In the afternoon, Ye Qing hurried to the South, arriving at a place in the Western Province called Nanzhou City.

On the plane, Ye Qing kept his phone turned off. After disembarking, as soon as Ye Qing turned on his phone, he received a call from Li Lianshan informing him that the Netherworld Scholar had returned to Shenchuan City.

This news greatly shocked Ye Qing. To know, it was the Right Protector who had kidnapped Huangfu Ziyu. And the Netherworld Scholar had always been with the Right Protector, which meant the Netherworld Scholar was definitely aware of Huangfu Ziyu's current whereabouts and situation. Now that the Netherworld Scholar has appeared, does it mean Ye Qing can finally get news about Huangfu Ziyu?

Ye Qing didn't delay, he didn't even leave the airport and directly boarded a plane back, arriving in Shenchuan City before nightfall.

After getting off the plane, Li Lianshan and Zhao Chengshuang were already there waiting. The reunion of the three brothers naturally required no words to express their feelings. Though they didn't say much, the moment their hands slapped shoulders, they fully understood each other's thoughts.

"Ye Zi, I've already contacted Cui Panguan. He said you can go ask the Netherworld Scholar about this matter." Li Lianshan said, "Ye Zi, do you think we should go now or head back first?"

"Go directly!" Ye Qing said decisively, eager not to waste even a second upon hearing news of Huangfu Ziyu.

"Very well!" Li Lianshan nodded, saying, "Then let's go to Sha Men first now."

The location of Sha Men was Li Lianshan's previous villa. This villa had basically been requisitioned by the Bloody Monk, yet Li Lianshan held no resentment regarding this. In fact, given the grudges between Ye Qing and Ao Wuchang, even though Ye Qing left Shenchuan City, Aomuhan was constantly finding trouble for him. If not for Sha Men being stationed there, with the Bloody Monk taking care of Li Lianshan and the others, Li Lianshan might have already fallen victim to Aomuhan's machinations. Therefore, Li Lianshan was actually somewhat grateful to the Bloody Monk.

Familiar with the villa's roads, Li Lianshan led Ye Qing to it. Before entering, three cars drove up as a group walked out the villa; it was the Killing Gate Seven Hidden, and the Netherworld Scholar was among them.

Seeing the Netherworld Scholar, Ye Qing couldn't hold back any longer, directly jumping off the car and rushing towards him.

"Ye Qing?" Seeing Ye Qing, everyone from Sha Men was thrilled; they hadn't seen Ye Qing for a few days.

"Young Ye, when did you come back?" Li Ruoyuan came over and slapped Ye Qing's shoulder jokingly, "You came back without a call, sneaking up on us!"

"Old Ghost, stop. He didn't come back for you!" He Qinghua glanced at the Netherworld Scholar with a laugh, "He came back for the Pretty Face!"

The Netherworld Scholar's face turned cold, glaring at He Qinghua, then smirked at Ye Qing, "Ye, you're just getting here now, a bit late, aren't you?"

"What do you mean by 'a bit late'?" Ye Qing was taken aback. Before he could speak, the Netherworld Scholar had already said this, what did he mean?

"You don't know yet?" The Netherworld Scholar sneered, "Huangfu Ziyu is already married!"

"What!?" Ye Qing's face dramatically changed as he stared at the Netherworld Scholar in amazement, his expression filled with disbelief. This news was something he could never have imagined.

"Is that true?" Sha Men's crowd also stared in shock at the Netherworld Scholar, this news not only shocked Ye Qing but left everyone else in disbelief as well.

"Of course it's true!" The Netherworld Scholar sneered, "And the person she married, everyone knows him, it's our Right Protector, Blood-Sealed Throat!"

"Impossible, right?" They all exclaimed in surprise, Ye Qing's face changed even more as he stared at the Netherworld Scholar firmly, saying, "Not possible!"

"Not possible?" The Netherworld Scholar sneered, "To say it's impossible is purely self-deception. Ye, if Huangfu Ziyu hadn't married someone, why hasn't she contacted you for so long? Ye Qing, let me be honest, even though we kidnapped Huangfu Ziyu, during the entire process, we never restricted her freedom. Whatever she wanted to do, whatever she planned, was her own business, we wouldn't interfere. Yet, has she contacted you all this time? Has she reached out?"

Ye Qing found himself speechless at the Netherworld Scholar's questioning; actually, he himself wondered why Huangfu Ziyu hadn't contacted him all this time. What exactly happened with Huangfu Ziyu?

"You're silent because you're doubtful yourself." The Netherworld Scholar stated, "Ye, Huangfu Ziyu asked me to tell you, there's nothing between you two anymore from now on. She's already married now, severed from the past. So, don't hold onto any illusions!"

Ye Qing furrowed his brows, the words of the Netherworld Scholar were greatly impactful to him. He had constantly been worrying about Huangfu Ziyu, who would have thought that this would be the outcome?

"Netherworld Scholar, don't spew nonsense." Cui Yu said sternly, "Miss Huangfu, she's not that kind of person. Ye Zi, don't worry, there must be a reason Miss Huangfu hasn't contacted you. Netherworld Scholar, tell the Ye brothers where Miss Huangfu is. No matter what, once you see her, you'll know what happened!"

"Right!" Ye Qing instantly became invigorated, looking at the Netherworld Scholar, saying, "Zi Yu, where is she now? Where?"

"I wouldn't know." The Netherworld Scholar shrugged, saying, "The Sect Leader declared to the world, wanting me to go back to Sha Men, neither condoning past actions nor going after them. However, the Sect Leader hasn't said he wouldn't pursue the Right Protector's matters. The Right Protector wouldn't dare come back, so he already took Huangfu Ziyu and escaped far away. Where they are now, I don't know, maybe they're currently somewhere in love, whispering sweet nothings to each other!"

The words of the Netherworld Scholar almost tore Ye Qing's heart apart. He gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "Ziyu would never do such a thing. Netherworld Scholar, you can't deceive me!"

"Heh, think whatever you like!" The Netherworld Scholar sneered and said, "There's an old saying about being undying until one sees the Yellow River. I understand. Someday, you'll meet Huangfu Ziyu, and then you'll know if what I'm saying is true or false. Enough, I won't waste any more words with you. Let's go, we should go meet the Left Protector first!"

Just then, the three vehicles from before also arrived at the scene. More than a dozen people got out of the vehicles. Leading them was a tall man. The skin on the man's body appeared in a bizarre red color, as though the blood was seeping out. He had a long whisker that fluttered in the wind, giving him an extraordinary appearance.

"Greetings, Left Protector!" The members of the Sha Men group went up to him, greeting him in unison.

It turned out this man was the Left Protector of the Sha Men, a figure as famous as the Right Protector, no wonder the entire Killing Gate Seven Hidden came out to welcome him. It seems the return of the Bloody Monk means Sha Men's great generals are all back, ready to restore the former glory of the Sha Men.

The Left Protector nodded at everyone without speaking, then turned his head to curiously gaze at Ye Qing for a moment, saying, "You are Ye Qing?"

"Do you know me?" Ye Qing wondered.

"I've heard of you," the Left Protector said.

"Really?" Ye Qing glanced at the Sha Men people on his side; it seemed like someone from Sha Men must have told him.

"You don't need to look at them, it wasn't them who talked about you." The Left Protector said, "Old Wang Ba mentioned you before!"

"Old Wang Ba?" Ye Qing's eyes widened as he suddenly recalled something. Back then, Old Wang Ba told him that Huangfu Ziyu would definitely not be in any danger, so Ye Qing wasn't that worried. But now, what's going on?

"Do you have any news on Old Wang Ba?" Ye Qing immediately turned to ask Zhao Chengshuang and Li Lianshan, and both shook their heads simultaneously.

Zhao Chengshuang said, "That guy Old Wang Ba is too slippery. We used to get some clues, but now there's not a trace. We don't even know if he's in the South or the North."

"That Old Bastard!" Ye Qing said through gritted teeth, "He must be hiding from me, afraid I'd find him. If I do find him, I'll tie him up and lock him away for a year or so, and see if he still manages to run!"

"Hahaha..." The Left Protector couldn't help but laugh and said, "Old Bastard? So, you also know Old Wang Ba's nickname."

"This... is his nickname?" Ye Qing asked in astonishment. It was the first time he'd heard this, but damn, it fits perfectly!

"Of course," the Left Protector laughed and said, "On the Northwest Road, the nickname Old Bastard rings even louder than Old Wang Ba."

Ye Qing scratched his head and said, "It truly fits!"

"Hahaha..." The Left Protector laughed again, nodded at Ye Qing, and said, "I am Red Xuanyuan, pleased to meet you!"

Ye Qing nodded at the Left Protector but didn't say anything more. In truth, his mind was still occupied with thoughts about Huangfu Ziyu, so he wasn't really in the mood for other matters.

The Left Protector, Red Xuanyuan, also noticed Ye Qing's heavy heart and didn't say much more. He led a group of subordinates over to Cui Yu and asked, "Where is the Sect Leader?"

"Inside, the Sect Leader has been waiting for you for a long time," Cui Yu replied.

Red Xuanyuan nodded and led his group straight into the manor.

On this side, Cui Yu looked at Ye Qing and said, "Ye brothers, since you're here, come in and sit for a while."

"No need!" Ye Qing shook his head and said, "Thanks, Cui. I have some matters to attend to, I'll visit another day!"

"Alright then," Cui Yu nodded, sighed, and said, "Ye brothers, Miss Huangfu isn't that kind of person. Don't worry; Huangfu Ziyu must have some unavoidable reasons, so she hasn't contacted you. It won't be long before you'll see her!"

Ye Qing knew that Cui Yu was trying to comfort him, and it warmed his heart. He nodded, bid farewell to the Sha Men folks, and left the manor with Li Lianshan and Zhao Chengshuang.

Meanwhile, the Netherworld Scholar watched Ye Qing's figure drifting away, a subtle and elusive cold smile crossed his lips.