Beaten Without Knowing

Xu Mu was pulled by Li Chenshuang to a distant mountain peak.

"Alright, this is far enough. Say what you need to say now."

Xu Mu voluntarily withdrew his hand from hers.

Li Chenshuang removed the hood of her cloak, revealing a head of silver hair and her noble, elegant face.

She smiled and said, "Xu Mu, just state your terms directly. I'll consider any condition you propose."

She had spoken with Xu Mu yesterday and learned that his techniques could control the Ghost Servant Insects, which led her to this possibility. That was why she had rushed over impatiently.

She wasn't really concerned about the two corpses themselves. As long as the Ghost Servant Insects were on her, she could control any dead body in the future.

"You'll agree to anything?"

Xu Mu smiled as he sized up Li Chenshuang.

"I can consider anything. You're a man, so I know your mind will inevitably drift to some vulgar things. That's why I pulled you aside alone."

Li Chenshuang dropped her smile, and her expression turned serious.

"Does that mean you've already decided to go along with the vulgar things I'm thinking?"

Xu Mu kept one hand in his pants pocket while pressing the other against a large tree beside him.

"That depends on what you say. I do have boundaries."

Li Chenshuang had long known the assessments various Jiuli tribes had made about her.

She had grown tired of hearing those disgusting, degrading remarks, but she never refuted them.

She was a woman after all, and she knew well that her type would indeed be liked by many men.

Yet she also had her dignity. She wished others would value her abilities, not her appearance.

Xu Mu's mind was racing. In truth, Li Chenshuang posed no threat to him.

He could use the Mirror-Breaking Sword to make the parasitic worms leave the corpses and then easily destroy them.

But for Li Chenshuang, it was a different story. Mastering two Ghost Servant Insects gave her endless possibilities.

For instance, if she found a corpse of someone with terrifying power when alive, her overall strength would multiply exponentially.

"Why aren't you saying anything? It's just us here. What's there to be shy about? I've been desensitized to those nasty remarks long ago—I've heard too many."

Li Chenshuang said calmly.

"Oh? So even members of the Second Tribe have dared to insult you to your face?"

Xu Mu's curiosity was piqued.

"Direct insults, no. But plenty of indirect ones. For example, the First Tribe leader often said the most to me was... that I'm pitiful."

"Why?"

"He said I didn't even know when I was being hit on."

"Pfft!"

Xu Mu burst out laughing on the spot. "I didn't know the Jiuli clan had jokes like that."

"In your eyes, that's a joke. In mine, it's an insult."

Li Chenshuang's expression was stern. "This figure of mine has caused me a lot of trouble. Sometimes I really want to get reduction surgery."

"I'd advise you to leave well enough alone. Compared to big thunder heads—that's flat in my book. Yours is just average."

Xu Mu paused, then said, "Since you're already desensitized, let me ask bluntly: are you still... intact, I assume?"

"Of course I am! Do you think we Jiuli women are like those from the Yanhuang group? We're still very traditional."

Li Chenshuang's tone was cold.

Xu Mu nodded. It seemed Hat Guy still had a normal sense of aesthetics.

"Alright, then I'll state my terms. I'll have you agree to two things, neither of which will involve death or anything that insults your character. I haven't decided the first one yet, so let me tell you the second."

Li Chenshuang remained silent, waiting.

"My second condition is this: your Lightning Power—I can command it freely."

"Xu Mu! I knew it! All men are scumbags..."

"Stop! Let me finish."

Xu Mu cut her off. "Before I command it, I don't want anyone else using it before me."

Li Chenshuang frowned at that. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing complicated. Just that before I use it, that thing of yours belongs to me. No one but you is allowed to touch it!"

Xu Mu's reasoning was simple—he wanted to sever the bond between her and Hat Guy.

He believed that any man seeing Li Chenshuang would first look at that part and want to touch it most.

Xu Mu of course wanted to say that no one should touch her secret realm, but if he said that out loud, Li Chenshuang would never agree.

After a long silence, she asked, "For how long?"

"The length of one piece of music. You know John Cage, right? I really like his As Slow as Possible. Once that piece finishes playing, I'll stop."

Xu Mu said casually.

"I don't know him, but I agree. Are you going to do it now?"

Li Chenshuang had already anticipated this when she came.

If Xu Mu had directly demanded her body, she would have thought twice.

But when it came to the Lightning matter, she could endure it.

You can't catch a wolf cub without taking a risk. A martial artist stronger than herself was too tempting.

"No, not now. There's something more important—dealing with the Baishi tribe matter."

Xu Mu walked up to Li Chenshuang and extended his hand. A red Ghost Servant Insect sat motionless on his palm.

"Then I'll start."

Li Chenshuang placed her parasitic worm on Xu Mu's palm. The small black bug followed orders and crawled toward the Ghost Servant Insect.

But before it could reach it, both bugs froze in fear.

Li Chenshuang could only exert her strength to force it forward, allowing the parasitic worm to bite into the Ghost Servant Insect's body and wriggle inside.

At Xu Mu's command, the Ghost Servant Insect remained still.

Inside the insect, the parasitic worm flickered with a faint glow.

"It'll take about a minute," Li Chenshuang explained.

Xu Mu nodded lightly.

As time passed, the originally all-red Ghost Servant Insect gradually developed black patches.

Eventually, these patches formed streak-like patterns, turning the insect into a black-and-red hybrid.

"It worked."

Li Chenshuang raised her hand, and the two Ghost Servant Insects quickly crawled up onto her. "Xu Mu, thank you."

[Affection +20]

Having these two insects felt like gaining two martial artists stronger than herself.

She hadn't expected that, as a Jiuli member, she would gain such a huge benefit from Xu Mu.

"No need. We're buds."

After saying that, Xu Mu returned to Chen Xuan's side.

Behind him, Li Chenshuang pulled her cloak hood back on and followed.

"Honored seniors, we've reached an agreement. If she ever uses corpses to threaten or harm us, I'll take responsibility for eliminating the insects."

Xu Mu said to Zhao Qian and Wang Pengyan.

"With your word, I'm relieved."

Zhao Qian nodded. "Then go back now. There's been no official reward from above this time, but I can guarantee it'll exceed your imagination."

"Then I'll thank you in advance."

Xu Mu nodded.

Li Chenshuang walked to the corpses, released the Ghost Servant Insects, which crawled into their nostrils, and the two bodies opened their eyes and stood up.

Ji Qingge's face was full of disbelief. "These Jiuli bugs are incredible."

"Alright, senior, we'll be heading back in now."

After saying this, Xu Mu sent a message to Ye Tong, then led Chen Xuan, Li Chenshuang, and the two corpses into the inner realm.

Zhao Qian followed the entire way, and at the barrier, he took out the Boundary Flame to let them pass.

He repeated the same words as before—he would be there to wait for them at noon and midnight every day.

This time, Xu Mu and the others encountered no obstacles and did not run into any of the White Stone tribe members who had been causing trouble.

They emerged smoothly from the ruins and saw the main force already camped out.

Through his perception, Xu Mu detected Xian Lingnan and Xian Lingqi, and immediately led his group over to them.

This time, in the inner realm, he was going to stir up something big.