a duel between two individuals—it was the ultimate showdown between traditional demonic beasts and modified demonic beasts.

Silver Crane, once the leader of the modification faction, placed a bet of two million Spirit Stones on General Bean’s victory just before the duel. This made him the second-highest single bettor. The top spot went to a young master friend brought in by General Bean’s Beast Master, who was also firmly on General Bean’s side.

Not to be outdone, Gong Yu’s camp made their move too. Linghu Meng bet 1.5 million Spirit Stones on Gong Yu, and even Gong Yu himself put money down.

“Even Gong Yu bet 500,000? He never wagers on his own fights. Does that mean he’s confident he can crush General Bean?”

“Looks like Gong Yu’s planning to go all out.”

“General Bean may be eccentric, but in terms of raw power, I still think Gong Yu has the edge.”

“Don’t be so sure. General Bean is close with Silver Crane, and Silver Crane’s been Gong Yu’s rival for years. They’ve fought many times—he might’ve spilled some of Gong Yu’s weaknesses.”

“Come on, Silver Crane’s never beaten him. How would he know his weaknesses? I’m putting 100,000 on General Bean losing for sure.”

Lian Mu was browsing spirit stones in the Spirit Ore Shop when the noisy chatter reached her ears. Her expression remained calm.

Today, she’d deliberately changed her outfit and wore a mask, blending seamlessly into the crowd. No one recognized her, which led to the amusing scene of people betting on the outcome right in front of the person involved.

The shopkeeper, seeing her standing still, sweat beading on his forehead, asked nervously, “…Is there a particular stone that caught your eye?”

Lian Mu shook her head. “This batch isn’t good enough.”

She was here to open Refined Jade. After winning fifty matches yesterday, her ranking had shot up significantly. According to the rules, she was entitled to free stone openings. She had over a dozen chances, but after browsing the shop, she hadn’t found anything suitable.

The shopkeeper’s face fell. “Ma’am, this is the best batch we’ve got. Just came straight from the mine a few days ago. If you’re looking for something better, I’m afraid our humble shop doesn’t have it right now.”

He was extremely cautious in speaking with her—not because of her appearance, but because word had it that she’d openly beaten Bai Lingque to a pulp in the Beast Fighting Arena. Anyone who’d been at Flying Sea Pavilion for a while knew Bai Lingque was effectively the second-in-command, second only to Bai Su. Anyone capable of taking him down was not someone to mess with.

Others might not recognize her, but the shopkeeper had a sharp eye. He’d been in business for years and was a shrewd old fox. He remembered General Bean’s Beast Master clearly, and the moment she spoke, he guessed who she was.

“Do you have any first-grade raw stones?” Lian Mu asked.

She needed first-grade Refined Jade to upgrade Wealth Bringer.

The shopkeeper replied, “Raw stones aren’t graded. What people call ‘first-grade raw stones’ are just predictions made by experts before opening. You won’t know for sure until you crack them open. We did have a batch that was predicted to contain first-grade Refined Jade, but the Pavilion Master bought them all. We haven’t restocked since.”

“Bai Su?” Lian Mu asked.

“You didn’t know? Every year, the top ranker in the Beast Fighting Arena’s advancement tournament gets a reward from the Flying Sea Pavilion—one of which is the highly coveted high-grade Refined Jade.” The shopkeeper explained, “I heard you’re dueling Gong Yu tomorrow. If you win, those raw stones suspected to contain high-grade Refined Jade will be yours.”

“Before the finals, Flying Sea Pavilion buys up all the raw stones that might contain high-grade Refined Jade. The champion gets to keep opening them until they hit jade. A few years ago, Gong Yu won three years in a row. One time, he even uncovered a ‘Full River Red.’”

Lian Mu understood now. The safe route she’d been planning had been cut off by Flying Sea Pavilion. If she wanted what she needed, she’d have to defeat Gong Yu.

“So Gong Yu must have a lot of high-grade Refined Jade by now. Flying Sea Pavilion doesn’t even bother changing the prize?” Lian Mu asked.

Getting the same thing every year must get boring eventually.

The shopkeeper said, “Gong Yu fights for the Refined Jade every year. His Spiritual Root is poor—he can’t cultivate—but he’s always wanted to be an artifact refiner. As you know, artifact refining, like talisman crafting, requires talent. He just doesn’t have it. But Gong Yu’s obsessed. Aside from beast control, his favorite thing is collecting Spirit Materials—the higher the grade, the better. He’s actually one of our regulars.”

Lian Mu asked, “If he wants to be an artifact refiner, why’s he at odds with Silver Crane?”

In her experience, artifact refiners usually respected one another deeply—there were so few of them, after all.

“They have different philosophies,” the shopkeeper said. “Gong Yu thinks Silver Crane has incredible talent but wastes it on modifying demonic beasts. He sees it as a crime. What he desperately wants is something Silver Crane squanders without care—it’s no wonder he resents him.”

“Didn’t expect him to be so idealistic,” Lian Mu mused.

Since Gong Yu was a frequent customer, the shopkeeper didn’t want to speak ill of him. After a few more casual words, he let the topic drop.

“So, are you still planning to choose a stone from our shop?” he asked.

“Of course,” Lian Mu replied. A freebie’s a freebie—who’d say no? “But I don’t want to open it here. Can I take the raw stone with me?”

By the rules, it definitely wasn’t allowed—but General Bean’s Beast Master was a real force to be reckoned with, even the Second Boss had taken a beating from her. The shopkeeper didn’t dare offend her. “Of course, of course. Feel free to pick whatever you like and take them with you.”

Lian Mu pointed to the middle of the stone pile and selected over a dozen of the best-looking raw stones. The shopkeeper glanced at her picks, and his smile stiffened slightly—her eye was too sharp. She’d picked out all the good ones.

He dared not say a word, only silently called for his workers to move the stones.

“No rush,” Lian Mu said, settling herself on an empty spot. “I’ll sit here for a bit. A friend of mine is coming to meet me.”

The shopkeeper quickly brought over a chair. “Is it that young master from last time?”

Lian Mu lowered her gaze. “No.”

Ji Mingyue had said early that morning she wanted to browse the spiritual plant shops on Feihai Street and had agreed to meet her at the Spirit Ore Shop. Since she hadn’t shown up yet, Lian Mu decided to wait a little longer.

“A new friend? All right then, please sit. I’ll have someone bring you both some hot tea.”

……

……

Feihai Street bustled with people.

In an inconspicuous corner, two figures in green peered over a wall, their heads sticking out halfway.

“Boss, where is she?” the shorter one asked, his voice too loud. The taller one smacked him on the head.

Linghu Meng hissed, “Shh! Keep it down! You want us to get caught?”

The short one rubbed his head, looking a bit aggrieved as he scanned the main street. “I think we lost her. Are you sure she’s really General Bean’s friend?”

Linghu Meng’s eyes darted around, searching for the purple figure adorned in silver jewelry. Finally, he spotted her in front of a spiritual plant shop. “There she is. Keep an eye on her. The Flying Sea Pavilion folks already hate our guts—stay hidden.”

It was all that damned General Bean’s fault. Last time, she’d actually called over the Pavilion Master of the Flying Sea Pavilion, costing him nearly everything he had and getting him banned from Feihai Street.

But he came anyway.

He’d finally found an opportunity—there was no way he was letting it slip by.

General Bean’s Beast Master was trouble, but her friend looked like an alchemy cultivator. If he couldn’t touch her, taking down an alchemy cultivator should be easy enough.

Linghu Meng lifted his chin. “That dead-eyed freak humiliated me in front of everyone and still had the nerve to provoke my friend.”

“Boss, are we really going through with this? What if the Flying Sea Pavilion catches us again…”

Linghu Meng sneered, “So what if they do? Once Gong Yu secures first place in the promotion arena tomorrow, even the Pavilion Master will have to show him some respect. With Gong Yu backing us, he’ll definitely protect us. Worst case, we pay a fine. Bai Su only cares about money anyway—I’ve got plenty.”

The short one swallowed hard, anxiety churning in his gut.

He was scared. This was Flying Sea Pavilion territory, and they’d already been punished once. If they got caught again—especially targeting General Bean’s Beast Master’s friend—it wouldn’t be as simple this time.

General Bean’s Beast Master seemed to be on good terms with Bai Su. Everyone knew Bai Su’s nature—she wore a gentle face and usually seemed easygoing, but if you really pissed her off, she could cut you down without blinking.

While he hesitated, Linghu Meng kicked him. “Hurry up! Snatch her spatial pouch and lure her into that alley. I’ve already got people waiting there. Once she steps in, we’ll throw a sack over her and beat her down—break her arms and legs. That dead-eyed freak dared to mess with me? I’ll pay her back double through her friend.”

The short one took a deep breath and had no choice but to dash out. Masked, he darted through the crowd toward the purple figure in the spiritual plant shop.

In one swift move, he grabbed the spatial pouch at her waist and bolted.

Ji Mingyue, who had been examining some spiritual plants, suddenly frowned. She turned her head just in time to see the thief already a good distance away.

A flicker of surprise passed through her eyes, but she didn’t move her feet. Instead, she plucked a spider-shaped hairpin from her hair and flicked it forward.

The pin flew over the heads of passersby, straight and true, embedding itself in the thief’s arm.

He cried out in pain and reached to pull it out, but the silver spider atop the pin suddenly changed color and transformed into a real, living spider. It crawled into his wound and burrowed under his skin.

The spider moved beneath his flesh, its shape grotesquely visible, leaving a trail of blackened, poisoned skin in its wake.

“Ahhh—!”

His eyes bulged, his legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees. One hand scratched frantically while the spider climbed up his arm, across his shoulder, over his neck, and stopped on his face.

“Help! Help! Ahhh—!”

“You’re the first person to try stealing from me.” Ji Mingyue walked up to him, pinched his chin, and the spider bit into his skin before crawling back out and obediently slipping into her sleeve.

Ji Mingyue pulled off his mask. She didn’t recognize him, so she tied his hands and led him like a dog on a leash. “The poison will fully kick in in about half an hour. If you don’t want to die, you’d better come with me.”

This guy didn’t look like an ordinary pickpocket. With Lian Mu and Gong Yu’s match coming up, this sudden incident was probably related to Lian Mu.

The man was clearly terrified, nodding frantically, though he couldn’t speak. The places the spider had crawled over burned like fire.

“You’d better behave. The more you try to run, the faster you’ll die.”

He sobbed and shook his head, but his eyes couldn’t help drifting toward a certain direction.

In the corner, Linghu Meng: “…”

Useless trash. Couldn’t even handle an alchemy cultivator.

He was seething with frustration but didn’t even bother with the captured man. He knew the guy wouldn’t dare rat him out, so he turned and left.

“……”

Clearly, kidnapping wasn’t going to cut it. That dead-eyed freak’s friends were all monsters.

He’d have to find another way. There was no way he could swallow this humiliation until he brought her down.