Chapter 2499: Following the Rules

It was clear Fu Wei wasn't in the city, which meant he must be outside. Half an hour later, Lu Ye finally found Fu Wei on a floating landmass outside the city.

Lu Ye's expression was strange as he observed the scene before him. Fu Wei was completely naked, assuming a bound posture, making muffled sounds, and wriggling like a maggot. His scattered clothes lay on the ground.

Upon seeing Lu Ye, his face flushed, and he quickly cast a pleading look. The crucial point was that he had merely adopted a bowed, bound posture; nothing was actually restraining him!

"Wuwuwu..." Fu Wei wriggled and tilted his head, signaling Lu Ye to save him.

"What are you doing?" Lu Ye was bewildered. What kind of strange game was this guy playing by coming out here?

"Wuwuwu..."

Lu Ye's expression turned thoughtful as he stepped forward, observing intently. It had to be said that although Fu Wei was a man, his skin was surprisingly fair and delicate, indicating he hadn't experienced much hardship. He raised his hand, slapped Fu Wei sharply, and barked, "Unbind!"

Dao power surged, though in reality, he did nothing. Fu Wei, however, suddenly broke free from his bound state, leaped up, and could speak again. "Brother, I fell into a trap! That wasn't Huan Qing!" he exclaimed urgently.

Lu Ye glanced at him sideways. "What trap?"

"Just now, as we were walking together, Huan Qing suddenly pulled me over here, saying she'd found traces of the mirage beast. But when we got here, she wanted to..." He abruptly trailed off, his face flushing with embarrassment.

Lu Ye gave him an exasperated look, knowing full well what had happened. This guy had always harbored feelings for Huan Qing, and he had likely fallen for a honey trap. As for the bound state, it was likely just the mirage beast's doing. With its abilities, it could easily make Fu Wei believe he was restrained, eliciting the appropriate physical reactions. So even if Lu Ye did nothing, he could help Fu Wei break free, simply by providing a strong psychological suggestion.

This was clearly retaliation, because Fu Wei had cursed the mirage beast earlier. However, despite the mirage beast's mischievous nature, one thing it said was true: it wasn't bloodthirsty. Otherwise, Fu Wei's situation would have been much worse this time.

"Put your clothes on!" Lu Ye glared at him.

Fu Wei, only then realizing his predicament, quickly gathered his scattered clothes from the ground and fumbled to put them on.

"Come with me," Lu Ye called out, leading him back towards Yuanxi City.

After safely escorting him back to the Central Hall and entrusting him to You Die's care, Lu Ye left again. Standing atop the tall tower, Lu Ye looked around. He was certain the mirage beast was observing from the shadows, but he couldn't find any trace of it. How could he solve the current problem if he couldn't even locate it?

He flashed away, patrolling the surroundings, searching for any potential flaws.

At one point, Lu Ye suddenly changed direction and flew towards a certain spot. A few seconds later, a figure appeared—it was Yuan Xi.

"My Lady, what's the situation?" Lu Ye asked, continuously approaching her.

Yuan Xi shook her head. "Nothing found."

As soon as she spoke, Lu Ye brought his saber down. The lightning-fast strike was effortlessly caught between Yuan Xi's two delicate fingers. She raised an eyebrow. "Impressive, Great Commander. Have you grown even stronger?"

Although Lu Ye's strike wasn't a full-power outburst, it contained about eighty percent of his strength, immediately making Yuan Xi notice a difference.

"My apologies, My Lady," Lu Ye slowly withdrew his saber. "Your subordinate simply couldn't distinguish between real and fake, so I had to use this as a test."

Having learned from his two previous mishaps, Lu Ye had no idea if the Yuan Xi before him was real or not. Since he couldn't tell, he decided to strike first. If it was fake, then no harm done. If it was real, Yuan Xi's strength would easily block the attack, and she wouldn't be hurt anyway.

"It seems you've all been tricked by that fellow too," Yuan Xi said nonchalantly.

"My Lady, you encountered it as well?" Lu Ye asked. Yuan Xi's use of "as well" suggested she had faced a similar situation.

Yuan Xi chuckled. "It created a phantom of you and came to me, spouting all sorts of nonsense."

Lu Ye felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead, then asked helplessly, "So what do we do now?"

Yuan Xi spread her hands. "I'm out of ideas. We can only follow the rules!"

"Rules?" Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. Were there even rules for something like this?

"We just have to entertain it. Legend has it the mirage beast isn't bloodthirsty; it's just terribly lonely. So, any creature that enters its divine domain must keep it amused and entertained. Once it's in a good mood, it will naturally let us go."

This matched what the mirage beast itself had said earlier, though it hadn't mentioned any "rules."

"How do we do that?" Lu Ye asked.

"Just let nature take its course. Don't do anything; it will find you itself. The only thing you absolutely must not do is anger it or make it unhappy!"

Lu Ye understood. If even Yuan Xi had no solution for the current situation, then there truly was no way out.

The two returned together to Yuanxi City, went to the Central Hall, and briefly explained the situation. Soon, Yuanxi City returned to normal. Lu Ye entered his Great Commander's residence for secluded cultivation, while Yuan Xi entered the Hehe Realm as soon as she returned, disappearing from sight. Although she said to let nature take its course, given her pride, it was impossible for her to truly do nothing. Yuanxi City was indeed trapped within the mirage beast's divine domain, but that didn't mean one couldn't enter the Hehe Realm. She had her connections and might be able to find a solution from others.

It was as if nothing had changed. Days passed, and occasionally, when Lu Ye checked the city's situation, he would notice an extra figure openly moving about, chatting with some and talking to others. Following Yuan Xi's earlier instructions, every cultivator in the city treated the mirage beast's phantoms with courtesy, daring not to show any disrespect.

*Just don't come looking for me!* Lu Ye thought, hiding within his residence and not showing his face. However, what he feared most came to pass.

As Lu Ye was diligently cultivating, he suddenly felt a faint aura flowing around him, and a subtle fragrance wafted past his nose. When he abruptly opened his eyes, he saw Yuan Xi's beautiful face very close to his, smiling as she gazed at him. His right hand twitched, nearly drawing his saber, but he managed to restrain himself!

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "What do you want?"

The person before him was definitely not Yuan Xi. The City Lord would never be so bored as to interrupt his secluded cultivation. Besides Yuan Xi, the only other entity in the entire city capable of approaching him so silently without triggering any restrictions was the mirage beast!

"Don't be nervous, Great Commander," Yuan Xi said with a slight smile. Even knowing this Yuan Xi was fake, Lu Ye observed that not only her voice but also her expression was identical to the real Yuan Xi, especially the tone when addressing him as Great Commander. This was truly a case of the cat being away and the mice playing. Yuan Xi hadn't returned since entering the Hehe Realm last time, and it was unknown if she had found anyone to help. That's why the mirage beast was now brazenly creating a phantom of Yuan Xi.

Lu Ye remained silent. Although he knew the mirage beast wasn't highly murderous, how could he not be nervous with it so close?

"I just came to settle a score with the Great Commander," Yuan Xi said softly.

"What score?"

"The one about you slashing me a few times!"

Lu Ye rubbed his temples. "Your Excellency, that was just a misunderstanding!" Sure enough, this creature was not only mischievous but also held grudges. It made Fu Wei embarrass himself for a single curse, and now, after being slashed a few times by Lu Ye, it had held onto that memory. Even though he had only slashed a phantom and caused no actual harm, it had finally come to settle the matter after all this time.

"I don't think that was a misunderstanding. You were full of murderous intent when you struck," Yuan Xi said with a half-smile.

"Then how about you slash me back?" Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. He didn't want much interaction with the mirage beast, and if two slashes could put the matter to rest, it might not be a bad deal.

"Oh, no, I couldn't! I can't stand the sight of blood; I'd faint!" Yuan Xi quickly waved her hand.

Lu Ye immediately gave her a look that said, "Are you kidding me?" It was simply ludicrous for an old monster, who had lived for an unknown number of years, to brazenly claim it fainted at the sight of blood.

"Then, Your Excellency, state your terms. As long as they're not excessive, I can accept them!" Lu Ye said sincerely, eager to get rid of the creature.

"You said it!" Yuan Xi clapped her hands.

Lu Ye's heart sank, a sudden premonition of trouble. He had a feeling this creature had been waiting for him right here. But words spoken were like water spilled—they couldn't be taken back. To avoid angering it, Lu Ye added cautiously, "On the condition that it's not excessive!"

"Not excessive, not excessive," Yuan Xi waved her hand repeatedly. "I just want to play a fun game with you!"

"What game?" Lu Ye asked, somewhat wary. Anything the mirage beast considered "fun" was probably not simple.

"This game is more fun with more people. How about everyone joins in? Life's so boring anyway," Yuan Xi said, snapping her fingers.

The moment her fingers snapped, a ripple spread out from her, and everything around them suddenly transformed. The familiar room vanished, replaced by an empty void. Then, figures abruptly appeared, each with an inexplicable expression. You Die, Ya Yi, Ku Zhi, Cui Can, Fan Wu, and the other three array masters from Chenshuang City, Fu Wei, Huan Qing, and even the slaves Yuan Xi had bought from the Hehe Realm—every single one of them was pulled into this illusion.

Including Lu Ye and Yuan Xi, Yuanxi City now had sixteen members. Generally, this was the scale of a Yellow-grade Harmonious Dao City, or one that had just been established. However, Yuanxi City was already Sky-grade, yet its members were still so few. The main reason was that Yuanxi City had developed too rapidly, leaving no time to recruit suitable personnel. Among these numerous members, many had joined due to Lu Ye.

This concludes the chapter.