Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
I would appreciate your help if you could join my Patreon and support me because it would keep me motivated.
******
Writing a letter—that was the only thought in Hu Liena's mind. She had never been to any coastal city and was completely unfamiliar with them. With her current status, she had no way of accessing accurate information from the Star Luo Empire. She had no idea where Tang San was now. Her only option was to secretly write a letter and send it to the Heaven Dou Empire, hoping someone there could contact Tang San and warn him to beware of the Star Luo soldiers.
Back in her private room, Hu Liena took out a brush and paper, her fingers trembling uncontrollably. Images of her teacher, Bibi Dong—crippled by Tang San, confined to a wheelchair, aged beyond recognition—flooded her mind. Scalding tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Teacher, teacher… I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. I can't just stand by and watch Tang Yin die. He saved me in the Hell Road. He brought me out alive. After that, he became my everything!"
"Teacher… if I can't help you take revenge in this lifetime, then in the next, I'll repay you, even if I must be a beast of burden!"
Her tears fell like broken pearls, one after another. After whispering countless apologies to Bibi Dong in her heart, Hu Liena finally picked up her brush and began writing intensely.
At the hour of the second night watch, Hu Liena donned a mask and a long black robe. Quiet as a shadow, she crept to a secluded area. There, using gold soul coins, she secretly bribed a noble businessman who operated within Spirit Hall. She entrusted the letter to him, instructing him to deliver it to the royal family of the Heaven Dou Empire.
She wanted to disguise the letter with auspicious symbols and decorations to avoid suspicion. But the problem was, she wasn't an undercover agent—she had no special channels or secret codes.
Three days later, in the Spirit Hall Library, Hu Liena was still in her private booth reading. Suddenly, the sound of synchronized marching footsteps echoed, shaking the entire floor as if the building itself were trembling.
The footsteps stopped abruptly. A second later, the booth's door was violently kicked open. Fully armored palace guards stormed in, led by a red-robed cardinal.
"What are you doing?" Hu Liena demanded.
Perhaps out of guilt, she didn't immediately release her Killing God Domain.
"Hu Liena, you colluded with the enemy and betrayed Spirit Hall. The evidence is conclusive—seize her!" The cardinal held up the letter Hu Liena had sent. Though it wasn't signed with her name, a fox's head was drawn in the lower right corner.
With a wave of his hand, two palace guards entered. Each grabbed one of Hu Liena's arms.
"Wait! Your Eminence, how can you falsely accuse someone based on a single letter? The writing on it isn't even mine!" Hu Liena cried out anxiously.
She was extremely confident in her disguise—altered handwriting, a concealed face behind a mask, a black robe to hide her figure, and action taken at the second night watch. She believed Spirit Hall wouldn't be able to find any evidence.
"No need for you to worry about that. No matter how stubborn you are, even if your tongue and fingers are cut off, Spirit Hall has its own methods to extract the truth from your mind," the cardinal replied coldly.
He waved his hand again. "Take her away!"
Several hours later, in the Pope's Hall.
Ghost Douluo stepped forward and respectfully reported, "Your Holiness, under Archbishop Huanmeng's illusion technique, Hu Liena confessed everything."
"According to Spirit Hall law, a traitor shall be executed publicly in the Spirit Hall plaza, three days from now."
Divine Sense Qian Renhan spoke indifferently:
"Geniuses? Spirit Hall is overflowing with geniuses right now. It's time to give them a reminder—show them what happens to traitors. That should stop more of this kind of trash from popping up."
In one of the palace courtyards of the Pope's Hall, Bibi Dong sat peacefully under the sun.
Her expression was serene. Her most beloved disciple had walked out of the Slaughter City and had obtained the Killing God Domain!
Maybe her disciple wasn't as talented as Qian Renxue, but in terms of willpower and courage, she was leagues above. Bibi Dong didn't believe Qian Renxue had the strength to pass through the Slaughter City. As for Qian Renhan—after her cultivation was crippled, Bibi Dong no longer regarded him as her son.
"Xiao Juan, why hasn't Nana come today? Did something happen?" Bibi Dong asked in confusion. Hu Liena had always come to see her at the same time every day. Today, over half an hour had passed with no sign of her.
The maid Xiao Juan's expression stiffened, and she seemed hesitant to answer.
Bibi Dong's brow furrowed, and she asked with rising anxiety, "Did something happen to Nana?"
Xiao Juan finally spoke: "My Lady, according to the reports… Princess Hu Liena has betrayed Spirit Hall. The evidence is conclusive. She is to be executed in the public square of Spirit City three days from now."
"What? Impossible!"
Bibi Dong instantly rejected the notion. She knew her disciple—there was no way Hu Liena would betray Spirit Hall!
She roared, "Xiao Juan! Tell me—what happened?!"
Frightened by Bibi Dong's outburst, Xiao Juan instinctively stepped back. Then, she recounted everything she had heard.
As Bibi Dong's personal maid, Xiao Juan was detail-oriented and well aware of how much Hu Liena meant to her master. So she had thoroughly investigated the matter and now told Bibi Dong everything she'd learned.
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible. There's no way!"
"Nana knows what happened to me… she knows why I'm like this. How could she possibly side with Tang San? It's not possible!"
Bibi Dong was nearly hysterical. Her lips trembled violently.
"Take me to see Nana! I want to see her! I don't believe this! I don't believe anyone—I only believe Nana!"
In the underground dungeon of Spirit City,
Hu Liena was a shadow of her former self. Her once-regal appearance was gone. Her hair was a tangled mess, her spirit power sealed, her body clad in filthy, tattered prison garments. Her hands and feet were shackled with iron chains, and she was held in the dirtiest cell reserved for the most notorious traitors. Even the straw on the ground rustled with the squeaks of rats.
Without her spirit power, Hu Liena could only huddle in a corner, curled into a ball. She didn't dare lie on the straw—it was too filthy. She didn't even dare to sleep. Partly because of the filth, but more so because she feared rats might crawl over her while she slept.
"Nana! Nana!"
A familiar, aged voice suddenly rang out. Who else could it be but Bibi Dong? She had barged into the Spirit Hall dungeon, relying on her status as the mother of the Saintess, Qian Renxue.
"Teacher! Teacher!"
The moment Hu Liena heard that voice, a glimmer of light returned to her eyes. With her bloodied, chained hands and feet, she clutched the iron bars of her cell, looking toward the source of the voice, her words choked with sobs.
She had been pampered ever since awakening her spirit power. Even after enduring blood and slaughter in the Slaughter City, her courage had grown. But a few hours in this foul dungeon, with rats hiding under the straw—she was truly terrified.
"Nana, tell Teacher this isn't true… Tell me those rumors aren't true. Teacher's here to take you out!"
Bibi Dong's voice was choked with sobs. Listening to the whispers and reports outside, she had been terrified—terrified to her very core. Hu Liena was the only pure light in her heart.
"Teacher… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Forgive me..."
Knowing exactly what Bibi Dong was here to ask, Hu Liena didn't even attempt to defend herself. She just kept apologizing, tears streaming from her eyes.
(End of Chapter)