Bibi Dong thought for a moment, then remembered that she had an identity token in her purse.
"There's an identity token in my purse. Let me go, and I'll show it to you."
"Your purse? The one hanging at your waist? I see."
Tang Fan walked over to Bibi Dong and took the purse right off her.
On Douluo Continent, in Spirit City, the people sent to find Bibi Dong had returned.
"Reporting to His Holiness the Pope, Her Highness the Saintess is indeed not in her room."
"Understood. You may leave."
"Yes!"
Yue Guan spoke up again. "Your Holiness, that person has shown such disrespect to Her Highness the Saintess. He must be severely punished!"
"Oh? Then go find him. I'll credit you with a great merit."
"This..."
Gui Mei tugged at Yue Guan, signaling that he should keep quiet.
Holding Bibi Dong's purse, Tang Fan said, "I knew someone from a family like yours would have something prepared. So it was in here. You should've said so sooner. You've wasted my time."
Tang Fan tried to open the purse, but found that he couldn't.
"That's a Space Soul Tool. It can only be opened with Soul Power."
"What Space Soul Tool? Don't be ridiculous. Is there some hidden lock or something..."
As he spoke, Tang Fan turned the purse upside down and shook it.
The next second, he was dumbfounded. A clatter rang out as a small pile of things spilled onto the floor. There was clearly no way such a small purse could hold all of them.
Among the pile, Tang Fan even spotted a few small pieces of cloth.
"Ah! You bastard! Why did you dump out all my things?"
Tang Fan ignored Bibi Dong. He forced himself to calm down, then picked up her identity token and the Gold Soul Coins scattered across the floor.
Judging by their color, the Gold Soul Coins looked like real gold. They'd be worth a lot on Blue Star.
"You really are Bibi Dong, the Saintess of Spirit Hall and Qian Xunji's disciple?"
"That's right. You finally believe me! Now let me go!"
"Mm, I believe you. But have you figured out what's going on?"
Tang Fan looked at Bibi Dong with a very complicated expression.
"What's that look for? What do you mean, 'what's going on'? You're the one who tied me up, aren't you? Let me go, and I can let bygones be bygones."
Tang Fan said nothing. Instead, he went to the window. The curtains hadn't been opened before.
"Hey! Did you hear me? Hurry up and let me go!"
"Once you understand the situation, I'll let you go."
Tang Fan opened the curtains. Sunlight poured into the room. They were on the twenty-eighth floor, and the residential complex was on high ground, so they could look out over nearly half the city.
Not only did Bibi Dong get a clear view of the modern city, but it was also broadcast across Douluo Continent on the sky screen.
The people of Douluo Continent were stunned when they saw the modern city.
Although Douluo Continent was a fantasy world, at its core it was still an ancient society, with very limited productivity.
"Th-that's a city? Those buildings are so tall! And there are so many of them! What are those things running along the ground? Carriages? But why are there no horses?"
The shock was written all over Yue Guan's face. As the Pope, Qian Xunji was much better at keeping his composure.
He wondered whether the place shown on the sky screen could be the Divine Realm. If Tang Fan was one of the gods in the Divine Realm, it would make sense that he could easily subdue his disciple, Bibi Dong.
At the Worship Hall, Golden Crocodile Douluo and several of the other enshrined elders shared Qian Xunji's thoughts.
"Elder Brother, could the place on the sky screen be the Divine Realm? How did that girl Bibi Dong get there?"
Qian Daoliu shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen what the Divine Realm looks like either, but it probably isn't. That young man doesn't have the bearing of a god."
At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi sighed as well. "There shouldn't be a single city on Douluo Continent as prosperous as the one on the sky screen.
"What place is the sky screen showing? And what is its purpose? Is this a blessing or a calamity for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
Ning Fengzhi's face was full of confusion and worry.
On Sea God Island, Bo Saixi was just as puzzled. She didn't know whether the place on the sky screen was the Divine Realm either, and planned to pray to the Sea God and ask later.
At Tang Fan's home, Bibi Dong finally came around from her initial shock.
"Th-this... where exactly is this place?"
"This is Blue Star. There's no Soul Power or Martial Souls here, only technology that has developed over time.
"And your world, Douluo Continent, is just a novel to us.
"You, Bibi Dong, are also a character in that novel-a controversial and rather tragic villain."
"A novel? A villain? H-how could I be a villain? I'm the Saintess of Spirit Hall!
"Wait, didn't you say earlier that my teacher did that to me? Was that true?"
"It was. Just trust what I'm telling you. I'll untie you now. Don't move around.
"In this world, where there are no Martial Souls or Soul Power, you're just a woman a little stronger than an ordinary person."
"I understand. I won't cause any more trouble."
Only then did Tang Fan untie Bibi Dong.
Just then, a Travel System was activated. All Tang Fan had to do was host Bibi Dong for seven days, and once she returned, he would receive a reward.
"A cheat? Am I a tour guide now? Bibi Dong, did you hear that voice too?"
"How did you know? Was it you? I can go back after seven days?"
"I didn't make it happen. You can go back in seven days. I'll take care of you during that time."
Back on Douluo Continent, Tang Fan's words that the world of Douluo Continent was just a novel caused a huge commotion across the entire continent.
"High Priestess, are we really just characters in a novel?"
The maid beside Bo Saixi couldn't help asking.
"I don't know. My mind is in a mess too. If we're all characters in a story, does that mean our fates have already been set, and we can only follow the paths laid out for us?"
Qian Daoliu thought the same as Bo Saixi, but he was more concerned about Qian Xunji forcing himself on Bibi Dong.
He knew his son well. Although Qian Xunji was somewhat arrogant, he wouldn't stoop to something so vile-unless some great upheaval had taken place.
And Tang Fan had said that Bibi Dong was a villain in the story. What about Spirit Hall?
The villains in stories were bound to be defeated by the protagonists. So who was the protagonist of the story of Douluo Continent? Was Spirit Hall going to be destroyed at that protagonist's hands?
Qian Daoliu was undeniably clever. He'd worked all that out from just a few words.
"Golden Crocodile!"
"Elder Brother, what do you need?"
"Go call Ji'er over."
"Yes!"
In Tang Fan's room, Bibi Dong's mood eased a little once she knew she could return. Then she immediately thought of that matter.
"Um... you..."
"My name's Tang Fan. Just call me by my name."
Tang Fan was looking up travel guides. Since he was going to be a tour guide, he needed to prepare.
"All right, Tang Fan. Can you tell me what happened between my teacher and me... exactly?"
Bibi Dong's question was also what Qian Xunji and Qian Daoliu wanted to know.