A Small Disappointment

That same day, at night.

Although Hou Jinxuan had taken various measures in advance to prevent Wenying Tower from noticing anything amiss too early.

As time passed, however, Wenying Tower ultimately discovered the problem—

Very quickly.

Without alerting the various lower- and middle-ranking members.

Through one order after another, the matter was swiftly relayed truthfully to all the higher-ups, including Di Zixuan.

It could only be said that.

The instant he received the news.

Di Zixuan immediately felt that something was wrong, along with an indescribable bitterness.

At that moment.

Although the orders did not explicitly state that Hou Jinxuan had defected, merely saying that she had suddenly disappeared without a trace and could not be contacted at all, Di Zixuan, being someone extremely familiar with her, could still roughly judge whether she had truly defected...

However.

Out of certain personal feelings and their past friendship.

Even though he was already seventy or eighty percent certain of what had happened.

He still did not want to rashly confirm the truth.

So, after struggling with it for a moment.

He directly attempted to contact her through a special method.

But he quickly discovered that even he was completely unable to reach her.

Moreover.

He could even tell that this was some kind of one-sided blocking. In other words, the truth was probably that she had done it deliberately—that she did not want him to contact her, rather than that she was trapped in some special environment...

Upon realizing this.

Di Zixuan's last shred of wishful hope vanished into thin air.

He understood that things were likely about to head in an irretrievable direction—

At the same time.

Before he had much time to think.

As Wenying Tower's publicly acknowledged ruler, the current Tower Master of Wenying Tower contacted him separately as