He could not be found

Under Pei Qinzhou's spell control, Li Ke led the Imperial Law Enforcement's iron cavalry into the long road leading to the Xuanzheng Hall.

Outside the emperor's palace, tensions were high, with the imperial guards and the imperial law officers locked in a silent standoff.

"How dare you, Li Ke! How dare you trespass into the Emperor's bedchamber!" Wang Shuhuai shouted angrily, protecting the Emperor.

“With a tyrannical ruler in power, why wouldn’t we dare?!” Li Ke’s eyes were empty, and his face showed no fear whatsoever.

"Cough cough cough—" The emperor was furious and coughed up blood: "Guards, seize this traitor!"

Swords clashed, blood splattered in the hall, and the stench of blood instantly filled the air.

The two sides were deadlocked. Li Ke, who was highly skilled in martial arts, fought his way to the emperor. Wang Shuhuai stood in front of the emperor and shouted for his protection, but neither of them could save themselves.

Li Ke raised his sword and pointed it at the emperor: "Hand over the military tally."

"Traitorous scoundrel, how dare you threaten the very foundation of my Great Xia Dynasty!"

Chaos has already broken out inside the palace, and outside the palace walls, a new storm is just beginning.

The imperial guards closest to Shangjing had arrived one after another, while Pei Qinzhou and Qi Yuning's men kept them outside the palace gates.

The first imperial guard leader to arrive was named Wang Xuan. He looked at Qi Yuning before him and a hint of suspicion crossed his mind: "If I'm not mistaken, this young lady should be General Qi Yuheng's younger sister. Why is she here to obstruct the emperor's rescue? Could it be that Miss Qi intends to follow her brother's example, betray the country, collude with the enemy, and plot a rebellion?!"

“My brother is a great general who protects the Great Xia and is respected by everyone in the Great Xia. How dare you slander him here!” Qi Yuning held the reins of his warhorse in one hand and a long spear in the other, with the Qi family army behind him.

"Whether it's slander or not, His Majesty will make the judgment! You're just a woman, your words carry no weight! Get out of the way immediately, or you'll be treated as a traitor, and don't blame me for being ruthless!"

After saying that, Qi Yuning and Pei Qinzhou nodded to each other.

Pei Qinzhou rode his horse towards the palace, while Qi Yuning led troops to guard outside the palace, blocking the imperial guards who were on their way.

A major battle is imminent.

Halfway there, hundreds of arrows hung high on the city wall, aimed at Pei Qinzhou, who was alone. A ringing sound came to his ears, and his eyes went dark for a moment. Fortunately, the demonic energy protected him and blocked all the arrows that were shot at him.

He forcefully suppressed the miasma that was backfiring within his body, and kept praying silently that Heaven could give him a little more time so that he could complete what he was doing today and remove all obstacles for his beloved. He would willingly accept any torment that came with it.

After vomiting a mouthful of blood, only a faint glimmer of light remained in his eyes.

That's enough.

Although the Qi family army was brave, the number of imperial guards was increasing. She was slashed on the back and fell off her horse, kneeling on one knee.

"Young General!" Upon seeing this, her former subordinates all rushed towards her and surrounded her.

Wang Xuan: "Surrender! The Qi family has rendered meritorious service in protecting the country; I will spare your lives!"

Qi Yuning sneered, wiping the blood from her chin. She slowly drew her brother's sword from her side: "My brother fought for the Great Xia, and now, I will fight for him!"

"Qi Family Army, listen to my command! We swear to stop the Imperial Guards at all costs and avenge General Qi!" She gripped her sword tightly, and with a leap, she used the palace wall as leverage to charge straight at Wang Xuan.

After several fierce battles, the situation became extremely tense. Her body was covered with large and small wounds, and new imperial guards had arrived.

Outside the palace gates, corpses lay strewn everywhere and blood flowed like a river. At the critical moment, Pei Qinzhou, covered in blood, arrived with the military tally. At the same time, Xia Chengen led his troops to attack from the rear.

"His Highness the Crown Prince is here! Who dares to act rashly!" Guangxi was the first to join the fray, raising his military tally high.

Everyone knelt down to wait respectfully.

The leaders of the Imperial Guards all said that it was Qi Yuning and his gang that had rebelled.

Xia Chengen dismounted and walked up to Qi Yuning. The two stared at each other for a long time, but neither of them spoke.

He turned and drew his sword, the cold glint of the blade reflected in his eyes: "What rebellion? Upon hearing of the Imperial Court's rebellion against the Emperor, I have ordered the General's Office and my advisors to rush to his aid. All generals, heed my command! Capture and kill the traitor Li Ke, and together with me, cleanse the court of corrupt officials!"

"yes!"

He looked at Qi Yuning: "General Qi, are you still willing to fight alongside me to conquer the world?"

She hesitated for a few seconds: "Your Highness, I will keep your word."

Then the two mounted their horses together and led their troops into the palace.

Xuanzheng Hall was already in ruins.

"It's actually my own son." The emperor sat high in the Mingtang Hall.

Xia Chengen stepped into the hall alone and walked up to him: "The one who killed my mother was actually my father."

"..."

"Father, it's time for you to abdicate."

Blood stained the long road, but Wen Zhibai felt no pleasure after revenge. Too many people had been sacrificed in this struggle; the world has always been ruthless.

Following the compass, she found the direction of Sujinsha, which was in the southeast.

Pei Qinzhou also sensed her direction from the small paper figure he had once given her.

He followed quietly without revealing his whereabouts.

He must be in a terrible state now, the last glimmer of light in his eyes gradually fading. He only wanted to see her one last time before he could, so he could leave in peace.

He gave her what she wanted.

The southeast palace was completely deserted.

Just as Wen Zhibai and Xie An were preparing to search carefully, the voices of Zhang Mingdao and his group came from outside the courtyard gate.

"That demon is right here!"

Wen Zhibai and Xie An quickly hid behind the door of a room.

Just as Zhang Mingdao was about to lead his men in, Pei Qinzhou appeared behind them first.

"Are you looking for me?" Pei Qinzhou said calmly, slowly tying a white ribbon around his eyes.

Was it him? Wen Zhibai had a momentary urge to rush out, but Xie An stopped him.

“Miss, you can’t go. The master instructed that he can handle it. You must not distract the master.”

Yes, we should trust him.

Even though Wen Zhibai tried to tell herself that Pei Qinzhou would handle everything, after all, he was the Spirit Lord, her heart still couldn't help but be moved by him.

“You’re not a demon spirit.” Zhang Mingdao closed his eyes, but frowned in confusion. He used the Demon-Seeking Technique of the Spirit-Binding Division, but couldn’t sense any demonic aura in him. “No, you dare to defy the Heavenly Dao and cultivate the Demonic Path!”

"..." Pei Qinzhou couldn't hear what they were saying at all, and didn't respond. Of course, even if he knew what they were saying, he wouldn't answer.

"Hmph, you have fallen into demonic ways without permission, and now you are suffering the backlash, daring to appear before us. Since you don't want to live, we will grant your wish!" After saying this, Zhang Mingdao and the people of the Binding Spirit Division surrounded Pei Qinzhou, and all of them cut their palms and drew arrays and wrote talismans on the ground.

In an instant, white spiritual light rose slowly, transforming into hundreds of ice shards in the sky, piercing towards Pei Qinzhou's body.

"Pei Qinzhou!" Wen Zhibai rushed out and stood in front of Pei Qinzhou. Xie An also drew his sword and was about to stab Zhang Mingdao, but was injured by his protective magic.

“Wen Zhibai, I knew you would show up.” Zhang Mingdao said smugly, “I have to thank Miss Wen. I have been searching for him for more than ten years, and now I have finally waited for him to show up.”

"With a new emperor on the throne, why does the Spirit Binding Division still want to harm my husband!"

"Is the secret to immortality only attainable by a monarch?" Zhang Mingdao said, conjuring up a talisman and tossing it at Wen Zhibai: "Perfect, then you two can go to the Yellow Springs together!"

In that instant, Pei Qinzhou wrapped one arm around her waist and used the other to block the talisman, turning it to ash.

The Spirit Binding Formation was activated, and Pei Qinzhou completely shielded the person in front of him in his arms: "Close your eyes, don't look."

Wisps of black smoke poured into Pei Qinzhou's body from all directions, and bloody tears flowed from his eyes beneath the white ribbon.

"Zhibai, let me protect you one last time." He sighed softly, gathering all his demonic energy to protect the injured and unconscious Xie An. Then, black blood vessels rose in the eyes of the members of the Spirit Binding Division, as if they were being choked, and they slowly rose into the air.

At the last moment, Zhang Mingdao desperately activated the divine Gu planted in Wen Zhibai's body, causing her to raise an ice shard and plunge it fiercely into Pei Qinzhou's heart.

Pei Qinzhou paused for a moment, then used all his strength to hold the Spirit Binding Division personnel in mid-air. He activated the paper doll he had given to Wen Zhibai, located the divine Gu buried behind her neck, and pulled it out.

Wen Zhibai snapped back to reality. Staring at the blood-stained hands, she trembled violently: "No, no!"

Almost simultaneously, Pei Qinzhou extinguished the vital organs of everyone in the Spirit Binding Division, turning them all to ashes, as if they had never existed in the world.

He collapsed to the ground, and Wen Zhibai pulled him into her arms, tears of guilt streaming down her chin: "I'm sorry... I don't know why this happened..." She wanted to say something more, but then suddenly remembered that he couldn't hear her.

Pei Qinzhou's hand touched her tears, and he forced back the pain in his eyes, saying, "Don't cry because of me..." He slowly raised his hand to touch her face, to remember her appearance: "Zhibai, smile at me one more time, okay?"

She reached out and guided his hand to her lips.

"Zhibai, don't blame me for bringing you back to life so I could see you again, plunging you into pain once more. Now, I must tell you the truth: I don't love you... Leave me."

He pushed her away, staggering as he sat up. Wen Zhibai grabbed his hand: "No..."

Then, remembering the forbidden sand she had been searching for, she turned and went inside to look for it.

She frantically searched, constantly looking at the compass's directions, and finally found the glass box containing purple clay in a secret compartment under the floor.

"Crack." The compass shattered.

It seems that this is the forbidden sand.

She quickly grabbed Su Jinsha and ran outside, but she couldn't find that figure anywhere.

"Pei Qinzhou..." She could no longer hold back her tears, and even though she knew he couldn't hear her, she still shouted his name.

She questioned everyone she passed about his whereabouts, but everyone said they had never seen him.

Holding Su Jinsha in her arms, Wen Zhibai walked dejectedly along the palace path, the path she had once walked with Pei Qinzhou—

"Let's go home together, okay?"

"Um."

...

At the Jiang family home, Wen Zhibai stayed in her room all day and had been on a hunger strike for five days. Even when Jiang Mingzhi and Jiang Yu came, she did not utter a word.

Qi Yuning's old wounds had not yet healed, but she still came to find her, carrying Xia Chengen's concern.

Pushing open the door, one sees Wen Zhibai sitting on the bed, knees drawn up to his chest, eyes vacant, saying nothing. All the windows, large and small, are tightly shut, not letting in a single ray of light.

She has lost a lot of weight.

Qi Yuning carefully stepped forward and took her hand: "Zhibai, I'm here."

Wen Zhibai gave a soft "hmm," tears welling up in her eyes, but she didn't let them fall.

"Zhibai, if you have anything to say, just tell me. Don't keep it to yourself." Qi Yuning didn't know how to comfort her and didn't dare to mention that name. She just wanted her to say it herself so that she could feel better.

"Yu Ning, your injury hasn't healed yet. Go back and get some rest." She pushed her hand away and turned her head to the side.

“Zhibai…” Qi Yuning did not leave, but sat beside her until dark: “I will come to see you again tomorrow.”

Once she was alone in the room again, Wen Zhibai took out the little paper doll Pei Qinzhou had given her: "Pei Qinzhou, didn't you say you would always be with me? Didn't you say you would lead me to find you?"

The little paper figure sat in her palm, much less energetic than before, but still reached out to touch her tears, soaking itself in the process.

She hugged her knees and sobbed silently, "Liar."