Chapter 152
With this strength, if he wants to destroy Ning'an City, it would also be an easily accomplished matter.
No wonder he promised so casually to protect Cheng Bai's safety.
Is this the legendary ancient beastman? This is the gap between races.
The city lord even praised Cheng Bai for winning against an ancient beastman and bringing glory to Ning'an City. Now it seems, even if Cheng Bai were ten times more powerful, he still could not have won against that ancient beastman.
Cheng Li trembled, unable to speak.
Pan Yue had already regained his senses. He scanned the area and said in panic, "Brother Cheng, Yuan Heng and the young master are gone."
Cheng Li came back to himself and also looked around, they were indeed missing.
"This... why did they leave?" Pan Yue wondered. "I clearly saw Yuan Heng notice us both earlier."
"..." Cheng Li frowned and suddenly felt something in his embrace. He opened it to find a letter. The writing on the letter was a bit crooked but still legible.
Pan Yue, curious, leaned over to look and couldn't help but read it aloud: "We will return to Ning'an City in five days - left by Yuan Heng."
"Whoa!" Pan Yue was stunned. "When did he slip this onto you? We didn't notice at all!"
"..." Cheng Li clenched the paper without answering. After a moment, he said, "Let's return to the ship first. It's not safe here."
This place was like a blood pond. The smell of blood was so strong it would soon attract large numbers of fierce sea beasts.
"Alright," Pan Yue agreed.
Cheng Li seemed to suddenly think of something and called out, "Wait a moment."
Having said that, he took out a waterproof letter paper from his clothes, wrote a few sentences on it, summoned a messenger bird, and tied the letter to it.
"Sending a letter to City Lord?" Pan Yue asked.
Cheng Li nodded: "And to Cheng Bai. I'm afraid if he wakes up and finds the young master is gone, he might do something foolish again."
Inside Ning'an City, Xi Ning anxiously opened the letter sent by Cheng Li. The moment he saw the letter, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He beckoned to a beastman guard nearby, handed him the letter, and said, "Deliver this to Cheng Bai."
The guard was about to leave when Xi Ning reached out to stop him: "Wait."
"City Lord, your orders?" The man turned back and bowed.
Xi Ning said, "Tell him I will go to see him later."
"Yes."
After Cheng Bai woke up, he had been locked up. He didn't know what methods Pan Shulin used, but everyone in his residence had been bribed, no one was willing to let him leave the courtyard.
Before, such a lock couldn't have held him, but now he was severely injured. Even a small iron lock was enough to confine him.
Every day at meal times, Pan Shulin would unlock the door to bring Cheng Bai food. Even if Cheng Bai didn't eat, Pan Shulin was unwavering.
On this day, Cheng Bai had gathered his strength, planning to knock Pan Shulin out and escape when he entered.
Suddenly, an unexpected visit from a beastman interrupted Cheng Bai's plan.
The beastman was the City Lord's guard, he brought a letter for Cheng Bai. Cheng Bai opened it and saw his elder brother's handwriting, stating that the young master was safe and would return to the city soon with Yuan Heng...
Cheng Bai slumped onto the bed in despair. The worries and despair of the past days vanished in that moment, leaving only joy lingering in his heart.
"The little delicate one is alright."
"!" Pan Shulin, listening nearby, stared wide-eyed in shock: "What?"
He snatched the letter from Cheng Bai's hand, reading it over and over, stunned: "How is this possible?"
The beastman guard and Cheng Bai both looked at him strangely. Cheng Bai said, "The little delicate one is fine. You look disappointed?"
Pan Shulin hurriedly controlled his expression and said, "How could that be? Brother Bai, you can't slander me like this just because I like you."
Cheng Bai sneered coldly and said nothing.
The beastman guard said, "Young Master Cheng, the City Lord said he will come here later."
The City Lord is coming?
He's coming here personally instead of summoning me?
Cheng Bai found it strange but still replied, "Alright."
"I take my leave then."
"Take care," Cheng Bai replied, seeing him out. Pan Shulin moved to block him. Cheng Bai said angrily, "Is this my home or yours? Keeping me confined is enough. I'm not going to sea now, can't you go back to your own home?"
"..."
He thought Pan Shulin would find an excuse to stay, but after hesitating for a moment, Pan Shulin actually left silently with his servant.
Cheng Bai frowned, somewhat surprised. Pan Shulin's expression earlier didn't seem like he would leave so willingly, but just now he looked distracted, as if something big had happened and he was unsettled...
If it was about something big, it could only be that Xi Yao returning in five days...
"Cheng Bai." When Xi Ning entered, he saw Cheng Bai deep in thought. Xi Ning stepped forward, hands behind his back, and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
Cheng Bai quickly came back to his senses and bowed: "It's nothing."
Xi Ning helped him up and said, "You are severely injured and not yet recovered, there's no need for formalities."
"Thank you, City Lord." Cheng Bai pursed his lips and smiled slightly. Since he hunted Haiqiong, the City Lord's attitude towards him had improved greatly.
"Cheng Bai, I came to see you today to discuss the matter we didn't finish last time."
"?" Cheng Bai looked at Xi Ning, puzzled.
Xi Ning said, "Actually, not long after you left, Yao'er told me that no matter who won the competition, he would choose Yuan Heng."
"!" Cheng Bai's face turned pale: "That's because the little delicate one hasn't remembered yet."
Xi Ning shook his head: "He has remembered. He has remembered all his past with you."
"..." Cheng Bai opened his eyes in surprise: "He... he remembered, and that's still his answer?"
Xi Ning nodded.
For a moment, Cheng Bai didn't know how to react. In his memory, Xi Yao used to cling to him, chasing after him all day, randomly calling out 'Brother Bai, Brother Bai,' seeming to like him immensely. Did that kind of feeling really pass once it was over?
Even after remembering, he feels no love for me anymore?
Cheng Bai's heart felt as heavy as a mountain, his voice involuntarily carrying a sob: "But he used to..."
"That was before," Xi Ning interrupted Cheng Bai. "Feelings from the past, once missed, are truly missed. This is actually what I wanted to tell you before, but with Yao'er missing, I didn't have the heart to discuss this with you."
Xi Ning looked at the letter in Cheng Bai's hand and said, "Now that Yao'er has been found, and Yuan Heng is with him, they will return in five days. I'm telling you in advance so you can be prepared. I suspect these two will marry upon their return."
"..." Cheng Bai's mind exploded with a roar, his entire brain going blank.
Xi Ning saw this, sighed, reached out and patted his shoulder: "You need to come to terms with this. You can come to me with any problems. I'll head back now."
Even after City Lord Xi Ning left, Cheng Bai remained motionless.
Pan Shulin hurriedly returned home with his servant and closed the door.
In addition to his panicked and flustered heart, hatred soaked through it: Why does Xi Yao always manage to escape death again and again?
He had schemed meticulously, plotting murder time after time. He believed his plans were seamless, yet that person always managed to escape from the gates of hell!
He is simply a haunting presence!
"Young Master, you must think of a way quickly. In five days, when Xi Yao returns, we will be in danger!" The servant said nervously.
"I don't need you to tell me that!" Pan Shilin said through gritted teeth. "Xi Yao must die!"
"Young Master..." the servant choked out. "This Xi Yao is very sinister. Every time we think he's dead, he always comes back. And when he comes back, his temperament changes completely, becoming nothing like the previous Xi Yao. Young Master, when he comes back this time, do you think he will become even more severe and harder to deal with?"
"He cannot come back this time. If he returns, we are the ones who will die." Pan Shulin said with a gloomy expression.
The servant was puzzled. Pan Shulin said, "Before pushing him into the sea, I confessed everything, including all the things I did before. Unless he loses his memory again, he will definitely know that I tried to murder him."
"!" The servant became even more panicked: "Then what should we do? If it was the previous Xi Yao, a few threats would have surely kept him from telling the truth. But the current Xi Yao, where can he be intimidated?"
Before... now?
Pan Shulin thoughtfully paced a couple of steps and said, "It's also strange, that Xi Yao used to be timid as a mouse, holding back any grievances, seeing us like a mouse sees a cat. But now, not only can he not be intimidated, we even have to worry about him actively causing trouble for us..."
"Young Master!" The servant trembled. "Don't say any more. The more you say, the more terrified I feel. Could it be that Xi Yao died and crawled back from hell specifically for revenge?"
"...If one could crawl back from hell, then I would be willing to go down first and then climb back to drag Xi Yao down with me." Pan Shulin said viciously, his expression no different from a fierce ghost.
The servant was too scared to speak. Pan Shulin said, "But your words did remind me a little. Xi Yao repeatedly escaped our assassination attempts. I'm wondering if he actually died, and this current Xi Yao is an imposter?"
"?!" The attendant was stunned.
Pan Shulin said, "Think about it. Since his return, he has been completely different from before. A person can indeed change and learn many other skills, but their fundamental nature is difficult to change."
The servant said, "That makes sense, but Young Master, they look the same. Moreover, he has been back in Ning'an City for so long, and no one has doubted his identity. Before, when he didn't remember anything about Ning'an City, no one doubted him. Now that he remembers the past, he is even less likely to be fake."
"That's what they say, but many people only look at the surface."
"?" The servant was puzzled. Pan Shulin pondered for a moment and said through gritted teeth, "This is our last chance. Even if he is not fake, we can only try."
With that, Pan Shulin leaned close to the servant's ear and whispered something.
Not long after, a rumor suddenly spread through Ning'an City.
It said that the young master who had just returned to Ning'an City was an imposter.
Within just one day, this rumor spread throughout the entire Ning'an City. Moreover, many people, especially those who had contact with Xi Yao, believed this rumor.
People thought that since Xi Yao's return, his temperament had changed drastically, too different from his former self. Before, they only found it strange and didn't think in other directions. Now that someone spread that he was an imposter, everyone acted as if they had suddenly seen the light.
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