A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

"No, no, no!"

Ji Zuodao was startled and grabbed Qiqi, frantically trying to stop her.

"Don't do that! All this work was to prevent the dragon energy within you from being extracted!"

He quickly checked on Qiqi's condition, looking at her over and over again several times, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that she was alright.

Thank goodness.

If the dragon's energy disappears, and the little girl falls into a deep sleep, sleeping for hundreds of years, he'll have nowhere to cry.

Qiqi was held down by him and couldn't move, so she had no choice but to stand obediently and let him examine her.

Looking at Ji Zuodao's nervous appearance, a warm feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.

She knew her brother was worried about her.

She liked this feeling.

Qiqi reached out and hugged Ji Zuodao's waist, buried her face in his stomach, and said in a muffled voice, "Brother is the best."

Ji Zuodao was taken aback by her sudden hug, then reached out and gently ruffled her hair: "Alright, alright, stop flattering me. Don't give away your dragon energy so easily anymore, understand?"

"Um!"

Qi Qi nodded vigorously, her voice carrying a hint of joyful laughter.

A being who was departing witnessed this scene.

His lips twitched slightly.

He had planned, laid out, and schemed for so long for the sake of the Ming Dynasty's imperial aura, expending countless efforts and paying countless prices.

The results of it?

It's nothing compared to that little troublemaker's one sentence.

Damn it, the more I look at it, the worse it gets.

He shook his head, turned around, and prepared to leave.

He didn't want to see the brother and sister being so lovey-dovey anymore.

If he watched any longer, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to resist rushing back and strangling that little troublemaker to death.

However, what he didn't know was—

After he left, a wisp of dragon energy quietly descended from the golden dragon that represented the fortune of the Han Dynasty in the sky.

That wisp of dragon energy was extremely faint and subtle, like a gentle breeze in spring or a firefly on a summer night, silently attaching itself to Qiqi's body.

It filled the small gap that Qiqi had just left behind.

Like a puzzle piece, it was gently placed back in its rightful place.

The entire process went unnoticed by anyone.

There was no golden light, no spiritual energy fluctuation, and no unusual phenomena.

Even Qi Qi herself didn't notice anything unusual.

She just felt a sudden warmth spread through her body, as if a warm breeze had blown by.

But she just shrank her neck and didn't think much of it.

When Zhu Cheng woke up, the first thing he saw was Ji Zuodao's face, which smelled as bad as a rock in a latrine.

His face was filled with expressions that said, "I really don't like you," "I wish I could kill you right now," and "You owe me 80 billion."

Zhu Cheng blinked, his mind still a little foggy.

"Huh? You died too?"

Zhu Cheng blurted out, his voice tinged with weakness and confusion.

"Pooh!"

Ji Zuodao spat, the spittle almost hitting Zhu Cheng's face. "You're the one who's dead! Even if your entire Zhu family dies, I, this Daoist, will never die!"

Zhu Cheng's mind cleared up considerably after being scolded by him.

He struggled to sit up and found that although he was still a little weak, he no longer had that feeling of being on the verge of death.

He looked down at his hands, then touched his chest, feeling the faint but real life force within him, a look of confusion on his face.

"How could I...?"

"I shared some of the dragon's energy with you."

Ji Zuodao interrupted him, his tone filled with a gnashing hatred, his eyes and expression as if someone had stolen a million from his pocket.

"I'm telling you, you'll be my slave from now on! No, you get the hell out of here! Myanmar! The Golden Triangle! Somalia! Go wherever you want! Don't let me ever see you again!"

Zhu Cheng habitually ignored Ji Zuodao's foul mouth.

He sat on the lotus platform, head bowed, looking at his hands, and remained silent for a long while.

"Qiqi...did you share your dragon energy with me?"

"But...why?"

He raised his head and looked at Ji Zuodao, his eyes filled with confusion.

Previously, they fought to the death for the dragon's energy, their lives hanging by a thread.

He schemed, plotted, used the rules of the secret realm, and even scattered the golden dragon of fortune, ultimately sacrificing his life in the process.

The results of it?

I got nothing.

And now, he did nothing, and the dragon energy was given to him for nothing.

What is this?

Zhu Cheng felt as if his brain had been stuffed with a lump of paste, and he couldn't understand it no matter what.

Ji Zuodao had a sour face, his expression as if he had swallowed a pound of flies:

"What are you looking at me for? Do you think I want to? I want to turn you into a beast of burden, working 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without a break even for Chinese New Year!"

When he said this, his tone, his expression, it was all so genuine, so heartfelt.

Ji Zuodao truly thought so.

He really wanted to turn this bastard into an Asura, making him work for him 24 hours a day, without even giving him time to go to the toilet.

The results of it?

That spendthrift girl Qiqi dispersed the dragon energy as soon as she made a move.

His cattle and horse plan was aborted before it even began.

Was he wronged or not?

He was more wronged than Dou E!

Qiqi, hiding behind Ji Zuodao, timidly peeked out half of her head.

Her big eyes looked at Zhu Cheng with a hint of sympathy, a hint of kindness, and a hint of the pure concern unique to children.

"Big brother..."

Her voice was soft, with a childlike gentleness, yet exceptionally clear.

"The Ming Dynasty is over."

"This amazing Ming Dynasty secret realm is gone too."

"You can live a good life again."

As she finished speaking, her voice carried a serious and sincere expectation: "Just like Qiqi."

Zhu Cheng was stunned.

He sat on the lotus platform, looking into Qiqi's clear, untainted eyes, and into his own reflection in them—

That disheveled, exhausted, confused version of myself, unsure of where to go next.

"To live...a second life?"

He murmured to himself, as if savoring the meaning of those words.

"Me?"

He raised his head and looked into the distance.

That once-belonging secret realm of the Ming Dynasty is gradually disappearing.

He could sense that he had completely lost control of that secret realm.

It has already been swallowed up by Ji Zhengdao.

They became part of that eerie realm.

A strange, indescribable emotion welled up in Zhu Cheng's heart.

The emotions were very complex.

There was reluctance, regret, disappointment, and resentment.

But more than that, it's a kind of—

As relieved.

It's like someone who has been carrying a mountain on their back for decades, and suddenly one day, someone tells them, "You can put the mountain down now."

That feeling of ease, that sense of relief, that feeling of finally being able to catch his breath, made him feel a third lighter.