Chapter 156: Playing So Big?
Chun Lan was completely panicking at this moment.
She initially planned to secretly monitor the man who was about to become her brother-in-law and the palace master’s partner.
She wanted to see if he had any bad habits, chaotic personal life, or messy living habits.
As luck would have it, she ended up overhearing a shocking secret.
This Sang Ze.
He was actually the infamous, universally feared pervert, the so-called Punishment Department Demon Lord, Sang Zhe, who didn’t spare anyone from elderly women to little kindergarten girls!
After learning this secret, Chun Lan was so scared she immediately covered her mouth tightly.
What to do now!
That Sang Zhe was known for not letting any woman escape, just walking by meant being targeted by that big bad wolf!
Even now, she recalled the moment at the Demon Path Promotion Ceremony when that man with the evil ghost fang mask looked at her.
She would still tremble at the memory, unable to stop shaking in fear.
If he discovered that she knew his secret…
Just as she feared the worst, it happened.
When Sang Zhe suddenly turned around, Chun Lan couldn’t contain her terror and let out a low gasp.
In that moment, she realized she was done for.
Driven by instinct, Chun Lan hurriedly turned to flee.
But that Punishment Department Demon Lord wasn’t a mere mortal.
Sure enough, as she desperately tried to escape, the sky around her suddenly plunged into boundless darkness.
Everything before Chun Lan was swallowed by darkness, making her feel like she was falling into an abyss where she couldn’t see her fingers.
What terrified her more was the sudden, chilling sensation behind her, as if something had wrapped around her ankle.
She looked down in horror.
It was a chain.
“Eek!”
Chun Lan almost fainted from fear.
Bound by the chain, she had no strength to resist as she was dragged into the endless abyss.
When her consciousness finally came to again,
She found herself tightly bound, sitting on a bed in Sang Zhe’s room.
She looked at the lean, worried man rubbing his temples.
“I say, Nian Nian.”
Sang Zhe looked dejected: “Can’t you tell me important things like this a bit earlier next time?”
“This system wanted to say it, but the host interrupted and didn’t listen.”
Nian Nian huffed, turning her head: “Don’t blame your mistakes on this system.”
…That’s not wrong.
It really was her carelessness; she thought it was safe talking in the house.
Who would’ve expected that an annoying girl was eavesdropping under her own windowsill?
“Alright, fine. So what do we do now?”
Sang Zhe looked at Chun Lan, who was tightly bound and whose body curves were accentuated by the ropes, with tears of fright in her eyes.
“Now that she knows my true identity, I can’t just let her go.”
“Otherwise, all my progress will be wasted.”
“Is there any way to make her forget what just happened, or at least not be able to reveal my true identity?”
Nian Nian pushed up her glasses: “A memory-erasing pill that works precisely is quite expensive. The host has already spent quite a few points recently; I’m sure you can’t afford it.”
“Other brainwashing pills have too serious side effects, which would cause the system to deduct points for ‘injuring the strategy’s fairy.’”
“Can’t we forcibly plant a soul mark?” Sang Zhe asked tentatively.
“Of course not,” Nian Nian glared at him, “Your system’s soul mark can only be used when the strategy is fully completed.”
That’s a pickle.
Sang Zhe vaguely remembered that he had only about fifty percent strategy progress with Chun Lan.
It was impossible to complete the strategy in a short time.
And Chun Lan couldn’t go missing for too long; the Sword Flower Palace disciples would notice.
The more he thought about it, the more he frowned: “What do we do?”
He glanced at Chun Lan, who was tied up like a dumpling.
Chun Lan looked back at him pitifully.
The two locked eyes for a moment before Sang Zhe spoke in as soothing a tone as he could muster:
“Um, Chun Lan, there might be some misunderstanding between us.”
“I’ll take off your mouth seal, and you promise me to stay quiet and listen to my explanation, okay?”
Chun Lan nodded vigorously.
But the moment Sang Zhe tore off half the seal, Chun Lan screamed at the top of her lungs: “Help! Somebody save—mmph.”
“Hey, you little brat, don’t refuse a toast only to have a punishment.”
Sang Zhe glared at her: “Do you know why they call me the Punishment Department Demon Lord? It’s because I’m skilled in various severe tortures.”
“Anyone who’s been interrogated by me has suffered immense pain and torment, becoming barely human, and left with deep psychological scars.”
“You definitely wouldn’t want to experience my severe interrogation, would you?”
Chun Lan’s pretty face turned pale, shaking her head frantically.
“Then be good and listen.”
Sang Zhe tore off the seal from her mouth again.
This time, Chun Lan didn’t dare to yell anymore, but her beautiful eyes were still misty, looking at him with a mix of shame, anger, and fear.
“You… you’re a Demon Path person?”
Sang Zhe thought for a moment and lazily admitted: “Yes.”
“I knew it…” Her eyes reddened slightly as she hesitantly said, “You love bullying people so much; you must be a bad guy!”
“You came to our Sword Flower Palace; you definitely didn’t have good intentions!”
Sang Zhe sighed.
“Let me be honest with you. I’m actually just an inconspicuous little employee in the Punishment Department of the Demon Path.”
“That previously touted Punishment Department Demon Lord, that old demon cultivator in the great Ascension realm possessing me, it was all a lie out of sheer necessity. I was just acting the whole time.”
“It was just to perform well in front of my boss and snag a promotion and raise. Is that so hard for me?”
“It’s already a thankless job, and here you guys picked me out.”
“To avoid my lie being exposed, I’ve had to be on my toes, nervously acting as an undercover in your Sword Flower Palace. What a stroke of bad luck.”
He looked utterly exhausted and helpless: “If I could, who wouldn’t want to stay at home, with a wife and kids all cozy?”
“Do you think anyone wants to run thousands of miles to a strange place, risking their life to flirt with your palace master?”
“Making some money is tough; I don’t want to hurt you. Let’s both take a step back. You act like you know nothing; let’s let it slide, alright?”
Chun Lan thought for a moment and said seriously: “No.”
Great.
That was a wasted effort.
“I… I don’t believe your lies.”
Although Chun Lan’s eyes were filled with fear, she was still holding firm: “You’re the dreadful demon lord from the rumors! You definitely came here to take the palace master!”
Me?
Take the palace master, who’s a great Ascension realm Sword Immortal?
Ha, you really think highly of me.
I can’t even feed the juice demon at home; do I have the leisure to come to this godforsaken place and suck others dry?
Sang Zhe also realized that explanations were no use; he could only cover her mouth again and glare at Nian Nian in frustration.
“What to do?”
“I already told you.” Nian Nian crossed her arms and turned her head away, “Don’t turn to this system just because you’re in trouble.”
“Clean up your own mess.”
“But I really have no way,” Sang Zhe replied helplessly.
“Alright, Nian Nian, be a bit merciful and help me find something to handle this situation.”
Nian Nian shot him a sideways glance with no expression.
Moments later, she reluctantly retrieved a pill from the system shop that Sang Zhe had never heard of.
“Give this to her.”
Sang Zhe obediently put the pill in the mouth of the struggling Chun Lan.
Nian Nian also popped one in her own mouth.
In the next moment, Chun Lan’s eyes gradually turned murky and dull, while Nian Nian’s form slowly faded away.
Just when Sang Zhe was left utterly confused,
Chun Lan slowly woke up again.
“Did it work?”
Sang Zhe tentatively waved his hand in front of Chun Lan.
To his surprise, Chun Lan impatiently said, “Stop shaking, dumb host.”
Sang Zhe: “?”
The “Chun Lan” before him undid all the ropes tying her and lightly stretched her limbs, softly saying:
“This pill allows me and Chun Lan to temporarily swap consciousness for a few days.”
“For these days, I will live as Chun Lan and won’t let the news leak.”
“You should use this time to quickly conquer Gu Yingmian and Qiu Ju.”
Sang Zhe was deeply shocked by the familiar disdainful tone coming from the “Chun Lan” in front of him.
Oh my…
A body swap play?
Playing such a big game?
“Th-then where is Chun Lan now…”
Before he could finish his sentence, a terrified voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
“Wh-what’s going on?!”
“Sang Zhe, what did you do?!”
The “Chun Lan” before him casually explained, “Her consciousness has to temporarily reside in the host’s body.”
“How to deal with her is up to you.”
In an instant, Sang Zhe was left speechless by the massive influx of information.
After a long while, he finally patted “Chun Lan” on the shoulder with a look of emotion.
“My dear Nian Nian.”
“You’ve given so much to this family.”
Nian Nian shot him an unimpressed glare.
“With this time, the host should hurry up and think about how to conquer Qiu Ju and Gu Yingmian.”
“I’ll be heading back now.”
As she spoke, she waved her hand and turned to leave the room.
After Nian Nian left, Chun Lan’s panicked voice echoed in his head:
“Wh-what kind of sorcery is this? Who is in my body?”
Sang Zhe thought for a moment.
“It’s someone who’s super tough on the outside but soft and sweet on the inside, a beautiful girl, okay?”
