Chapter 1177 — Still Wanting to Level Up?

"So what you're telling me is that you want our local police to cooperate with your outer cordon arrests?" Qiu Lingshan asked.

"Yes. And on top of that, I'd like to ask you to pose as my partner in a husband-and-wife thief duo..." Chen Yutian cleared his throat and said. In truth, he had no intention of taking advantage of Qiu Lingshan over this; he had already put that matter behind him, and so he would never stoop to something so vulgar as using an assignment as an excuse to steal a kiss. That was hardly the act of a gentleman!

The real reason Chen Yutian made this proposal was that he had genuinely weighed Qiu Lingshan's skills. The tomb was perilous indeed; without real martial ability you would not survive it, and Qiu Lingshan's prowess was beyond question. That was why Chen Yutian had extended the invitation.

According to the intelligence, both halves of the husband-and-wife thief team were formidable. Even if they were not at the Yellow Stage, they possessed speed and agility close to it.

"Me? With you?" Qiu Lingshan blinked in surprise. Chen Yutian's proposal overstepped no rule and no bottom line — after all, her profession was unusual, and posing as a couple with someone else was routine business. The catch was that Qiu Lingshan rather did not want to play that role with Chen Yutian.

"Yes. The tomb is extremely perilous, and the tomb raiders are no pushovers. If our people are not up to it, they may well be buried in there with the dead." Chen Yutian said gravely: "Lingshan, I'm doing this for the bigger picture, with no selfish motive of my own... Although, if I could play your lover just once, I would be very happy. It wouldn't be real, but at least I would have had it..."

One could say Chen Yutian spoke with perfect candor, hiding nothing at all, and this won him a measure of Qiu Lingshan's appreciation — such a temperament suited her taste well. Yet even so, she could not bring herself to feel anything for him.

There were two reasons. First, Chen Yutian's strength was simply not good enough. Second, someone else had long since taken up residence in Qiu Lingshan's heart, leaving no room for anyone else. Now she thought no one compared to Wei Zhao; domineering though he could be, Wei Zhao was the real thing.

Not only was he brave and resourceful, he could also practice medicine — and more importantly, he could level other people up. What mattered most was that, though a bit of a philanderer, he was not the promiscuous sort. She herself had tried to seduce him several times without success, which showed that Wei Zhao was a man governed by his feelings and his upper body rather than by his lower body.

So the more Qiu Lingshan thought about it, the better Wei Zhao looked — and besides, he was a man of all talents who could even help her close cases.

"This... if we cooperate with you on this, what do we get out of it?" Qiu Lingshan was representing the local police in helping Chen Yutian; there had to be something in it for them. At the very least, Chen Yutian could not claim all the credit.

"As for credit, we split it down the middle — only fair. Nothing else, I'm afraid; the loot we seize gets turned in. I'm a poor man, with no reward money to offer..." Chen Yutian smiled and shrugged.

"As if I needed money?" Qiu Lingshan rolled her eyes. "Fine. But as you said, the tomb is dangerous, and you're only an early-stage Yellow Stage fighter — the two of us still aren't strong enough. I'd like to bring in outside help?"

"Outside help? Wei Zhao?" Chen Yutian was quick on the uptake and guessed Wei Zhao at once. Qiu Lingshan had two reasons for wanting him: with Wei Zhao around she would not have to pose as a couple with Chen Yutian, but with Wei Zhao instead; and second, with such a formidable fighter on the team, the danger of the assignment would drop.

"Mm..." Qiu Lingshan nodded, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. Chen Yutian had seen right through her, which made her feel a little embarrassed.

"Fine. If Wei Zhao can join us, I'll be all the happier," Chen Yutian said after a moment's thought. He meant every word of it. Though he could no longer pose as her lover, some things, once let go, were truly let gone — once a decision was made, he had no regrets.

Still, fighting side by side with Wei Zhao had once been Chen Yutian's dream, and now that it was coming true he was naturally delighted. With Wei Zhao as his right-hand man, the difficulty of this assignment would drop accordingly.

"Good, then I'll speak to Wei Zhao..." Qiu Lingshan nodded. "I'll go into the inner room and call him... wait for me out here?"

"Don't worry, I won't eavesdrop," Chen Yutian said with a laugh, though there was a sour taste in his heart. But when a woman telephoned her beloved, there were things she naturally would not say in front of another man.

And so Qiu Lingshan stepped into the rest room inside the office and dialed Wei Zhao's number.

"What is it?" Wei Zhao picked up.

"...Your silly little girl misses you — can't she call you?" Qiu Lingshan was put out by Wei Zhao's businesslike tone.

"Miss me? Why don't you miss me when nothing's going on — every time you miss me, something's up." Wei Zhao gave a bitter smile. Nine times out of ten, Qiu Lingshan wanted something done again.

"Oh?" Qiu Lingshan was taken aback for a moment, then broke into a delighted smile. "So from now on I can call you even when nothing's going on? How wonderful! Usually I want to call but don't dare — I'm afraid you'll scold me, so I have to rack my brains for a task or an excuse just to get one call through..."

"Huh?" Wei Zhao's eyes went wide; for once he did not know how to answer. What Qiu Lingshan had just said was, quite simply, impossible to answer.

He certainly could not tell her, "Call me even when nothing's going on" — at that rate she would be phoning every few hours. But if he forbade her from calling, wasn't that the same as conceding that she should rack her brains for tasks and excuses just to call him?

Wei Zhao gave a dry laugh and had to change the subject. "So what's this call about? The leveling up?"

"Leveling up? I want it, I want it!" Qiu Lingshan narrowed her eyes, a mischievous notion rising in her heart, and said in a honeyed voice: "When are you going to give it to me? I want it so badly... please, good man..."

"Uh..." A few black lines appeared on Wei Zhao's forehead. What Qiu Lingshan presumably meant was that she wanted to level up, and when he was going to grant her the upgrade — but uttered in that tone of hers, it sounded like she was asking for *that* instead.

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