In the dim warehouse.
Zhou Yuan's face was pale as he stood to the side, slowly rotating his shoulder, then suddenly pushing.
"—Crack!"
"—Hiss!" Zhou Yuan gasped in pain. Setting the bone was still agonizing, especially since Xu Mu's squeezing had caused internal injuries around his shoulder. Pushing so hard felt like a knife twisting in the wound!
"You're something else, daring to kidnap a prince in the Crown Prince's mansion!" Zhou Yuan yelled irritably at Zuo Mingqiu, who wore a black bamboo hat.
"I didn't mean to."
Zuo Mingqiu said indifferently.
"Heh."
Zhou Yuan let out a cold laugh, his gaze sweeping from Zuo Mingqiu to Xu Mu, then to Li Zao. Finally, his eyes landed on the man lying on the ground, tied up securely. Remembering the events just past, the corner of his mouth twitched again.
Zhou Yuan found it utterly absurd.
He never imagined that he, merely wanting to take a shortcut out of the Crown Prince's mansion, would pass a warehouse, hear some noises, and impulsively push the door open to investigate. He hadn't expected to stumble upon such a scene – kidnappers in the room!
And two of them at that!
He noticed the person lying on the ground was also in the third realm. To be safe, he closed the door and retreated. But unexpectedly, a third kidnapper suddenly appeared behind him and immediately attacked, giving him no chance to speak!
"What can I even say to you people!"
Zhou Yuan glared at Zuo Mingqiu, then fixed an unfriendly look on Xu Mu, narrowing his eyes slightly. "You're quite strong. You almost broke me."
"Speak, who are you!"
Xu Mu looked at Zhou Yuan, scratching his head with an awkward smile, and then said somewhat hesitantly, "Brother Zhou Yuan, we've met before."
Hearing this, Zhou Yuan stared at Xu Mu's features, examining him closely for a moment. He seemed to recognize something but wasn't sure.
"You..."
"—Crack!"
Zhou Yuan tried to lift his arm to speak, but as he exerted himself, a crisp joint-cracking sound echoed. The searing pain turned his face deathly pale, and he couldn't help but tremble.
"I get it. That much strength, there isn't a second person in the world with it."
Zhou Yuan glanced at Xu Mu, then at Zuo Mingqiu, his expression bordering on exasperation.
Who could possibly fight back against these two teaming up for a sneak attack!
"Then who are you?" Zhou Yuan gritted his teeth and said to Li Zao, suspicion in his eyes. "Don't tell me you're Nangong Huaitian!"
"She's your fiancée!"
Xu Mu raised his hand quietly and said.
Zhou Yuan's body froze again.
Li Zao turned her head, looking at Xu Mu, a palpable killing intent flashing in her eyes. She said seriously, "Do you believe I'll reveal your presence in the imperial city?"
Xu Mu's face contorted, and he immediately shut his mouth.
"Wait, wait, there's too much information." Zhou Yuan took a step back, clutching his waist, and looked at Li Zao in stunned silence.
His fiancée?
Judging by Xu Mu's demeanor, he clearly wasn't joking. But why didn't he know he had a fiancée himself?!
Zhou Yuan pondered for a long while before a sudden realization struck him. He pointed at the young woman in front of him with surprise.
"You're Li Zao?!"
"Mm." Li Zao nodded, revealing her true appearance. Her eyes looked at Zhou Yuan with a hint of complexity.
"How are you here? Didn't you already..." Zhou Yuan looked at Li Zao, stopping mid-sentence. His body stiffened again, and he looked at Zuo Mingqiu and Xu Mu, disbelieving. "The Great Xia rebels the imperial city has been hunting lately, it couldn't be you lot, could it."
Xu Mu and Zuo Mingqiu nodded.
Zhou Yuan's eyes widened: "The person in the bamboo hat who killed my seventh brother's guards at Sword Pavilion and took the New Sun Sword, was it also you two?!"
"It was us." Zuo Mingqiu admitted with a nod.
Zhou Yuan was utterly speechless.
Enduring the pain, he grinned through clenched teeth and sat on the threshold, looking at the three people before him, unsure of what to do.
"I don't know if I'm lucky or unlucky." After a long pause, Zhou Yuan calmed down and sighed, looking at the trio. "Speak, what do you want?"
"Attempting to harm my Great Zhou's Domain Lord, killing royal guards, kidnapping a prince... Let me count, how many heads do you owe me."
Zhou Yuan earnestly counted on his fingers. Zuo Mingqiu, seeing this, said with some helplessness:
"Make any demands you have."
"Straightforward!" Zhou Yuan stood up with a smile and looked at the three. "First, tell me why you're here."
"The entire Imperial City is looking for you, yet you come to the Crown Prince's mansion to kidnap an unknown nobody?"
Xu Mu clicked his tongue and said,
"I want to return to the Great Xia Dynasty and pass through Bei Long Dao. I heard that those attending the banquet today have the necessary credentials, so I thought I'd try my luck."
Zhou Yuan nodded upon hearing this, then looked at Zuo Mingqiu and asked, "And you?"
Zuo Mingqiu's expression was calm. "Just wandering."
Zhou Yuan's face stiffened. Just as he was about to question, he suddenly remembered what happened at Tianshi Mountain, so he sighed and patted Zuo Mingqiu's shoulder.
Finally, he looked at Li Zao.
"What are you doing here?"
Zhou Yuan's gaze was suspicious. Was Li Zao here to seek his help? She had personally killed Mei Chuan, and now, with no way out, she was coming to him, her fiancé who hadn't even signed a marriage contract?
"If you're expecting me to marry you and cover up Mei Chuan's murder, that's unlikely."
"You're overthinking it." Li Zao shook her head and said calmly to Zhou Yuan, "I'm here to break off the engagement."
Zhou Yuan seemed to doubt his ears. He looked at Li Zao and asked, "What?"
"Break off the engagement." Li Zao repeated.
Zhou Yuan looked at Li Zao. Her expression was serious, and she didn't seem to be joking. So he also became serious and asked,
"Why?"
"Plum Blossom Valley tried every means, mobilized so many connections and resources, and went through great hardship to send your marriage contract to my study. Why do you want to break it now?"
"Because Plum Blossom Valley likes you, not me." Li Zao looked at Zhou Yuan and said.
Zhou Yuan seemed somewhat speechless. "Just because of this?"
"Because you don't like me, you want to break off the engagement?"
"No, that doesn't seem to be the main point. The main point is that you don't like me?"
Zhou Yuan looked at Li Zao in bewilderment and asked. He wasn't asking this out of vanity, but because over the years, countless women and fairies had pursued him, and many had even tried to drug him to force the issue. He was used to it.
Now Li Zao was saying she didn't like him.
This was truly a novel situation.
"Mm, you're not my type."
Li Zao said calmly again. She looked at Zhou Yuan and spread her slender right palm. "So, please return the marriage contract to me."
Zhou Yuan's eyebrows rose, and he nodded.
"Alright."
"It's just that I don't have it with me. It's in my study."
"Then retrieve it for me later."
Zhou Yuan fell silent upon hearing this.
Li Zao frowned and asked, "You're not going back on your word, are you?"
"How could that be." Zhou Yuan smiled slightly, glanced at Li Zao and Xu Mu, and said, "I can satisfy all your requests."
"However, you three must each promise me one thing. Once these matters are settled, everything else can be discussed!"