My lord, spare his life!

"The 'kill line'?" Wang Qi didn't understand the game's terminology, but the word was simple and easy to understand. He climbed out of the pit, ignoring his disheveled appearance, and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand. There was no fear of death in his eyes, only endless mockery. "Hahaha, you think you can kill me? What an arrogant and foolish idea!"

He uttered a whisper that sounded like a demon.

"You think you can bring me down just because you left me with a few insignificant scars?"

"Um?"

With the sound of "hmm," he took a step forward.

An invisible wave of energy swept out with overwhelming force!

Zhang Yang narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze falling on the health bar above Wang Qi's head. The health bar, which she had just drained of ninety percent of, was now rapidly replenishing as if he had taken a blood-boosting pill. After only three or four steps, the health bar had recovered to ninety percent right before Zhang Yang's eyes.

Not only that, Wang Qi's aura also changed.

Countless ghostly faces floated around him, and countless ghostly claws seemed ready to pounce. His eyes gleamed with a terrifying, bloodthirsty, and cruel red light. Based on Zhang Yang's years of experience fighting bosses, this boss was clearly preparing to reveal his final trump card.

Her response was simple and blunt.

He said calmly, "Fine, come on then."

Wang Qi had a blood bar, and she would empty one of them.

She emptied both blood vials.

Not to mention bosses that recover health once in the middle of the battle, I've even fought bosses that recover health repeatedly in the middle of the battle.

To put it in terms of the quotes from the observed samples—

As long as your health bar is revealed, you can kill any god or Buddha in the heavens!

call out!

A starburst arrow pierced through the barely standing Jishui Leopard, pinning it firmly to the ground. Zhang Yang and Wang Qi were both startled, their attention drawn to the arrow. On the city wall, Zhang Dagu stood atop an archer's raised right arm, flapping his wings.

It kept making gurgling noises from its mouth.

The archer fired the arrow, but instead of lowering his right arm, he put away the longbow he was holding in his left hand and leaped off the city wall.

He, Zhang Yang, and Wang Qi formed a triangle.

Zhang Yang: "It's you?"

Just as the newcomer was about to speak, Zhang Dagu, who was perched on her arm, hurriedly flew towards Zhang Yang, its gurgling becoming increasingly urgent, and it kept nudging her cheek with its beak. Seeing that Zhang Yang didn't understand, it then nudged her waist erratically. Guan Si's face suddenly darkened upon seeing this.

He glanced at his right arm, which Zhang Dagu had just used as a bird perch, and muttered under his breath, "What a traitorous little beast!"

Do you remember who just saved its bird's life?

Do you remember when you were struggling to win and desperately came to ask for help?

[Oh my god! Birds are being killed! Birds are being killed!]

Save the birds, save the birds!

The bird's life was just saved, and it didn't even say thank you before rushing to ask Zhang Boyuan for food? It really is a case of whoever feeds it is its mother!

Faced with its former master's furious, man-eating gaze, Zhang Dagu shrank its neck, decisively spread its ruffled wings to cover its head, and the gurgling sounds from its throat became slow and hesitant.

Guan Si was so angry that he laughed on the spot.

"You little beast!"

Zhang Yang defended Zhang Da Gu, pulling out a handful of birdseed to feed the starving, pitiful bird, saying, "Why are you insulting my bird!"

"Coo coo~ Coo coo~"

Zhang Dagu happily flapped its wings and ate heartily.

One bite at a time, one bite at a time.

As the food, rich in potent and pure energy, was consumed, its empty body gradually filled up. It flapped its wings, instantly revived. Relying on the presence of both its old and new masters to intimidate Wang Qi, it spread its wings and swayed left and right as it ran to the side of the Water Leopard.

It cooed, then raised and lowered its claws, then raised and lowered them again.

Right in front of Wang Qi, he scratched Ji Shuibao's face.

Not only that, it also enlarged its size and, in a fit of rage, stomped on the head of the water leopard with its bird claws. The force wasn't enough to shatter the water leopard, but it was enough to confuse and bewilder it. The water leopard was beaten so badly that it couldn't dodge, and it also had arrows stuck in its body.

Wang Qi: "...You little beast!"

With a sour face, he summoned Ji Shuibao back, finally ending the torment.

Zhang Dagu cursed and swore in dissatisfaction.

Wang Qi glared at the arrogant and domineering bird, and immediately channeled his inner energy to slap it. Zhang Dagu, seeing this, quickly dodged onto Zhang Yang's shoulder, only suffering a scratch, though several feathers flew from its wing. Zhang Yang: "Tsk, you can't handle losing, are you?"

"You say I can't accept defeat? I haven't lost yet!" Wang Qi didn't understand what "breaking through defenses" meant, but he could grasp some of the meaning from the literal meaning.

"If you haven't lost, then keep playing."

Why stop?

Wang Qi remained motionless, watching Guan Si's forceful intervention with suspicion.

He sneered, "Two against one?"

Zhang Yang retorted, "What's wrong with two against one?"

She didn't think there was anything wrong with this model at all.

Wang Qi said, "Your victory is not honorable!"

"Just admit you're bad at the game and afraid of dying. I've fought so many red-named players, and none of them have ever been as petty as you. Let alone two against one, I've even had five against one, ten against one, twenty-five against one, or even a hundred against one. If you can't handle losing, just admit it. What does it have to do with how many people are on my side?" Zhang Yang felt this BOSS was being petty. Other BOSSes had never cared how many players were on their side. She retorted confidently, "Wang Gongsun, the more people you have, the more respect you receive, and the more dignified you'll be."

Guan Si: "..."

True masters never resort to ganging up on the weak.

Guan Si was naturally one of them. He only intervened because Zhang Dagu had humiliated him so much, but he never expected Zhang Yang to be so shameless, treating bullying the weak as commonplace. Even someone as uninhibited as him was shocked by her words!

Wang Qi was so angry that his three internal organs were raging.

He deciphered the true unspoken meaning from Zhang Yang's words—

Don't push your luck!

Wang Qi: "You—"

Zhang Yang pointed to himself: "What's wrong with me?"

Wang Qi remained silent, only clenching his hands tightly at his sides. The two thousand soldiers in the distance, sensing his rage, silently formed their charging formation. At the young general's command, they could unleash a storm of attacks in an instant!

Zhang Yang didn't pay much attention to this scene, but Xiao Sui and the others on the city wall had no choice but to take it seriously, and they all tensed up.

"What should we do, Xiuying?"

Tong Yan was caught in a dilemma. He didn't want to offend the forces of Dongxian County and was trying his best to avoid an accidental clash, but the current situation was beyond his control. If only Wang Qi took action, the impact could be suppressed, but if the two thousand cavalry below also mobilized, the county government couldn't remain indifferent. Who knew if the cavalry's movement was to support Wang Qi, or if they had ulterior motives?

To ensure a safe outcome, the garrison troops in the prefecture also had to take action.

Once you do that, there's no stopping it!

The atmosphere on the battlefield was tense and deadly, reaching its limit.

Until a burst of laughter broke the balance.

The person who laughed was Wang Qi.

His eyes widened in anger, and he swallowed the boiling rage that was about to overflow his throat, laughing furiously, "Very well—very well!"

"I told you, you'd think I'm good too." Zhang Yang played with Zhang Da Gu's beak with her finger, occasionally feeding it a handful of birdseed. Zhang Da Gu had not only done a good job today but also worked hard, so it deserved a reward. She ignored Wang Qi's little commotion.

Guan Si glanced at her silently.

After getting to know her over this period of time, and with some subtle hints, he realized that Zhang Yang was different from ordinary people. It was common for her to talk nonsense and often give irrelevant answers. If he actually listened to what she said, he would surely get so angry that he would suffer internal injuries.

The correct solution is to ignore it.

She said her piece, she spoke her own mind.

Wang Qi was clearly too young to understand this kind of thing.

The next second, Guan Si withdrew his thoughts. Even a saint would find it difficult to ignore Zhang Yang's mouth, let alone someone who never knew when to stop and instead relentlessly pursued her opponent: "Two against one, you're definitely going to die. I don't think you want to die here without knowing why. After all, you haven't secured the idol's commission yet. How about this, we each take a step back, I'll give you a way out, and you take it!"

Zhang Yang did not not want to kill Wang Qi.

But then she suddenly remembered a question—

Wang Qi is Wang Ba's biological son!

If she killed Wang Qi here, and Wang Qi was killed by the plot and couldn't be respawned, wouldn't Wang Ba be devastated by the loss of his son? A parent outliving their child? At that point, would there be any room for negotiation between the upstream and downstream parties? For the sake of the bigger picture, she had no choice but to endure it!

Wang Qi can die, but he cannot die here!

Therefore, Zhang Yang took the initiative to soften his attitude and, for the first time ever, offered Wang Qi a way out, showing a willingness to seek peace and a truce.

Wang Qi felt no desire for peace, only provocation.

"Are you ordering me around?"

Zhang Yang felt that his comprehension ability was worrying.

"This is not an order, it's a discussion."

Even Guan Si, who had been running rampant in the Dongfan Mountains for many years, took notice – whose business council was a command-style council?

"Discuss? Heh, what a fine discussion." Wang Qi took two steps forward, keenly noticing Zhang Yang's gaze gradually moving down from the top of his head, finally settling on his lower abdomen. He also looked down, the tattered cloth unable to conceal his straight legs.

His strong, powerful thighs were faintly visible.

"you--"

Wang Qi was immediately filled with shame, indignation, and resentment.

"In broad daylight, you have no shame!"

Zhang Yang, who had been inexplicably scolded, pointed to herself, not understanding why she had become so shameless: "What's wrong now?"

Wang Qi questioned, "What were you looking at just now?"

Zhang Yang replied sincerely, "Big thigh."

As mentioned before, this is not a game rated 30+. The game will censor the key parts of players and NPCs with a mosaic shaped like four pairs of underwear. However, when the gust of wind blew up Wang Qi's tattered cloth strip just now, Zhang Yang didn't see the mosaic; he saw two thighs.

Wang Qi: "..."

He, who would never have found it strange to go to the countryside for a bath on ordinary days, suddenly felt a strange urge to wrap himself up tightly.

Guan Si turned his head away, feeling quite embarrassed.

He muttered under his breath, "You incorrigible lecher!"

Suddenly, I remembered the stolen belt.

Zhang Yang didn't connect himself with the person Guan Si was cursing. He simply turned his gaze back to Wang Qi's face, his tone slightly impatient: "I've given you a way out, are you going to take it or not?"

"What if I don't quit?"

"I won't kill you, but I'll capture you to threaten Wang Ba, it'll be the same."

Wang Qi seemed to have heard something utterly absurd, and his gaze towards Zhang Yang was utterly strange. He asked the same question he had asked before: "What exactly do you want with that old man? Don't give me that nonsense about the greater good of the people."

"Your father is working on flood control upstream, and I live downstream. What could I possibly want to discuss with your father?" Zhang Yang asked resentfully and impatiently. "Do you father and son even know how to control this flood?"

You shouldn't communicate with NPCs who have low comprehension.

They only listen when the same explanation is repeated twice.

Wang Qi had considered many reasons, but this was the only one he hadn't thought of.

"Just because of that?"

Was his appearance at the Dongham-Ham border a while ago related to this matter?

"Otherwise? And what do you mean by 'just'? Fields without water will crack, crops without water will wither, and farmers without water will either die of thirst immediately or suffer a complete crop failure and starvation the following year. Such a matter of life and death, you just gloss over it with a single word, 'just'?"

Wang Qi found it somewhat difficult to understand, but judging from Zhang Yang's stern tone, the flowery language of the passage was probably not anything pleasant.

He said, "You can't threaten the old man with me."

Using him to threaten Wang Ba is somewhat laughable. Wang Ba fears him but also wants to use him as a handy weapon. However, a knife that is too sharp can also hurt himself. So the old man may have considered squeezing him dry and then letting him die sooner.

If he dies, the old man will probably be happier.

He thought the "mountain spirit" would be disappointed, but to his surprise, the other party casually asked, "If you can't threaten your father? Then who can?"

Wang Qi: "..."

I'm a little speechless.

But what he was even more curious about was what the other party would do if he told them. With this thought in mind, Wang Qi revealed a vicious grin: "The old man's favorite son is his adopted son. All his biological children combined don't win his favor as much as this adopted son. If you capture this adopted son and force him to abandon the flood control project and change the course, I reckon you'll have an 80% chance of success."

"Adopted son? Are you sure he's not my biological son?"

"Hahaha, the old man dreams of this adopted son crawling out of his belly, but unfortunately he doesn't have the ability."

"Fine, then write a letter to lure your sworn brother over here."

As soon as Zhang Yang finished speaking, Wang Qi's wild and unrestrained laughter, tinged with a touch of tragic grandeur, abruptly stopped, almost choking him on his own saliva. He remained silent, while Guan Si looked at her with a strange expression.

It seemed like he was asking a question with his eyes—

How can a person make such a demand with such confidence?

Zhang Yang didn't care.

Why can't she make her request?

Isn't this a very concise, clear, and well-organized request? You know, when NPCs ask players to run errands, what players dislike most isn't how difficult the task is or how far the destination is, but rather that the task objective is not clearly described.

This kind of task is the most annoying.

Zhang Yang has been a player who accepted quests, and he has also been an NPC who secretly ordered players to run errands. He knows best the pain points of doing quests.

The manic smile on Wang Qi's face gradually faded, as if the blizzard raging across the snow-capped mountains had finally come to a temporary halt, allowing the sunlight to briefly reappear. When his warhorse galloped over, Wang Qi grabbed a cloak from its back and draped it over himself, covering his legs.

He nodded meaningfully: "Okay."

This is not difficult to handle.

With his agreement, the tense atmosphere that had been hanging over the battlefield eased. Xiao Sui and the others on the city wall couldn't hear what was being said below, but from Wang Qi's initiative to speak with them, it was clear that a battle was unlikely to break out.

His classmate breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness."

If a real fight breaks out, he worries that the city walls will be destroyed by Wang Gongsun.

Wang Ba has long coveted Tianjiang County, and the old man might use this as an excuse to cause trouble. In that case, he would really be left with nothing but bitterness.

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There will be regular updates tonight.

PS: NPCs can really make players do anything, from deceiving, robbing, and killing to even scavenging and gathering firewood... There are even those who have the audacity to ask players to assassinate high-ranking officials or even the emperor. Isn't this just like a game of Candy Crush?