Chapter 332: Through and Through

On the way to Liu Dong Si, the party was swiftly moving through streets and forest paths shrouded in night.

In the silence, Chang Ye Yue suddenly thought of something, turned her head toward the nearby Saber: "Miss Saber, where is Mrs. Ailisi Feier? Isn't she moving with you?"

She remembered that the gentle lady was usually inseparable from Saber.

Saber heard this, a hint of softness flashing in her emerald eyes, but her tone remained steady: "Ailisi Feier is assisting in evacuating trapped civilians. With her are Father YanFengShenfu and the … Master of the Tohsaka family."

When she mentioned Yuanban Shichen, she paused, as if recalling the disheveled appearance of the Head of Family in the alley, but the knight's composure kept her from speaking further.

"Who?"

Chang Ye Yue's steps faltered slightly, her crimson eyes turning to Saber, a hint of surprise on her face: "Father YanFengShenfu? Together with Yuanban Shichen? And Ailisi Feier?"

"Yes."

Saber nodded and briefly recounted how she had met Yan Feng Qili in the alley, how he had "deeply understood the great righteousness" to persuade the collapsing Shi Chen, and had said he would represent the Church to coordinate parties and aid the people: "…Later, we decided to split up. Ailisi Feier felt that rescuing civilians was also an important duty, so she joined Father YanFengShenfu, Mr. Tohsaka and his two daughters, heading to a relatively safe area to organize evacuation."

After hearing that, Chang Ye Yue's steps came to a complete halt.

She held up her umbrella, standing in the middle of the road, her expression turning oddly strange.

"Miss Chang Yeyue? What's wrong?"

Saber sensed her abnormality and also stopped, a look of puzzlement appearing in her emerald eyes.

Black Tower and San Yue Qi also turned their heads to look at them.

Chang Ye Yue took a deep breath, her crimson eyes appearing especially deep in the night.

She looked at Saber, her voice clear and firm as she said, "Miss Saber, you may… no, you all are very likely being deceived."

"Deception?" Saber furrowed her brows, "Father YanFengShenfu, he…"

"That Yan Feng Qili,"

Chang Ye Yue cut her off, her tone carrying an unmistakable chill, "He… has a problem. A huge problem."

Meanwhile, inside an abandoned building in the eastern part of Dongmu City, near the Wei Yuan River,

It had originally been planned as one of the temporary shelters, but because of its relatively remote location and the building's age‑worn condition, it never housed many citizens, and now it was completely empty.

On the third floor of the building, within a vacant room,

Yuanban Shichen was bound with coarse hemp rope in an extremely humiliating posture to a bare concrete column, his wrists and ankles tightly cinched to the point of pain.

A rag was stuffed in his mouth, allowing only a vague "wu‑wu" sound.

His complexion turned iron‑blue, veins bulging on his forehead, not from pain but from extreme rage.

Just ten minutes earlier, he had been slightly swayed by Yan Feng Qili's "magnanimous" speech and his "earnest and responsible" manner of organizing evacuations and treating the wounded, even harboring a ridiculous illusion in a corner of his heart—that perhaps everything before had truly been a misunderstanding?

Perhaps Qili was merely carrying out some deeper plan that he did not know about?

After all, he was a disciple he had personally taught; the etiquette and sense of responsibility of the Tohsaka family, he should…

However, that fragile illusion was completely shattered when he was "invited" to this abandoned room and saw Ailisi Feier bound beside him.

What broke his heart even more was that in the corner of the room, two tiny figures—Lin and Ying—were tightly clutched by two knife‑wielding Assassins, sharp daggers pressed against their delicate necks!

The two girls' faces turned ghost‑white with fear, tears welling in their eyes, yet they dared not cry out, only emitting faint sobs.

(Beast… this utterly… beast!!!)

If his mouth weren't stuffed with cloth, Yuanban Shichen right now would definitely unleash the most vicious and base language he has ever learned, berating Yan Feng Qili from head to toe in a torrent of curses!

The fury in his eyes seemed almost tangible as he stared fixedly at the disciple standing before him, still clad in that Black Priest Robe, his face now devoid of any compassion or solemnity, leaving only a hollow, indifferent expression.

Yan Feng Qili seemed oblivious to the teacher's eyes that wanted to devour him alive; he let out a slight sigh, his voice still in that calm tone, but the words were ice‑cold and biting:

"I'm sorry, teacher."

He paused, as if arranging more proper wording.

"This is also… for my own consideration."

He continued, as if commenting on pleasant weather, "After all, regardless, you are the one who knows the things I have done. To protect myself, I ask you…"

He bowed slightly, assuming a gesture akin to a farewell.

"…slit your own throat and return to the heavens."

Yuanban Shichen: "!!!"

His whole body was bound, but hearing those words made him so angry that he trembled, wildly thrashing his body, using all his strength to slam into the column behind him, producing a dull "dong‑dong" sound!

His facial expression twisted to the extreme, his gaze clearly roaring: "To your mother!!! You deceitful, ancestor‑killing, shameless, psychologically perverse mongrel!!!"

Yan Feng Qili watched the teacher's intense reaction, a hint of helplessness flashing in his hollow eyes; he shook his head, as if lamenting the teacher's lack of insight.

"It seems, teacher, you still lack some… grand‑righteousness plot."

He whispered, then slowly turned his body, back to Shi Chen.

That movement made Shi Chen's heart sink sharply.

As Yan Feng turned, three or four Assassin clones silently emerged from the surrounding shadows, their hands holding gleaming cold daggers, like emotionless executioners, stepping closer toward the bound Yuanban Shichen on the column.

The shadow of death had never been so clear.

"Don't worry, teacher."

Yan Feng Qili, with his back to him, his voice coming from ahead, steady enough to chill the heart, "Your daughters, and your wife, I will not lay a hand on. I will… take good care of them."

He paused, as if emphasizing, and also as if completing a ceremonial line:

"All of this is my sin; a student has no way to repay."

Then, just as Shi Chen's vision blackened from extreme rage and despair, Yan Feng Qili suddenly turned his torso half‑way back, giving him a… steadfast gaze that seemed to bear some heavy responsibility.

The meaning of that gaze, combined with his earlier words, translates to—

"Your wife and daughters, I will raise them."

Yuanban Shichen: "……!!!"

A "buzz" sounded in his mind, as if something had exploded.

The extreme emotion erupted in his chest like a volcano.

His face instantly flushed red, his hair turned purple, and his eyeballs bulged out!

He jerked suddenly, causing both himself and the pillar to sway!

With a cloth stuffed in his mouth, he could only make a beast‑like Despair "hoho" sound!

Ailisi Feier standing nearby was shocked by this sudden entrustment, forgetting to struggle; her red eyes widened, filled with the shock of "What on earth is this?!"

This Plot development is way too abstract?!

Watching as those several Assassin Clones raised their blades, the cold glint aimed at Shi Chen's throat and heart, Ailisi Feier felt a massive Despair rise within her.

(Could it… really end here?)

At this hair‑trigger moment—

Bang!!!