Inside the elevator car.
The Heavenblade Dragon King noticed the two pairs of eyes watching him from outside.
But he did not respond.
That dignified face seemed to be burdened with worries.
"Get out of the sedan chair!"
With a shout, the three wedding processions that had completed their missions finally assembled in Soul Return Town.
Everything is ready; all that's missing is to carry these three groom candidates.
I'm heading to [Central Forest Garden] to meet the legendary Phoenix Emperor Lord.
Just as Zhao Yan and Shadow were preparing to join the group to broaden their horizons...
The captain of the wedding procession from Deep Pool Fortress walked over with a dark expression.
"What are you all doing here? What are you all doing here?"
He was holding an account book and shouting rudely.
"All you menial workers, get over here!"
"Settle your wages for today, then go find somewhere cool to stay!"
Zhao Yan was taken aback and wiped the mud off his face.
"Didn't we agree to pick up the bride at Central Forest Garden? Aren't we going with her?"
"Go to Central Forest Garden? With your abilities?"
The butler, with his nostrils flared, let out a sneer.
"Why don't you take a piss and look at yourselves in the mirror now?!"
"You're nothing but the lowest of servants, what makes you think you can have such a privilege?"
"How dare you, covered in mud, casually enter Phoenix Emperor Phoenix's residence?"
"Pay up and get out of here, don't dirty this place!"
Being humiliated like this by an NPC, even Zhao Yan, with his good temper, couldn't help but bulge veins on his forehead.
Shadow was even more furious, and she subconsciously pointed to the side of the first sedan chair.
There, Guo Shuai was humming a tune, swaggering at the very front of the line.
"Then why was he allowed to go in?!"
The Shadow questioned indignantly.
The wedding procession leader glanced at Guo Shuai following the Shadow's finger, his eyes showing not contempt but rather reverence.
"He?"
He rolled his eyes and retorted confidently.
"They drew the [sewage collector] card!"
"If the town didn't have someone like him, within three days, the entire Second Ring Road and Central Forest Garden would be flooded with excrement and urine!"
The wedding procession leader became more and more excited as he spoke, his spittle almost landing on Shadow's face.
"You think you can compare to a bunch of lowly laborers who can only carry heavy loads and drink muddy water?"
"Go away, take the money and get out of here!"
Shadow was rendered speechless by the rebuttal, his chest heaving, yet unable to refute it, he could only grit his teeth and give up.
The two received twenty taels of silver notes and were preparing to find a place to clean the seaweed off their bodies.
Just then, Zhao Yan suddenly stared at the other end of the street and poked the Shadow's arm.
"Xiaoying... look over there, who's that!"
The Shadow turned its head in the direction he pointed.
Not far ahead, four people were walking towards the post station.
Walking in front was a tall woman with black stockings over her head.
Next to him was a bouncy, Circle Face.
Further on, there was a pure-looking girl with rabbit ears.
And in the middle of this strange trio, the normal person was being led by the hand by the rabbit-eared girl...
It was Tang Sirui!
"Tang Sirui?! Didn't he go stealing things with Liu Ruyan?"
"How did I get here?!"
Zhao Yan and Shadow exchanged a glance, both seeing shock and wariness in each other's eyes.
Without any hesitation, the two pushed aside the townspeople blocking their way and rushed forward.
What do you want?!
Before Zhao Yan could even get close, Han Fei instantly blocked their way.
Circle immediately sprang up from the ground, shaking his head and throwing punches left and right in place.
"That's right! Don't come any closer!"
"Dare to touch us, and I'll turn you into flat, paper-thin figures!"
Circle roared, looking both cute and fierce.
Zhao Yan and Shadow, who were forbidden from entering Central Forest Garden, were already seething with anger, and now they were even more determined not to back down.
"That's a question we should be asking you!"
Zhao Yan's muscles tensed. "Those are members of our China Iron Wall Squad!"
"What did you do to him to make him look like this?!"
Shadow was even more direct, drawing the S-class Shadow Dagger she had exchanged, ready to fight at any moment!
However...
She reached for her waist, but...
It's completely empty!
The Shadow looked up in surprise, only to find its own dagger.
Unbeknownst to them, it was already lying on the fingertips of the woman in the stockings.
She was turning it around casually.
"Stop putting on airs in front of this ruthless bandit."
Han Fei stopped spinning the dagger and let out a cold laugh.
"How can you prove you're this guy's teammates?"
"Relying on being loud?"
Upon hearing the words "This ruthless bandit," coupled with the black stockings and hood, one's sense of dread is palpable.
Zhao Yan and Shadow's pupils contracted sharply.
"Stockings... a ruthless bandit?!"
The two stared at the strange expression on each other's faces.
The image of that ruthless individual Flash in the Pan briefly shone on the [Novice Rankings] in the Sky Curtain flashed through my mind.
The base initially believed she had long since died on the Weird Island.
To my surprise, we ended up meeting in Soul Return Town!
Seeing the shocked expressions on their faces, Han Fei raised an eyebrow smugly.
"What? Feeling guilty? If you know what's good for you, get lost, or I'll unleash my Circle and bite you to death!"
"Yes! I'll bite you to death, Circle!"
The Circle was on all fours, panting.
But as soon as it finished breathing on itself, it suddenly realized a problem.
With a dazed look, she asked Han Fei, "Stocking Sister... Circle don't have mouths or teeth, how do they bite them to death?"
Han Fei was taken aback by this sudden, hard-hitting question. She rubbed her chin and began to think about it seriously.
"Hmm... uh... well, let me think about it first."
Just then...
Tu Xiaowu, who had been hiding in the back, seemed to suddenly remember something.
She asked tentatively.
"This... this grandfather covered in mud, you... you must be Zhao Yan, right?"
Zhao Yan was taken aback after hearing this, and looked at the rabbit-eared girl warily. "You know me? You're very familiar with that brat?"
Tu Xiaowu nodded vigorously, her eyes slightly red. "I remember Si Rui mentioning you to me."
"I am Si Rui's wife... Tu Xiaowu."
"Wife?!"
Upon hearing Shadow, Shadow was so shocked that he forgot all about having his dagger snatched away.
"Wait! That tombstone in the mass grave outside Soul Return Town... did you erect it?"
Tu Xiaowu nodded, and then she recounted how Tang Sirui was murdered and how her identity was stolen.
He explained it to Zhao Yan and Shadow in detail.
After listening to Tu Xiaowu's account.
It wasn't until this moment that Zhao Yan and Shadow finally realized the truth!
It turns out that the [Tang Sirui] they had dinner with before was a complete fake!
No wonder he not only didn't bring a bamboo stick, but even his Arsenal Ring was missing!
At the time, they thought it was lost, but now that they think about it, there are just too many suspicious points!
The Tang Sirui in front of us, covered in mud, had become a walking corpse.
But the blind man's bamboo cane and the spatial ring on his hand were both intact.
Anyone can tell who's real and who's fake!
"Damn it, it must be the Desolate God Society!"
Zhao Yan clenched his fists in anger, "Only they have the means to withstand Elder Yue Tian's interrogation!"
Han Fei and Circle, who were standing to the side, were completely confused and had no idea about the intricacies of the situation.
"Who are these two? Aren't they going to fight anymore?"
Han Fei tossed the dagger back to Shadow and asked in confusion.
Tu Xiaowu quickly tried to smooth things over. "We're all Si Rui's friends, so let's not stand on the street."
"The groom's sedan chair has already gone to Central Forest Garden. Let's go back to my father's shop first."
"Otherwise the food will get cold. Let's eat and chat later."
Although everyone had their own thoughts, they had no other choice at the moment, so they agreed.
Afterwards, Zhao Yan and Shadow followed Tu Xiaowu and the others, their hearts heavy as they walked towards Tu's Rabbit Meat.
At the same time.
Soul Return Town, [Central Forest Garden].
Unlike the bustling atmosphere of the outer city, this place is practically a luxurious palace complex.
Pavilions and towers, with carved beams and painted rafters.
The courtyard was filled with red flowers and plants that emitted a strange fragrance, and towering ancient trees provided shade.
Amidst the artificial hills and flowing water, faint celestial music echoes.
This place can be considered the true palace of Soul Return Town, and also the private domain of the Phoenix Emperor.
Three large red sedan chairs, surrounded by a group of ghost messengers, stopped in front of the vermilion gate of Central Forest Garden.
In the corner outside the elevator car.
Guo Shuai was secretly delighted.
Hehe! Family, does anyone know?
"Today, I Guo Shuai, can finally be considered a superior person!"
"I never expected TFboys' privileges to be so useful. Next time I play a game, I want to be the latrine cleaner again!"
Just as he was so pleased with himself that snot bubbles were about to come out of his nose.
The townsman who brought him in pinched his nose and walked over, pointing disdainfully to the corner of the wall.
"Hey, new sanitation worker! Stop grinning like an idiot!"
"The septic tank is full for tonight. Hurry up and go to the storeroom and empty those two smelliest buckets into the septic tank outside town!"
As he spoke, the butler kicked two huge wooden barrels in front of Guo Shuai.
"Vomit!"
Guo Shuai only took one sniff of the aroma, which had been fermenting for who knows how many years.
I almost threw up yesterday's New Year's Eve dinner!
Suddenly, he felt an intense urge to retract his boastful declaration, "I'll do it again next time!"
But there's no way around it; I drew the lots myself, so I have to finish them even if it's tough.
Consider it a preview of the internal routes of Central Forest Garden for the boss.
Guo Shuai suppressed his nausea, pinched his nose, and said goodbye to Jiangnan in the sedan chair.
Then, with a pained expression, he hobbled over, carrying the two heavy chamber pots, each weighing over a hundred pounds, and staggered toward the backyard.
After Guo Shuai walked away...
The wedding procession leader then walked to the three bridal sedan chairs and bowed respectfully.
"Please wait a moment, gentlemen."
"I'll go in and report to Phoenix Emperor right away."
"Next, Phoenix Emperor will conduct one-on-one interviews with each of you in the main hall of this Central Forest Garden..."
After saying that, the butler backed out and walked through the gate.
Inside the second bridal sedan chair.
After being in a deep coma for Muraguchi Nissuu was finally awakened by Corporal Morishita pinching his Corporal Morishita the Shadow.
"My lord! My lord, wake up!"
"We've arrived at Central Forest Garden, and we'll be meeting the Phoenix Emperor soon!"
Upon hearing the word "Phoenix Emperor," the Muraguchi Nissuu suddenly shuddered.
He forcibly banished the unbearable images of his wife and father from his mind.
I took a deep breath and perked up.
Yoshi!
At the Muraguchi Nissuu tidied up his samurai kimono.
"Morishita- kun, don't worry!"
"I will definitely use the spirit of the warriors of our Great Sakura Empire to completely move that Phoenix Emperor Lord!"
Even if... this method doesn't work.
"I have other ways, I'll use any means necessary to win this selection!"
Corporal Morishita was moved to tears in the Shadow.
"Sir, may your martial arts prowess be ever-improving!"
"In order not to hold you back, I will go and secretly gather intelligence on Soul Return Town."
"Go."
The Muraguchi Nissuu is accurate.
Indeed, if the Phoenix Emperor discovers that there is an outsider hiding in the sedan chair, the passenger may be disqualified.
Meanwhile, inside the third sedan chair—the one that had brought them back from the Deep Pool Fortress.
[Heavenblade Dragon King] sat upright, but his gray vertical pupils were full of impatience and anxiety.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his palms.
"There's no time left..."
"The seal on the imperial tomb is loosening."
"We must report to Phoenix Emperor as soon as possible!"
"Otherwise..."
"Not only this island, but the entire Barbaric Realm, and indeed all living beings, will face annihilation!"
Just when he was extremely anxious...
Suddenly!
The Heavenblade Dragon King's body trembled!
"Strangeness..."
He suddenly turned his head and looked at the first bridal sedan chair parked at the very front.
"Why... the bloodline within me that has been dormant for countless years?"
"I'm actually feeling an uncontrollable excitement and trembling right now?!"
"Could it be... that someone from my clan is sitting in that sedan chair?!"
In an instant, two beams of light burst forth from the Heavenblade Dragon King's gray pupils!
His gaze instantly pierced through the red curtain of the first bridal sedan chair, reaching straight inside.
Inside the elevator car.
He saw a handsome, black-haired human dressed in a dark flying fish robe, leaning lazily against the sedan chair.
A Memo Paper was covering his face, and he seemed to be resting with his eyes closed.
The Heavenblade Dragon King looked at the face that was mostly covered by Memo Paper, and his brows furrowed deeper and deeper.
"This human... why does he look so familiar?"
He stared intently at Jiangnan for a full three seconds before finally shaking his head.
"Never mind..."
"They were probably just companions of those two human servants from earlier."
"It's just that my senses were misled by the curse."
The Heavenblade Dragon King withdrew his gaze, suppressing the tremor in his heart, and continued to anxiously await the summons.
Soon, the long ten-minute wait was over.
"Squeak!"
The vermilion gate of Central Forest Garden opened.
Two maids dressed in emerald green ancient-style silk skirts came out from inside.
"Lord Phoenix Emperor has an order."
Two maids stood on the steps.
"The master said, 'The journey is long, so all who come are guests.'"
"To demonstrate the hospitality of Soul Return Town, today's interviews will be conducted in the [reverse order] of the wedding procession's return!"
The two maids gave a slight curtsy, while simultaneously turning their gaze to the last bridal sedan chair.
"Please welcome the groom candidate returning from Deep Pool Fortress..."
"Enter the campus for an interview!"