novelraw Chapter 130: Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli, "No Remains"
Chapter 130: Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli, "No Remains"
Chapter 130: Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli, "No Remains"
Dai Youheng left Xingluo City alone, without alerting anyone.
Perhaps due to the excessive losses from the failed assassinations, or perhaps because Zhu Man was fully preparing for another, more insidious plan, this time, the journey north was unusually peaceful, and no one came to harass her.
He did not enter the Sun Moon Empire directly, but instead took a detour, heading west first, and eventually arrived at Maple Leaf City, a bustling border town located at the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Sun Moon Empire.
This city is named for its strategic location, thriving trade, and unique maple leaf scenery. In the original storyline, it will be an important location for future student exchange between Shrek Academy and Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy; choosing this location is fair and safe for both sides.
However, that would be at least a year from now. At this moment, Maple Leaf City had no banners of Shrek Academy or Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, only merchants coming and going, all kinds of soul masters, and a faint, palpable tension unique to the border region between the two great powers.
Dai Youheng chose to stay here, not to admire the maple leaves. He checked into an unremarkable but clean inn, booked a superior room, and then kept to himself, as if he were just an ordinary passerby.
He was here only to wait for Lingya.
Before leaving Xingluo City, he did not allow Lingya to follow. On one hand, he needed Lingya to stay in Xingluo City to ensure that his mother and younger brother were safe and sound during the "expected" kidnapping, and to perfectly execute his plan and collect enough evidence.
On the other hand, his next destination is the Sun Moon Empire, where there are many experts and the environment is complicated. Even if he disguises himself to some extent, it would be best to have a titled Douluo-level bodyguard by his side. This would greatly improve his safety and make many things much easier to do.
He believed that with Ling Ya's ability and efficiency, once things were settled in Xingluo City, he would immediately come to meet him.
During the days of waiting, Dai Youheng was not entirely idle. He changed into ordinary clothes and slightly adjusted his posture to make himself look more like a traveling soul master or a small merchant.
Dai Youheng secretly pondered. If he wanted to contend with the Sun Moon Empire in the future, or even just for the development of his own power, it would be crucial to understand and even master the soul tool technology.
Although Ling Ya is already a Title Douluo and a Level 5 Soul Master, he still needs more technology and resources to advance further and even cultivate a team of Soul Masters for himself in the future. The Sun Moon Empire is undoubtedly the greatest treasure trove.
Shortly after Youheng left, inside the Duke's mansion, Zhu Man believed the time was right, and she finally began to reveal her long-suppressed malice.
One day, in her capacity as mistress of the house, she summoned Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli for questioning. Inside the hall, Zhu Man sat in the main seat, her face cold. She found a fabricated pretext, "lax in managing the household and allowing her son to commit crimes," and directly condemned the mother and son as guilty.
Bai Wanning was gentle but not stupid. She knew that this was Zhu Man's deliberate harassment and framing. She tried to explain, but Zhu Man interrupted her sharply and did not allow her to speak.
Young and impetuous, Dai Luoli couldn't help but talk back to his mother when she was humiliated, and was even scolded by Zhu Man as "disobedient and rebellious, a bad son of a concubine".
"Since you and your son show no remorse, you're only a menace to the Duke's mansion." Zhu Man slammed her hand on the table, a ruthless glint in her eyes. "Guards, seize Bai Shi and her son Dai Luoli. Take them to the Zhu family ancestral hall to reflect on their mistakes. They are not to step out without my order!"
The Zhu Family Ancestral Hall she mentioned was actually a tightly guarded manor within the Zhu family's sphere of influence. Once someone was sent there, it was equivalent to being isolated from the outside world, and their life and death would be controlled by the Zhu family.
The guards in the manor were mostly Zhu Man's confidants. Upon hearing this, they immediately stepped forward and roughly restrained Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli. Bai Wanning's face was pale, and her eyes were filled with tears, but she forced them not to fall. She knew this day would come sooner or later, but she didn't expect it to come so quickly and so shamelessly.
Dai Luoli struggled and cursed Zhu Man, but a guard sealed her voice with his soul power, leaving her only able to glare angrily.
The mother and son were forcibly dragged out of the hall and shoved into a pre-prepared, inconspicuous black carriage. Four Soul King-level guards escorted them on horseback at the front and back, and the coachman was a trusted confidant of the Zhu family. As dusk approached, the group quickly drove out of the Duke's mansion through the side gate and sped towards the Zhu family's residence outside the city.
Inside the carriage, Bai Wanning held Dai Luoli tightly, who was trembling and filled with resentment, and whispered to comfort her, "Luoli, don't be afraid. Trust your brother. He will definitely come to save us."
The carriage traveled along the secluded official road. As night deepened, only the sound of wheels rolling over the road and the clatter of hooves could be heard.
The guards were alert, yet also somewhat relaxed before completing their mission.
However, just as the carriage was halfway there, a sudden change occurred!
Without warning, a blindingly intense light suddenly burst forth from the bottom of the carriage.
"Boom!"
A deafening roar suddenly erupted, and the violent shockwave of soul power instantly tore the entire carriage and the horses pulling it to pieces.
Flames shot into the sky, and a huge shockwave sent the guards and their horses flying, crashing heavily to the ground some distance away, breaking bones and instantly losing consciousness.
At the epicenter of the explosion, only a charred crater remained, with severed limbs and fragments of the carriage scattered everywhere, engulfed in flames, and the air thick with the smell of gunpowder and blood.
Everything happened too fast, too violently! From explosion to destruction, it all happened in the blink of an eye.
When the guards, who had been stunned by the blast wave, finally awoke, they were met with this hellish scene. Despite their injuries, they rushed forward in terror to investigate, but found nothing but charred remains and unrecognizable fragments.
Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli?
Naturally, "no trace of their remains remains!"
The message was quickly sent back to the Duke's mansion by fast horse.
When Zhu Man heard the report from his confidant, he was first stunned, then his face showed disbelief, followed by panic.
Her meticulously planned "kidnapping" inexplicably turned into a "silencing"? Where did this explosion come from?
With Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli gone, what can she use to threaten Dai Youheng?
Worse still, if Dai Youheng finds out about this, he will definitely think that the Zhu family deliberately killed his mother and brother, and then he will take revenge on the Zhu family in a frenzy.
She actually eliminated Dai Youheng's only weakness with her own hands, and even created a madman who would take revenge on them!
She immediately suppressed her fear and unease, and sternly ordered, "Block the news! Announce to the outside world that Bai Wanning and the Fourth Young Master went out to pray for blessings but were unfortunately ambushed and killed by bandits; their carriage was destroyed and they perished! Do it now!"
She must confirm as soon as possible that this was an accident and absolutely cannot let anyone associate it with her.
However, Juman will never know the truth.
Just moments before the earth-shattering explosion, a figure as fast as a ghost had already silently blended into the shadows of the carriage, thanks to the speed of a Title Douluo and his subtle control over his aura.
Just as the explosive soul tool he had personally crafted was remotely detonated and its energy was about to be completely released, Ling Ya forcibly created a protective shield with his powerful soul force, precisely pulling Bai Wanning and Dai Luoli into it and blocking the fatal impact. At the same time, he replaced them with charred remains that he had prepared in advance, which were similar in size to the mother and child, and found in the mass grave.
Under the cover of the explosion's flames and chaos, he carried the mother and child, who were briefly unconscious, away from the scene at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, leaving no trace. The few Soul King guards could not detect his movements at all.
After all, not every Soul King is called the Grim Reaper, and not every Title Douluo is like that Supreme Elder of the Holy Spirit Cult, constantly failing him. If a Title Douluo wants to toy with a Soul King, the normal approach is to use a dimensional reduction attack.