But in the end, there was no exception.
Every ti, Kaoru threw Yuli out.
After being thrown ten tis in a row, Yuli grew furious and waved her arms wildly. Just as the little girl was about to strike again, Hui Lixiang stepped forward.
"Alright!"
"Yuli, stop making trouble."
"And Kaoru, stop bullying Yuli. She’s still a child."
Hui Lixiang said.
"Hmm, okay, I won’t bully kids."
Kaoru nodded, faithfully echoing her words.
Especially when pronouncing the word "kids," the emphasis was notably clear.
There was no doubt Kaoru did it on purpose.
Hui Lixiang sighed helplessly.
Kaoru, who appeared refined and composed, like a white plum blossom, was undoubtedly black-hearted if split open.
Perhaps it was precisely this mischievous cunning that allowed her to master their family’s martial skills to the level she had.
Hui Lixiang thought to herself, raising her hand simultaneously to intercept mid-air Yuli as she lunged toward Kaoru. Caught securely, Yuli was tucked under Hui Lixiang’s arm.
"Lixiang!"
"Let go of !"
"I must have a duel with Kaoru to determine the strongest female!"
Yuli shouted loudly.
"We’re all female."
Kaoru quipped softly.
Yuli froze for a mont.
Then, baring her teeth and claws, she snarled at Kaoru.
"None of your business!"
"None of your business!"
"Alright, alright, Yuli, don’t get mad."
Hui Lixiang comforted Yuli as if coaxing a child, and monts later, the bristling Yuli cald down. She lifted her chin and asked Hui Lixiang, "Can I have ice cream later?"
"Yes, you can."
Hui Lixiang nodded.
"Yay!"
Yuli imdiately jumped up and cheered.
"I’m not giving you any!"
Yuli declared to Kaoru.
Kaoru didn’t even bother responding to Yuli.
Bullying children was sothing Kaoru did no more than four or five tis a day. Overdoing it would lessen the thrill.
"Can that matter be confird?"
Kaoru asked Hui Lixiang.
"If there were still doubts before, we can now be fairly certain."
"After all, not just anyone would sacrifice eleven Onmyoji as bait."
Hui Lixiang replied.
"That ’Sword Saint’ should be grateful to us for saving his life."
Kaoru remarked with a hint of aning.
"Him?"
"Forget it."
"I know Jing’s friends too well. Gratitude isn’t in their vocabulary; they’ll only see us as ddling nuisances. If you want to get sothing out of them, you can’t ask outright. You can only wait for them to offer on their own."
Hui Lixiang spoke with the tone of soone who had been through it all.
"Is that so?"
Kaoru frowned.
They were now under scrutiny and could no longer ambush their way through like before.
With the strength of their trio, ordinary enemies posed no threat.
But who could guarantee there wouldn’t be surprises?
Thus, securing a strong ally beca essential.
And who could be more suited than Jason?
Even though he was Hui Lijing’s friend, the current generation’s Master of Tongshou Temple, and bore the ’Sword Saint’ title, his connections and power were certainly reassuring.
"Shouldn’t we try?"
Kaoru’s reluctance was evident.
"No need."
"Go with the flow."
"Besides, our mission isn’t mandatory. According to our employer’s terms, if unmanageable events occur, we are allowed to withdraw."
Hui Lixiang reassured her team mber.
"Withdraw?"
Kaoru frowned again, clearly dissatisfied.
"We can’t give up!"
"We need to prove that what n can do, we can do too!"
Yuli stepped forward, her expression unusually serious.
Jason is a man too!
Hui Lixiang wanted to say this to Yuli.
But fearing that Yuli’s brain might short-circuit, Hui Lixiang swallowed her words and instead said,
"Alright, I’ll give it a try."
Then, as the leader of their trio, Hui Lixiang took the lead heading downstairs.
"Are we going to have ice cream now?"
Yuli asked.
"No."
"We’re going to et our mysterious employer."
Hui Lixiang answered.
"We’ve already completed about ten tasks for him, and now he wants to et us—another test? Or has he begun to trust us?"
Kaoru had more on her mind.
"A mix of both, probably."
"Though it’s likely ti to move toward deeper collaboration."
Hui Lixiang said with an underlying implication.
Kaoru nodded, instantly understanding.
Yuli?
The girl whose thoughts were entirely consud by ice cream had long ceased thinking.
But just as the trio reached the staircase—
BOOM!
A massive explosion broke out behind them in the distance.
Towering flas soared a hundred ters high.
The night sky was instantly illuminated.
The wind suddenly grew fierce.
The ground trembled slightly.
"That direction—is it?"
Kaoru turned to look, her expression shifting slightly.
She had anticipated trouble, but she hadn’t expected it to co so quickly.
It felt almost surreal.
"Isn’t that the Hanakaiin main household?"
"Were they attacked?"
"It looks brutal!"
Yuli spoke bluntly.
"Yes, brutal."
"But the true brutality hasn’t even begun."
"Let’s go."
"We need to et our employer."
After a final glance at the explosion, Hui Lixiang unhesitatingly continued downstairs.
There was no need to linger over what had already been foreseen.
However...
An explosion of this magnitude would surely draw many onlookers, right?
So curious.
Others ready to exploit the chaos.
But most would likely end up as collateral damage.
The Hanakaiin Family, after all, still had surviving mbers.
...
21 pieces of "food" provided Jason with 321 points of satiety.
Glancing at his restored [1032] satiety points and savoring the lingering taste of the food, Jason let out a slight breath of relief.
Though not at his peak, with over 300 "lives," he had sufficient capital for risk-taking.
Jason was well aware that if his earlier guesses were correct, a major event was imminent.
To get involved, [Satiety] was indispensable.
Even though Jason considered accidents unlikely in this dungeon world, one could never be too careful.
Hence, [Satiety] abundance was always a blessing.
BOOM!
As Jason mulled over these thoughts, a massive explosion echoed from afar.
"Just as I suspected!"
Looking toward the explosion, Jason wasted no ti and headed straight for it.
Heading there as well were Hanakaiin Tōru, Hanakaiin Ra, Hanakaiin Haru, and Hanakaiin Itsuki.
The mont the explosion occurred, Hanakaiin Tōru stood.
This figure, acknowledged as the Hanakaiin Family’s number one, raised an arm and shattered the barrier with ease.
The casualness of his movents reaffird that the rumors were true.
Hanakaiin Tōru was indeed the strongest of the younger generation.
"Hanakaiin Tōru, what are you doing?"
"This is a serious offense!"
"You’ll face the death penalty!"
The guards stationed by the main household shouted in panic.
"Get so sleep."
"When you wake, everything will be clear."
With these words, Hanakaiin Tōru waved a hand.
Instantly, everyone in the courtyard, except himself, Hanakaiin Ra, Hanakaiin Haru, and Hanakaiin Itsuki, fell into a deep slumber.
"This!"
Hanakaiin Haru’s pupils shrank, stunned by this display of power.
Hanakaiin Itsuki sized Tōru up with renewed curiosity.
"Tōru?"
Hanakaiin Ra voiced his confusion.
To him, it seed impossible for Tōru to do sothing like this.
"I’m rely confirming sothing."
Hanakaiin Tōru replied calmly.
"Confirming what?"
Ra was puzzled.
Haru and Itsuki, however, looked thoughtful.
Hanakaiin Tōru turned his gaze to sweep over the trio’s faces, his voice still flat—
"Confirming whether the fabled ’Blossom Cherry’ Leader is truly the Hanakaiin Family’s head."
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