"Ah..." The man in grey cried out in surprise, but quickly understood—Joe Di was heading for the Shan Family.
Immediately, the man in grey realized that the young man before him was not someone with a gentle temperament. If he showed even a hint of disrespect, he might be incinerated by a fireball.
"Yes, yes..." the man in grey hurriedly replied without a moment's hesitation, "The Shan Family is in Yuning, but they have a base in Dai City..."
"Then what are you waiting for? Let's go to the Shan Family's base in Dai City." With a kick, Joe Di sent the man in grey stumbling more than ten steps, who then hurried downstairs to lead the way.
Joe Di followed behind the man in grey, secretly admiring Shana Shan. She had clearly escaped from the Shan Family, yet dared to stay in Dai City where the Shan Family had a base. That was truly using the psychology of hiding in plain sight. Still, Shana Shan was a bit too bold—even hiding in plain sight, she couldn't remain there for long.
......
The Route Inn where Joe Di was staying was at the easternmost edge of Dai City, basically on the outskirts. The Shan Family's base in Dai City, on the other hand, was located in the bustling city center.
Even though it was just a base, the Shan Family still owned a sizeable building in Dai City. From the outside, it looked just like an auction house.
Although it was called a building, it only had two floors, and the second floor wasn't in use. Most activities took place in the first-floor hall. Whenever the Shan Family held auctions, it was always on the first floor.
At this moment, in the hall on the first floor,
Seven people were seated, with a middle-aged man at the head. One of his eyes was larger than the other, and his mouth was slightly crooked.
This man was Eugene Shan, the Shan Family's Vice Head Martial Instructor, whose strength had reached the late Earth Stage. Someone like Shana Shan would never be important enough for Eugene Shan to come here for her. He was in Dai City because two days ago, a blinding light appeared outside the city. Although it lasted only a short time and few people saw it, the Shan Family's intelligence network did not miss it.
After that white light, it snowed heavily that night. Dai City hadn't seen snow in a long time. Connecting these events, the Shan Family suspected some treasure had appeared outside the city. Eugene Shan was here to investigate. As for discovering Shana Shan, it was purely because so many Shan Family members had come to Dai City that she was suddenly found and recognized.
Now that Shana Shan had been recognized, there was no way she could escape.
Seated to Eugene Shan’s lower left was a young man named Noah Shan, the top prodigy of the Shan Family’s younger generation. Not yet thirty, he had already reached the late Mystic Stage.
He had come with Eugene Shan to investigate the situation outside Dai City and to try to break through to the Earth Stage.
Noah Shan also knew Shana Shan fairly well—after all, she was considered the Shan Family’s number one beauty.
Aside from Eugene Shan and Noah Shan, the rest were basically just background figures. The only two who weren’t were sent to capture Joe Di.
"I don’t even know you people. What right do you have to bring me here?" Yvette Fei’s angry voice echoed as she was led into the hall.
When Yvette Fei saw Eugene Shan seated at the head of the hall, she quieted down. She knew Eugene Shan—he was the Shan Family’s Vice Head Martial Instructor. She’d seen him once at the Global Ancient Martial Arts Tournament, where he served as a judge.
Since she’d been captured by the Shan Family, it meant her troubles weren’t related to the scum she’d killed before.
"What’s your name?" Eugene Shan’s gaze fell on Yvette Fei, his tone indifferent.
"My name is Yvette Fei. I’ve never offended the Shan Family, so I don’t understand why you’ve brought me here, Senior." Yvette Fei asked calmly. She knew all too well how powerful the Shan Family was; if they refused to let her go, begging would be pointless.
Eugene Shan snorted coldly. "Did you bring someone to Dai City yesterday? Who was he?"
"You mean Joe Di?" Yvette Fei was stunned. Only now did she understand the real issue—it wasn’t about her, but about Joe Di.
"Is his name Joe Di? That’s right, him. Where is he from, and what is he doing here?" Eugene Shan asked blandly.
Yvette Fei shook her head. "I don’t know. I just happened to meet him outside Dai City. He didn’t have any money, so I lent him a hundred dollars..."
Eugene Shan snorted, "Take her away and make her tell the truth. If she doesn’t, then she’ll never speak again."
Two men stepped forward, one grabbing Yvette Fei’s arm and dragging her out.
Joe Di hadn’t arrived at the Shan Family’s base yet, but his divine sense had already swept over Yvette Fei. She was being hung up, with two men in grey—one holding a dirty wooden basin, the other gripping a bone-carving knife.
"Your mission is complete." Joe Di said, raising his hand and instantly reducing the man before him to ashes with a fireball.
Just as he was about to rescue Yvette Fei, he spotted a young man hiding in the corner. Joe Di realized this youth was the one who had warned him to escape and was likely a friend of Yvette Fei. At that moment, the youth was clutching a three-edged dagger, apparently planning to ambush the two men in grey who were about to torture Yvette Fei.
Joe Di shook his head. The youth’s strength seemed even weaker than Yvette Fei’s; trying to ambush those two men in grey was simply wishful thinking.
Since he’d encountered him, Joe Di wasn’t about to let the youth suffer.
Almost simultaneously as the youth rushed out, two Ruleblade rays from Joe Di struck the foreheads of the two men in grey.
"Pfft!" The youth, moving with his fastest speed, stabbed the three-edged dagger into the back of one of the men in grey.
The process was so simple that even the youth was stunned—his opponent didn’t resist at all, letting him succeed. Fortunately, he quickly recovered, pulled out the dagger, and stabbed it into the back of the other man in grey.
With two consecutive thuds, both men in grey collapsed to the ground, silent forever.
This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
"Something’s not right..." The youth instinctively glanced at the three-edged dagger in his hand, then at the two men in grey, blood gushing from their wounds. It all felt strange—his success had been far too easy. Even if he was fast, it shouldn’t have been so effortless that neither man could react.
"Hugh Hayes... why are you here?" Yvette Fei was about to urge Hugh to leave, but then saw the two men in grey he'd just killed.
Only then did Hugh Hayes react, quickly pulling out a dagger and cutting the rope binding Yvette Fei’s hands.
"Hugh Hayes, how could you possibly have killed those two? They were so strong..." Yvette Fei looked at Hugh in delight.
She was at least a Yellow Stage martial artist, but when the man in grey had restrained her earlier, she couldn’t resist at all.
Hugh Hayes sheathed his dagger and urged, "Let’s go, quickly! I came up from the underground garage—let’s escape through there."
Yvette Fei quickly understood—now was the time to escape. As for how Hugh Hayes managed to kill those two, perhaps they simply hadn’t been paying attention and let him catch them off guard.
Joe Di’s divine sense swept over Yvette Fei and Hugh Hayes as they left, and only then did he enter the Shan Family’s building.
"Who are you?" As soon as Joe Di stepped into the hall, Eugene Shan frowned and stared at him. Though the Shan Family’s base wasn’t heavily guarded, no one dared to enter so brazenly.
"You sent several groups to look for me. I was worried you’d get too tired, so I decided to come myself." As Joe Di spoke, his divine sense swept through the hall. After Yvette Fei and Hugh Hayes escaped, only five people remained in the first-floor hall.
He wasn’t in a hurry to act. He planned to burn the building down only after Yvette Fei and Hugh Hayes left Dai City. He was stalling for time to let them escape safely.
"Are you Joe Di?" Eugene Shan suddenly stood up, pointing at Joe Di with a voice full of murderous intent.
Joe Di had come here alone, and the people sent to capture him were nowhere to be seen. Even a fool could guess what had happened.
......
Dan Xiuqi hadn’t gotten far from Dai City before she stopped again.
She felt uneasy leaving like this, still hoping the Shan Family wouldn’t bother with Joe Di and would just let him go.
But she knew better than anyone what the Shan Family was like—after all, she was a Shan herself. She was certain that if she just left, they’d never let Joe Di go. If Joe Di was caught by them, surviving would be a miracle.
It was Dan Xiuqi who had invited Joe Di to stay at the Journey Hostel, and it was because of her that he’d been taken by the Shan Family. If he died, how could she ever be at peace?
No, she had to go back.
Dan Xiuqi decided to return and take Joe Di away. If he refused, she’d knock him out and take him to another city.
Dan Xiuqi rushed back to the Journey Hostel as fast as she could. As she’d feared, Joe Di was no longer in the room.
Anxiously, Dan Xiuqi hurried to the front desk, grabbed a staff member, and asked, "Excuse me, where did the guest in room 523 go?"
"A man in grey took him away. He hasn’t come back yet," the staff member replied, having seen Joe Di leave with the man in grey.
Dan Xiuqi’s heart sank—she was too late.
(The second update may be a bit late)