Witch, don't do anything reckless!

Chapter 93 We Haven't Slept

"He dares?!"

Before Li Chuqiu could speak, Jiang Ning, who was standing next to her, had already stood up excitedly.

Her face was flushed, and her head was a little dizzy from the alcohol, but she still waved her little fists, looking fierce.

If he dares to bully you, I... I won't let him get away with it!

However, it seemed that she stood up a bit too abruptly. The moment she stood up, she felt dizzy and her legs went weak. Jiang Ning staggered a step and fell headfirst into Li Chuqiu's arms.

Li Chuqiu subconsciously reached out to help her up. Her soft, fragrant body wafted over, carrying a delicate and gentle scent—the pleasant fragrance of the young girl.

"ah!"

Jiang Ning realized she was being held by Li Chuqiu. Her body stiffened, and she panicked, trying to struggle to get up. But the alcohol was taking effect, and her body became increasingly weak and powerless. The more she struggled, the harder it was for her to get up; she seemed to be wriggling and squirming in Li Chuqiu's arms.

Are you alright?

Li Chuqiu gently supported the girl's slender waist, and she used the support to struggle up from his embrace. At this moment, the girl's face was flushed, the wine and rosy glow adorning her exquisite and beautiful face.

It's piping hot.

I'm so ashamed I can't face anyone!

"No, it's nothing—"

The girl lowered her head, looked away, and sat obediently and demurely to the side, her little face expressionless, pretending nothing was wrong.

But her increasingly flushed profile, and the crimson tinge that gradually spread up her translucent earlobes, betrayed her current emotions.

Li Chuqiu withdrew her gaze and met Xu Jinghong's shocked and admiring look.

He witnessed the whole thing and couldn't help but give Li Chuqiu a thumbs up.

clothes!

I'm truly impressed!

Li Chuqiu ignored his gaze and continued, "Tell me about Xu Guanlan, is he also a cultivator?"

"nature."

"What is his current strength?"

"It should be the sixth realm, I'm not sure exactly, but it shouldn't be the fifth realm yet."

"Compared to you?"

Xu Jinghong shrugged: "Of course he's better than me—he's the eldest son of the Xu family, enjoying the family's generous treatment since childhood, with all kinds of cultivation resources poured into him, making his cultivation path extremely smooth—"

At this point, as if coming back to her senses, Xu Jinghong looked at Li Chuqiu with suspicion.

Why are you asking this?

"Just asking."

Xu Jinghong, however, did not believe it.

He knew this kid; he was definitely not that simple.

As if realizing something, a serious look appeared on Xu Jinghong's face: "You wouldn't be thinking of harming him, would you?"

Li Chuqiu retorted, "Didn't you say he would target me?"

"I can't just do nothing and wait for him to come and kill me, can I?"

Xu Jinghong remained silent. Indeed.

He only remembered that Xu Guanlan would not let this go, but he overlooked the fact that Li Chuqiu in front of him was no pushover.

He was able to kill the remnant soul clone of the Blood Demon while being a seventh-realm martial artist, and even Feng Wuhen, who was at the sixth realm, died at his hands.

He is no ordinary seventh-realm martial artist.

Anyone who dares to underestimate this kid will pay a heavy price.

"So what do you plan to do?" Xu Jinghong asked.

Li Chuqiu shook her head: "I haven't thought about it yet."

Xu Jinghong remained silent for a moment before speaking, "His cultivation should be around the upper or peak of the sixth realm, stronger than Feng Wuhen. Besides him, the most worrisome threat is that old man."

Li Chuqiu spoke up: "You mean that old man behind him today?"

"Exactly."

Xu Jinghong nodded: "That's a retainer of the Xu family, with at least the peak of the fifth realm, or even the fourth realm of cultivation. With him around, under normal circumstances, even if the two of us join forces, we're unlikely to have a chance."

"Who said we were going to team up to kill him?"

Li Chuqiu glanced at him, then shrugged, "I'm just a martial artist at the first three realms; I don't want to go and die!"

"real?"

Xu Jinghong didn't believe him and stared at him: "Then what do you plan to do?"

Let's take it one step at a time.

"I'm afraid you won't have the chance to see it!"

Xu Jinghong spoke up: "Xu Guanlan is ruthless and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. He's also the best at eliminating any potential threats—you've seen it yourself, even though I'm just coasting along in Yuhua City, he still doesn't trust me!"

"And you, as a subordinate of Deputy Commander Liu, will surely become a thorn in his side—so now, you probably only have one path left."

"What?"

Xu Jinghong's gaze held a deeper meaning: "Naturally, you should cling tightly to Vice Commander Liu's coattails—since they suspect you of having an affair with Vice Commander Liu, you might as well just confirm that suspicion—"

"As long as Deputy Commander Liu is willing to protect you, given her status, not only Xu Guanlan, but even the Second Prince behind him would have to think twice before trying to harm you!"

Silence, for a long while.

Li Chuqiu stared at Xu Jinghong: "Why do I have this feeling that you're using me again?"

"If I ruin the Second Prince's plans, he'll probably hate me to the core, won't he? And if he succeeds in the succession struggle and ascends the throne, will he let me off the hook?"

Xu Jinghong sneered: "Then let him never ascend the throne, never become emperor!"

"Besides, even if you do nothing now, the Second Prince will not tolerate your existence—it has already come to this point, whether you do something or not will not affect the outcome."

At this point, Xu Jinghong sighed deeply: "I originally thought things wouldn't develop so quickly, but now I have to admit that the situation has exceeded my expectations."

"Hold on to Vice Commander Liu's coattails; this is your best course of action right now!"

Li Chuqiu remained silent: "Is there no other choice?"

"Of course."

Xu Jinghong said, "Abandon your current identity, leave Yuhua City, change your name and escape their pursuit—as long as you stay away from Deputy Commander Liu and are no longer a threat to them, they should no longer go to great lengths to deal with an insignificant person."

"But your friends and family may also suffer, including your relatives and friends—they may be targeted and silenced."

The atmosphere inside the private room gradually became somewhat somber.

Li Chuqiu didn't say anything, picked up the wine bowl on the table, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Of course, there's another way—"

Xu Jinghong looked at Li Chuqiu: "You can become strong, strong enough that they all fear and are afraid of you—"

"Neither Xu Guanlan nor the Second Prince would openly attack you. Therefore, the most powerful person they could send would only be someone at the middle three realms—they don't have the guts, nor would they dare to send a master at the third realm!"

"In this way, once you reach the fourth realm, you'll have enough strength to protect yourself. Then you won't have to worry about their retaliation anymore—"

At this point, Xu Jinghong felt a pang of regret.

It sounds simple, but this guy in front of me is just a martial artist who can't even cultivate properly. He wants to advance from the seventh realm to the fourth?

That's nothing short of a pipe dream!

Li Chuqiu seemed to be deep in thought—the fourth realm?

"Of course, if you'd like, I can help you."

Xu Jinghong looked at Li Chuqiu: "No matter what, I also bear some responsibility for this matter—"

Li Chuqiu looked at him: "You have a plan?"

"no."

Li Chuqiu asked pointedly, "Haven't you figured out how to kill Xu Guanlan yet?"

silence.

look at each other.

After a long while.

Xu Jinghong sighed deeply: "I knew I hadn't misjudged you—you can't hide anything from me."

"To be precise, I need your help."

Li Chuqiu picked up her wine bowl and took a small sip: "Tell me about it?"

"Xu Guanlan's appearance in Yuhua City was an unexpected outcome I hadn't anticipated. But—"

A glint of unprecedented brilliance flashed in Xu Jinghong's eyes, accompanied by a sharp killing intent: "This is the best opportunity to eliminate him!"

"In the capital, he has the Xu family's protection, and I'm afraid I'll never have a chance in my lifetime. But in Yuhua City, it's different—"

"He doesn't have many guards; the biggest threat is that retainer—if we can distract him, we'll have a chance!"

"If you're willing to help, we can join forces to eliminate him—that way, with Xu Guanlan dead, your affair with Deputy Commander Liu can continue to be kept secret and delayed—"

Li Chuqiu spoke up: "Killing him is very risky, and the consequences would be severe."

"Therefore, we need to devise a comprehensive plan. An opportunity to kill him quietly without arousing suspicion."

Li Chuqiu looked at him: "Why do you want to kill him so badly? Is it because of your mother, or because of—that woman surnamed Su?"

Li Chuqiu's words caused Xu Jinghong to fall into a brief silence.

A look of sadness crossed his face, and after a long while, he gave a bitter laugh.

"Perhaps both are true."

"My mother's death may not have been directly related to him, but he can't escape being implicated either—"

"As for that woman—"

As if remembering something, Xu Jinghong was in a daze for a long time. He simply picked up the wine jar on the table and drank it all in one gulp.

"Bang!"

After a long while, the wine jar was placed on the table with a dull thud.

Xu Jinghong's face showed a hint of relief: "This has nothing to do with her; it's just that I misjudged people. Her choice wasn't actually wrong, after all, I'm just a illegitimate son with no future—"

From Xu Jinghong's few words, Li Chuqiu roughly understood the situation.

These two half-brothers, sharing the same father but different mothers, have been at odds since childhood. Xu Jinghong harbors hostility towards Xu Guanlan's branch of the family because of the cause of his mother's death and has always wanted to find out the truth.

Xu Guanlan was extremely wary of Xu Jinghong's existence and had always wanted to get rid of him; the two had a long-standing grudge.

But being a son of a concubine, Xu Jinghong couldn't compete with Xu Guanlan. In order to dispel Xu Guanlan's suspicions, he ultimately chose to leave the capital and come to Yuhua City to live a life of idleness and waiting for death.

It can be considered a form of self-abandonment.

And what made him like this was naturally because of that woman surnamed Su!

Falling into depravity because of love — an old trope!

The daughter of the Su family was Xu Jinghong's childhood sweetheart.

Unfortunately, like all clichéd stories, the childhood sweethearts eventually parted ways. The woman, for the sake of her family's future, chose the more promising Xu Guanlan.

Of course, this also includes the classic plot of someone stealing another's love!

This is also why Xu Guanlan deliberately brought up this matter to provoke Xu Jinghong.

It's obvious he stole his younger brother's girlfriend. He also knew how much this would affect Xu Jinghong, which is why he went to such lengths to get close to her.

"You can do that?"

Li Chuqiu asked in surprise, "If word gets out that you stole your brother's woman, won't anyone condemn you?"

"Ha, so what if they condemn us?"

Xu Jinghong sneered: "They're mutually in love, I'm just a loser—"

My condolences.

Xu Jinghong: "?"

"Actually, I'm not that sad, I just feel a little unwilling."

Xu Jinghong sighed deeply.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't sad, but so much time had passed, and he already knew that kind of person she was—there was really no need to be sad.

I just felt a little disgusted and uncomfortable.

"Don't you find this interesting?"

Li Chuqiu seemed to be deep in thought.

"Um?"

"You should look on the bright side. It may seem like Xu Guanlan stole your woman, but if you look at it from another angle, isn't it also like you slept with your brother's woman?"

"That woman is your future sister-in-law, yet you slept with her for so long—thinking about it that way, isn't it a worthwhile arrangement?"

"Shouldn't Xu Guanlan be the one who suffers a loss?"

Xu Jinghong's expression froze for a moment. Could someone really think that way?

But, it seems there's some truth to it?

"Are you trying to comfort me?"

"This is more than just a consolation."

Li Chuqiu glanced at him: "You slept with your future sister-in-law for so long, you really hit the jackpot—and Xu Guanlan too, he picked up a used woman and still has the nerve to brag about it in front of you?"

"Tsk, if I were you, I would wait until the day he goes back to get married, make a special trip to attend their wedding, prepare a generous gift for them, and then say—'compensation for usage fees.'"

"When their child turns one month old, we'll prepare an even more lavish gift—the kind that the whole capital will know about."

"Whether the child will still belong to Xu Guanlan by then will not be up to him to decide."

"—I guarantee I'll make Xu Guanlan so angry he'll leave his body!"

Li Chuqiu's offhand, nonsensical idea left Xu Jinghong stunned for a long time before his eyes gradually lit up—from this perspective, it was indeed brilliant!

That's some serious revenge!

But soon, the smile on Xu Jinghong's face froze.

"What's wrong now?"

"But----"

Xu Jinghong murmured, somewhat bewildered, "We didn't sleep together—"

Li Chuqiu: "?"

"Haven't you slept with him?"

"Um.

"Aren't you childhood sweethearts?"

Li Chuqiu frowned: "You've known each other since childhood, haven't you ever tasted forbidden fruit?"

"no."

"—Shouldn't there be some touching and kissing?"

"No, not at all."

"Never kissed?"

"no."

"What about holding hands? There should be something like that."

Xu Jinghong nodded: "Yes, I've held this hand several times!"

Li Chuqiu: "————"

You're so proud of yourself after only holding hands a few times?

Hopeless!

They were childhood sweethearts who had known each other since they were young, and lovers who were also energetic young men in their early twenties. Yet, they had only ever held hands.

Only a few times?

Is this guy incompetent, or is he just playing the innocent card?

Seemingly sensing the deep doubt and disbelief in Li Chuqiu's eyes, Xu Jinghong, as if humiliated, immediately blushed and stubbornly explained, "I...Isn't this just a pure romantic relationship with her?!"

"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right."

Li Chuqiu nodded perfunctorily.

Anyway, it wasn't him who had his woman stolen, so let this guy keep talking.

Xu Jinghong: "————"

"And what about you!"

Xu Jinghong gritted her teeth and turned her anger towards Li Chuqiu: "Don't you also have a childhood sweetheart fiancée?"

"—Have you guys already slept in?!"

No, not at all.

Li Chuqiu shook her head.

Xu Jinghong's face immediately lit up with smug joy: "Look, you still have the nerve to talk about me like that? Aren't you the same—"

"But we slept in the same bed!"

Xu Jinghong's smile froze.