Thinking about it, Su Mu curiously placed her finger on it to test the texture.
It felt ice-cold and quite smooth.
For no reason at all, Su Mu thought of the skin on Chen Qing’s waist.
When Chen Qing pinned her down, Su Mu would instinctively grab tightly onto her waist.
Although Chen Qing was both detestable and shameless, she truly was a stunning beauty.
The feel of her skin was wonderful too—slightly softer than a vase caressed by fingertips, just like fine porcelain.
Su Mu’s thoughts veered further astray, and she hurriedly reined them in.
This detestable villain Chen Qing—no matter how gorgeous she looked or how good she felt to hold—Su Mu absolutely could not yield to her lustful dominance.
Moreover, whenever Su Mu grabbed her waist like that, she had probably already been thoroughly ravished to tears.
With her resolve firm, Su Mu continued wandering aimlessly through the Main Hall.
After waiting half an hour, Tan Mu and the others finally scraped together the items Chen Qing wanted.
“Let’s go.”
Chen Qing shoved the bamboo slips handed over by Tan Mu into Su Mu’s arms and departed from the Wild Wolf Gang’s Main Hall.
Once Chen Qing and the others were far away, the exhausted underlings—backs aching and waists sore—finally dared to gripe.
“This new gang leader is too bizarre, isn’t she? She doesn’t rally the brothers or inspect the warehouse; she just wants a pile of bamboo slips.”
“Sigh! If you ask me, Gang Leader Tan is much better. This woman popped up out of nowhere—we don’t even recognize her.”
“Should we tell the brothers outside about the leadership change?”
“She didn’t bring it up herself, so why invite trouble on ourselves?”
The Wild Wolf Gang members clearly resented this sudden gang leader, Chen Qing.
However, intimidated by her strength and the gang rules, they didn’t dare voice it too bluntly.
They could only prod at Tan Mu with their words, though Tan Mu, of course, knew their game.
She stared at the retreating figures of Chen Qing and Su Mu, a pensive glint in her eyes.
Chen Qing was oblivious to the Wild Wolf Gang’s petty scheming—and even if she knew, she wouldn’t care.
Why waste energy on these preordained cannon fodder when she could tease the resentful Little Shizun right in front of her?
The resentment radiating from Su Mu was practically smacking Chen Qing in the face.
Not only did she have to carry Chen Qing’s sword, but now she was also lugging this heap of bamboo slips Chen Qing had dumped on her.
The massive stack blocked her forward view entirely.
With every step, she had to carefully test her footing, terrified of tripping.
Breaking these useless bamboo slips would be no big deal, but if she injured herself in the fall, she’d be the one hurting.
Seeing Su Mu’s seething resentment and cautious gait, Chen Qing deliberately slowed her pace, letting the gingerly walking Su Mu keep up.
The pair proceeded down the street, one behind the other. Su Mu’s overloaded, stumbling form drew wary dodges from passersby, who shot her odd stares.
Socially anxious Su Mu, gawked at by the crowd, flushed crimson with embarrassment, wishing she could bury her face in the bamboo slips.
“Ow!”
Head down and not watching the path ahead, she suddenly crashed into something.
The impact scattered the bamboo slips from her arms, and she nearly face-planted onto the ground.
Luckily, Chen Qing yanked her back by the hand in time, sparing her a solid butt-first tumble.
“Why’d you stop so abruptly?”
Su Mu shot Chen Qing a glare brimming with grievance. Truth be told, as a Second-Rate Warrior, carrying this load was effortless for her.
But the thought of slaving away as hard labor for this loathsome villain filled her with defiant fury.
“We’re here.”
Only then did Su Mu notice the inn’s entrance looming before them—they had arrived.
As Chen Qing eyed the strewn bamboo slips and bent to gather them, a familiar voice rang out nearby.
“Grandmaster Chen, Miss Su, we meet again.”
Shen Ling had donned a sleek black outfit, a white ribbon embroidered with gold threads draping over her shoulders.
“Sister Shen, what a coincidence!”
Su Mu’s face lit up with delight at the sight of Shen Ling.
Of all the women she’d encountered in this world, Shen Ling was the one she liked best.
Plus, Shen Ling was practically half a master to her now—Su Mu still hoped she’d teach her some moves to counter-kill Chen Qing.
Su Mu beamed, but Chen Qing’s expression darkened.
This Traitorous Shizun lit up like that the instant she spotted Shen Ling.
Especially when Su Mu’s clear voice chirped “Sister Shen”—an inexplicable irritation and thick wave of displeasure surged in Chen Qing’s heart.
“Quite the coincidence, indeed.”
Shen Ling’s reply to Su Mu carried a hint of guilt in her eyes.
Truth was, she hadn’t stumbled upon them by chance.
Using the Departing Cloud Merchant Association’s connections, she’d pinpointed Chen Qing’s lodgings and had been staking out the spot for a while.
But with Su Mu gazing at her so eagerly, she opted to hide the facts.
“Miss Shen, do you need something from me? Clean this up yourself. If even one goes missing…”
Chen Qing shot Su Mu a warning look before striding into the inn.
Shen Ling hesitated, flashed Su Mu an apologetic glance, and trailed after Chen Qing.
Chen Qing’s frosty tone irked Su Mu.
These bamboo slips belonged to that wretched villain Chen Qing—not only was Su Mu stuck doing grunt work, she was getting snapped at too. Utterly outrageous.
Though she silently wished Chen Qing would get flattened by a carriage on her way out, Su Mu had no choice but to squat down and huff as she gathered the bamboo slips.
Muttering curses under her breath the whole time, she drew extra glances from passersby.
“Grandmaster Chen, we parted so hastily last time. Miss Mu said she hasn’t thanked you properly yet.”
Shen Ling followed Chen Qing. Her aims were straightforward: express gratitude, and because Mu Qiuzi was loath to lose a peerless expert like Chen Qing.
Recruiting her would let Mu Qiuzi’s plans in Cloud City proceed without much restraint.
Chen Qing knew Mu Qiuzi’s intentions full well. She hadn’t expected such persistence—after rejecting her last time, here she was again.
This time, though, Chen Qing didn’t refuse outright. She said coolly,
“I’ve noted Miss Mu’s thanks. I’ll pay her a visit when the chance arises. I have private matters to attend to; farewell, Miss Shen.”
Shen Ling froze at the blatant dismissal.
But no outright rejection meant her mission was accomplished.
The moment Shen Ling departed, Su Mu hustled in with the armful of bamboo slips.
Chen Qing’s “private matters” were, naturally, Su Mu.
Su Mu dumped the hefty stack on the floor and wiped her forehead.
No sweat, but she wanted Chen Qing to see how taxing it had been.
Unaware that Chen Qing’s jealousy had detonated over her little chat with Shen Ling,
Su Mu sidled toward the window, thoughtfully shutting the door behind her.
“W-what are you going to do?!”
A dangerous, brooding aura brewed in Chen Qing’s eyes as Su Mu inched quietly toward the window.
