I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 360 Choosing to Join
[Tsk tsk, Hongying hates being threatened the most, how could she possibly agree to... wait a minute! She actually agreed right away?!]

A question mark slowly appeared above Chu Liuzheng's head.

[Wait a minute, Qin Kai wanted to get his hands on the gift Hongying gave to her master. Shouldn't the correct course of events have been that he was beaten beyond recognition and forced to reveal the whereabouts of the Heavenly Lotus Fruit through various cruel means, while also being fed to various poisonous insects? How could he have agreed to that?]

Xiao Jingfan's eyes twitched as he listened. Just how much did this woman want Qin Kai to die a horrible death?
Chu Liuzheng wasn't hoping for Qin Kai to die a horrible death; he just felt that this development was unreasonable.

Hongying letting Qin Kai go is like a bird not eating an insect; there's definitely something fishy going on!
She continued searching through the system.

"Ah... I've seen people eagerly rushing to their deaths, but I've never seen anyone eagerly turning themselves into a medicinal ingredient. No wonder Hongying agreed so readily."

Xiao Jingfan: ?

What kind of medicinal guide?
Chu Liuzheng browsed through the gossip he had just unearthed, feeling as if he were reading some kind of legendary tale.

The first person to cultivate the Beauty Gu was definitely a serial killer and a psychopath; the person who used the Beauty Gu was no saint either!

[Cultivating a true Beauty Gu only requires two steps, but there is a hidden third step: preparing the medicinal catalyst for the person using the Beauty Gu.]

[Because the Red Beauty Gu is made by feeding on the blood and flesh of women, in order to achieve the balance of Yin and Yang, it must use the heart's blood of a man as a medicinal ingredient. Moreover, the man must be born during a Yang period and must have been husband and wife with the woman who fed the Gu with her body.]

[Originally, Hongying had another candidate in mind for the medicinal ingredient, but after learning Madam Qin's birth date and time, she changed her mind. This couple, one feeding the Gu poison and the other serving as the medicinal ingredient, were a perfect match.]

Xiao Jingfan: So that's what the medicinal ingredient is.

[Tsk tsk, Qin Kai thought he had successfully fooled them, and was planning to pack his valuables and run away with his family while these people weren't paying attention. Unfortunately, Hong Ying didn't give him that chance at all.]

[Under the pretext of demonstrating sincerity in cooperation, Hongying had Qin Kai take them back to their rented courtyard. She then gave Qin Kai money to buy a large house in the suburbs. While Qin Kai and Uncle Fu were away, she tricked Madam Qin into drinking a sleeping potion, making her bait for the Beauty Gu.]

If Qin Kai hadn't rushed back ahead of time out of concern, Madam Qin wouldn't even have been able to leave behind a complete body.

Chu Liuzheng couldn't help but sigh again at Madam Qin's bad luck; it was truly a case of misfortune befalling someone sitting at home.

[After Madam Qin died, Qin Kai regretted it... Pshaw, who's he going to show his regret to when she's dead? If he really regretted it, why didn't he commit suicide for love? Even if he didn't commit suicide for love, shouldn't he have shown some backbone and confronted Hong Ying head-on?]

[Well, you got scared away after just a few words. Now you obediently do whatever they say, remarrying when told to and taking concubines when told to. Even a puppet wouldn't be as obedient as you!]

Chu Liuzheng was speechless, feeling a sense of powerlessness as if he couldn't slap Qin Kai in the face.

Although the instinct to fear death is natural, we've been married for ten years and a life has been lost. Are we just going to let it go like this?
Regardless of the outcome, let's at least put up a fight!

[This spineless coward, unable to protect his wife or children, instead of erupting in remorse, he ran to the Gluttonous Pavilion to drown his sorrows in alcohol, hoping to end it all by getting drunk.]

[Heh, when they're deceiving their superiors and accepting bribes, they're incredibly clever and resourceful. But when it comes to serious matters, they become dizzy and trembling with fear, not daring to utter a single harsh word. They only know how to obey and become accomplices to save their own lives. It's truly...]

Chu Liuzheng was so angry that he shut down the system immediately.

If I could scale walls and rooftops, I'd run to the government jail and beat Qin Kai up!

Xiao Jingfan's eyebrows twitched; it turned out that Qin Kai was being held in the government jail.

"Regardless of what's in the box, the Qin family still has this stuff." Lu Fei pointed to the jar not far away. "It's something that harms people, we can't keep it."

Everyone agreed.

At least we should check other forums to see if there's any "Beauty Gu" (a type of poison).

“I’ll go to the Qin residence.” Jiang Yao, no longer wanting to be a hindrance, volunteered, “I’ll take care of them.”

Feng Jing saw through her intentions at a glance: "You want to use this little thing to feed your Shadow Moon Gu?"

Jiang Yao nodded frankly, not feeling that anything was wrong.

She only fed the Shadow Moon Gu insects; she didn't eat people.

Insects eat insects; it's only natural. The others looked at her with complicated expressions.

Except for the day she was first captured, Jiang Yao has been quiet and harmless these days, often making people forget that she is also a ruthless character who raises Gu using corpses.

Seeing everyone staring at her, Jiang Yao tilted her head, a hint of doubt appearing on her doll-like, delicate face: "No?"

“Alright,” Xiao Jingfan said. “I’ll leave the Qin family to you. Chenxing and Siyue will go with you. Take the portrait with you. If you see those people, arrest them as well.”

“Okay.” Jiang Yao agreed readily. “Leave it to me.”

She released the beauty poison from the teacup, put it into a wooden box, and turned to wave to Siyue and Chenxing: "Let's go."

Chen Xing and the other two looked at Xiao Jingfan. Seeing Xiao Jingfan nod, they quickly followed.

The three figures quickly disappeared at the courtyard gate.

Feng Jing tossed aside the teacup that had been used to deactivate the Beauty Gu, rested his chin on his hand, and asked, "Young Master, what are we going to do?"

"We'll sneak into the government office at night." Xiao Jingfan had already made up his mind. "This group of people is raising the 'Red Beauty Gu,' which is a heinous thing. It should be related to Yin Lanci. After Uncle Fu returned and found that Qin Kai was missing, he happened to run into this group of people at the city gate. I guess this group of people may have brought Qin Kai into the city."

"There are many places in the city where people can be imprisoned, but the best place to hide people safely is—"

"The government prison!" Lü Fei and Du Qian answered simultaneously.

“Exactly.” Xiao Jingfan nodded. “Now that the government office is Yin Lanci’s territory, we need to be even more careful when we sneak out at night.”

Zhou Yuande sensed something was off in the tone and hurriedly asked, "Young Master, are you also going on a night raid?" Quickly say no!
"Okay." Xiao Jingfan nodded calmly. "Let's go take a look."

Zhou Yuande: !!!

I don't even care to look at the magnificent palace, what's so interesting about a dark and gloomy prison?!

The chief eunuch is devastated!
He knelt down before Xiao Jingfan with a thud and earnestly advised, "You are of noble birth; you should not put yourself in danger!"

"A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall; please think twice." Lü Fei also knelt down.

Seeing this, the others followed suit and knelt down, thinking to themselves that there were plenty of capable people out there, so wouldn't it be better for you to just stay in the mansion and wait for news?
Xiao Jingfan rested his chin on his hand, looking at the row of heads in front of him, and uttered four words: "My mind is made up."

Everyone: "..."

Xiao Jingfan waved his hand: "Go and make arrangements. There shouldn't be too many people."

Zhou Yuande, who wished he could bring all the guards along to protect General Xiao Jingfan so thoroughly, almost had a heart attack upon hearing this.

He turned to look at Chu Liuzheng.

Her gaze was fierce, as if she would hang herself on her bedside if Chu Liuzheng couldn't persuade her otherwise.

It's absolutely terrifying.

Chu Liuzheng: ? ? ?

If even your personal bodyguard can't stop him, do you expect me to? Am I supposed to tie him up with a rope or lock him in a cage?

Zhou Yuande started looking for a rope. Now, immediately, he would hang himself!
Chu Liuzheng: "..."

To avoid actually opening her eyes to see a pair of feet dangling above her head, she took a deep breath, her lips curving into a standard smile.

"Young Master, may I come with you?"

Is she incapable of persuading people or even joining them herself?

At worst, we'll die together. Who knows, maybe she'll even get to sleep next to Zhou Gongfu (a famous Chinese philosopher and poet) in bed. Just thinking about it is exciting!