Chapter 195: Will You Sweetly Consent

"Miss!"

Xiao Er, sitting on the carriage pole, sprang up and charged toward Tuan Tuan's silhouette.

Suddenly, hundreds of seemingly ordinary Da Xia civilians surged in, instantly crowding the not‑wide street.

Like a thick human wall, they solidly blocked the gap between Xiao Er and Tuan Tuan!

"Move!" Xiao Er roared, pointed his toe, leapt into the air, and vaulted over the human wall.

But the scene before him sent a chill through his whole body.

It's empty!

The opposite side of the street is empty!

Not only has Tuan Tuan vanished without a trace, but the quarreling mother and son have also disappeared completely!

Tuan Tuan is gone! In broad daylight, she just vanished!

"Miss! Miss—!" Xiao Er shouted, flailing through the crowd like a headless fly, frantically searching the street.

"Tuan Tuan!"

Xiao Ningchen let out a roar, his eyes flashing red, and he suddenly drew the sword at his waist, lunging to slash at the civilians who had just appeared!

"Second brother! No!"

Xiao Ningxun clutched him tightly: "These are ordinary civilians! If we kill them, we'll be completely unreasonable! Won't that play right into the enemy's hands!"

"Get away!" Xiao Ningchen strained, looking utterly frantic.

"Everyone!" Xiao Ningxun turned to the guards, "Search! All of you search! Quickly! They can't have gone far!"

"Yes!" The guards dismounted together and began frantically searching the street.

Xiao Ze walked up to Xiao Ningchen, placed a hand on his shoulder: "We can't act recklessly; if we do, we'll find it even harder to locate Tuan Tuan."

Xiao Ningchen stopped struggling and gradually calmed down.

Xiao Ze, trembling, pulled a token of the Prince of Lie Kingdom from his chest: "I'll go to the Palace at once to see the Emperor of Xia; you keep searching, we'll regroup at Yiguan and discuss what to do next."

Xiao Ningxun nodded, grabbed her second brother and also pushed into the crowd to look for Tuan Tuan.

Xiao Ze headed straight for the Emperor of Xia's Palace.

Inside Gesang Gong.

Gongsun Chi, after hearing Xiao Ze's words, showed a perfectly timed look of shock on his face.

"So this happened?"

"In my capital of Da Xia, the Immortal Envoy of the Prince of Lie Kingdom was robbed by villains?"

His voice was gentle: "Seventh Prince, you need not worry; I will issue an edict at once, seal off the whole city, post imperial proclamations, and even dig three feet into the ground, we will surely retrieve the Immortal Envoy safely!"

Soon, the imperial proclamation bearing the jade seal was pasted all over the streets and alleys of Tianqi Cheng.

Xiao Ze returned to Yiguan.

Xiao Er's face was full of disappointment: "The people at Yiguan said Jifeng and Qing Qing left for Xilu before dawn."

Xiao Ningxun shook her head: "We searched every place around Yiguan, found nothing; no one has ever seen Tuan Tuan."

Xiao Ningchen stood up, his gaze icy: "I'm going to Guoshi Residence."

This time, Xiao Ningxun and Xiao Ze did not block him.

Everyone fully understood that Tuan Tuan's disappearance pointed the biggest suspicion at Wu Luo.

Xiao Ningchen, sword in hand, stood before the gate of Guoshi Residence.

The gate of Guoshi Residence was open, and a Daoist, with a humble demeanor, ushered them inside.

"The National Preceptor is in seclusion and cannot receive visitors."

"As for the Immortal Envoy's disappearance, we know nothing at all."

"If you doubt us, you may inspect the residence yourselves; we will not obstruct, we only wish to restore Guoshi Residence's innocence."

A few of them, with guards, entered Guoshi Residence and meticulously searched the massive mansion from end to end, even probing the underground passage Tuan Tuan had once used.

Nothing.

There is nothing.

There is absolutely no trace of Tuan Tuan, not even a hint that she had ever been here.

The entire Guoshi Residence was as clean as a blank sheet, as if all filth had been completely erased overnight.

Wu Luo never showed his face, yet with this utter openness turned their doubts and anger into a feeling of being punched into cotton.

Back at Yiguan, everyone fell silent.

The imperial proclamation was posted, the city gates sealed, every searchable place was checked, and the prime suspect was also "cleared."

All the forces they could mobilize had been employed.

But clearly, the opponent had already left no remaining options, blocking every route they could take.

Tuan Tuan, where on earth are you!

Xiao Ningchen hammered the wall with a fierce punch; the hard blue bricks cracked instantly, blood spattered on the back of his hand, yet he felt no pain at all.

Xiao Ningxun thought carefully: "Second brother, after pondering, the one most likely to have acted against Tuan Tuan is still Wu Luo."

Xiao Ze nodded: "Let's do this—stand at the gate of Guoshi Residence, no more hesitations. At any sign of movement, we charge in. Tuan Tuan is clever; she won't just stand there waiting to be killed."

Xiao Ningchen's eyes lit up: "Go! Everyone, go! We are the Prince of Lie Kingdom's envoy team; publicly they won't dare act, the more of us, the better!"

"Alright!" Xiao Er turned and walked out.

Guoshi Residence, inside a secret chamber.

On the ground, the massive formation painted with blood bore intricate, bizarre patterns, with threads of black qi winding inside like living creatures.

Tuan Tuan lay quietly at the center of the formation, eyes tightly shut.

Wu Luo sat cross‑legged beside her, eyes filled with fanaticism.

He stared at Tuan Tuan obsessively, his eyes greedy.

"You finally fell into my hands."

"Your vital energy is so pure and immense; once I absorb it completely, not only will I control everything in this mortal world, but even probing immortality and joining the ranks of the immortals will not be illusory!"

He hesitated no longer, taking out a dark-purple talisman and murmuring incantations.

A flick of his fingertips, the talisman ignited without flame, turning into a purple-black stream of light that shot straight at Tuan Tuan's forehead.

But the moment that stream of light touched Tuan Tuan's forehead, it instantly scattered and vanished, leaving not a trace.

Wu Luo snorted coldly, then produced a palm-sized black gourd from his sleeve, pulled the stopper, and cried, "Devouring Luck Ghost Fiend, go!"

A gush of black smoke burst from the gourd, transforming into countless twisted, wailing ghost faces that bared their teeth and lunged at Tuan Tuan.

The countless ghost faces emitted shrill, mournful wails, entwining around Tuan Tuan, attempting to bore into his seven orifices.

But the instant they touched Tuan Tuan, they let out countless shrieks, scattering in all directions, and vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Wu Luo's face darkened.

He tried several more methods, but whether it was the "Luck-Seizing Needle" activated by secret arts or his own painstakingly forged "Revolving Wheel," without exception, they all failed.

This seemingly defenseless five-year-old child rendered his methods utterly useless!

Wu Luo's eyes grew even more frenzied: "Since it's come to this, this poor daoist will enter the fray with my very self, making you willingly offer up all your vital energy to me!"

He drew a deep breath, forced out a mouthful of heart's essence blood, and sprayed it onto the oil lamp before him.

The lamp flame burst up with a "puff," shifting from dull yellow to a deep blue.

Wu Luo formed seals with both hands, channeling his entire bodily mana into that azure flame.

His complexion visibly waned, yet his eyes blazed terrifyingly bright.

"With my essence and spirit as a guide, I will construct an illusion in your heart."

"A dream of millet, all phenomena arise from the mind—open!"

That azure flame instantly blazed brightly, illuminating the entire secret chamber, utterly engulfing him together with Tuan Tuan at the center of the formation.