Chapter 136: An Eye for an Eye: Look, Now This is Called Professionalism!

Wang Cheng’s own primary secret technique was the Crossing Ocean Star-Pulling Art, so he naturally did not mistake the little fox labeled with the name "Shen Yueye" for a genuine spirit fox.

Utilizing the Third Eye in the Brain to peer past the illusion of the fox pelt, he forcibly perceived her true appearance, particularly a pair of emerald fox eyes with distinctly exotic features.

Before his departure, his master’s smug words echoed once again in Wang Cheng's ears:

"I am not entirely certain of your Second Senior Sister’s specific disguise, but the moment you lay eyes on her, you will know—the prettiest, the most adorable, and the most unique one is undoubtedly her!"

Although this was their very first meeting and their bond was still rather shallow, making it impossible to discern which Western nation her maternal heritage derived from, those adjectives—the prettiest, the most adorable, and the most unique—were not wrong in the slightest.

Among all the members of the opposite sex Wang Cheng had ever witnessed, perhaps only the Dragon Lady, Elder Sister Ah Xiao, could rival this Second Senior Sister.

He had to admit that mixed-race individuals genuinely possessed an innate advantage in appearance.

Of course, genetics taught us that at least first-generation mixes were indeed this striking, while subsequent generations were harder to predict.

As Wang Cheng’s thoughts raced, the fiery-red fox into which Shen Yueye had transformed landed lightly, coming to a halt right before him.

The moment her body shifted back into human form, her peacock-feather skirt billowed outward, adorned with pearls and jade from head to toe, presenting a breathtaking and peerless sight.

The youth beneath the moonlight was like a jade tree in an orchid grove, while the maiden resembled a hibiscus and a begonia, each excelling in their own distinct beauty.

Sun Xiong had mapped out a rather fine strategy at the outset. Since Wang Cheng had ignited his heart-lamp for a total of less than four months, he could at most be a seventh-rank official.

Without expending too much effort, the "assassin" merely needed to fling a Blazing Sun Thunder Bead embedded with iron nails, or casually deliver a single stab with a dagger, and dispatch him straight to the Western Paradise.

Yet, despite his meticulous calculations, he had missed a crucial detail.

Even Yan Yunxiao had made a point of lingering on Wang Cheng's visage twice before her transformation, purely to absorb a fraction of his striking beauty so she herself would appear more pleasing after taking human form.

To call him a textbook embodiment of human handsomeness would hardly be an exaggeration.

It was often said that relationships between men and women "begin with looks, respect talent, and end with character." As a blooming young maiden in the prime of her youth, Shen Yueye was certainly no exception to this rule.

Her very first impression was:

"Countenance stems from the heart. How could a crown prince who looks this handsome possibly be a wicked villain who abducts commoners' daughters?

Besides, with looks like these, does he even need to abduct anyone? If he weren't the Prince's Heir, he would likely be the one being fought over by hordes of maidens.

Such slander carries no conviction whatsoever—someone is definitely trying to frame him!"

Especially when Shen Yueye invoked the authority of the Superintendent of the Directorate of Direct Official Bureau to perceive that not only did he lack any karmic debt, but he was actually radiating a potent, luminous glow of accumulated hidden virtue, her conviction only grew firmer.

"Vicious servants bullying their master," "lackeys flaunting their master's power," "using a borrowed knife to kill"—a series of phrases flashed rapidly through her mind, slamming firmly onto the foreheads of the pursuers trailing behind.

Daring to deceive this young lady? It seems you lot are itching to taste my "sleeve swords" once again.

"Shh!"

Following that, the graceful young heir in white garments, acting as though they were old acquaintances, blinked at her in a friendly manner and pressed a finger to his lips in a gesture for silence.

The two of them stood amidst the falling pear blossom rain throughout the palatial courtyard, quietly listening to the commotion outside.

Aside from imperial guards rushing frantically from other directions to rescue the sovereign, the closest troop had halted their advance, clearly intending to leave ample time for the "assassin" to carry out the deed.

Recalling the peculiar funneling tactics earlier and the sudden cessation of movement now, how could Shen Yueye fail to realize that she had not only stumbled into a case of "wicked servants bullying their master," but had also been dragged into high-level political infighting concerning the supreme power of the East Sea State?

"So I was used as a pawn by this crown prince's political rivals.

Yet this crown prince sees through everything with absolute clarity; whether it is his treacherous subordinates or myself acting as his 'blade,' he distinguishes friend from foe with pristine precision.

He is indeed a clever individual.

What a pity his luck is poor—to be surrounded by so many overt and covert daggers at such a tender age, he is truly pitiable."

The sacred artifact, Four Seas Circulating Currency, suppressed Wang Cheng’s personal magical radiance so tightly that as long as he did not initiate combat, no one could pierce through to his true depth.

Although he had not anticipated that Mao Haifeng would fail to restrain himself and attempt to strike him down that very night, he had successfully misled him into misjudging his strength.

***

Taking advantage of this opportunity to chop off a few of his hound's paws, he could simultaneously test out his Debt of Gratitude.

While sensing the movements of the crowd just a single wall away, his hands moved with practiced dexterity to extract a pile of Shen Yueye-style thunder beads from the coin's eye!

Only this time, using the purple gunpowder gifted to him by the Daoist priest of Mount Shenxiao, Lu Yunchen, he had additionally drawn a Five-Thunder talisman upon them.

The exterior was encased in a cast-iron shell, with the interior packed with rust-tainted steel beads soaked in virulent poison.

At a single glance, this was a standardized assassination weapon of the highest grade, vastly superior to the casually bound iron nails and steel beads Shen Yueye had hastily assembled.

"Ah. This..."

The girl could not help but widen her bright fox eyes. Why did this fellow feel even more professional than herself, an assassin evolved into a Goddess of Mercy?

Just who among them was the actual assassin?

And was this clearly pre-prepared "there are always villains plotting against me" demeanor of his actually serious?

Beyond this, she noticed that near Wang Cheng's feet lay a fragment of an incense pellet that had been burning for an unknown duration, emitting bubbling wisps of faint smoke.

These smoke rings subsequently morphed into tiny monks tumbling and walking upside down with their heads facing the ground, laughing merrily as they scurried out through a small hole in the wall.

Shen Yueye cocked her head to listen, faintly catching a disjointed, rambling chant:

"Telling lies, pulling lies, weeding three hoes in the buckwheat field, hoeing all the way up the jujube tree, scattering pomegranates with a clatter. Stooping and fumbling to pick up eggplants, gathering two clusters of cucumbers, taking them home to stew in vegetable broth, serving them in bowls as tofu. Zhang San eats while Li Si feels full, leaving Wang Wu to run full of a belly across the street..."

Her expression grew increasingly bizarre as she recognized this as a rather vicious variety of incense formula:

"The Soul-Dazzling Incense!

Using a certain poisonous mushroom from the one hundred thousand mountains of the southern border as its primer, it induces disorientation and mental derangement in those who inhale it.

The victims perceive colorful miniature mushrooms bouncing about, while cats and dogs approach with solicitous expressions, offering to lead them to a physician; upside becomes downside, left becomes right, and to any outsider, they appear thoroughly insane."

With that thought, she hurriedly retreated a step and pinched her own nose.

At that moment, Wang Cheng meticulously sensed the positioning of the group outside, consecrated the thunder beads in his palm at a moment's notice, transforming them into a volley of "Divine Wind Thunder Beads" before projecting them with pinpoint precision.

Utilizing the supreme control over the Dao of Transformation granted by his new Dragon-Robed Python Attire, he modulated his vocal cords to flawlessly mimic Shen Yueye's voice:

"Stand back! None of you are to follow me in! Your crown prince is in my hands, and the moment any of you moves rashly, I will execute him!"

It sounded precisely as though these enhanced thunder beads had indeed been hurled out by Shen Yueye herself.

Logically speaking, divine path officials possessed acute senses, making it exceedingly difficult to instantly obliterate a mid-third-rank official with a mere handful of thunder beads.

Yet Wang Cheng had locked onto a familiar acquaintance long beforehand—Gao Ren!

The destiny chart carried by this individual remained fresh in his memory.

[Destiny Chart: Official-Killer Oppressing the Body.

When the official-killer star is excessively strong and acts as a baneful spirit, encountering periods where official-killer major luck or annual cycles hold sway results in official-killer oppression, rendering one prone to official disasters and specialized in subduing one's immediate superiors.

In times of peril, they are frequently capable of passively sacrificing their superior to preserve themselves.]

Had he not purchased the captive memories of Gao Ren and spared his life, releasing the tiger back to the mountains, precisely for this very day?

"Gao Ren, let me witness your limit!"

Sun Xiong and his retinue of Mountain-Carrying Generals stationed outside assumed that once the assassin penetrated the inner quarters, ninety percent of the mission was complete, leaving only that final finishing stroke to secure a monumental merit.

With a plump fish stuffed with accumulated animosity right before them, how could an assassin of formidable skill possibly spare the energy to deal with mere foot soldiers like themselves?

Hearing the "assassin's" declaration, their hearts instantly settled, and they shouted in command:

"Halt! You have already flown into a trap; dare to harm a single hair of the prince's head, and your entire household, down to your magical descendants and disciples to the tenth generation, shall suffer a horrific death!"

Simultaneously, rather than retreating, they pressed closer, preparing to form human ladders to scale the wall.

Employing a textbook "hostage and bandit perish together" Ursine-style rescue operation, they intended to add yet another spark to the fire.

Even if it meant merely severing the prince's hand out of sheer rage and stripping him of his sovereign visage, the mission would still be considered fulfilled.

Yet they never imagined that this was a vicious and cunning plot Wang Cheng had formulated within the blink of an eye, tailor-designed for them to taste their own medicine!

Boom! Boom! Boom!...

Lunging forward precisely as they broke away from all cover, these "pineapple" thunder beads executed precision-guided tracking via consecration. Detonation in mid-air scattered countless rust-corroded, poison-coated steel beads in every direction.

Having already fallen under the influence of the Soul-Dazzling Incense, however, these individuals—regardless of their rank or resistance—suffered impaired judgment regarding distance and scale, rendering their evasive maneuvers futile.

Consequently, heavy casualties ensued, turning the ground into a river of blood.

The patrols consisting of three official-ranked core direct troops and the imperial guards who had long since defected to Mao Haifeng amounted to some seventy or eighty men in total, at least half of whom were swept away by the assassin's thunder beads.

"Aargh... She used rusted steel beads!"

"Quickly wash the wounds! Beware of lockjaw; this fiendish woman is venomous!"

The unique skills possessed by two sixth-rank officials were sufficiently formidable to prevent them from being slain outright, but they inevitably absorbed several impacts.

They were temporarily out of immediate danger, but should bad luck strike and tetanus set in, perishing was entirely within the realm of possibility.

The most ill-fated of all was Sun Xiong, the Mountain-Carrying General. No matter how he dodged, he failed to escape his "misfortune," as a steel bead burrowed into his lower abdomen, wringing out beads of cold sweat across his brow.

Another steel bead grazed past his neck, tearing open his vocal cords in a bloody mess.

"Adoptive Father! Adoptive Father! How are you holding up?"

Gao Ren and several loyal soldiers hurriedly lunged to his side, dragging him backward until they reached a sheltered position.

Anyone could tell that though he had survived, without the ministrations of a skilled physician, he would likely be unable to rise from his bed for the next half-year.

A sixth-rank official nursing a wound in his rear attempted to offer comfort:

"Old Sun, rest for a moment and cease speaking.

You have no sons of your own, so it is fortunate you took in Gao Ren as a dutiful adopted son. During this period, let him temporarily manage your naval forces and report directly to the Grand Ship Captain.

Put your mind at ease and tend to your recovery first."

Upon hearing the phrase "adopted son," Sun Xiong's expression contorted with agitation, and though a rattling *he-he-he* sound escaped his throat, he could not articulate a single syllable.

"Adoptive Father, rest assured.

I, Gao Ren, swear to the heavens that once you recover your health, your naval fleet shall be returned to your hands entirely intact.

I am utterly loyal to you and the Grand Ship Captain, and I shall never betray your lofty expectations!"

Not a single soul among the surrounding crowd, from top to bottom, perceived any impropriety.

Had they not heard the young crown prince himself state as much?

Even Prince Jing had once intended to allow his adopted son, Mao Haifeng, to administer the East Sea State; surely it was entirely natural for one of the twenty-four generals to arrange for an adopted son to succeed him?

"Old Sun, we know you harbor concerns for Gao Ren. Rest easy; as fellow adopted sons, the Grand Ship Captain will surely look after him well."

In short, amid this ambush, Gao Ren, possessing the Official-Killer Oppressing the Body destiny, secured the most stellar combat record while simultaneously claiming a grander stage, whereas the Crown Prince emerged as the ultimate freeloader.

And right in the vacuum left by the cleansing sweep of the thunder beads, the sound of footsteps rapidly closed in from all directions.

"Quickly! Go and check if the Crown Prince is unharmed!"