Chapter 204 An Unexpected Surprise
The hairs on the back of Jiang Che's neck stood on end, and he even wanted to immediately reveal his identity and take action.
Although the woman before him was enchanting and beautiful, that air of being a woman of loose morals seemed to seep from her very bones—perhaps from the highest seat to the lowest kitchen worker in her sect, few hadn't tasted her rouge.
His stomach churned, and he almost couldn't maintain his disguise as "Miao Si."
A pair of jade arms that a thousand men have pillowed, half a bit of red lips that ten thousand men have tasted—how could he look down on such a woman, let alone have intimate relations with her.
But to suffer a disadvantage without extracting any information felt too unfair. With a sudden inspiration—
"Sister..." he suddenly took out the Life Buddha from his robe and shook it, "Cough cough... I just received a message. We should focus on the important matter."
He didn't know the identity of the person on the other end of the Life Buddha, so he had to be vague.
Miao Zhen's body, which was about to press against him, suddenly froze.
Jiang Che's heart sank, thinking he had been exposed.
Fortunately, her kohl-painted nails froze in mid-air, and the charming smile on Miao Zhen's face faded slightly: "Brother Miao Wu?"
So that person was called Miao Wu...
Jiang Che took the opportunity to take half a step back.
"Heh~" Miao Zhen suddenly sneered, her red lips curling into a mocking arc, "He can't cultivate the Joy Zen himself, and now he's taught you to be a block of wood too."
Although she said this, she truly didn't move closer, instead straightening her disheveled gauze clothing.
Jiang Che secretly breathed a sigh of relief, only then realizing his back was soaked with sweat.
...
The mist over the Black Water Pool grew even thicker, almost becoming substantial.
As Miao Zhen turned, her light gauze skirt swept across the damp rocks, making a faint rustling sound.
"Brother, please follow me," she turned her face, her eyes holding a hint of reproach, "Since Brother Miao Wu has spoken, if we delay any further and miss the appointed time, it will be difficult to explain."
Jiang Che pretended to cough weakly, but intentionally slowed his steps, maintaining a just-right distance from her.
The jagged, strange rocks by the pool were faintly visible in the mist, like countless crouching beasts.
"Sister is right," he deliberately sighed, "It's just this injury of mine... I wonder how Brother Miao Wu and Brother Miao Qing are preparing?"
"Brother Miao Qing?"
Miao Zhen suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Jiang Che's heart skipped a beat, realizing his carelessness, but his expression remained unchanged, still looking sickly: "I was talking about Brother Miao Wu. What's wrong?"
"Oh, I thought brother was suddenly concerned about that bitch Miao Qing today," her red lips curved slightly, but a flash of suspicion appeared in her eyes, "Didn't you used to find her the most annoying?"
Cold sweat broke out on Jiang Che's back, but he showed a bitter smile: "It's just... I've been injured these past few days, hiding away, afraid of delaying important matters. My mind didn't react for a moment..."
"Pfft—" Miao Zhen suddenly laughed, twirling a strand of hair with her fingertip, "That's right... How could brother be interested in Miao Qing? But don't worry, brother. Besides us, Miao Qing is currently busy setting up the formation over at 'Broken Dragon Ravine'. As for Brother Miao Wu..."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she seemed to realize something, her gaze suddenly sharpening.
Jiang Che's heart pounded like a drum, but he pretended not to notice her change, continuing to probe along the thread of conversation: "What about Brother Miao Wu?"
"Brother Miao Si!" Miao Zhen suddenly turned around, her gauze dress tracing an arc in the mist, "Since you were arranged by Brother Miao Wu to help, didn't he tell you where he was?"
Her voice abruptly stopped.
Jiang Che noticed a strange red glow emanating from her fingertips and immediately realized something was wrong—he had asked too hastily.
The mist by the pool suddenly churned violently. The charming expression on Miao Zhen's face vanished, replaced by a chilling killing intent: "Or could it be that brother... you are something else in disguise?"
"Cough cough... Sister, you're overthinking. Who else could I be disguised as..."
Jiang Che responded while knowing that continuing the act would only make things worse. He immediately circulated his spiritual energy, and the hidden talisman in his sleeve was ready to be unleashed.
Just at this tense moment—
"Splash!"
A water column suddenly erupted from the center of the Black Water Pool, and a muffled, thunder-like roar came from the bottom of the pool.
Both of them changed color. They saw the pool water rotate as if stirred by an invisible giant hand, forming a huge vortex.
Miao Zhen, forgetting to press further, exclaimed in alarm: "What's happening? Did the array core activate ahead of schedule?!"
The surface of the Black Water Pool suddenly churned violently. The originally dead water began to boil, gurgling and releasing large bubbles.
A dull rumble came from the bottom of the pool, as if some enormous creature was awakening.
Miao Zhen's face changed drastically, and she no longer cared about continuing to question Jiang Che.
After all, even Miao Wu hadn't detected any problem, and she was just testing. But if there was an issue with the array core, it was a major problem. Even if she returned to the Heavenly Sound Palace later, she wouldn't escape punishment.
She hurried to the edge of the pool, staring at the expanding vortex, her fingertips unconsciously tightening the cuff of her gauze sleeve.
"How could this happen..." she muttered to herself, her voice tinged with panic, "The time hasn't come yet..."
Jiang Che stood behind her, secretly relieved. He deliberately coughed twice, pretending to be weak as he asked: "Sister, what's going on?"
Miao Zhen didn't turn around, her tone urgent: "There's a problem with the array core! I have to go down and check!"
As she spoke, she was about to jump into the pool water, but suddenly remembered something and sharply turned to stare at Jiang Che: "Brother, just wait on the shore. Don't wander off!"
Those charming eyes were now filled with anxiety, with none of their earlier allure.
Jiang Che quickly nodded: "Don't worry, sister. In this state, I can't help much..."
Miao Zhen bit her lip, as if wanting to say something more, but the disturbance in the pool water grew more intense. Finally, she stomped her foot, formed a water avoidance hand seal, and leaped into the Black Water Pool.
With a "plop," her figure was instantly swallowed by the black pool water.
Jiang Che let out a long sigh of relief but immediately realized—why did the problem have to occur now, of all times?
He quickly looked around and indeed saw a familiar figure in the shadow of a nearby rock—
Han Yu was crouching behind a protruding rock, winking at him.
"Senior brother!" Jiang Che sighed using the sound transmission technique, "Why are you here?"
Han Yu's voice directly sounded in his mind: "The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I felt, so I followed to check. As expected, your disguise as 'Miao Si' was full of holes. If I had been any later, you would have been exposed."
Jiang Che smiled wryly: "I didn't expect this woman to be so difficult... But this sudden disturbance in the pool water, was it your doing, senior brother?"
Han Yu behind the rock smugly raised an eyebrow: "I saw how lifeless this pool water was, so I added some 'seasoning'."
"What kind of seasoning?"
Han Yu smiled without answering.
Jiang Che suddenly understood.
The spiritual liquid in senior brother's Immortal Gourd was full of life force, while this Black Water Pool was lifeless. Their attributes clearly conflicted. A single drop of spiritual liquid would immediately disrupt the balance of yin energy in the pool.
"As expected of senior brother." Jiang Che sincerely praised, "But that demon woman will soon discover the problem. When she comes up..."
"When she comes up, we'll make our move together." Han Yu narrowed his eyes, his hand already on the hilt of his sword, "She's eager to check the array core, so she definitely won't be on guard against the 'Miao Si' on the shore."
"So that's how it is... Senior brother is brilliant!" The two exchanged a smile.
...
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