Chapter 50

“Why I’m cursing you—you really have no clue?”

Zhu Ming remained huddled motionless in place, only using her furious eyes to glare fixedly at Yin Yu.

The murky lighting couldn’t prevent Yin Yu from taking in the whole scene before her. Those beautiful eyebrows twitched subconsciously. She seemed to have discovered something.

“How did you end up in such a state?” she asked.

“You know perfectly well,” Zhu Ming said, leaning against the stone wall with a cold sneer. Her voice was weak. “Well, here we are. I can’t fight back against you now. Do whatever you want.”

Yin Yu pondered briefly, then gave a soft, blooming smile. She approached gracefully, only stopping directly in front of Zhu Ming. She then lifted her cheongsam and elegantly crouched down on bended knee.

“Though I don’t fully understand what happened, this situation truly is a rarity.”

A slender, jade-white hand reached toward Zhu Ming, lightly brushing her temple. Yin Yu’s fingers were immediately smudged with black soot. Zhu Ming jerked her head away, dodging her touch, her eyes filled with venom.

“As for what I want to do right now…” Yin Yu propped her chin on her hand in thought, her brows furrowing tighter and tighter, as if she truly couldn’t think of anything. “What does Mingming think I should do?”

Zhu Ming lowered her eyes and said, as if nonchalantly, “Do what you want to do. You’ve been looking for chances to get close to me. Isn’t it because you want my soul, or my life, or something else? How the hell am I supposed to know what you really want?”

Light laughter came from in front of her—laughter that made Zhu Ming’s anger flare up. She raised her head irately to glare at Yin Yu. “What are you laughing at!”

Those beautiful eyes curved like crescent moons. Yin Yu hooked a strand of her own hair, saying, “I’m laughing because, even at a time like this, Mingming is still trying to test me. Truly, such hard work.”

Zhu Ming: “…”

Yin Yu opened her eyes and said, seriously, “This spirit is something I should learn from. Mingming, I admire you.”

Zhu Ming: “…………”

The woman curled into a ball had completely messy hair. She bit her lip and buried her face into the crook of her arm. “Yin Yu, I saw just now…”

Her voice grew softer and softer, until nothing at all could be heard. Yin Yu leaned closer forward. At that very moment, Zhu Ming suddenly raised her head and shot out her hand! She seized Yin Yu’s arm in a fierce grip and yanked it downward, simultaneously driving her bent knee up toward Yin Yu’s tall, straight nose bridge.

Unexpectedly, Yin Yu’s expression remained completely unchanged, as if she had anticipated this move all along. Knee met knee, blocking it; her hand twisted to counter-grip Zhu Ming’s hand, scooping and guiding the motion, as though Zhu Ming had actively thrown herself into Yin Yu’s arms.

Those icy fingertips swept like a duster across Zhu Ming’s calf, catching her ankle and bending it to the side. Yin Yu’s voice, laced with a smile, sounded right beside her ear: “Once bitten, twice shy. I’ve been tricked by Mingming before; I won’t fall for it a second time.”

Zhu Ming’s expression did not waver. Her lips pressed tightly together, her back and waist tensed as she surged upward. Her folded leg broke free and twisted, entangling around Yin Yu instead.

In the space of a lightning spark, the two had exchanged several moves, tumbling and rolling in a pliant, clinging struggle. But this time, Zhu Ming was swiftly put at a disadvantage.

She was too restricted, burdened with too many concerns in her movements. She could only cling to Yin Yu and fight in close-quarters entanglement. Adding that her initial strike had failed, she ultimately had her hands pinned and locked behind her back.

There, in a corner of the passageway, one of Zhu Ming’s legs twined around Yin Yu, while the other was clamped firmly between Yin Yu’s thighs. Both her hands were bent backwards, utterly immobilized. From a distance, it looked for all the world as if Yin Yu were holding her in a tight embrace.

“Do you still want to fight?”

Feeling the person in her arms still struggling relentlessly, determined to find a weak point and break free, Yin Yu had no choice but to threaten: “Tu Wei and Zhang Xiaoya are nearby. If you want to draw them over here to see you in this state, I can oblige.”

Amidst the disheveled strands of hair, those terrifyingly bright eyes fixed a death glare on Yin Yu. Their owner panted for a few moments, and at last, her strength slackened.

Zhu Ming’s shoulders slumped and her eyelids drooped back down, listlessly. “Let go of me.”

“Perhaps it’s better if I let go later,” Yin Yu asked. “Why sneak-attack me?”

“No reason. I wanted your clothes.” Zhu Ming sneered. “It’s all your fault I ended up like this. If I’m not collecting debts from you, then who?”

Yin Yu was speechless for a moment. She roughly guessed what had happened and gave a half-smile. “What Mingming means is… only I could make you let your guard down and lose all reason? It seems Mingming holds me in higher regard than even Wenren Tu. I’m truly so honored.”

The more she spoke, the angrier Zhu Ming got. “Have you said enough?! It’s because you were already suspicious to begin with!”

That’s right. Although she had lost her mind at the time, after the flames finished burning and she had calmed down, Zhu Ming knew the one who had stabbed her hadn’t been the real Yin Yu.

But she still wanted to curse her. If it had been Wenren Tu who was impersonated, she would have realized it the second she was stabbed. But the person who was impersonated was Yin Yu.

Only Yin Yu was different.

Zhu Ming didn’t want to hear another word from her. But Yin Yu was insufferably infuriating. “I haven’t said enough, no. Clearly knowing it wasn’t me, yet still coming to collect debts from me. Mingming is so heartless, so hurtful—”

Zhu Ming huffed out a breath. She clenched her jaw. With a burst of reckless abandon, she slammed her head forward—bang!—into Yin Yu’s mouth.

Yin Yu: “…”

Finally, silence.

A trickle of bright red slowly traced its way down from the corner of the beauty’s lips.

Zhu Ming shook her head, which was a little dizzy from the impact, and sneered. “Anyway, I did it. It’s your own fault for being unlucky enough to show up here so fast.”

Yin Yu let out a soft hiss of pain. She freed one hand to wipe the trail of blood from the corner of her mouth, and along the way, wiped off the blood that had gotten onto Zhu Ming’s forehead as well.

“Ah.” Speaking was a little awkward with a wounded lip. Yin Yu said, “I actually came running over especially because I heard Mingming calling for me. But since Mingming is so full of energy, it seems you don’t need my help. I’ll be taking my leave then. Don’t worry, don’t worry, I won’t take the chance to do anything bad.”

She surprisingly wasn’t angry. She let go of Zhu Ming, patted her dress, and with a cheerful, smiling wave goodbye, turned around to leave.

“You can’t leave.”

Zhu Ming curled back into her ball. Rubbing her arm, she called out and stopped her.

“What is it now?” Yin Yu turned her head back slightly, standing there looking completely composed and at ease, as if she truly didn’t care one bit what had happened to Zhu Ming.

Zhu Ming gazed at her and said slowly, “You have to help me.”

“Why?” Yin Yu’s eyes widened in surprise. “I thought in Mingming’s heart, we’ve always been enemies.”

“That’s correct. Even now, I don’t think you would ever be my friend. But…” Zhu Ming brushed the broken strands of hair away from her face. The look she cast at Yin Yu was unfathomably deep. Yet she couldn’t help but reveal a triumphant grin. “But I’m very important to you, aren’t I?”

That smile grew deeper and deeper, more and more unbridled. Zhu Ming lifted her chin. Even in such a pitiful physical state, at this moment, she looked as triumphant as a victor in an invisible war. And she had indeed won.

“Hm.” Yin Yu looked at her thoughtfully. The slice of her profile that was exposed was shrouded in the gaudy lighting, making the glow in her eyes seem bizarre, unfathomable. She subconsciously licked the wound on her lip.

Whether it was anger or something else, it had all faded away and vanished. Zhu Ming looked at Yin Yu with absolute certainty. In this moment, she would overturn the dynamic between the two of them.

Zhu Ming said, “Because you didn’t leave straight away. You weren’t truly angry.”

If today, Zhu Ming had encountered a situation like this directed at her, she would have long since been furious to death. But Yin Yu hadn’t been. It was as if she possessed no temper at all, as if no one could ever truly provoke her. But her fundamental nature was heartless. If someone offended her, she wouldn’t become angry, but she also wouldn’t pay them any more attention, because none of it mattered in her eyes.

Zhu Ming continued, “You were waiting for me to show weakness, to seek your help. I know that if I truly did that, I would continue to be controlled by you.

Yin Yu, you have ulterior motives toward me, but the time isn’t ripe. Yes, I don’t know exactly what you’re planning, but I know that before I accomplish that certain thing, you won’t let me die. You care about my existence. This is the reason you’ve repeatedly appeared in the same dungeons as me.

You’ve gone through a lot of trouble and various forms of misdirection all because you were afraid I would figure this out and use it against you, right? Such a pity. As long as you do something in this world, traces will inevitably be left behind. You shouldn’t have thought me so stupid.”

A moment of silence. Then, a gentle smattering of applause broke out.

Yin Yu clapped, turning back around. The look she directed at Zhu Ming was joyful, carrying a smile. “Do you want to hear my reply?”

Zhu Ming folded her arms and lifted her chin haughtily. “Speak.”

“Half and half.” Yin Yu extended a single finger. “That is my reply.”

She unhurriedly paced back toward Zhu Ming, bending slightly at the waist. “No matter how you look at it, Mingming discovering this point has already made me very pleasantly surprised. That’s right. I do care about you. Before I fulfill my objective—that so-called conspiracy of yours—I do wish for you to stay alive.”

Before today, Zhu Ming had been chasing after Yin Yu, searching for the truth. She had been vigilant, suspicious, constantly worried Yin Yu would strike a sudden, treacherous blow. Zhu Ming was the chess piece, and Yin Yu the chess player.

Then, today, this chess piece called Zhu Ming had savagely bitten that hand. Yin Yu would now, conversely, be used by her.

Half and half?

Zhu Ming didn’t know what the other half was, but knowing that Yin Yu didn’t want her dead was enough.

With one arm crossed over her chest, she reached out with her other hand and grabbed the collar of Yin Yu’s dress, yanking downward with force. Yin Yu was forced to bow her head.

Even looking up at her, even covered all over in blood and filth, at this moment Zhu Ming was not at all at a disadvantage. “Yin Yu, let’s see who the final winner is in the end. You can keep hiding things. But as long as you still need me, I will dig out every single one of your secrets!”

The woman’s countless strands of smooth, long hair cascaded down—just like that bizarre scene Zhu Ming had witnessed that night. Her eyes were hidden in the darkness, carrying with them a trembling, stirring atmosphere of an impending storm. Yin Yu gently cupped Zhu Ming’s face, full of delight. “I look forward to the arrival of that day.”

In that moment, Zhu Ming felt as if she was about to be sucked into the vortex within Yin Yu’s eyes. All external things seemed to be pulled away into the distance. The light flickered erratically between brightness and darkness. She found herself unable to speak or think for a moment.

Until Yin Yu suddenly pulled her hand away, straightened up, blinked her eyes, and revealed a teasing smile. “So, am I now Mingming’s bodyguard, or little sidekick sister? Oh dear, what sorts of things should I do that befit my status?”

Zhu Ming snapped back to her senses abruptly. She coughed twice dryly and said coldly, “You tell me what you should be doing? Someone impersonated you and stabbed me. I nearly died. Even though I didn’t, the way I am right now—if I ran into danger, I couldn’t protect myself at all. It’s no different from killing me.”

“Mhm, mhm.” Playing the role of little sister, Yin Yu dutifully thought. “I more or less know who did it. Boss, do you need me to help you capture her and bring her here?”

The instant that form of address—”Boss”—came out, Zhu Ming nearly bit her own tongue. What the hell?! Did Yin Yu have to get into character this fast?!

“…Capture her?” She wanted to see just how Yin Yu planned to capture someone.

So Yin Yu snapped her fingers.

And a person materialized right in front of Zhu Ming out of thin air.

Sun Ningning.

The very second she appeared, Sun Ningning’s expression was normal, as if she were just walking forward. It wasn’t until two women abruptly materialized within her line of sight that her heart lurched and her face filled with terror.

“What’s going on—how did you two suddenly appear— Xiao Xue?”

Sun Ningning whipped her head around to look beside her, discovering that Bai Lianxue was no longer at her side. She then scrutinized the branching situation of the passageways ahead and behind her and finally realized it wasn’t that the other two had suddenly appeared in front of her, but that she herself had been transferred to an entirely different place!

Bai Lianxue’s voice echoed in her mind: “Taking items away from someone else—aside from a theft-type ability, a spatial-type ability could also achieve it. I just don’t know how strong the other party is, if they could even transfer a whole person.”

In this moment, Sun Ningning knew the answer. The answer was they could.

How could this be? Didn’t this mean no matter how she tried to run, she couldn’t escape?!

Whose ability was this? It was Yin Yu. Just how powerful was she? And what was she planning to do by bringing her here?

At this instant, Sun Ningning felt incredibly regretful. If she had known earlier that Yin Yu could manipulate a person’s spatial position so easily, why on earth would she have ever provoked her?

And Zhu Ming… didn’t the two of them have conflicts?

Sun Ningning looked at Zhu Ming, only to see that Zhu Ming’s expression at this moment was no better than her own.

The woman covered in blood and grime, with hair a complete rat’s nest, had a ferocious glare in her eyes tinged with speechlessness; within the speechlessness was a trace of astonishment; and within the astonishment was a sliver of shock.

Only at this very moment did Zhu Ming realize that in all that time before… Yin Yu really hadn’t been showing her full hand!