The cage was lifted and opened.
Tang Xiang Yang was about to step out, but Liu Er clung to him, refusing to let go:
"Don't leave, Tang. Don't be afraid, he wouldn't dare kill us."
Tang Xiang Yang struggled, wanting to shake her off, but Liu Er held him tightly.
The two lovers remained in the cage, both weeping bitterly.
Shao Ping Bo, standing before the cage, said indifferently:
"Drag them out!"
Cheng Gui Shuo took Tang Xiang Yang by the arm and pulled him.
"No!" Liu Er screamed, pulling Tang Xiang Yang back. In the end, Cheng Gui Shuo pulled them both out.
Shao Ping Bo walked over and, grabbing Liu Er's arm, yanked her away from Tang Xiang Yang. Although he was not a cultivator, he was still born into a general's family and had undergone training. Thus, he had enough strength to handle Liu Er.
After pulling Liu Er away, Shao Ping Bo pushed her towards Su Zhao. Su Zhao caught Liu Er.
"Sister, I beg you..." Liu Er wailed miserably.
Su Zhao replied:
"Liu Er, your brother is doing this for your own good! If you go with him, you'll only harm yourself and him. It's better to let him go!"
Liu Er shouted at Shao Ping Bo again:
"Shao Ping Bo! Who I marry is my business. Whether it's good or bad, those are my problems. It's none of your business! Let me go, I want to leave with him. Whether I live or die has nothing to do with the Shao family!"
Su Zhao held her tight, thinking to herself: "You, a daughter of the Shao family, tell the family not to worry about you? If not for the family, Lu Sheng Zhong would have seized you by now!"
"Alright! I'll give you one chance." Shao Ping Bo suddenly said.
The screaming Liu Er fell silent, and the wailing Tang Xiang Yang turned his head.
Shao Ping Bo nodded towards Tang Xiang Yang:
"Give him 100 gold coins!"
Song Shu took out 100 gold coins and handed them to Tang Xiang Yang.
He, however, didn't accept them.
Shao Ping Bo: "I'm giving them to you, take them. I'm giving you three years. If you truly want to marry Liu Er, then within these three years, you must turn these 100 gold coins into 10,000 gold coins, or become a prominent figure in one industry. Or if someone supports you, then you can take her as your wife. She will wait for you for three years. There's no need to run away secretly like this and lead her to her death!"
Liu Er: "Tang, don't listen to him!"
Shao Ping Bo turned to her and shouted:
"What? You don't even want to accept these generous terms? If he can't even do this, how can he support you? Are you saying you don't believe in him?"
"..." Liu Er didn't know what to say. She froze.
After all, if she thought about it, Tang Xiang Yang really needed to prove himself. Otherwise, everyone would indeed see him as useless.
"Take it!" Song Shu extended the money to him.
Tang Xiang Yang pushed them away. He wiped his tears with his sleeve, turned to Liu Er, and shouted:
"Liu Er, wait for me for three years!" Having said that, he turned and ran.
He raced, feeling a piercing pain in his heart, constantly wiping away tears. He didn't even take the 100 gold coins. He ran and cried. So caught up, he didn't notice a rock, stumbled, and fell. Then he crawled to his feet and continued to run swiftly.
"Tang..." Liu Er screamed repeatedly, but Tang Xiang Yang didn't turn his head.
Finally, she collapsed at Su Zhao's feet.
"Let's go!" After watching Tang Xiang Yang disappear, Shao Ping Bo waved his hand.
The birds soared upwards again, and the riders headed back...
That night, Tang Xiang Yang, who had recently been racing along the river, was no longer running but aimlessly wandering. He was freezing, his clothes still not dry. He was cold and hungry. His stomach constantly rumbled, reminding him of its emptiness. He ran to the river and drank water to somehow fill his stomach.
Suddenly, the sound of hooves echoed. Tang Xiang Yang turned and saw more than 10 riders flash past him. Then they circled him, identifying him, and drew their bows and arrows.
Swish, swish, swish.
"Liu Er..." More than 10 arrows pierced Tang Xiang Yang's body. A sorrowful expression appeared on his face, and with that, he fell into the water...
Outside Beizhou City, in a house, Lu Sheng Zhong lay. He was not suffering any torment now, because he had already confessed everything he knew.
As it turned out, the entire escape plan was devised by Liu Er herself. Otherwise, it would have been truly difficult for Lu Sheng Zhong to lead them away.
Su Zhao sighed to herself. This girl, who had seemed so simple-minded before, was actually so cunning. Perhaps it was all related to their mother. After all, Ruan Shi and her sons weren't particularly clever.
They also learned that the plan to rescue Liu Er was concocted solely by Lu Sheng Zhong. He hadn't relied on any other forces. And he alone had pushed Ruan Shi and her sons to act.
"When you went to kill Niu You Dao, why did you become his subordinate? And why couldn't you kill him?" Shao Ping Bo asked.
Lu Sheng Zhong, hiding nothing, recounted the incident with the poem.
Su Zhao almost burst out laughing. This fellow truly had an unfortunate fate.
However, upon closer thought, perhaps it wasn't bad luck that plagued him, but rather that his targets were far from simple. Niu You Dao was clearly skilled, and Ruan Shi and her sons' failure was also linked to Shao Ping Bo. As for Liu Er's matter, even Su Zhao hadn't expected Liu Er to be so shrewd. It was no surprise that Lu Sheng Zhong failed with her.
Shao Ping Bo looked at Lu Sheng Zhong with sparkling eyes. He understood why Niu You Dao had sent Lu Sheng Zhong specifically to him.
When they left the house with Su Zhao, he asked her:
"What do you think of Lu Sheng Zhong?"
Su Zhao understood what he was asking and replied after some thought:
"He failed tasks several times without even fighting. However, to some extent, one could say he is a capable person!"
Shao Ping Bo sighed and replied:
"This man has betrayed once; it means he can betray again. He is difficult to control!"
Su Zhao laughed: "If you truly wish to use him, then I guarantee he won't dare betray you again. I will handle this matter. You shouldn't be absent from the prison for too long. Go back."
"That's true. I leave Lu Sheng Zhong to you. We need to quickly apprehend Niu You Dao's people in the city."
"Alright. I know what to do. You go and rest."
It was unknown how Shao Ping Bo left. Song Shu and Cheng Gui Shuo didn't know about the secret passage out of the city.
The two men, returning to the city, arrived at the back of Lingbo Palace. Cheng Gui Shuo said:
"Uncle, I'll go buy some food and wine."
Song Shu nodded: "Be careful not to be discovered by the Supreme Purity Sect. And return quickly."
"Understood!" Cheng Gui Shuo cupped his hands and quickly departed.
He went to the nearest inn in Lingbo and ordered food and wine. When his order was brought, he secretly passed a note to the employee.
Afterward, he returned, looking troubled...
In a courtyard, on the upper floor of a house, a window was open. Wei Duo meditated in the dark, occasionally opening his eyes to look out the window.
Suddenly, opposite his house, one of the two lanterns under the eaves was extinguished.
Wei Duo immediately stood up.
He left the house, went to the corner of a wall, and found a paper wrapped in a stone. He discreetly picked it up and left.
When Wei Duo returned to his house and read the encrypted letter, his face changed.
He quickly wrote an encrypted reply, lit a lantern, and placed it on the windowsill. Then he went downstairs, returned to that corner, looked carefully around, and dropped the stone.
When he returned to his room, he saw that all the lanterns in the house opposite had been extinguished. This meant that his message had been received.
He extinguished the lantern on the windowsill and wrote another encrypted letter.
Not long after, a Bird King flew out of the window.
In a dark room, Su Po and Tu Han watched the Bird King fly across the sky. Su Po sighed:
"Many things have happened recently in Beizhou. I wonder if it's related to him... It seems this Wei Duo still doesn't accept Tang Yi as the sect head. But she is, after all, his master's daughter."
Tu Han: "He follows his master's dying command. He doesn't violate any laws."
Su Po shook his head: "However, that man might feel nothing for the Supreme Purity Sect. I suspect he isn't concerned at all about Wei Duo's life or death. Even if Wei Duo is exposed, perhaps he deliberately wants to stir up conflict between Shao Ping Bo and the Supreme Purity Sect? How then will the Supreme Purity Sect survive in Beizhou? You keep an eye on him, so he doesn't bring trouble upon himself."
"Understood!" Tu Han nodded.
Lu Sheng Zhong returned to the city, clean and refreshed. Looking at him, you wouldn't guess that anything had happened to him.
He went to a shop and ordered food, preparing a note.
When Lu Sheng Zhong placed his order, he handed the note to the employee and left. At that moment, a customer sitting in the tavern observed the employee's reaction.
In an alley on the street, Su Zhao paced back and forth.
Lu Sheng Zhong approached her and said:
"I've done everything as you instructed."
Su Zhao remained silent, still pacing back and forth.
Very quickly, a man disguised as a peasant approached her. He whispered:
"Senior, that employee exited through the back door of the tavern."
Su Zhao stopped and said seriously:
"Keep an eye on him. Don't startle the snake. Be ready to use the Bird King at any time. Don't let them use their Bird King."
"Understood!" The man immediately left.
Lu Sheng Zhong said again:
"My lord will keep his word."
"Of course he will." Su Zhao smiled slightly and raised her hand.
Two men approached Lu Sheng Zhong, startling him:
"What are you doing? I... Ugh..."
The two men seized him and sealed his cultivation.
Without his magical powers, Lu Sheng Zhong couldn't resist them at all. They forced a pill into his mouth.