The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

However, Jiang Ning glanced at Qu Yang.

"Did you deliberately reveal Uncle Liu's identity in public?"

Qu Yang's blatant revelation of Liu Zhengfeng's undercover identity in front of the leaders of various sects and their experts clearly reveals his intentions.

He was clearing Liu Zhengfeng of the stigma of betraying the righteous path.

Chapter 735: Only Liu Zhengfeng is not good enough

At this moment, Qu Yang had lost his attitude from when he was in the hall and instead remained silent.

Upon hearing Jiang Ning's words, Qu Yang couldn't help but glance at Jiang Ning in surprise.

He hadn't expected Jiang Ning to be so perceptive, able to guess his thoughts.

After a brief silence, Qu Yang spoke.

"Liu Zhengfeng has had his collarbone pierced and is half-dead from being tortured by the Three Corpse Brain God Pill. If you believe me, follow me when we get there and we'll rescue him."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning was not surprised; instead, he said, "As expected."

Jiang Ning remained silent.

After a while.

Jiang Ning nodded almost imperceptibly.

……

“Our temporary outpost is in the village ahead. The leader and the Holy Maiden have set up a trap there, just waiting for you to walk right into it.”

Jiang Ning and Qu Yang rode at breakneck speed and finally arrived at their destination. Qu Yang explained the situation to Jiang Ning while leading the way.

Where is Uncle Liu?

Jiang Ning inquired.

Qu Yang shook his head.

"I don't know either. It was Ren Yingying who dealt with Liu Zhengfeng. We need to go to her room first to find out Liu Zhengfeng's whereabouts."

Ren Yingying.

Upon hearing these three words, Jiang Ning narrowed his eyes slightly, a flash of killing intent passing through him.

The entire village was guarded by the demonic cult, making it almost impenetrable.

Without Qu Yang's familiarity with the terrain and his secret guidance, it would have been impossible for him to find Liu Zhengfeng's whereabouts silently in this village.

"That house in front is the Holy Maiden's room."

Qu Yang whispered.

At this time, neither Ren Woxing nor Ren Yingying knew that he had already arrived with Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning and Qu Yang quietly approached Ren Yingying's room.

At this moment, Ren Yingying was sitting by the window, the light of the oil lamp reflecting on her face, which was showing an unpredictable expression.

She was thinking about her plans after arriving in Beijing.

Her plan was simple: once she arrived in the capital, she would choose the residence of a prominent official, control the official in the court, and pretend to be that official's distant niece. Then, she would use this identity to enter the palace for the imperial concubine selection.

Ren Yingying was very confident in her looks; she believed that once she entered the palace, she would surely catch Zhu Houzhao's eye.

Once Zhu Houzhao falls into her hands, she and Ren Woxing can hide in the palace, both to evade pursuit and to secretly develop their power to control the officials and the army.

When the time is right, she will force Zhu Houzhao to write an abdication edict, ceding the throne to Ren Woxing.

When that time comes, the entire Ming Dynasty will be under the control of the father and daughter, and these righteous sects will be no threat. Even if they gather tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of troops, they will still be able to annihilate these righteous sects.

江宁……

Thinking of this, Ren Yingying couldn't help but think of Jiang Ning again.

Her expression suddenly turned even more somber, and the flickering firelight illuminated her face, making her appear extremely sinister and terrifying.

Ordinary words could not describe Ren Yingying's hatred for this Huashan disciple who had repeatedly thwarted her plans and chased her to the point of exhaustion.

As long as Jiang Ning is alive, she will never be able to eat or sleep in peace.

Jiang Ning has now become almost her inner demon.

Just then, a figure suddenly leaped into the room through the window. The speed was so fast that Ren Yingying didn't even have time to react. It wasn't until the figure had already reached out and grabbed her neck that Ren Yingying realized what was happening and instinctively raised her hand to swing it backward.

Her palms held a highly poisonous powder.

But as soon as Ren Yingying made that move, the figure behind her reached out with another hand and grabbed her wrist.

As the figure exerted force with his fingers, Ren Yingying's delicate eyebrows furrowed in pain, and her palm involuntarily opened, causing the paper containing the highly poisonous powder to fall to the ground without making a sound.

Ren Yingying's face showed a heartbreaking expression due to the severe pain in her wrist.

But the figure behind her showed no mercy, first crippling one of her hands, and then quickly subduing her other hand.

After exchanging a few blows, Ren Yingying realized that the newcomer was highly skilled in martial arts, and even she was powerless to resist. She hurriedly tried to open her mouth to call for help, but the figure behind her reacted quickly and grabbed her neck, preventing her from making a sound.

Just then, another person jumped in through the window.

After entering, the person carefully closed the window before turning around.

Ren Yingying's eyes widened upon seeing this person.

"We meet again."

The voice of that figure came from behind.

The voice seemed to carry a hint of laughter, but it was very cold.

Hearing that unfamiliar yet familiar voice, Ren Yingying's pupils contracted sharply.

The man was still holding her neck, but he turned in front of her and revealed his true form.

Upon seeing this person, Ren Yingying was filled with shock.

Jiang Ning looked at her with a smile. The two were very close, so Ren Yingying could clearly see the deep coldness in Jiang Ning's smiling eyes.

Ren Yingying looked at Jiang Ning with a surprised expression, then glanced at Qu Yang beside her.

By this point, she understood perfectly well that Qu Yang had betrayed her and Ren Woxing.

Where is Uncle Liu?

Jiang Ning spoke, his voice calm, as if there was no murderous intent in it.

As he spoke, Jiang Ning slightly loosened his grip on Ren Yingying's neck, allowing her to speak.

But Ren Yingying gritted her teeth and didn't say a word.

Now that she understood that she was in Jiang Ning's hands and could not escape, Ren Yingying remained silent.

"I'll ask one more time, where is Uncle Liu?"

Jiang Ning's smile vanished, replaced by a murderous glint in his eyes as he looked at Ren Yingying.

Ren Yingying remained silent.

Jiang Ning's expression turned completely cold. He grabbed Ren Yingying by the neck and lifted her into the air, while gradually tightening his grip.

Ren Yingying was gripped tightly by Jiang Ning's neck, and she almost passed out.

But she did not give in. She had grown up in the Sun Moon Sect since childhood, and she would not have become the fearsome Holy Maiden if she did not have a ruthless spirit.

Despite having Jiang Ning gripping her throat, Ren Yingying looked towards Qu Yang.

Ren Yingying's throat bobbed, and she finally spoke, but she did not reveal where Liu Zhengfeng was being held. Instead, she looked at Qu Yang and uttered three words with difficulty.

"Why?"

She never imagined that Qu Yang would betray her, betray Ren Woxing.

She had always trusted Qu Yang. He had practically watched her grow up and protected her many times. Although Qu Yang had made a mistake regarding Liu Zhengfeng, she believed that Qu Yang had genuinely failed to notice and did not think that Qu Yang had intentionally concealed it.

But she didn't expect that Qu Yang would bring Jiang Ning to her.

She didn't understand why.

Qu Yang's eyes were filled with tears.

"After I joined the Sun Moon Cult, I did many things and killed many people. Whether you call it right or wrong, I don't care."

"The leader and the Holy Maiden value me highly and have promoted me to the rank of elder. Qu Yang has always remembered the leader's great kindness. No matter what, as long as the leader and the Holy Maiden give an order, Qu Yang will go through fire and water without hesitation, even at the cost of his life."

"But Qu Yang has few close friends in this world, only Liu Zhengfeng."

"The leader and the Holy Maiden can kill whoever they want, including me, or even Fei Yan. As long as the leader and the Holy Maiden give the order, Qu Yang will not hesitate."

"But Liu Zhengfeng is the only one who won't do."

"Only Liu Zhengfeng is not good enough!"

Chapter 736: The Death of Ren Yingying

When Liu Zhengfeng was being tortured to the point of wishing he were dead, Qu Yang stood by without saying a word, and his expression didn't change much.

But Qu Yang's heart was bleeding.

He knew that if he pleaded for Liu Zhengfeng, he would lose the trust of Ren Woxing and his daughter. He had to remain silent and not reveal anything in order to have a chance to save Liu Zhengfeng or avenge him.

Hearing Qu Yang's words, Ren Yingying felt utterly absurd.

She had instructed Qu Yang to deliberately approach Liu Zhengfeng, but unexpectedly Qu Yang developed genuine feelings and regarded Liu Zhengfeng as his lifelong confidant, which led to her falling into Jiang Ning's hands.

They truly trapped themselves in their own web.

Jiang Ning remained indifferent, and slightly twisted his fingers to turn Ren Yingying's face towards him.

The two locked eyes.

"Where is Uncle Liu?"