Caught in the Trap

Xue Ye froze at that, glanced at the wineglass beside him, and furrowed his brow. Then he picked it up with a smile.

"Haha, then I'll have a drink with you!"

Clink!

Their glasses touched, and they drank at the same time. Chen Qi watched Xue Ye as he drank. Seeing nothing amiss, he shifted his gaze away.

"Chen Qi, why won't you let me eat?"

Chen Qi looked at the aggrieved Qian Renxue beside him and nodded.

"It's fine now. Go ahead and eat."

Chen Qi was acting so strangely that Qian Renxue almost thought he'd been possessed. Why was he being so weird?

He said he was socially awkward, yet he'd taken the initiative to offer a toast. She really couldn't make sense of him.

The banquet went on peacefully for ten minutes. Everyone stayed silent, quietly eating the food in their bowls.

Especially Qian Renxue, the little glutton. She'd eaten a tenth of the food. Anyone who didn't know they were at a banquet might've thought she'd come to an all-you-can-eat buffet.

When enough time had passed, Great Emperor Xue Ye picked up his glass and looked at Qian Renxue.

"My guest, I'll personally offer you a toast."

Qian Renxue nodded. She picked up her glass and was just about to clink it against his when Chen Qi stopped her.

"Wait, Your Majesty. Miss Qian Xue is still young. Drinking is bad for her health."

"Chen Qi, what are you talking about? I drink at home every day—mmph..."

Chen Qi covered Qian Renxue's mouth and looked at Xue Ye.

Xue Ye froze. Chen Qi's words left him speechless. If he still forced Qian Renxue to drink,

wouldn't that ruin the image he'd worked so hard to build?

He set down his glass and forced a smile.

"Mm, I didn't consider that carefully. Then let's use tea instead of wine."

Xue Ye changed the wine to tea. This time, Chen Qi had no grounds to object.

All he could do was watch Qian Renxue drink the tea, unable to do anything.

After Qian Renxue drank it, Xue Ye smiled mysteriously and said to her,

"We've eaten and had tea. It's time to discuss matters with me."

Qian Renxue pursed her lips. The tea was actually quite good, sweet and not bitter at all.

Hearing Xue Ye, she couldn't help feeling curious. What did he want to discuss?

"Go on, what is it?"

"Your Soul Ring age, of course. I'm sure you know that my Heaven Dou Empire has long been held back by the Star Luo Empire. That has kept me from realizing my grand ambitions. If your method of increasing Soul Ring age were used on our soldiers, the strength of the entire army would take a great leap forward. Then the Heaven Dou Empire could surely unite the world."

After all those words, Xue Ye was simply telling Qian Renxue to hand over her method of increasing Soul Ring age and help him unite the world!

No matter how immature Qian Renxue was, she could still see what Xue Ye was after.

"If you were giving me something, I might agree. But the Soul Ring matter is off-limits. I won't tell anyone, no matter who they are."

Qian Renxue's answer was firm. This involved Chen Qi. She shed the weak-girl image she'd had just moments ago, becoming mature and decisive.

Xue Ye shook his head. He'd expected Qian Renxue to say that. He waved his hand, and a group of soldiers in armor rushed in.

"Since you refuse to cooperate, don't blame me for showing no mercy."

Seeing Xue Ye resort to force, Qian Renxue wasn't about to be intimidated. She immediately tried to use her Soul Power to break out.

But when she tried to summon it, she found that the Soul Power inside her seemed to have vanished. No matter how hard she tried to sense it, she couldn't feel a thing.

"What happened? Where did my Soul Power go?"

Seeing Qian Renxue in such a predicament, Xue Ye smiled.

"Do you still not understand? I drugged that tea. The drug temporarily sealed your Soul Power."

No wonder the tea had tasted strange. He'd drugged it! Xue Ye was a truly unscrupulous old fox!

Chen Qi also felt his connection with Qian Renxue sever. He could no longer sense her presence. His mind went blank, and the world before his eyes sank into darkness.

He had no idea what happened next.

When light returned to his vision, he was in an unfamiliar room.

Cold iron bars stood before him. Chains bound his hands and feet, making it extremely difficult to move.

Chen Qi realized he'd been thrown in jail.

He took a deep breath and swept away his nerves in a few seconds. Then he decided to have a little fun with Xue Ye.

"Hey, kid, you're finally awake. You don't look like someone who's committed a heinous crime. How'd you end up in here?"

On the other side of the cell, a barefoot old man with a scraggly beard lay on a straw mat, picking his nose as he asked Chen Qi.

"I don't know what happened. I passed out, and when I came to, I was here."

The old man chuckled at that and sat up.

"So you were framed. That's rotten luck. Hey, young fellow, want to break out with me?"

As he spoke, he deliberately lifted the poster on the wall. Behind it was a bottomless hole.

The scene reminded Chen Qi of all those prison-break movies: using a pinup poster as cover while secretly digging through the wall. A timeless classic.

In the interrogation room above the cell, on the ground floor, Qian Renxue was tied tightly to a chair, looking thoroughly miserable.

A young man in royal dress swaggered in. Seeing Qian Renxue's condition, he couldn't hold back his laughter.

"Haha, isn't this Miss Xiao Xue, the sensation at the Great Soul Arena lately? How'd you end up like this?"

The newcomer was none other than the original Xue Qinghe, the person Qian Renxue had replaced.

Qian Renxue glared at the gloating Xue Qinghe, furious enough to want to kill the little bastard she'd never met before, who'd mocked her the moment they met.

"Ah! Just wait until my Soul Power comes back. I'll kick your ass!"

"Come on! Kick me! I'll stick my butt out and pull down my pants so you can kick me!"

Xue Qinghe wasn't scared of Qian Renxue in her current state. She could barely keep herself out of trouble, and she was still trying to scare other people? Give him a break.

"Qinghe, mind your manners!"

Xue Ye strode in and addressed Xue Qinghe.

Seeing his father arrive, Xue Qinghe immediately behaved himself. He didn't dare make trouble again. After saluting, he left.

Xue Ye looked at Qian Renxue and spoke calmly.

"Are you willing to tell me your secret now?"

Qian Renxue ignored him and asked urgently,

"Where did you take Chen Qi?"

"Is he that important to you?"

"Very important!"

Xue Ye waved his hand, unconcerned.

"He's dead."

In Heaven Dou City, Pufferfish Douluo and Snake Lance Douluo were mixed in with Qian Renxue's fans, inching forward through the crowd.

"Hey, Pufferfish, why aren't we flying with our Soul Power?"

Hearing Snake Lance's question, Pufferfish Douluo finally caught on.

Right! They were Titled Douluos. Why were they pushing through the crowd like ordinary people?

Had that dumbass author flushed their IQs down the sewer just to make the plot work?

The two finally had a clever thought and used their Soul Power to quickly escape the packed crowd.

"Snake Lance? Pufferfish? What are you doing here?"

In the open space, Snake Lance Douluo and Pufferfish Douluo hadn't even had a chance to enjoy the peace and quiet before a familiar voice interrupted them.