“You’re a very good actress, Miss Shi.” Jiang Chen eyed Shi Qinglu with a half-smile.

If his consciousness hadn’t alerted him to danger immediately, he might’ve been tricked by her prior actions and expressions.

Shi Qinglu had pretended to admit total defeat, straightforwardly surrendering the antidote and her orbs in utter despair.

Ordinary logic implied that what she was doing was very rational given her circumstances.

Jiang Chen had thought the same, but the chain seal in his consciousness rippled as soon as he touched the storage ring. He was instantly wary of a sneak attack, which allowed him to discover the silver needles just in the nick of time.

Shi Qinglu was a thorny opponent indeed. Any other genius in the ten sacred lands would have fallen to at least one of her attacks.

There were no orbs to be found in the storage ring!

Jiang Chen frowned, his voice becoming chillier by the minute. “Miss Shi, you’re being rather insincere. You squander the opportunities I give you. I see my sympathy is misplaced here.”

Shi Qinglu’s heart fell when she heard the harshness in his voice.

“What… what do you want to do?” She could maintain her confident aura no longer. Right now, she was a helpless girl with a real fear of what was about to come. No one would be able to help her against whatever fate had in store.

Would she be able to do anything about it after they got off the island? Get Flora to reason with Eternal?

If she described what had happened to others, she wouldn’t have any room to argue. Quite the opposite: it’d be tremendously embarrassing.

“What am I going to do?” Jiang Chen cackled. “I’m going to strip you and search for what I want myself. I was a fool to believe you’d cooperate.”

Shi Qinglu felt her wits leave her. The skin she’d showed in the Rainbow Silk Formation earlier had been entirely illusory. She hadn’t actually done any of that.

Others called her the Poison Consort, yes, and she cultivated a seduction method, but she cared much more about her innocence than most would realize.

To be stripped naked under these circumstances would be a life-long blot upon her conscience.

“Jiang Chen, you… if you touch even a single hair of mine, I’ll hound you all my life! Even in the afterlife, I’ll hunt you down for whatever you plan to do!” The nasty retort seemed almost anemic given the context.

Jiang Chen walked closer, training his cold glare upon Shi Qinglu. “I gave you a chance, but you threw it away. Clearly, you’re a glutton for punishment.”

Saying this, he raised his hand to deliver a resounding slap against his captive’s rear.

Thwack!

There was a layer of clothing between his palm and her skin, but the impact was quite loud nevertheless. There was no ability or technique behind it; Jiang Chen delivered a slap that a parent might have used to discipline an unruly child.

Shi Qinglu froze as soon as his hand connected with her.

“Ah!” she screamed. “Jiang Chen, I’m going to kill you!”

“Maybe in your next life,” Jiang Chen retorted coldly. “I don’t see much chance for you in this one.”

Shi Qinglu gnashed her teeth as she glared daggers at Jiang Chen. Suddenly, her expression changed completely. She giggled, her eyes filled with captivating light.

Jiang Chen frowned. “What’re you laughing at? Do you think laughing will help you hide your unease? Or do you perhaps believe that I won’t dare to strip you?”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that at all. No man is free from his desires. It’s just that every other man who’s wanted to take my clothes off has suffered horribly at my hands. They can only imagine how nice it would be to do so. Jiang Chen, I’ve got it.”

“What, exactly?” Jiang Chen replied with indifference.

“Oh, a lot of things.” Shi Qinglu giggled incessantly. “My master once told me that if you can’t defeat a man, you should leap into his arms. Jiang Chen, you’re the only man who I couldn’t beat. So, I’ve decided that I’ll be in your care in the future. Yan Qinghuang is your woman, is that true? She’s going to be in a lot of trouble!”

“Trouble?” Jiang Chen furrowed his brow.

“Yes. Even Yan Qinghuang can’t fend me off when I’ve chosen someone for myself. Don’t you think I’m much more of a woman than that frail little girl will ever be, hmm?” Shi Qinglu’s words were indescribably ambiguous.

“You certainly think highly of yourself.” Jiang Chen burst into laughter. “I see only a colorful viper dripping with venom. What woman are you talking about?”

These words were a slap to Shi Qinglu’s face.

She didn’t seem fazed at all, though. “Men are never honest with themselves,” she tittered. “Their hearts are drawn in, but they like to pretend they don’t care. I know! You’re playing hard to get.”

Jiang Chen couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“You know, Jiang Chen, I admit I can’t beat you with either martial dao or poison. I lost. You’re the heir of the Eternal Sacred Land, aren’t you? The Flora Sacred Land will be mine in the future. If we join together, the future of Myriad Abyss will be ours. Don’t you think it’s a match made in heaven?” Shi Qinglu became more excited with every word.

If Jiang Chen didn’t know her better, he might have fallen for her ruse a second time.

“I don’t know what new trick you’re trying to pull, Shi Qinglu, but my patience has its limits. If you don’t tell me with your next sentence where the antidote and the orbs are, I’ll have to take drastic measures.” Jiang Chen gave his final warning.

“What kind of drastic measures, huh? Are you going to take me on the spot? Come, I won’t resist.” Shi Qinglu refused to sober up.

“Is that so?” Jiang Chen’s expression darkened. “Alright, I’ll strip you nude and hang you from the tallest tree. We can show all the geniuses passing by what the high-and-mighty Poison Consort looks like without her clothes.”

He didn’t like threatening women, but Shi Qinglu was an annoying exception.

Shi Qinglu swallowed back her prepared response. She knew Jiang Chen absolutely wasn’t joking.

The very prospect of the smelly men feasting their eyes on her vulnerable form caused her to shiver.

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