Joker

“Eh?!”

Suddenly, Young Master Lin’s gaze fell on the prayer beads around his wrist.

“That string of beads is quite distinctive.”

Lin tilted his head, his tone as casual as if they were merely making small talk. “Director Jiang, would you mind letting me take a look?”

Jiang Yeqiu’s expression stiffened almost imperceptibly, but in the blink of an eye, it returned to normal.

He didn’t think there was anything to worry about. In fact, he even felt this was a good opportunity to build a closer relationship. With a smile on his face, he readily slipped off the bracelet and handed it over with both hands.

“If Young Master Lin would like to see it, then by all means. However…”

He paused deliberately, his expression becoming a little more solemn. “This item is of extraordinary significance to me. Some time ago, while I was traveling in Tibet, it was personally given to me by a highly accomplished master. I’m normally reluctant to let anyone else touch it.”

“Oh? Given to you by a master from Tibet?”

Lin raised his brows, a faintly amused smile playing at the corners of his lips. “Then I’d better take a good look.”

Jiang Yeqiu wasn’t worried in the slightest that Lin might figure out what it really was.

After all, Zhafu had told him from the beginning that the beads were bound to their owner. They would not work for just anyone who wore them. And even if they did have an effect on someone else, the person would have to wear them for a long time before anything became apparent.

So he remained completely calm. Instead, he put on an open and magnanimous expression, quietly waiting for Lin to praise the quality of the beads.

Lin took the bracelet and gently rolled the smooth, lustrous beads between his fingertips. He brought them beneath the light and examined them from every angle.

He looked at them slowly and carefully, not even overlooking the faintest markings on each individual bead.

Although the three women had no idea what Lin was doing, none of them said a word.

Situ Yunshu sat shoulder to shoulder with Jiang Chengshan, and it was obvious that she had noticed something unusual.

She had felt some degree of goodwill toward Jiang Yeqiu as well, but that goodwill had always seemed strangely off.

Nor was it surprising that Situ Yunshu could sense something wrong. Although martial artists primarily focused on refining their blood essence, they also emphasized the unity of essence, energy, and spirit. Naturally, this gave them a certain resistance to such things.

After a long while, Lin finally nodded slightly. He closed his hand around the prayer beads, and a meaningful smile slowly curved across his lips.

His voice was not loud, yet every word was perfectly clear.

“Each bead was carved and polished from the skull of a living person. A secret art was then applied to them, drawing upon resentment, baleful energy, and the power of the victim’s spirit, so that the people around the wearer would instinctively feel favorably toward him and lower their guard…”

He casually turned the bracelet around one finger and added in an unhurried tone:

“This fellow Zhafu really has found an extraordinary way to make use of human bones. Don’t you agree, Director Jiang?”

The moment the words “human skull” left Lin’s mouth, Jiang Yeqiu’s hand trembled violently around his teacup. Scalding tea splashed across the back of his hand, yet he did not seem to feel it at all.

By the time Zhafu’s name came from Lin’s lips, the humble, polished smile on Jiang Yeqiu’s face had completely frozen. He could no longer force even the slightest trace of it to remain.

“Uh… Young… Young Master Lin.”

His throat had gone dry, and even his voice was unsteady. He forced out a smile. “What… what are you talking about? I… I don’t quite understand.”

At this point, only one thought remained in Jiang Yeqiu’s mind: play dumb. No matter what happened, he absolutely could not admit anything.

He abruptly lifted his head, hoping to find some trace of a joke on Lin’s face—something that would let him breathe easier.

But all he saw were Lin’s eyes.

There was not the slightest hint of goodwill in them. Only undisguised amusement—and the calm, effortless composure of someone looking down from above while toying with a helpless insect.

The instant their eyes met, a chill suddenly shot up Jiang Yeqiu’s back, climbing from his tailbone all the way to the crown of his head.

He understood everything.

He had been completely exposed.

What could he do at a time like this?!

Take back the prayer beads? Run for the door? Take—take your damn mother’s—

Driven to desperation, Jiang Yeqiu suddenly exploded into action without the slightest hesitation. He grabbed Jiang Yunlu beside him, drew a small white knife made of bone, and pressed it tightly against the side of her neck.

The little knife exuded an icy chill. It was not the ordinary coldness of metal, but a deathly aura that seeped outward from the bones.

It was clearly another magical artifact. Zhafu had given it to him as a protective weapon, and it was the only trump card he had left.

Jiang Yeqiu took a deep breath, struggling to make his voice sound steady.

“Don’t move! Anyone who moves, I’ll—”

Yet not a single person present looked angry.

Not Jiang Chengshan.

Not Situ Yunshu.

Not even Lin.

Lin merely set down the prayer beads in his hand, producing a soft, crisp click.

Every one of them wore an amused expression, as though they were watching a carefully staged farce—and Jiang Yeqiu had happened to be cast as the only clown.

Even Jiang Yunlu, the woman being held hostage with a knife at her throat, showed not the slightest trace of fear. Instead, her eyes were filled with barely restrained eagerness.

But Jiang Yeqiu could only feel Jiang Yunlu trembling beneath his grip.

She kept trembling.

It was obvious that she was terrified and shaking uncontrollably from fear. Jiang Yeqiu felt his heart loosen slightly. At least he still had one card he could play.

The next second, he felt as if his hand had been clamped in a pair of pincers.

No—something was prying his hand open from the inside out.

The white bone blade slipped from his grasp and fell helplessly onto the carpet with a dull thud.

A searing pain spread from his palm and shot up his arm, as if something were forcing its way out through the gaps between his bones.

Jiang Yeqiu sucked in a sharp breath of cold air and looked down. Only then did he realize that although Jiang Yunlu was trembling—

she was trembling with excitement.

She was grinning as she squeezed his hand. The strength in her grip was absurd. Her five fingers clamped down like iron bands, making his knuckles crack loudly. Her brilliant smile was enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.

“Ah!”

A scream rang out.

Everyone else remained perfectly calm.

Xie Yuling did not even raise an eyebrow. She merely glanced sideways at Jiang Yunlu, becoming more and more convinced that the girl was a monkey—an absolute monkey by nature, always looking for an excuse to get her hands on someone and bend them around a little.

Chu Miaomiao, meanwhile, looked at her with another kind of expression.

Envy.

She envied Jiang Yunlu’s vigorous energy. She envied the way the girl could use her strength so openly and confidently. Every inch of Jiang Yunlu radiated the message: I’m having a wonderful time.

Jiang Yeqiu tried to wrench himself free, desperately shaking his hand, but no matter how hard he struggled, he could not break Jiang Yunlu’s grip. It was as though her hand had grown directly onto his body, utterly immovable.

He raised his other hand and tried to slap her, hoping to use the most primitive method possible to knock this lunatic away.

But Jiang Yunlu was faster.

She had apparently been waiting for this very moment. She stepped forward half a pace, using the Situ family’s footwork. Her figure was so light and nimble that she seemed almost weightless.

Then, with only one hand, she caught the slap Jiang Yeqiu sent toward her. Following the momentum, she twisted his arm into a joint lock.

Crack!

Both of Jiang Yeqiu’s arms immediately went numb.

Jiang Yunlu then kicked him behind the knee. His entire body dropped to the floor, leaving him kneeling in a wretched posture, his forehead nearly touching the carpet.

“This feels amazing!”

Jiang Yunlu was grinning from ear to ear, her teeth nearly on full display. Her eyes shone as if she had just fished up some priceless treasure, and her entire face was filled with lingering delight.

Xie Yuling: “...”

She had already decided not to comment.

And with that, the little farce came to an end.