It doesn't matter what the lord is.

"And more. You come in and dig deep into the ground to see if there is anything hidden. Tear down all the walls and remove everything in the cell. Search for me! Don't miss any clues!"

39. He committed suicide

Dong Li didn't expect that Alayya's mouth was harder than rock.

Even if Alaiya confessed the truth, Dongli would not let her go. But now Alaiya was clearly restrained by her, but just looked at her without saying a word, which still made Dongli feel a little inexplicably irritated.

The Flying Dragon Guards searched the prison carefully but found nothing valuable. Dong Li searched Alaya and Lid himself but still found nothing. The only clue left was the little information Alaya had in her mind, but with his keen intuition, Dong Li could tell that Alaya was a very difficult person to deal with.

Now that Reed, the only person she cared about, was dead, she no longer had any weaknesses.

It's not easy to get her to speak.

Before Dong Li could think of a solution, the Dragon King's messenger had already arrived. Looking at the mess in the prison, the flying dragon in charge of the messenger walked up to Dong Li and said, "Your Highness, the King wants to see the body of the criminal and the human woman in your hand."

Dong Li swung her hands in annoyance, threw Alayya, whose bones she had broken countless times, in front of the flying dragon, and said, "Did father ask me to stay away?"

The flying dragon that delivered the message shook his head:

"Your Majesty, I believe that Your Highness will not go easy on you. There must be something fishy about this matter. Your Highness, please come back with me."

Dong Li finally let out a breath, his expression slightly relieved. Needless to say, the criminal was very important, and the next plan was almost entirely centered around him. Regardless of how Lid died, his fatal injury was indeed caused by Dong Li, and this was indisputable.

What she was most worried about was that the Dragon King would become alienated from her, which would cause trouble in the next battle against humans. But now it seems that the Dragon King is very clear that this matter has nothing to do with her, and this accident will not change the calm king's attitude towards her.

Dong Li took a deep breath and strode out. Behind her, the herald and several other flying dragons also walked out of the prison carrying Lid's body and the half-dead Alayya.

...-

In the dragon cave, the majestic dragon king opened his golden eyes and looked down at everyone present coldly, as if he could see through their inner thoughts at a glance. Lid's body was lying on the ground with his back facing up, his clothes still stained with snow, and his body was frozen stiff by the severe cold. No matter how you looked at it, he was dead.

After a moment, the Dragon King said:

"Did any other dragons enter the prison last night?"

The prison guard trembled as he told the story again.

The Dragon King was not angry, or at least, from an outsider's perspective, it was not obvious that he was angry. The prison guard asked tentatively:

"Your Majesty, we still remember the appearance and aura of those flying dragons. Should we immediately search for them..." The Dragon King replied coldly:

"No need. One night is enough time to flee or destroy the body. If you didn't notice anything unusual at the first time, you won't have another chance. Let's focus on the matter at hand. Shi Yuan, tell me, what should we do next?"

The woman named Shi Yuan stepped forward, stood beside Lid's body, and answered:

"Your Majesty, this is not a very kind thing to do. The criminal was taken to the Dragon Clan without anyone notifying me. When I was called in the next day, there was a dead body on the ground. This is not an attitude to discuss cooperation."

The Dragon King's voice was calm:

"We are indeed at fault for this matter, but I don't care if it's right or wrong, I just want an answer. Is there any possibility of resurrection of the Abyss Ancestral Dragon? Shi Yuan seemed to be shocked by the Dragon King's momentum, but she quickly replied with a normal expression:

"Returning to the king, it is difficult."

Shi Yuan paused and continued:

"Your Majesty is also very clear about the restrictions of the Abyss Ancestral Dragon. They were left by the Void. The Void is the most mysterious existence among the three upper tribes, and our understanding of them is also very limited. Through our secret method of the Abyss, we have divined that Lid holds the key to unlocking the restrictions. But what is this key? Is it an object on his body, his blood, or a code he knows? We don't know any of these."

Shi Yuan looked at Lid's body, her tone more helpless:

"I have no intention of blaming Her Royal Highness the Princess, because we dealt with Lid when we were in the Kingdom of Eternal Heaven. This person is very difficult to deal with, and the Abyss Church did not gain much benefit from him. He is a very ambitious person with a strong self-esteem. When he realizes that he may face various interrogations, he is likely to choose to commit suicide."

The Dragon King looked at Shi Yuan and said:

"Oh? You mean, he committed suicide?" Shi Yuan nodded without blinking, "I think so."

Although this seemed like a good opportunity to sow discord between the Dragon King and Dong Li, Shi Yuan would not fall for it. She knew very well that the Dragon King could give the military power of the entire Dragon Clan to Dong Li, which meant that he had great trust in his daughter and would never have any grudges against her because of such a small matter. Putting the blame on Dong Li would only drag herself into it, so she could only insist that Lid committed suicide.

The Dragon King looked at Lid's body and said to Shi Yuan: "According to you, this person is useless?" Shi Yuan shook her head again:

"That's not the case. As I just said, this person has the key to unlock the restriction, there is no doubt about that. We can try one by one, first throw various objects on his body into the restriction, then cut his artery and use his blood to water it. If all else fails, we in the Abyss have a secret method that can collect his soul fragments, which may contain relevant information."

The Dragon King nodded with satisfaction and said:

"I admit that I underestimated you guys in the past. Then let's do as you said and start by trying the things on him. Also...about the human woman who was traveling with him..."

The Dragon King stared at Shi Yuan and said:

"Is she still useful?"

Shi Yuan shook her head without hesitation:

"It's useless to me. However, I advise the king not to rush to kill her. After all, this woman is also Lid's "thing". Maybe she is also related to the ban." The Dragon King looked at Alayya who was pressed to the ground and said slowly:

"Indeed... I can sense a familiar aura from her. Dong Li, I'll leave this person to you. Don't kill her, but I want to find out what happened last night. Also, Shi Yuan, since Lid is dead, it's not safe for you to stay here as a human. I plan to send you five flying dragons as bodyguards. What do you think?"

This means that she will be monitored thoroughly in every move. Shi Yuan smiled bitterly and bowed:

"Grateful."

The Dragon King closed his eyes again, and his huge wings rose and fell, creating a storm. He said slowly:

"Everyone go out and leave me alone."

40. All Wood

Alaya and Lid were carried on the same flying dragon, lying side by side. One looked dead, and the other looked no different from dead.

Alaiya reached out and gently held Lid's hand. Lid's hand was very cold, frighteningly cold. Of course, her hand was not very warm either. The two of them were like two corpses, being transported to a mysterious place by the current.

This place is not easy to find, and it is heavily guarded. But this place is different from other territories of the Dragon Clan. Most of the Dragon Clan areas are covered with bamboo spear-like mountains, but this place is a dark abyss. A huge hole has cracked in the ground, and no one knows how deep the hole is, and no one knows what is under the hole.

But when approaching here, no matter how deep the realm of the dragons were, they instinctively felt a terrible aura. This feeling was different from when they faced the Dragon King and Dong Li. The Dragon King and Dong Li only gave them a kind of power and blood pressure, but here there was a soul-shaking, silent fear.

Compared to the dragons who took every step heavily, Shi Yuan was unusually calm.

As if she was born to be immune to such horror, there was still a gentle smile on her face.

The dragons walked to the deep pit with a radius of tens of thousands of meters, and did not stop, but continued to walk up. Strangely, they did not fall into the deep pit. There seemed to be an invisible barrier above the deep pit, supporting them to walk steadily towards the center of the deep pit.

The closer you get to the center of the pit, the brighter red the transparent barrier becomes, like the remains of a wild beast dripping with blood.

Dong Li stopped in the center of the pit, where there was a door that opened and closed, and it was also the source of all the red spider-web-like blood vessels.

This scene is very strange because there is nothing around the door. If you look at it from a distance, this huge door is also suspended in the air. The most outrageous thing is that the seemingly empty "air" now blocks their steps into the abyss, and the physical door becomes the only way to pass.

Of course, the door is now closed, and there is a ring in the center of the door, which looks like some kind of altar.

Dong Li said to Shi Yuan:

"This is it. Please use all the research you have done in the Abyss. I will be waiting here for you during this time."

Shi Yuan said:

"Thank you for your hard work, Princess. Then please strip Reed of his clothes and put his belongings on the ring one by one."

Dong Li frowned slightly. She could hear the displeasure in Shi Yuan's tone. After all, the implication of being monitored was too obvious. Now Shi Yuan had five "guards" of the dragon clan beside her, and at least twenty elite dragons in the distance. Even so, Dong Li was still worried and came to watch in person.

They called it watching, but in reality they were afraid that Shi Yuan would really open the door to the abyss and go down alone to pocket all the benefits.

But even if she could hear the sarcasm in Shi Yuan's words, Dong Li would not leave. After weighing the pros and cons, she chose to accept Shi Yuan's suggestion. Although it was a bit strange to help a human male undress, at least she was doing it herself, so she didn't have to worry about Shi Yuan's ulterior motives.

Dong Li stepped forward, first untied the various ornaments on Lid's waist, then stepped into the ring in the door and placed them one by one. A faint light appeared on the ring, and then all the ornaments shattered into dust.

The door didn't open.

Dongli returned to Lid, took off his coat, and put the various items he brought with him into the ring one by one. Many of the porcelain bottles actually contained salt, chili powder, pepper and various other spices that Lid usually used for picnics, but now none of them were spared and were put on the ring indiscriminately by Dongli who could not distinguish them.

The ring flickered on and off, like an emotionless killer, shattering everything.

Dong Li carefully touched Lid again until he was sure that he didn't carry anything strange. Dong Li looked at Shi Yuan, who bent her right index finger, placed it on her lips, and whispered:

"It seems that the key is not with him... No, it should be said that the key is not an item on him. Your Highness, you can take some of his blood and put it on. Try not to damage his limbs, otherwise his soul will be damaged as well, and then our work will become very difficult."

Dong Li drew out his sword and slashed his wrist twice.

The blood flowed very slowly. Dong Li cut a piece of his cloak, let the cloth soak up Lid's blood, then rolled it into a ball and threw it into the ring. A strange phenomenon occurred.

The cloth disappeared in an instant, but Lid's blood was still there, still on the ring. But the door still didn't open, and there was not even any light flashing.

Dong Li frowned and looked at Shi Yuan. Shi Yuan's peach blossom eyes stared at Lid's blood on the ring. Shi Yuan pondered for a long time before speaking:

"It seems that our divination method of the abyss is correct. Lid is indeed related to the void. The mechanism left by the void will destroy all irrelevant things into dust, but only Lid's blood will not be affected. But his blood does not seem to be the key to unlock the mechanism...

Dong Li didn't give up and cut Lid's arm twice more, letting more blood flow into the ring, but still nothing happened. Dong Li gave up and said to Shi Yuan:

"Is there any other solution?"

Shi Yuan replied:

"I can only use necromancy. When ordinary people die, their souls go to the goddess of reincarnation, but Lid's soul is very tenacious, and there must be many fragments left. If I can go back to the place where he died, I can call back his soul fragments and peek into many secrets. But I must explain in advance that Her Royal Highness the Princess

Soul fragments are called fragments

, because they are very fragile. If there are strangers around, a single breath could cause their souls to vanish into thin air. "

Dong Li stared into her eyes, but Shi Yuan's eyes were clear and there was no sign of lies in them. Dong Li then said:

"Got it. I will interrogate this human woman. Let the other dragons take you back to the prison. I will order them to stay away from the prison.

But don't try any tricks.

The dragons will surround the prison from the outside. No matter whether you have obtained the information or not, you must return here immediately, otherwise the cooperation will end.

I'll kill you first."

Shi Yuan bowed deeply to her and replied:

"I understand. Although the Abyss Ancestral Dragon is a test subject of the Void, it has the blood of both the Dragon Clan and the Kungu Clan. No matter how powerful our Abyss Church is, we have no way to control it alone. We still have to rely on the blood resonance between His Majesty the Dragon King and Her Royal Highness the Princess. So please rest assured, Her Royal Highness the Princess, once I get the information, I will definitely share it with Her Royal Highness the Princess."

Dong Li waved his hand and replied coldly: "Go ahead."

41. Gradually speed up

Western Qin territory.

Through a brief period of observation and exploration, Merlin and Xiao Hei gradually figured out Mr. Tingchao's route of action.

He would go to Yuanyang City every morning to serve as a guard for the lord of Western Qin, and would return to his home in Danyang City at night to play with his daughter. At the same time, he would go to the front line every two days, but he would not create too much killing karma, but more of a deterrent. He often drew a line on the ground, and those who crossed the line would die, but he was too lazy to deal with those who did not cross the line.

Merlin and Xiao Hei thought about it for a while, and finally Merlin came out and took the initiative to get to know Mr. Tingchao's daughter.

She was a little girl with a chubby face, who looked no more than seven or eight years old. She smiled at everyone she saw.

Merlin dressed himself up as a small businessman selling candied haws and met Mr. Tingchao's daughter several times. Because Merlin looked very gentle and naturally made people feel close, the little girl did not seem to have a strong resistance to strangers and talked to Merlin for a long time.

"No matter how busy he is, Dad will always make time to spend time with me. But actually, I always worry that Dad will be too tired. When I go to the gym to play with him at night, his muscles are super stiff."

The little girl's name is Kanhua, and both Merlin and Xiaohei think it is a very cute name.

However, after hawking in front of Kanhua's door several times, Merlin realized that this little girl was not that simple. That day, Kanhua sat on the stone steps and Merlin sat beside her.

Merlin was holding a large candied haws rack in his hand, with many candied haws on it.

The two, one big and one small, chatted like friends. Kanhua was a very lively and outgoing person, and pestered Merlin to ask many strange things in the world. But when Merlin asked about Tingchao in a tactful way, Kanhua tilted his head and puffed up his cheeks with a half-smile. Kanhua said to Merlin:

"The sentence my father said to me most often was 'Life is like the sea, with ups and downs.' He also said that when he was young, he traveled a lot, but after I came, he couldn't walk anymore. I would always hit his back. But how could I be that heavy? He could just carry me on his back."

Merlin looked at the little girl in front of him, and his sunglasses slipped down a little, revealing her bright eyes. Merlin was a very smart man, and he could hear that there seemed to be a deep meaning in this sentence.

Kanhua also looked at him at this time, chuckled and said:

"Over the years, many people like my brother have wanted to see my father through me. I don't know which side my brother is from, but my father said

He no longer wants to be involved in these disputes

He just wanted to protect me and this family."

Merlin smiled, took a candied haws from the shelf, handed it to Kanhua, and said, "Thank you."

He stood up to say goodbye, and behind him he heard the voice of someone coming to see the flowers:

"Wait a minute. Brother, Dad told me that I can't just take other people's things. I have to pay for them."

Kanhua took out a small cloth bag from his pocket, counted out a few copper coins solemnly, and handed them to Meilin. Meilin took the money, stood up and left Kanhua's door.

In the dark alley far away, Xiao Hei, who had been witnessing this scene, looked at Merlin with a regretful expression and said: "She is very smart."

Merlin nodded and said:

"She is a precocious child who has experienced many things, so she naturally understands the ways of the world. It would be difficult to win Mr. Tingchao over through her." Xiao Hei smiled and said:

"Indeed. And if we involve such a lovely girl, we will also suffer retribution. I think it's better to forget it and find a time when Tingchao is not around to go into the city." Xiao Hei stretched out his nose to sniff the air and said to Merlin: