Do You Like Me That Much? Miss Villainess

Looking at the young master of the Wan family lying on the bed, Su Yunfan quietly swallowed his saliva.

He knew his greatest assurance for passing the Human Gate was gone.

Having sustained such severe injuries, there was no way he could regain combat effectiveness within seven days. But he also couldn't abandon him—the man was still alive in the real world!

Offending him in the Human Gate meant that back in reality, if he wanted to mess with him, it would just take a few words.

"Maybe I should go sell my sob story to those spies tonight?" Su Yunfan asked first, afraid that Wan Hong wouldn't want people to know about this.

Lying on the bed, Wan Hong said weakly:

"Go ahead and tell them."

"Remember to tell them that this person's strength probably approaches seventh rank. Even my brother now is far from her match."

"This strong?" Su Yunfan was shocked.

But on second thought, he felt something was off.

The principle of Human Gate ceremony was to first capture fragments of time, then put ceremony participants in to replace some of the characters in the plot. This meant that people who existed in the Human Gate must also exist in the real world.

Many people even learned about transcendent secrets through the Human Gate.

"Brother Wan, among the demon clan... have you heard of someone named Lou Qing?" he asked puzzledly.

"..."

Wan Hong shook his head: "She definitely exists, or how would she be in the Human Gate? Don't overthink it. Such a talented person must be hidden by the demon clan."

"Go tell the spies about this—it's a great achievement. —I'll also tell my family when we get back."

Su Yunfan nodded and began contacting his superiors.

○

"Hey, did you hear? That saintess living in the west of the city was assassinated this afternoon!"

A loud voice came from the shop.

Hm?

Hearing this, the Crown Prince instinctively perked up his ears. He had a premonition this was important, so even his sweeping movements unconsciously slowed.

"Who doesn't know about this now? It's been spread everywhere!"

"I heard that saintess just lightly slapped, and the assassin went flying. Tsk tsk... that was an eighth-rank expert..."

"Eighth rank? I heard it was seventh rank."

"Bullshit, obviously ninth rank!"

"Ninth rank? You're also ninth rank—go fight that assassin and try!"

"Well..."

The front shop was noisy, but the Crown Prince finally understood what they were talking about.

It seemed like the saintess in the west of the city had defeated an assassin of unknown strength this afternoon? Wait, there were two saintesses living in the west—one was still ninth rank, while the other...

The eighth rank who had just advanced the day before yesterday?

He suddenly realized this seemed to be the target he was planning to hunt after his two death warriors gathered!

Someone else had beaten him to it? And failed?

This...

Awkward.

After being assassinated once, she would definitely be prepared. He couldn't help cursing in his heart—what trash, failing even at assassination!

Just then, he suddenly heard another extremely eerie suona horn sound from the distant horizon.

Woo—

His face changed. How was someone else dead? Two people had died in just three days in the Human Gate?

Canghai City's survival environment wasn't this bad!

His mind raced, and he instantly understood the current situation. There was an unknown mysterious person hunting them—these human faction ceremony participants!

Was it because they were worried about insufficient contributions, or...

Was she simply from the demon faction?

The Crown Prince's expression gradually darkened, feeling like a thick shadow was hanging over his head, impossible to dispel.

Slap!

The next instant, that dark cloud was scattered by a big slap!

"Slacking off again?!" The shopkeeper with horns on his head was furious.

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!" He quickly put on a timid expression, begging for mercy repeatedly.

"Look at you!" Another slap to the head.

"Grandpa Ox, I was wrong, I was wrong!"

"Hmph!"

The ox demon shopkeeper turned and left.

Leaving only the Crown Prince to complain inwardly—aren't you just an ox demon?

That evening, the Crown Prince waited a long time in his courtyard before finally seeing his "loyal" subordinate.

At this moment, he was somewhat moved.

He had been worried that one of his death warriors was among those who had died these past two days. Now it seemed he had worried for nothing.

"Sorry, I was concerned about that killer tracking me, so I took my time."

The gray-robed person made excuses readily.

"It's fine, as long as you're alive." The Crown Prince was amiable. "Let's talk inside."

Zhu Yan looked at him questioningly, feeling his attitude was much better today. She didn't say much, just said:

"I gathered information about this afternoon. The assassin was ninth rank, but with his surprise attack, his strength was already comparable to ordinary eighth rank."

"A ceremony participant?"

"Should be, at least a court spy who just arrived here recently."

"That's it then." The Crown Prince was certain.

After his words fell, the room fell into wordless silence.

This eighth-rank saintess was so strong that their previous plans definitely needed redoing. The other death warrior still hadn't come to rendezvous.

Thinking of this, he was somewhat displeased.

But in comparison, it made the death warrior who had found him on the first night seem more agreeable and worthy of importance.

"Go back and continue gathering information. Be careful—I don't want to see you die."

The gray-robed person bowed slightly.

Under the hood, the corners of her mouth, mostly hidden in shadow, curved into a mocking smile.

'Don't want me to die?'

Zhu Yan smiled coldly.

○

Time passed quickly, and the next day, a high official from the city lord's mansion came to visit personally.

She had thought Mu Qinglan would be the arrogant type.

But after meeting her, she found Mu Qinglan's expression calm and consistently clear-headed throughout.

Making people feel very comfortable.

So her expression improved considerably. Thinking how could such a beautiful girl be the troublemaker those people outside said she was, she advised:

"Saintess, you'd better not go out these next few days. Your affairs are causing quite a stir in the city."

Mu Qinglan would never change her will:

"Tomorrow I've arranged to compete with another eighth-rank saintess. If I back down, how will the demon clan view me internally?"

"But you've already been targeted by assassins!"

"Let them come freely."

The fox clan official looked troubled: "Your talent is so good, human spies have probably targeted you too. According to investigations, those spies even have seventh-rank members who want to stir up trouble while they can!" Read full story at novᴇlfire.net

Xiao Zi also added:

"The city lord's mansion and I can't help you. The council of elders has decided—even when facing assassins, if we help, it's against the rules. Your saintess position won't be secure, and we'll also be punished."

The official nodded.

With the combat power she had previously displayed, she really had a chance to be selected as the demon saintess, not just a mere candidate saintess!

So why was she running around!

Mu Qinglan slowly shook her head: "So what if it's seventh rank? I'll face whatever comes. As a demon clan saintess, how can I retreat!"

Her expression was solemn, as if she was already considering herself the demon clan saintess.

Quite righteous and self-sacrificing.

The official was moved.

Xiao Zi mentally complained—you're not the saintess yet.

After a few more minutes, the official left with a worried expression. Xiao Zi went out to make tea, leaving only Mu Qinglan sitting alone in the chair, contemplating life.

She closed her eyes slightly.

The black cat took advantage of the chance to come out for air and rubbed against her calf.

"Go play by yourself." The girl lightly kicked her.

She was thinking about serious matters—stop rubbing against her.

Seventh rank... she really wasn't afraid.

Even though ordinary weapons couldn't be brought into the Human Gate, she wasn't worried at all.

With multiple destiny traits and the secret transmission [Shadow Mage] helping her, if she was still afraid of these people, that would be strange.

Only those who had reached sixth rank, experienced the Earth Gate's body tempering and dao comprehension, and awakened two destiny traits deserved her attention. Below that?

Hah!

After the fox clan official said they couldn't protect her when facing assassins, Mu Qinglan realized this was probably the Human Gate's limitation on the demon clan candidate saintess position, or rather...

A trap.

High status, good identity, but unable to mobilize subordinates, while being coveted by others in the open.

Even with more contributions than others.

It was hard to overcome the disadvantages.

Ordinary people choosing this would probably be a hell start.

But Mu Qinglan wasn't ordinary. Her choosing this was like getting a perfect hand, because in the Human Gate, as long as sixth-rank and above experts didn't appear, she could completely run rampant!

Only the demon clan inspector arriving in a few days could best her.

But she also had trump cards.

Survival wouldn't be difficult.

'I publicly claim to be eighth rank, so surely no one suspects I'm a ceremony participant…'

Mu Qinglan chuckled inwardly:

'But even so, I've probably become a target for the human faction to hunt.'

'Fine, come on. Better if you all come at once—I'm still worried about missing fish and not killing enough people for a perfect evaluation!'

'Thanks for your... sacrificial assistance.'

○

Night fell again.

It was now the fourth night, time halfway through.

After a day of intense coordination, in a basement somewhere in the east of the city, all the capable transcendent spies in Canghai City had gathered.

Five seventh-rank, twelve eighth-rank crowded in the basement.

It was somewhat cramped.

Su Yunfan, as a witness to yesterday's events, couldn't help shrinking into a corner while staying with this group of murderous undercover agents.

But though his actions were cowardly, he was relieved inside.

After exposing that saintess's threat, he would definitely gain some merit. After this group killed her, another portion of merit would be credited.

As for whether they could kill her?

Five seventh-rank attacking together just to kill this prominent demon clan genius—you ask if they could kill her?

These people together were no weaker than his family!

His family just had grandfather as a sixth-rank pharmacist, with several seventh-rank warriors, and they mostly practiced common martial arts that couldn't compare to the court elites these court spies practiced.

In real combat.

This group could wipe out his family.

Now asking if this group could kill one eighth-rank? Wasn't this a joke?

Su Yunfan smiled imperceptibly, thinking:

"Choosing the human faction was really the right choice. The demon faction has many problems, and when assassinated, no one even dares help."

When the tree stands out in the forest, the wind will destroy it.

These court spies' duty was to gather intelligence and eliminate the demon clan's future, so naturally they wouldn't let this conspicuous talented saintess go.

Moreover, she had severely injured a spy just yesterday.

Even if he was new, he was still a Great Xia spy!

How dare a mere demon!

"Tomorrow we all attack together. After success, each escapes pursuit and continues as normal. Don't expose yourselves!"

"Yes!"

Su Yunfan was even more pleased:

"When you're out here, it's not about being able to fight. What use is being able to fight? When you're out here, you need to talk influence and backing."

"Attaching myself to two powerful backers—this is the right way!"