Just like that, Ji Jue casually stood up from the chair, calmly straightening the collar Lian Cheng had crumpled earlier and brushing back the hair that had fallen across his forehead.

“Not bad, I guess,” the Ember craftsman said. “Honestly, it’s not that bad. Why did that other guy sound like a screaming chicken[1]?”

Lian Cheng clenched his jaw and forced down his rage without saying a word. In reality, he was already pouring everything he had into suppressing the spread of the Undying Disease within his body.

Endure. Endure it. I have to lie low and endure[2]. After all that preparation, it’s almost time… Tonight… tonight, you’re all going to die.

A flash of viciousness disappeared beneath his lowered gaze.

Beside him, Ji Jue was talking nonstop, but he seemed like a completely different person. After circling Lian Cheng for a moment with an expression of deep admiration, he suddenly began praising him outright. “Oh wow, I...