"Ye Xiu, you..."

"This... this, this, this..."

Qiao Beiming and Lin Feng stared, dumbfounded, at the corpses of Lord Baishan and his forty-three men, then turned their incredulous gaze to Ye Xiu. They had intended to use the forty-four of them to trade for Kristina. But now that Ye Xiu had killed them all, what leverage did they have? The negotiation hadn’t even started, and they had already lost.

A chill ran down Qiao Beiming’s and Lin Feng’s spines. Ye Xiu was truly ruthless, willing to kill his own people just to avoid being threatened. What they found most unsettling was that Lord Baishan and his forty-three men all wore smiles on their faces in death.

"Ye Xiu, do you think killing them with your own hands has given you the upper hand in this negotiation?" Qiao Beiming glared coldly at him. "Don’t forget, as long as Qin Qing, Leng Yue, the Ye Family, and the Long Family are still on Biluo Island, you won’t dare harm the little princess, even if Lin Feng and I kill you right now."

Lin Feng’s eyes lit up, stunned that he hadn’t thought of that himself. He immediately took out his phone. "Ye Xiu, I order you to release the little princess right now! Otherwise, with one call, it will be the end for Qin Qing and Leng Yue!"

These two idiots. I killed Lord Baishan and his forty-three men, and you think I did it so you could threaten me with Qin Qing and the others? I was trying to get you to take Kristina by force!

Ye Xiu was too exasperated to even respond. "Go ahead," he said. "Make your call."

"You..." Qiao Beiming and Lin Feng’s expressions changed instantly.

Lin Feng asked, "You don’t care if Qin Qing, Leng Yue, the Ye Family, and the Long Family live or die?"

Heh, I care a great deal. But you can’t kill them!

"Stop bluffing. I’ve heard the stories about you and Qin Qing. I know how much you care for her. This act of indifference is just you putting on a brave face," Qiao Beiming said to Lin Feng, acting as if he had seen right through Ye Xiu’s ploy. "Call Biluo Island. Have Xue Man and An Bai capture Qin Qing and Leng Yue, then start a video call. Let Ye Xiu watch firsthand as they torture them."

"Alright!" Lin Feng nodded and immediately took out his phone to call Xue Man.

The call didn’t connect.

What’s going on?

Lin Feng then dialed An Bai’s number. It still didn’t connect. Why couldn’t he get through? Though anxious, Lin Feng pretended the call had gone through. "Xue Man," he said loudly, "you and An Bai go capture Qin Qing and Leng Yue right now! Then start a video call so Ye Xiu can see how you’re going to torture—"

"Stop pretending. Your call didn’t go through," Ye Xiu interrupted with a chuckle.

Lin Feng fell silent.

"What’s going on?" Qiao Beiming asked.

His face red with embarrassment, Lin Feng stammered, "I don’t know why, but I can’t get through to Xue Man or An Bai."

Qiao Beiming frowned. He recalled being unable to reach the Eternal Kingdom when he had called earlier, either. Could something have happened? He immediately took out his phone and started making calls, one after another. Without exception, none of them connected.

Something really has happened... Qiao Beiming’s heart sank. "Ye Xiu," he asked, "did you know all along that we couldn’t contact the Eternal Kingdom?"

"What do you mean?" Ye Xiu asked, feigning surprise.

Qiao Beiming scrutinized Ye Xiu’s expression and realized he wasn’t faking it. Besides, Ye Xiu was in Nanjing. How could he possibly know the situation in the Eternal Kingdom, let alone sever their connection to it?

"Elder Qiao, we have no other choice now. We have to take her by force!" Lin Feng said solemnly as he drew his sword.

Finally, you’ve seen the light. Hurry up and grab her... Ye Xiu inwardly gave Lin Feng a thumbs-up.

"Then we have no other choice!" Qiao Beiming nodded. The moment he spoke, he appeared at Ye Xiu’s left side, his sword thrusting toward Ye Xiu’s arm. With Kristina in Ye Xiu’s arms, Qiao Beiming intended to attack his arm to force him to drop her, giving Lin Feng an opportunity to perform the rescue.

"So fast!" Ye Xiu exclaimed, pretending to be startled. He hastily jumped away. Just then, Lin Feng flashed behind him, stabbing his sword toward the back of Ye Xiu’s neck.

Ye Xiu had no choice but to dodge again, appearing utterly flustered.

"Do you really think I wouldn’t dare kill Kristina?" Ye Xiu asked, all while pretending to be overwhelmed by their attacks.

"I’m betting you don’t dare kill the little princess!" Qiao Beiming retorted, pressing his assault.

"You guys are ruthless!" Ye Xiu shouted, acting as if Qiao Beiming had seen through his ruse. He then tossed Kristina toward Qiao Beiming and Lin Feng. As they reached out to catch her, he turned and fled.

Qiao Beiming caught Kristina. "I’ll take the little princess and go. You stay and kill Ye Xiu," he ordered.

"Don’t worry, Ye Xiu will die today for sure!" Lin Feng replied with utmost confidence. He was already ten meters away, in furious pursuit of Ye Xiu.

Seeing this, Qiao Beiming sent a mass text to his more than two thousand subordinates: "Immediately tighten the encirclement and cooperate with the Second Prince to slay Ye Xiu!" After sending the message, he carried Kristina over his shoulder and left the Wu Family estate via the back mountain.

The moment he was gone, Ye Xiu suddenly stopped running.

Lin Feng, who was hot on his heels, nearly stumbled from the abrupt stop. "Run! Why aren’t you running anymore?" he taunted. "Realize you can’t escape and are ready to fight me to the death?"

Ye Xiu looked at Lin Feng’s smug expression as if he were observing a complete moron.

"Brother Ye Xiu, we’re here to help!"

Just then, Tang Bo, An Dongye, members of the Dongfang Family, and dozens of people from Medicine King Valley ran over, surrounding Lin Feng.

Seeing them, Lin Feng’s eyes lit up. "So you’re all here. Good. Very good. It saves me the trouble of hunting you all down across the mountain." With that, he darted in front of Ye Xiu in a flash, his sword stabbing at Ye Xiu’s throat.

CLACK!

Ye Xiu raised his right hand, nonchalantly catching Lin Feng’s blade between his index and middle fingers.

"This..." Lin Feng was aghast, stammering in disbelief, "H-how... how is this possible? You... you..."

It wasn’t just him; Tang Bo, An Dongye, and the others were also stunned. Moments ago, they had clearly seen Ye Xiu being suppressed by Qiao Beiming and Lin Feng. He had been forced to flee, with Lin Feng hot on his tail. How had he suddenly become so powerful?

"I was just toying with you," Ye Xiu said with a sneer. "If I didn’t pretend you were beating me, how would you have managed to snatch Kristina away? And how would Qiao Beiming have felt safe enough to leave you and those more than two thousand pieces of trash behind?"

"Ah?" Lin Feng’s mind struggled to keep up with Ye Xiu’s logic. "What do you mean?" he asked. "You let Elder Qiao rescue the little princess on purpose? Why would you do that?"

Tang Bo, An Dongye, and the others also stared at Ye Xiu, their heads reeling. They desperately wanted to know the reason, too.

Ye Xiu replied, "Because I want to know why this Mist Chant Martial Meeting is different from the previous ones.

"I want to know what the three Judicator Families are truly trying to accomplish with this meeting.

"Qiao Beiming is an insider and an executor of the Judicator Families’ conspiracy, so he couldn’t be allowed to die.

"If I hadn’t let him rescue Kristina, he would have fought to the death today rather than leave.

"And if he died, who would execute the Judicator Families’ plan? If he doesn’t carry out the plan, how can I find the answers I’m looking for by observing his actions?"