Inside the helicopter.

Luo Xiu looked at the bound Wu Bingwen and said, "Contact that Mandala immediately and tell her to retreat."

Wu Bingwen, however, wore a bitter expression. "She won't retreat."

Hearing this, Xu Wei stepped forward and kicked him, making him howl in pain.

Wu Bingwen cried, "Because she knows my true identity! The real Envoy assigned her to watch me, so she won't follow my orders."

***

「In Santo City, over three hundred kilometers from Yerite.」

Inside a shabby motel.

Su Shenyun finished bandaging her ghastly wounds. She looked at her disheveled reflection in the mirror, a self-deprecating smile touching her pale lips.

She then looked down at the blackened wound on her right palm. As long as I can survive and get back, the mission will be complete.

After escaping from the church in Yerite, she had been relentlessly pursued by Black Mandala. These several days of fleeing through an unfamiliar foreign country had left her physically and mentally exhausted.

If she could choose, she would give it all up and let death take her.

But she had no choice. She had a mission to fulfill and she wanted to live—to live and return to the person she longed to see.

BOOM!

A loud explosion shattered her thoughts. The old motel door was blasted open.

Su Shenyun sighed in resignation. Just as the Sect Followers burst in, she leaped out the window. In this foreign land, wherever she hid, the Sect Followers easily found her. It had gotten to the point where she hadn't dared to close her eyes for days. Her fierce will to survive had overcome her exhaustion.

Unexpectedly, just as she jumped from the window, she saw the woman in black who had been waiting for her.

That woman was none other than Black Mandala herself.

On the decrepit street, Mandala toyed with an oddly shaped dagger, her face full of mockery as she eyed Su Shenyun like a cat watching a mouse. A dozen White Robe Followers rushed forward, surrounding Su Shenyun completely.

"You're one hard-to-catch vixen," Mandala said.

Su Shenyun gave a faint smile. "And you're quite a persistent hunter."

Mandala chuckled softly and began to walk slowly toward her. "But it's time for this game to end."

"You killed so many of my men these past few days and even managed to wound me. I'll have to play with you properly to make it worth my while."

As she finished speaking, she flung the dagger like a dart at Su Shenyun.

Su Shenyun snapped to attention, whipping around and somersaulting to the side to narrowly avoid the blade. Without a moment's pause, she bolted back into the motel, hoping to escape through the back door.

But Mandala didn't chase. Instead, she leaped into the air and kicked the dagger before it could fall.

The dagger shot through the air and struck Su Shenyun squarely in the back.

Pain lanced through her. Su Shenyun's body shuddered violently, and she staggered several steps before collapsing.

A smirk touched Mandala's lips as she approached with unhurried, graceful steps. She knew that after days of fleeing and accumulating injuries, Su Shenyun was completely spent and couldn't fight back any longer. The only reason Su Shenyun had survived until now was that Mandala hadn't wanted to kill her outright.

A short while later, Mandala stepped on Su Shenyun's lower back. She bent down, grabbed the dagger lodged in her flesh, and twisted it mercilessly, her expression cold and heartless.

The unspeakable agony made Su Shenyun's body tremble uncontrollably. Yet she clenched her teeth, refusing to cry out.

"So tough. You're just like Su Sang," Mandala commented.

At the name "Su Sang," Su Shenyun's expression faltered, and a look of extreme hatred filled her eyes.

Su Sang was her mother, and she too had been killed by Mandala.

Mandala slowly pulled the dagger out, brought it to her lips, and licked the blood from the blade with a look of intoxicated pleasure.

"Su Shenyun, you should return what doesn't belong to you."

Su Shenyun gave a weak smile. "I suppose that's why I'm still alive, isn't it?"

Mandala's voice turned cold. "Was stealing that thing from me your real objective?"

"Honestly, you're stronger than Su Sang. You actually managed to take it from me. But it's meaningless. I have plenty of time and plenty of ways to get it out of you.

"Su Shenyun, I'm giving you one last chance.

"Obediently return what is mine, and I'll grant you a quick, dignified death.

"Otherwise, I'll make your life a living hell. I'll lock you in the deepest dungeon and cripple your meridians and martial arts. Then, twenty-four hours a day, I'll have those Sect Followers line up to 'love' you. I'll make it so even the thought of death is a luxury.

"You probably don't know this, but when Su Sang was captured, she endured that for several days. In the end, she begged me to kill her."

Lying on the ground, Su Shenyun struggled, clenching her fists. She forced her head around to glare at Mandala with bloodshot eyes.

Mandala laughed, but then her gaze turned vicious. As if possessed, she began to pummel Su Shenyun with a flurry of kicks and punches.

A moment later, Su Shenyun lay disheveled in a pool of blood, her limbs broken.

Mandala bent down, grabbed her by the hair, and began dragging her out of the motel toward an off-road vehicle.

***

「In the sky, inside the helicopter.」

Wu Bingwen's phone suddenly rang.

Luo Xiu glanced at him, signaling him to answer.

As soon as the call connected, a woman's laughter echoed from the speaker.

"Messenger Lord, the vixen is in my hands. I'll be back soon."

It was Mandala's voice.

Wu Bingwen glanced at Luo Xiu and quickly asked, "Is she still alive?"

Mandala replied coldly, "I was careless. During our fight... she stole the bug from me, so she can't die just yet."

Wu Bingwen was shocked. "How did she know you had the bug?"

Mandala chuckled. "I suppose that was her goal from the start... to get close to me and steal the bug."

"But don't worry. She's in my hands with broken limbs. She can't cause any more trouble, and I have plenty of ways to get the bug out of her."

Hearing this, Luo Xiu's gaze turned glacial.

The temperature inside the cabin seemed to plummet to freezing in an instant. A terrifying killing intent, like a crushing sea of blood, washed over them, making Su Hongli and the others feel a chill to their very bones.

Wu Bingwen only had to look at Luo Xiu once to be scared enough to wet his pants. He'd been the Envoy's stand-in for so long and had seen many Martial Way experts, but Luo Xiu was the first one whose mere presence could frighten him so badly.

"Where... where are you?"

"I've already left the city. I'll be back at the church soon."

A short while later, Wu Bingwen hung up the phone and looked at Luo Xiu with a pitiful, innocent gaze.

"Mister Luo... this really has nothing to do with me!"

Luo Xiu took a deep, slow breath, retracting the terrifying murderous aura. The temperature in the cabin instantly returned to normal, and everyone could finally breathe again.

Wiping cold sweat from his face, Xu Wei stammered, "Luo... Mister Luo, should we go after them?"

After witnessing Luo Xiu's power, Xu Wei no longer dared to call him "brother."

Luo Xiu shook his head slightly. "There's no need. We'll wait for her at the church."

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