Chapter 393 - 393: Even Deeper Plot

The sacred torch really pierced through the truth in the dark and dug into the deeper plot that was truly happening...

The following muffled melody was like heavenly music to Bubai's ears.

Bubai gazed down at the gorgeous beauty—eyes wide, cheeks flushed like rose petals soaked in spring wine. "Oho, that's a nice face you're making."

Feeling it was just about right, he let her go—

What greeted him was a mouth full of secret sauce—enough for cooking up various plots on the dark web.

That sight… By Merlin's beard, what a glorious Sacred Torch Blowing Ritual!

Oops. Was there an extra word that doesn't belong?

Nah. Like a certain grandmaster tortoise once said: there are no accidents.

Just lots of coincidences that could eventually get passed off as the sacred ritual to become a dragon warrior! Yes, the dragon warrior is that one down below! Ahem.

Gulp. That swallowing sound... is also a coincidence! So is what the lip-licking seductress said next.

"Tsk. Your dirty thing fooled around so much today and you can still let out so much? Pathetic."

Bubai shrugged. "Can't blame me. I drank too much wine earlier and... someone as beautiful as you really makes a great toilet."

Miss Hong scoffed. "Tch. That dirty mouth of yours is good for nothing except lying."

That's what she said, but her dirty mouth was quite honest, even diligent, when it came to clean-up duty.

A compliment a day lets pleasure goes both ways. It's just that...

Both his vitality and recovery rate was quite strong. His little brother just couldn't help it and was quite eager to stand to attention once again…

But just when Bubai was ready to go for round two, he sensed a presence approaching.

The next thing he knew, a shorty plopped himself down next to him and chirped into his ears.

"Brother Bai sure knows how to enjoy life, ou!"

Well, well, if it isn't his good buddy: Qian Bage the shortest.

But this time, his buddy that sat too close for comfort made Bubai's vulnerable little brother shiver and wilt almost instantly!

That earned him a disdainful look from the thorny rose, and Bubai felt helpless inside.

It's not because he can't, but he really didn't feel safe to do it right now!

And who could blame him?

Sure, his physique was monstrous, his regeneration passive was game-breaking, and his defensive power was decent, especially with the Sun Palace Spirit Robes on, but…

That bug boy next to him? That smiling gremlin of a man?

That was no compare-my-attack-against-your-defense type.

That's the ignore-your-defense type that can have his little creepy crawlies get in through the mouth, the nose, the ears… basically any hole on the body is a weak spot!

Just imagining that feeling is enough to make any "little brother" retreat to a cold mountain cave for solitary reflection!

Honestly, Bubai would rather eat a stack of explosive tags than have any bugs crawl inside his body and eat him inside out.

The sole silver lining that's keeping his dignity from filing for evacuation is a single fact:

Those bugs were living inside the insect-rearing pouch instead of inside the body like a certain bug-rearing clan in the ninjaverse next door.

Then again… who's to say they weren't?

Bubai really wanted to shout to the heavens: give me back my innocence! He would rather not know!

Alas, eidetic memory didn't let him forget and only magnified his paranoia, enough to make his spine go stiff.

Qian Bage noticed this little stiffness, but he seemed to be used to it, and even joked around with a mock-wounded smile.

"Ouuu~ Brother Bai, it can't be that you're gonna dislike me like the others just cause of my cultivation art, right?"

Dislike? Please. Bubai was never afraid of the bugs. Gu cultivation is pretty cool in his books. In fact, he didn't mind cultivating this path that could definitely ascend to immortality.

But that's only if he's the one cultivating it!

If it's others… bloody Merlin, who wouldn't stay wary of those who could use bugs against others!

But some things didn't need to be said out loud.

Instead, Bubai rolled his clever little eyes around and borrowed this chance to hint at his agenda.

"Can't say I'm completely comfortable, but at least it's better than whatever's lodged inside me."

"?" Qian Bage blinked, then gave his chest that knowing look and clapped his shoulder with exaggerated sympathy. "Ou~ Brother Bai has it hard."

Yeah, really hard. Bubai watched his redhead assistant finish tucking away his conspicuously hard thing and felt his confidence return—enough to fire back, "Can't be harder than you brothers."

That retort landed hard and Qian Bage's face went stiff. "Ouu... brother is right."

He sighed and looked out the window at the pale-faced bloodsucker replenishing his blood down on stage. "So... what did I miss while I was meditating?"

Bubai didn't hide anything and briefed him on what happened.

"...lost the first in the best-of-three, so your second brother called for a Sacred Torch Ritual then left to escort your fourth brother to the medical hall."

Qian Bage's face fell. "Ouu, I see… less rounds originally favors us, but looks like we have no other choice."

Did they really not? Bubai side-eyed his brooding buddy. Wasn't a setback like that precisely why they invited him here in the first place?

As if sensing Bubai's doubts, Qian Bage gave his shoulder a brotherly pat.

"Brother Bai, it's not that we don't trust you, but there's always a mountain beyond a mountain. Even between mid-stages, the distance between peaks can stretch farther than the valleys below."

"That inner disciple surnamed Wu that you took down earlier was just one of the many exceptions, like us, who didn't even dare go on the secret realm expedition."

"Those who got baptized and made it back from there are cut from a different cloth, but even amongst them, there's an unbridgeable gap. You'll see real soon…"

Right… Bubai's urge to show off got smothered like hot coal under snow.

Merlin's mismatched socks... maybe he did get a bit too overconfident after his unbroken win streak.

He hasn't seen the mountain peaks yet, so why did he think the losers he won against were actually any good?

Maybe they didn't even count as true geniuses, but just lucky wanderers who coasted through the cracks and caught a breeze at the right moment.

These type—there were countless.

And beyond them, there were still the real evildoers that possess protagonist-tier, cross-realm-slaying battle power that can stomp somebody like himself flat without breaking a sweat…

Merlin's stinky socks. It's quite terrifying to think about.

He had only stepped onto the foothills and mistook clouds for the mountaintop. Too arrogant! Too unstable!

For a moment, Bubai is even reconsidering his participation in this power struggle.

Maybe Xiao Hong was right. He should've just left earlier. But…

There's naturally reasons why he must befriend this Qian Clan.

Some he just mentioned out loud earlier, but that was just for any of the eavesdroppers to hear.

The real underlying reasons? There were even more!

For one, Bubai hasn't forgotten about the Sun Scorpion time bomb implanted in his heart.

Even if it were not for that, what about the Gu buried in Xiao Lan?

Though the one who planted them was the old geezer, but the origin of those Gu and their solution…

Where else could he find those answers if not from the Qian Clan that masters Gu?

Sure, it might be a bit risky to wade in this Qian Clan's muddy waters during their time of jeopardy, but that was the nature of true value.

Everybody knows: only charcoal in the snow is worth its weight in gold.

Besides, even if this treacherous game is risky, could it be any more risky than his own big chess game that he laid out?

That's why Bubai stayed seated, despite all the warnings and red flags.

Maybe—just maybe—some unscrupulous author out there is gleefully inserting this plot to stretch out the tournament arc just for the sake of padding chapters and milking drama.

But for Bubai, this was reality, and as far as he's concerned, he's truly doing everything simply for the greater good. Really! Ahem.

Still, whether it be for the greater good or noble intentions, a gentleman still must look at the circumstances.

And in this cultivation world where words could lie but fists never did, what better judgment is there than raw strength?

If they want him on their pirate ship, their captain better show how worthy he is.

Coincidentally, now just so happens to be time for the game downstairs to begin.

Qian Bage immediately sat up straight and enthusiastically elbowed Bubai a few times.

"Ouu, look, look! Lao Er's here! Brother Bai, just sit tight and watch! Lao Er's innate Gu arts is enough to put these arrogant bloodsuckers back in their leech-hole!"

The curtain was rising. Where will the actors stand?