This Reward Was Something Else-One Brush and It Went Quiet!

"You're all amazing!"

"Do you really only have three soul rings?"

"How did you cultivate?"

"Can we be friends?"

"Why not stay at the hotel we booked?"

"Will you be coming again tomorrow?"

By the time they met up with Liu Erlong, Ye Lingling had clung to Gu Zhi like a chatterbox. It was quite surprising to see such a beauty trying so hard to please him.

Dugu Yan's occasional remarks, on the other hand, made Gu Zhi feel rather comfortable, like he had met someone on the same wavelength.

"How did one match end up stealing your opponents' hearts?"

Liu Erlong had also guessed Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling's intentions by then. As long as a beauty had inexplicable trust in Gu Zhi and naturally liked him, she was almost certainly someone who could see the comments and had been influenced by them.

"Ahem! These two are Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, friends I just met. You could say we became acquainted through a fight..."

Only in situations like this did Gu Zhi feel awkward, as though his girlfriend had caught him red-handed. But heaven knew, he had not initiated this!

"Sorry, but we need to head back and rest. You two should return as well."

Liu Erlong spoke up to politely refuse Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling's request to accompany them on Gu Zhi's behalf. A movie with five people would be far too crowded.

"That's right. I heard Suotuo City hasn't been very peaceful lately. You'd better be careful."

Gu Zhi secretly gave Liu Erlong a thumbs-up. Meng Yiran had not said a word the entire way and seemed to be on the verge of getting angry.

"Then... all right. Young Master Gu, please be careful on your way..."

With things put that way, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling could not bring themselves to keep pestering them. Fortunately, they had gained quite a lot today; asking for too much would only backfire.

In the end, Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling left with some disappointment. Shui Bing'er and her sister were equally disappointed. Having missed their chance, they could only wait until tomorrow to see whether they could find an opportunity to get acquainted with Gu Zhi.

"Should we head back to rest, or keep looking around?"

Since the Great Soul Arena only allowed one match per day, Gu Zhi had no interest in watching weaklings peck at each other, so he asked Liu Erlong and the others for their opinions.

Before Liu Erlong and Meng Yiran could answer, the three of them saw an armored soldier at the entrance to the Great Soul Arena. He jogged over to them.

"May I ask if you are Young Master Gu Zhi?"

The man had the emblem of the First Prince's Residence tied to his shoulder. He was probably one of Xue Qinghe's men and appeared to have been waiting specifically for Gu Zhi.

"I am Gu Zhi. What can I do for you?"

Strange things happened every year, but this year had an especially large number of them. Gu Zhi recognized the man's origins at once, but he had never interacted with Xue Qinghe, who was impersonated by Qian Renxue. Why would the other party send someone to find him?

"My master wishes to invite Young Master Gu to his residence for a talk. This matter is of great importance, so I hope Young Master Gu will not refuse."

The man spoke and acted politely, though his attitude carried a faint hint of forcefulness. Liu Erlong and Meng Yiran instinctively moved closer to Gu Zhi, afraid that a conflict might break out.

"Since that is the case, all right. Sorry for the trouble, please lead the way."

Gu Zhi did not think much of it. It was not as if Qian Renxue had prepared an ambush of armed men to kill him, right?

Besides, leaving aside how formidable Gu Zhi himself was, Liu Erlong was also at the peak of her strength. Even if Qian Renxue truly wanted to deal with them, it would be no easy task.

What Gu Zhi thought about most was the strange incident the receptionist at the Great Soul Arena had mentioned earlier. It seemed Qian Renxue had been ordered to handle Suotuo City's series of disappearances.

Thinking about it that way, Qian Renxue was most likely seeking his help, though he had no idea why she would turn to Gu Zhi...

"What's going on? Why is Qian Renxue here?"

"Did the guy above not pay attention to the plot? It was mentioned earlier that Qian Renxue came to deal with the disappearance cases!"

"These disappearance cases seem suspicious! I heard some people vanished into thin air! And so far, none of the missing people have been found! No one even knows whether they're alive or dead!"

"Could an Evil Soul Master be behind this? Other than an Evil Soul Master, I can't think of anyone or anything else that would do this!"

"But even if an Evil Soul Master did it, there should be some traces left behind, right? Even if they killed people and burned the bodies, there would definitely be clues!"

"Hard to say! Didn't no one discover that Tang San killed Shi Nian, the leader of Canghui Academy, in the original story? That shows Douluo Continent's criminal investigation methods are pretty mediocre!"

"Come on, man! You're comparing the investigative methods of some no-name academy to Qian Renxue's? In Shi Nian's case, they just didn't want to investigate! Do you really think no one could find a single clue?"

"Anyway, this disappearance case feels extraordinary! Everyone, just be quiet and keep watching!"

The comments erupted into a heated discussion over this. After all, aside from watching matches and beauties, there was not much else to see on Douluo Continent.

Now that such a major incident had occurred, not only the comments, but Gu Zhi's group and all the other beauties following the matter were intrigued!

Meng Yiran and Liu Erlong exchanged a glance, then began relaying the information provided by the comments to Gu Zhi without prior agreement. The two were also learning to think like the comments, drawing Gu Zhi into the incident.

"The disappearance cases... there really was no such part in the original story... Could it truly be the work of an Evil Soul Master?"

Gu Zhi's first thought had also been Evil Soul Masters. He even began wondering whether something had gone wrong in Slaughter City. However, Bibi Dong was keeping watch over Slaughter City, and Tang Chen was stationed there as well. At least before Tang San made his move, things should have remained peaceful...

Even after arriving at the hotel where Qian Renxue was staying, Gu Zhi had not figured anything out. Instead, he noticed someone had been following them all along, foolishly believing they had concealed their tracks well.

Gu Zhi exchanged a calm glance with Liu Erlong. She had noticed the person long ago as well, but since she could not determine their intentions, she had held back.

"Young Master Gu, please proceed to the third floor. His Highness has prepared some humble wine."

After escorting Gu Zhi's group to the hotel's third floor, the soldier withdrew. Though their minds were still occupied by other matters, Gu Zhi and the others had no choice but to take Qian Renxue's invitation seriously.

"Young Master Gu, I have long admired your reputation! Please, take a seat!"

Xue Qinghe was indeed as gentle and refined as described in the original story. Although his appearance was somewhat ordinary, the noble air about him could not be concealed.

"I am honored by Your Highness's invitation! Gu is truly flattered!"

Gu Zhi greeted him together with Meng Yiran. Liu Erlong, given her formidable strength, could act more casually. Then came a round of mutual flattery and meaningless conversation, intended to help both sides grow familiar quickly.

"Your Highness, did you invite me here because of the recent disappearance cases in the city?"

Gu Zhi soon got straight to the point. No one had come here to listen to pointless chatter, so it was better to speed up the formalities.

"To be honest, I truly had no other options, which is why I sought Young Master Gu's help..."

Qian Renxue had wanted to converse with Gu Zhi a little longer, but he was more interested in the disappearance cases. She could only serve the main course first.