Chapter 1462: Neither Release Nor Kill

There was no possibility Consort Yuan would fail to recognize him.

She had followed Yuan Se for many years and had seen Sacred Venerable Daluo more times than she could count. Luo Qiu had visited Dayuan Sacred Land on more than one or two occasions, and she had personally received him many times.

One glance was enough to make her heart sink to the bottom.

Her first thought was simple.

Yuan Se had seized Luo Fangfei, so Luo Qiu had retaliated in kind and come to seize her.

With her level of strength, there was absolutely no possibility of escaping from Luo Qiu.

Nor could Luo Qiu possibly have happened to appear here by coincidence.

This was a trap!

Consort Yuan instantly understood.

She whipped her head toward the Ghost Doctor and his disciples and shouted harshly, “Have you all grown tired of living?”

Luo Qiu spoke. “This has nothing to do with them. They were forced into it as well. Of course, if you no longer want that eye of yours, you may kill them. I will not stop you.”

Consort Yuan turned to face him and dipped slightly in greeting. “Greetings, Sacred Venerable Daluo. I did not know the Sacred Venerable was here. I have disturbed you. I will take my leave first.”

Luo Qiu paid no attention to the courtesy.

He turned and walked into the inner room. “If you do not want to die, follow me.”

Once he disappeared from sight, Consort Yuan stood hesitating.

Going after him felt wrong.

Refusing to go felt just as wrong.

The key was that she could not escape.

Acting on impulse would only bring suffering down on her own head.

For now, all she could do was glare viciously at the Ghost Doctor and his disciples.

Wuxiang shifted over and placed himself in front of the Ghost Doctor, fully alert.

Given Wuxiang’s strength, Consort Yuan might not necessarily be his match.

Consort Yuan looked back toward the courtyard outside, her gaze locking onto Yan Baoru.

How could she possibly fail to understand now that Yan Baoru’s appearance inside the city had been bait?

These people had been painstakingly meticulous in drawing her here. To keep her from becoming suspicious, they had not directly mentioned the Ghost Doctor at all. Instead they had let Yan Baoru appear and left Consort Yuan to infer for herself that the Ghost Doctor might also have come.

Yuan Fang!

Consort Yuan ground her teeth at the thought of him.

She could now be certain that the demon monk had to be the inside man.

Why could Yuan Fang not simply have happened to encounter Yan Baoru? Why could it not truly have been coincidence?

The reasoning was simple.

The entire affair, from beginning to end, was a trap. These people had been waiting here for her. To make certain she entered the trap, they first had to guarantee that the information about “Yan Baoru” reached her ears.

How could they guarantee that?

Yuan Fang was obviously the crucial link.

She had never imagined it. Truly never.

Yuan Se had already promised that demon monk a future, yet the monk still dared betray him.

He truly had grown tired of living!

If anyone else had passed her the information, she might have become suspicious. This was an unusual period, and she did not dare leave Maolu Annex lightly.

But Yuan Fang was different.

What she could not understand was why betraying Yuan Se to seek shelter under Luo Qiu would make any sense for Yuan Fang.

What possible benefit could there be in doing such a thing?

A figure appeared again in the doorway to the inner room.

It was Sha Rulai.

He said, “Do I need to invite you in personally?”

Consort Yuan drew a deep breath and walked over warily.

Only after entering did she discover that a tunnel had already been excavated beneath the floor.

Sha Rulai stood beside the entrance and extended a hand. “The Sacred Venerable is waiting for you below.”

Consort Yuan casually tossed her veiled hat toward him, then slowly descended.

The tunnel was not long.

After only a few zhang, it opened into an underground chamber.

The room was completely empty, with no furnishings at all. The light was dim.

Luo Qiu stood with his hands clasped behind his back, staring at a crude oil lamp resting in a niche in the wall.

Matters had already reached this point. Resistance was meaningless.

Consort Yuan simply lowered her guard. “You want to exchange me for your daughter?”

Luo Qiu turned his head toward her. “Good question. Do you think Fatty Yuan would agree to an exchange in order to save you?”

The words made Consort Yuan uncomfortable. “Wasn’t that the reason you lured me here?”

Luo Qiu said, “You think too highly of your place in Fatty Yuan’s heart. Or perhaps you simply do not know why Fatty Yuan seized my daughter.”

“He would not have touched her without reason. Since he acted, he certainly did not do so for nothing.”

“Exchange you for her?”

“Your life is not worth that much. Fatty Yuan would never agree.”

“In truth, even without me saying it, you yourself have no confidence that he would.”

Consort Yuan did not enjoy hearing such words. “Did the Sacred Venerable lure me here merely to sow discord? You should understand that if you refuse to release me, my Sacred Venerable will not release your daughter either.”

Luo Qiu said, “I already told you. You overestimate your own value.”

“Whether I kill you or release you, Yuan Se will not easily let my daughter go. There is no point dwelling on that.”

“Let us discuss the real matter.”

“From today onward, follow me.”

Consort Yuan laughed. “Did I hear that correctly? The Sacred Venerable went to all this trouble merely to poach my lord’s trusted retainer?”

Luo Qiu said, “Open your ears and listen carefully. Whatever Yuan Se can give you, I can give you. Whatever Yuan Se cannot give you, I can give you as well.”

Consort Yuan smiled charmingly. “Could it be that the Sacred Venerable still has a Wuliang Fruit available for me?”

“Yuan Se cannot give you an eye. I can.”

Consort Yuan looked doubtful. “You can?”

She could not imagine what method he might have for restoring her missing eye.

Luo Qiu said, “Consort Yuan, why are you being so slow? Can you not see?”

“The lives of the Ghost Doctor and his disciples are in my hands.”

“The people capable of healing your eye are in my hands.”

“Do you still not understand?”

Consort Yuan suddenly understood.

Her expression changed drastically.

Luo Qiu stared at her coldly. “If I am displeased, I can kill master and disciples whenever I like.”

“If I kill them, Fatty Yuan will say nothing. That old demoness Granny Xue will say nothing. Wu Chang will say nothing. The same goes for everyone else.”

“If I kill these people, they simply die. Whether they live or not depends entirely on my mood.”

“So tell me.”

“Do you want me to kill them, or do you not want me to kill them?”

Consort Yuan’s breathing became slightly hurried.

She stared at him fixedly.

At the very least, she understood one thing very clearly.

With Luo Qiu personally involved, there was absolutely no possibility of rescuing the Ghost Doctor and his disciples from his hands.

Luo Qiu said blandly, “Such a beautiful woman, yet missing one eye. What a pity.”

A complicated expression crossed Consort Yuan’s face.

After weighing the situation, she seemed to force herself into a difficult decision.

Through clenched teeth, she said, “Kill me or cut me apart as you please!”

Luo Qiu nodded. “No wonder Fatty Yuan values you. You do possess some backbone.”

“I like people with backbone.”

“Good.”

“If you are willing to endure being cut to pieces, if even death does not frighten you, then threatening you over a mere eye truly is unnecessary.”

“There is no need for me to play the petty villain for nothing.”

“If you can give up an eye... fine.”

“I will not make things difficult for you.”

“You may leave.”

Consort Yuan froze.

She could hardly believe it.

He was letting her go this easily?

Yet logically, a man of Luo Qiu’s standing would not make a promise like this at such a moment and then break his word.

Still, she found it difficult to believe and tried asking, “You truly intend to let me leave just like that?”

Luo Qiu said, “Do I have any reason to deceive you? Leave if you want to leave. Stay if you want to stay. Decide for yourself.”

Consort Yuan slowly backed away two steps and cupped her hands. “The Sacred Venerable is magnanimous beyond anything I can match. I thank the Sacred Venerable for your tolerance. I will take my leave.”

With that, she turned and began walking away.

Then Luo Qiu’s voice sounded behind her.

“There is one matter I forgot to remind you about.”

“I can let you go, but I will not release the Ghost Doctor and his disciples.”

Consort Yuan stopped and looked partly back. “I am already endlessly grateful that the Sacred Venerable is willing to spare me. As for master and disciples, I no longer expect anything. Their lives are simply bitter enough that they fell into the Sacred Venerable’s hands.”

Luo Qiu said, “I will not kill them either.”

“I will keep them alive.”

“And I will let Fatty Yuan know that the people capable of healing your eye are in my hands.”

“That is all.”

Consort Yuan’s remaining eye widened sharply.

Her whole body trembled as though struck by lightning.

Slowly, she turned back and stared at him.

Grief and fury began rising in her gaze.

Luo Qiu said blandly, “Why such a strong reaction?”

“Ah. Right.”

“You have followed Fatty Yuan for so many years. You should understand at least something of what sort of man he is.”

“You say that rather than betray him, you would prefer death and would rather give up that eye. I witnessed that myself, so I believe you.”

“But will Fatty Yuan believe you?”

He shook his head slightly.

“Perhaps he will. He probably should believe you.”

“But the people who can restore your beautiful appearance are in my hands. Who can know whether you might change your mind one day?”

“One does not allow someone with hidden intentions to remain beside one’s bed.”

“As for how Fatty Yuan will treat you afterward, I can roughly guess it. You can probably guess it too.”

“He will inevitably become cautious and suspicious of you. Before long, he will drive you out of the center of power at Dayuan Sacred Land.”

“You will no longer be his trusted confidante.”

“Perhaps you will no longer even be permitted to approach him closely.”

“Whether that will happen or not, you understand better than anyone.”

“Once you lose your power, you will no longer enjoy the prestige you once possessed in Dayuan Sacred Land.”

“Whoever rises to replace you will also have to guard against your return to power.”

“Your days will become difficult.”

“If you manage to end your life peacefully, that alone will be fortunate.”

“Consort Yuan, you are an intelligent woman.”

“Is it truly worth risking your life for such a man, only for him not to appreciate your loyalty at all?”

The grief and anger on Consort Yuan’s face could no longer be hidden. “This is what you call letting me go?”

Luo Qiu said, “I am helping you.”

“I want your eye healed as quickly as possible.”

“The Ghost Doctor said that finding a compatible eye for transplantation is not easy.”

“He also said that your own eye is the most perfectly compatible eye of all.”

“The eye you are missing is now sitting in Yuan Se’s socket.”

“I intend to help you take it back.”

Consort Yuan was shocked. “You want to kill him?”

The meaning was obvious.

If Yuan Se was not killed, how could anyone possibly dig that eye back out of his face?

Luo Qiu said, “There is nothing so shocking about it. Does he not want to kill me as well? He merely has never had the opportunity.”

“Consort Yuan, is a man who could gouge out your eye with his own hands truly worth serving with your life?”

“The Ghost Doctor and his disciples are in my hands.”

“So long as we obtain that eye, they can treat you immediately.”

“You will soon be restored to exactly what you were before.”

“Now that matters have reached this point, do you truly still need much time to decide?”

Consort Yuan said bitterly, “If he were so easy to strike at, why would you have waited until today?”

Luo Qiu replied, “That is precisely why I came to you.”

“You are the one who arranges the affairs around him.”

“How to act against him depends on your ability.”

“With you cooperating as an inside agent, matters should become much easier.”

“You need not worry that I will burn the bridge after crossing it either.”

“I will guarantee your safety afterward.”

“My disciple Lu Zhichang is already on his way here.”

“He is unmarried. Once he arrives, he will formally marry you as his wife.”

“How your relationship as husband and wife develops afterward is not something I can guarantee. That will depend on the two of you.”

“For now, this is merely to give you the protection of a legitimate status.”

“I am not going to casually kill my own disciple’s wife.”

“In the future, at Daluo Sacred Land, you may no longer possess the authority you enjoy now, but you will have no worries about food or clothing.”

“At the very least, your life will not be in danger.”

“And your appearance will be restored.”

Consort Yuan clenched her teeth. “I am Yuan Se’s woman. Everyone knows it. How could Lu Zhichang possibly accept me?”

Luo Qiu said, “You worry too much.”

“Taking Yuan Se’s woman as his wife would hardly disgrace him.”

“Once he has married you, you can make your move. What would you still have to fear?”

[End of Chapter 1462]