Proud Goddess Falls in Love with Me
Chapter 1393: 1352: Been Played

Chapter 1393: Chapter 1352: Been Played

It was night.

Xiu Niang gently pushed away Lu Chuan’s burning chest and said coquettishly, “You’re exhausting me! Can’t someone just rest for a moment?”

“You weren’t saying that earlier. What’s this? Tired already?”

Perhaps it was because his cultivation was about to break through, but Lu Chuan had clearly felt his needs in this area growing stronger recently.

Previously, Xiu Niang could barely keep up with Lu Chuan during their “battle” across several rounds without losing ground, but now, she could only repeatedly plead for mercy, utterly unable to match Lu Chuan in a single move.

“Who told you to behave like a beast day after day? I’m tired, I need to rest!”

With that, Xiu Niang shoved Lu Chuan away, draped herself in her clothes, got up, and walked to the bathroom, planning to wash her body thoroughly.

It was then that a small head peeked in through the crack in the door, her bright eyes wandering inquisitively around the room.

“Xiu Niang said that when the bathroom light turns on, it’s the signal for me to come in. But…”

Ichikazu touched her flushed cheeks, looking somewhat embarrassed.

The plan devised by Xiu Niang was for her to jump straight in and forge an unbreakable bond with Brother Lu Chuan. The idea itself sounded good, and Ichikazu had initially thought she could handle it too. But now, at the critical moment, hesitation crept over her.

Wasn’t something like this supposed to happen only when they were genuinely together?

Moreover, Ichikazu still wasn’t sure about Lu Chuan’s feelings toward her. Did he reciprocate her affection, or did he merely see her as an innocent little girl?

Thinking about this, Ichikazu couldn’t help but feel a bit reticent.

While she did wish to be with Lu Chuan, she still believed this wasn’t the way to go about it.

With that in mind, Ichikazu ultimately stepped back out of the room, softly closing the door behind her.

However, Xiu Niang was unaware of Ichikazu’s internal struggles. After finishing her bath, she thought she could finally relax for a while, but looked around only to see Lu Chuan, fiery and ravenous as ever—no trace of Ichikazu.

But earlier, she had clearly sensed Ichikazu’s presence!

When Lu Chuan pounced again, Xiu Niang suddenly realized she’d been played by Ichikazu!

The next morning, Xiu Niang lay in the bathtub, her body aching so much she didn’t even want to utter another word.

For some reason, she had a growing feeling that Lu Chuan’s demands were becoming increasingly frequent, so much so that even she was struggling to keep up.

She had thought Ichikazu’s involvement might give her some reprieve, but the girl had failed miserably—she’d fled at the last moment!

Thinking about this, Xiu Niang lightly slapped the water’s surface in frustration and fumed, “Next time I see her, I’ll give her a good piece of my mind!”

…

Lu Chuan’s body had recovered, and the Suzumiya family no longer required his assistance. Besides, he had far more pressing matters.

The Earth Amulet was still in the possession of Grand Elder Huang Quan, and to this day, Lu Chuan hadn’t devised a way to retrieve it without breaking its seal. He’d even consulted the Tower Spirit for ideas, but unfortunately, the Tower Spirit hadn’t offered any practical solutions. Left without options, Lu Chuan resolved to revisit the volcano, hoping to find even a slim opportunity for a breakthrough.

The current best lead was the Yin Ghost Sect. According to the Tower Spirit, the Yin Ghost Sect had likely leveraged the Earth Amulet’s power to produce its aberrant members.

While Lu Chuan had infiltrated the Yin Ghost Sect once before, the chaos he had caused nearly disrupted the sect completely, prompting them to heighten their vigilance considerably. This time, he wasn’t entirely confident.

After deliberating for a long time, Lu Chuan decided to leave Xiu Niang in the Suzumiya family and act alone. After all, the more individuals involved in his plan, the more likely they’d attract unwanted attention—especially when escorting someone as stunningly beautiful as Xiu Niang.

After bidding Suzumiya Setsuna farewell, Lu Chuan departed the Suzumiya family and headed for the Miyamoto family.

In that war, Lu Chuan’s intervention had been nothing short of overwhelming. He had left practically no survivors, though the Miyamoto family had managed to capture a few disciples of the Yin Ghost Sect and were now trying to extract useful information from them.

However, according to the Miyamoto family, most of the Yin Ghost Sect disciples had completely lost their rationality. No matter how they were questioned, their responses amounted to incoherent roars. There was only one individual who seemed to retain his sanity, which was precisely the reason Lu Chuan had come.

He wanted to see if he could uncover anything useful from this person.

Upon arriving at the Miyamoto family estate, Lu Chuan was greeted by a man of similar age to himself. Lu Chuan recalled meeting him briefly at Lingying River, where he had worked with a small mission team dispatched by the Miyamoto family to investigate the kappa sightings.

“Mr. Lu Chuan, welcome.”

“Where are the Yin Ghost Sect people? Take me to see them.”

“The Family Head has ordered that the Miyamoto family place full cooperation with Mr. Lu Chuan as the highest priority. Any offenses will be severely punished. Please rest assured, Mr. Lu Chuan—I’ll arrange for you immediately.”

During their conversation, Lu Chuan learned that the man’s name was Gong Ben Jie—an adopted child of the Miyamoto family’s Family Head, trained as a Hidden Guard in a direct command squad. With cultivation at the Sixth Level of Golden Core, his combat strength was formidable.

However, in battles against the Yin Ghost Sect disciples, Gong Ben Jie’s squad had suffered heavy losses, with only a few scattered survivors remaining.

Upon following Gong Ben Jie into the dungeon, Lu Chuan immediately noticed disciples from the Yin Ghost Sect bound entirely in steel chains. Their bodies were covered in scars, bleeding profusely, a testament to the inhuman treatment they had endured.

“How many were captured?”

Lu Chuan opened a cell door and stepped inside, testing the breathing of one prisoner. Their pulse was extremely weak; Lu Chuan wouldn’t have been surprised if they died in seconds.

“We captured four altogether—one didn’t survive the interrogation, and these two are unresponsive and locked up in here.”

“What about the other one?”

“In a deeper section of the dungeon. A designated guard watches over him.”

“You didn’t rough them up to this extent, did you?”

Gong Ben Jie shook his head and explained: “The Family Head has ordered that this particular individual is highly unusual and prohibits torture during questioning.”

This surprised Lu Chuan.

This Miyamoto family head certainly seemed shrewd—knowing where the lines were and adhering to them adeptly. It was no wonder the Miyamoto family had risen so quickly, securing a place in the Island Country within such little time.

“Take me to him then.”

“Yes, Mr. Lu Chuan.”

As they proceeded deeper into the dungeon, Lu Chuan noticed that most cells were empty, spare a few individuals left inside, all of whom appeared deranged. This piqued Lu Chuan’s curiosity.

“Gong Ben Jie, I have some questions—purely out of curiosity. If they involve classified information or are inconvenient to answer, feel free to tell me so, and I won’t press any further.”

“Please ask, Mr. Lu Chuan.”

“What kind of people are kept here?”