Her expression was no longer as gentle and generous as before; now, her brows and eyes were fierce and malicious, just like the first time Bai Ran had seen her.
Bai Ran curved her lips into a smile. "Naturally, it's that you're full of flaws."
Hearing this, Hua Yun chuckled disdainfully. "Oh? Care to give me a few examples? I don't believe my acting has any flaws."
Bai Ran watched as Xiao Zi put on the Demon Emperor's Ring. She raised her hand and cast a barrier.
Hua Yun wasn't in a hurry. A mere human, how powerful could their barrier be?
But when she saw Lin Ze appear from nowhere, she panicked. "How can you be here!"
She had clearly followed these two all along! Yet, she had never seen this clan destroyer before!
"This is bad! Did you cast this barrier!"
Lin Ze stared directly at her, his expression calm. "Indeed. I've been waiting for you."
It was Lin Ze who had truly cast the barrier; Bai Ran had merely made it manifest.
Catching a turtle in a jar...
Hua Yun gritted her teeth, her expression flustered.
She couldn't understand where things had gone wrong...
These people's actions clearly indicated they had discovered her long ago; it wasn't a recent development.
"Your acting was superb. I was almost fooled as well."
Hua Yun looked up to see Bai Ran smiling at her and continued.
"It was the time you were injured by Lu Meng. That's when I started to doubt you."
Lu Meng had injured Hua Yun, yet Lu Ji had been extremely anxious, even stabbing himself in the abdomen with his sword.
He said it was to settle the score. Settle the score?
Was that said to Xiao Zi? No.
His words were directed at Hua Yun.
"You are in a cooperative relationship with that Lu Ji. Did I guess correctly?"
Bai Ran's voice was not loud but carried a weighty resonance, reaching directly into people's hearts.
Lu Ji's subordinates had injured Hua Yun, and Lu Ji, fearing Hua Yun would cease to work for him, had to injure himself to compensate for the loss.
Hua Yun listened, but a chill ran down her spine.
Was she truly human? How could she be so terrifying...
"Next was the time Lu Ji came looking for us after the clan destroyer appeared."
"You asked how he knew we were at the Jing family's."
Bai Ran still remembered the question Hua Yun had asked her the day before.
'Human, why do you think that Lu Ji, knowing he would lose, still insisted on competing with the Demon Emperor?'
Bai Ran had replied, 'Naturally, because he's foolish.'
A retreat... was Hua Yun, hidden within the enemy ranks...
Hua Yun's question was merely a test to see if Bai Ran knew her identity.
Or if she had become suspicious.
"What conditions did Lu Ji promise you that made you work for him so recklessly?"
"Gold and treasures? Or perhaps..."
"To marry you as his empress?"
Hua Yun's face stiffened. Everything had been seen through by this human woman.
Even the conditions Lu Ji had promised her were meticulously revealed...
Yes, Hua Yun worked for Lu Ji, and Lu Ji had promised to marry her as his empress, ensuring her wealth and status for life.
And all Hua Yun needed to do was betray the Demon Emperor at a critical moment.
Originally, among the nine great families, five stood with the Demon Emperor, and Lu Ji had four.
If Hua Yun switched allegiance, Lu Ji would have five, and the Demon Emperor would have four.
The situation would be completely reversed.
But what she hadn't expected was the return of the clan destroyer. So, she followed Bai Ran's speculation and tipped off Lu Ji.
Her objective was to cripple the clan destroyer's ability to fight.
However, she had been detected by this human as well...
With no other choice, Hua Yun had tracked the Demon Emperor and intended to kill him the moment he took the Demon Emperor's Ring.
She hadn't come alone; her accompanying helpers were currently being held outside by the barrier...
At this moment, Lian Shui Yue was so shocked she couldn't speak.
Hua Yun had betrayed the Demon Emperor! How was this possible!
Xiao Zi spun the ring on his finger, his expression cold and distant. "So from the very beginning, I didn't trust you."
Under Bai Ran's gaze, Hua Yun's very soul was seen through.
It was as if, in front of her, Hua Yun stood completely naked,
with no secrets whatsoever...
"But I don't think that Lu Ji will keep his promise to you if he wins."
Bai Ran's eyes held a smile. After all, Lu Ji was an extremely insidious person.
He had masterfully played the game of power and strategy with bloody consequences.
Hua Yun gritted her teeth, her fists clenching until blood dripped. "Since you've already seen through my identity, why didn't you kill me immediately?"
Bai Ran pondered for a moment, a smile tugging at her lips. "Interesting?"
That's right—from the moment Bai Ran first saw Hua Yun, she found her very interesting.
"That's enough..." Hua Yun gritted her teeth, her golden eyes filled with malice, and her sharp claws lunged straight at Bai Ran!
As expected, a few steps away from Bai Ran, Lin Ze blocked her.
Sharp claws pierced Hua Yun's dantian, and bright red blood slowly flowed out, staining her dress.
"Go to the underworld and dream of being an empress."
As the words fell, Hua Yun's body crashed heavily to the ground, her eyes wide with unfulfilled rage.
***
The month-long agreement concluded, and Xiao Zi won the competition.
It was at the Hundred Demons Hall, with the same group of demons.
Lu Ji was defeated and, intending to flee once more, found himself bound and brought back by Xiao Zi's three hidden guards who had been waiting.
Facing Lu Ji, Xiao Zi's mood brightened with every angry expression on Lu Ji's face. "Honestly, your current expression is the most pleasing to me."
With Xiao Zi as the Emperor, the Demon Clan was back in his control, and Lu Ji was filled with hatred.
"Kill me or flay me, I accept it all! Don't pretend to spare me! Hypocrite!"
Hearing this, Xiao Zi felt as if he had heard the greatest joke. "Spare you?"
"I must have been possessed by a saint to even consider sparing you."
"Those who deserve to be killed, those who need retribution, I will not miss a single one."
Lu Meng stood beside him, her eyes venomous, as if a thousand knives were scraping across Xiao Zi's face.
Xiao Zi let her glare; if she could harm him, he wouldn't be sitting on the throne.
"As I am Emperor again, the first thing I will do is completely eradicate the Lu family, from top to bottom."
"He is your own brother!"
The same old rhetoric, the same words from Lu Meng.
Xiao Zi rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Did you hear him call me brother?"
Staring at his throne like a wolf eyeing its prey, he was no brother to him.
As for the Lu family, allowing Lu Ji to seize power without intervening was punishable by death.
The heads of the various families sitting on either side exchanged glances, too afraid to voice any protest.
What a joke, speaking up now would be like offering their necks for Xiao Zi to chop off.
"Three days from now, a public execution!"
Lu Ji, Lu Meng, and the entire Lu family would not escape.
"Let me go!" Lu Meng struggled, her arms restrained by the approaching soldiers, yet she refused to give up.
"Do you know who I am! Don't touch me!"
Her struggles were futile. If one soldier wasn't enough, two would come and directly grip Lu Meng's throat, dragging her away.
With his ears finally clear, Xiao Zi's expression turned serious.
"The second matter is to abdicate."
At these words, the family heads below snapped their heads up, their eyes wide and gleaming.