“Let them go—my fragrant ones!” Wen Qi raised her fist. “Or else—hmph!”
“Hah. Even if you have abilities, a mere strength-type isn’t worth fearing.” In his eyes, a strength user was nothing—one puff of poison and she’d be dead. What a waste of such a face.
The pockmarked man ordered the tree-men to change tactics. If close combat didn’t work, then long-range would.
The tree-men’s arms stretched out, turning into thick, barbed vines that lashed toward Wen Qi.
A red glint flashed in Wen Qi’s eyes. She dodged swiftly, weaving through the vines, and charged straight at the pockmarked man—
“Ugh—!”
Her punch slammed him to the ground.
He curled up, clutching his stomach in agony.
Ever since becoming a superior ability user, he had never suffered such humiliation.
“Good girl, be careful of his ability!” Jian An warned, noticing the man’s reddened eyes.
As the man tried to raise his hand to release his power—
Wen Qi kicked him hard.
“Ahh! My hand!” he screamed.
Seizing the chance, Wen Qi stuffed a pill into his mouth.
Human abilities… must rely on some glowing source. Probably similar to our dantian…
She had already prepared the pill earlier and slipped it in while he was distracted.
The man clutched his throat with his uninjured hand. “What did you make me eat?!”
“Guess.” She wasn’t telling him.
You made my fragrant ones suffer and lose their abilities—I’ll let you taste that too.
Damn this woman…
When big brother gets here, you’re dead. I’ll torture you myself.
He focused, trying to release his ability again.
“Little Wen Qi, watch out!” Liao Liao shouted.
But this time, Wen Qi didn’t stop him.
The man froze.
His ability—gone.
“My power… impossible! Impossible!”
He stared at Wen Qi in horror.
“It was you! What did you give me?!”
“Same thing you did to them,” she said lightly.
“Bitch!” Now he was truly afraid.
His power—his poison mist—was what made him superior. Without it, he was nothing. If his “boss” found out, he’d be abandoned.
His gaze flicked to the tree-men.
Right… I still have them. I’ll make you all die together!
He commanded them to attack.
All the tree-men in the room surged toward Wen Qi.
She picked up an iron rod from the corner, weighed it in her hand.
“Hehe… not bad. A bit light though.”
She couldn’t kill them—had to hold back.
But this would do.
Like a nimble rabbit, Wen Qi darted between them, striking each tree-man on the head with the rod.
The vines whipped wildly—but none could catch her.
“Ahh! You idiots, move faster!” the man yelled in frustration.
Useless! Can’t even handle one woman?!
Realizing things were going south, he endured the pain and tried to escape.
“Little Wen Qi! That bastard’s running!” Liao Liao spotted him immediately.
Wen Qi swung the rod—
Thud!
He dropped unconscious.
“Waaah—Little Wen Qi, you’re a god!” Liao Liao exclaimed.
Wen Qi ignored him and ran straight into Jian An’s arms.
“Fragrant one, I came to save you!” She hugged him tightly, delighted.
Jian An sighed, undoing his restraints and steadying her by the waist.
“Untie the others first.”
Wen Qi pouted. Hmph, not letting me hug…
“Wait—Boss, how did you—?” Liao Liao stared at the loosened rope.
“Knife,” Jian An replied calmly while freeing Ji Chen.
“Damn, as expected of Boss!”
Jian An looked at the fallen tree-men scattered across the room.
Ji Chen stepped forward, examining one carefully.
“They must have eaten something to turn into this.” He lifted a vine-like arm. “There’s no human feature left at all.”
The mystery deepened—what could turn living people into soulless tree puppets?
“What did you feed him earlier?” Jian An asked, pulling Wen Qi back into his arms.
Since he separated us, he doesn’t deserve to live.
But what exactly did she give him… She hasn’t even fed me anything yet…
“A pill. It removes abilities,” Wen Qi said casually.
She had to blend in—couldn’t mention dantian.
Rule two of being a spirit: adapt to local customs—don’t reveal your uniqueness.
“Damn, you’ve got something like that too? I worship you, little Wen Qi!” Liao Liao blurted out.
“Do you have anything that restores abilities?”
“I’ll look—wait a sec!” Wen Qi rummaged through her storage.
“This one… should work?”
It was meant for spirits, so she wasn’t entirely sure.
“Only one way to find out.”
They swallowed it without hesitation.
Soon, a warm current flowed through their bodies.
“Whoa—my power’s back!” Liao Liao grabbed the iron rod. “Give me a hundred more—I’ll wipe them out!”
“So, are we leaving now?” he asked, rubbing his sore wrists.
This place clearly hid a huge conspiracy. Who was behind it? What turned people into tree-men? They had no answers yet.
“We still need to save people,” Wen Qi said.
“A grateful rabbit repays kindness.”
“Save people? Who?” Liao Liao asked, now her devoted fan.
“The… pretty sisters,” Wen Qi finally found the right term.
“If not for them, I wouldn’t have found you so quickly.” She grabbed Jian An’s hand and started pulling him. “Let’s go!”
She wasn’t the type to forget kindness.
Jian An stopped her.
“Wait. We need to eliminate future trouble,” he said to Ji Chen.
As long-time teammates, Ji Chen and Liao Liao instantly understood.
Enemies should be dealt with—completely.
“But… he still has some use,” Jian An said, glancing at the unconscious man.
“Cough… cough…”
The man woke up to see them standing in front of him. He was tied to a chair, drenched—Liao Liao still holding a basin.
From hunter… to prey.
No point struggling now.
“Fine. What do you want? How do I get you to let me go?” he asked.
His gaze fell on Wen Qi, who was casually eating a lollipop.
“Keep staring, and you won’t need your eyes anymore,” Jian An said coldly.
The man met his gaze—and shuddered.
Ji Chen stepped forward, all smiles.
“I just want to know… why our abilities disappeared.”