Hades, the Urban Legend

Chapter 109: Retirement

Although the incident was quite bizarre, everyone soon put it aside since it didn't concern them directly. After a brief discussion among the employees, the rumors dispersed, not causing much impact. After all, who doesn't have some private matters? It just happened to occur within the ranks of beautiful high-ranking women, nothing particularly novel.

Poor Zhang Fugui, with the help of a few kind-hearted girls, managed to call the hospital, and then nobody paid much attention to the matter. The group from the Public Relations Department, seeing Yang Chen and Mo Qianni leaving, though full of questions, had no choice but to return to work and wait for the two to come back.

As for Yang Chen, he followed Mo Qianni all the way to the company's parking lot. The parking lot of Yulei International was spread across three entire floors, with the third floor usually being an open-air terrace where hardly any cars would park.

When they reached the innermost corner of the parking lot, deserted and empty, Mo Qianni turned around with a smiling expression and stopped.

Maintaining a few feet of distance from her, Yang Chen didn't rush to speak when Mo Qianni remained silent. He lit a cigarette for himself and said, "I remember warning you last time that if I caught you again, I wouldn't hold back."

Mo Qianni feigned confusion, pouting, "Darling, what are you talking about?"

"Don't pretend," Yang Chen smiled, stroking his chin. "Your imitation is far from perfect. Apart from appearance, figure, and aura, which are identical to Miss Mo, everything else isn't."

A glint of cunning flashed in Mo Qianni's eyes. "Are you doubting my imitation skills?"

Yang Chen shook his head. "No, I know you deliberately made yourself different from her. If you wanted to, you could perfectly replicate her. Even though the perfume you wear is the same type as hers, you specifically changed from Gucci to Lanc?me. You're meticulous about these details. If you hadn't revealed it yourself, I probably wouldn't have discovered any clues so quickly."

"Do you know why I don't care if you recognize me?" Mo Qianni asked, somewhat slyly.

Exhaling a smoke ring, Yang Chen smirked, "Isn't it obvious? Since the fake Mo Qianni is in front of me, the real one must be somewhere else."

"Very clever."

The woman made a slight turn, swiftly making some changes to her face with her hand, and then turned back around. Her face had returned to its original appearance.

It was a sexy and alluring face, with a hint of wild beauty, belonging to the female ninja who had once impersonated Tang Tang.

Yang Chen spoke with some frustration, "Miss Banruo, although I'm not sure why your Eight Sceneries Society has such audacity, daring to act multiple times on this land in the summer, I think you've got the wrong person. I just came back to this land for retirement, or shall we say, 'retreat.' I would welcome you for tea or dinner, but it's not right to constantly grab people around me and impersonate them to cause trouble for them. As one of the Three Majors of the Eight Sceneries Society, how can you always do such uncouth things?"

Banruo's beautiful red lips parted slightly. "Lord of the Underworld, if you want to have tea, dinner, or even spend the night together, Banruo would be honored to accompany you. However... could you please hand over the 'Divine Stone' first? I assure you that your friend Miss Mo will be unharmed. I can even return all of her clothes to her. By the way, you might not know, but I've even changed into her underwear."

"I've told you before, I have no idea about any 'Divine Stone' or 'non-Divine Stone,'" Yang Chen shrugged.

"It's impossible," Banruo retorted. "Even if everyone in the world doesn't know what the Divine Stone is, as the only person in the world who has survived under the radiance of the Divine Stone, you must understand the significance of the Divine Stone. The events of the past are enough to prove that only you could possibly control the Divine Stone!"

Yang Chen slapped his forehead. "I've already told you, why don't you believe me? You're so proficient in the Yanxia language, don't you know that we Yanxia people consider honesty a virtue?"

"You're not human," Banruo sneered coldly. "You don't need to abide by all human rules."

"I don't like hearing that. I have two arms, two legs, and a particularly long stick down there. How am I not human?" Yang Chen said irritably.

"I don't want to talk about this with you. Whether you're human or not, the Lord of the Underworld knows best in your heart," Banruo said coldly. "I want the Divine Stone. As long as I get the Divine Stone, I can guarantee that the Eight Sceneries Society will regard the Lord of the Underworld as the most solid and reliable ally!"

"Setting aside the fact that I don't have this so-called Divine Stone, I really don't dare to become an ally of your Eight Sceneries Society. Being with your Eight Sceneries Society would mean making enemies with everyone else, wouldn't it? Not to mention, there's still a bunch of lunatics in the Yamamoto country who are against you, especially the 'Takamagahara' internally. I don't want to get into too much trouble," Yang Chen firmly shook his head.

Banruo showed a touch of coldness. "In that case, I'm sorry. Perhaps we need to negotiate in another way, and your friend Miss Mo may become the sacrifice if you don't cooperate."

Yang Chen finished his cigarette, threw the butt to the ground, and stepped on it. "I suppose you didn't come alone today, did you? If I'm not mistaken, there should be two of your companions nearby, and my superior, Miss Mo Qianni, should also be around here."

Banruo remained expressionless. "Indeed, you're quite insightful, Lord of the Underworld. But so what? The Tanuki's ability to hide is as unmatched as his stealth. Even if you're the Lord of the Underworld, you won't find them."

"The Tanuki, one of the Three Majors of the Ninjas... I heard he's currently the top assassin in the Yamamoto Empire. Indeed, a formidable character," Yang Chen nodded in agreement.

"What about it? Lord of the Underworld, do you want to change your plans? Wouldn't it be better to cooperate with us? After all, your beautiful and charming superior is still in our hands," Banruo smirked somewhat triumphantly.

"No, no, no," Yang Chen shook his head. "I don't think it needs to be that complicated. Although I might not find them immediately, with you here, they will eventually bring someone to me."

Banruo instantly understood Yang Chen's meaning, and she felt thoroughly looked down upon, which she found intolerable. She snorted coldly, "Lord of the Underworld, do you really think I'm at your mercy? Don't underestimate the dignity of the Three Majors of the Great Yamamoto Empire!"

"Whether I underestimate it or not, Miss Banruo can try it out," Yang Chen said calmly, looking at her.

A strange smile appeared at the corner of Banruo's mouth as her figure gradually blurred, as if it were a knitted pattern being unraveled. Gradually, the lines were pulled away from their original positions!

Yang Chen stood still, not moving an inch. After about a second, he swiftly extended his hand to the left in midair, lightly pinching with two fingers!

"Clang!"

A metallic friction sounded!

Banruo, who was just about to assassinate Yang Chen diagonally from midair with a ninja dagger, suddenly froze in place. The blade in her hand, which hadn't even caused a ripple in the air, was miraculously caught between Yang Chen's fingers!

Without giving Banruo a chance to react, Yang Chen slightly flicked his fingers!

"Clang!"

Another crisp sound echoed as the steel-made blade snapped cleanly in half!

In shock and anger, Banruo abandoned her weapon, and her body dispersed in midair once again...

"Swoosh swoosh!"

Two shurikens, one in the front and one in the back, attacked Yang Chen's abdomen. Yang Chen didn't dodge but stood still. His hands moved as smoothly as flowing water, gently brushing past, and he caught both shurikens perfectly!

Seeing the strange green glow on the shurikens, Yang Chen exclaimed, "This poison could knock out three elephants! Miss Banruo really spared no expense to deal with me."

Realizing that her sneak attack had failed again and losing two shurikens contaminated with poison, Banruo felt extremely frustrated in her combat abilities. She finally understood how terrifying the man in front of her was in terms of observation and action. She was definitely no match for him!

Unable to win, the only option was to flee. Ninjas were not samurais, much less martyrs. Preserving one's life was more important than completing the mission!

"Escape Technique" was absolutely one of the most essential abilities for a ninja to cultivate, and as a transcendent jōnin, Banruo had already reached the pinnacle of proficiency.

After a few more shurikens with blocking properties flew out, Banruo's body once again became elusive and ethereal, making it difficult to discern her exact location. The sound of Banruo's footsteps echoed around the entire third-floor parking lot, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Yang Chen walked briskly towards the railing on the left side of the parking lot. With each step, he narrowly avoided the flying shurikens. One shuriken was deflected by the poison-coated dagger he held in his hand.

When Yang Chen was less than ten meters away from the railing, he suddenly exerted force on the shuriken he had previously caught, shooting it towards a blank space in front of the railing!

"Swish!"

The shuriken made a sound as it cut through the air. When it flew about a meter in front of the railing, a spray of blood burst out in the transparent air, like a vivid crimson azalea in full bloom!

Banruo, who had been behind Yang Chen just moments ago, suddenly appeared in front of the railing as if by magic. There was a cut on her arm where the shuriken had grazed her!

The poison on the shuriken, which Banruo had always used on others, unexpectedly made her taste its bitterness today!

Realizing that her skin had been pierced by the shuriken, Banruo felt terrible. In a hurry, she took out a pill from her pocket and swallowed it!

"Your pill should neutralize ordinary toxins, but the toxin concentration on your specially made shuriken exceeds the ordinary level. Miss Banruo, can you still perform your ninja techniques to escape like magic tricks now?" Yang Chen approached and squatted in front of Banruo, grinning at her.