The short and stout Trevor Qu rushed over, panting anxiously. He said in a hurried voice, "The king wants to kill your entire Di clan and take your sister Debbie Di's eyes..."
"What?" Joe Di was stunned for a moment. Then he grabbed Trevor Qu's collar, his hands trembling so much that he couldn't even form a complete sentence. Only one question echoed in his mind: Why?
Trevor Qu had calmed down by now. He stared at Joe Di and said, "Don't ask me how I know this. You have to run right away. I guarantee that in less than one incense stick's time, someone will come to arrest you."
"What exactly is happening?" Joe Di finally managed to speak, though he still couldn't steady his voice.
"The imperial medical grandmaster Dr. Gray, invited by the king, diagnosed Princess Pearl. Only Debbie Di's eyes are compatible for the transplant. The king loves Princess Pearl too much and wants Debbie's eyes for her..." Trevor Qu, who had always admired Debbie Di, broke down in tears and couldn't say another word.
"King Hubert Wu!" Joe Di's eyes turned bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead as he shook with rage.
At that moment, all he wanted was to tear King Hubert Wu of Jade Nation apart, piece by piece.
"Your father refused to accept it and stormed into the royal hall, cursing the king to his face. The king was furious and ordered your father's execution... No one pleaded for mercy. After killing your father, he immediately ordered the extermination of the Nine Di Clans. Now the entire Pearl City is hunting your family. If you hadn't left Pearl City to gather herbs at Northridge Mountain, you would have already..." (The full cause is revealed in Chapter 226.)
Trevor Qu couldn't continue, but Joe Di understood completely. If he hadn't left Pearl City, he would already be dead. Only Trevor Qu knew he had come to Northridge Mountain to gather herbs. If Trevor Qu had any interest in medicine, he would have been here digging herbs with Joe as well.
Joe Di tried to force himself to calm down, but he simply couldn't. He couldn't even speak. Never in his life had he faced such a catastrophe. If he had ever suffered a blow before, the greatest was undoubtedly Zhen Man's departure.
"Joe, you need to leave quickly. They'll find this place soon," Trevor Qu said, shaking Joe Di.
"Go, but where can I go?" Joe Di muttered. As the rage faded, he realized that without his father's protection, he had nowhere to turn.
Hubert Wu wants him dead; there's nowhere he can run.
"If you use your flying device, there’s still a glimmer of hope. If you don’t, you have none at all," Trevor Qu pointed at the silver flying device parked nearby.
Joe Di’s hands still trembled, his whole body shaking. He didn’t start up the flying device and escape as Trevor Qu suggested.
"Joe, didn’t you say you didn’t want to live under your father’s protection? That’s why you studied medicine. Now, with your family exterminated, you might be the only one left. Don’t you want revenge? Even Manna Zhen wouldn’t love a coward forever!" Trevor Qu grabbed Joe Di’s arm and shouted.
"Revenge, revenge..." Joe Di muttered the word several times, his gaze turning wild.
The ground trembled slightly. Trevor Qu urged, "They’re coming, Joe! Go now!"
"Qu, I’m leaving now." Joe Di finally calmed down, hid the gray stone close to his body, and rushed toward his flying device.
He didn’t thank Trevor Qu; he knew thanks were unnecessary. Helping him could bring trouble to Trevor or even his whole family. Joe Di would always remember Trevor’s kindness.
He only hoped that no one would find out Trevor Qu was the one who warned him.
Seeing Joe Di start up the flying device, Trevor Qu let out a sigh of relief. But then he was shocked to see Joe Di’s device head not for the distance, but toward a black rift in the sky.
Only now did he realize there was a strange rift here.
As Joe Di’s flying device entered the rift, the black crack slowly disappeared without a trace.
...
Joe Di opened his eyes. His head felt cold, and he instinctively reached up to touch it. His palm was sticky, and in the dim light, he saw it was covered in blood.
Soon, Joe Di remembered what had happened. After learning that the Di family was wiped out by the king of Jade Nation, he had flown his device straight into the sudden Void Rift.
Joe Di’s eyes landed on the monitor of the flying device. It showed only darkness, no information at all. He struggled to get up and fumbled to open the door.
Birdsong came from afar as Joe Di stepped out of the flying device. The area was silent, seemingly a canyon filled with thorns. Occasionally, one or two unknown animals darted past, confirming it was a remote, uninhabited place.
Joe Di didn’t look for a way out immediately. He looked up at the misty sky, clenching his fists so tightly his nails cut into his palms.
No matter where he was now, if he could ever return, he would make sure to wipe out the Wu family of Jade Nation. Even if he couldn’t cultivate, he would find another way to destroy them.
Whatever the case, he had escaped. No matter where this place was, entering the sudden Void Rift was the right choice. If he hadn’t, Hubert Wu would have already beheaded him.
After a long while, Joe Di finally turned around. He wanted to find some cloth to treat the wound on his forehead, which must have been caused by the violent shaking when his flying device entered the rift.
He took out a mirror and wiped the blood from his forehead, shocked to find a wound there. But the wound didn’t seem to be bleeding anymore.
It wasn’t his own blood. Where had it come from? Joe Di opened his hand and saw that the scratch from his nails had already stopped bleeding. The wound remained, but it healed quickly.
What’s going on? Joe Di felt his scalp tingle; this was far too strange. He suddenly remembered that a few days ago he’d hurt his leg, and when he checked, the wound had shrunk significantly.
Could it be that the gray stone had changed his body, giving him the ability to heal wounds?
Thinking this, Joe Di took out the gray stone he’d hidden close to his body. It seemed smaller than when he’d first gotten it.
He stared at the gray stone, which had a golden vein running through it. Was it possible his body had been changed by the stone, giving him the ability to heal?
Or maybe it had nothing to do with his body—perhaps it was just the stone’s power. Joe Di took out a short dagger from the flying device, placed the stone on the ground, and made a cut on his arm. Blood flowed, but after dozens of breaths, the wound did not heal automatically.
Joe Di picked up the gray stone again and held it in his palm. This time, he distinctly felt a cool, gentle current sweep over his arm’s wound.
After wiping away the blood, Joe Di saw that the wound on his arm was still there, but the bleeding had stopped.
It really was the stone. Joe Di gripped it tightly, feeling that fate hadn’t completely abandoned him.
...