Chapter 201 One plays the bad cop, the other the good cop

"You...you are...Xiao Qidi?!"

Mu Cheng recognized him this time.

He was terrified and instinctively reached for his waist to draw his sword.

However, that knife had already been lost when General Liu captured it earlier.

He stood frozen in place, staring intently at Xiao Qidi with suspicion. "I never imagined that it would be you who sent people to rescue me and my family from the Great Wilderness. What exactly are you up to!"

Xiao Qidi sat down calmly, picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip, and said quietly, "Of course I want to get revenge on you, to bring you back and torture you slowly."

Mu Cheng still remembered that when Xiao Qidi was very young, he already had a strong desire for revenge.

Even if no one helps him, he will definitely find a chance to retaliate tenfold after being bullied by other children.

It was precisely because he discovered this quality in him that Mu Cheng did not want to leave any future trouble for the Great Wilderness.

The air seemed to freeze at that moment.

The youthful yet stubborn and gloomy face in Mu Cheng's memory gradually overlapped with the much more mature but still gloomy appearance before him.

The overwhelming aura of the monarch sent chills down his spine, even making him, a pillar of the Great Wilderness, feel a chill run down his spine.

However, he did not show any sign of submission or fear.

“Xiao Qidi, you’ve really gone to a lot of trouble,” Mu Cheng said, head held high. “Anyway, I’m already in your hands. I’ll accept whatever you do, even if you cut me into a thousand pieces! But I hope you won’t involve my family.”

Xiao Qidi casually toyed with his long fingers over the teacup. “Since I went through all the trouble of capturing you so that I could torture you slowly, I should also make good use of your family. Otherwise, given your personality, any torture I inflict on you wouldn’t be considered torture.”

Mu Cheng's pupils constricted, "Xiao Qidi, you..."

Seeing Mu Cheng finally lose control and reveal a hint of fear, Xiao Qidi slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

However, Mu Cheng quickly calmed down, his fear disappeared, and was replaced by a calm expression. "Kid, you almost scared me. I think you might torture me, but you will never implicate my family."

Xiao Qidi raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

Mu Cheng said frankly, "Although you hold grudges and are vengeful, you are not a treacherous villain. Back then, you suffered in my Great Wilderness, and I even said I would kill you. So this debt should also be settled with me. My family has never met you before, so you will not hold a grudge against them. Besides, they have received your careful care here, which further confirms my speculation."

Xiao Qidi sneered, "General, you're mistaken. It's not that I wanted to take good care of your family, but rather that Fairy Jinli is kind and benevolent, which is why they were able to survive."

“Fairy Jinli…it’s her again…” Mu Cheng rubbed his full stomach, feeling increasingly grateful to this very special and mysterious young woman.

"Mu Cheng, you have now been abandoned by the Desolate Kingdom. I consider you a rare talent. As long as you are willing to submit to my Great Xuan, I will definitely give you an important position. What do you say?" Xiao Qidi offered his terms.

Mu Cheng was somewhat surprised, "Weren't you going to get revenge on me and torture me?"

Xiao Qidi said calmly, "Back then, you did not bully me or my mother. Your desire to kill me was not due to personal grudges, but for the sake of your Great Wilderness. This is understandable."

Mu Cheng was even more surprised. He hadn't expected this kid to be such a reasonable person who clearly distinguished between right and wrong.

However, based on his few words so far, it's still impossible to determine whether he's being sincere or faking it.

He was born as a hostage in another country and suffered years of bullying. After returning to Xuan Kingdom, he eliminated Marquis Lao An of Le'an, imprisoned his birth mother, the Empress Dowager, and overthrew Prime Minister Situ Wei, with whom he had a relationship comparable to that of father and son. He was crowned and took power ahead of schedule. Not long after, he also destroyed Yu Kingdom. He is only eighteen years old now.

Who knows what a person with such terrifying temperament and ability is really thinking?

For him, putting on a magnanimous attitude is a piece of cake.

"Mu Cheng, you still haven't given me an answer," Xiao Qidi reminded him.

Mu Cheng snapped out of his daze, a stern look appearing in his eyes. "I will never submit to you. Do with me as you please."

"Why refuse to submit?" Xiao Qidi said calmly, "The Great Wilderness King has already abandoned you, and the Great Wilderness Court has been controlled by treacherous officials. There is no place for you to stand there."

Mu Cheng's expression was solemn. "As a citizen of the Great Wilderness, how can I betray my country! If you want me to help your Xuan Kingdom attack the Great Wilderness in the future, you might as well kill me now!"

Xiao Qidi's eyes held a playful glint, then turned icy cold. "So, you'd rather die than surrender?"

Mu Cheng snorted coldly, "Yes! No matter what you say, it's useless. Whether you threaten or bribe me, or pretend to deceive me, I will die rather than surrender!"

Xiao Qidi narrowed his eyes. "The lives of your family members are in my hands."

"Hahahaha!" Mu Cheng laughed loudly, "If they die, I will only hate you! Don't even think about me submitting! You wouldn't do such a foolish thing! However, if you only kill me and treat my family well, you can show the world the magnanimity of your Xuan Kingdom king and win praise."

Xiao Qidi laughed and said, "What you said makes a lot of sense. In that case, I have no choice but to kill you."

"Guards, drag him out and behead him!"

Xiao Qidi gave the order loudly.

Two armored soldiers entered the tent and dragged Mu Cheng out without saying a word.

Xiao Qidi quickly pulled out a walkie-talkie from his pocket. "Jinli, Jinli, just as you said, Mu Cheng is extremely wary of me. I really can't gain his trust. Now that I've played the bad cop, it's your turn to play the good cop."

"Okay, okay, I guarantee he'll be completely devoted to you, hehehe."

After replying, Ning Jinli quietly followed.

Two armored soldiers led Mu Cheng to the edge of the woods next to the camp.

Mu Cheng was quite tough. Even though he wasn't tied up, he didn't have the slightest thought of escaping. He stood up straight and raised his neck, saying, "Thank you both for sending me on my way!"

One of the Xuanjia soldiers advised, "General Mu, our sovereign is a good ruler. He cherishes talent and cares for the people. He is a thousand times better than your foolish and incompetent ruler. Why don't you reconsider?"

Hearing the words "caring for the people" touched Mu Cheng.

But these kinds of things are just hearsay; who knows if Xiao Qidi's people are lying?

Another soldier in black armor spoke up, "General Mu, it's such a pity that you're going to lose your life for a foolish ruler of the desolate country who doesn't trust you. We really can't bear to do it."

"Alright! No need for further words!" Mu Chengxin hardened his heart, convinced that these two were acting on Xiao Qidi's orders to try and induce him to submit, and urged loudly, "Hurry up and do it! Give me a quick death!"

"Then, let's see General Mu off on his journey!"

After speaking, one of the armored soldiers drew his long sword and walked behind Mu Cheng.

Mu Cheng stood proudly, took one last look in the direction of his family's tent, and closed his eyes.

Swish—

The long sword pierced the air.

Then came a muffled thud.

Mu Cheng's burly body crashed to the ground.

Two soldiers in black armor quickly knelt down and checked his breathing and pulse.

Ning Jinli quickly approached and asked in a low voice, "How is it?"

"Fairy, as you said, we knocked him unconscious with the back of the knife. He's out of danger."

"That's good. Take him with you and come with me!"

Two armored soldiers carried Mu Cheng and followed Ning Jinli into the woods.

After walking a short distance, we arrived at a cave.

"Put it here."

"Yes, fairy."

The two put Mu Cheng down and left quickly.

Ning Jinli stood at the cave entrance. With a thought, Mu Cheng vanished from his spot, and then Ning Jinli entered the cave.

There is a portal to another dimension here.

In order to secretly and quickly deliver the more than 200,000 sets of Yu Kingdom weapons and equipment seized at Huangsha Pass to the border of Da Xuan, so as to facilitate negotiations and trade with Huang Kingdom, Xiao Qidi personally went to the mountain range between the two countries' borders and set up camp.

Then, Ning Jin, through his connection with him, opened a spacetime passage that led directly to this place.

Thus, a large amount of Yu Kingdom weapons and equipment could easily be transported from the west side of Da Xuan to the east side of Da Xuan, and then easily transported to the border of Huang Kingdom.

In addition, this place also became a small secret base for the Xuan Kingdom.

It played a very important role in the plan to rescue Mu Cheng.

Ning Jinli used the space-time portal to bring the unconscious Mu Cheng directly back to Linxian City.

——

When Mu Cheng woke up, it was already the next morning.

He opened his eyes groggily, not yet able to see his surroundings clearly, but he felt that the place where he was lying was very comfortable.

"Huh? I'm not dead?!"

Mu Cheng snapped awake and sat up abruptly.

Only then did I realize that I was in a clean and tidy room.

He soon realized that this room was unusual.

The walls were pure white and extremely smooth, with no trace of bricks.

He hurriedly got out of bed and reached out to touch the wall. "This... how was this built? Was it carved from a single piece of stone? But it doesn't feel like a stone slab..."

Then he looked back at the spot where he had just been lying and stared in even greater surprise.

The bed was higher and wider than any he had ever seen. The mattress, blankets, and pillows were soft and thick. Although there were no embroidered patterns, it was immediately clear that they were of better quality than those used by the king of the desolate kingdom.

"Where...is this place?"

Although Mu Chengren woke up, his mind was even more confused.

After a moment of stunned silence, he quickly walked to the window, wanting to see what was happening outside.

"Strange, why is this window just a frame?" he muttered as he peered out.

Thud—

A muffled thud.

Mu Cheng was bumped on the forehead.

"hiss……"

He gasped and hurriedly reached for the window, only to find upon closer inspection that there was a transparent layer inside.

"This is... crystal?"

Mu Cheng nearly dropped his jaw in astonishment. "Such a clear, flawless, top-grade crystal... a huge piece... and it's been made into a window?! Good heavens! Even the kings of the world wouldn't be this extravagant!"

Shocked, he finally saw what was happening outside the window.

Under the brilliant glow of the rising sun, in the distance are rolling green hills, closer are groves of trees laden with various fruits, and endless golden fields stretch as far as the eye can see. Even closer are various unique houses arranged in neat rows, with wide roads crisscrossing them.

The streets were bustling with pedestrians, all of whom were wearing strangely styled clothes and shoes.

Besides horse-drawn carriages, there were also some strange, box-like vehicles that could run very fast without being pulled by animals.

Some people even rode on strange-looking two-wheeled vehicles.

Mu Cheng rubbed his eyes hard to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, but the scene was still hard for him to understand. After a moment of thought, he suddenly realized:

"I understand... I really did die, otherwise I wouldn't have come to this bizarre world. Could it be... this is the world people enter after they die? It doesn't seem to be the underworld. Could it be... I've ascended to the celestial realm?"

"General Mu, this is not some immortal realm." A clear and pleasant voice suddenly rang out.

Mu Cheng hurriedly turned around, and when he saw that the person who pushed open the door was Ning Jinli, his eyes immediately lit up with joy.

Although he knew nothing about this Fairy Jinli mentioned by others, he could be considered an acquaintance in this strange and unfamiliar place.

"Fairy Jinli!"

Mu Cheng quickly stepped forward to greet her, "Excuse me, fairy, if this is not the immortal realm, then I... am not dead yet? I clearly remember being beheaded last night."

As he spoke, he touched the back of his neck, where the pain was still quite noticeable, making him feel a little dizzy.

A sly glint flashed in Ning Jinli's eyes as she said in a serious tone, "Yes, you were beheaded, you're dead."

"Huh? Then what's wrong with me..." Mu Cheng's already dizzy mind was now completely confused.

Ning Jinli explained in a serious manner, "You are just a soul right now, and then I brought you to this place."

"A soul... really?" Mu Cheng looked at his hands in disbelief. "But... why do I feel like my body is real?"

"Come with me."

Ning Jinli suppressed a laugh and turned to leave.

Mu Cheng hurriedly followed her out of the room, through a corridor, and finally through a large door to the outside of the house.

He glanced back and saw a plaque hanging above the gate that read "Linxian Grand Inn".

"What a peculiar inn..." Mu Cheng muttered, then suddenly noticed that the ground beneath his feet was hard and extremely flat, so he lay down to examine it closely. He then exclaimed in amazement, "Fairy, how was this road built? There is not a trace of soil, nor does it look like it was made of stone slabs."

Ning Jinli casually said, "It's paved with cement."

"Cement?" Mu Cheng was completely astonished. "Water and soil can be made into this? Fairy, are you making fun of me?"

At this moment, groups of three or five passersby walked by, bowing to Ning Jinli and respectfully calling out, "Fairy Jinli."

However, these passersby ignored Mu Cheng, who was lying on the ground with his buttocks sticking out, and who was covered in dirt and stubble.

Mu Cheng quickly realized this as well, and stood up in a panic, "Fairy...they can't see me?"

Ning Jinli said in a serious tone, "Didn't I tell you? You're already dead. Now all that's left is your soul. Of course, the living can't see you."

"Then...why can the fairy see me and speak to me?"

"Because I am a fairy."

"Ah, yes, yes, yes!"

"Come on, let me show you around. Don't wander off on your own, and don't bump into any living people. If you get hit by the yang energy of a living person, your soul will be scattered and you won't be able to reincarnate."

"She's a fairy, I'll definitely be careful."

Mu Cheng now completely believes her and follows her closely.

The passersby she encountered afterwards also greeted her with bows and salutations, similarly ignoring Mu Cheng's presence.

"Fairy..." Mu Cheng carefully avoided passersby and asked in a low voice, "Where exactly is this place? Why did you bring me here? Can you tell me the reason?"