Seeing the two of them prostrate themselves so readily, Li Qinqin was thoroughly pleased.
“How sensible of you. If I told you that this young lady intends to kill the Left Envoy, would that frighten you?”
The moment Li Qinqin said this, the short one fainted dead away on the spot, while the tall one trembled from head to toe, his teeth chattering so hard he couldn’t even speak!
This woman was utterly, recklessly arrogant!
Even if her abilities already surpassed those of the Four Great Guardians, the gap between the Guardians and the Left Envoy wasn’t measured merely in a thousand years. And what’s more, the Left Envoy had absorbed the Right Envoy’s blood as well—once he fully awoke, his power would rival that of the former Blood Lord himself!
Seeing their reaction, Li Qinqin burst out laughing. “Oh my, such spineless creatures—what use are you to me, then? You already know my secret. If one of you decides to run off and report me someday, wouldn’t I just…”
The moment she said this, the short one, who had fainted, snapped back awake instantly. He and the tall one exchanged a glance and turned serious. “What exactly do you want? Everyone right now is working hard toward the Left Envoy’s awakening—why would you want to kill him?”
“I don’t want to be bound by anyone. Once the Left Envoy reclaims the Xijing desert and establishes his kingdom, there can only be one ruler—and we’ll remain servants forever, with no freedom, ever! She’s sick of living like that!”
“So you want to claim the throne yourself! Can you actually kill the Left Envoy?” the tall one shot back in disbelief. This woman’s ambition wasn’t ordinary—it was staggering, almost obscenely greedy.
“I can’t kill him. But someone else can!” Li Qinqin said with a smile. “But you two—I can certainly kill you!”
The tall one was about to speak, but her next words cut him off entirely.
Both of them looked at Li Qinqin, and in their hearts they knew—running into this woman meant they were finished.
At this point, the short one suddenly grew sharp-witted. “Fine, tell us—what do you want us to do?”
The tall one gasped, staring at him in disbelief. “How dare you steal my line!”
“Who said that was your line!” the short one snapped back, suddenly showing some backbone.
Smack—another blow to the head. The tall one was furious. “Why aren’t you sticking to the script?”
The two of them fell to bickering and squabbling, and before they knew it, had drifted quite a distance away from Li Qinqin.
Li Qinqin watched, brows furrowing tighter and tighter. Finally, just as the two of them were about to seize the chance to flee, she flickered into motion and appeared right in front of them, slapping both of them away with a single vicious blow!
“Wasting my time—might as well just kill you!”
The tall one spat black blood, and the short one lay sprawled on the ground, unable to rise for a long moment. Both were badly hurt—yet somehow still wore the same foolish expressions.
The short one started crying. “Boss, we’re not getting away from this.”
“If we can’t get away, then let’s just submit to her,” the tall one said pitifully—his words clearly meant to curry favor with Li Qinqin, though anyone listening might take a moment to catch the implication.
“Still thinking of running?” Li Qinqin snorted coldly.
“No, no! We wouldn’t dare! Truly, we wouldn’t dare!” The two brothers kowtowed and begged for mercy in a heap, not a shred of dignity left between them.
“Heh, good, glad you’re being sensible,” Li Qinqin laughed haughtily. “I have a task for you. Handle it properly, and I’ll reward each of you with a vial of millennium blood.”
Millennium blood!
Now that was a fine treasure indeed. Aside from the undying blood of a Five Elements Vessel, which could be preserved forever, the blood of bloodline clan members could also be preserved—though the duration varied depending on their strength.
Millennium blood, as the name suggested, was blood cultivated over a thousand years, with a thousand years’ worth of cultivated power sealed within it. Once consumed and absorbed, it would surely grant a thousand years’ worth of strength!
This woman—a mere lesser Guardian—was already this formidable? She must have consumed no small amount of millennium blood herself!
“Your servants are honored to serve you, my lady! Please, just give the order.”
The two brothers spoke in unison, bowing respectfully.
“Very good.” Li Qinqin looked thoroughly satisfied—she’d known all along that no one in this world could resist temptation.
She reached casually into the nearby underbrush and yanked out a small pair of hands—and it turned out to be Jun Yaotiao!
This woman—she’d deceived Jun Buli and all the rest of them completely!
Not only had she not left the area, she’d kept Jun Yaotiao behind as well!
The tall one and short one, catching sight of this delicately beautiful, porcelain-like child, both stared in wide-eyed fascination—who was this, so lovely, just like a china doll?
A trace of blood lingered at the corner of her lips, against a small face as pale and flawless as mutton-fat jade, almost seductively beautiful.
“You only need to do one thing—stay here, watch over her, and wait for my orders at all times!” Li Qinqin said coldly. She had no intention of bringing Jun Yaotiao to the bloodline clan.
Jun Yaotiao was her greatest bargaining chip, her ultimate fallback. If anything went wrong at the bloodline clan, Jun Yaotiao would be her best leverage in negotiating with Jun Buli and the others!
Keeping her somewhere they could never find was the safest guarantee she could have!
“Understood!” the tall one said respectfully, accepting the order. The short one just stared at Jun Yaotiao, dumbstruck. “She must be a princess!”
Only a princess could be born so beautiful, so noble.
“You don’t need to know who she is. Just watch her well. If anything goes wrong, I’ll hold you both responsible,” Li Qinqin said, as haughty as a queen.
“Yes, yes, yes!” the short one nodded rapidly.
Li Qinqin glanced once more at Jun Yaotiao, a flash of hatred crossing her eyes, and with a sweep of her hand, a sharp burst of cold force tore straight through Jun Yaotiao’s clothing and skin alike!
She shot the tall one and short one a meaningful glance, then turned and walked away.
But the tall one and short one stood frozen where they were, staring at Jun Yaotiao’s exposed, half-visible skin, blood slowly seeping out—the two brothers exchanged a look, something unspoken passing between them.
After a long moment, the tall one finally exploded. “You wretch!!! This is going too far!”
The short one erupted with fury as well. “Vile woman! Not even sparing a child this young—a disgrace to the entire bloodline clan!”
“This makes me sick! Whatever grudge you’ve got, go settle it with her parents! Hmph!” the tall one snapped, hurriedly stripping off his own outer robe and, with clumsy, careful hands, wrapping Jun Yaotiao up tightly. The bloodline clan might feed on blood, but they still had their principles!
The short one hurried off to gather a pile of medicinal herbs from nearby, chewing them up roughly to extract the juice so he could treat her wounds.
Smack!
Another sharp knock from the tall one. “What do you think you’re doing! She’s a girl!”
“She’s just a baby—what does male or female matter? She’s bleeding, can’t you see? How can we not treat her right away?” the short one snapped back fiercely.
“Even a baby has her modesty! Get your filthy hands away, don’t you dare sully her!” the tall one shot back, just as fierce.
“Then what are we supposed to do?” the short one asked.
Just then, a low, pleasant voice suddenly came from the underbrush. “Gentlemen, why not let me handle this? I’m her godfather.” The tall one and short one froze, whipping around at once.
But there was no one there. Yet when they turned back around, a white-robed scholar stood before them, smiling cheerfully, as if he’d been standing there all along!