Suc… Suc… Suc...
"That's more like it, little raven..."
Bubai petted the raven's head like a beast pacifying a wild pet. "Keep at it... I like seeing that fake pride of yours crumble."
Wu Ya shot him a borderline-disgusted glare, her retort dripping like bitter wine, thick and slurred—"Shut up. Spare me your verbal pollution."
Or what? What she gonna do? Fine him for the verbal pollution? Haha.
Bubai grinned and almost wanted to diss her till he vented all his darkest desires.
But he swallowed those insults before it grew teeth.
There's no need to provoke this Miss Officer too hard.
After all, his family jewels were currently under her... inspection.
He didn't want to push her over the edge and have her bite him like a mad dog.
Instead, when dealing with women like her, he preferred another approach—the same ol' tactic that he always uses.
"You're pretty good at this. But tell me…"
Bubai deliberately let his face show something more possessive. "Will you serve any man they tell you to?"
Wu Ya didn't even bother sparing him a glance and her reply came flat like reading from a cold script: "Must obey all orders."
"All orders, huh?" Bubai smiled like the devil. "Then… what if they told you to kneel for your brother?"
"..."
That stopped her mouth. She obviously didn't want to answer that.
But silence. That was the sweetest admission.
Bubai's grin widened. "See? You get it now. So, don't you think it's better if you stick with me? You're a smart girl and should know what choices to make."
Wu Ya's face deadpanned and shot him a dull look. "You don't need to beguile me. Pointless."
"Is it?" Bubai smirked.
Wu Ya gave no answer. She lowered her head again and went back to cleaning him the eco-friendly way.
Bubai smiled like an overbearing CEO finding a new toy.
"I really do like mission-driven women like you. So… I'll give you a… little opportunity."
Her mouth stayed busy, but those upturned, half-lidded eyes plainly asked: "What opportunity?"
"You're here on a mission, aren't you? You need something to bring back… proof, results. So..."
Bubai caressed her earlobe as if coaxing a young model to fall into the dark side of the industry. "How about a little exchange?"
She blankly stared back at him.
After a short session of stare-eyes, she got straight to the point.
"...What do I get?"
Bubai smiled like a fox in a henhouse.
"Well, that depends entirely on your sincerity. I'm feeling quite generous and can tell you all about my secrets. Any can earn you a big fat merit, but…"
His thumb caressed her lips.
"What can you offer?"
Her eyes dipped to the bold little brother waiting for her offer, but her face didn't even flinch. "What do you want?"
"Straightforward. I like it." Bubai grinned.
"As for what I want? Simple. I've heard nobody can beat your Feng clan in collecting news. Just tell me something interesting. Something... about me."
They both knew what he was really asking for: a ghost in the dark.
Wu Ya bowed her head and sat in silence like a priestess before an altar.
After chewing on the offer for a long beat, she met his gaze once more. "Can."
"Good. Good! Now..." The flaky face, full of cracks spreading on old paint, started repairing itself. "How about we start with you telling me... something interesting? Surprise me."
Those chestnut eyes gazed up at him and their kneeling owner sat back on her own heels with hands folded over her thighs like a prim and proper lady.
But since she wasn't in uniform, that posture almost made Bubai want to stand up and stuff her mouth full!
Still, he held back, waiting to hear what she had to say.
After studying her mission target's reaction, Wu Ya monotonously started her info dump.
"That man you just fought... ever since returning from the secret realm, he has already reached the mid-stage."
"Oh." Bubai cocked a brow, unimpressed. "I know. And so?"
Wu Ya dipped her head and recited what she knew.
"Once a Foundation Builder breaks through to the mid-stage, most would've unlocked their innate aura."
"For those cultivating the Seed of Pleasure pathway, their aura can affect the minds of others through voice projection."
"With certain magic arts, they can even achieve complete control over a weak-willed subject."
Huh? Bubai blinked. Dear Merlin! This—this… why does it sound like those BS hypnosis skill typically used by those cultural anime protagonists?
Seriously, sounds kinda like copy-paste overpowered nonsense!
But in this mystical world of cultivation… anything is possible, right?
It's just that… how come he didn't feel or notice anything during their scuffle?
Did that Wu Dawei even bother using it?
Or was that supposed to be the trump card that bomboyash wanted to rely on to get everything back at the end?
Perhaps, but who knows.
Still, he figured it probably wouldn't have worked anyways. Not with his trusty plot-armor-like cheat shielding him from ninety-nine percent of mental hocus-pocus.
So did this intel matter? Nope. A loser will still be a loser.
But was there something more to this?
To be frank, Bubai hated seeing those cliché info dumping in novels the most. Just boring blocks of text that deserved to get skipped over.
But now that he's in the story…
The more overexplaining, the better!
Still, Bubai put on his best "I'm totally not interested' face to get the message across: That's not enough, please continue.
Like a crow eyeing her prey, Wu Ya studied that poker face's bland reaction that gave away nothing. Then, she gave him another blow.
"Normally, this kind of mental interference won't affect those strong-willed cultivators. But... the greater the gap in cultivation, the stronger its effect."
"Against the typical late-stage Qi-Refiner, this aura can't force them to commit suicide, but can still muddle or disrupt their thinking. Slow their reflexes."
"And if both parties are close enough, it's not impossible to convince them to surrender or give up resistance entirely. But you…"
Her eyes narrowed slightly, like a cat spotting something off.
"...show no signs of being affected."
Bubai's heart skipped a beat. Oh no…
Not being affected should've been a win, but when his mental resistance is too good? That was also problematic!
Merlin's beard... seems his fox's tail got caught this time.
Was this a reminder? A warning? Or a probe?
Man, these black widows trained by the Feng Clan really can't be underestimated, nor can the rest of those above.
Seems he might've leaked more during that last battle than he expected.
But… that's what makes this world interesting. Not everything must go his way.
Bubai buried the gnawing unease clawing at his gut and instead put on his usual cheeky, careless grin.
"Hmm. That's interesting. Very interesting. But why bring that up here?"
Looking at the man acting like he didn't care about what she just mentioned, Wu Ya tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ears and nonchalantly delivered the final blow.
"Wuu? Why? Mm... Just makes people wonder if our interrogation arts… are actually effective."
And there it was.
Smart people. Always connecting dots that weren't supposed to be connected yet.
Bubai slyly smirked, sharper this time. "Oh. That's a good one. Is that what you want to know this time?"
She didn't confirm or deny immediately, just letting her eyes run all over the sculpted body that was healed for the most part.
After her tongue finished its run, she flatly directed the topic to where she wanted.
"There will be more people interested in... how you patched yourself up so quickly this time."
Ah… she was good. Bubai smiled. This lady knew how to maximize benefits.
Skip the small fish and go for the hot news first. Smart. Very efficient. He liked that.
But he likes dangling the bait even more and had no qualms doing just that.
"Good. A trade's a trade. I don't mind telling you about this valuable piece of intel. But first…"
Bubai grinned and stood up, letting his little brother tower over her face.
"How about you show me… just how far you are willing to go for your mission?"