The Attack of the Wastrel

‘Pan Wen’ sighed to himself when he saw the men present in the room. It was not going to be easy…

Pan Liwen and Pan Luming were both in the palace. They were the top two most powerful men in terms of cultivation rank in the North Qiu Kingdom and hence, the mission was going to be difficult.

Although Gu Lingzhi’s heart pounded wildly against her chest from the nervousness and adrenaline, she remained calm when she greeted the Chief Duke and Pan Luming under the disguise of Pan Wen.

“Mm,” Pan Luming accepted her greeting. His deep and raspy voice sent chills down Gu Lingzhi’s spine. “I heard that you have information regarding the Black Thorn, do you know her?”

“I came across it by coincidence.” ‘Pan Wen’ controlled his facial expression and maintained a calm face as he slowly explained, “It happened when I was kidnapped by the traitors in the Sangna Kingdom. The people from the Alliance had thought that I would not have any chance at escape since all my Storage Rings and items were taken from me. Hence, they had not been careful when I was present. I happened to overhear their conversation.”

Getting annoyed that ‘Pan Wen’ was beating around the bush, Pan Luming impatiently demanded, “Get to the point!”

“Back then, I…the Black Thorn was in the prison as well. I heard the prison guards saying that she was headed out on a mission to. Her objective was to infiltrate the Empire to do something. However, I was too far away from them and did not manage to overhear the exact details.”

Pan Liwen glared at her, “Why didn’t you tell us about this when you came back?”

Taking a slight jump, ‘Pan Wen’’s lips quivered as he stammered, “I…I didn’t think much of it back then. The Black Thorn is only a Martial Sage and she didn’t seem to have much power. Furthermore...”

‘Pan Wen’ paused and stared closely at Pan Liwen’s fierce expression. Lowering her eyes to the ground, she explained, “Furthermore, I didn’t hear the full details and I didn’t think she was doing anything significant. I was also scared of saying things back then because Chief Duke you were furious at me. So I…I…”

“So it is my fault?” Pan Liwen scoffed with a sarcastic smile, “If you forgot such an important matter, I think that the punishment to make you kneel for three days in the ancestral hall was not enough.”

“No…” ‘Pan Wen’ pleaded, “It is my fault, Chief Duke. But I have told you everything I know already.”

“So what if you told us about it?” Pan Liwen raised his voice. “There is a high chance that the Black Thorn is the last descendant of the Spirit Tribe and she must have a heap ton of treasures on her. No one knows what she looks like and even if she was standing in front of you, I would not recognize her!”

“Who said I would not recognize her?” ‘Pan Wen’ shook his head fiercely and his eyes lit up as he proudly announced “I know what she looks like!”

“You do?” Pan Luming and Pan Liwen simultaneously exclaimed in glee.

Smiling proudly, ‘Pan Wen’ nodded her head, “Those dumb idiots from the Alliance thought that I would not be able to escape and lowered their guards down. I accidentally saw the appearance of the Black Thorn, she…is a true beauty.”

As he said this, ‘Pan Wen’ rolled his eyes upward and allowed his lips to curl up into a dreamy smile. Pan Liwen scorned at his expression and he held back the urge to kick ‘Pan Wen’ out of his palace. After exchanging a look with Pan Luming, he cleared his throat, “Since that is the case, hurry and draw her out for me. We must not let her go!”

“Yes, I will draw her out!” ‘Pan Wen’ excitedly agreed as she cupped her hands together.

If the Chief Dukes could capture the Black Thorn based on ‘Pan Wen’’s illustration, he would be contributing a large effort to the war!

‘Pan Wen’ smoothly maneuvered the brush in his hand across the paper.

With high hopes, Pan Luming and Pan Liwen shifted excitedly in their seats as they waited for ‘Pan Wen’ to finish his sketch.

“This…is this a person?” Pan Liwen frowned at the illustration ‘Pan Wen’ came up with.

‘Pan Wen’ nodded in self-satisfaction. “Although these are just lines, it is enough to serve as a sketch for the Black Thorn. Once I am done, you will know how she looks.”

Pan Liwen rubbed his chin in doubt.

It was common knowledge that the Black Thorn made very peculiar-looking Spiritual Weapons. Naturally, her drawing skills were also abstract and indistinguishable.

Pan Luming and Pan Liwen’s expressions turned from excitement to skepticism as they observed ‘Pan Wen’ draw. They could barely make out the head of the person when ‘Pan Wen’ excitedly pointed to what he drew, “Chief Dukes, this is the Black Thorn. If we let a few master artists edit the sketch, we would be able to catch her in no time!”

As Pan Luming stared at ‘Pan Wen’’s confident smile, he wanted to question the origin of his confidence. However, he maintained calm and approached the matter with dignity.

On the other hand, Pan Liwen did not hold back. Pointing his finger accusingly at ‘Pan Wen’, he yelled, “Useless. You can’t even draw a head, did you even learn anything at school? Did the teacher not teach you how to draw after so many years?” No one could make out what he was drawing!

‘Pan Wen’ wore an innocent and pitiful expression as he shrugged, “The teachers complimented my drawings before. Isn’t this good?” Gu Lingzhi had thought through all possibilities of the situation unfolding before she met with Pan Luming and the drawing act was naturally planned by her as well. She knew that Pan Liwen was bad at drawing as well and his drawing skills were in no way better than hers. Therefore, she was not worried about being discovered.

“The teacher complimented you?” Pan Liwen almost choked on his own saliva. “Which idiot taught you how to draw? Get your father to dismiss him later. What kind of a teacher is that?!”

As he yelled, Pan Liwen’s eyes bulged wide open, threatening to pop out of their sockets. His repulsive mouth gape open and Gu Lingzhi reeled slightly in disgust of him.

“Chief Duke, if you take a closer look, you can see that she has an oval shaped face. She has big, bright eyes and a small mouth. Her slim, small nose compliments her full lips. The Black Thorn is a beauty.” Although she felt awkward complimenting herself, Gu Lingzhi was a beauty indeed.

Pan Liwen fumed with rage at ‘Pan Wen’ confidently describing the sketch he drew of the Black Thorn and he clutched his hand tightly to restrain himself from slapping him.

However, ‘Pan Wen’ was the only person who saw the Black Thorn’s real face and Pan Liwen had to spare him. He took a deep breath and decided that the best artist in the North Qiu Kingdom should draw the sketch of the Black Thorn following ‘Pan Wen’’s descriptions. Perhaps, this would be better than ‘Pan Wen’’s drawing and he could do the final touch ups to the sketch before it was disseminated to the public.

That was a possibility…

‘Pan Wen’ had used this as an excuse to meet with Pan Luming and he would not describe the appearance of the Black Thorn accurately. When Pan Liwen demanded ‘Pan Wen’ to head up to the study with him, he naturally agreed with a nod. However, the instant Pan Liwen turned to head out, she took the first move.

Two figures, Lord Fashen and Rong Huachang appeared in the room out of the blue.

Before they appeared, Gu Lingzhi had informed them of the situation through Zi Zi. Hence, the moment they appeared, Lord Fashen dashed for Pan Luming and Rong Huachang targeted Pan Liwen.

“Chief Duke, save me! Why are they here?” ‘Pan Wen’ screamed in terror at the same moment he allowed them out of the Inheritance Space. Pan Luming and Pan Liwen were stunned and confused. Wasn’t ‘Pan Wen’ the culprit who let them in?

Lord Fashen took the opportunity to attack Pan Luming while he was still in shock, unleashing his power of a Demigod. He shot out vines from each hand and they crawled towards Pan Luming and created a cage around him. At the same time, vines continued to creep along the entire room as Lord Fashen unleashed his realm.

Lord Fashen’s realm was like a patch of dense vine forest. Pan Luming’s body shook and smoke bellowed out of his body as flames covered him. These flames burned the vines that constricted him tightly to ashes. At the same time, a jade pendant the size of his palm appeared in front of him in the nick of time as Lord Fashen reached out to grab his neck. Shoving his right hand into the robe, he retrieved the Life Whip.

Lord Fashen missed…

Disappointment flashed across Lord Fashen’s face and he lifted his thigh and struck it at Pan Luming. A large waterfall of water poured out of thin air, putting out the flames by Pan Luming. Three stonemen of Demigod cultivation rank appeared in a flash.

“Cough, Lord Fashen must be getting old. One more inch and you would have got me,” Pan Luming involuntarily coughed a few times as he took steps backward.

At this point, ‘Pan Wen’’s eyes flashed. Pan Luming’s health was not good. When he fought against Lord Fashen previously, he must have used a secret technique to appear healthy. Since that was the case…

‘Pan Wen’’s eyes shifted towards the battle between Lord Fashen and the three stonemen. In that instant, a dangerous idea came to her mind.

With Lord Fashen engaged in battling the three stonemen, Pan Luming’s attention turned towards Pan Liwen and he decided to help him bring down Rong Huachang.

However, before he could move, ‘Pan Wen’ pounced on him with a fear-struck expression. Panicked, his voice came out in breaths, “Chief Duke, what is going on? Why is Lord Fashen here? I...I am so terrified…”

A dark energy stirred in the depths of Gu Lingzhi’s eyes as she mustered the courage to pounce at Pan Luming. This energy was dark and deep and it seemed like a black hole that could pull a victim into her.

As Pan Luming turned around, his eyes landed on Gu Lingzhi’s.