Subduing the Insect King

"Roar~"

Among the ruined forests of Pig Head Mountain, a gigantic insect beast let out a feeble howl. Several of its insect legs were broken, its mosquito-like mouthparts were reduced to barely half their original length, and one of its two pairs of pincers hung limp. It looked terribly wounded.

"Tap~ tap~ tap~"

Gu Sheng approached with steady footsteps, already holding the Demon-Sealing Mirror in his hand. This thing had its own rules for subduing and binding demons and evil beings. If he used it to increase his magic power without making the bound creature truly submit, he would inevitably suffer backlash in the future.

That was how Shirakawa Rin later sealed and bound Shuten-dōji, the leader of the Dongying ghost clan, yet lacked the power to suppress him. At the critical moment between life and death, she had barely managed to fuse with him and survive, but had become a nonhuman monster.

There were plenty of ways to make an evil creature truly submit. The simplest and most direct was to beat it into submission, one-on-one. Gu Sheng did not know many spells and understood none of the more cunning methods, so he chose the simplest and most brutal approach, taking down this Ancient Strange Insect head-on.

"Will you submit, or die?"

Gu Sheng walked up beside the Insect King and pulled out the Bronze Mirror, pointing it at the creature. When the faintly golden light shone over the Insect King, it instinctively sensed danger and let out an anxious roar.

"Roar~"

Several spikes suddenly thrust out from the folds of the Insect King’s soft lower abdomen. At the same time, green liquid sprayed from within, all of it shooting toward Gu Sheng.

"Hiss hiss~~"

Gu Sheng reacted extremely quickly. The moment those mouthparts emerged, he responded, leaping aside to evade the spray. The green liquid splattered onto the ground, hissing and releasing white vapor. A pit soon appeared, while the nearby plants withered and yellowed.

"You refused the good wine, so now you want the punishment wine!"

Gu Sheng’s expression turned cold. He covered one hand with True Essence, grabbed the Insect King by the head, and pressed it into the ground. It was just like Whitebeard activating the Tremor-Tremor Fruit, as endless vibrating force repeatedly struck downward.

"Roar~ roar~ roar~~"

The Insect King howled miserably, struggling to escape Gu Sheng’s control. Unfortunately, that last attack had exhausted all its strength, leaving it completely unable to resist Gu Sheng. It could only helplessly accept its punishment. Its howls were hoarse and shrill, yet gradually grew weaker.

"Submit to me or die. Pick one!"

Gu Sheng brought out the Bronze Mirror again and held it before the Insect King. This time, it no longer had any intention of resisting and allowed the white light to shine over its body. After a dazzling radiance, the enormous Insect King vanished from the spot.

"Whoosh~"

A phantom rapidly approached from afar, and Liu Daimei’s figure appeared. "You succeeded!" Her voice was filled with disbelief. She had sensed Gu Sheng’s intentions long ago, but she truly had not expected him to accomplish something so nearly impossible.

"I succeeded!"

Gu Sheng let out a long sigh, exhaustion mingling with boundless joy.

"Are you planning to have people mine the Gold Mine here? If so, the insects inside will have to be cleared out."

Liu Daimei walked over to Gu Sheng and linked arms with her man, asking what they should do next.

"No!"

Gu Sheng shook his head. "This isn’t the time to mine the Gold Mine. Fine steel should be used where it matters most. This thing can still be put to use and used to trip up others. Leave it alone for now. Once I take control, I’ll find a way to mine it."

"What about now? We should go back first and sleep the hell out of ourselves. Let’s celebrate for this young master~~ Snore~ snore~"

Gu Sheng smiled and walked toward Liu Daimei, the expression on his face inviting all sorts of misunderstandings. But before he could finish speaking, he had already collapsed against Liu Daimei.

"You’re clearly exhausted, yet you still pretend nothing’s wrong. Men! Honestly!"

Liu Daimei shook her head with a laugh. Holding Gu Sheng just like that, she stood there as his cushion and recliner, carefully making sure he felt comfortable and at peace.

At the Command Headquarters in Wen County, rows of neat, ramrod-straight officers and soldiers stood on high alert, while people streamed in and out amid the bustling noise. In the distance, a woman wearing a qipao and fox-fur coat, carrying a thermal food container, entered the Command Headquarters.

"Good day, Madam!"

"Good day, Seventh Lady!"

"Miss Lin!"

The different forms of address were all directed at the same person—the woman who had just entered.

"Chief of Staff Zhang really dotes on her exclusively! For the sake of a Seventh Concubine, he’s neglected his other concubines for almost a month now, hasn’t he?"

"Of course. Not only did he bring her out of Wen County and let her appear in public, he even allows her to freely enter and leave the Command Headquarters. That’s something even the Commander’s several concubines aren’t allowed to do!"

"Why do you think the Commander agreed to let Chief of Staff Zhang’s Seventh Concubine enter and leave the Command Headquarters? He’s always hated this sort of thing, hasn’t he? I remember one time, when the commander of the Second Battalion brought his woman along, the Commander chewed him out so badly he nearly crawled into a hole."

"You don’t understand, do you? Haven’t you noticed that the way the Commander looks at her is different?"

"You mean the Commander has taken a liking to her?"

"That can’t be! The Commander has always treated Chief of Staff Zhang exceptionally well. How could he covet his brother’s woman?"

"I heard they were childhood sweethearts…"

Wave after wave of noisy discussion reached Liu Daimei’s ears. The faint smile at the corners of her lips never faded, but her gaze grew especially cold whenever it swept across several people in the crowd. She still remembered those who had slandered and spread rumors about her. A woman’s pettiness—never try to guess its limits.

"Knock knock knock~~~"

A knock came from the door. Gu Sheng, who had been lying in his leather chair in a daze, suddenly twisted around. After putting on the appearance of diligently working at his desk, he cleared his throat. "Come in!"

"Creak~"

The door opened, revealing a delicate, beautiful face that was charming whether angry or smiling. The instant Gu Sheng saw who it was, he abandoned the work at hand and once again slumped into the lazy, listless look of a dead fish.

"With all these documents left untouched, what will you do when Gu Mengmeng asks about them?"

Liu Daimei walked over to Gu Sheng with a smile at the corners of her lips, rolled her eyes at him, and set down the food container in her hand. She had figured this man out. He was a specialized "genius": he picked up anything that interested him quickly, but left anything he disliked completely untouched.

"What can I do? I’ll just make do! That fellow can’t eat me, can he? Besides, your little brother still has Mei-jie, the ‘Prime Minister,’ so why bother learning so many things?"

Gu Sheng chuckled, his tone frivolous. He truly had no interest in paperwork and had lost all enthusiasm once the initial novelty wore off.

"You… I really surrender to you."

Liu Daimei rolled her eyes at Gu Sheng, then affectionately tapped the tip of his nose with her jade finger. She bent down and sat on Gu Sheng’s thigh, picked up his fountain pen, and began handling the documents for him one by one. She worked quickly, finishing one in no time.

Gu Sheng quietly watched the beautiful woman smiling faintly over the desk. Sunlight spilled across her delicate face, and the glow reflected from it gave her a sacred air, irresistibly alluring to any man.