Chapter 390

Chapter 390

The woman’s name was Qingming.

She was one of Xiao Lun’s disciples, and she had received a special order to find out everything about Zeon.

Because of that, she had made every preparation and prepared to approach Zeon. But by the time Qingming had finished all those preparations, Zeon was no longer in Neo Seoul.

He had left home to hunt Ironclad Ants.

Because of that, Qingming returned to the South District without any particular gain. And when she heard that Zeon had returned, she hurried back to the slums.

Qingming asked Zeon with a somewhat dumbfounded expression.

“Did I just lose to gukbap?”

“There’s nothing to lose or not lose to. I came here to eat from the beginning.”

“That’s true too. From your perspective, Lord Zeon, I must be an uninvited guest.”

“Judging by your clothes and atmosphere, you seem to be from the South District. Am I right?”

“Exactly. I’m Qingming, a disciple of Lord Xiao Lun.”

“I see.”

At Zeon’s indifferent expression, Qingming pressed her lips together.

She had dressed herself beautifully, in her own way, to meet him, but she was not getting the reaction she wanted at all.

The most efficient way to obtain the information one wanted from a man was a beauty trap.

Qingming knew she was beautiful, and she also knew very well how to use that efficiently.

At a glance, her outfit looked the same as usual, but on closer inspection, it contained elements meant to bewitch men.

The side slit exposed her pure white thigh as it was, and the perfume sprayed on her neck was more than enough to cloud a man’s mind.

A single bottle of this perfume, made from a monster’s secretion, was worth as much as one hundred kilograms of Mana Stones.

It was named Man-Subduing Fragrance because it could make any man kneel.

Qingming was confident.

The moment Zeon smelled this fragrance, he would submit to her and reveal everything. But Zeon was actually looking at her with his brow deeply furrowed.

“What’s wrong?”

“The scent of your perfume is a little......”

Zeon trailed off with a grimace.

Qingming had used Man-Subduing Fragrance to seduce Zeon, but to Zeon’s sensitive sense of smell, it only felt nauseating.

At Zeon’s unexpected reaction, Qingming could not hide her flustered expression.

Zeon was the first man to react this way after she had sprayed Man-Subduing Fragrance.

Zeon said to Qingming,

“Would you please move away a little? I need to eat, but the smell coming from you is a little......”

“Are you insulting me right now?”

“That perfume is made from the secretion of a female Golden Mantis, isn’t it?”

“How do you know that?”

Qingming’s pupils shook.

Just as Zeon had said, the main ingredient in Man-Subduing Fragrance was the secretion of a female Golden Mantis.

The Golden Mantis was a lower-ranked monster about one meter in size that resembled a mantis, just as its name suggested.

When the mating season came, the female Golden Mantis tempted males with her secretion.

The males drawn by the female’s scent immediately began mating.

At that moment, following the habit of mantises, the female gnawed off the head of the male she was mating with.

Even while being eaten alive, the male did not stop mating.

It was because of the secretion the female emitted.

This secretion paralyzed the male’s reason and pain, making him unable to feel anything.

That was why he kept mating even while being eaten alive.

In the end, by the time mating was over, the male no longer existed in the world. He became nutrients for the female and was used when she gave birth to offspring.

Not many people knew this fact.

Even in the South District, it was one of the secret arts known only to a small number of people, so it was no wonder Qingming was surprised that Zeon knew it.

“How do you know about the Golden Mantis?”

“I know because I caught one. I suffered quite a bit because its secretion smelled so terrible, but I never thought I’d meet someone here using a diluted version of that bastard’s secretion.”

“Are you looking down on me right now?”

“Looking down? I’m stating a fact......”

“Grr!”

Qingming bit down on her lip.

Her shoulders trembled with humiliation.

In her heart, she wanted to attack Zeon right away. But because she knew Zeon’s abilities, she did not dare attack.

The slums were filled with sand everywhere.

Attacking Zeon in a place like this was no different from suicide.

Qingming forced down her emotions and spoke calmly.

“If you dislike it, I won’t wear this perfume.”

“There’s no need to go that far. I have no reason to meet you after today.”

“Let’s talk.”

“Did Lord Xiao Lun send you?”

“That is......”

“Tell him this. An approach like this will only have the opposite effect.”

“Won’t you regret sending away a beauty like me like this?”

“Maybe I will. But I don’t have a hobby of blindly embracing a rose covered in thorns......”

Qingming flinched.

Because she felt Zeon’s gaze change.

His eyes, which held no emotion, as if looking at an inanimate object, seemed to pierce into her lungs.

Her chest throbbed as if her heart were shriveling.

As if a finely sharpened dagger were gouging into it.

Qingming sighed and rose from her seat.

“Haa! I wasn’t careful enough. If I’d known your sense of smell was this sharp, I never would’ve sprayed Man-Subduing Fragrance.”

“Even without that perfume, you’re not my type.”

“No, where would you find a woman as beautiful as me?”

“I’ve seen a lot of elves......”

“You’re obnoxious!”

Qingming’s shoulders trembled with humiliation.

She knew it too.

That among elves, there were some with exceptionally outstanding beauty. And that compared to them, her appearance was lacking.

But knowing that and hearing it from someone else’s mouth struck differently.

Zeon said,

“If Lord Xiao Lun wants to meet me, tell him to come personally.”

“Your arrogance pierces the sky. Do you think Lord Xiao Lun would even care about you?”

“Then why did he send you? Are you trying to say you approached me of your own accord?”

“That is......”

Qingming could not bring herself to answer.

Thud!

At that moment, Elder Kleksi placed gukbap in front of Zeon.

“Eat.”

“Thank you.”

As if he had never argued with Qingming, Zeon picked up his spoon.

At the sight of Zeon paying no attention to her whatsoever, Qingming felt even more miserable.

“Fuck!”

Qingming turned away, grinding her teeth.

“Your food came out too......”

“I don’t need it.”

“You still need to pay......”

“Here.”

Qingming tossed money without even looking back.

Elder Kleksi snatched it swiftly and laughed.

“Heh heh! Pure profit.”

“Fuck!”

Qingming spat a curse and walked away.

Once she disappeared, the smile vanished completely from Elder Kleksi’s face as well.

“A beauty trap, huh? They’re using a truly classic move. Even before the world ended, they stripped everything away using methods like that.”

“Classics are classics for a reason. They’re still used because they work that well.”

“You’re quite the piece of work too. To brush off a woman’s seduction like that. You could’ve just pretended not to know and enjoyed it......”

“As I said earlier, the stench was too strong.”

“Is that really true?”

“What do you mean?”

“That the perfume that woman sprayed was really made from monster secretion?”

“It’s true.”

“I should tell the kids to be careful too. To think there’s a perfume made from monster secretion that can bewitch men. If we hadn’t known, several fools might’ve fallen for it.”

At Elder Kleksi’s words, Zeon nodded.

“You should. Unless they want to be eaten alive by a female after mating......”

“The whole world is full of sinister things, so a man can’t let his guard down.”

“You know, right?”

“What?”

“That you’re one of them, old man.”

“What did I do? Hey, you brat! Where would you find someone as kind and transparent as me?”

“You’re so transparent it’s a problem.”

“Don’t tell me you’re still sulking because I fleeced you a little the first day we met?”

“Of course not.”

“Sounds like the truth to me.”

“Think whatever you want.”

“More importantly, Xiao Lun seems to care quite a bit about you. Enough to send his own disciple to sound you out......”

“So it seems.”

Zeon agreed with him.

He had clashed with other districts several times, but the South District had gone too far.

He did not even know how many times problems had already occurred with them.

At this rate, it would not be strange if a major problem erupted at any time.

As if something had suddenly occurred to him, Zeon asked,

“Do you know where Xiao Lun’s homeland is?”

“China...... I believe it was around Tibet.”

“Isn’t Tibet close to Sichuan?”

“It is! Why do you ask?”

“I was just curious.”

“How bland......”

“May I eat the gukbap that woman didn’t touch?”

“Eat as much as you want.”

Elder Kleksi grumbled as he watched Zeon pull Qingming’s gukbap in front of himself.

“Pig of a bastard!”

---

Qingming knelt before Xiao Lun.

“I apologize.”

“You failed?”

“I have no excuse.”

“Are you incompetent? Or is the bastard not interested in women?”

“I apologize.”

Qingming did not make excuses.

Xiao Lun was not someone excuses would work on, and trying would only make her more miserable.

Fortunately, Xiao Lun did not scold Qingming any further.

Resting his chin on his hand, he muttered,

“Threats are useless, conciliation doesn’t work, and even a beauty trap doesn’t affect him....... What a headache.”

“Who are you talking about?”

Someone suddenly asked.

It was Zhang Wuhang, whom Xiao Lun had brought with him.

After leaving City Hall, Zhang Wuhang had been staying in the South District.

To Zhang Wuhang, the South District was a new world.

His eyes had turned at the convenient life and highly developed civilization he could never have imagined in Underground City.

Xiao Lun answered indifferently.

“There is such a man.”

“Who is this man?”

“A Sandmancer!”

“Pardon?”

“Exactly as it sounds. He’s an Awakened who can control sand.”

Zhang Wuhang wore a curious expression.

That was because even in Underground City, where he came from, no Awakened with such an ability existed.

“Does such a man really exist? If you could recruit him, he would be useful in many ways.”

“If recruiting him were possible, yes.”

“It seems his personality is not easy.”

“It’s not merely that he isn’t easy. There’s no room to probe at all.”

“He must be a rebel.”

“A very difficult rebel.”

“Then can’t you simply eliminate him?”

“If that were easy, there would be no reason to worry. He has an extraordinary authority, and he’s intelligent on top of that. His hostility toward us is no small thing either. Several people from our district have already suffered at his hands.”

“What if I meet him?”

At Zhang Wuhang’s words, Xiao Lun frowned.

“You? Why?”

“Who knows? I may be able to persuade him.”

“He’s not someone who can be persuaded.”

“Still, you never know, do you? Please give me a chance. If it goes well, that’s good. If I can’t persuade him, there’s nothing to lose.”

Zhang Wuhang smiled meaningfully.