Chapter 268: Life and Death Talisman

"Master, you're finally here," Ruyan called out delicately.

Ye Xiu didn't react to Ruyan's somewhat forced voice, but Ji Yaohua, beside her, shuddered.

Clearly, Ji Yaohua hadn't expected her senior sister to speak in such a way.

As for Ruyan addressing Ye Xiu as master—under the threat of the Life and Death Talisman, she was quite happy to do so.

"Yes," Ye Xiu nodded, then turned his gaze to Ji Yaohua, who was standing beside Ruyan.

"Master, this is my junior sister, Ji Yaohua. Compared to me, she enjoys An Shigeng's trust, which is why I brought her over," Ruyan introduced Ji Yaohua.

"She enjoys An Shigeng's trust? If she does, would she be willing to rebel against him?" Ye Xiu knew what was going on, but some things were difficult to explain, so he feigned a question.

"Don't worry, Master. Although An Shigeng trusts my junior sister, she absolutely loathes him. If it weren't for the situation, she wouldn't obey An Shigeng."

"Really?" Ye Xiu feigned suspicion as he looked at Ji Yaohua.

"If Master Ye doesn't trust you, you can plant the Life and Death Talisman on me, just like you did on my senior sister. I hope that after you've dealt with An Shigeng, you can remove the Life and Death Talisman for me and my senior sister, giving us a chance to live." Ji Yaohua lowered her head, her voice heavy.

"You're actually asking me to plant the Life and Death Talisman on you? Do you even know what a Life and Death Talisman is?" Ji Yaohua's statement surprised Ye Xiu; he hadn't expected Ji Yaohua to make such a request.

"I know a little. The Six Gates have records about the Tianshan Vulture Palace, and among them are records about the Life and Death Talisman. It renders life worse than death, making it difficult for anyone to resist. The Tianshan Vulture Palace is the one that uses the Life and Death Talisman to control the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands," Ji Yaohua said gravely.

"Knowing how terrifying the Life and Death Talisman is, you still dared me to plant it on you?" Ye Xiu looked at Ji Yaohua with amusement.

"Because I had no choice!" Ji Yaohua gave a wry smile.

"When my senior sister found me, I knew I had no choice. I could tell An Shigeng about her and Young Master Ye, but she said you're a Grandmaster, and An Yunshan, the Grandmaster of the An Mansion, isn't in the capital right now. While An Shigeng is formidable, he's not a Grandmaster either, and no match for you. If I continue to side with An Shigeng, the only outcome will be death. And I don't want to die!" Ji Yaohua explained seriously.

"It's a wise choice, but the Life and Death Talisman is worse than death. Are you really prepared for that? Besides, aren't you worried I'll be the next An Shigeng?"

"...I don't know if Young Master Ye will be the next An Shigeng, but I can only take a gamble. Winning is great, but losing is still because my life is in someone else's hands. I have no choice but to obey their orders, and it doesn't matter who I obey." Ji Yaohua said this.

But in reality, through Ye Xiu's diary, she had gained some understanding of his personality and character.

While Ye Xiu's diary indicated he was a rather lustful fellow, what man wasn't lustful? While Ye

Xiu was lustful, his character wasn't bad, and he wasn't a malicious person. Ji Yaohua felt that as long as she didn't do anything bad to Ye Xiu and didn't betray him, he wouldn't really make things difficult for her.

In fact, based on her understanding of Ye Xiu, she believed that after Ye Xiu resolved An Shigeng's problem, there was a high probability that he would remove the life and death talisman.

This was Ji Yaohua's guess about Ye Xiu's character.

If she guessed right, it would be good; if she guessed wrong, Ji Yaohua would just have to blame herself. But she couldn't just sit there and do nothing because she wasn't sure whether she was right or not.

Ji Yaohua really wanted to give it a try, as she was increasingly disgusted with An Shigeng.

An Shigeng was moody, brutal, and cruel, with the air of a spoiled brat. Ji Yaohua couldn't seem to warm to him, and her dislike for him deepened due to his pressure.

Compared to the moody, almost perverted An Shigeng, Ye Xiu before her, though seemingly unlike his true self, at least didn't possess the aura that so deeply repelled her.

...

Ye Xiu hadn't expected Ji Yaohua to be lured into his allegiance by Ruyan.

However, since Ji Yaohua had proactively requested the Life and Death Talisman, Ye Xiu made no excuses. The Talisman

served as a token of loyalty.

By planting it, Ye Xiu accepted Ji Yaohua's allegiance. If Ye Xiu didn't, it might have prompted Ji Yaohua to harbor other ideas.

Planting the Talisman would establish the initial trust between the two.

Ye Xiu didn't hesitate. He tapped the tea beside him, condensed it into a few tiny flakes of ice, and then injected them into Ji Yaohua's body.

Ji Yaohua felt a faint glow in certain parts of her body, then lost all feeling.

The next moment, Ji Yaohua began to feel a faint itching sensation within her. This itching grew stronger, so intense that she felt the urge to scratch, even to the point of breaking her skin.

To prevent Ji Yaohua from scratching herself, Ye Xiu tapped into the air, sealing Ji Yaohua's acupoints, forcing her to endure the itch that practically penetrated her bones.

Ji Yaohua had read about the Life and Death Talisman in the Six Gates' literature, and it seemed incredibly terrifying. She had even asked Ruyan about it, so she was somewhat prepared for it. However, when it actually came upon her, she realized she had underestimated its terrifying power.

Just as Ji Yaohua was about to give up, on the verge of losing her mind, Ye Xiu tapped her skin a few times, and the itching caused by the life-death talisman quickly subsided. Only

then did Ji Yaohua begin to regain her composure.

It had only been a few cups of tea, but Ji Yaohua felt as if each day had stretched on for years. She had even had suicidal thoughts.

Within a few cups of tea, Ji Yaohua's hair was drenched with sweat, and even her clothes were clung to her body. But she didn't care. Compared to the pain of the life-death talisman, the feeling of her clothes and hair sticking to her body was nothing.

Ji Yaohua looked at Ye Xiu with a hint of fear and panic.

"Ji Yaohua, don't worry. Once I've dealt with An Shigeng—and An Yunshan—I'll naturally remove the life-death talisman from you," Ye Xiu soothed her.

"Thank you, thank you Master Ye, but please, Master Ye, please let my sister go and unlock the life and death talisman for her." Ji Yaohua's tone was weak, but in this situation, she still mentioned Ruyan.

Ruyan was obviously stunned when she heard this, and her eyes looked at Ji Yaohua with a little more touching. She obviously didn't expect that her junior sister would still think of her in this situation.

Ye Xiu was slightly surprised by Ji Yaohua's expression, yet also found it understandable. Ji Yaohua, despite her somewhat contradictory personality, was also quite sentimental.

"Yes!" Ye Xiu nodded.

"Thank you, Master Ye."

"Thank you, Master!"

Ji Yaohua and Ruyan both thanked Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu waved his hand, unconcerned with the words of thanks. After all, he had planted the life-death talisman in the first place. It seemed a bit strange that he would have Ji Yaohua and Ruyan thank him just to untie it.

"Junior sister is feeling a little unwell right now. Master, why don't you let her leave first and let me share some of the intelligence we sisters have gathered these days?" Ruyan said to Ye Xiu softly, smiling.

Although Ji Yaohua's clothes were soaked with sweat and she looked frail, her appearance still shone with a certain pity, something that could easily arouse a man.

Ye Xiu, however, wasn't one to be dominated by his lower body, so he nodded and signaled for Ji Yaohua to leave.

After Ji Yaohua left, Ruyan, holding a document, swung her plump hips, and sat on Ye Xiu's lap—well, sometimes, Ye Xiu could let his lower body dominate him.

After all, it had been a while since he left the Great Sui Dynasty, and during that time, Ye Xiu hadn't released anything. Now that Ruyan was like this, Ye Xiu didn't mind letting it out, releasing some energy.

After all, Ruyan's figure was truly amazing, so amazing that Ye Xiu wanted to experience it for himself.

Besides, Ye Xiu wasn't some Liu Xiahui who could remain calm under the influence of a woman's voluptuous embrace. Furthermore, Ruyan had been the one to initiate this, though the Life and Death Talisman played a big role in her initiation. But regardless, she had taken the initiative.

If Ruyan hadn't taken the initiative, Ye Xiu wouldn't have taken the initiative to bully her, but since Ruyan had taken the initiative, Ye Xiu wouldn't have refused. After

Ji

Yaohua left the room, she immediately showered and changed. Afterward, she hesitated whether to go find Ye Xiu and her senior sister Ruyan.

However, as she approached, she heard her senior sister Ruyan's lewd voice coming from inside. She immediately turned away, blushing.

…

“I came to the capital today, and I didn’t expect to meet Wuqing at the city gate.”

“Well, let me tell you, Wuqing is a woman, not a male version of Wuqing, and she is also very beautiful. She looks like a soft and cute pretty girl. It’s a pity that her legs - can only be used in a wheelchair.”

“I don’t know if the Shenzhaojing and the Ramane function can’t heal Wuqing’s legs and let her stand up again.

” “After all, it’s a pity that such a beautiful woman has been sitting in a wheelchair all the time.

” “Forget it, let’s talk about Wuqing later. After all, the main reason I came to the capital this time is to solve the problem of An Shigeng.”

“When I found Ruyan, I wanted to get some information from Ruyan, such as where An Shigeng is, but I didn’t expect Ruyan to show up with Ji Yaohua.”

“What’s more, Ruyan actually lured Ji Yaohua over.”

“Although I knew that Ji Yaohua didn’t have a good impression of An Shigeng, and even felt a little disgusted, I didn’t expect Ji Yaohua to be lured over by Ruyan. Especially when Ji Yaohua knew about the life and death talisman.”

"Ji Yaohua took the initiative to ask me to plant the life and death talisman on her to gain my trust. Since she asked for it, I will plant it on her. After all, Ji Yaohua and I have never met before, and we have no communication. We need a button to build mutual trust." "

But to be honest, with my current strength, there is actually no need to make so many twists and turns. I can directly rush into the An Mansion and kill An Shigeng directly." "

With my strength as a Grand Master of the Profound Realm, I can directly sweep through the An Mansion."

"But this is the capital of the Song Dynasty after all. If we really make too much noise, it might attract the attention of other masters."

"After all, it's the capital, and I think there will be more masters. So it's better to stabilize it first, and then deal with An Shigeng. It's best not to make too much noise in the process." "

However, according to the normal plot, An Shigeng should have sent people to make fake copper coins, which would then arouse the suspicion of Wuqing and others. Finally, after he was sure that Ji Yaohua had no good feelings for him and did not like him, he gave up on himself and almost killed himself, and finally became a loser who needed the support of Ganoderma lucidum to barely survive."

"It seems that An Shigeng would be finished without me doing anything."

"It's just that, for my own revenge, if possible, it would be more satisfying to do it myself. So, I'd better get rid of An Shigeng first - maybe I can beat An Shigeng into a loser who needs Ganoderma lucidum to barely survive like in the original book."

"Making him live a life worse than death is also a punishment and torture for people like An Shigeng."

"Well, that's not bad, you can try it."

"Okay, let's talk about some good things next."

"Ruyan's figure is just as I thought, great, great, great!"

"It's really very comfortable to sleep with a figure like this. Especially her technique is also very good."

"According to Ruyan, she specifically learned these techniques in Penglai, but she hadn't yet used them on anyone. After all, when she came to An Shigeng for refuge, An Shigeng was already completely captivated by Ji Yaohua, even committed to remaining chaste for her. So, he never even touched Ruyan."

"Well, that's not bad either, it's a bargain for me."

...

"Wuqing—" Ji Yaohua glanced at the updated diary entry, almost certain that Wuqing was one of the diary's owners, just like her.

Wuqing might be the culprit behind Ye Xiu's investigation by Zhuge Shenhou and subsequent pursuit by An Shigeng.

As for Wuqing's reason for seeking Ye Xiu—Ye Xiu had clearly stated it in today's diary entry—Wuqing might need the Shenzhaojing or the Rama Neigong to rise from his wheelchair, both of which were in Ye Xiu's possession. Therefore, it was natural for Wuqing to seek Ye Xiu out in order to rise.

Ji Yaohua wondered if she should contact Wuqing. After all, if Wuqing had the diary, he'd know she'd betrayed An Shigeng, and perhaps the two of them would even join forces.

As for the last mention of Ye Xiu and Ruyan in the diary—Ji Yaohua simply rolled her eyes. She didn't need to read it; she'd heard it clearly during the day. Just

as Ji Yaohua finished reading the diary and hesitated about contacting Wuqing, a message suddenly came through the diary, startling her.

"Monthly summary: You've been mentioned twenty-one times in the diary this month, gaining two months of internal cultivation. The diary owner's favorability towards you is 34, and you've received an additional 10% bonus, ultimately gaining two months and six days of internal cultivation."

Immediately afterwards, Ji Yaohua felt a surge of zhenqi appear within her, roughly equivalent to about two months of normal cultivation.

Moreover, this innate energy was indistinguishable from the innate energy she cultivated. It was as if she had truly cultivated it for two months through her own efforts. This innate energy was indistinguishable from the original innate energy within her body.

Although just two months of cultivation hadn't allowed Ji Yaohua to break through to the first level of Grandmaster, her internal energy had indeed increased.

This transformation left Ji Yaohua astonished, shocked, and incredulous.

She stared blankly at the diary, her throat dry. "This diary can actually increase one's cultivation? This is too, too amazing, isn't it? It's simply, simply—"

Stunned, Ji Yaohua pondered for a long time, her gaze growing intense as she gazed at the diary.

As a wuss, especially one forced to infiltrate the Six Gates undercover due to her own lack of strength, Ji Yaohua's desire for strength was undeniable.

If there was any method to improve her strength, as long as it wasn't too extreme, she would use it without hesitation.

So, when Ji Yaohua knew that the diary could improve her strength, and Ye Xiu was the key, Ji Yaohua's mind began to move. Ji

Yaohua even understood why women like Dongfang Bubai and Yaoyue would treat Ye Xiu like this.