The Person Behind It All

Sang Ying had never imagined that one day she would experience being kidnapped. Though her captor had never intended to take her along, she had insisted on giving chase and ended up being kidnapped "for the ride."

It had all happened so suddenly. After the last girl with facial injuries had fully recovered during the day, the people from the Plain Robe Pavilion had discussed packing up and returning to their sect.

Sang Ying had simply remembered that she still needed Nan Gurong's help with pill refinement and, having nothing else to do, had gone to discuss it with her. Who could have known she would happen upon Nan Gurong being abducted?

Even setting aside the fact that Nan Gurong had received a pill-refining inheritance from her and could resolve the hidden danger concerning her Spirit Root, Sang Ying could not stand by and do nothing while she was abducted through no fault of her own.

Besides, the person who had taken her was wearing a black demon mask!

After the leading Demon Cultivator had been captured, Elder Chanyi had tried interrogating him, hoping to learn who was behind it all.

But a restriction had long since been placed on the Demon Cultivator. Not only was he unable to speak of the person behind it, but even the extreme measure of a soul search had revealed no information about that person in his memories.

After learning this from Nan Gurong, Sang Ying had understood that the person behind it all was quite capable and that further investigation would likely yield no good results, so she had tacitly let the matter rest for the time being.

Yet while they had hoped to let the matter die down, the other side pressed them at every turn and even tried to abduct Nan Gurong!

That person had been able to slip in and abduct Nan Gurong without alerting Elder Chanyi. His cultivation was certainly higher than Sang Ying's.

Fortunately, because it was late and she had not wanted to disturb anyone by asking them to open doors for her along the way, she had taken an unconventional route and climbed over a wall. Only then had she stumbled upon the abduction without being discovered.

Seeing that the person was about to leave with Nan Gurong, Sang Ying immediately sent a message to Elder Chanyi and several other Plain Robe Pavilion disciples she knew.

Once she had confirmed that they had received her message, she quietly followed the person.

Sang Ying knew her cultivation was low, so naturally she did not dare show herself rashly. She had only intended to follow him to his hideout, then return to Elder Chanyi and plan their next move carefully.

She had not expected more than one person to have come.

The mantis stalked the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it. After Sang Ying followed the person to a secluded, beautiful residence in White Foothill City's central district, she had only enough time to send one last message before the masked cultivator who had been tailing her captured her.

The person's presence was overwhelming, and Sang Ying had no power to fight back.

When she woke again, she felt as though she had returned to a few days ago, once more trapped behind bars.

The other side had clearly learned from its earlier mistake. The way they imprisoned cultivators was completely different from how they imprisoned mortals.

Sang Ying was confined alone in a cell, with shackles on her wrists and ankles that made a conspicuous noise at the slightest movement.

The cell also seemed to have been built from materials that blocked Spiritual Qi. Inside it, Sang Ying could not sense the slightest trace of Spiritual Qi, leaving her almost no different from an ordinary mortal.

Everything on her had long since been taken. Other than the magic robe she wore, nothing had been left.

No, one thing had been left.

Sang Ying felt around her neck. After what had happened in Listening Willow Village, she had taken special care to keep a few small but important items close to her body, placing them all in a brocade pouch and laying numerous formations on it to block the probing Divine Sense of others.

Perhaps because she was only at Foundation Establishment, her captor had merely swept her over briefly with Divine Sense. As a result, he had taken only conspicuous things like her spirit sword and Storage Bag, overlooking the brocade pouch hanging against her chest.

Inside the pouch were the Realm Pearl and the Ice Spirit Crystals she had previously gathered from it.

The Ice Spirit Crystals contained even more Spiritual Qi than Supreme-Grade Spirit Stones. Even if the cell could block Spiritual Qi, as long as Sang Ying had the Ice Spirit Crystals at hand, she could restore her spiritual power at any time.

But if the guards' cultivation was as high as that of the person who had captured her, Sang Ying might not be able to escape even after restoring her spiritual power.

For now, she could only hope that her message had reached Elder Chanyi.

Still, Sang Ying was not the sort to sit and wait for death. She first tried moving around a little. The shackles looked heavy, but they were nothing much to her and did not hinder her movements.

The clanking of the shackles was loud, but perhaps because they were very confident in the dungeon, no one came to investigate.

Only after confirming that there were no patrolling guards did Sang Ying carefully walk to the front of the cell and peer through the wide gaps between the iron bars to survey the area outside.

Like the one on the outskirts of White Foothill City, this prison seemed to have been built underground, so the light was somewhat dim. All the cells Sang Ying could see were empty, and she guessed that Nan Gurong had probably been placed elsewhere.

Before Sang Ying could finish surveying the dungeon, a languid voice tinged with resignation drifted over. "Stop looking. You can't escape! There may be no guards in here, but there are two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators guarding the entrance outside!"

Whether or not Sang Ying believed anything else, her senses were fairly sharp, and she immediately realized that the voice had come from the cell to her right.

Startled, she asked, "Were you also invited here by the master of this place, fellow cultivator?"

Something in Sang Ying's words seemed to amuse the other person. He chuckled softly a few times before replying, "You're polite, even using the word 'invited.' Unfortunately, I was tied up and brought here. But I wonder how a young girl like you managed to offend that person and end up locked in the dungeon just like me?"

As Sang Ying listened to him, she made her way to the wall between them.

Her luck was fairly good: she found a small hole in the wall. It was no use for anything else, but it would let Sang Ying see what was on the other side.

Sang Ying cautiously leaned closer and peered through the narrow opening. In the neighboring cell, a man dressed in black was lying on a stone bed with his legs crossed.

Sang Ying could not make out his appearance, but his relaxed posture revealed his unrestrained, carefree nature.

"May I ask who you mean by 'that person'?" Perhaps that person was the culprit behind all this trouble!

The man clicked his tongue softly. "You were locked up without even knowing who it was. You've got bad luck, little girl! Then I'll be merciful and tell you. That person is..."

"Lord City Lord?!" Nan Gurong could hardly believe what she was seeing.

She had been knocked unconscious and abducted in the middle of the night. When she woke again, she had not even had time to figure out where she was before she was tied up and brought before their master.

Nan Gurong naturally noticed that the people escorting her all wore black masks.

She had a vague suspicion that they were connected to what had happened in Listening Willow Village, and at first she was glad that she would finally see the person behind it all.

But when the figure in splendid robes and a jade crown slowly turned around, revealing his face bit by bit, Nan Gurong was both terrified and filled with despair.

For the person to whom all the masked people bowed in submission was none other than the city lord of White Foothill City!