Yang Chen supported Wang Ma, who looked like she was about to collapse at any time.
Her hair was a mess, and her face was ghastly pale with a bloody scratch on her forehead. Upon taking a closer look, he saw blood at the corner of her mouth.
Wang Ma wailed when she saw him. âSir! Go save Qingâer! You must save her!â
âQingâer?!â Yang Chenâs gaze turned cold, but it wasnât to ask about it yet. âWang Ma, donât talk yet. Come in, Iâll treat your wound!â
Using his divine sense, he realized she was injured with internal energy. Other than the pain, she was fine.
At that moment, Lin Ruoxi and Mo Qianni had rushed to the entrance. When Yang Chen settled Wang Ma down on the sofa, they circled him and asked questions. After all, Wang Ma was like family to them.
Despite her young age, Lanlan knew something had happened to Wang Ma. After biting the drumstick in hand, she ran to the couch and watched Yang Chen as he transferred a surge of Heaven and Earth Restoration Energy into Wang Maâs body.
Fortunately, a quick repair of the soft tissues was needed.
Although she had recovered, her head was throbbing. She held onto Yang Chenâs hand and pleaded, âSir, Qingâer was taken away by people of the hidden clan! Go save her! I think theyâve caught her to punish her. I-Iâm worried that sheâll be in danger!â
As she didnât have any cultivation, she was lucky to survive from being thrown to the wall by Luo Hang. When she awoke with a splitting headache, it was already nighttime.
Due to the mild concussion, it took her a long time to recall what had happened. When she did, she quickly rushed over to look for Yang Chen, who was eating dinner with the rest.
Upon learning that Xiao Zhiqing was caught by the Luo clan, Yang Chenâs face darkened, and he clenched his teeth. âWho were they? Did they say where theyâre bringing her?â
Wang Ma tried her best to recall. âI remember the girl we met at the shoe store. She was with them. The one who knocked me out was a young man with shoulder-length hair and devious looks. An old man was following them. I donât know what happened after I fainted, so I donât know where they went,â she sobbed, feeling apprehensive about her daughterâs condition.
On the other hand, Yang Chen was trembling with rage. Reminded of something, Mo Qianni gasped. âCould it be Luo Xiaoxiao? Did she tell her brother about Zhiqingâs whereabouts?â
âIsnât it obvious? There canât be such a coincidence. Hah, I shouldâve killed her that last time. If Qingâer hadnât persuaded me, and I wasnât being merciful, Qingâer wouldnât have been in danger nowâŠâ Feeling remorseful, Yang Chen clenched his fist.
He stood up and declared in a deep voice. âWang Ma, donât worry. Iâll find Qingâer and bring her home safely. Otherwise⊠I would be too ashamed to face you.â
Fury surged within him when imagined the Luo clan torturing Xiao Zhiqing.
When she hadnât escaped, she had suffered inhumane treatment, tested as a subject, and tortured by the poisons.
This time, they wouldnât do something as simple as killing her since she was being brought back as a traitor. After all, women with the Nine Yin Meridian were extremely rare.
Yang Chen dared not ponder over it. The more he did, the more painful his chest felt.
The heartache grew stronger when he recalled how she urged him to give the pills to the other women.
He owed her too much. If anything were to happen to her, he could never live with it.
âRuoxi, Qianni, Iâll go look for Qingâer. Tell the rest about this,â he announced and was ready to leave when Lin Ruoxi grabbed his arm.
âWhat are you doing! Do you think running out like this hastily will help you find Zhiqing?â she rebuked.
Confounded, Yang Chen halted in his tracks.
With a calm tone, she continued, âFirst, youâre not certain if Zhiqing has been brought back to the illusionary dimension. Even if you get in, do you know where to find her? The Xiao clan or the Luo clan? I remembered Zhiqing said that the place is vast and far bigger than Kekexili. Do you wanna find her like a headless chicken?â
âI can just interrogate someone. Iâm sure one of them knows the location of the hidden clans.â
Lin Ruoxi snorted. âEven if you found her, are you confident enough to bring her out unscathed? Even if most of them arenât a match for you, what if a minority of them are elites? If you provoke them and they use Zhiqing as a hostage and harm her, whatâs the point in doing all that then?â
Her words sent chills down his spine.
Sheâs right! I just met a mysterious elite at Firstâs office this morning. There might be more of them, not just around First!
All this while, Yang Chen had been acting as he lived under a rock. He thought he owned the world just because his cultivation had improved greatly. But in fact, some elites just didnât bother to fight him.
Are people of the hidden clans all weaker than me? Hmm, now that I think about it, the person I met in Australia didnât go all out. He canât be underestimated. And the mysterious person at the Tang Sect had a profound cultivationâŠ
Seeing that Yang Chen had calmed down, Lin Ruoxi let out a sigh of relief. Still holding his arm, she said, âHubby, I know youâre anxious. Weâre all worried about Zhiqing too, but you mustnât use force to deal with this matter. If you barge in recklessly to save her, itâll only make things worse. You would alert them and cause the elites to gather and fight you. Not only will you fail to save Zhiqing, but youâll also put yourself in danger! Have you forgotten about the people coveting your cultivation technique? When youâre in the mundane world, they canât do much, but things will be different once youâre inside. Itâs their territory there. You can only sneak in to save her. Otherwise, youâll only put her in danger.â
Yang Chen let out a long breath. âIâm too reckless. Youâre right; I have to find a way to sneak in.â
âI know youâll go there, so Iâm going to stop you. Zhiqing is Wang Maâs daughter, so you have to save her. But most importantly, you have to be careful. Donât forget that youâre our pillar of support, okay?â Lin Ruoxi said with reddened eyes.
He nodded. Now that she had enlightened him, he did have a rough plan in mind.
With the Huang token in his hand from killing Huangyun Taoist, he could find the entrance to the array and impersonate someone from the dimension.
Most importantly, he could use the Blinding Leaf to change his appearance and cultivation level. As long as the other party wasnât in the Shang Qing Heavenly Lightning stage and his acting wasnât too terrible, his disguise would be safe.
With these two items, he might be able to find Xiao Zhiqing. Though it would take more time and trouble, it was much safer.
Since they didnât kill her on the spot, her life wouldnât be in danger. As for revenge, he could do it after saving her.
After some deliberation, he realized it wouldnât be safe for the ladies to continue staying in China. If anything were to happen to him in the illusionary dimension, his family would be vulnerable to threats.
âRuoxi, I know it will be troublesome for you, but I need you to bring Lanlan, Qianni, Wang Ma, and everyone else to Forgotten Realms. That place is near to the Stern siblings and Raphael. If any cultivators try to harm you, they will intervene. Besides, Jane, Rose, and Ningâer have cultivation, so you will all be safe there.â
Lanlan pouted in displeasure. âNo! I wanna play with my friends in kindergarten!â
âShut up! Listen to me! Iâm not discussing this with you. Itâs an order!â Yang Chen chided.
Still pouting, the little girl hugged Lin Ruoxiâs leg and hid behind her. Even though she felt aggrieved, she didnât dare to speak up anymore. Deep down, she still feared her father.
âI understand. Be careful.â Lin Ruoxi stroked her head, instead of standing up for her. She might pamper her daughter a lot, but she knew to draw a line when serious matters were involved.
Meanwhile, Mo Qianniâs hands were trembling.
Since they had to go to the Mediterranean Sea, Lin Ruoxi made a phone call and booked a private jet. There was no need for Yang Chen to help her, which displayed her caliber as a businesswoman.
As for the companyâs matter, she could handle it over the internet. After all, no one would dare to say a word even if she didnât show up to work.
Yang Chen entrusted some tasks to Ron and the other subordinates, then recounted the situation to Hannya and Li Jingjing. Since Li Jingjing was in Foreign Affairs, no one would dare to harm her under Firstâs watch.