Chapter 44: Capturing Zao Wou-ki, Xue Qinghe: Li Zhexian, this Holy Maiden forbids you from dying (Bonus Chapter, Seeking Monthly Votes)

On this day, Heaven Dou City was gripped by terror and suspicion.

The Royal Guards and the soul master corps combed through the city as thoroughly as a fine-toothed comb.

They searched nearly every inch of ground, and all four city gates were heavily guarded, allowing entry but strictly forbidding exit.

By now, the culprit had already been brought to light.

The clues were, in truth, quite clear.

Anyone familiar with Li Zhexian knew that the only person he had recently made an enemy of was Ma Hongjun, who had come from the outer city.

And the accompanying teacher by Ma Hongjun's side—the immovable Vajra, Zhao Wuji—was none other than a powerhouse of the Spirit Saint level.

Everything matched up.

...

The imperial city, spanning hundreds of square kilometers, seemed vast.

Yet it could not withstand the earth-scrubbing search conducted by the royal guards and soul master platoons.

In the northern suburbs of the imperial city, in a remote village, Zhao Wuji clenched his fists as he looked at the suddenly multiplying unfamiliar faces outside the village, his breathing gradually growing heavy.

He had not expected them to track him down so quickly!

This Li Zhexian truly had a vast network of friends!

He had returned to his inn in the early hours of the morning.

Because Ma Hongjun's injuries had worsened, seeking medical attention and medicine had delayed him.

By the time the boy's condition stabilized and he wanted to leave the city, it was already too late.

Zhao Wuji turned his head, casting his gaze deep into the village.

Ma Hongjun was hiding there, cared for by people arranged by Qin Ming.

He could no longer run.

If he fled, Ma Hongjun would inevitably be ferreted out.

Even if Ma Hongjun had not done anything, he would not escape the disaster of their wrath.

"Grandmaster, Dean... should have received the news by now..."

"I have done all that I could."

"It's just a pity..."

"I still don't know whether Li Zhexian is dead or alive!"

A flurry of chaotic thoughts surged through his mind.

Zhao Wuji took a deep breath and strode out from the village entrance.

The moment his figure appeared, he was immediately spotted by the searching soul masters.

They swarmed forward, surrounding him so tightly not even a drop of water could leak through.

"Heh..."

Zhao Wuji swept his gaze over their faces, his broad mouth parting in a ferocious grin.

"Before I die, killing one is breaking even, and killing two is pure profit!"

"Roar—!"

His body suddenly expanded, and violent spirit power surged as he prepared to unleash his Avatar directly.

At that very moment, however, a withered palm materialized out of thin air and struck Zhao Wuji across the face with a vicious force.

Crack—!

A crisp slap shattered the air.

Zhao Wuji was sent flying over a hundred meters away.

His unformed Spirit Avatar was forcefully beaten apart.

"Bullying the weak with your strength—has that become a habit of yours?"

Dugu Bo stood with his hands behind his back, his emerald-green eyes as cold and piercing as ice.

"I ask you, where is Li Zhexian?"

Zhao Wuji staggered to his feet.

A ghastly green handprint was starkly printed on his left cheek.

The flesh along the edges of the print was actually peeling away like rotting wood shavings.

Though he was a tough man whose body trembled from the excruciating pain, Zhao Wuji stubbornly refused to utter a single word.

"Your冕下, Poison Douluo."

Snake Lance, disguised as one of the crown prince's personal guards, stepped forward.

"By the Crown Prince's decree, it would be better to hand Zhao Wuji over to the palace for interrogation."

"Under severe torture, there is no fear that he will refuse to speak."

Dugu Bo nodded.

"If there is any news, inform this old man first."

...

Zhao Wuji was escorted to the back courtyard of the Crown Prince's residence.

A mocking sneer still lingered faintly on his face, but it froze instantly when his gaze fell upon the person hanging from the thorn-covered stone pillar in the center of the courtyard, his tiger-like eyes widening in shock.

"Qin... Qin Ming?!"

"You..."

Qin Ming raised his head with great difficulty, squeezing a bitter smile onto his pale, bloodless face.

"Tea... Teacher... In fact, the moment I told you the identity of Sword Wine..."

"I had already foreseen that this day would come..."

Zhao Wuji felt as though he had been struck by lightning, standing frozen in place.

Remorse, self-blame, and anguish surged wildly within his heart.

Qin Ming should have had a brilliant and boundless future...

Yet, because of his almost coercive plea for help, the young man was now trapped in dire straits with his fate hanging by a thread.

"This matter has nothing to do with anyone else!"

"It was entirely my own doing!"

Zhao Wuji roared hoarsely.

Xue Qinghe walked over.

"Where is Li Zhexian?"

Zhao Wuji fell silent, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"I want you to release Qin..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a piercing whistle cut through the air.

A condensed beam of bright spirit power, as sharp as a blade, flashed past abruptly.

Puff—

One of Qin Ming's wrists was severed on the spot, dropping heavily to the ground.

"Ah—!!!"

A miserable, piercing scream shattered the deathly stillness of the back courtyard.

Zhao Wuji's eyes turned bloodred, his chest heaving violently.

"I'll talk..."

"Li Zhexian..."

He stared fixedly at Xue Qinghe, cruelty churning in the depths of his eyes, speaking each word with deliberate slowness:

"Was... killed... by... me."

"His corpse was thrown into the moat."

"Let Qin Ming go, and I will take you to find his body."

The back courtyard fell into a dead silence.

Xue Qinghe slowly closed her eyes.

Every breath became arduous, as if her throat was being tightly gripped, and a suffocating sensation rushed over her.

Only buzzing noises remained in her ears, and the world seemed to fall entirely silent at this moment.

She dragged her feet, turning a deaf ear to the words of Sunder and Snake Lance.

Xue Qinghe had no idea how she had managed to leave the back courtyard.

Seeing Xue Qinghe in this state, Snake Lance waved his hand with a gloomy expression, and several aged eunuchs holding instruments of torture walked into the back courtyard with eerie smiles.

It wasn't until Xue Qinghe stepped into her own bedchamber that her vision brushed against the windowsill, where the radiant light of dawn bloomed, reflecting in her out-of-focus eyes.

Amidst the hazy light and shadow, she seemed to see that young man in white once again, smiling as he patted the empty space beside him and beckoned her to come sit with him.

Tears burst through her defenses without warning, sliding down her pale cheeks.

Xue Qinghe choked back her sobs in silence, her slender shoulders trembling slightly.

"Li Zhexian..."

"This pri... This Saintess forbids you to die."

"You haven't seen my true face yet..."

"You haven't called me by my real name yet..."

"I haven't gone fishing with you under my true identity yet..."

"This Saintess forbids you to die!"

...

Soto City.

Flender and Yu Xiaogang were both shocked and furious upon receiving the news, and they immediately set off toward Heaven Dou City.

Watching their hurried and panicked figures fade into the distance, Tang Shan and Oscar exchanged glances, filled with confusion.

Only Dai Mubai quietly clenched his fists.

Even though the dean and the grandmaster had not stated it explicitly, that letter had come from Heaven Dou City.

To make the two of them lose their composure to such an extent... nine times out of ten, something had happened to Fatty.

Tang Shan glanced at Dai Mubai.

"Mubai, do you know what happened?"

Dai Mubai's expression shifted uncertainly between light and shadow.

Finally, lowering his voice, he recounted a sanitized version of the truth to Tang Shan and Oscar.

The result, naturally, was that Tang Shan and Oscar shared a deep hatred of the common enemy.

"Hmph, the Shrek Seven Devils are a team. If that Sword Wine injured Fatty, we naturally won't just sit by and do nothing."

Less than a day after Flender and Yu Xiaogang departed, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing, who had been training in the Star Luo Great Forest, returned.

Learning that the dean and the grandmaster had rushed to the imperial city, Zhu Zhuqing's pretty face changed slightly, and she immediately guessed that it might be related to "Sword Wine."

Without even waiting to say much more, she abruptly vaulted onto her horse and flicked the reins.

Like an arrow released from a bow, she galloped furiously down the main road leading to the imperial city.

"Hey! Zhuqing!"

The shouts of Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong were left far behind, leaving only a trail of dust.

A fierce, malevolent gleam flickered in Dai Mubai's evil eyes.

"As I thought!"

"That bitch Zhu Zhuqing really is entangled with that Sword Wine!"

...

"Cough, cough... cough, cough..."

High upon the branch of an ancient tree, Li Zhexian slowly opened his eyes. The sunlight that suddenly burst into his vision caused him to close them again for a moment before he forced them open once more.

His lips were chapped, and his voice was hoarse as he spoke.

"It's really good to be alive..."

"Hiss, it hurts so much..."