The Master and Disciple Duo Who Secretly Hid

That night, Su Yan followed Bibi Dong into the luxurious suite provided by Martial Soul Hall.

Bibi Dong slept in the big bed, while he sat cross-legged on the sofa, cultivating.

He was only one step away from reaching the next ten levels, with hopes of breaking through tonight.

The room was pitch black, save for the ripples of firelight around Su Yan.

A black shadow flashed past the window, nimbly climbing in and glancing around. After confirming it was safe, it crept stealthily toward Su Yan.

The shadow stopped a single step away from Su Yan, pulled a black cloth sack from behind its back, measured it against Su Yan's head, then lunged forward and stuffed him inside the bag.

"Who is it, who's there!" Su Yan jolted awake, struggling wildly.

But the sack's quality was excellent—even with his Fire Wolf spirit attached, he couldn't tear it, break it, or burn through it.

He strained his throat and shouted, "Master, help!"

"Little Yan!" Bibi Dong's voice rang out sharply. "Who are you? Put down my disciple."

Hearing his master's voice nearby lifted his spirits: "Master, I'm here!"

"Hehehe, quiet down."

Thump!

The moment the words fell, a muffled blow landed on Su Yan's head through the sack.

Su Yan's eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

He didn't know how long it had been when he groggily regained consciousness, still trapped inside the cloth sack.

Outside, there was already some commotion—footsteps coming and going.

"Have you found the Holy Maiden?"

"No."

"And Su Yan?"

"No, either."

"Hurry, send more men. Search every corner of Martial Soul Hall—no, of Notting City itself—inside and out. We must find the Holy Maiden and Su Yan's whereabouts."

Su Yan desperately wanted to tell them he was right nearby, but his mouth felt sealed, unable to make a single sound.

He stretched out his hands and touched two hard objects; when he spread his legs, he also stepped on two hard objects.

Was he locked inside a cage?

Su Yan calmed his mind and thought about who could have kidnapped him.

Six years—he'd lived quietly in Holy Soul Village for six years, awakened his spirit, and come to Martial Soul Hall. The only thing special about him was his master.

Maybe someone wanted to harm his master and was using him as a target.

After all, as the Holy Maiden of Martial Soul Hall, she was always guarded by Titled Douluo-level experts, even alert late into the night. No outsider could get close.

Always alert.

Su Yan's tense nerves suddenly relaxed. He raised his hand and pushed hard against the hard objects on either side.

His hoarse voice managed to force out two words: "Master."

"Hehehe, what master? Your master shook us off long ago."

"Cough, cough." Su Yan cleared his throat. "Master, I touched your spider legs."

"Damn, I forgot to put them away." Bibi Dong muttered quietly, then quickly covered her own mouth.

Damn it, she forgot to disguise her voice—completely exposed.

With no other choice, she simply untied the sack.

Su Yan poked his head out, took a deep breath of fresh air, and sighed in relief.

He found his master holding the sack, crouched on a tree branch. The dense leaves blocked all the light around them.

"Master, what kind of training is this? So spur-of-the-moment?"

Bibi Dong suddenly reached out and pressed Su Yan's mouth shut, pinning him between herself and the tree trunk. Her eight spider legs hooked onto the surrounding branches, hiding their forms.

The two pressed tightly together, barely a fist's distance between their heads.

By the faintest moonlight, Su Yan could almost make out the delicate shimmer of Bibi Dong's long eyelashes.

The scent of mimosa lingered at the tip of his nose, and his cheeks burned hot.

"Any findings on your side?"

"No. You?"

"No either. Report to Lord Blood Thorn immediately—the Holy Maiden and her disciple have both gone missing."

Tap tap tap, tap tap tap.

Only after the people below had walked far away did Bibi Dong release Su Yan's mouth. She pressed her pale index finger to her crimson lips: "Shh—"

Su Yan nodded.

He also realized things weren't simple. Grabbing the branches on either side to conceal himself, he asked softly, "Master, why are we hiding?"

"They're not good people." Bibi Dong curled her lip, crouching nearby and pulling branches over herself as well.

Su Yan cautiously poked his head out and saw people in Martial Soul Hall uniforms coming and going in the distance. Among them was the benefactor who had awakened his spirit, Blind Douluo Su Yuntao.

"Master, they all seem to be from Martial Soul Hall," Su Yan said.

"They're bad people who've come to tear our master-disciple bond apart," Bibi Dong said. "If I'm caught, it's no big deal—at worst, they'll confine me because of my status as Saintess. But you're different."

Bibi Dong turned her head to stare at Su Yan, a terrifying smile curling at the corners of her mouth. "You have no power or influence. If they catch you, they'll pressure you, whip you, torture you, break your will, ravage your body, lock you in a dark little room full of cockroaches, make you wish you could live but can't, wish you could die but can't, and finally..."

"Master, stop, please stop." Su Yan covered his ears, shivering all over, his legs nearly giving out. "Let's run. Where do we run?"

"Wait here for now." Bibi Dong found a sturdy branch, sat down, and leaned against the tree trunk. "When they can't find us inside Martial Soul Hall, they'll naturally go search outside. Then we'll sneak into the woods, and they won't be able to catch us."

"Makes sense, makes sense." Su Yan imitated Bibi Dong's posture and leaned against the trunk.

Quite comfortable.

"Su Yan?"

A child's young voice suddenly sounded from under the tree, startling Su Yan so much he fell from the branch.

"It really is you. What are you doing up a tree in the middle of the night?" Tang Chi asked.

Su Yan scrambled up from the ground, saw no one was paying attention, and breathed a sigh of relief. "You scared me to death. I was about to ask you what you're doing here."

"I came out to use the bathroom. The temporary lodging doesn't have one." Tang Chi looked up curiously, then suddenly dropped to his knees and shouted, "Saintess!"

That shout—not too loud, not too soft.

In the pitch-black night, it was especially conspicuous.

Bibi Dong flashed behind Tang Chi and knocked him out with a single chop to the neck, but it was too late.

Dense footsteps drew closer, and shouts rose one after another in the distance.

"Over there!"

"We found the Saintess!"

"Hurry and notify Blood Thorn!"

Eight spider legs extended from Bibi Dong's back. She tossed Su Yan onto it and prepared to flee.

Su Yan quickly said, "Master, what if Tang Chi gets caught?"

"No time. Bring him." As she spoke, Bibi Dong used two of her spider legs to hang Tang Chi on her back as well, and in a few bounds, she vanished from sight.

"Saintess! Saintess! Don't run!"

"Everyone, hurry up! The Saintess has already disappeared!"

"Send word to Blood Thorn immediately—the Saintess has taken on another disciple!"

Meanwhile, in the main hall of Martial Soul Hall, Yue Guan was rarely without his chrysanthemum in hand. Instead, he stood with arms crossed, glaring at the handsome-featured man before him. "Blood Thorn, why is it you who came? Where is the Hall Master?"

"The Hall Master's title conferment ceremony hasn't ended yet. He sent me ahead to pick up my fiancée and return to the Main Martial Soul Hall. Is there a problem?"

"Hmph." Yue Guan snorted coldly. "The Pope never agreed to this. And the Saintess certainly won't consent either."

"The Pope didn't oppose it, and the Saintess won't object either." Blood Thorn smirked crookedly, staring at Yue Guan with provocation. "Once I marry the Saintess, the first thing I'll do is kick you out of Martial Soul Hall. A street performer—you disgrace this place!"

"You ugly freak!" Yue Guan held the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, nine spirit rings circling his body.

Blood Thorn's entire body swelled, spikes protruding from every part of him, and nine spirit rings slowly rose around him as well.