Capture Zhao Wuji, Xue Qinghe: Li Zhexian, This Saintess Refuses to Let You Die

That day.

Heaven Dou City was on high alert.

The Royal Imperial Army and Spirit Master Guards combed through the city in a massive manhunt.

They had nearly turned over every inch of ground. All four city gates were heavily guarded, allowing entry but forbidding exit.

And the culprit had already been identified.

The clues had been clear enough.

Anyone familiar with Li Zhexian knew

that the only person he had recently clashed with was Ma Hongjun, who had come from the outer city.

And Ma Hongjun's accompanying teacher—the Immovable Ming King, Zhao Wuji—was a Soul Saint-level expert.

Everything fit.

The hundreds of square kilometers of the Imperial City seemed vast.

But they could not withstand the Royal Imperial Army and Spirit Master teams searching it as though plowing a field.

Northern outskirts of the Imperial City.

A secluded 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 heavier.

He hadn't expected them to find him so quickly!

Li Zhexian truly had 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 and looked toward the depths of the village.

Ma Hongjun was hiding there.

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

He could not run anymore.

If he fled, Ma Hongjun would certainly be found.

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

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

"I've done everything I could."

"It's just a pity..."

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

Chaotic thoughts churned through his mind.

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

The instant he appeared,

the searching Spirit Masters spotted him.

A vast crowd swiftly surrounded him, sealing off every route of escape.

"Heh..."

Zhao Wuji swept his gaze over their faces, his large mouth splitting into a savage grin.

"If I kill one before I die, I break even. If I kill two, I come out ahead!"

"Roar—!"

His body suddenly swelled, violent Soul Power surging as he prepared to directly unleash his Martial Soul Avatar.

However, at that moment,

a withered hand emerged out of thin air and viciously slapped Zhao Wuji across the face.

Smack—!

A crisp crack exploded through the air.

Zhao Wuji was sent flying over a hundred meters.

His incomplete Martial Soul Avatar was forcibly dispersed.

"You've gotten used to bullying the weak with your strength?"

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

"Tell me, where is Li Zhexian?"

Zhao Wuji staggered to his feet.

A sickly 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 too. His entire body trembled in pain, yet he did not utter a single word.

"Your Excellency Poison Douluo."

Snake Lance, disguised as a Crown Prince's guard, stepped forward.

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

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

Dugu Bo nodded.

"If there is any news, inform me first."

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

A faint mocking smile had still been on his face.

But when his gaze landed on the person hanging from the Thorn Stone Pillar in the courtyard, it abruptly froze, his tiger eyes widening.

"Qin... Qin Ming?!"

"You..."

Qin Ming struggled to raise his head, a bitter smile forcing its way onto his deathly pale face.

"Tea... Teacher... When I told you Jian Jiu's identity..."

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

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

Regret, self-reproach, pain, and countless other emotions surged within him.

Qin Ming should have had a boundless future...

Yet because of Zhao Wuji's almost coercive plea for help, he had fallen into captivity, his life and death uncertain.

"This has nothing to do with anyone else!"

"I did it all myself!"

Zhao Wuji roared hoarsely.

Xue Qinghe walked over.

"Where is Li Zhexian?"

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

"I want you to release Qin—"

Before he could finish,

Shhk—

A condensed strand of Light Soul Power, sharp as a blade, suddenly swept through the air.

Splurt—

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

"Aah!!!"

A miserable scream tore apart the dead silence of the rear courtyard.

Zhao Wuji's eyes turned bloodshot, his chest heaving violently.

"I'll tell you..."

"Li Zhexian..."

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

"I, killed, him."

"I threw his body into the moat."

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

The rear courtyard fell into dead silence.

Xue Qinghe slowly closed her eyes.

Every breath became difficult, as though someone had seized her throat and a suffocating sensation came crashing down upon her.

All that remained in her ears was a buzzing noise. The world seemed to fall silent at that moment.

She dragged her feet onward.

She paid no heed to Pufferfish and Snake Lance calling after her.

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

Seeing Xue Qinghe like this, Snake Lance darkened and waved his hand. Several elderly eunuchs carrying instruments of torture entered the rear courtyard with sinister cackles.

Only after Xue Qinghe entered her own chambers

did her gaze fall upon the Morning Light Rose blooming toward the sun on the windowsill, reflected in her unfocused eyes.

Within the hazy light and shadow,

she seemed to see that White-robed Youth again, smiling as he patted the empty spot beside him and called for her to come sit with him.

Tears burst through their banks without warning.

They slid down her pale cheeks.

Xue Qinghe choked back silent sobs, her slender shoulders trembling faintly.

"Li Zhexian..."

"This Saintess refuses to let you 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 refuses to let you die!"

Suotuo City.

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

They immediately set out for Heaven Dou City.

Watching the two depart in a panic,

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

Only Dai Mubai quietly clenched his fists.

Though the dean and Master had not said it outright,

that letter had come from Heaven Dou City.

For it to make them lose their composure like this... there was an eighty to ninety percent chance 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 filled with shared indignation.

"Hmph, the Shrek Seven Devils are a team. If that Jian Jiu hurt Fatty, we naturally won't stand by and watch."

Less than a day after Flender and Yu Xiaogang departed,

Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing returned from their training in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Upon learning that the dean and Master had rushed to the Imperial City,

Zhu Zhuqing's pretty face changed slightly. She immediately guessed that it might be connected to "Jian Jiu."

She did not even have time to say more.

She flipped onto a horse, snapped the reins,

and raced down the official road leading to the Imperial City like an arrow leaving its bow.

"Hey! Zhuqing!"

Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong's calls were left behind, along with a cloud of dust.

Ferocity churned in Dai Mubai's Evil Eye.

"Just as I thought!"

"Zhu Zhuqing, that bitch, really is involved with that Jian Jiu!"

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

On the branch of an ancient tree,

Li Zhexian slowly opened his eyes. The sunlight suddenly flooding 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..."