Bi Xia stared at the completely seamless cultivation dish, furrowing her brow, "Damn it, where did this thing come from?"

"In that organization, these things are everywhere," Ji Qiutang’s voice coldly echoed. Bi Xia turned to see Ji Qiutang looking at the cultivation dish with an icy expression, his fists tightly clenched by his side. After a while, he said, "If you want to get this child out, you have to find a way to open it. Neither external force nor spiritual power can destroy this thing."

"You seem to know a lot." Bi Xia said casually, turning to search the secret room.

At that moment, a cool voice slowly came through, "My last mission involved dealing with this kind of thing."

Her hands paused slightly, and she heard the voice continue, "Back then, there were about five or six of these, each containing a child missing a heart. There were traces of recent surgery on the operating table, but we were as powerless as we are now because we didn’t find any clues. We didn’t even manage to find any trace of lingering spiritual power." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"On that same day," Ji Qiutang exhaled lightly, "we dug out several dead children’s bodies from beneath."

Bi Xia quietly looked at Ji Qiutang’s back, thinking she understood why he was so tense when the door panel fell. He had seen even more gruesome scenes before and realized that these might have been deliberately left by Yu Tian for Ji Qiutang... as an imposing demonstration and provocation.

Pursing her lips, Bi Xia glanced around as her spiritual power spread out, causing ripples to arise. She heard countless shattering sounds and arched her eyebrow with a soft click of her tongue, "I didn’t expect there would be so much surveillance in such a small space."

After confirming that there was no surveillance left, Bi Xia raised her hand and removed her mask, walking with long strides toward Ji Qiutang. She grabbed his collar with her small hand, forcing him to bend down, her starry eyes indifferent. With her other hand holding her mask, she placed it on his face in front of his bewildered and surprised gaze.

The mask seemed to have a switch; as soon as it matched Ji Qiutang’s facial contours, it automatically adjusted to his size. Despite the lack of any fastenings, there was no concern about the mask falling off due to its snug fit.

He touched the mask on his cheek absentmindedly, his clear eyes filled with confusion as he looked at the young man in front of him, who was wearing a baseball cap and revealing a slightly lifted exquisite face.

The young man slightly lifted his chin, his expression calm, "Since you haven’t done psychological preparation yet to face all this, wait until you’re ready or have caught them all before taking it off."

"By the way," the young man shoved one hand into his pocket, tilting his head slightly, "Remember to return the mask when you go outside. It’s custom-made, the only one in the world."

With that said, the young man sauntered to one side with a soft voice, "Sentimental concerns are not suitable for a refined scoundrel, discard them early for they are extremely unsightly."

The awkward concern in those awkward words made Ji Qiutang chuckle, and the previously oppressed mood in his heart gradually faded away, "So, what is suitable for a refined scoundrel?"

The young man turned, curling his lips into a smile, "That’s something you have to ask yourself."

"Ask myself?"

"Smiling elegantly while deceitfully leading people to utter ruin—aren’t those the things you’re best at?"

Having just been slyly comforted by the young man, Ji Qiutang found himself being veiledly teased again, making him chuckle softly. He gently touched the mask, the corners of his lips faintly curling upwards, neither denying nor admitting, simply saying, "Don’t worry, I might deceive everyone, but not you."

She hesitated in her actions, which were meant to flick the switch open, and Bi Xia glanced aside provocatively, "That, of course, depends on whether you have the ability to deceive me."

Finishing her words, she exerted a gentle force, and the switch flipped open, the cultivation dish slowly opening upward. The cultivating fluid poured out, exposing the children inside to the air. The three children, whose hearts were missing, rapidly aged upon contact with the air, becoming desiccated human forms left standing on the dish’s pedestal.

Bi Xia was momentarily stunned, swiftly moving to the side of the boy who hadn’t died yet. The little boy slowly opened his eyes, pausing his gaze on Bi Xia’s face before closing them again.

Bang—

An explosion sounded suddenly outside. Bi Xia and Ji Qiutang exchanged a glance, and instantly, Bi Xia cradled the child in her arms while Ji Qiutang tackled her to the ground.

Outside, meanwhile, Wei Ming, who was organizing the children to get on the bus, paused slightly. Upon hearing the explosion, he whipped around, eyes widened with alarm, sprinting toward the explosion, "Second Brother! Little Nine!!!"