Recruiting Murong Mingyuan was the sole reason the Young Hall Master had come to find her.
She was as intelligent as Jiao Yin.
Why did Jiao Yin insist on recruiting Murong Mingyuan?
It wasn't because Murong Mingyuan was young and beautiful, nor because she was capable, but because of the marks on her body!
Jing Ran's act of tattooing the mother and daughter-in-law was purely a prank.
He never expected it to "elevate" their status in the martial world, linking them directly to Dragon Ruins.
If Li Qianfan was alive, they were people of Dragon Ruins.
If Li Qianfan died, they were even more so people of Dragon Ruins (at a prime age, they couldn't marry due to the marks, nor could they secretly find men, as it would be considered infidelity to their deceased husbands, thus Dragon Ruins would surely take care of them).
Therefore,
If Murong Mingyuan could be secretly recruited, it would be possible to infiltrate Dragon Ruins in a subtle, imperceptible way through her.
However, Jiao Yin didn't get the chance to win over Murong Mingyuan before the Young Hall Master from the War Demon Hall made his move.
Perhaps—
With a rebellious streak, Murong Mingyuan, after being Li Qianfan's subordinate and secretly cooperating with President Wu, didn't care about secretly cooperating with anyone else.
Lü, the "slave of three masters," would have bowed in defeat before Murong Mingyuan.
Especially when Murong Mingyuan believed Li Qianfan was surely dead, the Young Hall Master appeared amidst her panic, proposing a transaction under the guise of a deal, giving her a 99% chance of success in recruiting her.
However,
The Young Hall Master made a fatal mistake.
If she had adopted a humble and respectful demeanor upon entering, Murong Mingyuan might have genuinely considered and agreed to the deal after careful thought.
But the Young Hall Master should not have, should not have!
She shouldn't have started by delivering a harsh warning to Murong Mingyuan!
In the Young Hall Master's opinion, if she first gave Murong a warning, making her realize that non-cooperation would lead to death, then she would surely cooperate obediently when proposing the partnership.
The result?
"I won't do it!"
This was Murong Mingyuan's clear reply.
The Young Hall Master was immediately stunned.
Even her seven subordinates were taken aback by Murong Mingyuan's four-word response.
Seeing the eight top experts of the War Demon Hall appearing dumbfounded, Murong Mingyuan felt an unspeakable joy.
She couldn't help but raise her head and laugh heartily.
"What are you laughing at?"
The most hot-tempered Old Eighth roared, kicking a simple plastic chair forcefully.
The plastic chair shot towards the wall, hitting it with a loud bang and immediately breaking into pieces.
If the Young Hall Master hadn't given instructions beforehand, Old Eighth would have already broken Murong Mingyuan's bones and crippled her when he repeatedly kicked her.
"I'm laughing because you're an idiot! The so-called War Demon Hall is made up entirely of idiots."
After Murong Mingyuan's wild laughter abruptly stopped, she pointed at Old Eighth and swore.
Old Eighth was furious—
Just as he was about to make a move, he saw the Young Hall Master raise her hand, signaling him to calm down.
The Young Hall Master looked at Murong Mingyuan and slowly asked, "Can you tell me why you refuse to cooperate with us?"
"You want to know? Alright, I'll tell you."
Murong Mingyuan met her gaze and said coldly, "Do you really think I couldn't tell that you beat me up before discussing a deal, as a way to intimidate me? You naively thought that by making me afraid first, and then offering me a chance to live, I would instinctively grasp the opportunity you bestowed."
The Young Hall Master remained silent.
It was not surprising that Murong Mingyuan saw through her "first coercion, then appeasement" tactic.
"Perhaps I am indeed a fool. But I will never allow others to treat me like a fool! Whoever treats me like a fool, I will treat them as an idiot! I must have been kicked in the head by a donkey to think that I, a fool, would have a good outcome cooperating with a bunch of idiots!"
Murong Mingyuan's quick temper and fearlessness surfaced once again.
She said, "You are not only idiots, but also a bunch of blind people. What Old Eighth the idiot did to me earlier, and how I reacted. Only the blind and the idiots wouldn't see that I respond to kindness, not threats."
The Young Hall Master still didn't speak.
She realized that her "first politeness, then force" tactic might have been wrong.
Especially since she had overlooked the scene where Murong Mingyuan, about to be beaten to death, still tried to bite Old Eighth's leg.
"If you had come in with a respectful demeanor, even if I saw that you wanted to use me to get what you desired, I might have agreed to cooperate after careful consideration."
As Murong Mingyuan said this, a hint of sadness, unnoticed by herself, flashed in her light blue eyes.
Her tone, when she spoke again, became noticeably lower: "After all, Li Qianfan is already, already dead. Cooperating with you now wouldn't be a betrayal of him. From now on, whatever I do, I will consider my own interests first."
These were her true words!
From the moment Li Qianfan returned her beauty, she had completely surrendered to him.
This was why, on that night, she had actively offered herself to Li Qianfan despite the sub-zero temperatures.
"But Li Qianfan is already dead."
Murong Mingyuan repeated this sentence and then sneered at the Young Hall Master, "But when you had the best opportunity to cooperate with me, you first beat me up and then talked about cooperation. If this isn't idiotic, what is it?"
The Young Hall Master and her subordinates exchanged bewildered glances.
A man in black standing by the door suddenly raised his hand and opened the door, shouting in a low voice, "Who is it!?"
There was someone outside the container.
The Young Hall Master subconsciously looked outside.
A dark-skinned Black man stood at the door. When the door was opened, he immediately looked into the container.
The Black man's gaze locked onto the Young Hall Master sitting in the chair.
But he quickly shifted his gaze and then replied unamicially, "I just want to ask, why are you interrogating our most important hostage without our boss's permission!"
About six or seven meters behind him was the female internet celebrity, Zheng Shu, who had been driven out of the container half an hour earlier.
As the Black man questioned Old Eighth and the others, his right hand remained on his waist.
He was fully prepared to draw his gun immediately if things went south.
Old Eighth's eyes immediately showed killing intent.
The Black man quickly retreated and took out a pistol from his waist: "What! Do you want to silence me in broad daylight?"
Old Eighth did have that intention.
After all, they had indeed approached Murong Mingyuan secretly, without Rod's knowledge.
Murong Mingyuan was captured and locked in Container No. 10.
The eight top experts of the War Demon Hall, however, were housed in Containers No. 11 and No. 12.
However.
Despite the chaos in the outer defense zone during those two nights, they remained in their respective accommodations, ignoring it.
As long as Rod hadn't figured out who "Snow Phantom" was, they would not act rashly.
This was also why Li Qianfan, after infiltrating the camp, had been unable to find them.
They had seen from the window that the female internet celebrity Zheng Shu, every time it was mealtime, would leave Container No. 10 to get food.
Fetching food for two people.
They quickly guessed that Murong Mingyuan was imprisoned in Container No. 10.
Rod hadn't specifically assigned guards to Murong Mingyuan after imprisoning her there because he knew she wouldn't cause trouble if she had any brains.
The Young Hall Master decided to find Murong Mingyuan while Rod had drawn most of his men away to search for Snow Phantom again.
Unexpectedly—
Zheng Shu, who had been driven out, had brought a Black man and was hiding outside, eavesdropping on their conversation.
Silence him?
Heh heh, so what if he silences him?
Do you think I'll give you the chance to draw your gun!?
Old Eighth grinned silently, about to lunge at the Black man, when the Young Hall Master intervened: "Old Eighth, don't hurt anyone."
She stood up from her chair and walked towards the door, glancing at Murong Mingyuan.
Her eyes held a clear sense of frustration.
She was still blaming herself for using the wrong method to negotiate with Murong Mingyuan.
However, it was not a big deal.
The Young Hall Master was confident that she would have future opportunities to win her over.
The Young Hall Master slowly walked out of the container.
She looked up and down at the Black man, saying calmly, "We were approaching Murong Mingyuan purely from the perspective of Rod's team's interests. We wanted to analyze who Snow Phantom is through her."
For the dignified Young Hall Master of the War Demon Hall to explain herself to a mere Kharamite was already a show of respect.
After a brief explanation, the Young Hall Master, without even looking at the Black man, returned to the adjacent Container No. 11 with a black robe.
Old Eighth and the other six men in black returned to Container No. 12.
It was evident that
The black robe the Young Hall Master brought was either her maid or her lover.
After watching them return to their respective containers, the Black man breathed a sigh of relief.
He turned back to Zheng Shu, gestured for her to follow him, and entered Container No. 10 first.
After Zheng Shu entered, the Black man signaled her to close the door.
He then turned his attention to Murong Mingyuan.
Murong Mingyuan gave him a cold glance and said, "Speak if you have something to say, otherwise get lost."
The Black man walked up to her and reached out to grasp her left hand.
Murong Mingyuan was startled and instinctively tried to struggle.
But she couldn't evade him.
After the Black man grabbed her left hand, he pressed his thumb onto her pulse.
Murong Mingyuan was furious.
Before she could express her anger, she heard the Black man say in a calm tone, "Don't move, I'll check if you have any internal injuries."
Upon hearing this voice—
Murong Mingyuan's delicate body trembled violently.
(The high fever has ended, my throat is starting to show symptoms, and my mental state is not good. Everyone must pay attention. If you can avoid it, avoid it. If you can postpone it, postpone it. Even the rural clinics are full, and you can't get an appointment for half a day.)