"Hmph~"
Feixiao let out a light laugh. She couldn't care less about Jade's mocking skepticism.
First, her conscience was clear.
Her own quota for the week really was maxed out—but Jingliu's wasn't.
That woman was a pure, spotless black-account with no registered identity!
The former Sword Champion had long been a taboo of the Xianzhou. Though the Xianzhou leadership still felt deep remorse over the tragedy of that year, the evidence surrounding the Imbibitor Lunae Rebellion was ironclad.
Since they couldn't overturn the case, the Xianzhou upper brass could not restore Jingliu's identity. The best they could do was pretend not to see her and grant her a "secret" freedom.
In any other matter, this kind of unclear status would be nothing but trouble.
But here? It was different.
What did a treaty between the Xianzhou Alliance and the Interastral Peace Corporation have to do with an interstellar fugitive?
And the second reason she didn't care about Jade—well, that was simple: fists.
The Vanquishing General sat boldly in the resting area. One hand picked up a snack from the tea table, the other rested lazily on the chair's back.
Faced with the murderous glares of the three IPC members, she only tilted her head and smiled.
I'm sitting right here. Can any of you even cut off a single strand of my hair?
Strength—that was the confidence behind her sloppy lie moments ago.
Yes, I'm messing with you. So what?!
If she weren't a general with the obligation to maintain the Xianzhou Alliance's dignity, she'd have started opening trash cans herself already!
Times had changed. When this shop first opened, the gap between the Xianzhou Alliance and the Interastral Peace Corporation wasn't so large. If the IPC wanted a share, the Xianzhou Alliance couldn't ignore the bigger picture of their war against the Denizens of Abundance.
But with over a dozen purple and gold tier Curios acquired, and with Luofu alone adding three Emanator-level combatants—did the Interastral Peace Corporation still have the guts to start a war now?
Great, then—who wants to take the first wave?
Diamond? Or Taravan?
With such an overwhelming disparity in power, the mere fact that the Xianzhou was still honoring the treaty was proof that their moral burden was absurdly high.
If the Interastral Peace Corporation were in Xianzhou's position? Hah.
Those directors fattening themselves by breaking promises to weaker forces—wasn't that already a repeated pattern?
"Hmm…"
Jade let out a long breath to expel the annoyance in her chest.
She didn't fear arguing with Feixiao; after all, commercial negotiation was indisputably her home field. Across the whole cosmos, none could solidly surpass her in that domain.
But Feixiao insisted on acting like some shameless rascal—there was simply nothing Jade could do.
What made it worse was that Feixiao had her left leg crossed over her right, swinging idly, a snack dangling from her mouth as if she had already eaten the three of them alive.
To dismiss them so blatantly—wasn't that far too arrogant?
Though the three of them, when facing the Vanquishing General on Luofu, couldn't even hope to win—couldn't even hope to run—
This kind of open provocation was something the Xianzhou had never done before.
Times truly had changed.
Even the Xianzhou was beginning to grow overbearing.
If they were truly suppressed like this, the three of them personally would be fine.
But where would the Interastral Peace Corporation's face go?!
Thankfully, she wasn't completely without options.
Jade ignored Feixiao and stepped forward with overlapping steps, stopping before little Jingliu.
She smoothed her hair, crouched down at Jingliu's side, lowering herself below the girl's eye level. A classic tactic for getting close to a child.
Jade's smile grew bright and warm, like a gentle older sister.
"Little one, is she your aunt?"
She cast Feixiao a subtle, meaningful smile.
Clashing head-on with the General? Hah. Did Feixiao think members of the Strategic Investment Department lacked strategic composure?
I can't beat you. But I can trick you.
But if I scare this child away, how will you open your trash cans? Won't you just have to tuck your tail and leave?
As a Xianzhou General, would you really tear your face off with us and humiliate the Xianzhou's reputation?
Jingliu lightly tapped her small foot. Her long waterfall-like hair fell forward, blocking Jade behind her. A childish yet icy voice rang out.
"No."
Though she disliked being treated as a child, being randomly assigned a "relative" was far more uncomfortable.
So, she simply and bluntly exposed Feixiao's lie.
At those words, Jade's face brightened.
So easy? She thought the girl would at least try defending Feixiao a little.
This saved her quite a bit of trouble.
Peering past Jingliu's small body, Jade lifted her chin and gave Feixiao a soft, womanly smile.
But the threatening intent within it was unmistakable.
Aventurine let out a soft whistle as he observed the scene.
Games of strategy truly existed everywhere.
Facing off against an Arbiter-General—how invigorating.
If they could pressure the Vanquishing General here, it would greatly benefit his colleagues working on Yaoqing.
As for failure…
Heh. When it came to brainwork, he was confident Jade would never lose to Feixiao!
Sure enough, with just a few words, Jade had reversed the situation.
But when he turned toward Feixiao, he did not see the familiar mixture of bluster and panic he had seen on countless "clients."
Feixiao remained utterly calm. She waved at him casually—then even waved at the little girl as if encouraging them to go ahead and trick her.
If the opponent wanted them to do something—could it possibly be good for them?
Aventurine felt a chill run through his heart.
But this was their only path now. He couldn't find a reason to withdraw.
What if Feixiao was pretending, luring them into backing out on their own? It wasn't impossible…
He looked back at Jade, hoping everything would go smoothly.
Seeing Jingliu turn away, Jade followed persistently. Her voice remained warm.
"Mm, little one, you're very honest. That's a wonderful trait."
"So, tell big sister—did you really want to open the trash can? Think carefully, okay? The trash can is very expensive, one million each. If that fox-lady fails to keep her promise, you'll owe a huge amount. Your parents will definitely spank your bottom. You were so honest earlier—if you lie now, that makes you a big bad kid."
To Jade, Feixiao had clearly come targeting them specifically. This child she brought along must not be some trained veteran actor—probably just someone she grabbed from the street.
The girl's straightforward exposure of Feixiao proved that point.
That made things simple. Negotiation always required matching the right tactic to the right opponent—and children were no exception.
A child's traits: bizarrely strong pride, and fear of parental punishment. Compared to those, money meant little—they had no real concept of it, so it wouldn't have the same impact.
Thus, Jade needed to elevate her with "honesty" while also instilling fear of the "consequences."
With these two forces, any child would fall right into step.
Vanquishing General, this last-minute scheme of yours isn't that impressive after all.
Jade looked at Feixiao with a smiling certainty of victory.
But when she lifted her head, she did not see a dark, gloomy face.
Instead, she saw an even more radiant, spring-like, confident fox-face.
"Hi." Feixiao waved at her cheerfully.
A sudden shiver ran down Jade's spine.
She didn't know what went wrong, but three words exploded in her mind—
I've been tricked!
Why?
Everything she did was per—
"Don't bother me while I'm opening trash cans."
The childish voice carried faint threads of anger.
Jade turned toward the sound.
Those innocent, startled eyes met a pair of cherry-red pupils.
But somehow, she felt an instinctive certainty—
Those eyes had once been blood-red.
Like the crimson eyes of the abominations she had once torn apart!
"You. Go away!"
The crisp voice delivered boundless calamity.
In an instant, the accumulated aura of Jingliu's repeated cycles of Samsara erupted. A terrifying force crashed onto the three of them like two stars colliding.
"Tss~"
Darkness swallowed their vision. Their heartbeats vanished from their own ears. Their five senses faded away the moment those simple words left the girl's mouth.
===BREAK===
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