Azi also smiled. A radiant purple bead suddenly appeared in his hand, hovering silently in his palm, rotating slowly. Ye Tiancheng sensed it carefully and could vaguely perceive that this bead contained a very powerful, soul-stirring force.
"This bead is inextricably linked to my life. As long as you can hold it, you can control my life at any time. If this bead is destroyed, I will also die, and my soul will be scattered, unable to even reincarnate."
"Entrusting something like this to you is enough to show my sincerity, right?"
The bead suddenly dropped into Azi's palm. Azi gripped it, then placed the hand holding the bead onto Xiao Huli's body. He then spread his palm. "My condition is that I can give you this bead, allowing you to control my life and death, but the person controlling this bead can only be you, Xiao Huli."
"After leaving here, I will always follow you, allowing you to monitor my every move. All my actions will be under your supervision."
"This condition is not excessive, is it? I've never been one to make things difficult for people. The conditions I propose are always simple. Think about your purpose for coming here; you shouldn't find it too demanding?"
Xiao Huli looked at the bead in Azi's hand, a sense of familiarity inexplicably arising within him. He even felt a strong urge to swallow the bead directly.
This feeling startled Xiao Huli. He subconsciously shook his head. "Me? I think it's not safe to have something like this in my hands. I can't."
Azi, however, was very insistent. "But if it's not you, I won't be willing to give it to anyone else."
Xiao Huli then looked up at Ye Tiancheng. Ye Tiancheng stroked Xiao Huli's hair and said gently, "Don't do anything that forces you. If you're not willing to agree, then don't. There will always be other ways. Big Brother respects all your wishes."
Looking at Ye Tiancheng, Xiao Huli realized that if he agreed, he could truly help Ye Tiancheng. Otherwise, Ye Tiancheng would inevitably have to resort to more troublesome methods to solve the problem.
Therefore, after a moment of hesitation, Xiao Huli extended his hand, took the bead from Azi's hand, and held it in his palm.
Then he heard Azi say, "If you don't believe my words, you can squeeze this bead and see the effect."
When Xiao Huli heard Azi say this, he didn't think much of it. It was merely a subconscious reaction to follow his words. He gently squeezed the bead. Unexpectedly, with just that one squeeze, Azi, who was standing before them, let out a muffled groan and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Xiao Huli was startled and loosened his grip, almost dropping the bead.
Fortunately, Xiao Huli's reason prevailed, and he didn't do anything that could have severe consequences. This was because Xiao Huli remembered that the intactness of the Fuxi Qin fragment was directly linked to Azi's life. For the sake of the Fuxi Qin fragment, Azi absolutely could not die.
Xiao Huli looked at Azi with some panic, even going over to help him. Even Ye Tiancheng, seeing this scene unexpectedly, walked over and helped Azi.
Ye Tiancheng felt a bit surprised. Azi's skin was warm, and he had genuinely spat out blood. If Azi wasn't an evil spirit, then there were only two possibilities: he was either a demon or a spirit, or he could very well be human.
Xiao Huli asked Azi with lingering fear, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I just followed what you said subconsciously and didn't use much strength. I didn't know it would have such serious consequences. Are you okay?"
"Do you really still want to give such an important thing to me? Why not give it to my Big Brother instead? My Big Brother is a good person. He won't harm you if you don't do bad things. But if you give it to me, and I accidentally harm you to death, what will you do?"
Azi clutched his chest, took a breath, and then signaled Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli to stop supporting him.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Since I said that only you can hold this thing, then you will hold it. My intention will not change. You either agree or you take it back. It's impossible to change people."
Xiao Huli pursed his lips and remained silent, quietly holding the bead. This time, he didn't dare to exert any force.
"Just keep it. Consider it my sincerity. You must believe me now. Let's get down to business. Don't waste time here."
Azi had already gone this far. What was the point of believing or not believing?
So, Ye Tiancheng nodded and said, "Since you've done this, whether you're sincere or not, you're already trustworthy. Since this is the case, let's set off. We'll go directly to the entrance and try it. I also want to see why you can't leave this space."
"Xiao Huli, since it's like this, put the bead away. Keep it in your storage space and carry it close to you, so there won't be any mistakes. Rest assured."
Xiao Huli hesitated for a moment, then agreed. He carefully put the bead into a storage space and carried it close to him.
Azi cleaned up the bloodstains he had vomited and, along with Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli, prepared to leave his mansion.
Ye Tiancheng led Azi and Xiao Huli back to the high wall they had climbed over before. Azi took the items Ye Tiancheng gave him to conceal his aura and traces and put them on, but he couldn't help but complain speechlessly.
"Why bring me here? Please, this is my home. Instead of using the door, do I have to climb over the wall with you?"
Ye Tiancheng said righteously, "Do you remember what we said earlier?"
"We need to conceal our tracks. If we walk out the door openly, even with those items that conceal our tracks, what's the difference between that and publicly announcing to all surrounding existences that something is leaving through the door?"
"You should know what status the Grand Master's Mansion holds here, right? You know your own situation best, don't you?"
After speaking, Ye Tiancheng did not forget to add, "By the way, can you climb over this wall yourself? You shouldn't need my help, right?"
Azi's face was filled with a speechless expression. "Of course, I don't need your help. I can do it myself. You just take care of yourselves."
Hearing this, Ye Tiancheng didn't say much more. He picked up Xiao Huli and climbed over the wall. As soon as they landed, Azi appeared beside them out of thin air, not needing to climb the wall at all.
Seeing how easily he did it, Ye Tiancheng thought it made sense. Just like Nuwa Stone's control over the illusion it constructed, Nuwa Stone could arbitrarily transfer things within its illusion to any location within the illusion. However, Nuwa Stone did not have a physical body like Azi. Otherwise, it should be the same.
Thus, the three of them headed towards the entrance of the strange market. Upon reaching the entrance, Ye Tiancheng pulled Xiao Huli. When it was Azi's turn, Azi preemptively took Xiao Huli's hand.
"I'll hold Xiao Huli. Let's go. You just watch and see why I can't leave this damned place."
Ye Tiancheng glanced at him, guessing Azi's true relationship with this space. If this was a space created by Azi himself, why would this place restrict his freedom? And why would Azi refer to the space he created as a "damned place"?
Although he had many thoughts in his mind, Ye Tiancheng did not voice his questions at this moment.
Ye Tiancheng steadied himself and led them both through the entrance. Ye Tiancheng felt no obstruction; he passed through easily and saw Xiao Huli.
However, the moment they completely passed through the entrance, Xiao Huli felt his hand go empty. The fact was clear: Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli had successfully exited, but Azi was left behind in that space, unable to come out with them.
Xiao Huli said to Ye Tiancheng, "I feel like he was holding me tightly just now, and I was holding him too. Neither of us let go, but as we passed through, my hand suddenly became empty. My hand was still in the motion of holding his hand, and then he disappeared."
Ye Tiancheng rubbed his temples, not too surprised. "As expected, solving the problem wouldn't be that simple."
Moreover, each transfer presented a new challenge. So far, the three experiences had no overlap, which was extremely frustrating. It was clearly impossible to obtain the Fuxi Qin fragment easily.
"Let's go back. After coming out, I also felt that the connection between the Fuxi Qin fragments was cut off. It should be because the Grand Master was left behind in the space."
Thus, Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli returned to the strange market together.
They passed through the entrance and saw Azi standing not far from the entrance, leaning against a wall, arms crossed, his head slightly bowed, his expression unreadable.
However, as soon as Ye Tiancheng and Xiao Huli appeared at the entrance, he immediately raised his head and walked towards them. "You two really came back? I told you, I can't get out. This matter isn't that easy to resolve. I didn't lie to you."
Ye Tiancheng listened to his words and quickly replied to Azi, "What do you mean, 'you two really came back?' You're still here, and the Fuxi Qin fragment hasn't been taken. Are Xiao Huli and I going to abandon you here?"
Azi shrugged and said, "Uh-huh, who knows? Let's just say my wording was imprecise. Now, I've accompanied you for a try. What did you discover?"
Ye Tiancheng was speechless. They hadn't discovered anything. If they had to say anything, it was that the Grand Master, this "person," was indeed very strange, with many suspicious points worth delving into. Although, if these matters were unrelated to bringing the Grand Master out of this space and obtaining the Fuxi Qin fragment, then at least for now, Ye Tiancheng didn't have the energy to dwell on them.
"Just making this trip won't reveal anything more valuable. How about this... I'll stay here, and Xiao Huli, you take him to the entrance. I'll see what state he's in when he passes through the entrance."
Xiao Huli nodded in agreement, and Azi had no objections, cooperating with their antics.
Ye Tiancheng chose to say this after careful consideration. One person had to stay to observe Azi's state when passing through the entrance. After some thought, Ye Tiancheng decided to let Xiao Huli be the one to take Azi through the entrance.
This was because if anything unexpected happened when Xiao Huli took Azi through the entrance, Xiao Huli could still escape into Nuwa Stone's illusion in time, while Azi would at most be unable to leave the formation's range.