Chapter 514: Coincidence
In a world shrouded in bloody mist.
Three women rode swiftly into the depths of darkness, one after another. However, Tang Ruoyan, who was at the rear, suddenly stopped, turned sharply, and retraced her steps, disappearing from sight.
Jiang Qiue, holding Xia Feng, landed lightly atop a blood-red, tall pillar and turned around. Xia Feng glanced at the disappearing Tang Ruoyan and then at the approaching Element Nun, a sense of confusion welling up within him.
“The Holy Casket has been given to you. Nun, what else do you intend to snatch?” Jiang Qiue’s beautiful eyes were indifferent.
Teresa also landed on a nearby blood-red pillar. Her snow-white hood, which covered her cheeks, was embroidered with a faint golden cross. Her delicate jaw, exposed to view, was slightly raised, and her gaze seemed to fall upon Xia Feng. Her red lips parted, “He.”
Jiang Qiue’s delicate eyebrows furrowed, and her hand, which was around Xia Feng’s waist, tightened subconsciously.
“Name your price. We can purchase him,” the Element Nun inquired.
Jiang Qiue felt a sense of helplessness. Why were so many people coveting her doll? In retrospect, she should have kept Xia Feng locked in a secret chamber for training all along. If she hadn’t brought him out, none of this would have happened.
Shaking her head, Jiang Qiue seemed to recall something and looked up thoughtfully, “As far as I know, Teresa despises the Dragon race, especially Half-dragons.”
“You—you are not Teresa, are you?” Jiang Qiue’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. “Who are you?”
The Element Nun…
At this point, Xia Feng was completely certain that the mysterious nun in the hood was Miss Mu. However, what puzzled Xia Feng was who Tang Ruoyan really was, and why she was acting so suspiciously.
Mu Qingtong fell silent. She also realized that she had been too hasty, revealing a flaw in front of Jiang Qiue. But there was no other way; she had to confirm a truth. For more than five months, Mu Qingtong had been searching for evidence that Mr. Xia was not dead, but all clues had been telling her that the guy who always liked to provoke her had truly died!
She understood her own self-deception during these past days. The death of a fellow kind had angered her, confused her, and even frightened her… it had made her unwilling to believe, and even more unwilling to face everything that was happening now.
In the past, she had never retreated due to fear. Such cowardly sentiments were beneath her. But the facts proved that even she, Mu Qingtong, had weaknesses and possessed all the emotions that humans should have, such as fear and regret… And then there was the emotion called affection. Of course, this ‘affection’ was not the ordinary love, kinship, or friendship. It was a special kind of mutual appreciation and joy felt towards a fellow being, towards a strong individual, an emotion called ‘kinship’ that ordinary people could not understand. It was also the emotion she regretted not having expressed to Mr. Xia.
However, what she never expected was that this trip to Bei Qiu Abyss would unexpectedly lead to traces of Mr. Xia. Before entering Bei Qiu Abyss, Mu Qingtong had sealed her memories to better disguise herself as Teresa. It was only after entering Bei Qiu Abyss that she was able to recover them. It was also for this reason that when Jiang Qiue appeared with the boy earlier, she quickly noticed something was amiss, because the boy’s soul aura was too familiar to her, like a bright lamp, standing out prominently. Especially since the boy’s face under the mask was exactly the same as Xia Feng’s when he was a child, and later, as the boy quickly learned the A-class Spirit Robe, Mu Qingtong was completely certain that this child was Mr. Xia!
She didn’t immediately send a telepathic message. She didn’t know Xia Feng’s current state, nor if he was being controlled by Jiang Qiue. However, it seemed that her decision had been somewhat flawed, and Jiang Qiue had seen through her.
Mu Qingtong glanced at the boy tightly held in the arms of the woman in the green dress. The boy’s face under the fox mask was tender. His black eyes blinked as he looked at her, with a smile, as if saying: Long time no see.
Mu Qingtong’s expression was cold, her beautiful eyes calm. She ignored Xia Feng and looked at Jiang Qiue, about to say something.
Suddenly, the entire space vibrated. The three of them looked up simultaneously, and an ancient, solemn voice echoed throughout the space: “Bei Qiu Abyss is closing early. Everyone, please return quickly—”
“What’s going on?” Xia Feng asked, confused.
Jiang Qiue didn’t hesitate. Holding Xia Feng, she transformed into a streak of light and sped back the way she came. Mu Qingtong followed closely behind.
Leaving Bei Qiu Abyss was not as easy as entering it. To leave this place, one needed to go to a designated teleportation point. Of course, apart from the Black Abyss, the three major caverns were evenly distributed with teleportation points, so they weren’t too difficult to find. For example, there were many teleportation points around the area where everyone had gathered earlier.
However, to Xia Feng’s astonishment, at one of the teleportation points ahead, a woman wearing a nun’s robe, revealing only her delicate lower cheeks, stood before a golden vortex. As the golden vortex expanded, she plunged into it. This woman was none other than Teresa. A second Teresa? Xia Feng couldn’t help but look back in disbelief. Miss Mu, disguised as the nun, was still far behind.
The nun raised her lower cheeks, clearly seeing her other self in front. Xia Feng clearly remembered that when entering Bei Qiu Abyss, there was only one Teresa. Most likely, Miss Mu, through her connection with Mushroom, had obtained the qualification to enter Bei Qiu Abyss under the identity of Element Nun Teresa. Then this suddenly appearing second Element Nun should not be the real Teresa.
“Swish—Swish—”
Although confused, this was not the time to ponder why there were two Teresas. With only a few seconds left until Bei Qiu Abyss closed, the three of them sped up, each finding a teleportation vortex and plunging into it.
They returned to the plaza of the Black Moon Holy See. Not long after, the entrance vortex to Bei Qiu Abyss completely closed. Xia Feng looked around. Geniuses like Yan Si, Jin Jili, and Teresa had already returned, scattering across the plaza, but one person was missing – Ye Li Kong. In the distance, the Justice Holy Son and Tang Ruoyan were standing beside Oberon, whispering to each other.
Xia Feng vaguely felt that something was not right. The atmosphere in the plaza seemed very strange. Moreover, he had clearly seen two Teresas enter the space vortex just now, yet only one Teresa had appeared here. This undoubtedly meant that someone was impersonating Teresa? Of course, Teresa herself was an impersonation by Miss Mu, but now someone else was impersonating the impersonation of Teresa by Miss Mu… This person had likely done something secretly, causing the strange atmosphere, Xia Feng speculated.
“Bang bang bang bang!!” Iron boots stomped on the ground in unison. Two teams of knights in silver armor rushed out from a suddenly opened space gate, quickly surrounding the Element Nun, who had her hood pulled low. The Cardinals of Justice, Element, and Black Moon stood on the high platform, frowning as they looked down at the plaza.
Among them, a silver-armored knight standing behind Oberon stepped forward, his expression indifferent, and said condescendingly: “Lady Teresa, someone saw you deliberately sabotaging the Spirit Particle Structure of three teleportation points, causing Ye Li Kong to be unable to return to the Real World and be trapped in Bei Qiu Abyss. Of course, we do not believe that a believer of the Element would violate the ‘Joint Convention of Bei Qiu Abyss’ and harm a colleague. Therefore, we suspect your mental stability and even your identity’s authenticity. Please surrender and cooperate with the investigation.”
