Qian Renxue had already instructed her subordinates to give Yu Xiaogang a "proper welcome" as soon as she obtained the information.
Now that everything had been confirmed, she would never allow the man who had brought shame to her father to live.
Even if Bibidong tried to stop her, it would be futile.
"Young Master, the Pope's decree is to rescue Yu Xiaogang. We are merely following orders," Chrysanthemum Douluo said, clearly distressed. The situation he had dreaded the most had still come to pass.
"Elder Yueguan, you can go back and tell Bibidong that Yu Xiaogang has openly killed citizens of the Heavenly Dou Empire, a crime that cannot be forgiven. In three days, he will be publicly executed in the streets."
Qian Renxue calmed her emotions, though her face still seemed frozen in an icy resolve.
"Young Master, why must you put us in such a difficult position?" Chrysanthemum Douluo's expression changed, and he exclaimed in alarm.
Executing Yu Xiaogang in three days? By the time he delivered the message, he might as well bring Bibidong back to collect Yu Xiaogang's corpse. And given Bibidong's temperament, if something like this happened, wouldn't she vent her anger on him and Old Ghost?
"I'm not putting you in a difficult position. I'm putting Bibidong in one."
"Uncle She, Ci Xue, the two of you must guard Yu Xiaogang closely and ensure he doesn't escape from the prison," Qian Renxue suddenly stood up from the sofa and left the room without looking back. "I want Bibidong to see Yu Xiaogang's head with her own eyes."
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo exchanged glances, feeling a chill run down their spines.
Seeing Qian Renxue leave the room, they turned to Serpent Spear Douluo and Thorn Blood Douluo. "Serpent Spear, Thorn Blood, what do you think?"
"What do we think? This depends on how you choose. The two of us are no match for you and Old Ghost. How are we supposed to protect Yu Xiaogang?"
Serpent Spear and Thorn Blood remained unmoved by Chrysanthemum Douluo's question, calmly sipping their tea, as if they were each minding their own business.
Chrysanthemum Douluo fell silent for a moment, then took out two black cards embedded with gemstones from his Soul Guiding Device and placed them on the table. "These contain twenty million Gold Soul Coins. I'll advance the remaining ten million from the Sacred Hall and have it delivered later. Once this matter is settled, I'll replenish it when I return to Spirit City."
"Are you really not considering the Young Master?" Serpent Spear Douluo sighed, his expression complex as he looked at Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo.
"She Long, in this world, the strong always have the final say."
Chrysanthemum Douluo snorted lightly and tossed the chrysanthemum in his hand onto the table. "We all know the Young Master has great talent, but she is still far too weak compared to the Pope. And in a world like this, the weak have no right to be willful."
"But you'll end up completely alienating the Young Master," Serpent Spear Douluo sighed. "A young eagle will one day soar into the sky, and by then, she will have grown into a ruthless hunter."
"She Long, the two of us don't need your pity," Chrysanthemum Douluo chuckled. "Besides, the fact that you two didn't stop us means you tacitly support the Pope, doesn't it?"
"The two of us are different from you. We're just trying to prevent the Young Master and Her Majesty from becoming too hostile," Serpent Spear Douluo shook his head with a smile. "Moreover, even if the Young Master kills Yu Xiaogang, I don't think the Pope will blame her for it."
"Enough with the high-sounding talk."
In the dormitory of the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy, Li Xun was going through his daily morning training routine.
Aunt Xue symbolically knocked on the door: "Young Master, our people have sent word that Yu Xiaogang and the other two have been taken out of their cells by the Spirit Hall."
"Under what pretext did the Spirit Hall take them out?" Li Xun wasn't surprised and slowly got up to drink a glass of water at the table.
He had anticipated this outcome. If Bibidong didn't save Yu Xiaogang, he himself would have found a way to get the Grandmaster out.
Aunt Xue smiled slightly: "The Spirit Hall claimed that honorary elders could only be judged by the Spirit Hall and forcibly took Yu Xiaogang away."
"I thought they would break him out of prison. Never mind, with such a big event happening, I should go and console my poor senior brother."
Li Xun thought for a moment, then chuckled: "No, now that our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is the victim, I need to have the Crown Prince uphold justice."
"Aunt Xue, you should also send some people to keep an eye on Yu Xiaogang and the others."
Aunt Xue pondered: "By the way, Young Master, although Prince Xue Xing and Prince Xue Beng have been playing dumb, they have also been making moves recently. Should we send more people?"
Li Xun calmly put on his outer garment: "No need, after I meet with Xue Qinghe, it should be about time."
At Xue Qinghe's residence.
Upon learning that Yu Xiaogang had been taken away by the Spirit Hall, Qian Renxue swept everything off the table in anger.
"Why have you all betrayed me too?" Qian Renxue's anger was tinged with sorrow. She hugged her head and curled up, quietly nestling in the chair.
These past two months had been a fall from the clouds to the ground for her.
The last time she experienced something like this was when she was a child, with the occasional malice Bibidong showed her.
Qian Renxue had thought that as she grew up and gained more power, this feeling would gradually fade. Unexpectedly, in recent times, the confidence and sharpness she had accumulated were repeatedly shattered by Bibidong.
Even her grandfather, who had always loved her deeply, seemed to no longer support her decisions.
Serpent Spear Douluo knocked on the door: "Young Master, it's not that we don't want to help you, but we can't withstand the dual static field of Yue Guan and Old Ghost."
After waiting for a long time without a response from Qian Renxue, Serpent Spear Douluo and Thorn Blood Douluo exchanged a glance and sighed.
They had watched Qian Renxue grow up and had come to the Heaven Dou Empire to protect her all these years. To say they had no feelings would be a lie.
But as the Pope, if Bibidong made decisions that conflicted with Qian Renxue, they couldn't act on their emotions. This was also a way to protect Qian Renxue.
Qian Renxue lay limp in the chair, ignoring the concerned words from outside, and gradually emptied her mind.
The consecutive experiences made her deeply realize that the power she was so proud of was built on others.
If she didn't follow the wishes of Bibidong or Qiandao Liu, this power could disappear at any moment.
Qian Renxue looked at her hands with empty eyes.
She now hated her own weakness, unable to even clear her father's disgrace. What good was it to seize the Heaven Dou Empire? Without a strong backing, wasn't she just at Bibidong's mercy?
Thinking of Bibidong, Qian Renxue couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of disgust.
The words Bibidong had spoken to her in childhood—that she should never have been born—continued to linger in her mind.
"Your Highness, someone from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has arrived." Just as Qian Renxue was sinking into despair, a soft knock on the door interrupted her troubled thoughts.
Qian Renxue suddenly looked up, as if she had thought of something, and a glimmer of light gradually appeared in her eyes.
"Let them in."
(End of Chapter)