Chapter 43: But aren't brothers meant to be sold out?

When Wang Quanzui returned with a shattered eggshell, Yang Qingyuan had already finished his interrogation.

"Qingyuan, I found the eggshell."

"Mm, thank you for your hard work."

Yang Qingyuan nodded, then proceeded to explain to Wang Quanzui what he had just elicited.

"You bastard!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Quanzui didn't hesitate to deliver a fierce kick directly to Huang Tianfang’s chest. "For the sake of your own selfish desires, you ignored the lives of the entire population of Huangfeng City! How could the Dao Alliance appoint a piece of trash like you to be a city lord?"

*Pfft!*

Huang Tianfang was sent flying, crashing through the roof of the City Lord’s Mansion, and immediately coughed up a large mouthful of blood.

"Xiaozui, go with Miss Yaya and return the eggshell to Jin Wuwei."

"And what about you?"

Wang Quanzui looked at Yang Qingyuan with a hint of confusion.

"You go on ahead; I will follow shortly."

Yang Qingyuan smiled faintly but offered no further explanation. In a flash of intuition, Wang Quanzui seemed to understand.

"Qingyuan, are you planning to kill them once I leave?"

Yang Qingyuan remained silent, which was as good as an admission.

"Xiaozui, don't you feel that the current Dao Alliance is gradually becoming terminally ill?"

"What do you mean?"

"Take this Huang Tianfang for example. I have encountered city lords like him more than once over the years. They all share a common trait: they never view the lives of ordinary people as human lives. This is not an isolated case, but a very common occurrence."

Wang Quanzui opened her mouth, wanting to speak but hesitating. Reflecting on all she had seen and heard since joining the "Mask" organization, she knew all too well that what Yang Qingyuan said was the truth. It wasn't just these city lords; even the entire Yi Qi Dao Alliance maintained a cold indifference toward those mortals who lacked spiritual power. It seemed that, to them, ordinary people were not fellow human beings, but inferior slaves.

"I understand. So, all we can do is try our best to stop such incidents from happening. Qingyuan, you don't actually need to send me away; I wouldn't stop you from doing this."

"No, that would only treat the symptoms and not the root cause. Just as the noble families of the Dao Alliance can never truly protect all of humanity, we alone cannot protect everyone either."

"Then what do you intend to do?"

Yang Qingyuan remained silent and did not directly answer her. Instead, he flicked his fingers, summoning three bolts of heavenly lightning that executed Huang Tianfang and his two henchmen on the spot.

"It's done. Let's go."

Wang Quanzui pursed her lips, but ultimately clutched the eggshell and hurried after him. Behind them, Tushan Yaya looked at the two of them with a bewildered expression.

"What were they talking about? What 'terminally ill'? And honestly, these two humans seem a bit different from the humans I usually encounter..."

***

At Huangfeng Ridge, when Yang Qingyuan returned the eggshell to its rightful owner, Jin Wuwei was overjoyed to have his young son's shell back. Faced with Jin Wuwei’s invitation to a celebratory banquet out of gratitude, Yang Qingyuan declined, choosing instead to turn and leave with Wang Quanzui.

"Hey!"

Just as the two stepped out of Huangfeng Ridge, a familiar voice rang out behind them. Yang Qingyuan turned to see Tushan Yaya chasing after them.

"Miss Yaya, are you not attending the banquet?"

"Who would want to go to their banquet? Thanks to you, my task is finished, so it's time for me to go back."

"Then I wish Miss Yaya a safe journey," Yang Qingyuan said, cupping his hands in a salute.

"What is your name?"

Yang Qingyuan pondered for a moment, deciding against revealing his true name.

"Yang Yitan."

*Pfft!*

Wang Quanzui couldn't hold back and burst into laughter.

"Ahem!"

Yang Qingyuan shot Wang Quanzui an annoyed glance, and Tushan Yaya also looked over with a strange expression.

"N-nothing, I just suddenly remembered something funny," Wang Quanzui said, waving her hands and mimicking zipping her lips shut.

"Yang Yitan... Fine, I'll remember that. I'm leaving!"

Watching Tushan Yaya’s retreating figure, Wang Quanzui finally gave in, leaning on Yang Qingyuan’s shoulder as she laughed heartily.

"Hahahaha, Qingyuan, why did you use Brother Yitan’s name?"

"What? Is it that strange?"

"If Brother Yitan finds out, he’s definitely going to scold you."

"Let him scold. It’s not the first time I’ve used him as a scapegoat." Yang Qingyuan shrugged. All these years, whenever he caused some "trouble," using Yang Yitan’s name always worked like a charm. After all, the members of the Mask always operated as a group, and Yang Yitan wore a mask and never revealed his identity to others. Because of this, there was no fear of being checked. Though it might be a bit unfair to Yang Yitan to shoulder all the blame, weren't brothers meant to be thrown under the bus? Besides, if things ever got truly out of hand, Yang Yitan could simply claim someone was impersonating him and wipe his hands of the matter entirely. With Wang Quanbaye and the others as witnesses, there was nothing to worry about.

"No wonder I’ve been hearing Brother Yitan secretly cursing you behind your back lately. So it’s because of this, hahahaha..."

"He knows?" Yang Qingyuan blinked, surprised that the secret had been exposed so quickly. "It must have been that big-mouthed Li Quzhuo who leaked the news. Just wait until I get back and deal with him!"

After laughing for a while longer, Wang Quanzui finally composed herself. "Alright, the matter in Huangfeng City is settled. What are we doing next?"

"We continue deeper into the territory, toward Tushan."

"If we’re going to Tushan, why didn't we just go with that little fox demon earlier? After spending time with her, I realized she's actually quite simple-minded." Wang Quanzui looked at Yang Qingyuan with curiosity.

"She may be simple, but that doesn't mean all the demons in Tushan are. We are human, after all, and we are currently on demon territory. It never hurts to be cautious."

"Fair point. That's you for you." Wang Quanzui nodded in agreement.

"Let's go."

"Let's go, let's go~"

***

In Tushan, beneath the Bitter Love Tree, a little fox demon with long green hair stood quietly, gazing up at the tree. She was the third mistress of Tushan—Tushan Rongrong.

"Rongrong, I'm back."

As Tushan Yaya’s voice rang out from behind her, Tushan Rongrong turned around with a smile.

"Why was Sister gone for so long this time?"

"Was it long? I don't think so. I even came back without attending the banquet."

"Banquet?" Tushan Rongrong paused slightly, looking at her sister with confusion. "What banquet?"