Chapter 333: Rescued

The iron door on the other side of the room, which had been tightly shut, suddenly let out a huge bang; the whole door panel buckled inward as if hit by a cannonball, then a massive force ripped it from the frame and it spun in, flying through!

An Assassin Clone that was closest was caught off guard and was struck directly by the flying iron door, and with a "pop" it turned into spirit particles and vanished!

Amid the swirling dust, a towering figure clad in matte black carapace, with eight fierce bladed limbs spread behind it, stepped heavily through the broken doorway, advancing step by step.

Insect‑Armor Assassin!

Yuanban Shichen saw the familiar black silhouette, and the desperate look in his eyes instantly burst into ecstatic light!

(Savior! It's that black monster! It's coming to save me again?!)

He immediately turned his head, eager to see what expression Yan Feng Qili had on his face at this moment!

You hypocrite! You beast! Your retribution has arrived!

However—

When his gaze swept to the spot where Yan Feng Qili had just stood, he was stunned.

There, it was empty.

Yan Feng Qili... had disappeared.

Yuanban Shichen widened his eyes, looking left and right in disbelief.

The room was small; aside from the pillars, the bound Yuanban Shichen and Ailisi Feier, the two Assassins in the corner holding Rin and Sakura, the few remaining Assassin Clones that had just been smashed by the door, and the newly arrived Insect‑Armor Assassin... where could Yan Feng Qili's shadow be?

(Ran, ran away?)

(Just... ran away?!)

(Not even a glance?! Not even a harsh word left?!)

Yuanban Shichen suddenly felt that, compared with the fear of death and the humiliation he had just endured, this feeling of being discarded like trash, with the other party not even bothering to give a final glance before slipping away, was...

Even more infuriating and maddening!!!

The few remaining Assassin Clones clearly weren't as "decisive" as their Master.

Although they instantly entered Maximum Alert State, the White Skull Masks lined up, aiming at the intruding Insect‑Armor Assassin, assuming battle stances, but they didn't flee immediately.

The Insect‑Armor Assassin seemed too lazy to bother with these "fodder soldiers".

Its dark‑red visual slit swept over the bound Shi Chen and Ailisi Feier, then glanced at the two little girls being held in the corner.

The next second, it moved.

No flashy moves, just a step forward.

As its foot touched the ground—

Heh! Heh! Heh! Heh!

Several jet‑black, razor‑sharp spikes, like instantly sprouting death thorns, erupted without warning from the floor and even the ceiling of the room!

They pierced with pinpoint precision every Assassin Clone in the room except Rin and Sakura!

Including the two that were holding the girls!

Puff puff puff puff—!

A dense piercing sound rang out!

All the Assassin Clones struck by the spikes didn't even have time to scream; their bodies shrank rapidly like deflating balloons, their inner spirits and energy being ravenously sucked by the Black Spikes, and in the blink of an eye they turned to ash and vanished!

The two spikes that hit the captors, while absorbing energy, twitched delicately at their tips, gently "pushing" the terrified, eyes‑closed Rin and Sakura away from their original spots, causing the girls to stumble and sit on the floor unharmed.

The whole process was lightning‑fast; from the Insect‑Armor Assassin's single step to all the Assassin Clones turning to ash took only two or three breaths.

Silence returned to the room, leaving only dust drifting down slowly, the heavy breaths of Yuanban Shichen and Ailisi Feier, and the suppressed, fearful sobs of the two girls in the corner.

The Insect‑Armor Assassin silently approached Shi Chen and Ailisi Feier, its bladed limbs behind it flexibly extending like the most precise surgical knives, and with a few "swish swish" cuts it sliced the ropes binding them, even lifting the cloth gag from their mouths.

"Cough! Cough cough cough!!"

As soon as Shi Chen regained freedom, he began coughing violently, gulping the dusty yet free air.

He couldn't attend to his body's soreness and embarrassment, and at once looked at his daughters: "Rin! Sakura! Are you okay?"

"Father!" "Father!" the two girls cried, leaping into his arms.

Ailisi Feier also broke free, rubbing her wrists, still trembling as she stared at the black monster that had saved them, her eyes filled with lingering fear.

The Insect‑Armor Assassin completed the rescue and seemed not to intend staying.

It turned and stepped toward the direction where Yan Feng Qili had vanished.

"Wait, wait a moment!"

Shi Chen struggled to stand, shouting at the black silhouette, "You... who are you? Why did you save us?"

The Insect‑Armor Assassin's steps faltered briefly, it turned its head slightly, its dark‑red visual slit seemed to glance at him, but gave no answer.

It simply vanished swiftly into the shadows of the staircase.

Shi Chen stared blankly at the direction it disappeared, then lowered his head to look at his still‑sobing daughters in his arms, his heart a swirl of emotions.

Rescued.

Saved again by a terrifying monster.

And that once‑closest disciple was the real demon who truly wanted his life and spat those outrageous words.

He suddenly felt that the pain in his backside wasn't that unbearable anymore.

At least he was still alive, and his daughters were unharmed.

As for that traitor...

A cold flame reignited in Shi Chen's eyes.

(Yan Feng Qili... )

(If I don't avenge this, I, Yuanban Shichen, swear I will not become a man!)

The mountain gate of Liu Dong Si stood especially silent in the night.

Jian Tong— or rather, this body forged by forcibly merging Yan Ye with an Insect Swarm— was leaning beside a stone lantern, breathing heavily.

The part where the Insect Limb twists and fuses with human bones oozes viscous dark‑green bodily fluid, and the carapace is riddled with pits corroded by the foul stench of Salted Fish.

"Just a little more... just a little..."

Yan Ye's lingering consciousness struggles in the ocean of the Insect Swarm's thoughts, "Ying... Xiao Ying..."

"Shut Up, useless container."

Zang Yan's cold voice resonated directly from within the Insect Body, "Mother's power is awakening... soon, this body will be able to bear the true..."

The words hadn't even finished.

A light, crisp tapping sounded on the stone steps of the mountain path.

Tap, tap, tap.

A woman with a gently swaying fox tail was ascending the steps.

She held a closed folding fan in her hand, her steps unhurried as if she were a night‑time visitor admiring the scenery.

Moonlight spilled over her gentle, smiling profile, reflecting the playful glint in her fox‑like eyes.

"Oh?"

Huan Long stopped three steps before the Insect Body, the fan's ribs lightly touching his jaw, "Such a disheveled appearance cannot match the glory of the name Breeding."

The Insect Body spun sharply, its mouthparts opening and closing with a threatening hiss: "You are... the one that was in my consciousness?"

"Who I am is irrelevant."

Huan Long smiled lightly as he unfolded the fan, patterns of continual vanishing and rebirth appearing on its surface, "What matters is that you now need help, don't you?"

"Help?"

Jian Tong retreated cautiously half a step, the Insect Limb carving deep grooves in the ground, "You also covet Mother's power..."

"Wrong."

Huan Long's figure blurred for an instant.

When Huan Long became clear again, Huan Long was already standing directly before the Insect Body, the tip of the fan lightly touching its forehead—precisely the fiercest contested point between Yan Ye's consciousness and Zang Yan's consciousness.

"I came..."

Her voice suddenly turned ethereal and distant, as if coming from far away, "to claim a price."