Inside the dense forest it was like a tropical rainforest; because of the natural hot springs below nourishing it, the whole area was completely different from the icy world outside North Mountain.
The plants, trees, and flowers growing here were not suited to a glacial climate; perhaps because of the climate, many things here grew larger than ordinary ones.
The four moved through the forest; after discarding what he carried, Xia Chen held only a pistol, feeling rather at ease.
Wen Li lowered her gaze in thought for a moment, then looked again at the three men walking beside her.
“Xia Chen.”
“Here.”
Xia Chen turned around, stood with a straight posture, and looked at Wen Li for quite a while.
“Retrace your steps and escort Li Li back.”
“Yes.”
Xia Chen turned with the posture of absolute obedience to orders, while Fu Yuxiu instructed Fei Ran to follow in Xia Chen’s steps and leave.
“Wait.” Wen Li called them back again. “On the way back, pay attention to the movements of the Mo family.”
The Mo family’s plan was to kill Fu Yuxiu; since he had entered the most dangerous North Mountain, they would not let this opportunity slip away.
Whether it was sending people directly into North Mountain, or stationing guards at the entrance to keep them from leaving.
The Mo family was certain to make a move.
“Young Master.” Fei Ran called out.
The man made a gesture, and he could only obediently follow Xia Chen out of there.
This trip was meant to rescue Li Li. Now that she has been sent away, why do the Young Master and Miss Wen Li still choose to remain behind?
Besides, that monster ahead was no joke.
“Boss, I’m heading out now. Be careful yourself.” Xia Chen turned and offered a polite farewell.
Wen Li nodded, and with her response, Xia Chen and Fei Ran left the dense forest one after the other.
“Why do you plan to stay?” Fu Yuxiu lowered his head to look at the young girl beside him.
This little one was certainly not fond of meddling.
“Didn’t you stay as well?” Wen Li replied.
The man reached out and easily pulled her over. “I stayed because you stayed.”
If not for her, Fu Yuxiu would never have entered North Mountain.
“Aren’t you curious about that monster?” Wen Li countered.
Fu Yuxiu shook his head, speaking carelessly: “The only thing in this world that can make me curious is you.”
Wen Li did not waste time talking to him further; she followed the trail of green blood on the ground.
Purgatory went to great lengths to capture this monster, and their purpose was surely not simple, even though Evans and Purgatory had kept to their own sides all these years.
But that did not mean the two sides were unaware of each other’s secrets; back when Wen Li had no plans to retire, she had already assigned people to monitor Purgatory.
Only by knowing both oneself and the enemy can one remain undefeated in a hundred battles—this was a truth Wen Li understood well.
“Do you know that general from before?” Fu Yuxiu held her close as they continued forward.
Just now, the little one’s look at that man was not quite right.
“I’ve met him a few times—he’s quite formidable.”
He had once won first place in the individual combat of the Intercontinental Special Forces Competition for three consecutive years, and was also an outstanding commander.
His personal skills were already outstanding; whether in marksmanship or close combat, he was a top‑tier expert.
He was also a renowned figure in the intercontinental mercenary world.
His most distinctive symbol was the silver chain he wielded as a weapon; countless soldiers had fallen beneath it.
For Purgatory to send such a troublesome figure this time, it shows just how much attention they are giving to this mission.
“Are we going to track the monster now, or the man?” Fu Yuxiu asked, fixing his gaze on the girl beside him.
Wen Li raised her brow, glanced sideways at him. “Wherever the monster is, he will be too.”
There was no longer any doubt: the man had gone after the wounded monster, and was surely nearby.
“Walk faster.” Wen Li glanced down at the knuckled hand wrapped around her.
It was only walking, yet this man acted as if he had no hands or feet, clinging to her relentlessly.
“I have to protect you properly. If we separate even for a step, what if someone with ill intent appears, or some beast living here comes out and hurts you?”
As the man spoke, his grip on her grew tighter, as if they were fused together like a seamless infant bodysuit, impossible to separate.
He had always been shameless, yet Wen Li had somehow grown accustomed to the different side he revealed before her.
She even began to wonder why, after she had sent Xia Chen away, this man also insisted on sending Fei Ran.
The two followed the trail of green blood forward and soon reached the steaming lake.
Just as Wen Li had guessed, the entire lake was formed by underground hot spring water that continually surged up, nourishing the whole forest.
The trail of blood ended here, and Wen Li gazed at the distant lake, calm and still.
“The blood trail stops here. The thing might be in the water.” Fu Yuxiu picked up a stone and tossed it in.
The water was very clear, especially near the shore, where the colorful stones at the bottom could be seen.
Wen Li thought of the watery stench clinging to the monster, the smell of something that had lived long beneath the surface.
Fu Yuxiu picked up a pebble, tossing it lightly into the air twice.
The man’s gentle face turned cold in an instant, a sharp light flashing in his eyes as he hurled the stone back with force.
The silver whip lashed out, splitting the pebble in midair, and the sharp fragments cut across the man’s cheek.
“Since you’re here, don’t hide under that cloak, General Charles, famed far and wide.” Fu Yuxiu looked at the man standing ghost‑like among the bushes.
Charles raised his hand, his fingertip lightly tracing the small cut across his face.
The wide hood of the cloak was removed, revealing golden hair cropped into a crew cut, features deep yet rugged, and a small wound on his left cheek streaked with scarlet blood.
“Who are you? Why are you here? Who sent you?”
Though Charles spoke toward Fu Yuxiu, his gaze fell instead on Wen Li standing behind him.
It was a woman, a woman of breathtaking beauty.
Looking at her face, Charles once again felt that sense of déjà vu, and steadied his mind.
Perhaps he simply couldn’t tell Eastern faces apart; to him, their brows, eyes, and noses all resembled that brat.
“Do you want the Three-Eye too?” Charles watched the two of them warily.
“Three‑Eye” was the monster’s name, and Wen Li remained still where she stood.
Her gaze fell on the countless figures rising behind Charles, the very ones they had first followed by their tracks.
There hadn’t been so many people at first—had they only came after they entered into the forest?
A dozen or two of them—none looked like ordinary soldiers.
“Purgatory wants Three‑Eye—what exactly are they planning?” Wen Li spoke.
Charles raised an eyebrow. “You actually know about Purgatory—truly not a simple woman.”
He should have known—any woman who could enter this place was no ordinary person.
“You’ll never get the chance to know. That woman has already escaped. Now you can take her place. Three‑Eye loves women’s blood, and only women’s blood can lure him out. Both of you must die here.”
Charles cracked the whip down hard, smashing it against the ground, sending dirt flying.
“Either surrender quietly, or be riddled with bullets like a sieve. Choose for yourselves.”
As Charles spoke, all the soldiers behind him raised their guns, the dark muzzles aimed at Wen Li and Fu Yuxiu.
Hearing his words, Fu Yuxiu turned, moved to Wen Li’s side, and spoke.
“Li Bao, he’s about to strike at us—what should we do?”
Charles watched as the man hooked his arm around the girl’s neck, the gesture intimate, almost flirtatious. At such a critical moment, the man could still remain so calm and unruffled.
“Looks like you don’t intend to cooperate. Do it.”
At the very instant Charles spoke, Wen Li raised her hand and snapped her fingers. The row of men behind him dropped their guns, and all collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth and convulsing.
“What did you do?” Charles turned back, staring at Wen Li in shock.
What had this woman done in that instant—why had it turned out this way?
The fallen soldiers stared wide‑eyed at the white spherical pellets scattered in the bushes—when had this woman thrown them?
“Now can you tell me why Purgatory wants to strike at this thing?” Wen Li looked at Charles, her tone cold and distant.
Charles narrowed his eyes—this woman was not so easy to deal with.
Likewise, that calm and unruffled man was no simple figure either.
“When did you pull that off?” Fu Yuxiu raised an eyebrow, looking at the soldiers collapsed behind Charles.
This little thing really is a treasure trove.
“When you came through, didn’t you notice them too?” Wen Li’s words were delivered without a trace of expression.
The path they had crossed was only five meters in a straight line from the soldiers.
With their sharpness, they couldn’t have failed to notice—it was only that they wanted to see what medicine these people were really selling in their gourds.
“Strike first to gain the advantage—haven’t you heard of it?” Wen Li continued.
Fu Yuxiu clearly saw the smug delight on that cold little face. He burst out laughing, leaned in, and cupped her cheeks to plant a kiss.
“Mm, my Li Bao is the best.”
Charles watched the two of them, his grip on the whip tightening.
The two of them clearly did not regard him at all—utterly intolerable! Charles, who had roamed battlefields for years, revered as a near‑divine figure in Continent D, had never been so scorned.
“In our Continent D, if you want answers from someone, you must first defeat them, trample them underfoot—only then are you worthy to ask.”
Charles lashed out with the whip in his hand, and his cloak slipped off, falling to the ground.
“I’ll go.” Fu Yuxiu squeezed Wen Li’s hand.
Wen Li glanced at Charles and ordered the man, “Leave one alive—we need answers.”
This man struck ruthlessly—if he killed someone by accident, she would never get the answers she wanted.
“Don’t worry.” Fu Yuxiu gently rubbed her face, and as he turned, he uttered a bloodthirsty line: “Even with shattered limbs, they can still talk.”
Charles looked with disdain at the approaching man. What could such a frail Eastern man possibly do?
A sneer curled at his lips as he spoke arrogantly: “The only one who ever defeated me was the supreme legend of Continent S. I, Charles, admit he was the only Eastern man stronger than me. But you…”
Wen Li crouched on the ground with her back to the two, taking out a glass vessel to collect the green blood.
She paid no attention to Charles’s words.
Seeing her attitude, the fury surging in Charles’s chest grew even more violent.
This Eastern woman clearly looked down on him, as if already certain that the man would win.
Without his cloak, Charles’s physique was imposing—two meters tall, his body honed by years of training, muscles bulging like the giants often seen in films.
Fu Yuxiu was also 1.9 meters tall, yet compared to such a muscle‑bound figure, he seemed almost small.
“Come then, let me test your skill. A man who looks like a fly, with a weak and ugly face.”
The handsome man flexed his knuckles lightly, a smile playing at his lips, his eyes glancing forward with a teasing air.
The disdain at his lips completely enraged Charles. With a cold laugh he charged forward, his whip lashing out with a fierce wind.
The man leapt with agile skill, landing easily on a nearby branch.
The silver whip struck the trunk, splitting it with a sizable scar.
Charles seized the moment, his whip flying up once more.
After dozens of lashes failed to harm the man in front of him, Charles slammed down the whip and gestured at his opponent.
“Let me see what kind of strength your limp fists can muster.”
Fu Yuxiu advanced, striking head‑on. Charles raised his hand to catch the punch, but the man’s fierce kick landed squarely on his chest.
The immense force drove him back several steps until he braced against the trunk behind him. He raised his hand and gently brushed the dust from his chest.
Before he could react, the man’s fist was already upon him, striking his face with a gale‑like force.
After Wen Li finished collecting the blood and turned back, she saw Fu Yuxiu stomp down, breaking his opponent’s knee joint.
Charles threw back his head and screamed, his wail echoing through the dense forest.
“I told you to leave him alive.” Wen Li reminded from behind.
Fu Yuxiu released him neatly, throwing him to the ground. “Still alive.”
It was nothing more than suffering a bit of hardship.
Wen Li stepped forward a few paces, crouched down, and looked down at the gasping man. In precise La language, she uttered three words.
“Charles…”
The voice that had haunted him for two years rose again like a phantom, and Charles stared wide‑eyed at the woman before him.
“You!”
It was him! That voice he would never forget.
Charles widened his eyes with force; the beautiful woman’s face before him finally shifted into a brazen figure clad in military uniform.
“Tell me, what exactly does Len want to do?”
“Puh…” Charles glared at Wen Li, his eyes brimming with hatred.
No wonder—even after exhausting everything and scouring all of S Continent for two years, he never saw that flamboyant, unrestrained youth.
He never imagined—it turned out she was a woman.
“Military orders are as unyielding as mountains. I know the rules of your Purgatory. You only need to answer my question. But today, whether you speak or stay silent, you will not survive.”
Charles glared with eyes wide and unyielding, a cold smile curling at his lips. “You will never know!”
“Even if I die here, Purgatory’s people will never let you go. Even if you spare me today, I will still find a chance to kill you!”
That flamboyant, unrestrained youth—ever since he had defeated him with swaggering pride.
For two years, Charles has been plagued by nightmares, reliving that day’s scene again and again.
He dreamt of that lofty youth, of that unruly, unrestrained smile, of that disdainful attitude.
Like a curse, like a nightmare—so long as he lives, the nightmare will never vanish.
The most ironic thing now is that the youth who defeated him turned out to be a woman.
This dealt him a tremendous blow.
“So, I can’t get any useful information from you, can I?” Wen Li’s words sounded like a sigh, as if it were her final attempt to ask Charles.
Charles burst into laughter, blood filling his mouth. “Do you think I came to North City alone? If I don’t leave within the set time, the entire North City will turn into a living hell!”
This was a threat, his final move to preserve his name.
Yet in her eyes, just as when she defeated him back then, there was the same calm indifference—the air of one who sees no one else.
It was as if she had never regarded him at all, standing so loftily above.
“Looks like I won’t be able to get anything out of you.”
Wen Li loosened her fingers, letting the object fall. Charles felt a sharp pain in his chest and braced his head as he leaned forward.
He saw, glaring from his chest, a silver dagger thrust deep.
Yes—why was that youth named Li able to lead all of Evans to pacify the wars of Continent S?
So ruthless and decisive—never leaving alive anyone who could pose a threat.
Even as his heart ceased to beat, Charles’s eyes still locked unyieldingly on Wen Li.
His two eyeballs looked as if they were about to fall out.
“Where to now?” Fu Yuxiu stood in place, gazing at the dead Charles, his face unmoved.
Those who needed saving were saved, those who needed killing were killed—now it was time to return the way they came.
“Let’s go.”
Wen Li glanced at the shimmering lake in the distance; the notion of purgatory seemed becoming too bold.
“Let’s go.”
Now that the whole matter was clear, there was no need to waste time here any longer.
“Aren’t you going to ask what I know?”
Wen Li looked at the man beside her and spoke.
Fu Yuxiu glanced sideways, his handsome features all the more striking, a smile playing at his lips. “If you want to tell me, you’ll say it.”
Wen Li let out a soft laugh, and the two walked along the vine‑covered wall.
If they left the dense forest now, they might still catch up with Fei Ran and Xia Chen.
With the collected items added, Wen Li’s eyes dimmed—Purgatory was clearly preparing for a major move.
Continent D was never peaceful; if war spread and burned into other continents, many would be dragged in.
Charles entered the dense forest precisely to make preparations for war.
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