He held a dagger in his hand, his face wearing an icy and composed expression. It was evident that this man was confident he could eliminate Deng Wu with a simple ambush.
The Scar-faced Killer couldn’t determine who this man standing before him was. He couldn’t recall anyone with sky-blue hair in the team, but here he was, someone who definitely didn’t belong here.
Earlier, from watching him relinquish his aura, it seemed as though this man bore the aura of a Master—someone Scarface thought was an easy target. Determining that the opponent was weaker than himself, the assassin lunged forward with a knife in hand, his eyes as frigid as ice.
Upon seeing this, Deng Wu’s face broke into a mockingly insincere smile as Little Dragon raised his hand. In the next moment, a golden light enveloping his hand exploded forward. A web appeared, catching the ambusher without giving him even the slightest chance to struggle.
Letting out a scoff, Little Dragon glanced at the man now thoroughly entangled in the net, unable to budge as if his muscles were frozen stiff.
"Did you think I’d be that easy to assassinate?" he asked in a ridiculing tone, before lifting the bound man and slinging him over his shoulder, then turning toward the others.
The Scar-faced Killer was terrified as he felt himself restrained by Wu Wei. It was a pressure far more intense than anything he had ever experienced before.
What he didn’t realize was that, while he felt subdued by Wu Wei, Little Dragon was actually using the absolute minimum amount of martial power; he dared not waste his critical energy unnecessarily.
"Look, I’ve caught a rat!" Little Dragon’s voice boomed across the room, drawing everyone’s gaze to Deng Wu, who stood by the doorway. He looked like a proud hound that had taken down its prey.
"Find something to bind him with," Little Dragon said through Deng Wu’s lips. "I can’t keep wasting Wu Wei holding him!" As soon as Deng Wu spoke, everyone in the room immediately searched through their storage stones. Ropes appeared on the floor, then quickly wound around the already restrained man.
Once no longer held by Wu Wei, the man could twist, turn, and even speak, despite being tightly bound with ordinary ropes.
The group sat down around the prisoner, observing him intently, debating how to deal with him. Looking closer, they all recognized him as the Scar-faced Killer. However, what puzzled them was that the tiger-like beast usually accompanying him in the tunnels was nowhere to be seen.
Deciding not to dwell on it for now, Little Dragon and Deng Wu shifted their focus back to the situation. The young man finally returned to his own body, slightly shaken by the experience.
When Little Dragon activated and used Wu Wei, Deng Wu could feel an overwhelming surge of strength within. He understood that these emotions arose because of the soul contract binding him to the sky-blue dragon; he now shared a body with him.
"So, what do we do with him?" Wang Julong asked, tilting her head as she studied the man still futilely struggling against his bindings. Her expression was casual, yet a cold glaze covered her eyes. It was obvious she didn’t man.
"Let’s kill him!" Sha Yun exclaimed, her excitement evident. "He’s been tailing us for a long time," she continued, offering what she felt was a perfectly valid justification for her brutal suggestion. "If he had caught us, we’d be dead. Now that we’ve caught him, it’s only fair he dies." The more she spoke, the colder her gaze became. It was clear that Sha Yun truly wished to kill the man then and there.
"No," Deng Wu finally interjected. "At the very least, we’ll keep him here until Yue returns. I trust he’ll know what to do with this guy."
With Deng Wu’s decision made, no one challenged it. After all, Deng Wu was the one who had caught the man in the first place. It was only fitting he had the final say. Besides, his decision seemed reasonable enough.
With the matter settled, the group returned to their prior activities. Some sat down to cultivate, others took turns guarding the prisoner; one individual worked on crafting a scroll, while the rest relaxed, eating and sipping wine.
Outside the house, Yan Xiaobao wandered around, moving through one building after another, descending flights of stairs, and even ascending between different levels of the Dragon Company’s headquarters. But no matter how many rooms he searched, there were always more. The area was too vast to be thoroughly explored within a few days. By the end of the day, Yan Xiaobao felt an involuntary sense of unease. As the moon rose overhead, the young man reluctantly returned home, resolving to resume the search the next day.
Entering the house, Yan Xiaobao paid little attention to his surroundings as he made his way toward where his friends were. Suddenly, a savage roar grabbed his attention. A massive tiger-like beast lunged at the unsuspecting white-haired young man.
The roar made Yan Xiaobao spin around, only to find the tiger already airborne, pouncing toward him. Each claw was as large as Yan Xiaobao’s head, razor-sharp talons glinting menacingly. The tiger’s cold, merciless eyes gleamed with intelligence and immense rage, as if it was imagining exactly how it would tear him to shreds.
As for why the massive tiger was inside their home, Yan Xiaobao didn’t have time to think about it. Instead, his body reacted instinctively. Contrary to the beast’s expectations, the young man dove beneath it like flowing water, rolling out of its reach onto the ground.