After Changing to the Ruthless Way, the Brothers Cried and Begged for Forgiveness-Chapter 456: When Immortals Fight, the Little Ones Suffer
Although Tuo Ba Jing was praising Cui Jue, he felt no joy; to her, he was amusing at best, a plaything to be toyed with.
Tuo Ba Jing lowered her voice: “Cui Jue, let me give you some advice. While I’m still interested in you, you’d better squeeze a few more benefits out of me; otherwise the days ahead will be hard.”
Cui Jue’s gaze darkened. He understood perfectly well what she was implying. Because Tuo Ba Jing had once pursued him in public, more than a few of her admirers had come to give him trouble and even laid hands on him. Only after Tuo Ba Jing harshly warned them off did he enjoy a brief period of peace. But that peace was only temporary; once she lost interest, those people would return, and he was no match for them. His end was easy to imagine. This was why he had started over with Alchemy: he had to become an inner disciple of Bei Ming Palace to have the power to protect himself.
He knew all this better than anyone, yet hearing her say it still left him with the humiliation of trampled dignity. Back in Five Elements Dao Sect, he had always been the one others fawned over, not someone wagging his tail to beg for favor.
She added casually: “By the way, I just saw a few people drag off that nominal junior brother of yours. I wonder what new tricks they’ve thought up to ‘entertain’ him.”
Cui Jue had only one such nominal junior brother—Quan Ye. He jerked his head up to find Tuo Ba Jing smiling with that half-amused, half-mocking look. He clenched his fists, his voice colder than usual: “Take me there, Tuo Ba Jing.”
Tuo Ba Jing smiled, crooking a finger at him: “Come with me.”
Cui Jue followed, his steps a little too quick. Ever since the four senior and junior brothers had drifted into Bei Ming Realm, past grudges felt as if they’d been left behind in the cultivation world; here, the only people they could trust were one another. If any one of them was in danger, there was no way Cui Jue would sit by and watch.
Cui Jue’s Alchemy worksite lay on the outskirts of Bei Ming Palace. Tuo Ba Jing led him through several twists and turns to an inconspicuous little courtyard. From the outside it looked clean and tranquil, a tasteful retreat. But once the door opened, another world spread within.
Frenzied shouts battered the ear. The stands were crammed with inner and outer sect disciples; some waved betting slips in excitement, others beat their chests red-eyed with regret. Below the stands stretched a wide platform. At its center, a burly man faced off against a massive demonic beast. The ground was smeared with blood and clumps of fur. For an instant, Cui Jue forgot to breathe.
“Don’t worry, the one down there isn’t your junior brother; his turn hasn’t come yet,” Tuo Ba Jing said with a light laugh.
Just then, the steward of the little gambling pit hustled over, beaming: “Senior Sister Tuo Ba, what an honor to have you visit today; this junior brother is truly overwhelmed!”
“Save it. The one Su Lie and the others brought in—hand him over,” Tuo Ba Jing said, clearly on familiar terms, and asked for Quan Ye without preamble.
Yi Chuan darted a glance at Cui Jue, then at Tuo Ba Jing, his face tightening with embarrassment: “Senior Sister Tuo Ba, it’s not that I won’t give you face, but Senior Brother Han and a few others named that fellow Quan Ye to fight, and they’ve placed heavy bets. You see how it is…”
At the words Senior Brother Han, something rippled through Cui Jue’s eyes. Han Jing Zhi was one of Tuo Ba Jing’s suitors; he had nearly broken Cui Jue’s arm once. Because Tuo Ba Jing had shielded Cui Jue, Han had turned his attention to Quan Ye. In the end, it was still for Cui Jue’s sake that they were targeting someone else.
A crease formed between Tuo Ba Jing’s brows. She had meant to use this matter to earn Cui Jue’s good will; she hadn’t expected it to be entangled with her name and backfire.
“Where’s Han Jing Zhi? Take me to him,” she said. Since they had run into him, she couldn’t ignore it; besides, she loathed him throwing her name around to bully others.
Yi Chuan looked as if he’d been pardoned: “This way, Senior Sister.”
Above the stands was a hidden tier of private rooms that received only Bei Ming Palace’s elite disciples. Outside one such room, they could already hear the braying laughter within. Tuo Ba Jing didn’t stand on ceremony; she kicked the door in. The resounding bang startled those inside. Han Jing Zhi opened his mouth to curse; seeing Tuo Ba Jing, his face lit up with delight: “A Jing, did you come specially to see me?”
His delight didn’t last; the moment he saw Cui Jue behind her, it curdled: “Why did you bring him? Is this the kind of place he’s fit to step into?”
“He came with me. Do you have an objection?” Tuo Ba Jing said.
“Heh, how would I dare object to the great young miss of the Tuo Ba clan?” he drawled.
“Then stop the nonsense and hand over Quan Ye,” she said.
“Quan Ye? Who’s that? I don’t know him. Do any of you?” Han Jing Zhi said, playing dumb, and turned to his cronies.
“Never heard of him; why would we remember some stray cat or mongrel!” one snorted. “You must have asked the wrong people, young miss,” another chimed in.
Han Jing Zhi shrugged: “See? None of us knows.”
Tuo Ba Jing seized on his words: “So you say you don’t know him? Fine; I’ll take him away now. Yi Chuan, you heard Young Master Han; hand the person over to me.”
Under Han Jing Zhi’s murderous stare, Yi Chuan gave a pained smile: “Senior sister, don’t make sport of me. If I hand him over, Young Master Han will have my arena smashed to rubble.”
Right in front of Cui Jue, Yi Chuan refused Tuo Ba Jing again and again. Annoyance flared in her eyes: “If you won’t hand him over, then I’ll smash your arena right now.”
Yi Chuan was one step short of dropping to his knees and clutching her leg in noisy tears. [When immortals fight, the little ones suffer. What did I do to deserve this.]
He pleaded to both sides: “Senior Sister Tuo Ba, Senior Brother Han, it’s all my fault, all of it; please don’t make things hard for me.”
Cui Jue finally spoke, his voice level: “Senior Brother Han, what will it take for you to let my junior brother go?”
Han Jing Zhi curled his lip: “Oh? So you can talk after all. I thought you only knew how to play dumb and hide behind a woman to let her fight your battles.”
Cui Jue ignored the bait and looked at him calmly. That cloudless, aloof bearing was precisely what Han Jing Zhi hated. He tipped his chin and said coldly: “Kneel and kowtow three times, and I’ll consider whether to spare your junior brother.”
“You’re going too far,” Tuo Ba Jing snapped.
“Tuo Ba Jing, this is between me and him; stay out of it,” Han Jing Zhi shot back.
“His business is my business,” she said.
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Chapter 456: When Immortals Fight, the Little Ones Suffer
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