Saintess Candidate Zhao Xiaoya

"Let go of me!" the girl shouted indignantly.

After pinning her down beside the other two, Gu Rong asked the usual question, like a proper interrogator: "Tell us, why did you ambush us?"

The girl fell silent at once and looked at Gu Rong as if he were an idiot.

"I'm an Evil Soul Master. Isn't ambushing you perfectly normal? You really have to ask?"

Gu Rong tightened his grip, making the girl yelp in pain.

"You don't like being questioned now?"

Another round of wailing followed.

After repeating this a few times, Gu Rong had tormented the girl half to death, and she finally quieted down.

It was the first time Ning Rongrong had seen someone openly call herself an Evil Soul Master, and do it so brazenly, too.

She studied the girl in front of her. She still looked about sixteen...

Huh? Why had she thought "still"?

Whatever. Ning Rongrong didn't dwell on it. She shook her head and heard Ning Fengzhi ask, "Who are you? Do you have any accomplices?"

"Hmph, I won't tell you a single—Aah!"

Gu Rong snuffed out the girl's renewed defiance.

She looked at the three of them, her scalp prickling, and finally relented:

"Before I answer, can I ask you one question first?"

"You're in no position to bargain!" Gu Rong said sternly, preparing to tighten his grip.

"Enough, Uncle Bone. Let her ask," Ning Fengzhi said. The girl looked so aggrieved that he couldn't help thinking of Ning Rongrong looking the same way. He felt a little sorry for her.

The girl looked baffled. "Why did you come to this space? You shouldn't have had the ability to get here. I don't even know how to leave."

"Didn't you invite us in?"

Ning Fengzhi had assumed the stone near the Great Soul Arena was an invitation from them—a provocation. Now, it seemed that might not be the case. Then how had the stone...

"How did I invite you?" The girl looked even more confused.

The stone was still in Ning Fengzhi's hand. He hesitated. Seeing her father hesitate, Ning Rongrong realized something was wrong.

She absolutely couldn't let anything about the stone come to light. It would raise suspicions and ultimately cause Lord Holy God to rewind time!

So she cut in, "All right, you've asked your question. Now tell us who you are."

Gu Rong froze. The girl froze. Ning Fengzhi froze, too.

Ning Fengzhi looked at Rongrong with a measure of approval, but also some unease.

He had nearly revealed information to the enemy—a grave mistake. But hadn't the enemy lured them here with the stone? Could there be more to it?

After thinking it over, Ning Fengzhi decided not to mention the stone for now. Instead, he asked, "Right. Who are you?"

The girl's eyes widened. She clearly didn't accept Ning Rongrong's reasoning.

But with pressure bearing down on her shoulder, she finally spoke. "I'm Zhao Xiaoya, Zhao Asi's... granddaughter, and the last survivor in this space."

When Zhao Xiaoya said "granddaughter," she was obviously reluctant.

They didn't get along? Ning Rongrong wondered. She knew of Zhao Asi. Back on the Soul Fighting Arena, she had been able to hear what was happening outside. Zhao Asi was the Evil Soul Master Soul Douluo.

Huh? So Zhao Asi was dead?

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up. She hurriedly asked, "Your grandfather died?"

Zhao Xiaoya rolled her eyes at Ning Rongrong.

"He died. Happy now?"

Having gotten the answer she wanted, Ning Rongrong nodded with satisfaction.

Good. The biggest threat was gone. No, there wasn't any threat left now.

The Saintess Ritual had probably been disrupted. The one in charge was gone, and so were the Evil Soul Masters. She didn't know what had happened, but this was wonderful.

Seeing that Ning Rongrong seemed fine, Ning Fengzhi continued, "What happened here? Why did they die, and why is there so much Smoke?"

The Smoke hadn't dispersed after Zhao Xiaoya was captured, which made Ning Fengzhi suspicious.

Zhao Xiaoya raised her head, her voice tinged with grievance. "It was my grandfather's Soul Skill. It could fill a certain area with this Smoke, and only designated people weren't affected by it. It was supposed to conceal us, but I don't know why the Smoke touched the Purple Fire and caused an explosion. Everyone except me died, including my grandfather. And even after he died, the Soul Skill didn't end."

"Why didn't you die?" Ning Fengzhi asked.

"How would I know?" The girl spread her hands, looking completely innocent. "Maybe my grandfather had a change of heart and regretted nailing me to the cross?"

"A cross?" Ning Rongrong immediately seized on the key word. Saintess Ritual, cross—it was easy to put those together and get one thing: Saintess candidate.

She stared at Zhao Xiaoya, looking her up and down before saying, "Were you nailed to a cross before?"

"Yeah." The girl gave a small nod. Fortunately, Gu Rong had loosened his hold on her, or she couldn't have even managed that reaction. Her eyes shifted, and she went on, "I think they said I was a Saintess candidate, and that they were going to sacrifice me to the Holy God."

"Sacrifice...?" Ning Rongrong eyed Zhao Xiaoya suspiciously. She had clearly seen Zhao Xiaoya's eyes dart around. It was very suspicious.

The word "sacrifice" also sounded strange to her. During the Saintess Ritual she had experienced, Donald and the others had spoken of "welcoming" someone.

Stranger still, this Saintess candidate openly called herself an Evil Soul Master. Even Tang Twelve didn't do that. As far as Ning Rongrong understood, a Saintess candidate was supposed to be innocent.

Ning Rongrong shook her head. "I don't believe you."

"Oh, why would I lie to you? My grandfather's body is right over there."

Zhao Xiaoya pointed to the corpse that Ning Rongrong and Ning Fengzhi had identified earlier.

"But that doesn't prove anything. We still don't know why you're an Evil Soul Master, or why you attacked us," Ning Fengzhi added.

"This is ridiculous. Everyone keeps asking me the same thing... Ow, I'm sorry! Stop hurting me." Zhao Xiaoya had been about to mock them, but Gu Rong tightened his grip. "I'll tell you. My grandfather was an Evil Soul Master, and of course my father was one too. So naturally, I'm one as well."

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Ning Rongrong interrupted.

"Not that I know of. I don't think so... And even if I did, I didn't manage to kill them." Zhao Xiaoya glanced away and thought for a moment before answering.

Ning Rongrong breathed a sigh of relief, then continued, "Then why did you attack us?"

"When I came to, everyone was dead. After I failed to find a way out, I was about to take care of my grandfather's body—he was still my grandfather by blood, after all—when you came in. Of course I was on guard." Zhao Xiaoya spoke as if it were obvious. "By the way, can you let me take care of my grandfather's body? I'm a good person, you know. I'm sure there's been some misunderstanding between us."

At her words, Ning Rongrong looked at Ning Fengzhi, then at Gu Rong.

They both shook their heads, signaling that she couldn't be trusted, but they could play along and see where it led.

The three of them forced Zhao Xiaoya over to Zhao Asi's body on the ground.

Seeing the once-mighty Soul Douluo fallen, Ning Rongrong felt something she couldn't quite describe.

From Zhao Xiaoya's account, it sounded like an accident, but there were too many suspicious details.

Ning Rongrong had a faint feeling that something was wrong.

The most important clue was that Zhao Asi was far too poor.

Donald, at least, had a Holy Spirit Scroll and a Holy Spirit Pill...