"Go to Yinglong Tower," Zhi Li said. "You go first to set up the defenses, then when I arrive, temporarily inform Duke Zhi Ting to meet me alone at Yinglong Tower."
"Yes," Li Chenglian said.
Surrounded by the protection of over a thousand Samurai and several dozen top masters, Zhi Li rode in a steel carriage towards Yinglong Tower for the meeting with Duke Zhi Ting.
The moment Zhi Li caught sight of Duke Zhi Ting, he knew the man harbored no schemes or trickery.
Ever since the news of Suo Lun’s death, Duke Zhi Ting had lost a considerable amount of weight and seemed to have aged ten years. His eyes were deeply sunken, and dark circles marred his face.
Due to the rapid weight loss, his skin hadn’t had time to adjust, leaving his face riddled with wrinkles and complemented by his unkempt beard.
At that moment, Duke Zhi Ting looked utterly disheveled.
After entering and seeing Zhi Li, he didn’t speak but simply sat there, staring blankly.
"Duke Zhi Ting, you ask for a meeting and then remain silent. What does this mean?" Zhi Li said with a smile.
Duke Zhi Ting looked at Zhi Li for a long while, then shook his head. "I’m in turmoil, not sure what to discuss."
Zhi Li replied, "You don’t know what to discuss? Yet you summon me here, to make a fool of me?"
Duke Zhi Ting said, "I didn’t want to come, but Your Majesty insisted. Now that I’m here, I still don’t know what to say."
Zhi Li suggested, "Then, how about I start? Where is Zhi Yan?"
Zhi Ting answered, "She doesn’t believe Suo Lun is dead, went off searching for him, and I know not where."
Then, he looked up at Zhi Li and asked, "Is Suo Lun’s death related to Huai Bingyi?"
Zhi Li laughed smugly, "Is there any point in asking that now?"
Duke Zhi Ting stared intently at Zhi Li for a long while before shaking his head. "Indeed, it’s pointless now."
Zhi Li asked, "Uncle Zhi Ting, what do you want? Do you wish to continue living, to keep enjoying wealth and honor?"
Duke Zhi Ting shook his head, "I’ve enjoyed everything I could; none of it matters to me anymore."
Then, suddenly raising his head, he said, "I still have a sum of money, a staggering amount of Gold Coins, and I’m willing to offer them to you. I’m also willing to be your dog, your slave, to do anything you ask, just grant me one request."
Zhi Li, pleased, prompted, "Speak."
Zhi Ting said, "Suo Lun is dead, the Suo Family has become harmless, and you can destroy Tianshui City. But don’t exterminate the Suo Family to the last; spare his sister and his daughter."
At this, Zhi Li couldn’t help but be startled.
He had thought Duke Zhi Ting was offering everything in order to save his own life, not expecting that he sought to save the lives of Suo Ningbing and Qin Qin.
Zhi Li remarked, "Uncle Zhi Ting, when did you become so sentimental?"
Zhi Ting heaved a sigh, "The fate that has befallen Suo Lun is because I dragged him into this mess. He shouldn’t have faced annihilation."
Zhi Li shook his head, "No, Uncle Zhi Ting, you may live because you are but a pig, and killing you makes no difference. Suo Ningbing might survive for about ten days; after all, I once desired to have her in my grasp. But after those ten days, she must die. And as for Suo Lun’s daughter, I will definitely weed her out."
Duke Zhi Ting shouted hoarsely, "She’s only six years old, can you really bring yourself to do it?"
Zhi Li coldly stated, "That I have not trained her to be a beautiful pet is already merciful enough. She will merely be cut in half at the waist."
As the words ’cut in half’ reached his ears, Zhi Ting envisioned Qin Qin’s small and adorable figure, and the hairs on his back bristled violently.
Fu Yan’er and Qin Qin stopped by Wangcheng Zidu on their way to Tianshui City and stayed the night at the Princess Manor, where Duke Zhi Ting grew incredibly fond of Qin Qin.
Now, with Zhi Li planning to bisect a six-year-old girl like Qin Qin, Zhi Ting lost all rationality.
"I’ll kill you now, kill you..." Duke Zhi Ting erupted, grabbing a teacup from the table to smash at Zhi Li, then lunged towards Zhi Li in a fury.
However, the teacup shattered completely a foot away from Zhi Li’s face.
And a finger pressed against the back of Duke Zhi Ting’s neck, rendering him completely immobile.
Zhi Li did not draw his sword, but used the hilt to smash down on the back of Duke Zhi Ting’s head.
Instantly, Duke Zhi Ting’s face collided with the tabletop, blood gushing and a tooth snapping off.
Then, as the table broke apart, he crashed to the ground, roaring in furious pain.
Li Chenglian moved forward, placing a treasured sword across the nape of Duke Zhi Ting’s neck.
"Don’t kill him, it’s more entertaining to keep him," Zhi Li said. "Throw him back."
Two eunuchs stepped forward, hauling the bloodied Duke Zhi Ting out.
Duke Zhi Ting’s eunuchs hastened forward, helping Zhi Ting onto the coach, which then sped away to Duke’s mansion.
While Zhi Li and Duke Zhi Ting were meeting at Yinglong Tower.
Zhi Yan, Gao Yin, Zhuang Zhixuan, along with more than ten top figures from the Shadow Cabinet, dressed in black and faces covered with veils, stormed into Zhi Li’s mansion.
Suo Lun wasn’t required to accompany them, but if he personally rescued Gui Qinshao, the significance would be entirely different, leaving an indelible mark in her heart.
It’s truly ironic, Zhi Yan and Elder Gao, both among the top figures in the Human Kingdom, ranking in the top three masters of Rage Wave Kingdom.
And now, they donned masks to go on a prison break.
With Zhi Li away from his mansion, he took most of the top masters and Samurai with him. However, inside the mansion, there still remained several dozen Dragon Samurai and more than a dozen powerful spirit masters.
No sooner had Suo Lun and his associates breached the mansion that they were discovered.