The curses from behind had long been blocked out tens of kilometers away, and Su Cha skillfully piloted the aircraft.
From the moment Su Cha appeared, the two sides had been locked in an extreme tug-of-war — always assassination and counterattack. Su Yeling simply didn’t have the time to think deeply.
At this moment, he was suppressed by spirit force to the point of struggling to breathe, forced to quiet down, and finally noticed many inexplicable things about Su Cha.
Every time the other party took action, there was no leakage of any demonic aura. Moreover, demons do age, just not as obviously.
None of this showed on Su Cha; his time seemed forever frozen at the moment he went down the mountain for training.
“Y—who… are you?”
Su Yeling struggled to utter the three words.
Su Cha sneered, set the coordinates, switched to autopilot mode, then walked up to him.
Their eyes met, and the confusion in Su Yeling’s gaze deepened. Someone who had experienced injustice could not possibly have such clear, bright eyes.
Su Cha grabbed his collar and yanked him close. The wounds on Su Cha’s body tore open; Su Yeling’s lips trembled from the pain.
“Take your doubts and go to h*ll to find the answers.”
“Flower demon…”
“The flower demon clan will be reborn through Nirvana,” Su Cha said calmly.
A faint trace of spirit power seeped from his fingertips. For a moment, Su Yeling vaguely felt his injured true body revive, even uncontrollably generating a slight sense of dependence.
He looked up in disbelief, recalling that the other had always chosen to stay on Spirit Mountain, finally realizing a terrifying truth: Su Cha seemed to have the ability to foster the growth of plants and flowers.
“That explosion…” Su Yeling’s gaunt fingers clenched tightly.
He had thoroughly investigated the entire clan, leaving no branch unchecked — except he hadn’t considered those inconspicuous little flower demons.
Su Cha sat back in his chair, hand resting arrogantly on the console, as if sitting on a throne.
“That’s right. From beginning to end, I’ve been playing you for a fool.”
He knew how to break down Su Yeling’s psychological defenses: an unceasing mountain of support, and Su Yeling could only sigh at his misfortune at best.
Sure enough, Su Yeling could no longer endure and struggled again.
If what Su Cha said was true, then he was destined to lose; it was only a matter of time. Even if he did nothing, once the next generation of flower demons grew up, the flower demon clan would inevitably belong to Su Cha.
Having definitely annoyed the other, Su Cha turned serious and lodged a complaint.
He sent Xie Rongjue a photo of Ji Tianjin’s injuries: “Please show this to Uncle Ji. Tell him Ji Tianjin has suffered terribly here.”
“What’s the point?” Xie Rongjue sounded a bit puzzled.
“To feel sorry for his own kid, to treat him better.”
“You might as well take a selfie and send it to that king of Fog Star.”
That would probably work better.
“I did take one, saw it yesterday.”
Xie Rongjue had nothing to say.
…
Tang City was under martial law, people were restless, even more anxious than when searching for Su Cha’s whereabouts.
Sirens blared, and fighter jets on the perimeter issued warnings.
“So few forces left?” Su Cha raised an eyebrow.
The total number of those fighters was less than half of those chasing him.
If he switched immediately to the ship left behind by Cyril, he could force his way in. But Su Cha did not do so; instead, he posted a video on social media.
“I only demand to see Xia Yu, Li Hou, and Xia Tianjun. After settling old grudges, I will not set foot in Tang City again.”
Li Hou was the most loyal dog of the Xia family. As for Xia Tianjun, he had once strongly supported Xia Hunxiong, agreeing to execute the rumored lover of a certain Xia family woman.
Su Cha didn’t forget to add three finger-hooking emojis and a photo of the half-dead Xia Hunxiong at the end.
Within a minute of uploading, the video immediately sparked a huge uproar. Platform staff kept asking whether to ban the account. Receiving no clear instructions, they chose to temporarily leave it alone.
People were already unhappy about the city lockdown, but out of fear of the Xia family’s power, they hadn’t spoken openly. Now, all that frustration was piling up, and the public mood was about to explode.
“What kind of era is this that someone’s relationship has to take the whole city down with it?”
“Can the Xia family just get out of Tang City? I’ve been tolerating their rampant profiteering for a long time.”
From the photos, Xia Hunxiong looked like he was barely alive, and netizens spoke with no restraint.
Su Cha refreshed the comments in real time.
“The Xia family really has no support.” There were hardly any comments defending them. This wasn’t about rich hatred; many were discussing illegal construction projects.
Xie Rongjue said expressionlessly, “You could add fuel to the fire.”
Su Cha put down the communicator and showed a willing-to-hear attitude.
“Set a time limit. If these three don’t leave the city within half an hour, you’ll storm in forcibly.”
Su Cha was momentarily stunned: “Would anyone believe that?”
After all, he had always been kind.
Xie Rongjue looked at him deeply. Su Cha cleared his throat: “Insults aside, the Xia family’s power isn’t weak; they wouldn’t really be forced to hand over their people.”
“Why not?” Xie Rongjue said calmly, “When one family falls, many benefit. There are plenty who will cheer you on.”
Xie Rongjue had rarely been wrong about public sentiment.
By now, a crowd had gathered outside the Xia family’s main gate. The Xia family had sent many experts away with Xia Hunxiong to the Dahe Province, and now could not find anyone competent to take charge.
“Expel the Xia family!”
The shouts outside didn’t sound angry but full of energy. As Xie Rongjue expected, these were fighters with vested interests against the Xia family.
Inside the Xia family, an emergency meeting was underway.
“Maybe we should just hand them over,” a middle-aged man said expressionlessly. “Su Cha made a video with demands; if we hand them over and he still doesn’t leave, the public anger will shift.”
“I agree,” said a woman of considerable status in the family.
Xia Yu held a high position in the family, and many didn’t even know the whole story of that romance, naturally unwilling to pay the price.
But just then, someone reported that Xia Yu was missing.
“What about Li Hou and Xia Tianjun?”
“Already under control.”
Everyone’s expressions changed. Finally, the high-status woman spoke: “First bring those two out of the city for negotiation. Send people to search for Xia Yu.”
Tang City’s control was so strict now, she couldn’t have run away.
…
From afar, Su Cha saw the two figures being escorted out and voluntarily descended from the aircraft.
Interestingly, Li Hou’s loyalty had not changed; he looked ready to die heroically. Xia Tianjun, on the other hand, unable to escape, began begging desperately.
Then Xie Rongjue came down, giving Su Cha a sideways glance, while Su Cha just shrugged.
Xie Rongjue’s move was small in motion but astonishing in effect—instantly, the hearts of Li Hou and Xia Tiandun were shattered into powder by spiritual force.
Watching Li Hou and Xia Tiandun coughing up blood in great gulps, the guards escorting them turned pale. Suddenly, they understood the meaning behind Su Cha’s shrug—it meant indifference.
Not indifference to whether these two lived or died, but indifference to how they died. From that perspective, whether fortunate or unfortunate, at least they would die quickly and cleanly.
Taking a deep breath, the newcomer announced that Xia Yu was missing.
Su Cha thought more explanation would follow, but to his surprise, he only nodded slightly. The escorts then fled back to the city as if running for their lives.
After a moment’s thought, Su Cha took the storage ring from Su Yeling’s hand.
“Open it. Give me the Soulmate Bell.”
Su Yeling cooperated fully, even shaking the bell himself to inform Su Cha of Xia Yu’s current location: “The suburbs.”
“With this father and daughter accompanying on the road to the underworld,” Su Yeling forced out a hoarse laugh, “it’s not too bad.”
Su Cha fixed him with a steady gaze: “Put away your little tricks.”
Su Yeling’s smile stiffened.
“At this moment, Xia Yu should have set traps, trying to take you down with her.”
Xia Yu definitely anticipated that if she went missing, Su Cha would use the Soulmate Bell to locate her.
Su Yeling’s breathing quickened; the last shred of hope in his heart was shattered, but his mouth remained firm: “If you don’t go after her, you’ll never catch her.”
With a spaceship and spatial fold device in hand, no matter what tricks Xia Yu pulled, Su Cha was confident he could leave safely. The problem was another matter—he needed to keep her alive to interrogate.
According to news from the little flower demons, the gu master had long since left the flower demon clan. He needed to get Xia Yu to reveal that person’s whereabouts.
Xie Rongjue listened silently to the mechanical glove’s translation, then suddenly said, “Give me the bell.”
Understanding he was going to find someone, Su Cha roughly explained the current situation.
Xie Rongjue only nodded; he wanted to resolve things here quickly.
Su Cha communicated with the personnel on the front-line fighter jets via broadcast, stating that after capturing Xia Yu in the city, he would leave immediately and only operate in the suburbs.
After communicating with their superiors, the other side agreed, but added one condition: if Su Cha made a move inside the city, it would be considered a signal to start war. To avoid panic, Su Cha secretly entered through a cleared street.
The location indicated by the Soulmate Bell was not some wilderness, but originally planned for villas—unfortunately, the project became abandoned.
Su Cha’s gaze swept over the area; Xia Yu should be in one of the villas.
Xie Rongjue spread his spiritual force to confirm a living presence in the house at the end.
Su Cha originally intended to give him the spaceship left by Cyril, but Xie Rongjue waved it off, saying it wasn’t necessary. He released his spiritual form, a gaunt hunting dog like a shadowy wanderer, which circled ahead near the villa to sniff around.
With someone helping him fight remotely, Su Cha found a place to sit and rest.
He couldn’t just do nothing, so he moved his lips a bit: “Clan Leader Xia, wake up, I want to have a word with your son-in-law.”
As he spoke, he turned Xia Hunxiong’s head toward him.
Xia Hunxiong, barely conscious, almost fainted again from the anger.
“A family should be together and complete,” Su Cha said. Just as he finished speaking, a muffled boom like spring thunder came from ahead. Eerie howls continued—half human, half beast, indistinguishable male or female.
Black smoke billowed inside the villa. Xie Rongjue’s figure hadn’t appeared yet; Su Cha decided to wait a little longer, and if he still didn’t come out, he would go in to check.
The smoke in the air blackened the clouds in the sky. Just as Su Cha was about to move forward, the hunting dog burst out from the smoke. Then a figure fell from midair—it was Xia Yu. Worried she’d fall to her death, Su Cha used spiritual force to cushion her fall.
Xie Rongjue said: “Interrogation done, I’m going to find people. These three are yours to kill.”
He said it as easily as killing a chicken. Su Cha was even more surprised that Xie Rongjue had wrapped everything up so quickly.
Seeing his doubt, Xie Rongjue half-smiled: “Interrogation is the specialty of the investigation department.”
Su Cha glanced instinctively at Xia Yu; she bore no obvious wounds but her face was full of horror, as if subjected to inhuman torment.
Xia Yu curled up, originally confident she’d drag Su Cha to h*ll with her. Who knew the person who came in was a stranger. Then she watched as he took her brain out, placed it in a culture fluid, and elegantly conversed with the brain.
The brain lived, so consciousness did not die. That feeling of wanting to survive but unable to, wanting to die but unable to, still surrounded her.
Xia Yu’s head ached terribly. She looked down at her hands and feet, momentarily unable to distinguish reality from illusion: “Am I alive… or already dead…?”
“Her willpower isn’t as strong as I thought,” Xie Rongjue said lightly. “If she had resisted, I was prepared to actually carry out part of the procedure.”
Not just play it out with spiritual force in her brain.
Before leaving, Xie Rongjue answered Su Cha’s curious question: “What traps are inside the villa?”
“A monster neither fully human nor ghost, seems not from this world.”
Su Cha’s eyes flickered with understanding: “Sacrifice.”
Sacrifice consumes a large amount of lifespan and damages the soul. The thing Xia Yu summoned was obviously weaker than Xie Rongjue, so the sacrifice was wasted.
“Why…” Xia Yu’s mind was still a bit fuzzy, “why do you bring different people every time?”
Yesterday when Cyril destroyed the Xia family’s main mansion, Xia Yu was sure Cyril’s abilities had reached their limit. The latest news she had was from the morning—someone said a dragon appeared near the flower demon clan, also coming to support Su Cha.
Today so many experts came, even with the dragon’s help, that dragon would sooner or later face a power it could not overcome.
She had prepared for everything but never expected what finally charged in was a dog.
Su Cha shrugged: “Good luck and strong backing, no other explanation.”
After saying that, he quietly regarded the three, seemingly considering what to do with them.
Xia Yu also regained some composure: “You should have just killed me back then.”
Knowing she was provoking him to act, Su Cha didn’t get angry and said plainly: “As for ways to torture people, I really can’t think of any. But I don’t need to.”
He took the three back to Dahe Province.
Upon arrival, he saw the corpse of the Beast Tamer Sect leader lying on the ground. The wound on the neck was strange—Su Cha recognized it as made by Ji Tianjin’s custom dagger.
Most of the gathered experts had dispersed; Yise had already left. His style was tough; he had no interest in confronting these people. He decisively cooperated with the warship and forced most away with a bloody slaughter.
After that, he left directly to the interstellar battlefield to bring Li Huai back.
“…” After hearing Ji Tianjin’s few words, Su Cha raised an eyebrow—was this some kind of hot potato game?
He greeted Li Huai: “Instructor.”
Having just finished dealing with someone still refusing to leave, Li Huai holstered his pistol and frowned sharply at Su Cha’s appearance.
How did this kid grow up like this? Fragile like a vase that would shatter if the wind blew.
After much thought, he finally muttered three words: “Eat more.”
Su Cha nodded calmly, accepting the care, then pointed toward Danhe Realm’s direction: “I’m going there.”
Li Huai didn’t mind where. His gaze swept the distance; outside the mountains were many who preferred to watch and wait.
The military was strictest about leaving no loose ends. He gestured at the warship in the sky to open fire immediately.
Faced with people rushing to their deaths, Su Cha didn’t tell his men to show mercy but headed straight for the flower demon clan.
All the top fighters of the Flower Demon Clan were now on high alert at every checkpoint, as if facing a life-or-death crisis. The Elder of the Guard appeared, trying to persuade Su Cha: “For old times’ sake, since we were once—”
Before he could finish the words “same clan,” Su Cha threw out Su Yeling and the other three: “Isn’t the Flower Demon Clan the most strict about rules? How do you handle cases of humans and demons having relationships and framing others? And this one…” He kicked Xia Hunxiong: “The chief culprit who slaughtered the Flower Demon Clan.”
Xia Yu looked at Su Cha with a face full of hatred. She wasn’t afraid of falling into Su Cha’s hands. Judging by the traits Su Cha had shown, at most they’d only cripple their cultivation, make them suffer a while, then kill them.
But falling into the Flower Demon Clan’s hands was different. She vaguely recalled the clan punishments Su Cha once endured.
Then Su Cha named several other elders: “You were biased, helping Su Yeling cover up the truth. I want them all to pay the price.”
“You intend to kill every expert in the Flower Demon Clan,” the Elder of the Guard said coldly, “What’s the difference from wiping out the entire clan?”
Su Cha smiled, his narrowed eyes showing his patience was running out.
The distant sounds of warship gunfire could still be heard here. The Elder of the Guard tried to build psychological resolve: Su Cha wouldn’t call for backup again. But reason told him that possibility was nearly zero.
“You must swear, if we—”
A powerful spirit force broke through the magic formation, forcing the Elder of the Guard to step back three paces. Unlike Xie Rongjue, Li Huai hadn’t even used a mechanical glove’s translation program; he frowned: “No wonder you wasted so much time here.”
People who talk too much get killed immediately. Why give any chance?
Su Cha agreed and copied that style on the spot. When Li Huai sent out his spirit form to slaughter, Su Cha simply watched coldly.
The smarter Flower Demons chose to retreat; those still fighting desperately were mostly trusted by elders. Li Huai’s strength ranked among the top in the entire Galan Empire, almost a dimensional suppression to this world’s people.
Su Cha fought his way up the mountain, finally appearing before the Elder of the Guard: “Still want to talk terms?”
No mercy showed in his eyes. The Elder of the Guard shut his eyes painfully and chose to yield.
Su Cha sneered: “You should be grateful you still have some value.”
Back then, the Elder of the Guard was severely injured when the Flower Demon Clan was nearly wiped out. After waking up, he was already locked in a dungeon. But with his experience, he could tell the truth of this matter — he didn’t step up afterward to uphold justice.
The other elders naturally refused to surrender, but the result didn’t differ. They were all captured, forced to kneel in a row on the ground.
Su Yeling and Xia Hunxiong were also brought over. Su Cha didn’t order anyone to touch Xia Yu for now; before the Gu master was captured, he wanted to keep Xia Yu alive just in case.
If she could choose, Xia Yu would definitely die immediately. Watching the clan punishment being carried out was a psychological pressure beyond imagination.
If it’s about torturous punishment, the demon clans undoubtedly have the most cruel varieties. Worried about killing them outright and angering Su Cha, the Punishment Hall people used a slow and steady torture approach. Occasionally, they gave Su Yeling and Xia Hunxiong a spirit pill to revive some vitality.
Suddenly, the Punishment Hall seemed to sense something wrong. They dipped a finger in Xia Hunxiong’s blood and sniffed it.
That blood was filled with a strange energy, clearly—
Su Cha said in a flat voice, “Forgot to mention, Su Yeling has been secretly forcing clan members to bless his father-in-law with the Flower God’s favor.”
Upon hearing this, the Punishment Hall people’s expressions changed instantly. They recalled every year when a few outstanding clan members mysteriously disappeared during training trips, and the clan leader never ordered a thorough investigation. Now everything made sense.
Half of Su Yeling’s body had already revealed its true form. The sharp blade kept leaving scratches on the stalks, preventing him from absorbing moisture from the air.
With no reverence left, the Punishment Hall showed no mercy. They even treated the wounds as petri dishes, pouring in some special kind of worm.
Su Yeling was treated like this; Xia Hunxiong’s teeth hurt so badly he’d already bitten off several.
“Kill me,” Xia Yu didn’t dare to look anymore, begging Su Cha with pleading eyes: “Please just kill me quickly.”
Surrounding them were screams; one Flower Demon elder was tortured into insanity.
Su Cha ignored the tragic scene and stepped aside to answer a call from Xie Rongjue.
“The person’s caught.”
Xie Rongjue sent a photo of the Gu master. Su Cha glanced at the Elder of the Guard and nodded. With a wave of his hand, soon Xia Yu was also brought to the execution platform.
“Su Cha, you will have a terrible death! I curse you, I curse you—”
Night had fallen. She screamed wildly, hair disheveled, like a fierce ghost risen from hell.
Su Cha was unmoved. The air was thick with a nauseating metallic blood smell. His eyelids drooped slightly, lost in thought.
“Go take a walk on the nearby hill,” Ji Tianjin said softly.
Su Cha nodded. With Li Huai supervising the execution, nothing unusual would happen.
They moved to another place. The evening breeze brought rare coolness.
Ji Tianjin: “Wait a moment.”
He ran ahead and squatted down, fiddling with something. When Su Cha peeked curiously, several streaks of fire shot into the sky like meteors. Suddenly, clusters of fireworks bloomed, coloring the sky brilliantly. Among the endless blooms of firework flowers, Ji Tianjin looked at him and said, “Happy birthday.”
Su Cha belatedly realized something. By the date alone, it was the same day he left the Galan Empire, and back then, everyone had held a belated birthday party for him.
The White Tiger appeared by Su Cha’s side, carrying several differently sized gift boxes, dressed like Santa Claus.
Ji Tianjin explained, “While you were asleep, every year I prepared a gift.”
Old enemies had suffered terribly, but Su Cha still held some bitterness in his heart. Now the bitterness gradually faded, and his eyes brightened again.
“Thank you.”
Suddenly, Su Cha gave Ji Tianjin a hug: “Thank you for always staying with me unconditionally.”
No blood ties or interests, yet whenever he turned around, this person was always firmly standing behind him.
Ji Tianjin was stunned for a moment, then returned the hug.
Under the grand fireworks, no one noticed Ji Chong who had just arrived.
After dealing with the things summoned by Xia Yu’s sacrifice and capturing the Gu master, under dimensional suppression Xie Rongjue had to change people. Remembering some old ties, he fulfilled Su Cha’s request by sending the photo to Ji Chong, exaggerating how miserable his son had been lately.
Sanses also mentioned Ji Tianjin once said he missed his father very much, so Ji Chong immediately chose to rush over. This kid had never shown weakness to him growing up, indicating this time he truly suffered and sought family warmth.
He needed to hurry and bring him back.
Rushing anxiously, Ji Chong was caught off guard by what he saw. Along with the night wind came a very sincere voice—
“I don’t know when it started, but I began to feel you are the most important person in my life.” Ji Tianjin didn’t say “like” but described a deeper feeling: “In moments of life-and-death crisis, you’re the first one I think of.”
Most important person?
Ji Chong twitched his eyelid. At least add “one of” behind that, and include the parents.
“I’m trying to get stronger, but I still can’t avoid you getting into danger.” Ji Tianjin sighed, “Sometimes I want to take you to a strange place to wander, far away from all the chaos.”
Su Cha smiled: “Running away can be fun sometimes. Thinking about it, this trip hasn’t been so bad.”
Ji Tianjin nodded seriously: “Being able to always be with you feels good. Going back doesn’t seem so important anymore.”
Ji Chong: “…”
