Capture Zhao Wuji, Xue Qinghe: Li Zhixian, This Saintess

That day.

Heaven Dou City was gripped by panic.

The royal imperial guard and Soul Master patrols combed through the city like fine-toothed combs.

They had nearly turned over every inch of ground. All four city gates were heavily guarded—entry was permitted, but no one was allowed to leave.

And the culprit had already been identified.

The clues were actually quite clear.

Everyone familiar with Li Zhixian knew it.

The only person he had recently made an enemy of was Ma Hongjun, who had come from the outer city.

And Ma Hongjun's accompanying teacher—Immovable King Ming Zhao Wuji—was a Soul Sage-level powerhouse.

Everything fit.

The imperial city, spanning several hundred square kilometers, appeared vast.

Yet it could not withstand the royal guard and Soul Master teams' plow-like search.

In the northern outskirts of the imperial city.

In a remote village.

Watching the sudden increase in unfamiliar faces outside the village, Zhao Wuji, hidden in the shadows, clenched his fists as his breathing gradually grew heavy.

He had not expected them to find him so quickly!

Li Zhixian really had made friends everywhere!

He had returned to the inn where they were staying at dawn.

Ma Hongjun's injuries had worsened, and seeking doctors and medicine had delayed him.

By the time Ma Hongjun's condition had stabilized, it was already too late to leave the city.

Zhao Wuji turned his head and looked toward the depths of the village.

Ma Hongjun was hiding there.

He was being cared for by someone Qin Ming had arranged.

He could not flee anymore.

If he ran, Ma Hongjun would surely be found.

Even if Ma Hongjun had done nothing, he would not escape being implicated.

"Master, Headmaster... you should have received the news by now..."

"I've done everything I needed to do."

"It's just a pity..."

"I don't know whether Li Zhixian is dead!"

Chaotic thoughts churned through his mind.

Zhao Wuji took a deep breath and strode out from the village entrance.

The instant his figure appeared.

The searching Soul Masters immediately noticed him.

A vast crowd surrounded him until not even water could pass through.

"Heh..."

Zhao Wuji swept his gaze across their faces, his wide mouth curling into a vicious grin.

"Before I die, killing one means I don't lose out. Killing two means I've made a killing!"

"Roar—!"

His body abruptly swelled as violent Soul Power surged through him. He was actually about to directly unleash his Martial Soul Avatar.

But at that moment.

A withered palm stretched out of thin air and viciously slapped Zhao Wuji across the face.

Slap—!

The crisp crack exploded through the air.

Zhao Wuji was sent flying more than a hundred meters.

His Martial Soul Avatar, which had not yet fully formed, was forcibly scattered.

"Used to bullying the weak with your strength?"

Dugu Bo stood with his hands behind his back, his emerald eyes cold as ice.

"This old man asks you: where is Li Zhixian?"

Zhao Wuji staggered to his feet.

A miserable green handprint was clearly stamped across his left cheek.

The flesh around its edges flaked away like rotten wood chips.

Zhao Wuji was a tough man. Though pain made his entire body tremble, he did not utter a single word.

"Your Excellency Poison Douluo."

Snake Lance, disguised as one of the Crown Prince's personal guards, stepped forward.

"By the Crown Prince's verbal decree, why not hand Zhao Wuji over to the palace for interrogation?"

"Under torture, there is no need to fear that he will refuse to speak."

Dugu Bo nodded.

"If there is any news, inform this old man first."

Zhao Wuji was escorted to the rear courtyard of the Crown Prince's Palace.

There was still a trace of mockery on his face.

But when his gaze fell upon the person hanging from the Thorn Stone Pillar in the courtyard, his expression abruptly froze, and his tiger-like eyes widened.

"Qin... Qin Ming?!"

"You..."

Qin Ming laboriously raised his head, a bitter smile squeezing onto his deathly pale face.

"Tea... Teacher... when I told you Sword Wine's identity..."

"I had already thought this day would come..."

Zhao Wuji was struck as though by lightning, standing rooted to the spot.

Regret, self-blame, pain, and countless other emotions roiled within him.

Qin Ming should have had a bright future...

Yet because Zhao Wuji had nearly forced him to seek help, he was now trapped in prison, his life and death uncertain.

"This has nothing to do with anyone else!"

"I did it all alone!"

Zhao Wuji roared hoarsely.

Xue Qinghe walked over.

"Where is Li Zhixian?"

Zhao Wuji fell silent, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"I want you to release Qin—"

Before he could finish.

Ssh—

A concentrated stream of Bright Soul Power, solid as substance and sharp as a blade, suddenly swept past.

Pfft—

One of Qin Ming's wrists was severed and fell to the ground.

"Aaaah!!!"

A shrill scream tore through the rear courtyard's deathly silence.

Zhao Wuji's eyes turned bloodshot, his chest rising and falling violently.

"I'll tell you..."

"Li Zhixian..."

He stared at Xue Qinghe, cruelty surging in his eyes as he enunciated each word:

"Was, killed, by, me."

"I threw his body into the moat."

"Release Qin Ming, and I'll take you to find his corpse."

The rear courtyard fell into a dead silence.

Xue Qinghe slowly closed her eyes.

Every breath became difficult, as if someone had seized her throat and an overwhelming suffocating sensation surged over her.

Only a buzzing noise remained by her ears. The world seemed to have fallen silent at that instant.

She dragged her feet forward.

She turned a deaf ear to Pufferfish and Snake Lance's words.

Xue Qinghe did not even know how she had left the rear courtyard.

Seeing Xue Qinghe like this, Snake Lance waved his hand with a dark expression. Several old eunuchs carrying torture instruments entered the rear courtyard with sinister grins.

Only after Xue Qinghe entered her own chambers.

Did her gaze fall upon the Dawn Light Rose blooming toward the sun on the windowsill, its reflection appearing in her unfocused eyes.

Within the hazy play of light and shadow.

She seemed to see that white-robed youth again, smiling as he patted the empty space beside him and called for her to sit with him.

Tears burst forth without warning.

They slid down her pale cheeks.

Xue Qinghe sobbed soundlessly, her slender shoulders trembling faintly.

"Li Zhixian..."

"This Saintess... will not allow you to die."

"You still haven't seen what I look like..."

"You still haven't called me by my true name..."

"I still haven't gone fishing with you... in my true identity..."

"This Saintess will not allow you to die!"

Suotuo City.

Upon receiving the news, Flender and Yu Xiaogang were both shocked and enraged.

They immediately set off for Heaven Dou City.

Watching the two men's panicked figures vanish into the distance.

Tang San and Oscar exchanged glances, their hearts filled with confusion.

Only Dai Mubai quietly clenched his fists.

Even though the Headmaster and Master had not said it outright.

That letter had come from Heaven Dou City.

For the two of them to lose composure like this... there was an overwhelming chance that something had happened to Fatty.

Tang San glanced at Dai Mubai.

"Mubai, do you know what happened?"

Dai Mubai's expression shifted uncertainly.

In the end, he lowered his voice and told Tang San and Oscar his embellished version of the truth.

Naturally, Tang San and Oscar were immediately united in hatred.

"Hmph. The Shrek Seven Devils are a team. If that Sword Wine hurt Fatty, we naturally won't stand idly by."

Less than a day after Flender and Yu Xiaogang departed.

Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing, who had been training in the Star Dou Great Forest, returned.

Upon learning that the Headmaster and Master had rushed to the imperial city.

Zhu Zhuqing's pretty face changed slightly. She immediately guessed that it might be related to "Sword Wine."

She did not even have time to say anything.

She swiftly flipped onto a horse and snapped the reins.

Like an arrow loosed from its bow, she sped along the official road leading to the imperial city.

"Hey! Zhuqing!"

Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong's calls were left behind along with the dust.

Violence churned in Dai Mubai's evil eyes.

"Just as I thought!"

"Zhu Zhuqing really is having an affair with that Sword Wine!"

"Cough, cough... cough, cough..."

On the branch of an ancient tree.

Li Zhixian slowly opened his eyes. The sunlight that suddenly flooded his vision made him close them for a while before opening them again.

His lips were cracked, and his voice was hoarse.

"It's good to be alive..."

"Hiss, it hurts so much..."