One more catty, one more attribute point

With the influx of mixed forces, Jin Mingxi's pupils contracted, her muscles spasmed uncontrollably, and she had already begun to experience multiple hallucinations.

The land was parched and scorched black, stretching endlessly, with giant dark volcanos, billowing smoke, raging fires, and sulfur stretching across the sky. Within the flames, massive trees grew, obscuring the sun and sky, their coiling branches like the massive hands of a Heavenly Demon forming a cage that slowly tightened.

Flecks of red shimmered within Jin Mingxi's crystal-clear pupils, and at a certain moment, she thought she had touched death itself.

"Cough, cough!"

Jin Mingxi coughed uncontrollably, retching.

Only when her consciousness gradually returned did she realize she was kneeling on the ground, her clothes soaked through with sweat.

Even the ground beneath her feet had formed a thin pool of water.

Wind blew over from the river.

Her wet gown clung tightly to her curvaceous body, defining every contour in vivid detail.

Jin Mingxi's face turned red, and she instinctively covered her chest with her hands.

She lifted her head.

She saw that Su Heng had already turned around, his hands casually stuffed in his pockets, looking relaxed and poised, his gaze fixed on the river ahead.

Hundreds of lanterns streamed down upon the river's surface, dancing in a golden glow.

"Do you know why I did this?" Su Heng turned around, his gaze distant and not resting on her.

Jin Mingxi bit her lip, a great sense of humiliation rising within her.

But fear was stronger than humiliation, tenfold stronger.

"Because I was wrong," Jin Mingxi stood up and bowed her head in response.

"What did you do wrong?" Su Heng asked, a hint of a gentle smile on his face.

"I, as well as the Demon Suppression Bureau, have been too arrogant," Jin Mingxi said. "We have lacked the necessary respect for the powerful."

She paused, then continued, "Thank you for showing mercy."

"A teachable child," Su Heng said with a nod and a smile.

"Next time, the head of the Demon Suppression Bureau will personally come to see you," Jin Mingxi replied.

"Are you threatening me?" Su Heng raised an eyebrow, but Jin Mingxi remained silent, offering no further reply.

"Gold Primal Ape King Li Daoxuan..."

This person, even if not the strongest in Baihua County, was certainly one of the strongest few.

"Go back and tell him, I look forward to meeting him," Su Heng's voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable eagerness and desire.

"There's one more thing."

Jin Mingxi took out a letter from her bosom, "This is the list of the Xu Family's secret treasure, which also includes some gifts prepared by the Demon Suppression Bureau for you, all placed in the Jiangyue Pavilion. Just let us know when you're back, and someone will deliver them to your room."

Su Heng glanced at the letter in Jin Mingxi's hand but didn't reach out to take it.

Jin Mingxi took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling.

She lowered her arms from covering her chest, took the envelope with both hands, and bowed forward, presenting it to Su Heng.

Only then did Su Heng reach out to accept it.

He opened the envelope, glanced over it casually, and then a surge of force soared.

The envelope turned into a streak of flame, floating in the air with the river wind, becoming more and more distant.

"Anything else?" Su Heng leaned casually against the railing and asked softly.

"No," Jin Mingxi replied expressionlessly.

"Good," Su Heng smiled. "Elder Jin, please return. Oh, and my sister has been doing well these past few days."

"Su Li is highly regarded by the Head of the Bureau," Jin Mingxi said.

She was also somewhat surprised, wondering how Su Li, such a well-read and reasonable sister, could have such an arrogant brother.

These two, are simply...

Jin Mingxi shook her head, she and Su Li were not very familiar with each other, and she no longer dwelled on the matter.

"That's good," Su Heng waved his hand.

Jin Mingxi gave him a deep look, then, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, she sighed with relief, turned around, and leapt down from the nine-story red building, disappearing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

"That woman just now... she didn't give you any trouble, did she?" Chen Murong asked cautiously as Su Heng returned to the exhibition stand.

"Do you think I look like someone who would suffer a loss?" Su Heng picked up his cup of wine, smiled slightly, and asked in a very calm tone.

"Not really..." Chen Murong started to laugh.

Their acquaintance was merely coincidental, not deep, so Chen Murong expressed his concern but did not continue to probe further.

They continued to drink and revel.

The dancers who had been performing on stage had all retreated, and the fiery red curtains had been drawn once again.

When the curtain was lifted, what appeared in the venue were massive cowhide drums, either placed on the floor or propped up with wooden stands.

Bang!

A pretty girl in red clothes, with bare feet, descended from the sky, landing on the central drumhead.

The drumhead trembled slightly, emitting a sound that echoed throughout the nine-story red building.

The girl's toenails, painted with red polish, tapped on the drumhead; her body, maintaining a static pose full of tension, while her other leg slowly rose, muscles taut, revealing the beautiful contours of her slender calf through the red skirt.

Bang!

The second drum beat sounded.

And then the third, the fourth, the fifth...

The girl danced on the drumheads, whether laid flat or vertical, and the fierce beats merged together into a single sound.

"Bravo!"

An applauding cheer came from the exhibition stand.

Many people stood up from their seats, abandoning earlier restraint, clapping hard, and shouting their approval loudly.

The noise, blending together, was like the collapse of mountains and the tsunami, actually overpowering the mighty river sound.

Bang!

The final beat.

The girl leapt high on the drumhead, with her feet and the fire-red long sleeves wrapped around her arms extending outward, striking the drumhead.

Four drum beats merged into one, resounding to the heavens and echoing hauntingly throughout the red building.

The girl stopped, with beads of sweat faintly visible on her pale forehead.

Bending her knees and lifting her skirt, she bowed to the audience, then gracefully left the stage.

Even as she disappeared from the stage and the next act began to perform, the applause and cheers from the exhibition stand had not completely dissipated.

Su Heng's eyebrows were slightly furrowed.

The dancer just now was very beautiful, but she gave him an inexplicably unnatural feeling.

And those moves during the dance, using long sleeves to strike the drumhead to emit a sound, those were not something an ordinary dancer could achieve.

Demon-shaped Warrior? Demon servant? Or even a Heavenly Demon?

But aside from this unfounded intuition, Su Heng found no other abnormalities throughout the red building.

"Am I being paranoid?" Su Heng wondered.

"What's the name of that girl just now?" He asked Chen Murong, who was beside him.

"The girl who was dancing on the drumhead just now?" Chen Murong put down the pastry in his hand, saying with a smile, "That girl is named Li Hongxiu, she's the leading lady of the red building, and it's rare to see her on normal days.

It is said that when Li Hongxiu first came to Baihua County, some young masters from families in the prefectural government spent tens of thousands of Silver trying to win a smile from the beauty, but unfortunately, none succeeded in the end."

Chen Murong conveyed what he knew in detail.

"Li Hongxiu..." Su Heng nodded, his expression slightly focused, tentatively noting down the name.