Chapter 464: Chapter 161: The Mysterious Western Pole—Seeking Alliance with the Ice Race Through Marriage

The long-separated couple naturally rekindled old dreams upon reunion.

However, Li Yuan’s body was too powerful; Lady Xue, as an ordinary person, could no longer endure it.

He could only lie carefully on the bed, not daring to take the initiative, just letting Lady Xue treat him gently...

After a long while, seeing Lady Xue covered in sweat, Li Yuan gently pulled her into his arms and whispered, "That’s enough."

"It’s not done yet." Lady Xue still wanted to give it her all.

Li Yuan held her down, not letting her exert herself further, saying, "When I say it’s enough, it’s enough."

How could Lady Xue resist Li Yuan’s strength? Her shoulders shrugged twice but were firmly pressed down by Li Yuan’s large hands, forcing her to give up, softly saying "I’m sorry," then clinging to him like a cicada on a tree, wanting to continue fulfilling her duty as a wife.

Li Yuan tightened his hold on the woman in his arms, saying "Don’t move," and only then did Xue Ning stop...

The room was quiet and serene.

Li Yuan glanced at the gauzy long dress hanging on the bamboo rod not far away and then looked at the noisy, stifling weather filled with cicada cries outside, momentarily distracted...

"Husband, you should marry a few more wives, Seventh Grade or Sixth Grade... If possible, have more children; it would be good for you," Lady Xue said softly.

Although she had taken the Youthful Appearance Pill, Li Yuan could feel that the body in his arms hid a weak and sickly soul, despite receiving various supplements for nourishment and care daily.

If Xue Ning were just a First Madam lounging in the mansion, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad.

But she had weathered storms, exhausting her mind and efforts, managing such a large force; how could she not get sick?

He stroked his wife’s long hair as if petting a cat, gently removing the wooden hairpin from her bun.

Soon, the sound of soft breathing echoed in his arms.

Xue Ning was too tired, and Li Yuan’s arm was her safe haven, where she could finally close her eyes and rest truly...

In the following month, Li Yuan spent every day with Xue Ning, not letting her stay up late reading documents...

Meanwhile, since Li Yuan had brought along plenty of "Human Skin Handcuffs," his means of solving Xue Ning’s problems had become straightforward and crude.

This method involved three steps.

Identify the core person behind the problem, confirm their long-term value, then put on Human Skin Handcuffs to convert them into their own.

In no time, many matters that used to trouble Xue Ning were resolved with ease.

After all, bypassing the issue and directly solving the person who raised it was indeed a good way. Though somewhat wasteful of the Human Skin Handcuffs, it would allow Xue Ning to gain a stronger control ability in the future.

...

Everything was going well, but on this day, Li Yuan casually landed on an estate, preparing to use the Human Skin Handcuffs on today’s target.

The target was a Chief Steward of the Chuyun Commerce Association, a confidante of the original Fujia Commerce Association’s First Madam, Ying Mei’Er, who had been working for Xue Ning all along.

The reason Li Yuan wanted to use the Human Skin Handcuffs on this person was due to her crucial identity and position. Xue Ning handled many things through her, some of which were even secretive.

If such a person developed ulterior motives, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Li Yuan easily clasped the Human Skin Handcuffs onto the hands of this Chief Steward.

However, in the next instant, an inexplicable scene occurred.

"Ah!!!"

The Chief Steward seemed to be stimulated, starting to let out hysterical screams.

Her eyes would sometimes roll back, sometimes dart around, and then occasionally become unfocused, drooling uncontrollably from the corner of her mouth, her face alternating between laughing and not laughing, spouting incoherent nonsense...

Seeing this, Li Yuan knew immediately that she had gone mad.

Under what circumstances would the Human Skin Handcuffs drive someone insane?

He thought of Yu Chaoyin.

The Human Skin Handcuffs would only drive a target insane if they were already controlled by "other Evil Ghost Tools," causing a conflict of Yin Qi that made the target lose their mind.

In other words, this Chief Steward had already been controlled by someone.

However, since Yan Yu left Shanbao County two years ago, Human Skin Handcuffs have been hard to come by, and the Lotus Sect shouldn’t or wouldn’t use such precious Human Skin Handcuffs on a Chief Steward like this.

Unless they have other Evil Ghost Tools similar to Human Skin Handcuffs, which would explain why they broadened their targets so considerably...

For a moment, a chill rose from Li Yuan’s heel.

Thinking of how the enemy had been around his wife for so long, with all her secrets exposed, he felt goosebumps rising all over his body.

At this moment, he realized he was very short of capable people.

Because if he had Sixth Grade, such Evil Ghost Tools could be rendered ineffective.

But under his command, there was no Sixth Grade.

Watching the Chief Steward go mad and wail, Li Yuan didn’t care for her but floated up to a high building, quietly sitting in the dark using "Stealth Skill" and "Qi Concealing Skill," while his senses observed which people were attracted by the Chief Steward’s madness.

After all, if there were "moles" in their commerce association, it was unlikely there would be just one.

’From a practical standpoint, the best target for them to control would actually be Sister Xue.

However, Sister Xue is usually reclusive and cautious, plus she carries many [Copper Pendants], so she hasn’t been compromised.

But if Sister Xue were isolated, it would give the other side an opportunity to act... At that time, the other side would surely appear.’

Li Yuan thought as he observed his surroundings.