Although the situation looked extremely dangerous, Zhuo Yue had no choice but to carry out the rescue. After all, he was a master of the Zhiyi Boundary, and unless he was besieged by over a dozen other masters, none of those people stood a chance against him.

But what he feared most was that once the enemy became aware of his intentions, they would use Zhuo Yue as a threat. If that happened, all his previous efforts would be in vain. It seemed that if he wanted to rescue Zhuo Yue, he had to avoid conventional methods and utilize an unexpected strategy—it was essential not to let these people know that he came to save Zhuo Yue.

"Negotiate, sure, my only purpose in coming here is also because of the Black Death Order. I've received information that among the male and female mentioned in the order, the woman is in your hands."

"What!"

Upon hearing this, the group was startled, with surprise written all over their faces. This was highly secretive information that outsiders shouldn't know. They looked around at each other, wondering who might have leaked the information.

"How do you know that woman is in our hands?" the elder asked Ling Zhenfei.

Ling Zhenfei chuckled inwardly as he could tell from their expressions that these people did not fully trust each other, at least not based on their reactions just now.

"That's not for you to concern yourselves with. I know far more than you do," Ling Zhenfei deliberately spoke vaguely, intending to sow distrust among them.

"This brother here, my name is Zhang Lie, I'm their eldest senior brother, the oldest among them. Since you already have the information, there's no point in me hiding anything. The woman mentioned in the Killing Order is named Zhuo Yue, and she indeed is in our possession."

The elder seemed to want to strike a deal with Ling Zhenfei and also probe into Ling Zhenfei's background.

"We are planning to trap the man coming to save her, but instead, we've waited and now you've arrived. We are all brothers from the same sect, and we've sworn secrecy among ourselves about this matter, surely not to be leaked to anyone. I trust them not to divulge anything. How exactly did you come across this information?"

The people around Ling Zhenfei focused their gaze on him, curious about his response.

Ling Zhenfei laughed, "'Brothers from the same sect' only goes so far. After all, we're not related by blood."

"What do you mean by that, kid? Are you suggesting there's a mole among us?"

Before Zhang Lie could speak, the others began to grow angry and even started to harbor suspicions.

Ling Zhenfei said, "I'm not interested in whether you have a mole among you or not. Today, my intention is clear—hand over the woman named Zhuo Yue, or I will kill him." After finishing his words, Ling Zhenfei applied a bit of force, causing Zhao Gang to cry out in pain.

"Friend, let's not rush things, there's room for discussion. Even if you exchange Zhao Gang for Zhuo Yue, do you really think you can escape with a woman in tow? Why not join us and together we can capture the man, then split the money among ourselves?" The elder seemed relatively calm.

"How many are you in total? There are already seven of you here; adding me, we'd have more than a dozen. How could splitting money among so many compare to sharing it between just two or three people?" Ling Zhenfei mocked.

"What do you mean, you won't agree? Are you trying to hog it all with that insider?"

Everyone around was enraged.

"Exactly, that's what I'm thinking. Right now, Zhao Gang is in my grasp. If you don't hand over Zhuo Yue, I will kill him." Ling Zhenfei's voice turned colder as he spoke, intimidating the people around him.

"Senior brother, save me! He really will act," Zhao Gang pleaded, his Life Gate held by Ling Zhenfei. With just a slight urge of Inner Strength, Ling Zhenfei could easily kill him, so Zhao Gang was genuinely terrified.

"Junior brother, don't be afraid, this man doesn't dare to kill you in front of so many of us here. If he killed you, he wouldn't be able to escape," someone shouted to Zhao Gang, also indirectly warning Ling Zhenfei.

"Fourth senior brother, stop talking nonsense. If I get killed, even if you guys kill him in return, it won't bring me back to life. It's better to just hand over that woman to him, let's get me exchanged first," Zhao Gang yelled out, silencing the surrounding people as they all turned to look at Zhang Lie. He was the eldest senior brother and it was time for him to make a decision.

"Brother, think carefully, you now have the choice to join us. When we split the money, you'll get a share too. Even if you manage to safely take the woman away today, in the future you will be pursued by our entire sect in Jianghu. I think even if you earned all the reward, it wouldn't be pleasant to spend it," Zhang Lie said.

Ling Zhenfei showed no change in expression at this time, "Sorry, how I splurge after getting my money is my own business, and I won't trouble you all with it."

Zhang Lie's eyes widened, seemingly growing angry.

"Bring that woman out to me."

Following Zhang Lie's order, soon two people were seen escorting Zhuo Yue out.

Zhuo Yue looked pale, her hair was disheveled, and even her clothes were tattered and torn, clearly indicating that she hadn't been spared from abuse at the hands of these people.

The moment Zhuo Yue was brought out and saw Ling Zhenfei, the lifeless look in her eyes suddenly flickered.

"It's you, why did you come? Didn't I tell you not to?"

Ling Zhenfei had been signaling to Zhuo Yue to pretend not to know him with his eyes, but Zhuo Yue did not see his cues and called out to Ling Zhenfei outright.

Ling Zhenfei felt a surge of alarm, realizing that their connection had definitely been exposed.

"Kid, so you two know each other, you must be that man!" Zhang Lie's response was swift, deducing the crux of the issue from Zhuo Yue's reaction.

"Well, well, it's you, my boy. It turns out to be an effort not wasted. It looks like you'll be staying here today," the people around all laughed heartily.

Ling Zhenfei laughed as well, a laugh that gave everyone around the chills.

"What are you laughing at, kid?" the one Zhao Gang had called fourth senior brother asked.

"I'm laughing at how simple-minded you all are. So what if I am that man? Right now, Zhao Gang is in my hands. Are you saying you don't care about this kid's life?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gang was almost in tears as he shouted back to Zhang Lie, "Eldest senior brother, I'm still in his hands, can't you rescue me first before anything else?"

Zhang Lie said coldly, "What are you worried about, Zhao Gang? Have you forgotten what the relationship between this kid and Zhuo Yue is? They're boyfriend and girlfriend. It's not a matter of you being in his hands, but his girlfriend is in ours."

While speaking, Zhang Lie had already walked up to Zhuo Yue, drawn a knife from his waist, and pressed it to Zhuo Yue's neck. Then he addressed Ling Zhenfei, "Kid, your girlfriend is now in my hands. If you don't want her to die, then release Zhao Gang."

Zhuo Yue stood petrified at that moment, clearly understanding that her own words had put Ling Zhenfei in a passive situation. She kept her eyes on Ling Zhenfei, the man who came all the way for her sake.

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