I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 359 It’s really you
Xiao Jingfan: "Curious."

Others are curious, too.

Jiang Yao thought for a moment and shook her head: "Forbidden technique." It cannot be spoken of.

"Well, I know a little bit about this." Feng Jing blew on his fingers, which had become less swollen, and when he saw everyone looking over, he gestured toward the teacup covered with the Red Beauty Gu. "This thing is made to harm people."

Upon hearing this, Chu Liuzheng glanced at Jiang Yao and noticed that although she herself was unwilling to speak, she did not seem to intend to stop Feng Jing from continuing.

Chen Xing poured Feng Jing a cup of hot water with great enthusiasm and asked curiously, "How exactly do you harm people?"

Feng Jing said, "I heard my master say that to cultivate a Beauty Gu, you need at least a hundred women born at Yin time, aged between fifteen and twenty-five, preferably from unhappy families and who have experienced misfortune in their youth."

Siyue wondered: "Why is it best to encounter unexpected changes?"

"I don't know." Feng Jing shrugged. His master usually talked about these strange Gu worms at the dinner table, and he listened to them as stories to accompany his meal, never looking into them in detail.

He said, "Feeding flesh and blood is only the first step. To cultivate a true Beauty Gu, a crucial second step is needed: the Heavenly Lotus Fruit."

Everyone was shocked; they actually needed the Heavenly Lotus Fruit.

Only Du Qian looked completely bewildered: "What is this Heavenly Lotus Fruit?"

Zhou Yuande explained it to him in a low voice, and Du Qian couldn't help but exclaim in amazement: "Such a miraculous object exists in the world!"

“According to you, the Heavenly Lotus Fruit has the effect of bringing the dead back to life and reversing aging.” Xiao Jingfan frowned and looked at Feng Jing. “If the Heavenly Lotus Fruit really exists, we can just take it directly. Why bother to waste energy feeding the Red Beauty Gu?”

Isn't this like picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon?

Feng Jing blinked: "You don't know?"

Xiao Jingfan asked in confusion, "What?"

"Ah, I think I forgot to mention." Feng Jing scratched his face, "The Heavenly Lotus Fruit can indeed bring the dead back to life, but only for three months. As for reversing aging—"

He raised his still slightly swollen finger and said to the crowd watching him, "Valid for one day."

Everyone: "..."

Why didn't you say something so important sooner!

Lu Fei murmured, "That makes sense."

The difference between a day and a year is hundreds of lives.

A thought flashed through Du Qian's mind, and he guessed, "Since feeding the Beauty Gu requires Heavenly Lotus Fruit, could the box that Lord Jiang gave to Qin Kai contain Heavenly Lotus Fruit?"

"Impossible!" Feng Jing and Jiang Yao exclaimed in unison. They exchanged a glance, and Feng Jing raised an eyebrow: "Weren't you going to stay silent?"

Jiang Yao ignored him and continued to squat like a mushroom.

Xiao Jingfan said, "The Heavenly Lotus Fruit grows in the icy and snowy land. After it is picked, it must be stored in an ice box, otherwise it will rot immediately."

“Young Master has a good memory.” Feng Jing said to everyone, “The Heavenly Lotus Fruit cannot be stored for long. Lord Jiang gave Qin Kai just an ordinary wooden box. There was absolutely no way that there was a Heavenly Lotus Fruit inside.”

Du Qian asked in confusion, "What exactly is stored in that box?"

Of course there's nothing there.

Chu Liuzheng stared at the system interface.

Goodness, Du Qian's ability to judge people needs improvement. If someone like Qin Kai can be considered an honest person, then there are no honest people in this world.

She pulled the cloth down. [This fellow, relying on Lord Jiang's trust, not only abused his power for personal gain by accepting bribes, but also used Lord Jiang's name to undertake favors outside the official business, and even tried to recruit Master Liu to join him in deceiving superiors and subordinates.]

[Tsk tsk, Master Liu has no desire to get involved in these troublesome matters, and he's not afraid of Qin Kai's threats. He turned around and told Lord Jiang about it.]

Lord Jiang was just looking for someone to trick, and Qin Kai happened to walk right into his trap. His identity was also suitable, so it was a good opportunity to make use of him. It's a miracle he survived; if he gets killed, he deserves it.

Chu Liuzheng continued to pull forward.

Wow! The reason this group, led by Hongying, came after Qin Kai was actually because of that empty box.

Hongying wanted to impress her master, Yin Lanci, so she secretly started raising a Beauty Gu, hoping to surprise him and outshine her two annoying senior brothers.

Before approaching Qin Kai, Hongying had already fed the Red Beauty Gu eighty-seven meals.

[Frog! That's eighty-seven lives! Adding the eight people Uncle Fu found, that makes ninety-five, almost a hundred. No wonder Hongying is so anxious to find the Heavenly Lotus Fruit.]

[Huh?] Chu Liuzheng suddenly thought of a question, [How did Hongying know that Qin Kai had the Heavenly Lotus Fruit?]

When Lord Jiang entrusted the box to Qin Kai for safekeeping, he didn't mention what was inside, and no one else saw it. Lord Jiang also didn't arrange for anyone to spread rumors. How did these rumors get out?

Puzzled, Chu Liuzheng quickly searched through the system.

Fortunately, there was very little information about the Heavenly Lotus Fruit, so she quickly found the answer.

Oh dear, the news actually came from the black market.

[It is said that Lord Jiang once bought a Heavenly Lotus Fruit on the black market, but because he was unaware of its effects, he presented it to Qin Kai as a reward, treating it as a common herb.]

[Tsk tsk, isn't this deliberately setting a trap for Qin Kai? I bet a copper coin that this unknown person who leaked the information is definitely in cahoots with Lord Jiang.]

Xiao Jingfan, who had been eavesdropping, silently paid with a copper coin.

Chu Liuzheng was curious about the identity of this unknown person, so he looked through the list but couldn't find it.

This eerie sense of familiarity...

She had a sudden inspiration, changed her method of searching, and then—

It really was you!

She stared at the system interface.

【Thousand-Handed Scholar! How many aliases do you have?!】

It is said that when you are out in the world, your identity is what you give yourself. But since he was suddenly struck by lightning and bound to the system, this is the first time that Chu Liuzheng has seen the same person create so many identities for him. Isn't this guy afraid of getting confused?

Upon hearing the words "Thousand-Handed Scholar," Xiao Jingfan found himself not surprised at all.

Or rather, it would be strange if this person wasn't the Thousand-Handed Scholar.

What puzzled him was why the Thousand-Handed Scholar was doing these things.

Based on his previous experience of uncovering identities, Chu Liuzheng did not dwell on the identity of the Thousand-Handed Scholar. Instead, he shut down all irrelevant gossip and continued to watch Qin Kai fall into the trap.

[Tsk, look at their efficiency. Qin Kai had barely left the government office when Hong Ying and her men cornered him, leaving him completely bewildered as he was invited for tea, and then forced to pay for it with Heavenly Lotus Fruit.]

Qin Kai had no idea what a Heavenly Lotus Fruit was, so how could he possibly hand it over? He was immediately given a sound beating and suffered a great deal of pain.

However, this guy isn't stupid. From Hongying and the others' conversation, he realized he'd been tricked. But now he's in a bind. If he insists he doesn't have the Heavenly Lotus Fruit and it was all a scam, he'll only end up being killed by a displeased Hongying.

To prolong his life, Qin Kai was incredibly audacious. He not only lied about possessing the Heavenly Lotus Fruit but also offered to cooperate with Hong Ying and the others. He said he would hand over the Heavenly Lotus Fruit, but he wanted 20% of the profits from raising the Red Beauty Gu. Otherwise, he would rather die than let Hong Ying ever see even a glimpse of the Heavenly Lotus Fruit.