After bringing Jiang Yun, Zhuang Ming's stepmother, back to the apartment, Zhaozhao sat face to face with her at the table and said coldly, "I've met your requirements. Now it's your turn to fulfill your promise. Tell me, what's going on with that formation?"
After tidying herself up, Jiang Yun had regained some of her former image as a wealthy lady. She casually picked up the water cup on the table, took a few big gulps, then looked up at Zhaozhao. Her eyes were full of calculation. "Don't be in a hurry. In this situation, I'm not sure if you'll kick me to the curb after getting the information you want. That would be a really bad deal for me. I'm a person walking on a tightrope now. I have to be cautious every step of the way. I can't take this risk."
During this conversation with Jiang Yun, it was probably the time when Zhaozhao was in the worst mood. If it weren't for considering Zhuang Ming, she really wanted to teach this hypocritical woman a lesson. She had done so many wrong things. How could she have the nerve to negotiate with her in such a calm manner?
Zhaozhao couldn't understand. Some humans seemed to have lower moral standards than monsters.
"So what do you want?" Zhaozhao asked indifferently, holding back the urge to swing her fist.
"Prepare 2 million in cash and a plane ticket for me, and send me abroad. After I'm safely abroad, I'll tell you everything you want to know."
"What?" Zhaozhao almost suspected that her ears were malfunctioning. What did she hear? Did she actually want to go abroad?!
"Do you think you can escape all this by going abroad? Don't you know about karma? You've done so many wrong things. The underworld has recorded them all. Do you think it'll be okay once you're abroad? When you die, even the eighteen levels of hell won't be enough to punish you."
Zhaozhao was telling the truth. There was a natural cycle of cause and effect in this world. You reap what you sow, and everything was watched by heaven. The purpose of the underworld was to settle these debts. How could someone think they could escape punishment just by hiding? It was simply unbelievable!
Jiang Yun listened to Zhaozhao's words but just smiled indifferently. "We'll deal with the future when it comes. We'll think about what happens after death when we're dead. Anyway, I, Jiang Yun, have to live a glorious life! I can't fall behind others while I'm alive, especially not lose to that woman, Liang Yueshu!"
"I've figured it out now. I admit to everything I've done. I'll even admit to the twenty - eight levels of hell, let alone the eighteen. But it's absolutely impossible for me to make any ridiculous amends now."
She had been fighting for a lifetime. She had been with Zhuang Tingzheng for so many years without a proper status, just to live a good life. Because of that unwillingness deep in her heart, she didn't care even if she was scorned as a mistress. Anyway, she had done it, and she wanted a result. So what if she refused to repent? She was the one who decided how her life would be.
Zhaozhao looked at Jiang Yun's paranoid expression and for the first time felt a huge shock from this woman. She was amazed that there were actually people who could be so bad. They knew what they were doing but just wanted to go all the way to the end without repentance or atonement.
"You're really crazy," she calmly and objectively gave her evaluation.
However, Jiang Yun scoffed at this evaluation. She looked at her fingernails indifferently. Maybe she was overly stimulated, but she said, "I'm just bad. I've never thought about redeeming myself. I'm like this. I'll bear any punishment, but it's impossible for me to bow to Liang Yueshu in this lifetime."
Zhaozhao's expression was complicated. She didn't comment on Jiang Yun's words. She just remembered how Jiang Yun had cried and begged for mercy in the villa before. She didn't look as "unbothered" as she did now. If punishment really came to her, would she bear it obediently? Zhaozhao thought probably not. She would still fight desperately to find a way out for herself. The words she said in front of her now were just to maintain her pitiful and shallow dignity.
Knowing that she couldn't persuade this woman or reason with her, Zhaozhao agreed to her request and then got up and left.
She called Nan Jia. This matter had been reported to the Monster Management Bureau at that time. Logically, she should report the current progress to the bureau. Moreover, Zhaozhao couldn't handle the 2 million and the plane ticket that Jiang Yun wanted by herself. She still had to tell the bureau.
"Hello, Zhaozhao. What's up?"
Nan Jia's gentle voice came from the other end of the phone. Zhaozhao held the phone and reported word by word, "Sister Nan Jia, I'm calling to tell you about Zhuang Ming's case. I've made some new discoveries—"
"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" Nan Jia interrupted Zhaozhao just as she started. Nan Jia on the other end of the phone was completely confused after hearing Zhaozhao's words. "What case about Zhuang Ming?"
Zhaozhao was stunned for a moment and then realized that Nan Jia didn't know about this. At that time, she had told Su Yuan directly. Su Yuan said that he would send someone from the Monster Management Bureau to follow up later, but he didn't say specifically who it would be. She had habitually called Nan Jia and ignored this fact.
"Ah, it's nothing. I'm sorry, Sister Nan Jia. I forgot you didn't know about this."
Nan Jia waved her hand generously on the other end. "It's okay. I was just wondering. I've been on an assignment recently. How could there suddenly be a case about someone named Zhuang? It's really confusing me, haha..."
Nan Jia didn't know, and Zhaozhao didn't know who the contact person from the bureau was for the time being. She could only look for someone first. But after the previous incident, she couldn't contact Su Yuan on her own initiative. So she had to ask Nan Jia, "Sister Nan Jia, do you know where Su Yuan is? I need to talk to him about something."
Looking for the boss... Nan Jia looked back at Su Yuan lying on the ice bed and the group of monsters protecting him. She forced a dry laugh and lied against her will, "I don't know. I don't know where the boss is."
"I see..." Zhaozhao's voice dropped, and she hung up the phone.
Since she couldn't find Su Yuan, should she try to find her cousin? Maybe borrow some money from her cousin first...
But her cousin had been very mysterious recently. Zhaozhao didn't know what she was busy with every day. Zhaozhao shrugged and dejectedly picked up her phone, about to call Song Yao.
However, before she could dial the number, the doorbell rang.
Cheng Sang heard the doorbell in the living room and naturally walked over to open the door. When he saw the man at the door, he frowned and was about to close the door. But the man at the door very predictably raised his hand to block the door.
Zhaozhao craned her neck and saw that her senior brother had been standing at the door for a long time without letting anyone in. So she called out, "Senior Brother Wu, who's here?"
Hearing Zhaozhao's voice, the man at the door took advantage of Cheng Sang's momentary distraction, pushed open a gap in the door and slipped in. He smiled brightly and said, "Hey, fiancée. Long time no see!"