My Arms Can Turn into Blades-Chapter 48 - 42: Irreconcilable Contradictions

"Ugh—"

Evening.

Six o’clock.

Wu You knelt on the ground, his hands supporting himself on the floor, retching loudly with a very complex expression.

Simply put, it was... a mix of pleasure and pain.

On the other side.

Xia Panqiu wasn’t much better off, although she wasn’t as uninhibited as Wu You.

She squatted on the ground, back facing Chen Lusi, her hands firmly covering her mouth. Her delicate body trembled constantly, yet she refused to let a sound of retching escape.

The only one still standing, Chen Lusi, also felt a bit nauseous, but his rejection reaction wasn’t as exaggerated.

About ten minutes later.

Wu You recovered, looked at Chen Lusi, and said painfully, "It nearly killed me... yet, this thing is genuinely useful. A single Spirit Ball equates to three months of my meditation. After devouring three in a day, even the ’Stone’ at my heart is nearly formed. But why is it so unbearable!"

"I don’t know... if it’s truly uncomfortable, maybe take fewer,"

Chen Lusi shook his head, unable to provide an answer, and could only suggest he consume fewer.

After all, he himself felt this wasn’t quite right before.

"No."

Wu You hesitated for a moment, then donned an expression as if resigned to death, and refused.

Hearing this, Chen Lusi nodded, reaching out to prepare another Spirit Ball for him.

"Don’t."

Wu You saw Chen Lusi’s action and suddenly turned pale: "What I mean is, no need to reduce the daily amount... but let’s stop here for today, and talk about it tomorrow."

Having said that.

Without waiting for Chen Lusi’s response, he immediately extended his hand, shouted "Xiaoxiao," and left the gourd.

Chen Lusi was halfway through making the Spirit Ball when he saw Wu You run off, leaving him stunned.

He hesitated for a moment, then slowly turned his gaze towards Xia Panqiu.

Xia Panqiu happened to be recovering too.

Her delicate face had a slight blush, and noticing Chen Lusi’s gaze, she stood up, somewhat puzzled, and exchanged a glance with him.

Chen Lusi walked directly over to her.

Only then did Xia Panqiu notice what he held in his hand, and her rosy face turned white all at once.

"Do you want more?"

Chen Lusi directly brought the Spirit Ball to her mouth and asked.

Xia Panqiu opened her mouth, just about to respond.

But Chen Lusi, seeing her open mouth, assumed she needed it, and directly shoved the Spirit Ball into her mouth.

"......"

Xia Panqiu slowly squatted down in front of Chen Lusi, covering her mouth again and let out a muffled whimper.

Who stuffs it in like that...

Chen Lusi lowered his head, seeing her struggling yet unwilling to vomit... thought for a while, raised his hand, shouted "Xiaoxiao," and left as well.

Better to leave her alone.

...

In the meeting room.

Chen Lusi had just exited the gourd and hadn’t yet steadied himself when he saw a tall figure approaching.

"Hi."

Ah Yue patted Chen Lusi’s shoulder, then asked with a bright smile, "Remember me?"

"Ah Yue?" Chen Lusi recognized him, surprised.

"Yes, long time no see. I was thinking of looking for you guys."

Ah Yue nodded, then looked towards the gourd, "Where’s Panqiu?"

Chen Lusi thought for a while, and replied, "...she’s cultivating."

"I see."

Ah Yue glanced back at Wu You not far away, seemingly having heard about the Spirit Devouring Ball cultivation method, nodded, and then sincerely said, "Thanks."

Chen Lusi was a bit puzzled.

"For what happened with Lu Hao, and about the cultivation."

Ah Yue explained, "And of course, for saving my niece."

"..."

Chen Lusi didn’t know how to respond, and could only nod silently.

Ah Yue didn’t mind, just glanced out the window, saying, "Let’s go, let’s talk about how to compensate you... it’s too stuffy here, let’s go to the rooftop, the sunlight is just right now."

Saying that.

Without waiting for Chen Lusi to react, he headed out first.

Chen Lusi thought for a while and followed. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

As they walked through the company lobby,

Chen Lusi was slightly surprised to find that Xiaoxiao, who had always been standing behind the desk, was gone.

Is it after hours?

Chen Lusi glanced at the front desk, then withdrew his gaze and continued to follow Ah Yue.

The two arrived on the rooftop.

"Nice view, isn’t it?"

Ah Yue stopped and turned back, saying, "I specifically rented the top floor just for this rooftop."

Chen Lusi stood atop the rooftop, bathing in the evening sun, feeling the gentle breeze. Though it still carried a bit of heat, it truly calmed the mind and spirit.

"Mm."

He nodded, responding, then glanced around, unable to help but recall his first experience being brought to a rooftop, letting out a sigh.

"I apologize."

Ah Yue observed Chen Lusi’s expression, knowing what he was thinking, and smiled, "Panqiu was wrong at the time, I hope you can forgive her. Lu Hao’s betrayal greatly affected her; her mother’s mental state has been unstable, and she yells whenever she sees someone with long hair, prompting Panqiu to cut her hair short. But the impact doesn’t vanish with a haircut... Her mental state probably hasn’t been too optimistic recently, and not knowing how to cope, she saw you with a ponytail, and authority related to blades, and took an extreme approach.

Of course, I’m not saying this to seek your forgiveness for her. Everyone must bear the consequences of their actions, and so must she.

I’m saying this just to let you know the cause and effect, and to apologize, as I am partly at fault for it."

"I’ve talked with her."

Hearing this, Chen Lusi shook his head: "It’s all in the past now."

"Is that so... That’s good, thank you."

Ah Yue chuckled, then continued, "Also, thank you for protecting her, but regarding the matter of you killing Lu Hao... I need to mention, this matter can’t be made public yet, otherwise your situation will become very troublesome."

"Troublesome?"

"Yes."

Chen Lusi was curious: "Why?"

"Because within the Celestial Strategy, quite a few people were on Lu Hao’s side."

Ah Yue casually said, "You understand why, right?"

Chen Lusi was taken aback for a moment, then unsurely said, "Because the Yellow Springs Fragment needs to be submitted?"

"Exactly."

Ah Yue nodded, then said, "The regulation was initially intended to restrict members of the Celestial Strategy Mansion. As long as no one was doing anything outrageous, no one would deliberately try to strip a member of their authority. Even if someone did, Yellow Springs likely wouldn’t approve it.

To date, aside from routine authority removals, there are only two serious cases.

But when someone holds great power... things change.

Many feel that once the Yellow Springs Fragment is submitted, they lose a degree of freedom.

I suspect if there were an anonymous vote now, one that couldn’t be traced... a third of Celestial Strategy Mansion would vote to ’abolish the submission of the Yellow Springs Fragment.’

And if the range of the vote were broadened to include all Empowerers, perhaps more than half or even two-thirds would vote to ’abolish the submission of the Yellow Springs Fragment.’

This is a complex internal conflict within Celestial Strategy Mansion.

And since you killed Lu Hao, regardless of the reasons, once the news is out, you will be prominently labeled as a supporter of the submission of the Yellow Springs Fragment."