Chapter 308

Chapter 308: Hostage

Guan Sou.

One of Guan Shan Club’s two Hundred-Star Realm experts—hailing from Reverse-Delusion Mountain.

Wang Jie and Nan Zhi stopped, staring at the face in the mirror.

Then they glanced back.

Guan Sou was behind them too.

The mirror looked like a normal mirror—yet the air in front of it was loaded with threat. Neither of them doubted it.

Move, and they’d be crushed.

“Greetings, Senior,” Wang Jie said, bowing with Nan Zhi.

Guan Sou was young—young enough that it was clear he’d earned his club seat through talent, not age. But he was still Hundred-Star Realm. “Senior” was appropriate.

Guan Sou studied them. “How are the two of you together?”

Wang Jie and Nan Zhi exchanged a look, unsure what to say.

Guan Sou continued, voice calm. “And just now—you looked surprised when you saw me.”

“You dared to walk inside this formation. Meeting someone is normal. Why the surprise?”

“Were you surprised to meet me? Or surprised to meet anyone at all?”

“Explain.”

Wang Jie glanced around. “Senior, have you laid something here to prevent those inside from escaping?”

Guan Sou’s lips curved faintly. “What do you think?”

Wang Jie pressed, “Or are you waiting to deal with someone?”

“Wang Jie,” Guan Sou said lightly, “because you found Red Moon, I’ll give you one more chance. Answer me.”

“Otherwise, you won’t be leaving the Four Seasons Train.”

The threat was delivered softly, and it made Wang Jie’s blood run cold.

He didn’t want to die here.

“We’ve seen people die,” Wang Jie said carefully. “The wounds resemble how the Nan family died. We suspected the one who destroyed the Nan family never left—or that their inheritor slipped in. That’s why we stayed together. More people means better odds.”

Guan Sou’s eyes narrowed. “And the first question?”

Wang Jie raised the Star Compass. “Senior… you can conceal your qi?”

Guan Sou’s expression shifted—surprise flashing hard and fast. “A Star Compass. A star dao master’s tool.”

He stared at Wang Jie. “You’re a star dao master?”

Wang Jie had no choice. If he didn’t reveal something, Guan Sou might kill him just to be safe.

This man either was the killer, given his concealment, or he was waiting to catch the killer.

Guan Sou exhaled. “So that’s why no one can force you. A Lockforce Cultivator, yet Black-White Heaven treats you like a precious thing… because you have a star dao master behind you.”

Wang Jie met his gaze. “Then tell me, Senior—did you kill Su Ji Kong?”

Guan Sou’s brows rose. “Su Ji Kong is dead too?”

“So it wasn’t you?”

“I don’t use sword arts.”

Wang Jie lowered the Star Compass. “Then you know about this killer?”

Guan Sou’s expression turned complicated. “Lan Tui is dead.”

Wang Jie stiffened. Another Hundred-Star Realm—dead.

And Lan Tui wasn’t comparable to Su Ji Kong. Lan Tui was Bu Zou Guan’s Hundred-Star Realm elite, terrifyingly deep. Stronger than Su Ji Kong. Stronger than Wu Yuan.

And he’d still been killed?

Nan Zhi’s voice was tight. “One sword?”

Guan Sou nodded.

The silence that followed was suffocating.

Guan Sou’s voice dropped. “Lan Tui cultivated void power. If someone can kill him in one strike, I can’t imagine who.”

“Among Hundred-Star Realm, only someone at Guarding Star Realm level could do that. If it isn’t Hundred-Star Realm, then it’s Star-Refining Realm.”

He let out a breath. “It’s possible a Star-Refining Realm powerhouse slipped in.”

Wang Jie glanced at Nan Zhi. She’d said even Star-Refining Realm would struggle to escape this formation—but “struggle” didn’t mean “impossible.” And a Star-Refining Realm would see this place far more clearly than they could.

Nan Zhi asked, “Could it be Guarding Star Realm?”

Guan Sou shook his head. “Guarding Star Realm experts have clear backgrounds. Unlikely.”

“And the Nan family’s cache isn’t enough to draw them. If a Guarding Star Realm expert spoke a single word, the four great Bridge-Pillars would deliver resources at their feet—except for a few limited holdings. Their inheritances are already peak. They wouldn’t look at the Nan family.”

Harsh, but true.

If anything could tempt a Guarding Star Realm figure, it would be a power like Third Zen Tian.

The Nan family had been destroyed, and the killer hadn’t taken their hidden trove.

That meant that, to some, the Nan family simply wasn’t worth the trouble.

Wang Jie thought of Black-White Heaven.

If even the Nan family counted as “ordinary,” then Black-White Heaven was practically dust.

He’d once thought Zhi family sat above the clouds, their Zhi Vault containing everything. Now he wasn’t so sure.

He couldn’t place too much faith in that boat. One failure at the wrong time, and he’d die.

Wang Jie bowed. “Then, Senior, may we leave?”

Guan Sou tilted his head. “If I told you I would not harm you—would you stay?”

Wang Jie’s stomach sank.

Guan Sou smiled. “Wang Jie. I said I would give you one chance. But you lied.”

Wang Jie’s heart dropped. “Senior, why do you say that?”

“Reverse-Delusion Mountain reads hearts better than anyone,” Guan Sou said calmly. “The moment you stepped in, I knew you had an agenda.”

“I don’t care what the agenda is. But if you lied, you pay.”

Nan Zhi’s hand tightened into a fist. If it came to it—if her life was truly at risk—she would expose her identity, consequences be damned.

Guan Sou regarded their wariness with faint amusement. “It doesn’t matter how cautious you are.”

“Do you think you can fight me? Or escape under my setup?”

As he spoke, mirrors rose around them—one after another—until the space became a forest of reflected threat.

Nan Zhi’s fist loosened. There was no escape. This was Reverse-Delusion Mountain’s No-Abode Mirror Domain.

They couldn’t resist it.

“Then what do you want?” Wang Jie asked.

Guan Sou stared at him, then at Nan Zhi. “I want you to lure the killer.”

Wang Jie’s eyes widened. “Me?”

“Yes.” Guan Sou’s voice was coldly practical. “The killer must be nearby. This woman stays. You go out and draw the killer in.”

“I don’t care what the two of you are plotting. You’re together because your purpose requires both of you present.”

“So she is the hostage.”

Wang Jie’s mind raced.

Without Nan Zhi, he couldn’t find the exit. But he couldn’t defeat Guan Sou either.

And luring the killer?

That was suicide.

Guan Sou watched him. “You have a Star Compass and Qi Sight. Find the killer. Or tell me where they are, and I’ll go myself.”

“Finish this, and I won’t trouble either of you.”

Nan Zhi looked at Wang Jie, anxiety flickering in her eyes.

Guan Sou’s voice sharpened. “Well? Are you still not going?”

Wang Jie had no choice. He met Nan Zhi’s gaze once, then left.

After he was gone, Nan Zhi looked at Guan Sou, voice tight. “Even if he finds the killer, he can’t lure them back. Lan Tui died in one sword. Wang Jie won’t be any different.”

Guan Sou didn’t even blink. “No one is more suitable than him. If he dies, he dies.”

Nan Zhi’s gaze darkened. She didn’t care about Wang Jie’s life. But without him, every step she took would be dangerous. Cross the wrong boundary, and you could stumble into death.

She exhaled slowly, steadying herself.

Wang Jie’s only consolation was that Mo Wan Yin wasn’t here. If she were, Guan Sou would’ve taken two hostages instead of one.

He stared at the Star Compass, thinking hard.

Lure the killer? No.

He wasn’t an idiot.

But how could he take Nan Zhi back from Guan Sou?

For a moment, he had nothing.

Then he remembered Bao Lei.

Bao Lei had been frantic, terrified. He’d definitely encountered something.

Maybe Bao Lei knew something useful.

Wang Jie retraced his route until he found Bao Lei again.

Still out cold.

Wang Jie kicked him awake.

Bao Lei groaned, clutching his head. That slam had been brutal. It took him a long moment to focus—and when he did, he saw Wang Jie.

Panic flashed in his eyes. He spun to run.

Wang Jie’s voice was mild. “Want another one?”

Bao Lei froze. He turned back slowly, wariness and fear thick on his face.

Wang Jie studied him. “You’re different from the Luo Kingdom people I’ve met. I thought Luo Kingdom didn’t fear death. Why are you so scared?”

Bao Lei stared at him and rasped, “Nan family lied to them.”

“Any living thing fears death. Why should Luo Kingdom be the ones who have to die?”

Wang Jie almost looked impressed. “So you’re the smart one.”

“What’s your status in Luo Kingdom?”

“Bao family Young Lord,” Bao Lei said. “Bao Lei.”

“Bao family?”

“Luo Kingdom has several great clans. Bao family is one of them—and the strongest.”

“Like Kui family?” Wang Jie asked.

Bao Lei scoffed. “Kui family doesn’t compare to us.”

Wang Jie’s gaze sharpened. “Why did you run when you saw us earlier? What did you encounter?”

Bao Lei shot back, “Yan Long wasn’t killed by you?”

“You know Yan Long is dead?”

“Yes.”

“We didn’t kill him.”

Bao Lei visibly exhaled in relief.

Wang Jie added, without heat, “But I can kill you.”

Bao Lei’s jaw tightened. “I want to buy my life.”

“That straightforward?”

“I’ve been unconscious for a while,” Bao Lei said. “If you wanted me dead, I’d be dead. You kept me alive because I’m useful.”

He swallowed. “I think my life is worth something. And you seem… short on money, Wang Jie.”

Wang Jie nodded. “Money isn’t my issue anymore.”

“You can buy your life with something else.”

Bao Lei was clearly not holding information about the killer. In that case, his best value was exactly this: a quick transaction, no complications.

If he’d run into one of Luo Kingdom’s zealots, Wang Jie would’ve had a real headache. Those people truly didn’t fear death.

Bao Lei stared at him. “What do you want?”

“I don’t know what you have,” Wang Jie said. “Pay a price that matches your life.”

Bao Lei’s throat bobbed. What could he offer besides money? Wang Jie was Full-Star Realm yet far stronger than him—he clearly wouldn’t care about Luo Kingdom’s cultivation methods. As for Chen artifacts or pills, Luo Kingdom wasn’t known for them, and Bao Lei didn’t have them on hand.

Wang Jie wasn’t rushing him. He was still thinking.

Then Bao Lei blurted, “I’ve seen Wu Yuan from your Black-White Heaven Club. Does that count?”

Wang Jie’s eyes snapped up. “Where?”

And immediately—he knew the question was pointless. In this formation, direction meant nothing.

Bao Lei couldn’t answer.

But Wang Jie felt hope spark anyway.

If Bao Lei had run into Wu Yuan, that meant Wu Yuan was likely nearby. Most people who didn’t understand the formation wouldn’t roam far. Finding Wu Yuan might actually be possible.

Then the hope sharpened into a darker thought.

The killer was nearby, too.

If the killer found Wu Yuan first…

Wang Jie didn’t waste time. He turned to leave.

Bao Lei hurriedly fumbled out a token. “This is a Luo Seal Token—Bao family’s insignia. With it, you can mobilize Luo Kingdom troops in Luo Kingdom. Does this work?”