What a fine piece of theater—the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

Elder Yuehua ground her teeth and jabbed a finger at Wei Zhao's nose. "All of this was your scheming! You owe me an explanation—otherwise, don't think you'll slipper past today's business!"

Wei Zhao regarded her with an expression of utter innocence. "Elder Yuehua, I'm afraid I don't follow."

"You're the one who set the trap and duped everyone—duped me! If anyone owes an explanation, it's you who owes it to all of us."...

That fire of envy scorched the sky crimson; the earth, so lately nourished by rain, dried and cracked once more.

Liao Chen gave it only a casual glance, yet those eyes drew him in profoundly, and before he knew it he was submerged, as though his mind had collided with the old man's and felt the weight of years within.

Once the points were distributed, Liao Chen did not immediately ask Murong Xue'er about Nan'er; instead, he chose to cultivate.

"What's this? Zhang Liang wants to send a memorial to the Grand Administrator on our eldest brother's behalf—that's a good thing! This Liu Bei is nothing but a fugitive; let me take five thousand men and cut him off. Kill him and be done with it." Gong Du's intellect was rather limited; he did not see as far into matters as Liu Pi.

Xu Ji, covertly watching Ding Ning's expression from the side, was astonished beyond measure, shaken to his core—just what sort of man was this young master he served, that he could face the greatest city of the Southern Wilds without the slightest change of countenance? It was simply inconceivable.

Later, when the Ming fell and the cause was lost, he withdrew with a handful of subordinates into the village below to live in seclusion. Ordinarily he dwelt there among his men; sometimes, for the sake of cultivation, he would go up the mountain to gather herbs. This hidden arsenal counted as his temporary cave dwelling.

Jiang Yao's shriek lasted a good while. At first she was startled half out of her wits by being scooped up so suddenly; then Xu Ping charged out without a word, and with neither warning she had no time to prepare for either. In her fright she clutched his neck all the tighter—though she did, at least, stop screaming.

Shi Bao's eyes lit up; from Xiao Lü's words he had caught the gist. This senior brother did not hold out much hope for their prospects. He himself was only a nominal elder of the Jincong Sect and had never given thought to how many of the sect might make the top hundred, so naturally he was in no position to offer casual judgments.

Ye Tianlang answered with a look of blank incomprehension, which left Wang Yuqiu both bashful and delighted, her eyes brimming, gazing at him with tender affection.

"Is it you who needs it, or the Twelve Towers?" Xu Ping narrowed his eyes; he could not shake the feeling that Fan Xiaoli's words carried a double meaning, deeply worth pondering.

Their prices were not high—or to be precise, Jian Sisi's team had driven them very low indeed.

He glanced at Xu Yue beside him. She had everything in the right places and was pleasant enough to look at, but his appetite had dwindled considerably.

Smiling, he put on a proud look and shot a challenging glance at the two veteran actors not far away.

"I can't be bothered to explain anything to you—you don't understand a thing," Liu Qimo huffed, all puffed up with indignation; one of these days she'd fall ill, and it would be Xu Pingfan who worked her into it.

Although Qin Mutong had lost some time talking with Guo Yibin earlier, so that by the time she came out of the school it was already rather late, most of the students had in fact already left.

Ye Tan was driven out of his wits by Yu Ke's words; yet it is precisely such people who, given the right stroke of fortune, will say things no ordinary man ever would.

Liang Guan had lived in Huanghai City for decades, so of course he knew that houses here were the most expensive of all—ordinary folk simply could not afford to buy one.

But this situation was genuinely complicated, with not a single thread to grasp at. Even Gu Chenyan, miracle worker though he was, might not be able to resolve it with any ease.

At this sight the fat man's composure collapsed on the spot. His guess had been right—this man before him was no ordinary sort, certainly not someone he could afford to cross.

He topped up his in-game currency; even with the discount, the other side had still received a solid several tens of millions in recharge money.