Sun Shehu did not doubt for a moment that if he were truly standing beside Shen Wuxiang, the mere pressure being released would make it hard for him to remain standing, causing him to fall to the ground.

Indeed, both the Military Minister and he were concerned about Bai Qi's betrayal.

The fall of the Ba Dao Sect can be overlooked, but Bai Qi's betrayal...

The impact is truly too detrimental.

One must know, the Undying Army was Shen Wuxiang's rise to prominence, which he painstakingly developed into Shen Family's personal army.

Bai Qi was a senior commander of the Undying Army, and even he defected...

This might make people think badly—is the Shen Family deteriorating? Is it a collapsing tower?

This is similar to a bank run; initially, a bank is well-managed, with ample funds. But then, rumors spread saying the bank is going bankrupt, urging people to withdraw their money, one rumor leads to ten more, until everyone rushes in to withdraw...

The bank truly collapses.

"Yes." Sun Shehu forced himself to continue speaking, "I have already sent someone to confirm... On the sea, corpses are everywhere. Zhao Wuji, the Sect Leader of Ba Dao Sect, has been found dead... Bai Qi from the Undying Army escorted Tang Fei and others away..."

Shen Wuxiang remained silent, and Sun Shehu dared not speak further.

Even though he always considered himself Shen Wuxiang's top confidant, he was aware of the blow this incident dealt to Shen Wuxiang.

Killing intent permeated Shen Wuxiang's eyes as he coldly said, "Chen Fuzhi, relay my orders. The Undying Army's first and third combat brigades shall depart from Phoenix Base to pursue Bai Qi's troops..."

"The ninth and eleventh units of the Phoenix Army shall depart from Starlight Base... to intercept the bandits from the front..."

"Alive or dead, they must be captured... Spare no effort, make sure to bring them down for me..."

"Yes." Chen Fuzhi responded, turned, and went out to convey the orders.

Shen Wuxiang looked at Sun Shehu and asked, "Who recommended Bai Qi?"

"Zhong Tianque." Sun Shehu immediately replied, "When he nominated Bai Qi, General Shen Que thought that he was one of our own, so he did not object to save face."

Shen Wuxiang scrutinized Sun Shehu curiously and questioned, "Really?"

"Absolutely true. If the Military Minister does not believe it, he can summon General Shen for questioning." Sun Shehu asserted with confidence.

He was not the least bit guilty saying this, as he had already discussed it with Shen Que before making the call.

If one person takes the blame, it could be a deadly offense.

If several people share the blame, punishment might be shared.

Besides, 'Death to the Daoist, long live the priest.'

They were shifting the blame eastward, letting Zhong Tianque take the fall... what's there to hesitate about?

Shen Wuxiang remained silent.

He knew that Sun Shehu's words were somewhat lacking in truth, yet he worried that this was indeed Zhong Tianque's doing.

As a puppet, striving for backlash is also understandable.

First, there was Zhong Daoling's attempt to harm the Great Grandmaster; now, Bai Qi leads his men in betrayal...

"Have Zhong Tianque come to Qi Mountain to explain to me personally."

"Yes."

"Come with Shen Que as well."

"Yes, Military Minister."

After hanging up, Shen Wuxiang had an awkward expression as he looked at Shang Xiulin and said, "I apologize for the embarrassment. Indeed, the ways of the world are hard to predict; until the last moment, it's hard to know who will have the last laugh."

------

Aboard the Starship, Tang Fei and Bai Qi sat facing each other.

Tang Fei looked at Bai Qi, smiled, and said, "General Bai, it's been a long time."

"Indeed. It's been a long time." Bai Qi also scrutinized Tang Fei, feeling countless emotions arise.

Their first encounter was back on the old soil.

At that time, Tang Fei was a worthless Hunter, known only for saving the Princess and thereby stepping into the world's view.

Bai Qi left with the Princess, thinking this parting would be forever.

Who would go to the old soil for a casual visit?

Who would have thought he'd follow here to New Star, and within a few short years, become a ruler in his own right.

And join Shen Wuxiang, a power merchant of the Empire, in vying for the national cauldron...

Who could have imagined?

"I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?"

"General Bai is part of the Undying Army, which is Shen Family's personal troops... General Bai sacrificed himself to save them, the sacrifice is truly great." Tang Fei spoke out.

"Her Highness the Princess saved my life; what does this sacrifice count for, really?" Bai Qi, however, appeared determined, with a naturally calm demeanor.

"Oh?"

"Speaking of which, this matter is somewhat related to you, young master."

"What? It's falling on me now?"

"Does the young master still remember our first meeting on the old earth?"

"Naturally, I remember." Tang Fei nodded.

How could he not remember?

At that time, a vague affection arose between him and Phoenix, but Bai Qi came and took Phoenix back to New Star.

He was heartbroken for quite a while, thinking it would be difficult to meet again in this lifetime.

Not until Phoenix did not abandon him, and even sent food and weapons for him, did he feel a little better.

At that time, he was just an innocent, naive young man, having never seen the Star Disc Fleet, which descended like divine soldiers, nor the awe-inspiring Imperial General.

"When we escorted Her Highness the Princess back home, we also took away those Wuyou Palace assassins... Unexpectedly, those assassins died without cause upon reaching New Star."

"The King was furious and ordered accountability... Shen Wuxiang, in order to quell the fury from all sides, wanted to push me out to be the scapegoat."

"Ultimately, it was Her Highness the Princess who stood up to protect me, saying I was her savior; without me finding Hate Mountain, they probably still wouldn't be able to reunite as a family..."

"The King then agreed to spare me, giving me a chance to survive... Later, it was also due to her speaking up for me that I could retain my position in the Undying Army..."

To investigate the Phoenix's old earth attack case, during that period, Phoenix City was bathed in blood, and who knows how many heads were chopped off.

Those assassins were the only clue left from the case, yet they died in his hands...

He became the scapegoat to satisfy everyone's conditions.

Shen Wuxiang was unlikely to bear Zhong Daolong's wrath just for him, after all, at that time, the Shen Family was the biggest suspect.

"I understand." Tang Fei nodded, saying, "Indeed, it has something to do with me. If at that time I had killed all those assassins, you wouldn't have encountered so many problems."

"Where in the world do 'if' and 'perhaps' exist?" Bai Qi shook his head, saying, "Besides, if it wasn't this matter, there would be another reason."

"Hmm?"

"Young master, don't forget, my surname is also Bai."

"Bai Family of Leizhou?" Tang Fei was shocked.

"Exactly so." Bai Qi nodded, saying, "After Bai Shizhen died, the Bai Family collectively sought refuge with the Zhong Family."

"Zhong Daolong also didn't want the Shen Family to dominate forces solely, so he saved our branch, preventing us from being driven to extinction by the Shen Family catching our weaknesses."

"I have repeatedly made military achievements in the Undying Army, doing a lot of dirty work for their Shen Family, which is how I gained Shen Wuxiang's trust and acceptance... Even so, I'm still just a brigade commander, finding it hard to promote to a higher position."

"I understand. They are still uneasy about the Bai Family, just like they've been suppressing the Lu Clan for the past twenty years."

"Yes." Bai Qi looked at Tang Fei, nervously asking, "Bai Wuxin..."

"He is Bai Shizhen's son." Tang Fei understood what he wanted to know and solemnly replied.

Bai Shizhen was Tang Li's adjutant; the two were born and died together, as close as brothers.

Tang Li was killed, Bai Shizhen escaped because his family protected him.

However, Bai Shizhen couldn't bear seeing his old friend's entire clan massacred, with ashes being humiliated and reviled by ignorant civilians on the square, so he wanted to steal and bury those ashes.

Unexpectedly his tracks were discovered by patrols, and Bai Shizhen chose to detonate the bomb he carried to avoid implicating his family.

Bai Shizhen turned into thick smoke and disappeared, it was originally possible to 'perfectly' escape.

Bai Shizhen's wife, Li Zexian, however, carried a coffin, faced countless civilians at Phoenix Square, wanting to gather a wisp of air from where Tang Li's ashes and her husband's sacrifice were.

Because Bai Shizhen chose a powerful thunder blast to prevent anyone from identifying him, his body would vaporize upon the bomb's explosion, leaving not even bone fragments. This also prevented blood DNA from revealing his identity, causing trouble for his family.

Li Zexian was captured, during trial, the judge asked her why she did it, she said my husband is a hero, he did what he should have done, he chose to commit suicide to protect us.

I cannot let him die so dishonorably, silently, his heroic deeds should be widely known, otherwise, everything he did would be meaningless.

To threaten those secretly supporting and sympathizing with Tang Li, Li Zexian was executed using the most cruel ancient punishment of dismemberment, while their only son disappeared without a trace.

The world thought he was dead, but little did they know, he was secretly saved by He Xiaohua, renamed as 'Wuxin'...

Tang Fei was extremely grateful and admired this couple, Li Zexian and Bai Shizhen; if not for such people accompanying and following his father, he would have died in that great fire long ago.

"I knew it." Bai Qi's eyes reddened, hoarsely saying, "I knew it... Shizhen has descendants."

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