Zhou Lechi said in some astonishment, "You really guessed right, junior brother. He really was stalling for time!"
Xu Changxing, however, did not feel particularly pleased with himself.
He kept feeling that Li Hong's reaction was a little too obvious.
Like an actor who had barely rehearsed, he was overdoing it.
Xu Changxing pondered for another moment before shaking his head thoughtfully.
"His reaction was too strong, as though he deliberately wanted me to think I'd guessed everything.
"This reaction should still be a deliberate attempt to stall for time.
"If so, he must have sent out a distress signal long ago.
"Whoever is coming to rescue him probably won't be waiting at the Secret Realm's entrance. They should already have pinpointed his location.
"If that's the case, perhaps we won't have to wait long for the person behind this."
As Xu Changxing spoke, his gaze had already settled on Li Hong.
Li Hong still had his mouth wide open as before, his face filled with terror.
But Xu Changxing keenly noticed that when he voiced his second conjecture, Li Hong could not stop himself from trembling several times.
Zhou Lechi had evidently caught this detail too.
He said in some astonishment, "He really is waiting for someone to rescue him.
"In that case, we can't let him live!"
Li Hong's expression changed drastically. "If you kill me, you'll never find the person behind this!"
Zhou Lechi snorted coldly. "It'll merely be a little more troublesome to find the mastermind.
"I refuse to believe the elders of our Setting Sun Sect can't uncover that mastermind!"
With that, he raised his hand and unleashed a blast of astral wind, attempting to shatter Li Hong's head.
But his astral wind had only flown halfway when a streak of golden light suddenly shattered