Chapter 255: It's time to start the hunt

The pain faded, and Gu Lan lowered her hand. A clear scratch mark had appeared on her face, and combined with her current furious expression, she looked particularly pathetic.

“So she still has allies like this?”

Since the black cat wasn’t in human form and hadn’t attended tonight’s banquet, Gu Lan had completely overlooked her existence.

Jiang Sui had thrown down Lu Yunze and used her scent to conceal the black cat’s tracks, letting her quickly take Lu Yunze away from the hotel before rushing back to support her.

The plan had been a complete success. The advantage Gu Lan once held was now gone, and she had to face two troublesome enemies at once.

“Two against one—now we’re the ones with the numbers advantage.” Jiang Sui spoke in a teasing tone.

“That’s not necessarily true. Don’t forget there are still all those puppets I control downstairs. Even with sheer numbers, I could drown you both!”

Gu Lan swung her arm forcefully, then pointed at the entrance to the rooftop.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

A good while passed, and still nothing appeared at the entrance.

Forget the puppet army—Gu Lan couldn’t even hear footsteps.

“Th-this… what’s going on?”

Gu Lan’s pupils were trembling.

She thought she had overlooked something, but when she carefully focused her attention on that matter, she was shocked to discover that her control over all the puppets had failed completely.

“As long as you know how a secret art works and what its weaknesses are, countering it becomes far too simple.”

The black cat spoke.

“Especially when I know you that well, Gu Lan.”

Gu Lan felt the voice sounded somewhat familiar, but she couldn’t recall who it was for the life of her.

The black cat seemed to find her puzzled expression amusing and shook its head.

“Y-you… who are you?”

“If you can’t remember, then forget it. I remember you just fine—that way I won’t forget to get my revenge on you.”

Gu Lan pressed her lips tightly together.

Revenge? Who?

She had far too many enemies. This black cat was so mysterious that there was no way to pinpoint exactly who it was.

Still, the voice and tone were indeed somewhat familiar. Given more time, she might have been able to figure out the black cat’s identity.

But right now, time was the one thing Gu Lan lacked most.

Originally, she had only come to back up Sun Huaimeng. She never imagined things would devolve into this situation.

Gu Lan’s fists clenched tightly as she slowly backed away.

Jiang Sui and the black cat remained rooted to the spot. Why weren’t they attacking?

Gu Lan narrowed her eyes suspiciously, noticing that Jiang Sui stood there like a statue, her presence almost completely imperceptible. The intense killing intent from before now seemed like an illusion.

Damn it!

Gu Lan thought of something and quickly slapped herself across the face.

The pain re-stimulated her nerves. The fake Jiang Sui standing in place vanished, and the real Jiang Sui had already arrived before her, scythe raised.

There was no time to attack. Gu Lan could only gather her nine tails together in front of her, forming a reliable defensive wall.

But Jiang Sui had long been prepared. Before the nine fox tails could fully converge, she flicked a green crystal in her hand outward.

The crystal slipped through the gaps, arrived before Gu Lan, and let out a cracking sound.

As the crystal shattered, a violent gale burst forth, throwing Gu Lan’s formation into disarray and creating a clear gap in her defenses.

A black afterimage sliced down through the air. The Waning Moon Scythe landed on Gu Lan’s left shoulder, sinking deep into flesh and bone. Blood sprayed out, nearly severing her entire arm.

The scythe’s blade caught fast. Gu Lan spat out a mouthful of blood, twisted her body, and sacrificed that arm to break free from the blade.

Seeing her about to leap off the building to escape, Jiang Sui swung horizontally once more, cutting her in two.

But the next second, this Gu Lan transformed into a fluffy tail while erupting into a choking cloud of smoke.

After Jiang Sui finished coughing, she saw the two severed tail segments writhing on the ground like worms.

She froze for a moment, then walked to the edge and looked down at the traffic-filled ground below, along with the windows on the lower floors.

One of the glass panes was shattered—the hole just barely large enough for a person to squeeze through.

“Tch, so she could use her tail to take a lethal blow for her.”

The black cat hopped over, muttering to herself.

“Senior, she got away because you were just standing there dumbfounded.”

Jiang Sui shot her a glare.

“Ahaha, I thought you could immobilize her.” The black cat gave an awkward laugh. “Honestly, the strength I can exert right now is pretty limited. Sometimes it’s just more reliable to let you handle it directly.”

Jiang Sui said nothing, merely sighing.

After Gu Lan retreated, the poor parasites who had been possessed in the hotel finally shook off their nightmare. Cat Senior had spent considerable effort to subdue them all.

After leaving the hotel, Jiang Sui’s first priority was finding Lu Yunze, whom the black cat had carried out.

Found him—he was lying on a bench in a nearby park.

Jiang Sui crouched in front of him, watching Lu Yunze’s sleeping expression. The guy would occasionally let out a foolish chuckle.

“Looks like you’re having a good dream.”

Jiang Sui rested her chin on her hand.

“Does your dream have me in it?”

“Mmm…”

The moment she heard that sound, Jiang Sui’s expression immediately turned sour.

“Luo Heng, stop messing around… I really don’t want to become your little lab rat.”

Lu Yunze was clearly still talking in his sleep.

Jiang Sui let out a relieved breath, but then puffed out her cheeks and pinched his cheek with her pale fingers.

“You got your life back, Lu Yunze.”

With the battle over, Jiang Sui’s remaining task was to bring this guy back to Luo Qiaoying’s residence and return him to his room.

Lu Yunze didn’t sleep until dawn. Not long after returning home, he woke up.

“Hiss, my head hurts…”

He clutched his head, eyes closed, trying to recall how he had fallen asleep.

Right, wasn’t I at the hotel?

Lu Yunze opened his eyes and found himself back in his room, lying in bed.

Headache. Might as well lie down a little longer.

That had been his plan, but strange movements were coming from his lower body.

Why is someone taking off my pants?

Lu Yunze’s eyes shot open. He looked up and sucked in a breath.

“Jiang Sui, what are you doing?”

Jiang Sui, both hands gripping his waistband, answered without changing her expression:

“Making the Young Master more comfortable.”

“…Are you serious?”

“Young Master, when have I ever not been serious?”

Jiang Sui gave a faint smile.

Lu Yunze wanted to stop her, but he didn’t have the strength right now, so he just lay there and let her do her thing.

He trusted Jiang Sui’s skills. If she said she’d make him comfortable, she’d make him comfortable.

Lu Yunze just lay there, waiting for the comfort to arrive.

But instead, Jiang Sui walked over to his side and pressed a towel against his face.

“What’s this?”

“For wiping down the Young Master’s body. I was worried the water temperature might be too hot.”

“Is the temperature right?”

“What’s this?”

“The comfort you mentioned—this is it?”

“What else would it be? Was the Young Master thinking about something else?”

Jiang Sui narrowed her eyes slightly, and the way she stuck out her tongue to lick her lips was full of allure.

Lu Yunze’s mouth twitched. He continued lying there.

Seeing his expression, Jiang Sui was endlessly amused inside.

If he really wanted it that badly, she wouldn’t mind letting him have a good time.

Unfortunately, the body wipe hadn’t even begun when she heard noises from outside. It sounded like Luo Yao and the others had returned.

Lu Yunze didn’t stay lying down either. He got up and walked to the living room, stepping out to see Luo Yao and Luo Heng sitting there.

Their clothes were all dirty, looking like they’d been through a big battle.

“Brother Lu, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Just don’t remember how I got back.

He then asked Jiang Sui what had happened, and she said it was actually the Hidden One who had helped.

That figure he’d seen before losing consciousness—could it really have been the Hidden One?

When had she followed them to this city?

Wait, why was she everywhere?

Lu Yunze strongly suspected the Hidden One was after him too.

Luo Yao had brought back the police station’s battle report. They’d arrived just in time to provide support, successfully preventing the Revival Society members from rescuing their leader.

“So that man really was their leader?”

“Yep, I got it straight from one of the enemies’ mouths.”

Luo Yao puffed out her chest proudly, but Lu Yunze, having grown accustomed to impacts at tank level, felt nothing from the gesture anymore.

“Can’t believe we caught the Revival Society’s supreme leader that easily.”

“That’s why they were in such a panic.”

Luo Yao shrugged.

The police station had been on the verge of collapse, but fortunately Luo Yao and the others arrived in time and turned the tide. Not only did they stop their scheme, but they also added a few new occupants to the jail cells—a bumper harvest, all things considered.

Tonight had been a truly harrowing night. A perfectly fine banquet suddenly turned into all this, and everyone was exhausted.

Still, the ending was decent enough. Everyone could get a good night’s sleep tonight.

The next day, everyone returned to their usual leisure, waiting for results from the Execution Division and the police station.

That evening, Jiang Sui finished her day’s work and returned to her bedroom, planning to take a bath before going to pester Lu Yunze.

The moment she stepped inside, she saw the black cat crouched by the bed, staring intently at a water basin.

Jiang Sui curiously leaned in to look, and found that the water in the basin was displaying images like an electronic screen.

The image first showed a desolate wilderness, then zoomed in to an unfinished building. It shifted again, revealing a woman with only one arm left.

Before Jiang Sui could get a good look at the woman’s face, the image grew blurry and reverted to ordinary water, reflecting Jiang Sui’s puzzled little expression.

“What is this?”

“A secret art for tracking Gu Lan.”

“Huh?”

The black cat chuckled. “You didn’t think I’d really done nothing, did you?”

Jiang Sui narrowed her eyes slightly. “We set out now.”

“In such a hurry?”

“We can’t let her get away.”

As the black cat had said, Gu Lan was someone with an extremely strong desire for revenge.

There was no danger right now only because she was still nursing her wounds.

Once she recovered sufficiently, she would inevitably return in full force, bringing even greater danger.

Rather than defending passively, it was better to strike first.

Jiang Sui took out the grey-white robe from her storage bracelet and draped it over her shoulders.

“Tonight, it’s time to go hunting.”