Oh no.
‘Could it be that when she sped up just to shake off Dinxwei, he lost his grip and fell off?!’
That seemed to be the only plausible explanation.
Zhu Qiu couldn’t care less about the rest—she turned around and flew back.
On the other side, Dinxwei and the others had already tied Sorderland up tightly, making sure he would have no mobility even if he woke up.
At the king’s command, the group began retracing their steps.
“Move!”
After walking just a few steps, the leader of the demolition crew raised a question.
“Your Majesty, the house you asked us to tear down is gone now. Can we get paid directly?”
“Huh? You didn’t do a damn thing! Pay? Pay your ass!”
The king scolded him harshly. As for why he was so furious, it was simply because he had been humiliated in front of Dinxwei and wanted to vent his frustration on the workers to save face.
“But Your Majesty, you promised us back then that as long as the house vanished, that would be enough. You didn’t specify how, nor did you require that we had to be the ones to make it disappear. You can’t let someone else’s action affect us like this!”
The leader of the demolition crew, dressed in white, boldly voiced his grievance.
The king turned back, glared at him viciously, furrowed his brows, and said with absolute gravity, “You didn’t do any work, and you still expect money? Keep dreaming!”
“Your Majesty, you promised us. We can’t return empty-handed either. Your goal was achieved anyway. Even if we skip the wage, we should at least get a travel stipend, right?”
The leader in white turned to look at the crew behind him.
“Right, everyone?”
“Right!”
“Right my foot! I said no means no! Are you trying to rebel against me?”
Unable to tolerate the chattering of these commoners any longer, the king directly ordered his Royal Legion to subdue the leader of the demolition crew.
“You can’t do this!!”
Disdaining him completely, the king solemnly announced, “If any of you want to end up like him, keep causing a scene and making noise. I’ve never seen commoners demand pay without doing a single stroke of work.”
These words seemed to ignite the king’s rage even further. He stomped over and dragged out the person who had spoken from the crowd.
“But you promised us!”
“Anyone else got a problem?”
With those two set as warnings, the rest of the demolition crew didn’t dare utter another word.
“Keep moving!”
“Yes, sir!”
Before long, Zhu Qiu quietly trailed behind along the same path.
Because the enemy was vastly superior in numbers, she could only shadow the group from a safe distance, making sure they didn’t slip out of her sight while patiently searching for an opportunity to snatch her father back.
While marching, Dinxwei suddenly sensed a faint trace of dragon aura and smiled faintly.
“I knew it. The Sword Saint followed us after all.”
This was the perfect opportunity to threaten the Sword Saint.
The king walked in the center, with Dinxwei behind him, flanked by the Royal Legion on both sides, while the demolition crew in white walked on the right side of the legion.
Meanwhile, Zhu Qiu’s father was tied up tightly and slung over the shoulder of one of the king’s henchmen on the left.
‘Hiss~ There are so many of them. How can I steal father back?’
Dinxwei nudged the king with his elbow.
“Are you sick? Can’t you walk properly?”
“The Sword Saint is tailing us. I need you to help me.”
“Help you? How?”
“Like this…”
Dinxwei leaned into the king’s ear and whispered his plan.
“Got it?”
“Got it.”
After walking a bit further, the king suddenly raised his voice to make a demand, as if terrified that Zhu Qiu wouldn’t hear it.
“Everyone, rest on the spot!”
The next second, the entire group sat down on the ground, and the bound Sorderland was carelessly tossed beside a tree trunk.
‘Come on, aren’t they just handing me an opening? Resting on the spot? The outer edge of the Human City is right ahead, and they suddenly stop—heavens are on my side!’
“BLEND INTO DARKNESS!”
Zhu Qiu used shadow magic to glide over to Sorderland’s side, intending to lift him up and bolt the instant her magic dissolved.
‘I’m holding you myself this time—I refuse to believe you can fall off again.’
Spotting a moment when no one was paying attention to Sorderland, she suddenly manifested, intending to drag him away by his ropes. Yet to her surprise, the ropes wouldn’t budge no matter how hard she pulled.
‘Strange, when did Dad get so heavy?’
“Sword Saint, you’re here again. How many times has it been? You never say hello—zero manners.”
Dinxwei strolled over.
He had known all along that the Sword Saint would follow, but she certainly wouldn’t act rashly. So he had intentionally conspired with the king to make everyone pretend to relax, while secretly tying the ropes on Sorderland around the tree trunk.
That way, if the Sword Saint tried to take him, she would definitely be caught.
Zhu Qiu’s body trembled as her brain worked at top speed, torn between running or staying.
If she ran, she would certainly be safe, but her father wouldn’t be.
If she stayed, both she and her father might end up in danger.
For her father’s sake, Zhu Qiu decided to take the gamble.
“I come and go as I please, what’s it to you?!”
“I capture your father as I please, what’s it to you?”
Dinxwei fired back using the exact same phrasing, then feigned a sudden realization.
“Sword Saint, have you finally come to your senses? Are you ready to trade the dragon you’re harboring for your father?”
A brilliant plan to rescue her father and escape together had already crossed her mind.
“Yes, yes!”
Zhu Qiu nodded rapidly with a face full of smiles.
“Oh? Quite sensible, aren’t we? It would’ve been so much easier if you acted like this earlier. But let’s get one thing straight: hand over the dragon first, then I’ll untie your father. Don’t try playing any tricks.”
Zhu Qiu crossed her hands behind her back, maintaining her pleasant smile.
“Sure, sure, absolutely no problem at all.”
“Then hurry up and give me the dragon! As a Grand Archmage, I’m a very busy man.”
“Alright, alright.”
Zhu Qiu tilted her head, nodded, and extended two clenched fists toward him.
Dinxwei grew a bit annoyed. “Is your fist all you’ve got? Where is the dragon?!”
“What you want is right inside here. Do you want to open it and take a look?”
“Stop wasting my time, open them up already!”
“What are you clenching your fists for? I asked for a dragon! Not your fists!”
“Coming right up!”
Dinxwei widened his eyes and stared intently at Zhu Qiu’s hands. But when her fists unclasped, his face turned instantly pale.
“Why is there nothing inside?!”
“What do you mean nothing? This is air touched by a dragon—it belongs to the dragon race all the same! Isn’t this exactly what you wanted?”
“!!!”
“I was playing you, you goblin!”
“Hey! You dare play me?!”
Dinxwei only just realized what was happening.
Zhu Qiu swiftly swung both hands in front of Dinxwei. A plume of dark mist erupted, auto-homing directly toward his eyes and blinding him completely.
“Bye-bye!”
She used her sacred sword to slice through the ropes instantly, grabbed Sorderland, and zoomed off, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
“STOP HER! YOU FOOLS, COULDN’T YOU EVEN BOTHER TO STOP THE SWORD SAINT?!”
The temporarily blinded Dinxwei roared in helpless fury.
The king delivered a cold, mocking blow: “You were the one acting tough telling us not to move—serves you right for getting played.”
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