The Gusu Mistake - Chapter 22

“Your big brother lost!” Yuan Ruo ignored Qiu Rong’s threats and instead curled her lips into a smile, pointing behind him.

Qiu Rong, who now relied solely on his elder brother, instinctively turned to look. In that brief moment, Yuan Ruo made her move—grabbing the Zhong family’s son with one hand and slashing Qiu Rong’s throat with the other.

“Ugh…” Qiu Rong clutched his neck, collapsing uncontrollably to the ground.

“Your brother’s dead!” Jiang Yilan, who was fighting the square-faced man, caught sight of Qiu Rong’s death and teased immediately.

“What?” The square-faced man, like Qiu Rong, instinctively turned his head—only he truly saw his brother dead. “Ah Rong, no…”

The moment he turned, Jiang Yilan’s sleeve blade pierced his back.

“Spare his life!” Just as Jiang Yilan was about to finish him off, Yuan Ruo spoke up to stop her.

Jiang Yilan protested angrily, “Why spare such a villain?”

Yuan Ruo countered, “Don’t you want to know what all their scheming was really about?”

“This…” Jiang Yilan looked at the square-faced man. “Speak!”

“Hmph!” The man snorted coldly. “Even if I die, don’t expect me to say a word!”

“Then go ahead and die!” Jiang Yilan matched her words with action, raising her sleeve blade to his neck.

“Yilan…”

Yuan Ruo was about to stop her when she saw Jiang Yilan slap the man’s ear with her left hand.

At first, the man didn’t understand her intent—until his ear began to itch. The itch grew unbearable, yet he couldn’t scratch it.

“Ah… You vile woman! What did you put in my ear?” The man couldn’t take it and began cursing.

Jiang Yilan sneered, “Aren’t you a Gu practitioner? Can’t even recognize a simple trick like this, let alone resolve it?”

“You… ah…” The man ignored the pain in his back, frantically scratching his ear until it bled. “You cursed woman! You’ll die a horrible death!”

“Still got energy to curse?” Jiang Yilan chuckled, arms crossed, watching him suffer. “Then keep itching a while longer!”

“It’s too itchy! I can’t take it!” Finally, the man gave in. “Ask me anything! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”

Jiang Yilan asked with a smile, “You sure you’ll talk?”

“I will!” He shook his head wildly. “Just stop the itching first!”

Jiang Yilan slapped his ear again, this time leaving her hand there longer. When she finally removed it, the man sighed in relief.

Jiang Yilan stood up. “Speak!”

But the man looked up at her with a sinister gaze, remaining silent.

“Still scheming?” Jiang Yilan feigned another approach, scaring him into pleading, “I’ll talk! I’ll talk now!”

Yuan Ruo asked, “Were you and your brother working on two separate things, or the same plan?”

The question was broad, giving the man hope to muddle through. “What do you mean, one or two things? Ah Rong wanted to raise a corpse demon—I was just helping him prepare!”

“Oh?” Jiang Yilan said leisurely. “So you’re saying everything you did was for your brother? You didn’t do anything yourself?”

The man tossed his head. “Nothing!”

“The evil cultivator hiding in the Zhong family might be cut off from news, but you, moving freely, should’ve known the Li family’s well demon was dead!” Yuan Ruo said.

“I didn’t know until Ah Rong told me when I rescued him!” the man replied.

Jiang Yilan and Yuan Ruo exchanged glances. Jiang Yilan asked, “You really didn’t know before?”

“Of course not!” he said. “I only cared about Ah Rong’s condition—nothing else!”

Yuan Ruo continued, “Then why did you kidnap the Zhong family’s son?”

“Revenge!” the man gritted his teeth. “Zhong Yuanwai hired you, ruining Ah Rong’s corpse demon ritual. I had to avenge him!”

Jiang Yilan laughed at his twisted logic. “You harmed an innocent child and still talk about revenge?”

“So what?” The man stood up, agitated. “If you don’t look out for yourself, heaven and earth will destroy you!”

“You…” Jiang Yilan was furious and moved to strike, but the man had a backup plan—he suddenly released a swarm of poisonous insects.

“Watch out!” Yuan Ruo, reacting quickly, pulled Jiang Yilan away, but one insect landed on her hand.

“Yuan Ruo!” Jiang Yilan caught her hand, seeing the insect burrowing into her flesh. She quickly sprinkled medicinal powder on it. The insect fell off, unable to withstand the powder—but the man had vanished. “Damn it, he got away!”

“Sorry, I held you back!” Yuan Ruo clutched her aching hand, looking guilty.

“Don’t say such nonsense!” Jiang Yilan took her hand again, carefully checking for any residue. “Good thing it didn’t burrow in. It’ll hurt for a while—bear with it!”

Yuan Ruo shook her head. “It’s fine. Thank you!”

“You’re still being polite with me? You saved me just now—I wasn’t even planning to thank you!” Jiang Yilan smiled. “I thought we were past needing formalities!”

“Past formalities?” Yuan Ruo smiled. “What kind of relationship is that?”

“Well…” Jiang Yilan teased. “What do you think? Sisters?”

Yuan Ruo didn’t answer, instead picking up the Zhong family’s son. “Let’s head back. Zhong Yuanwai must be worried sick by now!”

“I’ll carry him!” Jiang Yilan tried to take the boy. “Your hand’s injured!”

“No need!” Yuan Ruo refused. “It’s just a small wound—I’m not that delicate!”

“I never said you were!” Jiang Yilan insisted, taking the boy from her. “But you got hurt for me—if I don’t do something, I’ll feel guilty!”

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