Chapter 852: First Battle with Blind-Blind

Chapter 852: First Battle with the Blind Blind

"You are pursing them... a bit too hard." Zhao Changhe scrutinized her for a moment, then suddenly reached out and wiped the corner of her lips.

For a moment, everyone lost their desire to jest, each closing their eyes in meditation.

Piaomiao leafed through the dozen or so characters exchanged from Ye Jiuyou, frowned in thought for a moment, and murmured, “Changhe, the more we decipher these inscriptions, the greater the possibility of forcing comprehension. That is to say, if only a few characters are missing, it might be possible to force a breakthrough. But given the current level of deciphering, forcing it could invite backlash. Do you think I should try?”

“Of course not. Keep trading with Jiuyou—what’s the rush?”

“But… do you think Jiuyou will try to force it?”

Zhao Changhe’s heart tightened, and he whispered, “Not good… I need to go see.”

Ye Jiuyou stood quietly before the mirror, gazing at the unfamiliar self reflected there—eyes like autumn waters, face like peach blossoms, a purple gauze dress half-revealing a pure white bellyband, her whole appearance both innocent and alluring.

She had to admit it was truly beautiful; Ye Jiuyou knew just how devastating this look could be to men, but it was nothing like Jiuyou at all.

Ye Jiuyou almost forgot what her original image had even been.

She reached for her sash, intending to change back… after all, she could change again tomorrow when he came.

But her hand paused on the sash. After all, she’d have to change into it for him tomorrow anyway—why bother with the back-and-forth? Might as well just wear it as is, since no one else would see.

—This was precisely why Zhao Changhe had planned to come at night: to see if she would simply keep the outfit on for their meeting tomorrow.

But as this thought arose, a sudden chill crept into Ye Jiuyou’s heart.

Was she really going to dress herself up so gaudily just to please his eyes, to cater to his tastes and desires, to meet his gaze full of lust without being able to resist?

Ye Jiuyou took a deep breath, then suddenly walked to the edge of the pool, stroking the stone slab’s inscriptions.

Now that she had deciphered quite a few more characters, could she try to force a solution on her own, no longer letting him lead her by the nose? If she kept being led like this, it wasn’t just the initiative in their cooperation that would slip away—her own heart and mind were already tangled beyond recognition.

If, when he came tomorrow, he found that she had already mastered all the inscriptions on her own and no longer needed him… wouldn’t that at least disrupt his plans and reclaim the initiative?

Ye Jiuyou pondered for a moment, gradually steeling her resolve.

Today, she had not only worn the bellyband for him but even played at the marital joy of painting eyebrows—and she hadn’t even resisted. How much further could this go? What would she become if it went any further?

Forcing the deciphering clearly carried no small risk, but it had to be done… The initiative must be in her own hands; she could not sink any deeper into this decadence.

A faint ripple of light spread from Ye Jiuyou’s hand, soon covering the stone slab. Her spirit plunged in fully, beginning to forcefully parse the inscriptions.

After an unknown span of time, Ye Jiuyou spat out a mouthful of blood with a “pfft,” her face pale as she leaned weakly against the edge, gasping.

She had failed… Her soul churned, her meridians in chaos.

Matters of the Heavenly Dao, it seemed, truly required going with the flow; forcing things only brought calamity.

This was bad… Though the injury wasn’t too severe—she could recover in a couple of days with proper rest—if before Ye Wuming might not have stooped to a sneak attack, now it was all too likely!

The moment the thought stirred, a great alarm rang in her heart.

A familiar, terrifying power pierced through time and space. A jade-like slender hand struck straight at her crown chakra. Even with her eyes closed, the mockery within was palpable: “I never thought you’d lose your composure so completely over a man, putting yourself in danger at a time like this…”

“Ye… Wu… Ming!” Ye Jiuyou lashed out with a palm, trying to defend herself.

Even injured, she was no mere fish to be bullied at will! If she was going to die, she’d make sure he tasted the bitterness of mutual destruction!

“Boom!” Their palms met. At the same moment, the space beside Ye Wuming twisted, and a broadsword came crashing down from above.

Ye Wuming was momentarily startled, her left palm striking the side of the Longque blade. Distracted by this, the force of her right palm against Ye Jiuyou weakened slightly. Ye Jiuyou spat another mouthful of blood and staggered backward, but the damage was far less than she had anticipated.

Similarly, Zhao Changhe, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, stumbled back, then sprang forward again like a coiled spring: “Blindie, care for a chat?”

Ye Wuming’s form rippled faintly, and by the time the Longque blade struck, she had already vanished.

Her light laugh echoed from the void: “Now that you’ve truly turned against me, it’s rather amusing… Farewell.”

“Stinking blind woman, stop right there!” Zhao Changhe slashed the air in fury, but he clearly had no grasp of Ye Wuming’s whereabouts. Her fragrant trace disappeared without a trace, leaving only a lingering scent.

Gasping, Zhao Changhe turned his head. Ye Jiuyou, blood still wet at the corner of her lips, was leaning limply against the pool’s edge, watching him.

The complex light in her eyes was so vivid, even in this boundless abyss.

“Are you badly hurt?” Zhao Changhe, no longer concerned with Ye Wuming, hurried over to support her and pressed a pill into her hand: “I don’t know if mortal medicine works on your divine-demon body… If you don’t mind, I’ll supplement it with the Return Spring Technique. Just don’t resist my energy entering you.”

But Ye Jiuyou said nothing about her injury. She just stared at him, her expression profoundly complicated: “You… truly… struck at Ye Wuming with your blade… for me?”

Zhao Changhe was taken aback, then laughed: “The ultimate goal of our cooperation is to beat Ye Wuming together, isn’t it? What, are you still doubting my sincerity even now?”

Ye Jiuyou managed a pained smile: “How did you arrive so timely? It’s already abnormal that Ye Wuming could spy on this place—can you monitor it too?”

Zhao Changhe said, “I was planning to come find you tonight anyway. Just now, Piaomiao reminded me that you might try to force the inscriptions, so I came early out of worry. And sure enough—I swear, you women have something wrong with your heads. I was going to give you the remaining characters tomorrow, so why stir up trouble for nothing?”

Ye Jiuyou didn’t answer that. She sighed softly: “I almost suspect… Ye Wuming did this deliberately to help you.”