Qin Yi asked, "Sister Lan, do you know Long Shi?"
"No."
Lan Baizhi shook her head.
"???"
Qin Yi was confused. If you don't know him, how can you know his name? And tell me to come see him?
Sensing Qin Yi's bewilderment, Lan Baizhi crossed her arms and said, "I don't know Long Shi, but I know *of* him. I know he's the Divine Son of the Divine Gate, and his father is the Deputy Gate Master of the Divine Gate!"
"Originally, I received news that he had come to Shenzhou this time, and I thought I'd let you two meet. After all, you are the Divine King..."
"But who would have thought that you would have such a major conflict, and you even killed him! His father definitely won't let this go, you're in danger!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Yi's mind suddenly clicked. He asked, "So, Sister Lan, you've been following me all along to protect me?"
"You finally figured it out?"
Lan Baizhi extended a slender, jade-like finger and tapped Qin Yi's forehead.
Qin Yi: "..."
Xue Qiao'er stood by, her expression involuntarily becoming complicated as she watched Lan Baizhi's interaction with Qin Yi.
A moment later, her phone rang. She withdrew her gaze from Qin Yi and Lan Baizhi, took out her phone, and answered, "Hello?"
The next second, her face changed dramatically. "How could this happen???"
Because her voice was quite loud, Qin Yi and Lan Baizhi both heard it and turned to look.
Seeing Xue Qiao'er's grim expression on the phone, they exchanged a glance and stopped talking, walking back.
"Team Leader Xue, what happened?" Qin Yi asked.
Xue Qiao'er put down her phone and looked at Qin Yi, saying, "Deputy Hall Master Li and Team Leader Fang were attacked on their way back to Kyoto..."
"And Deputy Hall Master Li disappeared after a period of engagement with the attackers!"
Qin Yi exclaimed, "Who dares to attack Deputy Hall Master Li and the others with such audacity???"
A trace of surprise also appeared on Lan Baizhi's pretty face.
Although she had only recently returned to Shenzhou, she knew quite a bit about the Order Hall and Li Changsheng through various channels.
As one of the Deputy Hall Masters of the Order Hall, Li Changsheng's strength was beyond doubt; he was undoubtedly a top-tier existence in the Shenzhou martial arts world!
Who would dare to attack Li Changsheng?
"I don't know!"
Xue Qiao'er replied, turning to leave the spot.
Qin Yi asked, "Where are you going?"
"Team Leader Fang has already told me their location, and I need to rush over to see!" Xue Qiao'er said without looking back.
Then, she walked to the roadside and hailed a taxi.
Seeing this, Qin Yi and Lan Baizhi didn't hesitate and followed suit, getting into the taxi with her.
With such a major incident, the two of them couldn't just stand by.
After about an hour, the taxi arrived at its destination, stopping on a road outside Huaitang City.
As the three of them alighted, Fang Zheng'ao came to greet them.
Fang Zheng'ao had specifically waited for them here!
Getting out of the car, Qin Yi saw no one else besides Fang Zheng'ao and was the first to ask, "Team Leader Fang, where are the others?"
Fang Zheng'ao was a bit surprised to see Lan Baizhi had come along with Qin Yi and Xue Qiao'er.
However, he didn't say much and replied, "After Deputy Hall Master Li disappeared during his fight with the man in black, Team Leader Huo and Team Leader Qin went to search. I stayed here to wait for you and keep an eye on Yu Tongbao!"
"Who was the man in black who attacked you?" Xue Qiao'er asked.
"I don't know..." Fang Zheng'ao first shook his head, then added, "But I'm sure he's from the Divine Gate!"
Before Feng Yun engaged with Li Changsheng, he had mentioned that Young Master Long was killed by Li Changsheng. Fang Zheng'ao and the others, being not fools, could guess that Young Master Long likely referred to Long Shi!
Moreover, aside from people from the Divine Gate, ordinary martial artists from other factions wouldn't dare, nor would they have the strength, to engage with Li Changsheng!
At this very moment, Fang Zheng'ao was still in awe of the magnitude of the commotion caused when Li Changsheng fought the man in black earlier... A large patch of forest by the highway had been destroyed by the two of them!
Hearing this answer, Qin Yi and Xue Qiao'er weren't particularly surprised; in fact, they looked as if they had expected it.
Qin Yi then asked, "Where is Yu Tongbao?"
"He's over here..."
Fang Zheng'ao turned and jumped off the highway, heading into the nearby woods.
Qin Yi, Xue Qiao'er, and Lan Baizhi quickly followed.
After a few minutes, the four of them passed through a dense forest that looked perfectly normal. But as they emerged from the woods, the scene before them was dramatically different.
They saw hundreds of meters ahead littered with broken tree trunks, pits, and debris everywhere, a scene of utter devastation!
It looked as if the area had been subjected to a bombing raid!
Fang Zheng'ao stopped and explained, "Earlier, when Deputy Hall Master Li was fighting the man in black, to avoid damaging the highway and alerting passing vehicles, the Deputy Hall Master deliberately led the man in black over here..."
It was clear that the current state of the scene was the result of the battle between Li Changsheng and Feng Yun!
Following that, Fang Zheng'ao walked behind a large tree trunk and brought out a person, who was Yu Tongbao.
Yu Tongbao, held in Fang Zheng'ao's hand, was motionless.
Fang Zheng'ao explained himself, "I knocked him out to prevent him from making noise or escaping!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Yi and the other two understood.
A moment later, Xue Qiao'er, without further ado, asked Fang Zheng'ao, "Team Leader Fang, the Deputy Hall Master is missing. What should we do now? Have you reported it to headquarters?"
"Team Leader Xue, I called you because I wanted us to brainstorm together and find the Deputy Hall Master!" Fang Zheng'ao said. "As for reporting to headquarters, this matter cannot be reported to headquarters!"
"Why?" Qin Yi asked.
"Once it's reported to headquarters, the fact that Deputy Hall Master Li disappeared after fighting someone will likely be impossible to conceal! If this disappearance reaches the ears of other factions, not only will our Order Hall's reputation be greatly diminished, but some ill-intentioned factions might even seize the opportunity to stir up trouble!" Fang Zheng'ao said helplessly.
Li Changsheng was one of the Deputy Hall Masters of the Order Hall, and one of its strongest combatants. If people knew he had disappeared after a fight, how would they view the Order Hall?
"Heh heh..."
"Isn't this what they call suffering for the sake of pride?"
Lan Baizhi, who had been silent, couldn't help but chuckle at Fang Zheng'ao's words.
Fang Zheng'ao frowned slightly upon hearing this.
Qin Yi quickly gave Lan Baizhi a look and coughed, saying, "Ahem... In that case, let's not waste any more time and start searching!"
"Sister Lan, they are all my friends. Since you're here, you should help us look too!"
With that, he gave Lan Baizhi another look, signaling her to stop talking and to join them in the search.
"Wait a moment..."
However, before Qin Yi could make a move, Fang Zheng'ao called out to him.