Chapter 177: Two Identical Bai Zhis

Holding onto his connection with Bai Zhi, Hu Yan suddenly remembered something. He said, a bit exasperated, "When I first entered your spirit sea, I was so focused on making sure you were safe that I almost forgot—you have the imprint I gave you. I can use it to find you. The only reason I couldn’t before was because you were in the Illusion Realm, which blocks both spirit sea connections and location tracking. But now that you’re out, just wait a little longer. We’ll be there in no time."

Bai Zhi was taken aback for a moment and asked subconsciously, "Are you going back now?"

Hu Yan: "No need. It won’t affect anything."

He then used the Fox Clan’s special tracking method to quickly pinpoint Bai Zhi’s current location.

She was on the outskirts of the Main Star. If he hadn’t given Bai Zhi the imprint beforehand, it probably would have taken quite some time to find her.

Yue Junxiao was a bit confused when he saw Hu Yan suddenly making strange gestures. Worried about disturbing him, he deliberately lowered his voice and asked Zelda, "What’s Hu Yan doing?"

Zelda hushed him in a low voice, "Be quiet. He’s using the imprint to find Bai Zhi."

Soon, Hu Yan opened his eyes and said, "She’s in the western suburbs. She’s safe for now."

Knowing she’d been found, Yue Junxiao and Yan Yichen excitedly hugged each other. "We found our wife!"

Yan Yichen nodded excitedly as well. "Yeah!"

Even Sang Mo unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, his expression relaxing and losing some of its earlier coldness.

Zelda let out a long breath. "Thank God she’s been found. I would have been blaming myself for ages otherwise."

The others didn’t understand what he meant. Hu Yan, however, remembered what Bai Zhi had just told him—that the Illusion Insect had disguised itself as Zelda, causing them to lower their guard. This had almost made Bai Zhi resent him.

Although Hu Yan knew it wasn’t Zelda’s fault—that the Illusion Insect and the Enchanting Heart Worm had read his memories—he still shot Zelda a cold glance. "Get your apology gift ready."

Hearing this, Zelda quickly said, "Yes, yes, of course. Don’t worry, I’ll be sure to prepare a generous gift."

In fact, Hu Yan, deeming a normal vehicle too slow, had taken a Warship, cutting the travel time by more than half.

Since they were currently in the east and Bai Zhi was in the western suburbs, it meant they had to cross nearly the entire Main Star to reach their destination.

About twenty minutes later, the Warship circled and landed in an open clearing.

The Warship made a considerable amount of noise. Not only did Bai Zhi know they had arrived, but the masked man’s face also darkened instantly, and he ordered someone to move Bai Zhi to a new location.

The Illusion Insect was in the middle of healing, its severed arm placed inside a Treatment Pod. Suddenly, someone grabbed it by the neck and hoisted it into the air. Its arm, only halfway healed, instantly snapped off again from the sudden movement and fell back into the Treatment Pod.

Caught off guard and with its throat in a death grip, the Illusion Insect could only flail, slapping at its assailant with its free hand. "Let... go..."

The masked man squeezed the Illusion Insect’s neck, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "Did you leak our location? No one has ever known about this place, but now someone has tracked us here!"

The Illusion Insect struggled to speak. "I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t tell anyone, not even the Enchanting Heart Worm."

The masked man studied it intently for a moment before flinging it aside. "You’d better be telling the truth."

Then, he said to the tightly bundled figure following behind him, "Line Slave, take it and the female. Follow me."

The Line Slave: "Yes."

The Line Slave went to Bai Zhi’s room, grabbed her by the arm, and began to drag her outside.

"Ssss..."

Bai Zhi sucked in a sharp breath from the pain, letting out a soft hiss.

The Line Slave immediately turned to look at her. Worried she might give herself away, Bai Zhi quickly schooled her features into a neutral expression.

Seeing the action through Bai Zhi’s eyes, Hu Yan’s brow furrowed.

He quickened his pace.

Hu Yan suddenly picked up his pace significantly. The others assumed he was just anxious to find Bai Zhi and didn’t think much of it. A moment later, however, Hu Yan suddenly said, "They’re trying to escape! Yue Junxiao, you’re the fastest. Go ahead and stop them!"

Hearing this, Yue Junxiao immediately put on his speed running boots and dashed off in the direction Hu Yan indicated. The rest of the group didn’t slow down in the slightest; on the contrary, they quickened their steps.

Just then, through Bai Zhi’s eyes, Hu Yan saw the masked man. He was walking at the front of their group with Bai Zhi at the very back, so Hu Yan could only see his back.

But for some reason, the sight of his back felt inexplicably familiar.

They quickly entered an underground tunnel, and her vision went black for an instant. The next moment, however, the passage lit up.

A ball of light had materialized in the Line Slave’s palm.

Though the orb of light wasn’t large, it was intensely bright, instantly illuminating the entire passageway.

They had made it less than halfway through the tunnel when Yue Junxiao caught up. Following the route Hu Yan continuously relayed to him, he had found the entrance quickly.

Hu Yan continued to comfort her from within her spirit sea, his presence like a steady hand in hers. "Don’t be nervous. We’re almost at the tunnel entrance, and Yue Junxiao has already caught up to it. We won’t let them take you away again."

Bai Zhi felt a bit exasperated. "I know. I’m not nervous or worried."

Perhaps it was because Hu Yan was there with her, but even though she was being led away, she wasn’t nervous at all. She even found the situation rather novel.

They moved quickly, with the Line Slave dragging her along to keep up.

Knowing Yue Junxiao was close, Bai Zhi thought about trying to slow them down, but the Line Slave’s strength was immense. The hand gripping her arm was like an iron clamp, impossible to shake.

So she stopped struggling.

She wasn’t the only one in a bad state. The Illusion Insect’s arm, having been reinjured after too short a recovery time, was also a mess. The bleeding had stopped, but it was uncertain whether the limb could ever be reattached.

A sliver of light appeared up ahead—the end of the tunnel.

Just then, the sound of running footsteps echoed from behind them.

At first, there was only one set of footsteps, but soon they were joined by several more.

Bai Zhi’s eyes instantly lit up. ’They’re here!’

It wasn’t just her; everyone else heard it too.

The Line Slave made an instant decision and said rapidly, "Master, you take them and go. I’ll stay behind to hold them off."

The masked man stared at the Line Slave, hesitating for a fraction of a second before making his decision. Just before leaving, he said, "Make sure you come back to me alive."

Hearing this, even though one couldn’t see the Line Slave’s expression, it was still possible to feel a shift in his emotions. "Yes, Master!"

The next second, without a backward glance, he walked back toward the sound of the approaching footsteps.

The masked man suddenly said, "Illusion Insect, take on her appearance and go help him. As long as you complete this task, you can take your things and leave."

The Illusion Insect didn’t want to agree, but being injured and far weaker than the masked man, it knew it was in no position to refuse.

The next second, Bai Zhi could only watch as the Illusion Insect, which had looked like a middle-aged man just a moment before, transformed into her exact likeness.