Bone Duke Pingnan: "My Life Is Too Hard"

Outside Vermilion Bird City, on Changsheng Mountain.

On the winding small path up the mountain, four skeletons were following Jiang Cheng as they climbed.

"So I was just given away for free?"

The resurrected Bone Duke Pingnan grumbled.

Those two angels needed 1.5 million and 2 million soul power to resurrect.

Perhaps because angels and undead weren't of the same level, they required forced resurrection.

And the price for forced resurrection was indeed too high; Jiang Cheng couldn't afford it.

In the end, he spent 180,000 soul power to resurrect Bone Duke Pingnan.

"Be content, Little Nanzi. Your power after resurrection perfectly inherited your former strength. What more do you want?" Blood Fiend sincerely envied.

"Little Nanzi?"

Bone Duke Pingnan instantly emitted an aura of superiority, wanting to let Blood Fiend know what hierarchy meant.

But strangely, not only were his former subordinates Blood Fiend and Magic Fiend unmoved by his aura, even Blood Raven was immune to his presence?

Not only that, there was a hint of disdain in Blood Fiend and Magic Fiend's soul flames?

"This is crazy." Bone Duke Pingnan cursed inwardly.

"How sad. I thought dying at the hands of a lowly skeleton was bad enough, but there are things worse than death..."

His former subordinates had now climbed over his head and were even arrogant toward him?

To think that he, a Bone Duke of the Skeleton Kingdom, a presence below just five... eight skeletons, had fallen to this fate?

Is this any way for a skeleton to live?

"Doggy, it seems Little Nanzi isn't adapting to his new identity yet. Why don't you teach him?"

"With pleasure." Er Chu wagged its three heads, and three pairs of blood-red soul flames excitedly stared at Bone Duke Pingnan.

Bone Duke Pingnan's footsteps suddenly halted, and for some reason, he shivered.

"Big Brother, let's talk this through. It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding."

Bone Duke Pingnan waved his bone hand, squeezing out a fawning smile.

Unfortunately, skeletons couldn't really make expressions, so Blood Fiend and Er Chu didn't feel it at all.

"Misunderstanding? That's not what our Bone Duke said earlier." Blood Fiend coldly glanced at him.

On the surface, he was very serious, but inside he was overjoyed.

He had truly followed the right master.

In the past, he wouldn't have dared speak to a Bone Duke like this!

There were only four Bone Dukes in the entire Skeleton Kingdom!

Bone Dukes were beings they had to look up to; even with a lifetime of effort, he couldn't reach that position.

How could he possibly be like now, with a Bone Duke bowing and scraping before him?

Even having to please him?

"No no, Lord Blood Fiend, it's all a misunderstanding. Here's a small token, please accept it."

Bone Duke Pingnan had realized that in this little group, it wasn't the somewhat restrained Magic Fiend who was in charge, nor the very arrogant Mo You, nor the slightly foolish-looking Er Chu.

It was... the most inconspicuous Blood Fiend!

So he immediately pulled Blood Fiend aside and secretly handed him a Blood Essence Stone the size of a chicken egg.

Blood Essence Stones could increase the amount of blood energy that could be mobilized during cultivation.

Although undead had no physical bodies, there was actually blood energy in their bones.

The more blood energy an undead had, the stronger they were.

This Blood Essence Stone was top quality, one he normally wouldn't use himself.

This time, he had really gone all out.

"Oh? You're openly bribing me?" Blood Fiend's soul flame condensed, his gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny.

"Do you know what rules there are for being a subordinate to the master and following him to conquer the world?"

"What rules? Please enlighten me, Lord Blood Fiend." Bone Duke Pingnan shrank his skull and asked.

Blood Fiend took the Blood Essence Stone and tossed it into his unique space. "The rule is no bribing, understand? You're new, so I won't say much. This time it's fine, but don't let it happen again."

"This Blood Essence Stone will be considered your lesson this time, understand?"

Bone Duke Pingnan nodded and promised, "Yes, yes, yes, Lord Blood Fiend is right. I, Pingnan, swear never to do it again!"

"That's more like it. Little Nanzi, work hard. Believe me, under my leadership, you'll definitely live better than before. I have high hopes for you." Blood Fiend patted Bone Duke Pingnan's shoulder bone and said seriously.

"Yes, yes, yes." Bone Duke Pingnan responded joyfully.

But inside, he was cursing non-stop. "This damned Blood Fiend, how did I never notice he was such a dog? So slick, using that excuse to take the gift?"

Taking the stone under the pretext of confiscation was completely different from accepting a gift.

The former meant a superior disciplining a subordinate, with confiscation being natural.

The latter meant owing someone a favor!

Bone Duke Pingnan suddenly realized his life was too hard.

For a moment, he deeply missed his former days.

"My throne, my power, my wives... sigh... it's bitter, it's sad!"

Skeleton life really goes up and down and down and down...

This life is over...

Speaking of which, why did he have nothing better to do than accept this damned mission to attack Luo Cloud City?

"Wait a minute..."

Bone Duke Pingnan suddenly realized a problem.

From beginning to end, he had never thought about attacking Luo Cloud City!

Bone Duke Pingnan glanced at Jiang Cheng walking ahead.

Slap! He hit himself on the forehead, making a loud echo.

"This was all Jiang Beiming's trick. From the start, he was leading me into his trap!"

From the initial intelligence report to later suggesting the mantis catching the cicada, yellow oriole behind plan to take Luo Cloud City.

From start to finish, their entire Skeleton Kingdom had been under Jiang Beiming's calculation!

"Damn it, I was so excited when this kid recommended me for the city attack plan, I even battled three hundred rounds with my two wives!"

"It was all this kid's deliberate plan!"

"I was too hasty!"

Bone Duke Pingnan slapped his forehead bone and shook his head.

He had been so excited before the expedition that he couldn't sleep all night, even getting up at four in the morning, fully armed, ready to go to battle!

It was all a setup!

He had even asked his wife to prepare a victory banquet in advance to welcome his triumphant return.

Now, Ningzhi's words came true...

How embarrassing—a victory banquet turned funeral feast?

If his colleagues found out he failed to take the city and was killed, now becoming Blood Fiend's subordinate, wouldn't they laugh their jaw bones off?

Most importantly, now that he was dead, who would take care of his three wives?

Thinking of his wives becoming someone else's after his death...

He nearly went mad!

"Heaven have mercy, my life is too hard!"

Bone Duke Pingnan let out a sigh, suddenly feeling somewhat sad.

"Little Nanzi, what are you doing? The master wants to ask you something!"

"Oh, coming, coming." Bone Duke Pingnan didn't know why, but hearing the word "master" gave him an urge to kill.

But he also knew there was a unique shackle on him that would constrain whatever he did.

Even wanting to die was a luxury for him now.

So he quickly scurried over to the Cold River mouth where Jiang Cheng stood and respectfully asked, "Master, what do you need?"

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng lowered the hand bone that had been supporting his chin and leisurely asked, "Nothing major, just wanted to ask about something I saw earlier in Pingnan Castle. You seemed to have three wives, one of whom was human."

"So, how did you two...?"