The Person at the Street Corner

He folded the deployment map back into its original shape and slipped it into the hidden compartment, then used Soul Power to smooth every crease on the bookshelf, even adjusting the candle flame to exactly the height it had been before.

As he passed through the Nine-Bend Corridor, Shen Lian's footsteps were so light they were nearly soundless.

Zhu Zhuqing's courtyard lay shrouded in silence. Only the tuberose by the wall was in full bloom, its rich fragrance faintly tinged with the smell of blood.

Pushing open the half-closed carved door, Shen Lian saw Zhu Zhuqing leaning against the stone table.

She had changed out of her damaged black clothes. Her plain white inner robe made her face look even paler, and her left arm was crudely wrapped in strips of cloth, blood seeping through and staining them dark red.

At the sight of Shen Lian, she abruptly rose to her feet, but the sudden movement pulled at her wound, making her suck in a sharp breath.

"Did you get it?"

Shen Lian removed his hood, revealing bangs soaked with sweat, and nodded solemnly.

"I got it. Let's go."

Shen Lian reached out, removed his outer robe, and wrapped Zhu Zhuqing in his arms.

Soul Power circulated around them, forming an invisible barrier that concealed both of their auras.

The two crept along the drainage channel on the western side of the Zhu Mansion, rotten leaves giving off faint rustling sounds beneath their feet.

Zhu Zhuqing suddenly tugged on Shen Lian's sleeve, signaling for him to stay quiet.

Footsteps came from the path above. Two patrolling guards were speaking in low voices.

"The Second Miss really caused quite a commotion this time. The family head was furious..."

Before the man could finish, Shen Lian had already covered Zhu Zhuqing's mouth and pulled her tightly against the damp stone wall.

The girl's warm breath passed through his palm, inexplicably quickening his heartbeat.

At last, when the two climbed over the high walls of the Zhu Mansion and the lights of Star Luo City's night market spread out before them, Zhu Zhuqing collapsed to the ground in relief.

Shen Lian looked at the still-shaken girl in his arms, his fingertips unconsciously brushing over the claw marks behind her ear.

The sound of the night watch drifted over from afar. It was already the fourth watch, and this thrilling operation to steal the map had finally come to a successful end.

The night was as dark as ink, and Shen Lian and Zhu Zhuqing's figures soon disappeared down the long, silent street outside the Zhu Mansion.

The lights lining the street went out one after another, leaving only a few scattered glimmers swaying unsteadily in the cold wind, as though darkness might swallow them at any moment.

Yet beneath this seemingly peaceful night, an unseen gaze was quietly watching.

When Shen Lian and Zhu Zhuqing's backs completely vanished around the street corner, a dark figure emerged from the shadows like Gui Mei.

This person was none other than Zhu Zhuqing's father—Zhu Lingtian.

He wore a black brocade robe, the Hell Spirit Cat totem embroidered in dark thread along its hem appearing and vanishing in the faint light. He radiated an imposing aura without anger, and though the pressure of an eighty-ninth-level Soul Douluo was deliberately restrained, it still stirred faint ripples in the air.

In truth, Zhu Lingtian had noticed them the moment Shen Lian and Zhu Zhuqing stepped through the gates of the Zhu Mansion.

With the impenetrable net he had set throughout the Zhu Mansion, no disturbance could escape his senses.

Yet he had remained still from beginning to end, never exposing their actions.

It was not because he had been careless, but because of the most complicated emotions buried deep within a father's heart.

Zhu Lingtian stood atop one of the Zhu Mansion's towers, his gaze passing over layer upon layer of rooftops toward the direction Shen Lian and Zhu Zhuqing had gone. His eyes were filled with conflict and struggle.

The cruelty of the Star Luo Empire's struggle for the throne hung over Zhu Lingtian's head like a sharp blade, constantly reminding him of reality's coldness.

In this world where the strong preyed upon the weak, members of the imperial family would stop at nothing for the throne. Siblings slaughtering one another and blood relatives fighting to the death were tragedies seen all too often.

In Zhu Lingtian's eyes, Zhu Zhuqing and Dai Mubai, as participants in the battle for the throne, were almost certainly doomed to die.

That was why he had not dared to give Zhu Zhuqing too much love. Even in daily life, his attitude toward her had seemed cold and distant.

He was afraid—afraid that if he poured too much emotion into her, then when that cruel ending arrived, he would be unable to bear the pain of losing his daughter.

That heart-wrenching pain was enough to send chills through the heart of even this iron-blooded man just by imagining it.

But Shen Lian and Zhu Zhuqing's arrival had brought Zhu Lingtian a sliver of new hope.

On his own territory, relying on his powerful spiritual power, Zhu Lingtian had thoroughly investigated Shen Lian's circumstances despite never facing him directly.

When he learned that Shen Lian had reached the Soul Emperor realm at only fifteen years old, Zhu Lingtian's pupils contracted slightly.

In this era overflowing with geniuses, a fifteen-year-old Soul Emperor was undoubtedly a monstrous existence.

He could not help but begin to imagine that perhaps, with Shen Lian by Zhu Zhuqing's side, his daughter might truly be able to survive the brutal struggle for the throne.

At that thought, Zhu Lingtian's clenched fist gradually loosened, and he silently made up his mind.

Looking in the direction Shen Lian and Zhu Zhuqing had left, Zhu Lingtian let out a soft sigh and murmured to himself.

"Qing'er, I hope you can live well..."

Afterward, he turned and vanished into the night as though he had never appeared.

As for what Shen Lian had done in his study, Zhu Lingtian never suspected that it involved important classified documents such as the military deployment map.

In his view, the two young people had merely taken a few treasures or other insignificant items.

And compared with his daughter's safety, what did such things amount to?

As long as it could give Zhu Zhuqing a chance to live, he believed any loss was worth it.

The night was as dark as ink as Shen Lian and Zhu Zhuqing raced through Star Luo City, speeding along its stone-paved streets. The dust they kicked up quickly concealed their tracks.

The biting cold wind slashed across their faces like knives, yet it did nothing to slow their escape.

Only when the first pale light of dawn appeared on the horizon and the walls of the Star Luo Empire became a blurry black shadow in the distance did the two finally slow down.

After several more days and nights of relentless travel, they finally reached a small village outside the Star Dou Great Forest.

Hidden among towering mountains, the village was like a forgotten paradise. Thin smoke rose from the low thatched roofs, intertwining with the morning mist and draping the village in a hazy veil.

The old locust tree at the village entrance hung with mottled branches, as though recounting the hardships of the years.

Shen Lian had chosen to settle here because of the promise he had made Zhu Zhuqing before: once he obtained the Star Luo Empire's military deployment map, he would teach her how to cultivate.

At that moment, Shen Lian stood outside a crude wooden house, watching Zhu Zhuqing organize her belongings inside, but a bitter smile rose in his heart.

What the hell did he know about cultivation methods? He had only relied on his exceptional talent and the Destruction God Trial.

Teach her cultivation? What could I possibly teach her?

Shen Lian frowned as he pondered this. Suddenly, his gaze fell on the Storage Soul Tool hanging at his waist, and a sly glint flashed in his eyes.

Inside his Storage Soul Tool, he had stored many rare treasures: several precious Spirit Bones acquired from various places, each emitting a faint glow and containing immense energy;

Immortal Herbs obtained from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, as well as Whale Rubber, which could strengthen one's physique after consumption and allow a person to absorb Spirit Rings beyond their level.