59: triple kill — The End

"Ahem, ahem... Pretty Lady, why don't you just pretend I'm air and let me off the hook!" Tang Tang walked forward with her limbs moving in awkward synchronization, tugging at the sleeve of Ling Qi's suit.

"Pretty please? I won't dare to run my mouth off ever again."

"Also, about your business with the Empress, this Daoist will keep it a secret, I swear!" Tang Tang leaned close to Ling Qi's ear and whispered.

"Heh!" Ling Qi looked at her expressionlessly, not wanting to engage.

Five minutes later, Tang Tang felt a chill down her spine from being stared at. Just as she was about to say something else to plead for mercy, Ling Qi finally spoke.

"You know you were wrong?" Ling Qi's voice was icy, devoid of any fluctuation.

"Mm-hmm!" Tang Tang nodded hurriedly. "I really know I was wrong, Pretty Lady, please spare me just this once."

The corners of Ling Qi's mouth lifted slightly, and she said with a cryptic smile: "Alright, since you know you were wrong, I'll punish you by..." She paused deliberately, watching Tang Tang's nervous expression, feeling a sense of wicked amusement.

"I'll punish you by having you stay in the tunnel to wait for You Wu to bring the ghost messengers to handle the aftermath," Ling Qi continued.

An expression of disbelief instantly appeared on Tang Tang's face. Her mouth fell wide open, and she let out a cry of surprise: "Huh?"

She had originally been anxious, wondering what kind of punishment she might suffer, and had even braced herself to be struck by lightning by the Ancestral Master.

As it turned out, the punishment was just waiting for the ghost messengers to handle the subsequent matters. This was truly beyond her expectations; it was so lenient that she suspected she might be hallucinating.

"What, you're not willing?" Ling Qi slightly arched her slender eyebrows, looking at Tang Tang with a cryptic smile, a hint of danger revealing itself in her eyes.

"Could it be... that you think there is some unspeakable secret between me and the BOSS, like you discovered that we are lesbians, so I must silence you?" Ling Qi reached out and pinched the Little Daoist's chin, her expression arrogant.

Tang Tang trembled all over in fright, quickly shaking her head and waving her hands frantically, answering at lightning speed: "Willing, willing, of course I'm willing! There is absolutely no reluctance whatsoever!"

After saying this, as if afraid that Ling Qi might change her mind, she immediately nodded vigorously, her head shaking like a frantically swinging rattle-drum.

At the same time, she shouted loudly: "How could that be! Yuri is the best! Yuri is the GOAT!"

Seeing Tang Tang's terrified reaction, Ling Qi couldn't help but roll her eyes and huff impatiently: "Mmhmm! It seems your survival instinct is quite strong." Her tone carried a hint of teasing.

"Alright, stop shaking it, your head is about to fall off." Shang Wan Ning sighed helplessly, unable to hide her disdain! "Listen to the Secretary-General and wait here for the ghost messengers!"

Tang Tang felt as if she had been granted amnesty, nodding repeatedly in agreement. "Mm-hmm, mm-hmm..."

Shang Wan Ning raised her hand, sending out two bursts of spiritual energy to mark the formation eye.

This way, when the Special Affairs Bureau brings people over, they won't be scrambling in a panic.

"Secretary-General, let's head back." Shang Wan Ning pinched her fingertips together, returning to her usual unrestrained and free-spirited self.

"Got it!" Ling Qi furrowed her brows and turned around to leave.

"Wait, Empress Sister!" Tang Tang called out to Shang Wan Ning. "Thank you for showing mercy, Empress. Also... that, previously I was blinded by 'female... female beauty,' I'm sorry."

"After returning to the temple, this Daoist will definitely punish myself by transcribing the 'Taishang Scripture of Eradicating Suffering and Healing Joy in Fengdu' one thousand times!" Tang Tang's face was serious as she clasped her hands in front of her chest, raising them to eye level, and then bowed deeply, performing a respectful obeisance.

Seeing this, Shang Wan Ning was slightly taken aback, but soon a faint smile appeared on her face: "No matter, just remember to learn your lesson next time." Having said that, she gently took Ling Qi's hand, and the two turned and slowly left the place together.

Tang Tang watched Shang Wan Ning's figure as she walked further and further away, unable to help but grit her teeth and pinch the dimple on her cheek hard with her right hand.

She muttered to herself in a low voice: "It's all the fault of this broken mouth of yours, always flapping away. It was one thing to flirt with those Daoist sisters back at the temple, but now you've actually had the audacity to run wild and tear up the tiles in Fengdu City!"

As she spoke, she reached up to touch the hair bun on top of her head, then patted her own chest, which was as flat as an airport, and secretly rejoiced: "It's a good thing the Empress didn't report me to the Ancestral Master, otherwise I'm afraid I would have been struck into ashes by a bolt of heavenly lightning from His Old Self!"

At the same time, she secretly swore in her heart that from now on she must stop being impatient, stop being reckless, and stop with the "tea art"... she must never again do anything that would damage the reputation of the Xuanmen!

An hour passed, and the ghost messengers still hadn't arrived.

Tang Tang was picking at the wall in boredom. "Hiss! As expected of Xia Country's infrastructure, the cement quality is top-notch. I've been picking at it for half an hour, and only managed to chip off a tiny bit."

"Tang Tang... Tang Tang..." Urgent shouts came from afar, the sounds echoing in the silent tunnel.

Hearing the sound, Tang Tang stopped what she was doing and brushed the cement dust off her T-shirt. Her lively, large eyes sparkled, like bright stars in the night sky.

Waving her arms, she shouted loudly: "Uncle Chen, I'm here! I'm about two thousand meters ahead!"

After hearing Tang Tang's crisp and loud reply, Chen Chen felt his heart settle slightly. He gripped the flashlight in his hand, switched it to high-beam mode, and illuminated the uneven ground ahead.

Then, he mobilized the spiritual energy in his body, his figure moving like lightning, his feet stepping quickly!

Following closely behind him were five Buddhist Nuns from Yunlan Nunnery. They were dressed in plain robes, their expressions solemn.

Their eyes also revealed a trace of worry for Tang Tang.

Two minutes later, Chen Chen arrived beside Tang Tang. He was panting heavily, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.

Seeing Tang Tang safe and sound, his suspended heart finally returned to its place.

However, before he could speak, Tang Tang had already impatiently asked: "Uncle Chen, why did you all come in?"

"To clean up after you, of course!"

"Little Ancestor, do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused this time!" Chen Chen said, sounding frustrated that she wouldn't live up to expectations.

"Oh, I know I was wrong, Uncle Chen~" Tang Tang tugged at Uncle Chen's sleeve, acting spoiled.

"Wait a minute! Uncle Chen, how did you know I had gotten into trouble?" Stopping her spoiled act, Tang Tang's face showed a look of surprise, and she couldn't help but ask.

"The Underworld's official website has already directly named you for a public critique—saying you teased the ghost messengers."

"Now, the Special Affairs Bureau has even issued a call to all righteous factions, insisting on eradicating this unhealthy atmosphere and advocating for everyone to maintain a state of purity and few desires."

Hearing these words, Tang Tang was struck as if by lightning, standing frozen on the spot.

Immediately afterwards, the words "Triple Kill" appeared in her mind.

Her legs went weak, and with a "thump," she collapsed onto the cold ground.

Tang Tang gasped for breath, as if all her strength had been drained, unable to inhale a single breath of spiritual energy for a long while. "The Secretary-General is truly ruthless, killing the heart!"