Indeed, whether it was the trap they’d just faced or the poisoned wave trap before it—both had been utterly lethal!

They’d come on this journey with no ill intent whatsoever, simply hoping to find the ruins of the Solitary Island.

Could it be that these people somehow knew of their purpose, knew of their true identities?

The very first thing Jun Beiyue demanded was a reason!

Yet at these words, the young man didn’t answer right away.

No one could tell what expression the young man wore in that moment. Jun Beiyue simply stared coldly at his fingertip—from being gripped for so long, all five fingers had gone pale from lost circulation, blood welling continuously from the one already pierced.

“You’re testing my patience!” Jun Beiyue said coldly. The young man was just about to speak, but unfortunately, it was already too late.

Another stab. “Ahh… ahh…”

This blow struck precisely between the fingers!

The young man finally screamed, “Ahh… it was me! I gave the order to set the trap! No one has ever dared venture down into Wuxie Ravine—you must be here with ill intentions! So… so I struck first!”

“Struck first, and that required taking our lives while you waited?” Jun Beiyue shot back. This young man, so young, yet so ruthless and vicious!

“I was wrong… forgive me! I was young and foolish… I was blind, blind and disrespectful to my elders!”

The young man begged for mercy repeatedly, straining against the pain. His injured finger had already been released by Jun Beiyue, but his remaining fingers were still held firmly in his grip, and he was trembling with genuine terror.

If Jun Beiyue kept going, would his hands end up permanently ruined?

“Let me go! I’ll apologize to you, I’ll make sure you get out of here safely, I promise!”

“You mean to say… you want us to leave?” Jun Beiyue shot back. Beside him, Baili Weisheng listened and couldn’t help but admire the man’s sharp tongue—so this fellow really had a mean streak in him!

The young man froze for a moment, then quickly shook his head. “No, no! You… what are you here for? How did you even find Wuxie Ravine?”

“Beneath Wuxie Ravine lies the Boundless Deep?” Jun Beiyue pressed on.

“Yes. The water level used to be much higher, but the tide retreated afterward. Our people have lived in cave dwellings along the seashore for generations, surviving by fishing. In several hundred years, no outsider has ever come here before, so… big brother, I truly am sorry about earlier! Little brother didn’t mean any harm!”

The young man was hardly telling the truth—the ones who lived in cave dwellings were the Duogong people, while the Boundless Deep housed the two most noble branches of the Jiao Clan.

One was his own people, the Silver Jiao, while the deep-sea Golden Jiao Palace housed the most noble royal lineage of all the Jiao Clan—the Golden Jiao!

Before the Golden Jiao, however noble the Silver Jiao might be, they had served as vassals for generations, forbidden to leave the confines of Wuxie Ravine or reveal their whereabouts.

And so, the Silver Jiao had abducted the Golden Jiao’s young master—then only two years old—throwing the Golden Jiao into chaos. Seizing the opportunity, the Silver Jiao staged an uprising, poisoning nearly all of the already sparse Golden Jiao population to death, leaving only a handful of prisoners.

They were now held captive beneath the deep sea, within the Golden Jiao Palace.

The Boundless Deep, churning with turbulent waves—if not for the poisoning, how could this group possibly have caused the tide to retreat as they had? These people clearly weren’t the ones who’d poisoned the water.

They possessed the Flowing Light Dagger, which meant this woman had to be from the Meng Clan—though apparently she had no idea that the Meng Clan bore an undying blood feud with the Silver Jiao over this very dagger.

He couldn’t overpower them himself. His only remaining option now was to find some way to lure them to his mother.

He simply refused to believe that no matter how formidable these people’s abilities were, they could possibly escape his mother’s grasp!

While the young man begged and pleaded, Jun Beiyue’s expression remained utterly blank. “The entrance to the passage—was that a barrier?”

At these words, Meng Wanyue’s brow furrowed sharply—she’d assumed Jun Beiyue wouldn’t ask this again!

And the young man, too, felt a jolt of alarm, never having expected this man to ask such a question at all!

Of course it was a barrier—one the Meng Clan’s founding ancestor had left behind for the Silver Jiao back when the two peoples had been on friendly terms, a sealing barrier for the sea. Throughout the entire Boundless Deep, barriers of this kind were plentiful.

Could it be that they weren’t actually from the Meng Clan after all? Otherwise, how could they not recognize it as a barrier?

But then, if they weren’t from the Meng Clan, why was the Flowing Light Dagger in their possession?

The young man was utterly baffled, but he steeled himself, determined not to reveal anything at all!

Whatever happened, all he needed to do was lure this group to his mother—she would naturally know how to handle them!

“A barrier? What barrier?” the young man said, feigning bewilderment. “It’s been there since I was born. What you entered was the entrance to the Shallow Sea Palace. Go further down, and you’ll reach the Deep Sea Palace—though that has its own separate entrance! Beneath the Boundless Deep, there are only these two palaces—the Shallow Sea Palace and the Deep Sea Palace!”

Ziqing watched the young man from a distance, a trace of complicated emotion flickering in her clear, bright eyes, though she remained silent throughout.

Baili Weisheng, too, said nothing, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, mulling things over. This young man couldn’t even keep his lies straight—just a moment ago he’d claimed his people had lived in cave dwellings for generations, and now suddenly two whole palaces had appeared out of nowhere!

Wasn’t this clearly meant to lure them down into the Deep Sea Palace?

An underwater palace like this—it practically matched what the Jiao Clan was known for!

It wasn’t that Baili Weisheng hadn’t harbored suspicions himself—but if these were truly his own kind, he was certain he would have sensed it. These people simply didn’t feel like it.

Besides, hadn’t he always been the only Jiao Ren outside of Nanzhao, as far as anyone knew?

Jun Beiyue nodded thoughtfully, but then suddenly turned his head to look at Meng Wanyue.

That questioning gaze came so suddenly that it made Meng Wanyue’s heart skip a genuine beat. For a moment, her mind went completely blank, unsure how to respond to Jun Beiyue, her eyes instinctively darting away.

“Auntie Meng, could this be the place where we’re supposed to find the Solitary Island ruins? Why don’t we take a look around?” Ziqing spoke up quietly at this point.

Meng Wanyue, caught off guard, suddenly realized what was actually being asked of her! She nodded rapidly toward Jun Beiyue.

Baili Weisheng, taking in the whole scene, smiled and said, “Kid, since we’re guests here, why don’t you take us around, show us the sights of this underwater paradise?”

“You… why did you people come here in the first place?” the young man couldn’t help but ask. These people clearly knew nothing about any of this.

“You sure talk a lot for a kid! What’s your name?” Baili Weisheng asked with a cold smirk.

“I’m… Helian Shaoze.” the young man said, then looked timidly toward Jun Beiyue, pleading. “Big brother, let me go, I’ll take you there right now, to the Deep Sea Palace too!”

“Fine.”

Jun Beiyue nodded readily, and Helian Shaoze’s heart leapt with delight, thinking to himself—he’d wait and see just how arrogant this group would remain once they reached the Deep Sea Palace!

That pain in his two fingers—he was determined to make this man pay it back a hundredfold!

But just as Helian Shaoze nursed his grudge, Jun Beiyue, unexpectedly, didn’t release him at all. The Flowing Light Dagger struck for a third time, cold and sudden, pressing right into the gap between his fingers!

Helian Shaoze’s heart lurched in fear. “You… big brother, didn’t you say…”

“I never said I’d let you off.” Jun Beiyue said coldly, his gaze darkening as the blade plunged straight in!

“Ahh…”

The third cut left Helian Shaoze’s features contorted in agony.

Jun Beiyue’s gaze remained deep and coldly ruthless, as if every scheme in the world would find no place to hide before him, too intimidating to even look at directly.

“Ahh… ahh… no… please, no!”

Blow after blow, all five fingertips, none spared. In mere moments, they were nothing but raw, mangled flesh.

Only then did Jun Beiyue release him roughly, rising to his feet and walking back toward Ziqing, once again gently taking her injured hand just as he had before.

“Lead the way. Waste any more time, and I won’t mind ruining your other hand too.”