Page 1017

"Sir, I really did my best, but the Shen Family just wouldn’t come out at all..." Zhou Haitao gasped as he drank the tea Wei Gongzhan had prepared in advance, struggling for breath as he spoke.

"Of course, they won’t come out..." Ali flicked her hair, amusing herself with the mirror in her hands, her eyes reflecting a dangerous glint that kept the Spirit Mirror on edge, making each second feel like an eternity!

"Those people aren’t fools, why would they walk into a trap willingly? According to Shen Er’s information, that woman probably only needs to delay a few days to recover her strength. The more time drags on, the better it is for her. In this situation, I’d also hunker down like a turtle."

"Then... what do we do?" Zhou Haitao asked anxiously. Although he lacked talent as a Civil Officer, as the Governor of Lyuzhou, he accumulated considerable merit every day and could very likely receive an appointment in the Earth Hell Ruler’s office, even becoming a City God himself. He had already thought of the perfect place; he didn’t expect to take the good locations occupied by the Shen Family, but the newly developed areas like several main cities in Southeast County, though desolate now, would certainly flourish as more people and forces move in.

But all this depends on Chen Qing’s foundations remaining intact. If a horde of demons were to cause havoc, he couldn’t bear to think about how he would manage life thereafter.

Before New Year’s, he had already moved his family to Jiangnan; now, his entire clan, young and old, looked up to him as their pillar of support.

"It’s okay..." Ali said languidly, "Even that woman has some missing pieces of information. This game is all about information..."

"Uh..." Zhou Haitao glanced at her, feeling less than reassured, and couldn’t help saying, "It’s better that the boss is here."

"It seems you have a lot of confidence in that guy..." Ali laughed.

"It’s just a feeling..." Zhou Haitao scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. "It’s not directed at you, Sir. It’s just that we haven’t collaborated much, and in previous emergencies, it was always the boss who turned the tide."

"Don’t get your hopes up..." Ali said softly, "If Chen Qing let you release me, it means... he won’t be coming back!"

"What?" Both Zhou Haitao and Wei Gongzhan were shocked.

"There’s more than one problem brewing outside.

.." Ali murmured, "We had an agreement that if something came up that he had to deal with, the safety of the entire Jiangnan would be left to me. That’s why he told me the location of the Spirit Realm. Don’t you understand? I am Jiangnan’s last line of defense."

"But... where did the boss go?" Zhou Haitao swallowed nervously.

"Who knows..." Ali yawned, "If he’s not coming back, it means that what he’s facing now is far more serious than the trouble here in Jiangnan..."

-----------------------------------------------

Beihai City...

"Sir... this should be Elder Zhang’s location!"

Perhaps not even Old Liu could have guessed that although Chen Qing seemed in a hurry to return to Jiangnan to put out fires, in a blink of an eye, he had actually come to the inner parts of Beihai City, having said earlier he wouldn’t disturb Xuu Hu but now seeking him out immediately.

"It seems I was right to ask you to keep an eye on Zhang Zhengyuan’s location..." Chen Qing sighed, "And it’s good that you paid attention..."

"As a subject, I certainly would not miss anything entrusted by Your Majesty, but I didn’t quite understand at the time. It seemed to be a matter for the Hell Ruler to oversee, yet I was told to watch quietly. It indeed took a lot of effort..." Xuu Hu said with some embarrassment.

He had never been one adept at disguise. Using the excuse of communicating with the northern families, he visited Northern Wolf City several times, just managing to pin down Elder Zhang’s location.

Elder Zhang had not chosen to birth inside Northern Wolf City but picked a nomadic family, roaming the outskirts of the Northern Wasteland. It took several attempts to confirm the exact location...

"Thank you for your hard work..." Chen Qing sighed, "Let’s hope he knows something useful..."

In fact, Chen Qing wasn’t entirely sure, but he thought Zhang Zhengyuan would likely have what he needed.

"Sir, do you really not need me to return to Jiangnan?" Xuu Hu frowned, "You said the Shen Family is in trouble, Jiangnan is now vulnerable militarily, and without you there, no one can stop the Shen Family."

"There are two reliable people... it shouldn’t be too much of a problem," Chen Qing waved his hand dismissively. "I know the Shen Family can be a handful, but at this point, I really can’t be bothered; Ziyue must not fall into their hands – I have to go and rescue her!"

Not even Old Liu knew that what Chen Qing was actually going to rescue was Ziyue!

Old Liu and his people had a lot of information, but the latest intelligence was lacking – they didn’t know the current value of Ziyue!

Ziyue, who wields the top tier Power of the Demon Statue, is very important in the upcoming battle situation. If anything happens to her, keeping Jiangnan safe would be as good as not keeping it safe at all—she must be rescued.

As for the issues with the Shen Family within Jiangnan... He was already prepared for that.

He also had a rough idea of who his opponent was through the brief message sent by Shen Er. Shen Ling, the owner of Nine Heavens Mirror, the top Array Master of the third version of the Era, among Heaven Venerables, her Formation skills are almost the strongest!

In the past, half of his team was killed by her; she could be said to be our greatest enemy!

Chen Qing did not know whether what Old Liu said was true or false, but he still had confidence in the trump card he left in Liuzhou.

Many times, top-level battles come down to intelligence, and some intelligence from Ali, Chen Qing remembers, is not known to many...

------------------------------------

"It’s gotten dark..." Shen San looked at the night sky, a flash of red gleam fleeting in his eyes: "Based on your previous estimate, you should have recovered by dawn, right?"

Shen Ling nodded at the night outside with a trace of perplexity in her eyes. She didn’t understand, would that fox truly do nothing?

Or was it simply incapable of even getting close to this area?

After all these years, she’s still made no progress?

With these thoughts, she shook her head with a smile. Perhaps she had overestimated the opponent, that woman’s cowardly performance back then. And now, she was just a clone; how strong could she possibly be?

Moreover, as long as she kept her principles and distanced from outsiders, she would never be in trouble.

"It’s almost time..." Shen Ling stretched lazily, slowly standing up.

She was a traditionally attractive woman, and though good-looking, her indolent aura could not compare with Ali’s seductive allure.

Watching the night fade away outside, in the early summer days that feature long days and short nights, she estimated that in at most half an hour, she could almost be fully recovered.

As the final moment approached, despite still appearing to look down upon Ali, she was, in fact, extremely vigilant inside. The darkness before dawn is often the easiest to carry potential ambushes; many Tribal Wars prefer to launch night raids at this time as part of psychological tactics.

Of course, she would not let her guard down at such a time.

The closer one gets to victory, the more one needs to focus and raise their vigilance to the limit.

But something strange happened...

Half an hour feels very long when focused, yet as minutes and seconds ticked away, there was still no movement outside the door.

It seemed as if the opponent truly had no plans to cause trouble for her.

This made her somewhat puzzled. Had Shen Er not informed the opponent of the intelligence?

Even if they could not get close, they should at least attempt it, right?

She had always thought that at the last moment, both Shen Er and Chen Ying would try to deploy brute strength to bring Ali before her; that’s what she was defending against.

But it seemed... the opponent had no such intention.

Did they truly give up?

Looking at the rising orange glow outside the door, the once pitch-black sky was also slowly brightening; Shen Ling knew the opponent had lost their chance!

Facing the first ray of the rising sun, she stepped out of the doorway!