When the two were suddenly captured that day, it was completely unexpected. The inside and outside of their clothes, weapons and hidden weapons had all been thoroughly searched when they were first captured. But the two were old foxes of the martial world, and when traveling the martial world, they had long hidden life-saving items in secret places on their bodies. In their hair ornaments, they had always concealed poison and a sharp spike, making them difficult to detect.

“What did you give Lian Xin!”

Just at this moment, several people entered through the main gate. The person in the middle spoke coldly, his brows and eyes cold as frost, his features incomparably handsome—it was Wuqing.

Lian Xin hadn’t expected Wuqing to return at just this moment. Her heart was filled with mixed emotions. She found Mao and Yu so disgusting she wanted to vomit, hated them to the bone, wishing she could find a way to perish together with them on the road.

But she hadn’t expected Wuqing to return and once again see her in such a wretched state.

Wuqing’s complexion was very pale, supported by Tie Shou and Ah Qing, seemingly having suffered extremely severe internal injuries. Before leaving, he had said Xue Zhao couldn’t handle him—what had happened?!

She was grief-stricken and worried, but saw him look toward her. That gaze was deep and firm, full of comforting meaning, clearly saying: I won’t let anything happen to you again!

“Release them, and I’ll let you leave.” He quickly moved his gaze from her and said coldly to Yu Jinglun.

Between the two thieves, the one who made decisions had always been this person.

Mao and Yu hadn’t expected Wuqing to return at this moment. As the saying goes, enemies meet on a narrow road—how true! Yu Jinglun said: “Wuqing, you never expected such a day, did you?”

“This is our exclusive poison called ‘Endless Joy.’ You can inquire about it in the martial world—the toxicity is severe. Without an antidote, the poisoned person will suffer excruciating pain for three months, with their organs turning to water before death. We have no antidote on us. If you don’t release us to get the medicine, in three months, they will surely die.”

His eyes were gloomy as he laughed sinisterly.

This Yu Jinglun was truly a treacherous, ruthless, and clever person. He and Mao Hui had endured torture and were at their last gasp. With experts surrounding them on all sides, one careless move allowing a successful surprise attack would mean death for both. But using poison as a threat, even if they fell into their hands again, they could certainly preserve their lives.

They had always carried only poison and no antidotes on their bodies for exactly this reason!

“Fine, I agree. I’ll personally go back with you to get the antidote.” Wuqing met the challenge in his gaze and said in a deep voice.

“Tsk tsk,” hearing this, Yu Jinglun suddenly laughed. “Wuqing, oh Wuqing, as a sect master, you’re so laughable. You imprisoned us brothers for over thirty days, making us suffer terribly, and…”

Speaking to this point, he suddenly stopped, because Wuqing had ordered people to castrate the two—though not completely, it was painful enough to render them impotent. But this was such a tremendous humiliation, how could he speak of it publicly!

Thinking of this, he was also burning with rage, staring at Wuqing and saying word by word: “Let’s negotiate terms.”

“You gouged out one eye from each of us and took three fingers—you also gouge out one eye, cut off one leg, crush your shoulder blades, and cripple your own martial arts. Have people prepare a carriage and come with us. I, Old Monster Yu, am someone who can be called by name in the martial world. I say what I mean and do what I say.”

After speaking, he squinted his single eye, observing the changes in Wuqing’s expression. As for the woman in Mao Hui’s hands, never mind her—he knew Wuqing cared deeply about Lian Xin, more than his own life.

Indeed, Wuqing’s brows furrowed tightly, his killing intent piercing, but in his eyes, there wasn’t much hesitation.

Ha, he had bet correctly.

“Wuqing, no, I’d rather—”

From his arms, Lian Xin cried out loudly. He was prepared and struck her with a hand chop, knocking her unconscious. Pressing the sharp spike to her neck, he viciously cut down. Lian Xin immediately bled profusely. Wuqing decisively said: “I agree.”

“Master, no!” Wu Ming screamed, and Tie Shou and Ah Qing were greatly alarmed. Leng Xue remained unmoved, wanting to quietly retreat to see if he could leap onto the eaves from outside to carry out a surprise attack. But Yu Jinglun shouted loudly: “Leng Xue, where are you going? Mao Hui, act!”

“Right away.” Mao Hui smiled, thrusting the spike violently toward Wu Tong’s chest. Wu Tong let out a piercing scream from her throat, immediately bleeding profusely. Yu Jinglun shouted: “Wuqing, won’t you act yet!”

Seeing his wrist moving to stab down at Lian Xin, Wuqing spread his arms, shaking off Ah Qing and the others, slightly bent his two fingers, and thrust them violently toward his eyes—

“Though Huaisu is no longer here, given her friendship with Quan Feitong, and Quan’s treacherous abilities, and their both serving under Li Zhaoting, couldn’t he obtain a few antidotes from the old Taoist through deception?”

Suddenly, a calm voice rang out from mid-air. Mao and Yu were startled and looked up to see a figure leap from the eaves and trees like an arrow from a bow, instantly landing in front of Mao Hui, thrusting a sword viciously toward his other eye. Meanwhile, Wuqing moved like lightning, reaching Yu Jinglun’s side and striking his crown with a palm. Leng Xue and the others were slightly slower but instantly attacked as well.

This all happened in the blink of an eye, yet the situation was completely different.

In an instant, the hostages broke free, and moments later, Mao Hui and Yu Jinglun were struck down to the ground.

Fear showed in their eyes as two long swords were thrust out almost simultaneously, killing them on the spot.

The awakened Lian Xin seized Wuqing’s sword and frantically hacked the two bodies to pieces.

Until Wuqing embraced her and softly comforted her, while the owner of the other sword silently turned to leave.

“Xiao Zhou, how are you here?” Tie Shou blocked her path, asking with affection and surprise.

Xiao Zhou said indifferently: “I’m here because I’m here. The Princess is safe now. I’m leaving.”

“Just notify Quan the treacherous official. The Princess is the person Huaisu valued most—he’ll definitely help.”

“Wait.” Wuqing suddenly said.

Xiao Zhou’s figure paused slightly, her back to him. “What is it?”

Wuqing handed Lian Xin to Wu Ming, took out a brocade box from his bosom, walked to her front: “This is… Beauty’s Twilight. It has remarkable effects on scars. Take it.”

When he said the word “scars,” his voice was very soft, his eyes flickering mysteriously, no longer carrying their former coldness.

“Oh, good stuff. Thanks.” Xiao Zhou’s tone remained indifferent. When she spoke, the scar on her cheek moved slightly. She took the box, leaped up, jumped onto the eaves, pulled down the black veil from her bamboo hat, and disappeared in the direction she had come.

Lian Xin, who had been silently watching the two, came to her senses and shouted loudly: “Xiao Zhou, come back, come back! I should be the one leaving.”

At this moment, Wuqing suddenly spat out blood and half-knelt down.

“Master—” The Capture Gate members were greatly alarmed. Lian Xin hurriedly turned around to see a large bloodstain seeping through Wuqing’s robe.

“What happened?” Wu Ming looked toward Ah Qing.

Leng Xue and the others sighed quietly. It turned out that Xue Zhao had indeed set another trap, but this time it wasn’t using hidden weapons. Instead, before Wuqing arrived, he had given “Beauty’s Twilight” to a martial world senior called Red Lady.

This Red Lady was already fifty or sixty years old. She had no scars to treat, and the medicine couldn’t restore youth and beauty, but this senior cared most about appearance. Her husband happened to be one of the rare masters in the martial world, with an eccentric temperament who doted on his wife like his life. Wuqing fought with him and barely won despite severe injuries.

One month later.

As Xiao Zhou had said, Quan Feitong indeed obtained the antidote for Endless Joy for Lian Xin.

After caring for Wuqing at the Capture Gate for over half a month, Lian Xin requested to take her leave.

Wuqing wouldn’t allow it. Lian Xin said: “Wuqing, think clearly. Those two beasts are dead—you truly owe me nothing now. I think Xiao Zhou’s appearance that day wasn’t coincidental. When you fought, she was worried. She might have been following behind you all along. And you see, when you fought enemies together, how well-coordinated you were. Your companion should be such a girl, not a princess who grew up in the deep palace and knows nothing.”

Wuqing’s eyes moved slightly, but he said nothing.

Lian Xin turned to leave, but he grasped her hand.

“Lian Xin, I’ve thought clearly enough.”

Every time he thought of Xiao Zhou, Wuqing’s heart ached. How could he not understand what she said about Xiao Zhou? But at such a time, that she could still advise him made his heart ache even more.

But Lian Xin didn’t respond whether it was good or bad—her hand slipped down from his palm.

Another half month later, all three Lian brothers arrived at the Capture Gate, except they didn’t notify Xiao’an, who was recuperating in Jiangnan. Lian Xin instructed that until the last moment, she didn’t want to give up, nor did she want to make her mother sad.

Lian Xin was poisoned.

More precisely, she hadn’t been detoxified. That day, when Mao Hui and Yu Jinglun fed medicine to Wu Tong and her respectively, in reality, each person’s hair ornament originally contained two poison pills.

One to subdue enemies, one to kill enemies.

The one to subdue was called Endless Joy, the one to kill was called Lingering Interest.

Lingering Interest had similar toxicity to Endless Joy—even Lingering Interest could use Endless Joy’s antidote. The difference was that Endless Joy had an antidote, while Lingering Interest had none. Endless Joy’s antidote could temporarily suppress Lingering Interest’s toxicity, but when it was time to take effect, it was relentless.

Yu Jinglun hated Wuqing to the extreme and was extremely ruthless by nature. Mao Hui was also cruel, but ultimately not as devious and scheming. He fed Wu Tong Endless Joy, but Yu Jinglun, afraid Mao Hui would reveal the secret, naturally didn’t tell him that he was actually using Lingering Interest in place of Endless Joy to deceive them into returning to the capital. When the time came, what they’d hand over would be Endless Joy’s antidote, but in the end, Lian Xin would still die.

This was what they later deduced based on Lian Xin’s condition. They found Quan Feitong, who extracted from Master Wuliang that their sect still had Lingering Interest, allowing Lian Yu to reach this conclusion.

But even Lian Jie was helpless.

Wuqing stayed by Lian Xin’s side day and night. Lian Xin’s eye sockets were deeply sunken, her complexion sallow, her lips covered with a layer of dry, hard dead skin, while her forehead showed a mass of black qi. When her abdomen was pressed, it immediately sank in a large area. She was clearly near death.

Wuqing had Wu Ming and others prepare wedding clothes, wanting to marry Lian Xin in a formal ceremony.

He proposed to Lian Yu, and Lian Yu agreed.

One deep night, Xiao Zhou arrived carrying a large medicine chest. Wuqing was holding Lian Xin in his arms, speaking softly to her. Lian Xin was crying and laughing alternately, and the room was filled with various wedding preparations.

“I can save the Princess, on the condition that Wuqing marries me.”

She paid respects to Lian Yu, then said to the roomful of people indifferently.