Qian Zheng was a little stunned by the question, mainly because Yan Lingyi's tone was not very friendly.
“Me? They let me go,” Qian Zheng replied.
"They released you?" Yan Lingyi frowned and asked, "They finally caught you, why would they release you immediately? Why did you come back alone?"
Qian Zheng answered truthfully: "I don't know either. She just made me hand over half of my points and then let me go."
"You only paid half the points?" Yan Lingyi continued, "You only paid half the points? And they released you?"
Qian Zheng nodded sincerely; what he said was the truth.
"Heh," Yan Lingyi sneered, "You don't even bother to think before you lie. If you arrested someone from their team, would you just take half their points and release them?"
A few days ago, in order to buy Nascent Soul Pills, each member of the team collected half of their points. Now they didn't have many left, and the team probably thought that even if they collected all of his points, it wouldn't be enough. So how could they let him go so easily?
Besides, the two teams have a long-standing feud. With such a relationship, how could he possibly have returned unscathed? What a joke!
But Qian Zheng was completely innocent; he wasn't lying.
Hearing his captain's suspicion, Qian Zheng quickly explained, "Captain, I'm telling the truth, absolutely! They only took half of my points to release me, I don't know anything else!"
But now, even he himself doesn't think it's true after saying that.
"What did you say to them? Have you already joined forces with them?" Yan Lingyi was getting angry, and her tone was now reprimanding.
"Of course I didn't say anything. I am loyal to the Hongmeng Team and the Hongmeng Sect. How could I be in league with them!"
"Hmph, words are easier said than deeds. If that were true, why were the other team members not released, and only you came back!"
"I..." Qian Zheng was sweating profusely, and he was truly at a loss for words.
His return was all too easy. He was a member who had been arrested, and a former key member at that. He had offended Shi Xuan's most ruthless member of the Hongmeng team. He simply couldn't explain why they had released him so easily.
After much thought, he could only come up with one reason.
"Shi Xuan has such a vicious mind!" Qian Zheng said. "She let me go so easily; she must be trying to sow discord among our team members! She's absolutely wicked!"
Yan Lingyi looked at him with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot, her face saying: Do you think I believe what you say?
At that moment, Qian Zheng suddenly regretted coming out; staying with the other captured team members was the best choice.
It's clear they had a falling out with the best squad, and several of their men escaped. It's unlikely Shi Xuan would dare do anything to these prisoners. At most, the sect would have to intervene and negotiate to bring them back.
But now that he's back on his own, and only he's come back, things are complicated.
Under Yan Lingyi's gaze, Qian Zheng was sweating profusely, feeling a sense of frustration that he couldn't explain.
Despite his repeated oaths and vows, Yan Lingyi and the elders present showed no improvement in their attitude towards him.
Finally, probably annoyed with him, he simply told him to shut up.
They didn't do anything to him. Although they had suspicions about him, they couldn't convict him without evidence. They simply distanced themselves from him.
On the other side of the hilltop, after driving away the Hongmeng team, dawn broke, but they still hadn't collected any night hemp.
But regardless of whether they completed the mission or not, they had all already gained something from this trip.
Unexpectedly, thanks to Lu Wenxing, everyone in the best team benefited greatly this time.
It was already daylight, and there was no point in staying on the ground any longer, as they couldn't see Yema during the day. So Shi Xuan led the team members down into the crater again, hoping to find out if the Fire Source Pearl that the Hongmeng team had mentioned might be there.
Just as they reached the bottom of the volcano, Lu Wenxing walked out of the bronze gate.
Lu Wenxing bumped right into the other team members. Looking at the whole group standing at the door, he said with a slight embarrassment, "Hey? You guys were waiting for me? You waited all night! That's so kind of you! I'll wait for you next time you go to receive the inheritance!"
Shi Xuan pursed his lips helplessly, thinking that he might as well not say thank you.
"And next time you receive the inheritance, this thing might be something some people can't even get to see in their next life." I really don't know if he was thanking them or just trying to annoy them.
That guy, Pigsy, always manages to make even the nicest things sound disgusting.
Despite the bewildered looks from everyone, Lu Wenxing remained oblivious to anything amiss, still basking in the joy of his teammates waiting for him all night.
No one told Lu Wenxing that they had gone out to fight and had just returned.
Chen Qi and Shen Wuyang stepped forward together, each taking one arm around Lu Wenxing's arm.
Chen Qi said, "Brother Lu, we've been waiting for so long! What treasures did you get inside? Share some with us."
Shen Wuyang: "Wait a minute, what kind of inheritance is this? It's been passed down all night, how come I haven't advanced even once? I thought you were about to form your Nascent Soul."
Lu Wenxing scratched his head, grinning with his white teeth, and said, "I didn't get anything good inside. As soon as I went in, there was a ritual, like chanting scriptures, and then they started teaching me cultivation techniques. They wouldn't let me out until I learned them. It was so hard for me to get out!"
Everyone understood; the ritual he spoke of must be a powerful being preaching, just like them. And yet, this powerful being's ritual, in Lu Wenxing's mouth, had simply become a mere ritual… They wondered if that powerful being, if he knew, would slap him to death.
Shi Xuan observed Lu Wenxing and found that his aura had improved, and he should not be far from reaching the Nascent Soul stage.
Chen Qi and Shen Wuyang were just teasing him. They had a chance to spread the word here with Lu Wenxing. Even if they had been waiting for him all night, it would have been appropriate to wait for ten days or half a month.
Now the entire team is together.
“Let’s explore this area again and see if there are any places we haven’t discovered yet. Sometimes the most dangerous place is the safest place,” Shi Xuan said, releasing Jin Dada again to fly out and scout ahead.
Shi Xuan thought back to how she obtained the Ice Source Pearl on the floating island in the icy plains. She had fallen into an icy lake during a battle with Ji Lie and found the Ice Source Pearl at the bottom. Could the Fire Source Pearl also be at the very bottom of the volcano...?
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