Chapter 383 - 381: Resolution

Chapter 383: Chapter 381: Resolution

"That’s a great idea." Ah Lei rubbed his hands together. Recalling Gu Nuan Nuan’s rare beauty, a lecherous glint appeared in his eyes.

"Don’t get any funny ideas. When the time comes, don’t you dare try anything, or she won’t be worth as much." Sisi’s tone soured the moment she saw the look on his face.

"You’re overthinking it. Of course the money is more important. No, wait, you’re more important than the money. Having you is enough for me. I wouldn’t even glance at another woman if she was served to me on a platter." Ah Lei sidled up to Sisi with a greasy smile, solemnly cooing a few sweet nothings until she broke into a laugh. Once she was appeased, his expression twisted and he started cursing under his breath. "That damn brat, why is she such a spendthrift? She bought a whole pile of stones in half an hour. You think there’s anything good in that junk? Don’t tell me she blew all her cash on this one gamble. If that’s the case, is there even anything left for us to take?"

Sisi stopped laughing and chimed in, her voice aching at the thought of the money. "What a waste." At least half a million yuan, gone just like that.

Ah Lei’s eyes darted around. "Why don’t we go to Old Jin’s warehouse? I noticed she didn’t leave anyone to watch the place. We’ll leave the biggest stone from Old Jin’s shop alone, but we’ll take all the others and cut them open. Who knows, we might find something... That idiot. That biggest one cost three hundred thousand, tsk, tsk. Spending three hundred grand on a worthless rock that’s guaranteed to be empty. What a moron."

"We can’t go yet. If we go now, we’ll just tip her off," Sisi said, shaking her head.

"What if someone else gets to the stones first?" Ah Lei pressed, growing anxious.

"How about we go stand guard? We can let everyone know we’ve already laid claim to the place," Sisi suggested after a moment’s thought.

"Who the hell are we in this part of town? You think anyone’s going to show us any respect?" Ah Lei scoffed.

"Then we’ll just have to risk tipping her off. If we’re going, let’s go now. That brat’s back at her hotel and probably won’t be out again tonight. Your lock-picking skills will be perfect for this. Let’s go find a vehicle and haul the stones away." Sisi was suddenly in more of a hurry than Ah Lei.

"Hold on, don’t rush. All the shops are still open. Who pulls a heist at this hour?" Ah Lei shook his head like a rattle-drum.

In the hotel room, Cao Cao repeated the entire conversation to Gu Nuan Nuan. Floating in mid-air, it kicked its short, chubby legs, which resembled lotus roots, and said in a huff, "Those two are so greedy! Master, get me a sheet of white paper to fold into a tall, pointy hat, cut me out a matching outfit, and I’ll also need a long tongue cut from red paper. Just watch me scare them to death tonight."

"Full of mischievous ideas, aren’t you? Hmm, but it’s a good one. Just be careful not to actually scare them to death." The items Cao Cao wanted were simple, and Gu Nuan Nuan had them ready in no time. After Cao Cao tried on the outfit with satisfaction and put it away, she added with a gloating tone.

"If they die of fright, it’s just ridding the world of a pest," Cao Cao sneered. It had no intention of letting them off easy. They had tried to steal from its master, and when that wasn’t enough, they’d planned to harm her as well. Blinking its eyes, it said, "Master, what do you say I give them a free packet of itching powder? Otherwise, they might just wake up thinking it was a nightmare and go right back to their wicked ways without learning a thing. It would be better to give them some itching powder. First, it will teach them a lesson. Second, they’ll be too preoccupied to cause any more trouble. I’d be helping them accumulate good karma for their next lives."

"Fine by me. Use the ones in your space first. If you run out, you can get more from me," Gu Nuan Nuan agreed. She didn’t so much as blink, even though she knew perfectly well that without the antidote, the itching powder could cause unpredictable flare-ups of unbearable itching that would last for decades.

She sneered. ’Stealing my money isn’t enough, they want to take my life, too. Hmph. Some people only need a small lesson, but with people like this, you can’t afford to be merciful.’

That night, Cao Cao went out excitedly, leaving Gu Nuan Nuan alone in the hotel room to focus on stone cutting. She didn’t need any machinery, of course. She simply had to sense the location of the Spiritual Energy within each stone, then use her True Essence Power as a blade to peel away the outer layers. A complete piece of Jade would emerge, a process not only far faster than machine cutting but also one that didn’t waste a single sliver.

She started with the smaller raw stones. At first, unfamiliar with the process, she worked slowly. But as she got the hang of it, her speed increased dramatically. She focused, "cutting" one stone after another. She didn’t examine the revealed Jade too closely, simply storing each piece away as soon as it was free. She was happily absorbed in her work and only stopped when Cao Cao returned, by which time she had already processed more than half of her smaller stones.

Glancing up, Gu Nuan Nuan was surprised to see the sky was already beginning to lighten. She raised an eyebrow. "Time flies. How did it go with those people?"

"Both groups went to the warehouse. Sisi and Ah Lei’s group got there first. I appeared right in front of them, scared them half to death, made them strip naked, and covered them from head to toe in itching powder. They shouldn’t be able to cause trouble for anyone ever again. They’ll be too busy trying to deal with the itch to have time for anything else," Cao Cao said with a proud laugh.

"And the other group?"

"Oh, them? Hehe, they were smart enough to keep their distance. They saw those two flailing around like lunatics at the warehouse entrance and took off after watching for a bit. So I didn’t go after them. But I was still worried someone else might try something with the warehouse, so I stuck around to enjoy the show a little longer."

"Haha, weren’t you afraid your eyes would rot?" Gu Nuan Nuan pictured the scene Cao Cao described and could hardly stomach the mental image. ’Constantly dancing around like that?’ She shook her head with a sigh and a laugh. "Did you use too much?"

Cao Cao stuck its tongue out playfully. "I used a whole packet on just two people, which might have been a bit of a waste. By the middle of the night, I was getting sick of watching them, and they still wouldn’t stop. I figured that with so much powder, they’d run out of stamina to keep dancing. If they actually died, we’d be stuck with the karmic debt for no reason. So, I was kind enough to sprinkle a little antidote on them and cut the effect in half."

Cao Cao gestured excitedly as it spoke. "Tsk, tsk, Master, you should have seen them! The second the itching let up a bit, they took off faster than rabbits. Good thing I was smart enough to hit their Mute Acupoints first, otherwise their screaming would have drawn a crowd from all over the neighborhood."

"Half the effect should be about right. It won’t be so unbearable that they make a scene in public, but it will absolutely be enough to keep their minds off any other wicked schemes." Gu Nuan Nuan stroked Cao Cao’s head. She couldn’t care less if, in addition to being unable to plot, those two would also be unable to enjoy a single day, or even a single hour, of their future.

’If they hadn’t sown the seeds of their own viciousness, they wouldn’t be reaping such a bitter harvest now.’

Gu Nuan Nuan sneered inwardly. ’If I wasn’t someone who could protect herself... if their target had been a truly helpless young woman... what would have happened then?’