Return (Part 2)

Red maple forests appeared in the distance, with several exquisite farmhouses faintly visible beneath the autumn leaves.

This was precisely the location Lin Ze had invited them to, the Red Leaf Manor, where they were to capture the traitor.

Shen Zhui and Wang Long stood above the buildings within the Red Leaf Manor. Below them was a courtyard where a burly man with red hair, dressed in a bizarre, ill-fitting outfit, was engaging in lewd acts with a vacant-eyed maidservant in his arms.

This must be the traitor Lin Ze wants to capture, Shen Zhui thought to himself, filled with hatred for the turncoat.

If he hadn't seized an opportunity and used Daoist Magic to help Li Zhong betray him earlier, he wouldn't have been driven to such a desperate situation.

He had almost died!

Wang Long suddenly waved his sleeve, and an invisible wave descended upon the red-haired man's head.

"Appear!"

With Wang Long's low command, a water screen materialized above the red-haired man's head.

Lines of prominent text appeared on it.

Shen Zhui focused his gaze.

"Wu Gu, former captain of the Wu'an Army's Fire Dragon squad, High-stage Xiantian. Three years ago, he was expelled from the Wu'an Army for stealing treasures and murdering teammates."

"He has since taken refuge with the Guiyuan Sect, cultivating evil arts, and has committed crimes of murder, treason, and robbery."

So his name is Wu Gu. The Wu'an Army has ten men per squad and a hundred per team. This late-stage Xiantian cultivator was just a squad leader, Shen Zhui mused. Cultivating evil arts and murdering teammates… this man deserves to die ten times over.

But he managed to evade the Wu'an Army's pursuit for three years, and he's still escaping now. He's truly no ordinary individual.

For now, Shen Zhui suppressed his many questions and quietly observed the unfolding events.

He recalled that when he had stealthily approached earlier, he had only been guarding the outside of the manor before being ambushed by Li Zhong and He Tong, falling into a coma from his severe injuries. He had missed a lot of information, and now that he had the chance, he wouldn't let it pass, especially the battle between these Xiantian Masters.

He was particularly ignorant of the methods used by Qi Cultivation True Persons.

He waited for a full half hour, but the red-haired man hadn't finished yet. Shen Zhui couldn't help but feel speechless.

After waiting for a while, the tranquil manor finally stirred.

The red-haired man seemed to sense something and suddenly looked up in confusion, scanning his surroundings.

Wu Gu pushed the woman on him away and took out something resembling a compass from his embrace, watching it intently.

The needle began to spin wildly. Wu Gu's face immediately changed drastically.

"Disaster! Someone's here!"

Immediately after.

"Boom!" An ice mountain condensed in the air above the courtyard and slammed down towards Wu Gu.

"Lin Ze!" Wu Gu roared, raising his hands. A fiery red defensive barrier appeared. Shen Zhui then realized that the bizarre outfit Wu Gu wore was actually a defensive treasure!

"Crack~" The ice mountain cracked. The maidservant was crushed, her flesh and blood splattering.

Following that, Wang Long and Lin Ze flew in from both sides.

Of the four masters who were initially present, only two remained. The members of the Li and Yang Families were nowhere to be seen.

Shen Zhui was no longer surprised.

"Lin Ze, I'll fight you to the death!" Wu Gu's body erupted in flames as he broke through the ice mountain's attack and flew into the sky.

"Traitor, die!" Lin Ze's voice rang out.

In another direction, dozens of ice walls suddenly appeared, extending infinitely upwards to a height of about ten zhang.

It was like an ice mountain cage, trapping the fiery figure within.

Wu Gu unleashed several fireballs in an instant, most of them aimed at Lin Ze. Lin Ze conjured water screens before him, and as the fireballs touched them, they extinguished as if melting snow and ice.

In the other directions, a strange scene unfolded.

The fireballs dissipated after traveling less than ten zhang, as if struck by some unseen force.

It seems that if a person isn't physically present, even their Vital Energy fluctuations and techniques won't manifest, Shen Zhui realized with enlightenment.

After a brief struggle, the fiery man suddenly found a direction and began to break out.

Wu Gu was formidable. Wang Long and Lin Ze's attacks could only strike the space where his flames burned. Apart from his flames weakening slightly, it was impossible to tell if his true body was damaged.

Wu Gu flew towards the main entrance of the manor. Then, Shen Zhui witnessed the scene of himself being attacked.

"Haha, interesting. A Ninth Stage Houtian Martial Artist has drawn the attention of two Xiantian Masters. Then I'll give you a hand!"

Wu Gu laughed heartily and conjured a massive fireball before him, sending it towards Shen Zhui below.

At the same time, Shen Zhui saw that the other him below was suddenly ambushed by He Tong, who drew his sword.

He Tong... Shen Zhui gritted his teeth. Even though the incident was in the past, seeing this scene now still filled him with uncontrollable rage.

Who could have imagined He Tong would betray him?!

The fireball was dispersed.

But the Shen Zhui below had only just overcome the second crisis.

A breath later, Shen Zhui's clothes and skin cracked inch by inch, crushed into the ground, severely injured and unconscious.

The expected attack, a green fist strike from Li Zhong, also failed to materialize.

"Observe my actions carefully," Wang Long said at this moment.

Shen Zhui naturally understood he was referring to the phantom figures in this rewinded space, and immediately nodded.

"Are you seeking death?" Wang Long's clone's face turned ferocious.

"Accidental injury?"

"Provoking the law again and again, attempting murder right before my eyes!"

"You all deserve to die!"

Shen Zhui watched for a moment and suddenly understood. Wang Long had been conversing with someone else at the time, but since there were no traces of people, it had appeared as if Wang Long was talking to himself.

However, just as Shen Zhui thought things would continue this way, the situation suddenly changed.

When Wang Long took out a crimson Execution Order from his embrace, the space not far around him suddenly vibrated.

"First, summon a deity to distinguish good from evil!"

A crimson light merged into Wang Long's body. At the same time, two blurry figures appeared in the surrounding space!

"Second, summon a deity to discern right from wrong!"

As the second crimson light entered his body, the two blurry figures became clearly visible.

It was Li Zhong and someone from the Yang family!

The tokens in both their hands shattered, and they began to beg for mercy.

"No, no, no!"

"Wang Long, spare us, we were wrong!"

"Too late!" Wang Long's clone's eyes turned cold. He raised his sword and pointed, immobilizing them, then a sword qi howled forth.

Just as the sword qi was about to reach Li Zhong...

At this moment, Wang Long, standing beside Shen Zhui, waved his hand.

"Stop!"

Everything around them instantly froze.

Shen Zhui was confused.

Wang Long pointed at Li Zhong, whose face was filled with terror as he tried to escape, and shouted, "Reveal!"

Just like with Wu Gu, lines of text appeared above Li Zhong and the other person's heads.

"Li Zhong, from Anyang, Heyuan County, Mid-stage Xiantian, murdered 182 people, injured 591, convicted of robbery, murder, and fraud."

"Yang Feng, from Taishan, Heyuan County, High-stage Xiantian, murdered 123 people, injured 361, convicted of robbery, murder, and rape."

Following this, the water screen trembled, and countless images flashed by, showing the crimes of the two men one by one.

Initially, Shen Zhui could still make out one or two scenes, but then the images sped up, and Shen Zhui could no longer see clearly, only streaks of crimson color remained.

Finally, the images stopped, and the water screen transformed, forming two crimson characters above their heads.

Death Penalty!

"These two... they actually had so many people's blood on their hands!" Shen Zhui felt a chill run down his spine. In the few scenes he could clearly see at the beginning, Shen Zhui witnessed Li Zhong cruelly stomp on a peasant woman's head, crushing it, the blood splattering everywhere. The brutality of his methods and the depth of his crimes were simply outrageous!

"Let's go, it's time to leave," Wang Long sighed, putting a hand on Shen Zhui's shoulder, preparing to depart.

As always, requesting votes~