Just to add a note:
小西娜 (xiǎo xī nà) is a nickname that has been used since previous chapters. While it can be translated to ‘Little(Xiao) Athena(xina)’, the character ‘西娜’ (xī nà) can also be translated literary as ‘Tina’ or ‘Thena’.
Chapter 204: Lord Jie Luo, Love Me! (Part 4)
Pain?
Ronald must be in a lot of pain right now.
Lomond looked at the surrounding brutes, a sinister smile on his face, his eyes gleaming with malice. After all, Demon Beasts were crude, and there were even a few huge, hairy gorillas among them…
Ronald’s head hung low, his once smooth and elegant hair now dirty and matted, his magnificent clothes torn and tattered, a foul stench emanating from his body.
A few dark green goblins were scrubbing him with water and brushes, their movements rough, leaving bloody scratches on Ronald’s delicate skin.
The Goblin Chieftain grinned, his voice raspy and malicious, “Your Highness, as you know, the members of the Hero Squad are quite famous among us Demon Beasts.”
“And Ronald is the one who looks down on us the most. Countless Demon Beasts have died at his hands. Once word gets out, countless others will want to see how pathetic and miserable this once arrogant member of the Hero Squad has become.”
“There’s nothing more exciting for a Demon Beast than seeing such a high and mighty figure fall into the abyss… It’s truly a magnificent sight.”
“And many Demon Beasts want to… experience this Noble Gentleman personally.”
“The queue has already stretched to seven days later.”
“Those Demon Beasts are willing to pay a hefty price for this precious opportunity to personally… handle a member of the Hero Squad.”
For Demon Beasts, seeing the once high and mighty, the one who had slaughtered so many of their brethren, fall from grace, was indeed a great pleasure. Even those whose friends and family hadn’t been killed by Ronald wanted to come and witness his downfall.
Some Demon Beasts, lacking funds, even asked how much it would cost to just punch him once.
The more miserable Ronald was, the happier the Demon Beasts became.
As for Ronald, his dignity, his pride, everything he held dear, had been stripped away. He wished Lomond had just killed him outright, sparing him this endless humiliation and torture.
If there was a hell, he was currently in its deepest depths.
“Your Highness, in just these few days, Ronald has already earned you thirty million in income,” the Goblin Chieftain said excitedly.
Actually, it was sixty million… The Goblin Chieftain had pocketed a small… commission.
Thinking that he would have to hand over Ronald to that mysterious person in three days, and such a valuable source of income would be gone, Lomond felt a pang of regret.
However, the help of that mysterious person was more important.
So he suppressed his desire to keep this cash cow and instructed, “Goblin, cancel all the appointments for the next three days.”
The Goblin Chieftain was shocked, “Your Highness, why? That’s a lot of money…”
“Just do as I say!” Lomond’s voice was filled with authority. He wouldn’t allow his subordinates to question his decisions.
The Goblin Chieftain’s body trembled instinctively, and he didn’t dare to say anything more.
“And no matter what, make sure Ronald stays alive. Don’t let him die so quickly, understand?” Lomond said again.
“Your Highness, we’ve made ample preparations. We have healers standing by. Ronald definitely won’t die.”
Satisfied with the Goblin Chieftain’s assurance, Lomond left.
…
Meanwhile, at the Demon King’s Palace.
The slender Demon King was still shut away in his laboratory.
Before him were various purified and refined magic elements, ores, and herbs.
A strange, nauseating smell permeated the air.
Residue and broken glass bottles were scattered on the floor. Undoubtedly, his latest experiment had failed again, and a look of anger appeared on the Demon King’s face, his dark red eyes flickering.
Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he roared, “Damn it! I’ve given you control of my body for long enough, yet you still haven’t produced any results!”
“I have reason to believe you’re toying with me.”
“Shut up…” His voice suddenly lowered, “It’s almost done, very soon, just one more step… the final step!”
Then, his voice softened, filled with a strange persuasion, “There are no secrets between us. We know each other’s secrets, don’t we? Whether I’m toying with you or not, you should know best!”
“We both know the truth of this world. Just be patient a little longer, and we will soon be free.”
…
Meanwhile.
Inside the tent.
After finishing his communication with Candice, Qin Chu began to think about Athena outside.
She was a problem.
Athena’s recent behavior had been very strange, hot and cold. Sometimes, Qin Chu could sense her desire, but at other times, he could see hesitation in her eyes, as if she was worried about something, suspecting something.
This made him wonder if there was a flaw in his performance.
Or could it be because he hadn’t let the non-existent Jie Luo appear before Athena recently, which aroused her suspicion?
Should he let Jie Luo appear again, to reinforce his control over Athena?
Outside the tent, Athena was pacing back and forth.
Ever since her conversation with Anthony, she had been filled with a deep fear. She couldn’t face Qin Chu. Just seeing his face would inevitably make her suspicious.
Anthony had said that the amount of memory and soul a single soul fragment could contain was very limited.
But why did that Jie Luo seem to know everything about her?
Now that she thought about it, it was indeed very strange!
Just a few inconsistencies were enough to make her doubt her previous judgment.
She was afraid that if all of this was Qin Chu’s scheme… that he had found Lord Jie Luo’s soul fragment, absorbed the memories within, and then learned about Lord Jie Luo from various records and other people’s accounts, setting up this trap just to get his hands on her and Ekaterina’s bodies…
Just thinking about this possibility made Athena shudder.
Their pure bodies had already been defiled by that bastard Qin Chu. If this was really the case, Athena would definitely break down.
What frightened her even more was that if this was true, then it meant that Lord Jie Luo’s remnant soul might have already been absorbed, or even shattered, by Qin Chu. In that case, Lord Jie Luo would never be resurrected.
But even if Qin Chu could know what Lord Jie Luo had experienced, could he really imitate that warm and reassuring aura?
She was both suspicious and denying her own suspicions.
Athena was caught in a deep conflict.
She wanted to be alone with Qin Chu, preferably to see Jie Luo again, to confirm her judgment, but she hesitated out of fear.
Hmm… Ungh!
At this moment, a pained groan came from inside the tent. The person inside seemed to be in great discomfort.
Athena perked up. She remembered the only time she had seen Jie Luo. She bit her lower lip, then lifted the curtain and entered, setting up a magic barrier to block all sound and sight.
As soon as she entered, she saw Qin Chu lying on the ground, his body convulsing violently.
He was drenched in sweat, his face pale, his body seemingly in great pain.
Athena instinctively wanted to rush over, but she stopped.
She watched as Qin Chu’s aura shifted, that gentle and reassuring feeling washing over her once again.
After a long while, Qin Chu’s convulsions gradually subsided, and he opened his eyes, his gaze completely different now: gentle, warm, and tender…
He looked at Athena, a soft smile on his face.
“Little Athena, we meet again.”
The familiar feeling almost made Athena lose control and throw herself into Lord Jie Luo’s arms.
But she held back.
She just swayed her graceful body and leaned against him, saying in a seemingly coquettish and blaming tone, “Are you really Lord Jie Luo?”
Athena used her feminine charm to launch a seemingly unintentional, direct attack.
Qin Chu’s heart trembled. As expected, this woman had become suspicious.
Should he just kill her here and now?
No, that would cause a series of problems, something the current Qin Chu didn’t want to see. If it came to that, he could just put a thread of the Evil God into Athena’s body and guide her towards corruption.
Then, like purifying Karsus, he could purify Athena, and it would be perfectly justifiable.
Evil thoughts swirled in Qin Chu’s mind, but his expression remained gentle, “Little Athena, why would you ask that?”
His fingers stroked her soft hair.
“It’s nothing, it’s just… seeing you again feels like a dream, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s just my imagination.”
After a pause, Athena said casually, “By the way, Lord Jie Luo, do you remember when we first met?”
This damned woman, she was testing him.
Qin Chu’s knowledge of what had happened between Athena and Jie Luo was limited to Loseweisse’s diary.
And when Jie Luo saved Athena, Loseweisse wasn’t there… So it wasn’t recorded in the diary.
Qin Chu’s face froze.
He didn’t know how to answer. He couldn’t just make something up. The probability of guessing the correct answer was as low as winning the lottery, it was non-existent.
Athena could feel his heart racing, his body stiffening.
Her hands clenched.
After a long while, Qin Chu scratched his head, his face filled with a troubled and apologetic expression, “Little Athena, I’m sorry, I… I don’t remember.”
As soon as he said this, Athena’s body relaxed.
Qin Chu didn’t know everything…
However, this alone wasn’t enough to reassure her. After all, not many people knew about their first meeting. Even if Qin Chu wanted to inquire about it, it would be difficult. It was normal for him not to know.
She gave him a reproachful look, seemingly dissatisfied that he had forgotten such an important matter, “Then do you remember when we faced the attack of two of the Four Heavenly Kings? I lacked combat experience at that time and almost died. It was you who appeared in time and saved me…”
“You know, at that moment, I realized that I could never leave you.”
“Is… is that so?” Qin Chu said awkwardly. He couldn’t say he remembered. If Athena asked him what he had said at that time, and he couldn’t answer, wouldn’t he be exposed?
“Little Athena, I’m truly sorry, I don’t remember that either. My memory has only partially recovered. I’ve forgotten most things, and I can only vaguely remember a few things that are very important to me.”
“I’m sorry I can’t meet your expectations.”
Now, Qin Chu could only blame his amnesia for all the questions he couldn’t answer.
He also knew that such a flimsy excuse was difficult to use against a smart woman like Athena, and he desperately racked his brains for a better lie.
But to his surprise, Athena’s face lit up, her eyes filled with joy.
Her expression puzzled Qin Chu. What was going on?
She was actually happy that he couldn’t remember what they had experienced together?
Was there something wrong with this woman?
Athena’s body trembled slightly with excitement, “Then do you remember the time you went swimming in the river with Benson and were seen by a group of noble ladies, and your clothes were stolen…?”
Although he didn’t know why, since Athena was so happy, he might as well try this path?
Qin Chu tilted his head, “Sorry, I don’t remember…”
“Then do you remember…”
“Sorry, I don’t remember…”
“Then do you know about Sylph confessing to you?”
“Ah, I have a vague impression of that. I seem to have rejected her…”
How many questions did Athena have? Could she stop asking? Qin Chu was really worried that he would be exposed.
He answered “I don’t know” to most of her questions because he genuinely didn’t know. But he felt that it wasn’t right to not remember anything, so he gave affirmative answers to a few questions.
And Athena’s cheeks became redder and redder with excitement, her eyes filling with tears.
Only one soul fragment, most things forgotten, only a few vague memories remaining…
This was exactly what Master Anthony had said.
As expected, this was truly Jie Luo.
She had actually doubted him, how could she?
Athena couldn’t hold back her excitement anymore. She threw herself into Qin Chu’s arms, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him passionately.
After the almost suffocating kiss ended, Athena whispered in his ear:
“Lord Jie Luo, love me!”
This… This wasn’t right, was it?
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