Arriving outside the banquet hotel, Gu Yan successfully called Old Gao.
It just so happened that Old Gao had already settled Tian Fang, so he arrived by Gu Yan's side within a few minutes.
As soon as he arrived, he anxiously checked if Gu Yan was injured. After confirming that Gu Yan was unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief: "Young Master! You scared me to death. Fortunately, you weren't injured, or I really wouldn't know how to explain to the Master!"
Old Gao was still shaken, then looked at Long Zaitian, who was pale, sensing something, and said to Gu Yan: "Young Master, those people's target is clearly Long Zaitian. They want something inside him!"
Upon hearing this, Gu Yan glanced at Long Zaitian, whose expression changed.
Long Zaitian struggled with his emotions but eventually sighed helplessly: "I was actually just an ordinary person."
"But when I was a child walking home from school, the sky suddenly darkened, and a golden halo emerged from the clouds and entered my body."
"From then on, my mind became sharper, my physical abilities far surpassed ordinary people, and I could even use some unimaginable powers."
"However... not long after, my parents died in a plane crash."
Long Zaitian's expression grew sorrowful as he continued: "Shortly after that, the Master of the King of Hell Palace, who is also my adoptive father, found me. He said there was a wisp of dragon energy within me."
"If people discover the dragon energy in me, it will bring disaster."
"Perhaps, those mysterious people want the wisp of dragon energy in me."
Old Gao, though outwardly calm, was actually pondering the dragon energy within Long Zaitian.
At their level of cultivation, they could see the hidden power within Long Zaitian at a glance.
This wisp of dragon energy could transform an ordinary person into a martial arts genius.
Even he could gain insights in his cultivation by absorbing this dragon energy.
Of course, his interest in this dragon energy was mainly for his young master.
His young master knew about martial artists but was weak in strength.
If incidents like today's were to happen again, it would be too dangerous. The best solution was to extract the dragon energy from Long Zaitian and let his young master absorb it.
A wisp of dragon energy could at least elevate his young master's talent to the level of a congenital martial artist. Then, by continuously collecting dragon energy for his young master to absorb,
he believed his young master could grow to even surpass him!
Old Gao's thoughts were unknown to Gu Yan.
After hearing Long Zaitian's words, Gu Yan fell into deep thought.
Wait a minute, he knew about dragon energy because collecting dragon energy was the main storyline in the original work.
It was rumored that during an ancient war in the ancient martial world, the Dragon King perished, turning into 99 wisps of dragon energy.
These 99 wisps of dragon energy were scattered around the world, each capable of bringing unexpected enhancements to martial artists.
It was said that collecting all 99 wisps of dragon energy would grant one the power of the ancient Dragon King.
The sole mission of the Dragon King Palace was to collect all 99 wisps of dragon energy and restore the glory of the Dragon King.
As the male protagonist and heir of the Dragon King Palace, Xiao Lin naturally took on this arduous task.
However, even until the end of the story, the dragon energy was not fully collected.
Of course, the main point was not this, but the first wisp of dragon energy Xiao Lin obtained in the original work was related to the King of Hell Palace.
But... that was absorbed from the dead Yan Huang.
Wait a minute, it's a bit confusing.
Yan Huang was still alive in the original work, but now it seems Yan Huang is on the verge of death. How did Leng Qingqiu keep a dying person alive and under control?
For the world's correction force, Long Zaitian was also meant to die.
That means...
Gu Yan looked at Long Zaitian with pity, meaning Leng Qingqiu's method of keeping Yan Huang under her control and alive was the wisp of dragon energy in Long Zaitian.
So that's why they attacked him; perhaps Leng Qingqiu's order was to bring Long Zaitian over.
Having sorted everything out, Gu Yan patted Long Zaitian's shoulder, who was lost in his thoughts, and sighed: "Brother Long, you've suffered."
Long Zaitian didn't expect Gu Yan to comfort him and felt that this person was quite good, forcing a smile: "It's okay, as long as you understand me, Gu Yan."
Gu Yan coughed awkwardly: "Well, let's go in again. This time, with Old Gao protecting me, I'm sure we can save your adoptive father."
Long Zaitian's expression wavered. In truth, whether his adoptive father lived or died didn't matter to him as long as he himself survived.
After all, he knew from the beginning that his adoptive father's purpose in finding him was also the dragon energy in him. It was just that due to injuries from that battle, this purpose had become less and less pronounced.
But he would never change his view of the other person because of this.
Seeing this, Gu Yan was about to ask Old Gao to forcibly send Long Zaitian in for sacrifice.
"Ah!!!"
A scream came from inside the banquet hotel, followed by a commotion.
Old Gao frowned: "Young Master, something seems to have happened inside."
"Hmm..."
Gu Yan pondered for a moment and said: "Let's go in and take a look."
With that, he gave Long Zaitian a friendly smile: "Brother Long, come with us."
For some reason, Gu Yan suddenly felt an ominous premonition.
Long Zaitian, though reluctant, didn't want to stay alone, so he followed Gu Yan inside.
Once inside the hotel, Gu Yan saw hotel staff frantically explaining something to the bodyguards of the Yanxing Group.
Gu Yan and Long Zaitian went forward to inquire about the situation, eventually learning something that left Gu Yan baffled.
——————Yan Huang was dead.
His reaction was one of shock and disbelief. Wait a minute, why did things turn out this way?
Yan Huang was killed? Was it Qingqiu's order or Bingning's?
How does the original plot proceed? How is the King of Hell Palace controlled? Does Long Zaitian still need to be sacrificed?
Not believing it, Gu Yan took the elevator to the top floor where Yan Huang was.
When Old Gao and Long Zaitian arrived later,
the horrific scene in the room left them stunned.
Yan Huang was sitting in a chair facing the door, the chairback leaning against the open window, with weak moonlight casting his current appearance.
His head was severed and placed in his hands, a bone spike piercing from his skull down through his palm, nailed to the ground, his expression still frozen in terror.
"Adoptive Father!!"
Long Zaitian was terrified, falling to his knees, "You haven't declared me as the heir yet!!"
Gu Yan quickly observed the surroundings, the shredded flesh and bones scattered throughout the room, likely the work of fangs.
And Yan Huang's death, it should have been Mu Rong Ci...
But just as he thought that, he noticed a wisp of ice crystals remaining on the bone spike piercing Yan Huang's head.
Wait a minute, was it Leng Bingning?
Or...
"Qingqiu?"
Gu Yan was lost in thought, unable to understand why she would do this.
.......
.......
On the top floor of the banquet hotel, several figures stood respectfully.
They quietly waited for the next command from their master, who stood at the edge of the floor, gazing into the distance as if lost in thought.
Leng Qingqiu stood at the edge of the floor, her mind replaying the events from a quarter of an hour ago.
The first collective mission of the Night Organization seemed to have failed.
Ultimately, it was due to her last-minute decision.
"The plan is all messed up..."
Leng Qingqiu murmured, if not for Mei Xue coming to tell her that Gu Yan and Long Zaitian were together.
Then she would naturally follow the original plan, using the wisp of life-giving energy within Long Zaitian to control the King of Hell Palace.
However, Gu Yan was with Long Zaitian.
Though unclear about their relationship, she didn't want to kill someone close to Gu Yan in front of him.
Because she was afraid, afraid that when Gu Yan learned her true nature, he would show that expression she didn't want to see.
The radiant life essence in her eyes, would it also become dull and lifeless because of this?
She didn't want to gamble, nor did she dare to gamble whether Gu Yan would discover that one cruel scene after another was all her doing.
However, even after completing all of this, what should she do next?
She clenched her fists, and honestly, beheading her enemies with her own hands did nothing to alleviate the killing intent in her heart.
Because she had learned a piece of information: the reason the Leng Family was targeted back then was not because they had offended anyone.
But because... they had obtained something.
That something had caused panic throughout the entire ancient martial arts world, which was why so many people had come to besiege the Leng Family.
Now, that thing was in her eyes.
How laughable, just because of a dagger, could her family be slaughtered so easily?
Taking a deep breath, Leng Qingqiu became even more determined in her quest for revenge.
She spoke softly, her voice reaching the ears of everyone present.
"Gu Yan is merely my public husband in the secular world."
"For the sake of utilizing the Gu Family, he is an important chess piece."
"No one is to lay a hand on Gu Yan."
After saying this, Leng Qingqiu felt a weight lift off her shoulders. By explaining the situation to her subordinates, she could prevent any accidental harm to Gu Yan.
Upon hearing this, everyone except Mei Xue was shocked, their expressions changing dramatically.
Ah?! The master is married?!
It seemed she sensed the reactions of her subordinates, and she said indifferently, "This is all for the plan."
Oh, that's why everyone felt a bit better.
However, they couldn't help but feel a bit of mockery towards that Gu Yan.
Hehehe, poor guy, he must have saved the world in his past life to become our master's public husband in this one.
What a pitiful fellow, he will definitely be ruthlessly discarded by the master later. I can't wait to see his expression.
Bai Lian thought the same, but...
She glanced at someone beside her who seemed to have turned gray, and couldn't help but cover her face in exasperation.
Hey, don't act like you've been dumped, okay!
I really don't know what's going on in this guy's head.
Over at Gu Yan's side.
After a brief mental storm.
He finally came to terms with the reality of the situation, looking at Long Zaitian who was kneeling on the ground, shocked and devastated.
Gu Yan also had a rough idea of what was going through the other man's mind.
In the end, he walked over, crouched down, and placed a hand on the other's shoulder.
The latter felt this and turned his head.
Gu Yan smiled slightly: "Regarding the previous cooperation, I think we can still continue."
"Ah?"
Long Zaitian was a bit confused, weren't we always partners?