196: Chapter 196 Do you know Zhang Qing's whereabouts?

Chen Shanzhi grabbed at empty air, but he didn't feel awkward.

He took the opportunity to withdraw his hand, patted his own thigh, and leaned back against the chair.

"Since Miss Youyou has said so, I will certainly conduct myself with dignity."

Chen Shanzhi put away his playful grin. "Let's talk business. I had only just stepped through the threshold of Yihong Pavilion when you sent the madam to bring me here. You're in such a rush—surely it's not just because you're jealous, right?"

His gaze became sharp. "What happened?"

Seeing that he was finally acting seriously, Jiang Yingrao also reined in her emotions, her expression gradually becoming stern.

"Zhang Qing has disappeared," she said in a low voice.

"Zhang Qing?" Chen Shanzhi raised an eyebrow, not expecting this to be what Jiang Yingrao was talking about.

"Yes." Jiang Yingrao lightly tapped her fingertips against the wooden edge of the couch. "I had been sending people to keep an eye on him, but..."

Jiang Yingrao narrowed her eyes as she recalled, "About twenty days ago, the pavilion arranged for a group of people to go outside the city to serve porridge, as per our rules. After serving the porridge, Zhang Qing returned with the others. At first, there was nothing wrong, but a few days later, this Zhang Qing began to show many problems."

Jiang Yingrao said coldly, "His walking habits, his tone when interacting with people—everything had changed. Anyone in the pavilion with a normal mind noticed something was wrong. So, I took the opportunity to throw him into the dungeon and interrogated him, only to discover..."

She looked at Chen Shanzhi. "He was wearing a human-skin mask; he was nothing but a body double! And the real Zhang Qing has long since vanished without a trace."

After hearing this, Chen Shanzhi didn't show any expression of surprise on his face.

He casually picked up a grape from the fruit platter on the table and tossed it into his mouth, chewing it twice.

"Oh, that matter? I know," Chen Shanzhi said indifferently.

Jiang Yingrao froze instantly. Her delicate brows knit together tightly, and her eyes were filled with confusion. "Haven't you been in a coma this whole time? How could you know about this?"

But she stared fixedly into Chen Shanzhi's eyes and found that his expression was calm; he didn't look like he was bluffing or lying at all.

"Where is he?" Jiang Yingrao asked urgently.

Zhang Qing was the only nail she currently knew of that the Grand Elder had planted in the capital. If she couldn't find him, it would be very difficult to monitor the Grand Elder's subsequent movements.

Chen Shanzhi swallowed the grape and didn't answer. He deliberately and slowly extended his right hand, palm upward, holding it flat in mid-air.

Subsequently, his gaze moved downward without any concealment, staring straight at the area beneath Jiang Yingrao's skirt, which was tightly covered by her red dress. He also provocatively raised his eyebrows.

The meaning could not have been clearer: to get information, one must pay a price.

Jiang Yingrao understood in an instant. "Pah!"

Her pretty face turned cold, and she spat fiercely. Trying to take advantage of me? Not a chance!

She let out a cold snort and turned her head to the side, striking a pose of unyielding defiance.

Chen Shanzhi didn't urge her; his right hand remained stubbornly suspended in mid-air. His left hand rhythmically tapped his knee, and a confident, wicked smile hung on the corners of his mouth as he waited quietly.

For a moment, the only sound in the room was the faint "crackle" of the burning candle flames.

Jiang Yingrao kept glancing at Chen Shanzhi from the corner of her eye. Seeing this rogue behavior of refusing to speak unless given a benefit, she gritted her teeth in anger. But Zhang Qing's whereabouts were simply too critical!

After several intense psychological battles, Jiang Yingrao bit her rosy lips and ultimately compromised.

She took a deep breath, and two alluring blushes flew across her fair cheeks. The hem of her red dress moved slightly.

Subsequently, a small, exquisite foot, resembling mutton-fat jade, slowly and sluggishly reached out from under the hem of her skirt.

Under Chen Shanzhi's scorching gaze, she turned her head away to avoid looking at him and, blushing, gently placed this foot onto Chen Shanzhi's right hand.

The moment their skin touched, Chen Shanzhi only felt a sensation of smoothness and coolness, as if he were holding a piece of high-quality warm jade.

The shape of that small foot was perfect, and the light red nail polish on the toenails exuded a deadly allure.

Chen Shanzhi was not polite at all; his five fingers instantly closed, firmly gripping the small foot in his palm. His thumb took the opportunity to gently stroke the smooth, tender instep twice.

"Mmm..." Jiang Yingrao's body shuddered violently, and she wanted to pull back as if she had been electrocuted.

But Chen Shanzhi's hand held on tightly, gripping it firmly and refusing to let go.

The tips of Jiang Yingrao's ears turned so red they seemed ready to drip blood. She glared at Chen Shanzhi with a mix of shame and anger, her chest heaving violently.

Feeling the warmth and softness in his palm, Chen Shanzhi finally spat out three words indifferently: "He is dead."

"What?" Jiang Yingrao's pupils shrank violently. In her shock, she didn't even care that her foot was being held. She sat up straight abruptly. "Why? Who killed him?"

Chen Shanzhi looked at her anxious appearance and closed his mouth once again. After all, Chen Shanzhi was not in a rush.

Immediately following, Chen Shanzhi slowly extended his left hand. Then he spread his hand, palm upward. The movement was exactly the same as his right hand just now.

Watching this action of inching forward and demanding more, Jiang Yingrao was so angry she almost spat out a mouthful of blood! "You..." She stared fiercely at Chen Shanzhi and gave another heavy "Pah!" "Shameless!" Jiang Yingrao gritted her teeth.

Chen Shanzhi shrugged, maintaining an indifferent attitude. The index finger of that flat left hand arrogantly curled back twice, much like a classic gesture from a certain movie in his previous life.

Jiang Yingrao stared at him fixedly, her chest beneath the red dress heaving violently for a long time. Finally, she closed her eyes in despair, her face flushing as if it were about to burn up. Then, gritting her teeth, she stretched out her other foot from under the red dress, huffing with a sense of spite.

... (I don't understand, this chapter clearly didn't have much "driving," so why was it targeted by the Crab Divine Beast?)

Chen Shanzhi's eyes lit up greatly. He pulled with his hand, and Jiang Yingrao let out a gasp of surprise.

... "Ah..." Jiang Yingrao had never experienced such a situation before.

... Jiang Yingrao only felt as if the strength in her whole body had been instantly drained, and she slumped weakly onto the couch.

... "You... you still haven't told me the reason!" She endured that tingling sensation and questioned him with a trembling voice.

Chen Shanzhi moved his hands while speaking nonchalantly. "In that village outside the city..."

Chen Shanzhi's hand movements suddenly paused, his voice becoming cold and sharp, devoid of the previous playboy air. "I saw him among that group from the God-Invoking Sect." "In the end, he died at the hands of an Evil Spirit."

Jiang Yingrao shuddered all over. The tingling sensation in the soles of her feet vanished without a trace, and her expression at this moment became unprecedentedly grave!

The amount of information in Chen Shanzhi's words was simply too great! Zhang Qing, as the nail personally planted by the Grand Elder in the capital—during the time he disappeared, he was actually mixing with that bunch of lunatics from the God-Invoking Sect? Could it be... that the Grand Elder had been colluding with people from the God-Invoking Sect in secret?