The protagonist committed numerous evil deeds.

Chapter 235 Severed Finger

"How pitiful! How could he suddenly go mad? His Majesty was about to wipe out all the demons, and our general..."

"Sigh, this is fate..."

"If he's crazy, he's crazy. He doesn't have a single relative by his side. What's the point of a madman living in such a big general's mansion?"

The two guards outside were chatting idly.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Instead of doing your job properly, are you looking for death?!"

The butler, carrying a food box, came in from outside and shouted at them.

"Let me tell you, even if our general is insane, he is still a meritorious official of the Great Jin Dynasty. It's not your place to criticize him!"

"Go away!"

The two guards quickly moved aside. Indeed, even if Pei Kuang had gone mad, he would still have plenty of people protecting him. Over the years, the court had given him everything he was entitled to, and a couple of years ago, His Majesty had even come to visit him personally.

Upon entering the bedroom, one sees the man still wearing armor, his long hair standing on end, and his weapon has long been replaced by a wooden sword used to amuse children by his subordinates.

The steward felt a pang of sorrow seeing the young general in this state. He was a servant of the Pei family, having served three generations and watched Pei Kuang grow up. Now that the man had become like this, no one in the manor dared to approach him except for the steward. Sometimes, when the general went mad, he would treat people like monsters and hack them to pieces.

A man stood alone inside the house, holding a short wooden sword, gesturing and surveying the landscape.

"Lin Hu, you take the supplies and flank around the rear. Chao Yan, you lead the troops and follow me closely. A few mere little demons can't stop this general!"

The steward, carrying a food box, coaxed softly, "Young general, it's time to rest. We'll fight another battle tomorrow. If you eat and drink well today, you can win tomorrow."

Pei Kuang hesitated, "Rest? I don't have time to rest! I have to outdo them all! I have to drive away all the monsters! None of those cultivators can compare to me!"

"Yes, yes, no, not even one of them can compare. Come on, eat something first. You need to be full to have the strength, right? Come on, little general..."

The butler pulled the person down to sit, but before he could even feed him a spoonful, the person inexplicably fainted.

Pei Kuang seemed oblivious to the butler's sudden collapse. He continued to stare at the wooden sword in his hand, completely unconcerned about the stranger who had suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Young general? How old are you? You're still calling yourself a child. Look at the state of things outside. Staying in a place like this, holding some childish toy... It's really... like an old cucumber trying to paint itself.

Wen Li stared at the person in front of her, trying to recall what kind of ending this person had in her previous life.

After establishing herself as queen in the northern desert, she waged war against demons year after year. When she went to the capital to die, Pei Kuang should still be on the battlefield. Now, the northern desert is not entirely peaceful, yet he has gone mad.

How could he be insane? How dare he be insane...?

Liang Qi died, and Pei Kuang went mad; they were, after all, important supporting characters in the book.

With such a significant change in supporting characters, won't it affect the ending?

Wen Li suddenly gripped Pei Kuang's hand tightly, staring at his severed finger.

The person who hid in the shadows in the Secret Scroll Pavilion that day also had a broken finger.

Is there really such a coincidence in this world?

Everyone knows about Pei Kuang's severed finger. If it really was Pei Kuang, he would know to wear a mask. So why would he carelessly reveal such an obvious feature as his severed finger?

"A monster! It wants to kill me? Asagao! Asagao! Where's my sword? Quick! Kill this monster..."

Pei Kuang struggled for a moment before becoming unable to move, unable even to open his mouth...

"Were you the one who was watching me that day?"

Pei Kuang was under her control and had no way to answer her.

Wen Li stared intently into his eyes, unsure of the answer, and could only rely on her intuition now.

She guessed...

After a long while, Wen Li managed to get Pei Kuang to speak.

"It was me"—these two words were forced out of Pei Kuang's mouth.

Wen Li nodded in agreement, "I knew it was you. Pretending to be crazy is really interesting."

After directing and acting out her own scene, Wen Li mentioned Pei Kuang and disappeared into the room.

And in the spot where Pei Kuang had originally been, another identical "Pei Kuang" appeared.

Pei Kuang, holding the wooden sword, continued talking to himself, "Today, with this general here, you demons won't be able to harm anyone!"

The butler, who was standing nearby, woke up groggily, rubbing his head. "How did I fall asleep?"

Looking at the general beside him, the butler picked up the bowl and chopsticks again, "Come, young general, it's time to rest..."

The Venerable One suddenly brought back an old man, leaving Jiu Ying completely bewildered.

I just settled one little kid in, and now another one shows up. This guy isn't good-looking; he looks at least forty.

"Lock this man up and torture him severely."

"Oh, so you're a prisoner."

Wen Li frowned in confusion, "Who else could it be? Could it be your father?"

"Ha, Your Majesty, I'm just a little surprised. How could a mere mortal be worthy of your personal arrest? What should we ask him? Surely we can extract something from him through torture?"

Wen Li opened her mouth, then glanced at Jiu Ying with disdain. "Forget it, what can you possibly find out? Go tell An Le and let her investigate."

Jiuying was somewhat dissatisfied and complained softly, "Anle? Why is she being called?"

Wen Li: "Because you're stupid."

Now Jiuying behaved itself.

"Tell Anle to investigate whether Pei Kuang's movements have been unusual in the past few years, and to find out whether he is really crazy or pretending to be crazy."

"The most important thing is to keep a close watch on him. If anyone dares to come to his rescue, they must not return alive."

"have you understood?"

Jiuying nodded, "Yes, I understand."

"Then go quickly."

Jiuying hesitated and nodded, but after taking a couple of steps, she dawdled back.

She asked in a low voice, "Your Excellency? Who is this Pei Kuang?"

Ok?

Wen Li was so angry she almost laughed.

Looking at Jiuying's earnest yet foolish appearance, Wen Li sighed, "Jiuying, you really have a lot of wasted years. You're supposed to be a ten-thousand-year-old demon, no wonder you've ended up like this."

"Do you think the person I just brought has any relationship with Pei Kuang?"

Wen Li's smile held a hint of murderous intent, and Jiu Ying didn't dare to ask any more questions, turning and running away.

She genuinely didn't know who Pei Kuang was. The man she had just met was just a weak mortal; how could he possibly be worth her attention?

In fact, she didn't want to know anyone except the Venerable One.

After handing the task over to Anle, Jiuying rushed to Wenli's side again.

Before she could even get close, she heard someone say "Get lost."

She said ingratiatingly, "Your Majesty, you can leave whatever you're busy with to your subordinates. You haven't come to visit me in a long time."

Seeing that Wen Li didn't react, she whispered again, "We're not the ones who should be worried about the rabbit disease, and besides, what does it matter to us what happens to others? Why are you making such a fuss, Your Majesty..."

"Get out."

Hearing this, Jiuying reluctantly walked out, but then Wen Li's voice came from behind, though it wasn't about her.

"How's that idiot named Gou Dan doing?"

“He’s very resistant to us getting close now, so I’ve locked him up, but I’m still treating him to good food and drink.”

"Okay, let's go out."

After Jiuying left, only Wenli remained inside.

Jiuying was a little sad. It was one thing for others, but why couldn't she go with them?

She felt she was about to fall out of favor; lately, the Venerable One had stopped taking her anywhere and wouldn't allow her to follow him around.

They used to be inseparable.

A strong sense of crisis made Jiuying feel that she had to do something. Ten thousand years ago, she only knew how to do one thing, and only needed to do one thing: please the Venerable One and become his favorite plaything.

Now she has to do everything she can to make Wen Li happy.

The demons of Manzhou all know that Jiuying has recently been helping the Venerable One collect handsome men. Any demon with even a little bit of good looks rushes to Jiuying to curry favor, hoping that Jiuying will send them to the Venerable One's bed.

That's His Majesty, even if I only get to be favored for one night, it's still worth it.

"Isn't this mouth a bit too big? No way, if I send it up, His Majesty will scold me for picking a gorilla."

"This guy is too skinny. Aren't you afraid he'll die in bed? No way."

Jiuying shook his head repeatedly at the dozens of handsome men in front of him.

"How's the training going for those guys we picked before?"

"My lord, please rest assured, those girls have already been trained. They are guaranteed to be beautiful and obedient."

"Ah."

Jiuying nodded in satisfaction, "Tonight, make sure the demons are thoroughly cleaned and secretly sent to wait outside the Venerable One's palace."

"We'll send it up once His Majesty gives the order."

The little demon below, who was bent over, was so shocked by what she said that she slapped her thigh in strong disapproval.

"My lord, you are too obedient, which is why that little demon Anle had the opportunity to climb up to Your Majesty's side."

"You need to know how to create surprises for His Majesty! You know what a surprise is?"

"You have to consult His Majesty on everything; that really makes you seem too..."

The little demon hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

Jiuying glared angrily, "Too much?"

The little demon whispered, "They have absolutely no sense of propriety."

He then explained, "Think about it, if our demons don't understand Your Majesty's thoughts, they'll make sure Your Majesty approves everything they do."

"Wouldn't that just cause His Majesty unnecessary trouble? You are His Majesty's close confidant. You should do everything His Majesty needs to do and think in advance. Only then can you win His Majesty's heart."

After hearing what he said, Jiu Ying also felt that there was some truth to it.

I have to ask the Venerable One about everything I do. Now the Venerable One would rather do it himself or leave it to that wretched demon Anle. He just doesn't want to talk to me anymore and always scolds me for being stupid.

If I were to ask about such a trivial matter again, His Majesty would surely scold me.

So she asked the little demon, "What should I do?"

The little demon smiled smugly, "You can just wash these male concubines clean and send them to Your Majesty's bed, giving Your Majesty a big surprise."

"Will this work? What if His Majesty gets angry?"

"can!"

The little demon patted his chest, very confident in the handsome man he had personally chosen. Besides, his own younger brother was among them; if he won the Venerable One's favor, then their family…

The more he thought about it, the more wonderful it seemed.

Jiuying looked conflicted and uneasy. He had just sent it up. Was this really a decision I could make?