Zhao Ruoxi glared at Song Zining. “Nonsense! There’s no way I’d harm anyone.”
Despite saying that, she was still a young girl after all. She had enjoyed a good upbringing in the Zhao manor, and as the wielder of the Red Spider Lily, she was given preferential treatment wherever she went. What little thoughts she had was written all over her face. Even Wei Potian could tell that she was being stubborn, let alone the others.
Song Zining tugged on Qianye, but the latter remained unmoved. He tugged much harder the next time, almost ripping the man’s clothes in the process. Finally, Qianye could no longer ignore what was going on. He said with an awkward cough, “Ruoxi, this place is too dangerous. You probably should go back soon.”
Zhao Ruoxi’s eyes turned red, almost as though she was about to burst into tears. “You’re also driving me away…”
Qianye felt distressed. “I’m not driving you away, but the Great Maelstrom is too dangerous, and you’re also carrying the Red Spider Lily.”
Zhao Ruoxi looked up. “You all feel that this gun is more important than me, is that right?”
Feeling his headache intensifying, Qianye had no choice but to explain, “Of course not! The gun is inanimate, but there’s nothing to replace you. How can it be more important?”
“Who said it’s inanimate? She has her own soul and emotions.” Zhao Ruoxi was furious.
Qianye was completely defeated by her unreasonable state. Despite losing to Zhao Ruoxi verbally, his tone was unexpectedly harsh. “No! You must go, now!”
Zhao Ruoxi hadn’t expected Qianye to be so strict. She looked around in surprise, hoping to find some allies to her cause. However, neither Zhao Yuying nor Wei Potian met her gaze. No matter how they acted normally, the two of them were quite clear about what should be prioritized. Zhao Ruoxi and the Red Spider Lily couldn’t be lost, and every extra day inside the Great Maelstrom was an extra day of danger.
Ji Tianqing and Li Kuanglan weren’t close to Zhao Ruoxi, so they simply stood watching from the sidelines. However, the former became rather pensive after seeing Qianye turn strict.
Seeing that there was no help to be found, Zhao Ruoxi simply clung onto Qianye’s arms and attached herself to him. “Not going, I’m not going whatever you say!”
Ji Tianqing asked at this point, “Seventh Young Noble, what did you calculate just now.”
Song Zining hesitated just as he was about to speak. He then pointed at Qianye, saying, “I’m not going to be the bad guy this time, let him tell you.”
With all eyes upon him, Qianye could only brace himself and explain, “I just sensed an inexplicable danger from the depths of the high-gravity region. This danger is related to Ruoxi and the Red Spider Lily.”
“Is it because I killed a six-armed giant? Does it have companions?”
Ji Tianqing was the one to reply, “Not only does it have comrades, but their numbers aren’t small, either.”
Qianye put Zhao Ruoxi on the ground and looked straight into her eyes. “It’s likely that some powerful being has sensed you and the Red Spider Lily. It’ll be extremely dangerous if you don’t leave now.”
“How can there be any danger when I have her?” Zhao Ruoxi wasn’t satisfied.
“You can’t say that for sure in the Great Maelstrom. Besides, the Red Spider Lily isn’t entirely matchless even back in the Empire and Evernight.”
Zhao Ruoxi’s momentum fell, but she looked at Qianye’s face and said, “Anyway, I’m not going!”
Li Kuanglan interrupted coldly, “Young Miss Zhao, it’s fine if you don’t leave, but all those around you will die once that existence arrives. Qianye is no exception, either, and he might be the first to die trying to protect you.”
Zhao Ruoxi glared at Li Kuanglan in anger. “Who asked for your opinion!?”
Li Kuanglan wasn’t angry. She replied in her usual iciness, “The Zhao clan is powerful, but our Li family isn’t afraid. You’re welcome to seek revenge at a later date if you so wish.”
Zhao Ruoxi had no good impression of the Li family, to begin with. Now that she was in an argument with Li Kuanglan, her eyes were filled with a dangerous glint. “Humph, I know you’re powerful, but there’s danger everywhere in the world. You’ll need to be careful to live a while longer.”
Li Kuanglan smiled. “Killing someone with the Red Spider Lily will surely leave behind traces. My sister might not be skilled in other areas, but she’s definitely a top authority in divination. She’ll naturally find out who killed me. Our Li family might not be able to deal with the Zhao clan or Princess Gaoyi, but it’s not difficult to squish Consort Zhao.”
Zhao Ruoxi’s eyes turned cold. “You’re courting death!”
Qianye finally couldn’t watch on anymore. He stepped in between the two and broke their line of sight. He felt extremely distressed right now because Zhao Ruoxi was making such a big deal out of a small matter, so much so that she was showing true killing intent. With how powerful the Red Spider Lily was in the Great Maelstrom, no one could save Li Kuanglan if the girl wanted her dead.
On one side was his own sister, while on the other was someone who was extremely close to him. Qianye didn’t want any bloodshed between the two, so he decided to go out of character and try defusing the situation.
Song Zining’s expression changed again. “The situation has changed! It’ll be too late if you don’t leave now!”
Who would’ve thought Zhao Ruoxi would just close her eyes and say, “I’m not leaving, you guys go!”
No one had expected her to be so wilful at a critical juncture. No one had a good solution, and Qianye’s expression was unsightly. Considering everyone’s characters, they would likely stay behind and die together should danger descend.
“Ruoxi…” Qianye hadn’t finished speaking when the girl cut him short. “I’m just that willful and troublesome!”
Qianye felt awkward, but seeing his sister on the verge of tears, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh. He simply couldn’t say the words he had prepared.
Song Zining suddenly approached with an odd expression and whispered something into Zhao Ruoxi’s ears. The girl’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Really?”
Song Zining said decisively, “When have I ever reneged on my words!?”
Zhao Ruoxi said, “Everybody says the words you say to women can’t be trusted!”
Song Zining blushed hard. “Nonsense, there’s no such thing!”
“Oh, last time, I heard Xu Yun’er from the Ling Dong Xu Family saying…”
Song Zining was flustered. “Hold it, hold it! Those are two completely different situations. How can those little girls compare to you?”
“Are you saying I’m old?”
Song Zining choked up and immediately turned away from the sensitive topic. “You just have to trust me once. It’s better than everyone dying.”
No one knew what she was thinking, but finally, she said, “Fine, I’ll trust you just this once. But if I find out you were lying to me, you’d best be prepared to face the consequences. I’m not like those little girls, our Zhao family is very vengeful!”
“Yes, yes, I would never dare to lie to you! Just leave now, or it’ll be troublesome later on,” Song Zining urged repeatedly.
At this point, Ji Tianqing’s expression changed somewhat. She had apparently sensed something.
Zhao Ruoxi hesitated for a moment. “What will you guys do after I leave?”
“With the Red Spider Lily gone, he naturally won’t target us anymore. Besides, you’re the only one who can go back directly.”
“But the Demoness…”
Song Zining shook his head. “She’s not a problem. This place has become a source of calamity, she’ll be in big trouble if she’s targeted by that fellow.”
Zhao Ruoxi stopped being headstrong. She glanced deeply at Qianye as countless red spider lilies engulfed her before vanishing.
After Zhao Ruoxi was gone, Zhao Yuying noticed the strange expression on Wei Potian’s face. “Don’t listen to Ruoxi’s nonsense about the Zhao family ladies being vengeful. This mommy isn’t that kind of person! I’ve always been straightforward and candid, getting back at whoever owes me on the spot. What’s there to be vengeful about?”
Wei Potian’s expression shifted once more.
Song Zining said, “There’s not much time left, let’s hurry.”
At this moment, a vague sense of danger had enveloped everyone, so much so that even the slow Wei Potian was somewhat moved. Naturally, no one dared to tarry, and they even stopped having apprehensions about traveling through the night. The group set out immediately toward the starting area.
According to Song Zining’s analysis, the gravity in the starting area was only a bit higher than the Evernight Continent, and the origin power wasn’t too dense, either. To the fierce beasts and four-armed people from the high-gravity zone, the place was a barren wilderness. Staying here for prolonged periods would make them so uncomfortable that they would fail to display their full combat strength. The Empire had been operating in the Great Maelstrom for hundreds of years, so despite the modest number of people, the small fortress had been fully constructed.
They were basically safe if they could flee into the fortifications. The two-armed and four-armed warriors had never appeared in the Empire’s area before. The captured humans were mostly subdued when they were exploring the high-gravity region.
If worse came to worst, they could use the passage at the fortress to return to the Empire. Although it wasn’t time to open yet, the return journey would be much easier and safer than during their entry. Considering this group’s strength, there was a good chance they would be able to force their way through.
That being said, everyone had a clear objective in mind as they fled.
Among them, Qianye was the fastest because he possessed Spatial Flash. However, he refused to escape on his own, and would even slow down to take care of the slowest ones in the group. Needless to say, the slowest one in the group was Wei Potian. His cultivation was a tad lower than everyone else, and he could no longer hold out after an hour of running.
Qianye grabbed him by the waist and hoisted him halfway into the air. He then traveled like a gust of wind and soon caught up to the main group.
The Wei clan heir finally caught his breath and said intermittently, “Qianye, when did you achieve such a high level in divination?”
“Divination? I know just as little as you do.”
“Then how did you sense the danger? To be honest, I still haven’t sensed anything, and I have no idea why you guys are so nervous.”
Speaking of this matter, Qianye had only discovered that something was off after seeing Song Zining performing divination and asking Zhao Ruoxi to leave. Back then, he was observing the changes in the Book of Darkness when his perception spread out in all directions with the aid of the mysterious tome. It was just like when he was inside the Constellation Well.
