Chapter 49 He's about to ascend to heaven.

Chapter 49 He's about to ascend to heaven.

The black-cloaked cultivator glanced at Ruan Qingzhu with disdain, as if he could see through her thoughts, and sneered, "Whether you choose to be a fool or a wise person, Fellow Daoist Ruan, I think you should know the answer in your heart."

Ruan Qingzhu remained silent. What was a fool and what was a smart person? It was nothing but nonsense he was telling himself. She would be a fool to believe it.

She always remembered that the other party was after the little monkey, and that he would stop at nothing for profit. Now, he was just saying a few easy words, and she could just ignore them.

Seeing that she didn't speak, the black-cloaked monk curled his lip in boredom. Considering that she was a useful tool and couldn't be discarded for the time being, he took the initiative to ask, "So, what is the purpose of your visit here today?"

As he spoke, he was perfectly aware that the only people Ruan Qingzhu cared about were her biological parents.

"What you asked me to do should be successful tomorrow, barring any unforeseen circumstances. But before taking that monkey out of the sect, I need to see my parents and confirm their safety," Ruan Qingzhu stated firmly.

The black-cloaked cultivator was overjoyed: "Really?" His voice unconsciously distorted slightly, showing how much he valued this deal involving spirit beasts.

Ruan Qingzhu met his gaze directly and said without backing down, "Of course it's true. It doesn't like to leave the sect to play. I persuaded it for a long time before it changed its mind. I will bring it over tomorrow at 5 PM."

Upon hearing this, the black-cloaked monk clapped his hands and laughed: "Hahaha, it seems you've made the right choice to be a smart man. I guarantee you'll be glad you made this decision in the future!"

"Can I meet your parents now?" Ruan Qingzhu felt a surge of annoyance at his arrogant laughter, but she asked calmly on the surface.

"sure."

Knowing he couldn't push the man too far, the black-cloaked cultivator readily agreed, offering a hypocritical promise: "If this succeeds, you will have made a great contribution. I'm a kind man, so giving you ten thousand spirit stones is no problem."

Ruan Qingzhu almost burst out laughing.

He really thought he was a fool and tried to fool him.

However, she didn't want to dwell on these things right now, so she just gave a casual "hmm," leaving it to the other person to decide whether it meant yes or no.

The black-cloaked cultivator made a complex hand seal and pointed it at the ground. A magic circle pattern appeared in the courtyard, and white light surged up, enveloping the two figures.

Mr. and Mrs. Ruan huddled together, their faces showing visible fear, like two weak little beasts terrified by a powerful predator.

When Ruan Qingzhu saw their haggard appearance, her eyes welled up with tears, and she almost burst into tears.

Her parents had been honest and hardworking farmers for half their lives and had never encountered such a situation before. Being suddenly captured by a cultivator, even without being deliberately tortured, was enough to crush them from the psychological pressure alone.

Looking at their faces, which seemed decades older, Ruan Qingzhu felt an increasing pain in her heart. She wished she could kill the instigator herself, but she couldn't do it now.

Ruan Qingzhu composed herself, walked up to her parents, touched their rough faces, and said in a choked voice, "Dad, Mom, it's alright. I'm here. He won't do anything to you."

Mr. and Mrs. Ruan gripped their daughter's hands tightly, opened their mouths, but couldn't utter a single word.

Suddenly, the black-cloaked cultivator interjected, "Fellow Daoist Ruan, how is it? Your father and mother are not injured at all. I have been feeding and treating them like honored guests these past few days."

Upon hearing him speak, Mr. and Mrs. Ruan turned pale. After being captured by this man, they were locked in the dungeon and given nothing but food and drink.

The way he looked at them was as if they were ants—ruthless, cold, and cruel.

Mr. and Mrs. Ruan began to tremble.

Seeing this, Ruan Qingzhu gritted her teeth and quickly stuffed things into their arms.

After making this gesture, Ruan Qingzhu turned her head and questioned, "You show no remorse whatsoever. My parents were kidnapped by you for no reason and suffered severe mental trauma. And you still say you didn't do anything!"

The black-cloaked cultivator's eyes showed surprise. He hadn't expected Ruan Qingzhu to break off relations with him; this was clearly not a wise move.

He curled his lips into a smile and thought casually, "It seems Ruan Qingzhu values ​​her parents a lot."

This is good news for him.

Weaknesses make things easier to control!

Therefore, the black-cloaked cultivator was not angry at all. Instead, he chuckled and said, "You need to change your temper. If it were anyone else today, they would not have let you off easily. Fortunately, you met me. I am not that kind of cruel person. As long as you can help me get things done, I will pretend I didn't hear you venting your anger."

His words were full of mockery.

Ruan Qingzhu's expression changed, but she pretended not to hear, turned around and shielded her parents behind her, and said calmly, "I'm afraid you won't have that chance."

As she spoke, an unparalleled courage suddenly burst forth from her, a determination to burn her bridges and go all in, prepared to perish together with the enemy!

The black-cloaked cultivator frowned. A single sentence was not enough to throw him off balance, but Ruan Qingzhu's sudden confidence made him hesitant to act rashly.

Is she deliberately creating a diversion, or is she confident of victory?

The black-cloaked cultivator suppressed his vague unease and shouted at Ruan Qingzhu, "What do you mean?"

Now it was Ruan Qingzhu's turn to smile. She said with a hint of sarcasm, "Before I came here, I encountered the sect's Enforcement Hall. They took the little monkey away. What do you think that means?"

The black-cloaked monk's body stiffened.

Ruan Qingzhu observed this scene and felt extremely relieved. She had never felt so happy since she was coerced by this person. He must be panicking.

She deliberately used words to mislead him, making him believe that the Enforcement Hall had found clues, and judging from his reaction, her words were clearly not in vain.

The black-cloaked cultivator had indeed misunderstood. The people from the Enforcement Hall wouldn't have taken away the Spirit Ape for no reason. Could it be that their affair had been exposed?

Why didn't Steward Chen tell him?

Either the other party is unaware, or they are unable to send a message. If it's the latter, why wouldn't it get out? There's only one possibility: it's been discovered!

The black-cloaked cultivator felt a chill and tried to contact Manager Chen using a communication jade slip, but Manager Chen had already been captured by the Enforcement Hall and could not respond.

The black-cloaked cultivator's expression became uncertain. "Useless piece of trash! He can't even handle this small matter properly, yet he wants to take 80% of the profits. He's a complete idiot."

He had planned long ago to sell the spirit monkey and then disappear, leaving Steward Chen to starve. But the plan failed, and Steward Chen was the one who lost his life.

Suddenly, he realized he had overlooked something and looked up sharply. He saw that Ruan Qingzhu was holding a bead in her hand. The bead glowed with red and purple light, sparks flew, lightning flashed, and a dangerous aura emanated from it.

"Thunderfire Pearl!" the black-cloaked cultivator blurted out.

He was knowledgeable and immediately recognized the object. His face turned extremely ugly. This Thunderfire Pearl was a one-time use magic artifact that compressed both thunder and fire spiritual power. Its attributes were extremely explosive. Once it was detonated, he would definitely be reduced to ashes.

Ruan Qingzhu played with the thumb-sized bead: "Yes, it's the Thunderfire Bead."

This was her most prized possession, and in this situation, she had no choice but to bring it out.

When the people from the Enforcement Hall came earlier, she was very nervous, fearing that the little monkey might not come back after going there. But later she calmed down and realized that this was impossible, after all, so many people were watching.

When Ruan Qingzhu saw the little monkey being taken away, she actually felt relieved. Rather than keeping it by her side, it was better to let the sect protect it. Besides, she herself didn't know if she would use the little monkey to redeem her parents under the pressure.

Thankfully, what she feared didn't happen.

With the little monkey no longer a worry, Ruan Qingzhu pondered how to rescue her parents from the other party's clutches. She knew she had to get there as quickly as possible, otherwise, once he received the news, he might think she was the one who leaked it.

This is also why she didn't tell the Enforcement Hall. Ruan Qingzhu was afraid that if the other party found out that she had sought help from the Enforcement Hall, they would be enraged and kill her parents directly. In that case, she would be guilty of a thousand deaths.

To save their parents' lives, no amount of caution is too much.

"Are you out of your mind? This bead can't withstand the slightest stimulation. If you accidentally use too much force, none of us will escape!" The black-cloaked cultivator, unaware of her inner turmoil, felt his heart leap into his throat upon seeing her actions.

Ruan Qingzhu sensed the fear in his voice and immediately stopped playing with the Thunderfire Pearl. Her calm tone concealed a hint of madness: "I know you've set up a magic array in the courtyard. Now, open the array immediately and let us leave. If you dare to stop me, we'll all perish here!"

The black-cloaked cultivator was furious. Now he realized that he had been tricked by Ruan Qingzhu. She said she would bring out the spirit ape tomorrow to ask to meet her parents, but in reality, she just wanted to break free from his control.

"Good, good, you're doing great!"

The black-cloaked monk laughed in exasperation.

“Of course I’m fine,” Ruan Qingzhu said coldly.

The two stared at each other, their eyes gleaming with a fierce intensity.

Just then, Ruan's parents suddenly exclaimed in surprise. Ruan Qingzhu subconsciously looked at them and saw that they were unharmed, which put her mind at ease.

Fortunately, she anticipated that the other party would resort to desperate measures, so she gave her parents some defensive talismans.

Otherwise, once her parents return to the other side as hostages, she will have no other choice.

The black-cloaked cultivator clicked his tongue in disappointment, not expecting Ruan Qingzhu to be so prepared.

Ruan Qingzhu heard his sigh and gave a cold laugh: "Your methods are far from honorable. It seems you don't care about your own death. In that case..."

She gripped the Thunderfire Pearl with her other hand and was about to exert force.

"don't want!"

Upon hearing this, Ruan Qingzhu paused in her movements: "Where is your sincerity?"

The black-cloaked cultivator's expression changed several times before he finally gritted his teeth and compromised, saying, "Alright, I'll open the barrier now. I hope you, Fellow Daoist Ruan, will have a smooth journey and avoid encountering any bandits!"

To be honest, he really didn't want to let this ant who had provoked him get away with it, but he had no choice. He dared not gamble on whether he could snatch the Thunderfire Pearl faster or she could crush it faster.

"Then there's no need for you to worry about it," Ruan Qingzhu said, secretly increasing her vigilance to prevent the other party from making a move. She was only one step away from victory, and she couldn't afford to give up now.

"Ding!" The restriction has been lifted.

Under the other party's menacing gaze, Ruan Qingzhu slowly retreated step by step to the door.

"The compass is responding, it's right here!"

Suddenly, a joyful voice rang out, followed by the courtyard gate being kicked open.

Ruan Qingzhu was standing right next to the door when she stumbled forward and tightened her grip on the Thunderfire Pearl.

"..."

Oh no, I'm about to ascend to heaven.

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Author's note: Happy Lantern Festival! [droopy-eared rabbit head]