Leng Yaozhu had already turned around. Her stunning face was faintly flushed, as if nothing had happened.
Then.
Her gaze fell on Na Nali beside them.
In an instant, her expression turned meaningful.
She looked at Na Nali, then at Luo Yang, her eyes questioning.
Who was this little girl?
Luo Yang came back to himself and smiled faintly. He walked over to Leng Yaozhu and quickly whispered a few words to her, keeping his voice low enough that only the two of them could hear.
Someone from the Holy Spirit Cult?!
Interesting. They actually dared to snatch the disciple I had my eye on.
Leng Yaozhu raised an eyebrow. Her smile remained unchanged, but the look she gave Na Nali shifted in an instant.
It was like a she-dragon sizing up prey that had trespassed into her territory.
Na Nali stiffened all over, every hair on her body standing on end.
This woman... was even scarier than that angel!
Leng Yaozhu had already returned to her usual gentle, elegant manner. She walked up to Na Nali, bent down, and gently patted her head, her smile so tender it seemed it could squeeze water from a stone.
"Hello there."
But Na Nali's fear didn't lessen. It shot straight through the roof!
Because every gentle stroke of that hand carried the faintest pressure of Limit Douluo-level Soul Power, as if silently declaring:
I know who you are.
Don't make a move, or—
Die.
Na Nali stiffly forced out a smile uglier than a crying face, her voice trembling.
"H-hello..."
Leng Yaozhu's smile deepened.
That smile made Na Nali feel as if she had just taken another step closer to death.
Only one thought raged through her mind:
I want to go home! I'm done with this! Qiangu Zhangting, you idiot, you've gotten me killed!!!
Waaah...
Meanwhile, in front of the main entrance to the Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.
Qiangu Zhangting paced back and forth, barely able to contain his excitement.
He had been waiting here for nearly two hours.
At the thought that the little bastard Luo Yang had probably already met a gruesome end at the hands of an Evil Soul Master—torn limb from limb and left without a whole corpse—he could hardly keep himself from laughing aloud.
You dared to snatch my Soul Spirit?
You dared to make me lose face in front of everyone?
This is what you get!
"Good riddance... good riddance... That's what you get for crossing me..."
A cruel smile curled Qiangu Zhangting's lips.
When that bitch Leng Yaozhu found out her disciple was dead, what kind of expression would she make? It would be quite a sight, wouldn't it?
Maybe she'd even cry? That icy woman would probably have a special charm when she cried...
Lost in his pleasant fantasy, the smile on his face grew more and more twisted.
Then he saw something.
A few figures were slowly approaching the Spirit Pagoda.
The figure at the front, dressed in a crimson gown, was Leng Yaozhu.
Beside her was a black-haired, black-eyed youth.
It was Luo Yang!
Qiangu Zhangting's smile froze on his face.
How could this be?!
He widened his eyes and stared at the approaching figure, wondering if he was hallucinating.
How could he still be alive?!
And—
Why was Lady Na Nali there too?!
Qiangu Zhangting spotted the petite figure behind Luo Yang.
Twin tails, a Gothic black dress—it was the hired killer he had paid three hundred Soul Beasts to recruit!
Why was she walking with Luo Yang?!
What in the world had happened?!
Qiangu Zhangting's mind went blank, leaving only a torrent of frenzied questions.
Just then, Luo Yang's gaze landed squarely on him.
Their eyes met.
Luo Yang stopped and tilted his head slightly, looking at Qiangu Zhangting standing before the Spirit Pagoda's entrance.
Then he smiled.
It was a faint, light smile, even "gentle," one might say.
But in Qiangu Zhangting's eyes, that smile clearly spelled out four words:
I know.
I know you did it.
I know you're waiting here for me to die.
I know it all.
Qiangu Zhangting's pupils contracted sharply, and a surge of terror shot from the soles of his feet straight to his scalp!
No way...
He couldn't possibly know...
I left no evidence...
Lady Na Nali couldn't possibly have betrayed me either...
Yet Luo Yang merely smiled like that, glanced at him, then looked away and continued walking as if nothing had happened.
Leng Yaozhu also glanced at Qiangu Zhangting. Her gaze was colder than ice, but she said nothing.
Yuanen Yehui barely even noticed him.
Ye Guyi didn't look at him at all.
Na Nali, on the other hand, glared viciously at Qiangu Zhangting.
You idiot! This is all your fault—I'm stuck in this mess because of you!
Just wait until I escape these people's clutches. You'll get what's coming to you!
The group simply walked past him, entered the Spirit Pagoda, and disappeared beyond the doors.
Qiangu Zhangting was left standing there, frozen in place.
He suddenly realized that his life might be in danger.
Grandpa, save me!!!
On the top floor of the Spirit Pagoda, in Leng Yaozhu's private living quarters.
As soon as they returned to the room, Leng Yaozhu activated every soundproofing and concealment array.
She sat on the sofa, tapping the armrest lightly with her fingers as her gaze swept across Luo Yang, Yuanen Yehui, Ye Guyi, and Na Nali.
At last, her gaze settled on Luo Yang.
"Explain," she said. "What's going on with the Holy Spirit Cult?"
"Aunt Leng, I don't know what those lunatics from the Holy Spirit Cult are after. They even insist on choosing me as their Holy Son." Luo Yang looked utterly innocent.
As the saying went, once you were an Evil Soul Master for a day, you were one for life.
Once you became an Evil Soul Master, there was no turning back.
He really didn't want to be the Holy Son of that damn Holy Spirit Cult.
"But regardless, the Holy Spirit Cult is an organization that won't stop until it gets what it wants. If the cult leader really has chosen you as their Holy Son, they'll stop at nothing to drag you back to the Holy Spirit Cult."
Leng Yaozhu's expression turned grave.
What a mess!!
Luo Yang felt a headache coming on.
Yuanen Yehui secretly giggled beside him.
Though it was certainly a bad thing that the Holy Spirit Cult had set its sights on Luo Yang, his utterly miserable expression was somehow amusing.
"All right. As long as you're in Shrek City, under my watch, those rats from the Holy Spirit Cult who skulk in the shadows won't dare come near." Leng Yaozhu reassured him.
Then she changed the subject and looked toward Na Nali in the corner.
"Besides, the most important thing is figuring out who this person is..."
Na Nali stiffened all over. She had already been trying her best to make herself inconspicuous, but now she felt everyone's eyes converge on her.
Ye Guyi's gaze in particular was like a tangible sword, piercing her until her soul trembled.
"Aunt Leng," Luo Yang drawled, "I suspect this young lady, Na Nali, is none other than the Dark Bell, one of the Holy Spirit Cult's Four Heavenly Kings."
The air froze.
Leng Yaozhu's gaze suddenly sharpened like a blade.
Yuanen Yehui's eyes widened, and she instinctively took a step back.
A faint golden light once again appeared around Ye Guyi as she fixed her icy gaze on Na Nali.
Na Nali: "..."
At that moment, she just wanted to drop dead on the spot.