Lao Meng’s scheme was very simple; he knew that Xue Fang, that trash, would never be able to find any intermediaries from famed, upright sects. By happenstance, he had previously had contact with Zhao Jing, and used that opportunity to straight-up earn some power, make Zhao Jing mistakenly believe him to have the key, then initiate an alliance. Now, their enemies were all gone, and the Lapis Armor was complete, so that alliance had naturally fallen apart. Zhao Jing and he would stake their lives fighting, and whoever was the one that ultimately opened the arsenal… well, it was either live, or die.

He was shoving Wen Kexing out right now to have them fight without rest; could Xue Fang, hiding his head and showing his tail with the key, really be able to keep away the whole time? He had taken the thing in order to open the arsenal himself, and now that the Armor was complete, Lao Meng didn’t have faith that would be able to help himself.

Indeed, another aim of this war was to draw Xue Fang out. At that time, he would reap the profits of others’ fights, and still have the manpower of the Poisonous Scorpions available for use.

Following Lao Meng’s exit, Wen Kexing looked like he was playing with a tiny creature as he toyed with the leaves of a flower growing in a pot. The maid was carefully combing his hair, until she suddenly wasn’t careful and pulled a strand of his hair. The man slightly creased his brow, and she promptly thudded into a kneel; her entire body shook like a thin leaf in a huge storm, voice like spider silk. “Valley Master… I…”

He gently reached out to lift up her chin, only to see the maiden’s face turn white with fright. He thus sighed. “Why, was someone offended? Did another force you to attend to me as a scapegoat?”

A smile was put upon her face, uglier than crying, as she forced herself to talk. “Serving you, Valley Master, is… is this slave’s good fortune, is…”

Eyes cooling down, he let her go. “If you’re unhappy, say so. If I were you, I certainly wouldn’t be willing to come throw my life away in the presence of a great devil. And yet, you actually…”

He glanced at the girl who shook like a sieve, about to be scared to death, and suddenly stopped talking, losing interest in speaking with her. Standing up, he leaned over to pick up the comb that had fallen to the floor, then waved her off. “You can go.”

The maiden was startled at first, becoming overjoyed soon after. Looking up at him as if she had practically escaped catastrophe, she subsequently tamped down her expression with speed, too afraid to be too obvious in her actions. “Okay,” she whispered, then fled at flying speed, lest he change his mind.