Chương 192: An "Irresistible" Deal

Faced with Ji Ying's veiled question, Jing Jue's expression, hidden beneath his smiling mask, froze instantly.

But after only a moment of distraction, he immediately suppressed the turmoil in his heart and regained his signature elegant demeanor, as if everything was under his control.

He tilted his head slightly, as if seriously considering Ji Ying's words, then asked in a puzzled tone, "Cat—? Ji Ying, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"I only lost my composure for a moment because you used that disgusting rat hole metaphor on my proudest hero."

"As for what you said after that—sorry, I didn't notice at all."

"hehe----" His response was a low, mocking laugh from Ji Ying.

"Jing Jue, don't try to fool me with tricks that even a three-year-old can't pull. It's really beneath you."

He raised his right arm and casually pointed to the cracked, dimly lit mirrors around him, his tone filled with undisguised contempt: "If nothing that shouldn't have gotten into your 'shabby rat's nest' really hasn't run in, then you might as well—explain in detail what exactly that 'little accident' you just admitted to was?"

Jingjue's body stiffened slightly. He was somewhat surprised to find that the martial arts fanatic in front of him, whom he had always thought was "all he had to do with fighting and muscles," was actually much more perceptive and meticulous in his logical thinking than he had imagined.

Yes, "accident".

In an attempt to save face, he did admit that his mirror maze had suffered a "minor accident" that caused it to become so dilapidated.

If nothing really happened, then what is the point of calling it an "accident"?

Before Jingjue could come up with any excuse, Jiying's mocking voice, tinged with amusement, rang out again, precisely hitting Jingjue's sore spot: "Could it be—you warmly invited a guest to your home, and the guest complained that your house was too messy, so they 'kindly' cleaned it for you?"

"Looks like she cleaned quite thoroughly."

"I have no obligation to tell you what happened in my territory!" Jingjue's voice turned icy instantly. He suppressed the anger surging in his chest and tried to regain the initiative in the conversation with a tough attitude.

"I let you in only because we're kindred spirits, to help you escape the clutches of that stardust. Now that you've achieved your goal, shouldn't you—hurry up and leave me?"

"Speaking of Stardust—" Ji Ying completely ignored his "eviction notice" and instead changed the subject as if she had suddenly remembered something interesting.

When I played games with her before, she told me some very interesting things.

"Would you like to—listen to it?"

This abrupt shift in topic made Jingjue feel inexplicably irritated and uneasy, but in order to get rid of this martial arts fanatic with a mad mind as soon as possible, he patiently followed up on Jiying's words, while not forgetting to use sarcasm: "Oh? What kind of thing can you call interesting? Did that Stardust teach you that one plus one equals two?"

"After all, this is probably the only thing that can amuse someone like you who knows nothing but fighting, right?"

Faced with Jingjue's taunts, Jiying was not angry at all. Instead, she let out another low laugh and replied unhurriedly, "While she was playing games with me, she kept muttering things like, 'So many seniors have disappeared, did you do it?' and 'Where did all those seniors go?'"

Why do those new moons suddenly disappear?

With each word, Ji Ying's tone became more playful, while Jing Jue's true expression, hidden beneath his smiling mask, grew increasingly somber.

He paused, his voice suddenly becoming deep and imposing, his eyes, gleaming with a dark red light, fixed intently on Jing Jue: "Jing Jue, tell me—isn't this a very, very 'interesting' topic?"

Jingjue's face turned extremely ugly in that instant.

—This Lonely Shadow—he actually learned so much from that Stardust?!

He immediately understood that all the taunts, all the "martial arts fanatic" remarks, and all the seemingly unimportant chatter from this guy were just a prelude to leading the conversation here!

This is a trap, a linguistic trap he walked into step by step and could not escape.

Jingjue fell silent for a moment, because he knew that no matter how he answered, whether he admitted it or denied it, he might reveal more information, or—directly confirm the guy's guess.

Seeing that Jingjue remained silent, Jiying continued to press him relentlessly: "Judging from what Xingchen said, there are quite a few missing Crescent-class beings, it seems there are three? Or maybe—four."

"Well, those trivial things don't matter."

"However, of course I didn't do anything that was so pointless, and as far as I know, it seems that the only people like us in this city are the two of us."

"Since it wasn't me, then the one who caused those magical girls to disappear one after another is probably you, right?"

"Jing Jue, you've really caused quite a stir in this city."

"What does this have to do with you?" Jingjue knew that he could not deny it, so he could only snort coldly, trying to warn Jiying to stop this dangerous topic.

"Taking action against those new moons is merely part of my plan. Since you swore an oath to the being you once pledged allegiance to not interfere with my plans, I suggest you refrain from asking too many questions and be careful not to learn things you shouldn't!"

"Of course I had no intention of prying into your boring plan." Ji Ying casually shrugged, making a very innocent gesture, as if the person who had been pressing him just now was not him at all.

"But—based on my understanding of Esmeralda, with so many Crescent-level magical girls mysteriously disappearing in such a short time, they would definitely send higher-ranking inspectors to investigate, right?"

"And that cat that just barged into your rat hole and made such a mess of your place"—that must be the "inspector" sent to investigate, right?

"Alright, Jingjue, I don't want to keep beating around the bush and playing these boring word games with you anymore."

Ji Ying's voice suddenly turned cold, and the playful and teasing attitude he had shown before vanished without a trace, replaced by an undeniable authority.

He took a step forward, and the immense pressure emanating from his heavily armored body caused Jingjue to instinctively take a half-step back.

"6 Where is she now?

"I don't know what you're talking about—" Jingjue was still trying to cover it up, but Jiying interrupted him directly, her tone full of impatience: "Don't try to fool me anymore."

"Only a magical girl of the Patrol Officer level could destroy your Mirror Labyrinth to this extent, even forcing you to intervene personally. The Crescents stationed here could not have made you so disheveled."

Jingjue's body trembled slightly with anger, but he ultimately chose to compromise under the gaze of Jiying's emotionless dark red eyes, knowing that he had lost this verbal battle.

"Heh—heh, Jiying, I admit, I did—underestimate you." Jingjue's voice was a little hoarse, with a hint of resentment.

"Or rather, you really hid yourself very well, making me mistakenly think you were just a muscle-bound guy."

Ji Ying let out a soft chuckle, seemingly mocking the other party for only now realizing this fact: "Finally willing to admit it?"

"There's no point in hiding it anymore. That's right, that inspector—is indeed in my hands now." Jingjue snorted coldly, his tone becoming firm.

"However, you also need to understand one thing: that inspector was a prize I captured at a great cost."

"You have no valid reason to take her away from me."

However, what responded to him was a low laugh filled with extreme mockery from Ji Ying.

"Heh—a plausible reason?" Ji Ying let out a low, mocking laugh, repeating Jing Jue's words with amusement, "Jing Jue, you also need to understand one thing."

"Having no 'justifiable' reason and having no 'reason' at all are two different things."

The moment the words fell, with a "whoosh," two jet-black blades gleaming with a chilling light sprang out from the sides of the Shadowless Armguard.

An extremely terrifying surge of ethereal energy instantly swept across the entire mirror space, causing the surrounding broken mirror surfaces to emit mournful cries of unbearable strain.

"If you're unwilling to hand her over to me, then I'll have no choice but to—take her from you myself."

Jingjue's pupils contracted sharply. He could clearly sense that the madman in front of him was truly prepared to attack! And he was going to attack without holding back, a fight to the death!

In this home arena that has been ravaged by Xingxian, facing this fellow being in perfect condition and with unfathomable strength, he has almost no chance of winning!

"Wait!"

He quickly spoke up to stop him, his voice tinged with urgency, "Jiying! Are you really going to attack me, a 'fellow' of your kind, for the sake of a mere magical girl?!"

"And don't forget, you've sworn an oath to the entity you serve, that you would never interfere with my plans!"

However, Ji Ying completely ignored Jing Jue's warning and instead took a step forward, approaching the other step by step.

"Merely one of our kind," Ji Ying's voice was cold and indifferent.

"We each serve different great beings, so why can't I attack you to achieve my own goals?"

"As for the so-called interference with your plans"—a more disdainful sneer came from beneath Silent Shadow's helmet, "I don't think I'm doing anything that pointless."

"I admit that the patrolman's actions will certainly hinder your plans. If I were to interfere during your capture of her, it would indeed be considered a breach of my oath."

"But now that she's your trophy," it means your "capture" phase is successfully complete, isn't it?"

"I simply want to take you, my trophy, from you, and I won't release her afterward, giving her a chance to continue interfering with your boring plans."

"So you see, I neither interfered with your process of capturing her, nor did I change the outcome that she could no longer hinder you. Your so-called 'intervention plan' is simply—nonsense."

"You—you bastard—" Jingjue was completely speechless by Jiying's shameless sophistry. He felt a surge of anger rush to his head, almost burning away his reason.

That bastard! He actually made "robbery" sound so righteous and even managed to exploit the loopholes in the oath to this extent!

Just as Jingjue was still shocked and angry at Jiying's shamelessness, Jiying seemed to have really lost patience and took another step forward.

"Tell me your reasons!" Jingjue said through gritted teeth just as Jiying was about to raise her arm.

"If your reasons have even the slightest bit of persuasiveness, I will—consider the feasibility of this 'deal'!"

"Reason?" Ji Ying tilted her head, seemingly thinking seriously, and then said in a matter-of-fact tone, "My reason is very simple."

"First, her strength seems quite good; she should be a formidable opponent. I—want to see for myself."

"Secondly, she is an inspector of the Magic Kingdom. As long as she is alive, she will definitely attract more powerful people from Esmeralda to me, and then I can fight to my heart's content."

"It's easy to understand, right?"

Upon hearing this unsurprising answer, Jingjue cursed Jiying in his heart once again, calling him a "muscle-obsessed lunatic."

"As for the trade," Jiying's tone became somewhat hesitant, "I seem to have nothing of equal value to offer you in exchange."

Jingjue immediately frowned and said, "Hmph, since it's a trade, if you want my spoils," then of course you have to offer something of equal value in exchange.

Ji Ying remained silent for a moment, seemingly pondering Jing Jue's words.

Jingjue was overjoyed, thinking that the other party was finally going to start reasoning.

Unexpectedly, Ji Ying slowly shook her head and said in a slightly innocent tone, "Ah, speaking of which, you seem to have misunderstood something."

"I have never defined this behavior as a 'transaction'."

This statement, which seemed to imply a direct threat to "start seizing," instantly put Jingjue on edge again.

"However—" Ji Ying changed the subject, "I am indeed in the wrong in this matter, so—I will use Ji Ying's friendship to exchange for that inspector, how about that?"

"Your... friendship?!"

Upon hearing this answer, Jingjue was stunned for a moment, and then a feeling of extreme humiliation instantly welled up in his heart.

"Are you... playing me?!" he almost screamed, demanding, "Trying to exchange something as intangible as friendship with me? What's the difference between this and trying to get something for nothing?!"

"Don't get excited, it was just a joke." Ji Ying waved her hand with a smile, as if she wasn't the one who had just proposed the absurd deal.

"How about this," she said, her joking tone turning slightly more serious, "if circumstances allow, I can help you out once in the future."

"Of course, the opponent's strength must be at least at the Crescent Moon level. As for those Stardust level nobodies, I suppose—you won't need my help, will you?"

Jingjue's eyes flickered slightly. The promise of a single action from this powerful "martial arts fanatic" was indeed quite valuable.

but----

"Not enough." He shook his head decisively.

"This value still doesn't compare to that of an inspector from a magical kingdom."

"Tsk," Ji Ying clicked his tongue impatiently, the blade on his arm armor flashing a dangerous glint once more, "So there's no room for negotiation then?"

"Wait!"

Seeing that Ji Ying looked ready to fight at the slightest provocation, Jing Jue's frustration and apprehension reached their peak. He really didn't want to, and dared not, fight to the death with this unreasonable madman in his current state.

So, he took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing all his resentment and anger, and squeezed out his final condition through gritted teeth: "Since you only want to fight her and use her as bait to lure stronger magical girls here, then I'll temporarily hand her over to you."

"Of course, I don't need you to do anything for me. I only have one requirement: after that, you must return her to me intact."

"Furthermore," Jingjue stared intently at Jiying, enunciating each word clearly, "if you accidentally let her escape while you're playing with her—"

"Then, you'll need to give me a magical girl of the same level as compensation, how about that?"

As if afraid that Jiying would refuse, Jingjue immediately added in a firm tone, "This is already the biggest concession I can make."

"If you still don't agree, then I'll have no choice but to—fight you right here. And I'd rather kill her with my own hands right now than hand her over to you!"

Jiying fell silent, seemingly carefully weighing the pros and cons of the condition.

After a long silence, he said in a low voice, "This condition—I think—I can accept it."

"Okay, then it's a deal."

Jingjue was secretly delighted, but on the surface he maintained a cold demeanor: "Words are not enough. Swear an oath to me now, and then I will hand over the inspector to you."

"Okay." Ji Ying nodded and, without hesitation, made a vow in the manner of a Void Realm Apostle, as agreed earlier.

He then raised his head, his dark red eyes silently gazing at Jing Jue. Although he didn't speak, the urging was obvious.

Jingjue gritted his teeth. Although he was filled with resentment and humiliation, he had no choice but to keep his promise now that things had come to this.

Somewhat reluctantly, he raised his hand and summoned a rather ordinary-looking full-length mirror. Under the expectant gaze of Ji Ying, the mirror surface rippled like water.

A beautiful magical girl with a pale face and closed eyes was slowly lifted out of the mirror by an invisible force.