Return of the Celestial King

Seeing Su Pei Pei seemingly on the verge of smashing the Jade Pendant in a fit of impulse, Zhu Zifeng grew desperate.

He didn’t dare to step forward, so he could only say quickly,

"Su Pei Pei, just give me the Jade Pendant. I’ll agree to any demand you make. How about it?"

Su Pei Pei clenched her jaw tightly, stubborn tears streaming down her face as she remained silent.

Zhu Zifeng’s eyes darted around before he quickly added,

"Look, didn’t you come here looking for Medicine King Valley to treat your father? I can have them send someone to save your father right now. How does that sound?"

However, mentioning this was worse than saying nothing. The moment he brought it up, Su Pei Pei began seething with hatred.

She said furiously,

"Zhu Zifeng, if I’d known Medicine King Valley was just a puppet of your Zhu Family, I would have rather died than come here!"

Listening from the shadows, Qin Tuo heard everything clearly. Only then did he realize that the girl named Su Pei Pei had walked right into a trap.

But he was also curious. ’Why does Zhu Zifeng want this Jade Pendant so badly?’

Zhu Zifeng couldn’t help but frown before continuing,

"Su Pei Pei, you need to understand something. It wasn’t my Zhu Family that destroyed your Su Family—it was the Liu Family. If you’re going to blame someone, blame them."

However, just as he finished speaking, another group of people slowly emerged in the distance.

The young master leading them had a cynical, devil-may-care look on his face. He spoke mockingly,

"Well, well, the Zhu Family really has no shame, do you? Trying to sling all your mud on us."

Qin Tuo recognized the young master at a glance. It was Liu Tao.

Seeing Liu Tao arrive with his men, the color drained from Zhu Zifeng’s face. He stammered,

"Liu Tao, what are you doing here?"

He was clearly stunned. He had thought his movements were discreet, but now Liu Tao’s arrival had completely upended his plans.

Liu Tao sneered smugly.

"Did you really think only the Zhu Family knew that Su Pei Pei had fled here? The Liu Family’s intelligence network is every bit as good as yours!"

Behind him stood a large group of Inner Strength masters, each one glaring like a tiger stalking its prey, just waiting for the command to rush forward and seize Su Pei Pei.

But once Zhu Zifeng recovered from his shock, he clasped his hands behind his back, his expression turning cold and indifferent.

He snorted.

"Liu Tao, you’d better think this through. This is Celestial South Province, Medicine King Valley’s territory. You’re seriously overestimating yourself if you think you can challenge me here!"

As Zhu Zifeng spoke, all the men behind him broke into cold sneers.

In this entire region, Medicine King Valley reigned supreme, and it was clearly a puppet of the Zhu Family.

Zhu Zifeng was absolutely confident that Liu Tao couldn’t possibly win against him.

However, Liu Tao just shook his head, his face filled with contempt.

"Mr. Liao, if you would please come out."

Liu Tao said with a casual smile.

The moment he spoke, a middle-aged man emerged from the shadows behind him.

The moment Qin Tuo saw this middle-aged man, his heart skipped a beat.

He vaguely noticed that the man bore a slight resemblance to the deceased Liao Feiying, and a suspicion immediately formed in his mind.

Sure enough, the moment Zhu Zifeng saw the man, he cried out in alarm.

"Liao Feihu is working for the Liu Family? How is that possible?"

Hearing this, Qin Tuo finally confirmed his suspicion. This was Liao Feiying’s brother, Liao Feihu, now the Chief Instructor in the Capital City.

And from Zhu Zifeng’s reaction, Qin Tuo gathered that Liao Feihu’s allegiance to the Liu Family was not widely known.

Liu Tao laughed smugly.

"But of course. Mr. Liao is now an honored guest of our Liu Family. So, why don’t you just back off?"

Beside him, Liao Feihu’s eyes were cold, and he exuded a faint, threatening aura, a clear warning to everyone on the other side.

Liao Feihu’s power was immense; even Zhu Zifeng had to consider his next move carefully.

But then his eyes fell on the Jade Pendant in Su Pei Pei’s hand, and his resolve hardened once more.

He gritted his teeth and waved his hand.

"Damn it, I’m going all in! Everyone, prepare for a fight to the death!"

With a roar from Zhu Zifeng, his men took their positions, facing off against Liu Tao’s group.

Zhu Zifeng had made up his mind. Even facing the formidable Liao Feihu, he would not retreat a single step.

The Jade Pendant was simply too important to lose.

But just then, unnoticed by anyone, Qin Tuo closed in silently, like a ghostly shadow...

Liu Tao was a little surprised to see Zhu Zifeng standing his ground so stubbornly.

He gave a contemptuous smile and snapped his fingers.

"Mr. Liao, it looks like the Zhu Family is determined to fight to the death today!"

Liao Feihu sneered.

"Young Master Liu, rest assured. I will make sure you successfully obtain the Jade Pendant today!"

With Liao Feihu’s assurance, Liu Tao burst out laughing, a great weight lifting from his shoulders.

The tension between the two sides instantly ratcheted up, and a great battle seemed inevitable.

Just then, someone suddenly cried out in alarm.

"Wait, where did Su Pei Pei go?"

Every head whipped around in unison, and everyone’s expression changed dramatically.

The spot where Su Pei Pei had been cornered, unable to escape, was now empty. She had vanished into thin air!

How could a living person just disappear in front of so many people? What was going on?

Everyone on both sides began to panic.

This was especially true for Liu Tao and Zhu Zifeng. They had come here on a mission to retrieve the Jade Pendant.

Now, with the Jade Pendant about to be in their grasp, it had suddenly vanished. One can only imagine their fury!

Zhu Zifeng immediately cursed aloud.

"Useless fools! You let a grown person just walk away? What good are any of you?"

Liu Tao, however, turned to one of his men and asked thoughtfully,

"Did any of you see who took Su Pei Pei?"

His subordinates looked just as innocent, glancing at one another with complete bewilderment in their eyes.

They had all been so focused on preparing for a fight to the death that they had completely forgotten about Su Pei Pei.

"What are you standing around for? Go after her, now!"

Zhu Zifeng and Liu Tao roared in unison, and their men immediately scattered into the night to give chase.

Under the cover of night, a figure sped into the distance.

A closer look revealed it was Qin Tuo, carrying Su Pei Pei on his back.

Su Pei Pei’s face was a mask of terror as she constantly struggled and resisted.

But Qin Tuo clamped one hand over her mouth and held her firmly with the other, preventing her from crying out.

Qin Tuo fled far from the alley, only stopping when he reached a hidden spot where he could finally relax.

Then, Qin Tuo slowly set Su Pei Pei down.