It seemed this Silly Shizun had indeed learned quite a bit behind her back.
“Come over and try to draw the Gu Worms out of her body.”
“I-I don’t know how!”
Su Mu, who thought Chen Qing was testing her, quickly shook her head vigorously.
But her little attempt to cover it up had long been exposed by her nervous eyes.
“Really don’t know how?”
“R-Really, I don’t.”
Su Mu grew a bit nervous under the gaze of Chen Qing’s scarlet eyes but still stubbornly shook her head.
“What a pity. I thought you’d picked up some basics of Gu Technique, but now it looks like you have no talent for learning it. You’d better not touch it in the future.”
“Ah!”
Chen Qing’s reaction somewhat caught Su Mu off guard.
What did this damn Villain mean? If she had talent for Gu Technique, would she actually let her practice it?
Just moments ago, she had even offered to teach her martial arts. It seemed this Villain’s control over her was truly loosening bit by bit.
At this thought, Su Mu’s mood instantly surged with excitement.
As long as this Villain let her guard down, her chances of turning the tables would skyrocket.
Her days of biding her time in hardship had finally paid off.
“Ac-Actually, I know a tiny bit.”
In order to get permission to practice Gu Technique, Su Mu immediately contradicted her earlier words and looked at Chen Qing expectantly.
“Didn’t Shizun say she didn’t know how? No need to force yourself. It’s fine to just leave the Gu Worms in this person’s body.”
“I-I meant I’m not very good at it, but I can give it a try.”
Su Mu scrambled to backpedal, putting on a display of language’s persuasive charm for Chen Qing.
Chen Qing watched the struggling Silly Shizun with a teasing glint in her eyes.
“So, Shizun has been secretly practicing Gu Technique after all?”
“Eh!”
Su Mu was thrown off by Chen Qing’s sudden shift in attitude, leaving her dazed.
This damn Villain had actually set a trap for her.
Looking at Chen Qing’s amused expression, Su Mu wished she could reach back in time and slap her earlier delusional self.
Not a single word from this damn Villain could be believed.
“I didn’t! I-I-I just wanted to learn it on the spot.”
Su Mu shook her head vigorously in denial.
But this time, Chen Qing had no intention of punishing the Silly Shizun.
After all, tricking Shizun into admitting it had just been for a bit of fun.
Now that Shizun had mastered the Gu Control Technique, the Gu Worms in the White Lotus Cultist’s body had an extra layer of security.
As long as those Gu Worms remained in the White Lotus Cultist’s body, she wouldn’t dare betray them.
Chen Qing used her sword to slice through the ropes binding the White Lotus Cultist.
“Help us infiltrate the White Lotus Cult. Once we’re out, we’ll remove the Gu Worms from your body. If you try any tricks, the ones inside you will make you wish you were dead.”
“G-Good, good! I’ll help you. Don’t kill me!”
The White Lotus Cultist had long been terrified by the Gu Worms crawling into her body. Even without Chen Qing’s warning, she knew full well what betraying her would mean.
With the White Lotus Cultist’s genuine cooperation, infiltrating the White Lotus Cult became much simpler.
Chen Qing and Su Mu pretended to let the White Lotus Cultist tie them up.
The White Lotus Cultist rode a carriage to the usual rendezvous point.
“The sacrifice has arrived—it’s the one the Cult Leader specifically wants.”
The two Masked People at the rendezvous lit up at her words.
They quickly lifted the carriage curtain and glanced at Su Mu, bound inside.
“You’ve earned a huge merit! But that expert next to her—how did you manage to tie her up?”
Though the Masked People were thrilled, they remained somewhat vigilant.
After all, they had sent several waves of people already, only for Chen Qing to take them all down.
Yet now, this expert was simply tied up and tossed in the cart.
“She accidentally inhaled the Muscle Relaxant Powder I prepared.”
The White Lotus Cultist recited the excuse she had come up with in advance.
Though the reason was full of holes, the Masked People’s excitement over this massive achievement left them with no mind to overthink it.
“You’ve struck gold. I’ll put in a good word for you with the Cult Leader. Head back.”
The two Masked People shoved Chen Qing and Su Mu off the carriage.
However, their attitudes toward Chen Qing and Su Mu were markedly different.
They treated Chen Qing like any ordinary sacrifice, roughly pushing her out.
But when handling Su Mu, they were far more careful.
If they accidentally injured her, the Cult Leader wouldn’t let them off easily.
Seeing the two Masked People handle her with such care, even Su Mu was left a bit confused.
Wasn’t this supposed to be an evil cult that performed human sacrifices? This didn’t seem right at all.
Meanwhile, Chen Qing was observing closely. Seeing their attitude toward Silly Shizun, she frowned slightly.
Something was wrong. The White Lotus Cult’s attitude toward Silly Shizun was far too peculiar.
“Blindfold your eyes. We’ll lead the way—no issues.”
In their accommodating tone, a layer of black silk was tied over Su Mu’s eyes, plunging her world into darkness.
For Chen Qing, they simply tore off a strip of black cloth and blindfolded her, stripping away her vision as well.
The two were led onto another carriage, driven for a stretch, then disembarked and walked some more.
They then descended a long stone staircase. Afterward, the black silk was removed from Su Mu’s eyes.
What met her gaze was a prison cell, its icy stone walls so cold that winter occupants would likely freeze to death.
“You two stay locked up here for a bit first.”
With that, the two Masked People exited the cell and locked the door tight.
Su Mu stared blankly at Chen Qing, thinking the White Lotus Cult seemed pretty decent—treating people with such politeness.
“Some cults show even greater respect to their more important sacrifices.”
Seeing that Silly Shizun was on the verge of confusing friend from foe, Chen Qing reminded her helplessly.
Only then did Su Mu snap back to reality.
Though the White Lotus Cult’s attitude toward her was odd, she was still just a sacrifice, after all.
Having figured it out, Su Mu anxiously turned to Chen Qing.
“We’ve gotten in. How do we send word to the outside?”
“Wait a bit first.”
Chen Qing’s true purpose for coming in this time was to uncover the reason behind the White Lotus Cult’s strange attitude toward Silly Shizun. They’d only just glimpsed a hint, so they couldn’t leave yet.
“W-Wait for what?”
Su Mu gazed at Chen Qing in bewilderment.
Any longer, and the White Lotus Cult’s followers would use them as sacrifices and burn them alive.
“Ye Qinglian and the others are still gathering strength outside. Since the White Lotus Cult is colluding with the government, we need to wipe them both out in one fell swoop.”
Chen Qing casually tossed out a plausible excuse to placate Su Mu.
What truly troubled her was the White Lotus Cult’s special treatment of Silly Shizun.
“So much trouble. I thought you could just destroy the White Lotus Cult’s lair.”
Su Mu’s words gave Chen Qing pause.
Right—why go to all this hassle? She could just break out, grab that so-called Cult Leader, and ask directly.
All this agonizing was just her being overly concerned.
