East District.

  Tap. Whoosh! Tap. Whoosh! Tap...

  With each step springing over gaps as if he were a leaf carried by the cool night breeze, Bubai sprinted through the deserted streets - empty save for the chirping crickets out for a camping trip in the wee hours of the morning.

  In the distance, he could see the looming tower more clearly now, its silhouette against the moon barely peeking out from the fog-den sky.

  It seems that after a long absence, the moon queerly chose this night to break through...

  The sliver of its presence spoke of its struggle against the nature of winter, but just like the boy who cried wolf, it showed up nevertheless, as if it wanted to do its best to warn the audience of the dangers of progressing onward.

  As, progressing forward was a must for Bubai, and his goal was already ever so close.

  But the closing gap between him and his destination did little to relieve his mind that raced in sync with his steps.

  Honestly, to say he wasn't worried would be a lie.

  Though Bubai had no concrete idea of what had transpired back at his tower, he could deduce some troubling conclusions based on the fragments of intel he had to work with.

  First and foremost, how did the twins leave the tower?

  It was impossible for Qi-refiners to break out, let alone mere mortals.

  That left the obvious answer. They had been taken out by someone else.

  Now, how was the question.

  Unlike a simple inner sect courtyard residence, even Foundation Establishment cultivators would find it almost impossible to breach the tower’s defenses.

  If it were the golden core elders breaking in using brute force, then the tower might not be standing like it is now...

  This left a simple, yet the most likely option: the key.

  For the tower’s residents, the key was the sole means of entry and exit. There was no mystery here.

  Losing his key can undoubtedly invite trouble, but even a master thief won’t be stealing Bubai’s key from his storage space in an entirely another dimension.

  As, Bubai hasn’t forgotten. Those in possession of the key to his tower wasn’t him alone.

  With the spare key holder WeiWei out of the equation, it didn’t take much to surmise the identities of the remaining key holders.

  Either someone under the Golden Core Ma Pei, the true owner of the tower, someone of simir or higher status than the elder himself, or a w enforcer of substantial rank like Officer Ponytail.

  Regardless of whichever one the roulette nds on, it was clear the twins couldn’t escape an interrogation, and even Xiao Lan might not be exempt.

  Though Bubai had luckily cleaned out his secrets like his scorpions, he wasn't entirely in the clear because there were still loose ends: both twins and Xiao Lan.

  While they weren’t privy to the specifics, they knew enough about his scorpion rearing.

  If subjected to inquiry, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t leak details that could allow others to piece together the puzzle!

  Bubai took a sharp breath, trying to calm his the unnecessary worries gnawing at him.

  Let’s think on the bright side.

  The secret of his scorpions was just a small concern since he had already pushed the burden onto the old granny.

  At worst, it would result in a standoff and a negotiation of interests among the higher-ups.

  Thus, Bubai wasn't overly worried about the twins being taken away.

  In truth, if Bubai wished, he could pursue them, knowing their approximate location thanks to the Wei Yi’s impnted tribution seed, which did well as a beacon even across districts.

  Of course, it was clear Bubai didn’t choose to go on this wild goose chase because he knew it would be as futile as chasing shadows.

  Since the one who had taken them away had the authority to access his tower, it implied the orders came from someone of status, most likely the upper echelon.

  Therefore, even if Bubai could intercept the procession, it wouldn’t change the ending of them being brought back.

  At most, Bubai could silence them all, but that would be an extremely stupid thing to do under the watch of the cultivators overseeing the operation.

  The destination of the taken was an ending he couldn’t change.

  Accepting this inevitable outcome, Bubai opted for the next best course: returning to the scene of the incident to search for any clues that could sway events in his favor.

  Once he got a gist on what happened and devised countermeasures, it wasn’t too te to go reunite with them at their final destination.

  Don’t bme him for not rushing off to save the beauty like a true, hot-headed protagonist. This was just his cold rationality at work.

  But rationality wasn’t his sole impetus.

  Bubai must say his trust in his instincts had saved him on multiple occasions, and right now, his gut feeling was screaming for him to return to the tower.

  This was a bad feeling. The reason for this foreboding feeling could only be one.

  The twins might have been taken, but that didn’t mean his most treasured card had the same fate.

  On the off-chance she hadn’t been taken away with the twins…

  Many bad endings had already popped into Bubai’s mind.

  Was she taken elsewhere? Maybe she was heavily injured? Or worse, could she have valiantly sacrificed herself? Or an even more dreadful possibility…

  “Xiao Lan, hold on. I’m coming...”

  Skidding to a halt at the base of his tower, Bubai jammed his jade slip into the key slot.

  The moment of truth was at hand, and his heart pounded like eddies swirling in a river, flowing in sync with the opening maw of the looming tower.

  When the entrance finally rumbled open enough, his eyes jumped to the spot where the persistent shadow lingered in the depths of his mind, but…

  The loyal door guard was missing from her post.

  Bubai’s pounding heart fell silent and sank like a pebble into the harrowing depths of the sea.

  Cautiously stepping into the tower, he was met with a scene of devastation.

  Around the double doorways facing each other, the walls, ceiling, and floor were painted with the scars of sword sshes left from the battle already being imagined in his mind.

  Drawing closer, the glint of scattered gss shards caught his eye, and Bubai followed their trail into the bathhouse.

  Here, something immediately drew his attention like a magnet pulling on his soul.

  The broken halves of the familiar adventurer’s sword he had given away after he had taken an arrow to the knee.

  Next was the silver hair accessory - a painful reminder of the weapon he had gifted during a date under the sunset.

  Finally, teasing him like distant stars prophesying an ominous fate were the torn shreds of a lic robe he knew all too well.

  A fiery rage ignited within Bubai’s cold heart, but he quickly burned a drop of green dew to quell the fmes.

  Machine mind mode activated. Battle prep initiated… complete.

  Crunch. Crunch.

  Walking out of the gssy mess on the corridor floor, Bubai’s cold eyes mechanically snapped over to the stairs leading up to his personal vendetta.

  Drawing closer to the inevitable, his ears already tuned in to the faint but unmistakable echos coming from upstairs.

  The familiarity of those obnoxious sounds caused his eyes to darken, and nothing stopped the dagger slipping into his hand.

  Then, like a snake shedding its skin, Bubai left his emotions behind and ascended the stairs with the silent steps of a killer.

  But only halfway up, an unfamiliar spiritual force submerged him. Verdict: The opponent was vigint.

  Knowing there was no point in hiding any longer, Bubai stormed up the spiral stairs like a serpent smelling prey, soon arriving at his bedroom.

  As soon as Bubai shoved open the jade door, a snide taunt broke his defense, “Keke, you’ve returned sooner than we thought.”

  Locking onto the source of the snobbish voice, Bubai was immediately greeted by an infuriating scene.

  There, a half-bare dog in heat was arrogantly occupying his bed and clutching the willowy waist of a limp woman.

  Pressed against the hard, unforgiving surface of the bck jade bed, the beauty’s face was obscured, but her messy violet hair can’t be any more familiar.

  Her identity was clear. It was no other than Xiao Lan!

  As for the beast in human skin, there was no mistaking him. Bubai’s memory can’t go wrong when it came to the notable enemies marked down in his bingo book.

  But now, it was a name that had been upgraded to the deadly feud list that will eternally add a smudge in his dark history.

  Who was he?

  This was the recently promoted foundation establishment disciple. This was the new disciple taken under the wings of Elder Mo. This jerk was-

  “Long Batian!”