"If you have the guts, stay with him forever!"
The speaker said it without much thought, but the listener took it to heart.
Hearing Yun Ming say those words, Yali staggered, almost falling from the sky.
Fortunately, Xia Yi reacted quickly and caught her just in time.
"Ming Ge!" Yali reached out in the direction Yun Ming had left, trying to grab hold of him, but his figure had already vanished without a trace.
"Ming Ge… sob… don't leave me…" Yali wept bitterly in midair.
Na'er was dead.
Now, Yun Ming didn't want her anymore.
And he had even said such hurtful words to her.
"Master!" Hu Jie's eyes flickered as he looked at Zang Xin, seeking his decision.
Since Yun Ming had left, should they still take action?
"Let's go. We'll find another opportunity next time." Zang Xin narrowed his eyes slightly.
Yun Ming was gone. Yali was with Xia Yi, and Leng Yaozhu could teleport over at any moment.
If they fought now, they wouldn't gain much advantage.
If things went wrong, they might even suffer losses.
Without Yun Ming, a Quasi-God, present, they needed to at least have someone from the Blood God Legion hold Leng Yaozhu back before they could make a move against Xia Yi.
This time, everything had happened too suddenly. They hadn't planned in advance, and acting rashly might cost them.
At Zang Xin's command, the powerful figures from Tang Sect and the Star Luo Empire withdrew immediately.
Tang Wulin glanced at Gu Yue from across the distance before following the Tang Sect forces in their retreat.
Once everyone had left, Gu Yue saw that Xia Yi was still holding onto Yali and felt deeply annoyed.
"Let me do it."
Xia Yi's mouth twitched slightly. "You're even jealous about this?"
"They put up such a grand show, and now they just left? It feels like a dream." Xia Yi muttered quietly after handing Yali over to Gu Yue.
From beginning to end, his expression remained calm.
Yali choosing to stand against Yun Ming to protect him was unexpected for Xia Yi.
After all, no matter what, Na'er had died because of him.
But even if Yali hadn't intervened, Yun Ming wouldn't have been able to do anything to him.
"Can't you just shut up?" Gu Yue shot him a glare.
Yali was already heartbroken, and yet Xia Yi was still making sarcastic remarks. Did he even have a heart?
"I… never mind." Xia Yi wanted to say something, but looking at Yali's devastated expression, he swallowed his words.
He glanced at Yali and sighed helplessly. "You should go back. Gu Yue and I have some personal matters to discuss."
"I… I can't leave!" Yali wiped her tears and bit her lip. "If I leave, Ming Ge will come after you for revenge."
Xia Yi rolled his eyes. "What, are you really planning to stay with me forever?"
"I'll leave once Ming Ge calms down and I can apologize to him." Yali clenched her fists.
"And if he never calms down?" Xia Yi teased.
"That's impossible. Ming Ge is a true hero. He only acted irrationally because of me and because he has no children—only Na'er as a disciple. I believe he'll figure things out soon." Yali spoke with confidence.
"And what about you? Will you ever come to terms with this?" Xia Yi asked.
"I hate you! I treated Na'er like my own daughter. Even though her death wasn't your fault, I will still hate you forever. I won't blame you, but I will never forgive you either." Yali's voice turned cold. "I'm protecting you because of my duty, for the sake of the Douluo Plane, for Ming Ge, for Sister Yaozhu—not for you."
"You don't blame me, so should I blame you then?" Xia Yi looked at her. "Yes, you and I are both victims, but this wasn't my doing—it was your daughter's. She tried to kill me, failed, and ended up killing herself. Your husband now wants to kill me. Shouldn't you give me an explanation for that?"
"Hmph, you don't need to remind me. If you want compensation, just name your price. As long as I can afford it, I won't even blink." Yali glared at him coldly.
No matter what, Na'er had died because of Xia Yi.
Even if she knew Xia Yi was innocent, she couldn't bring herself to be kind to him.
Xia Yi scanned Yali up and down, his expression turning mischievous. He rubbed his chin and asked, "Anything?"
Under Xia Yi's aggressive gaze, Yali instinctively wrapped her clothes tighter around herself.
But she still held her head high and met his eyes, biting her lip. "I keep my word."
"In that case, let's go back to Star Luo City first." Xia Yi said.
"Why are we going there?" Yali's expression changed. She was worried Yun Ming might go to the Tang Sect headquarters in Star Luo City.
Even though she had just stood up to Yun Ming for Xia Yi, she didn't want Yun Ming to misunderstand her intentions.
He was already furious. If he overthought things, what then?
"That's not your concern. Just follow me." Xia Yi said indifferently.
"Fine!" Yali gritted her teeth and agreed.
Soon, the four of them returned to Star Luo City. Lan Fozi hadn't left and was now openly staying at the Star Luo Hotel, even sharing the same suite as Xia Yi and Gu Yue.
Luckily, the suite had multiple independent bedrooms.
Yali returned to her own room, which was next to Xia Yi and Gu Yue's.
Beyond that were the rooms occupied by students from Shrek Academy.
After the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament, most of the students had left Star Luo City to travel around the empire.
Now, only Wu Siduo remained.
She was waiting for her father, who was bringing a group of people to Star Luo City.
She had no idea why her father had suddenly decided to visit.
"Na'er, I failed you. I should have guided you better." Sitting in her empty room, Yali couldn't help but think of Na'er again. Her eyes welled up with tears.
Na'er used to stay with her in this very room.
For the next few days, every time Xia Yi and Gu Yue went out, Yali followed.
She didn't know whether Yun Ming had returned to Shrek Academy or not.
And she didn't dare to call and ask.
So she stayed close to Xia Yi, not giving Yun Ming a chance to act.
If not for fear of Yun Ming misunderstanding, she would have chosen a bedroom in Xia Yi and Gu Yue's suite.
She wanted to talk to Gu Yue, but she didn't know how to begin.
Besides Yali, Lan Fozi also followed them in secret.
"These people are too despicable." Back in Star Luo City, Yali's face turned grim.
So much had happened while she was away.
The biggest event was the auction of the Star Luo Empire's ancestral remains.
Half a month ago, the Star Luo Empire's Star Star Auction House had obtained a batch of artifacts. Among them was a stone tablet.
After translation, archaeologists discovered that it belonged to the White Tiger lineage from twenty thousand years ago—the father of Dai Mubai, one of the original Shrek Seven Monsters.
Along with the tablet was a dried corpse.
At first, the Star Luo Empire thought it was a hoax.
But when the Douluo Continent's Wu family sent people to investigate the Star Luo Imperial Tombs, they found many famous graves had been robbed.
Most of the burial goods were either missing or destroyed.
The Star Luo Empire was furious and launched a full-scale investigation.
The trail led to Lan Haijun but then went cold.
The Sun-Moon Federation demanded that the Star Luo Empire hand over Lan Haijun so that she could be tried under their jurisdiction.
The Demon Emperor, Lan Haijun, held the official status of an envoy from the Sun-Moon Federation's exchange delegation.
Even if she had committed a crime, by rights, she should be transferred to the Sun-Moon Federation for trial.
However, given that the ancestral tombs of the Star Luo Empire had been desecrated, how could they possibly hand over the last remaining lead in their investigation?
As a result, they detained the Demon Emperor.
So far, the two sides had already conducted more than a dozen rounds of negotiations, yet no resolution had been reached.