Fairy, you call this repaying a debt of gratitude?

After chasing for an unknown amount of time, Shen Wei reached an ancient mountain range outside Qingyun City that bordered the Fuyou Sect.

At this moment, Chen Lue seemed to have run out of strength and finally stopped. He found an open space, touched the ground with his toes, and landed steadily.

Shen Wei landed right behind him, sheathed his sword, and casually looked around. The helper he had imagined did not appear.

It seems he has truly reached his limit, Shen Wei thought to himself.

"What's wrong? You're not going to run anymore?"

Chen Lue grunted and turned to face Shen Wei.

"I'd like to see what you're relying on to keep chasing me so relentlessly!"

Before he finished speaking, the long sword at Chen Lue's waist arrived with the sound.

"Clang!"

Shen Wei reacted extremely quickly, drawing his longsword from his waist in an instant. He gripped the sword tightly with both hands, barely managing to withstand the powerful blow.

The force was so great that both of them were forced back several steps.

Shen Wei glanced down at his slightly numb wrist and thought to himself,

This person's strength is indeed remarkable, but unfortunately his moves are crude and full of flaws, making him inferior even to ordinary rogue cultivators.

In the instant he was thinking, the burly man charged straight at him again, knife in hand.

Seeing this, Shen Wei lightly touched the ground with his toes and came behind him again. The sword was about to slice across his neck when, at the critical moment, the big man suddenly turned to the side and spun around, his movements so agile that he was completely different from before.

With a precise horizontal block of his longsword, he managed to deflect the fatal blow with a clang.

Oh? Interesting.

This movement technique might be incomprehensible to ordinary people, but Shen Wei, having experienced countless battles and possessing considerable knowledge of various sects' techniques, already had a vague idea in his mind.

Immediately, Shen Wei drew his sword again and stepped forward, launching another fierce attack.

Chen Lue gritted his teeth and struggled to resist, his face growing paler and his movements becoming somewhat sluggish.

"If you truly possess skill, why don't you unleash your full potential?"

Shen Wei's voice came along with the wind from the sword.

He could see clearly that Chen Lue was hiding his strength, but he always held back, as if he was deliberately concealing something, afraid of exposing his identity.

Upon hearing this, Chen Lue's face darkened, but he remained silent.

After that, they exchanged dozens more blows. The big man was already panting heavily, but Shen Wei remained calm and composed.

"Since you refuse to use your full strength, then I'll take your life!"

Before he finished speaking, Shen Wei drew his sword.

"Azure Frost Moonfall Sword Technique!"

Sword energy rained down, dense and cold, suddenly descending.

Chen Lue was horrified:

This sword strike must not be taken head-on!

In the face of danger, he could no longer hide his true intentions. His posture suddenly changed, and his footwork became exceptionally agile. He used his exquisite footwork, and his figure moved like a breeze through the sword energy, narrowly dodging the fatal sword strike.

But this is not the killer move.

As Chen Lue, panting heavily, looked at the rain of blue swords with lingering fear, he secretly made a decision in his heart.

Even if my identity is exposed today, I must kill Shen Wei. I cannot leave any future trouble!

But a chilling sensation came from behind him; a long sword was already pressed against the back of his neck.

"Let's talk, fellow Daoist of the Fuyou Sect."

Shen Wei's voice rang in his ears.

......

Afterwards, Shen Wei used the spirit-binding rope to tightly bind Chen Lue and squatted in front of him.

"I hope you will answer my questions honestly."

Chen Lue looked up at Shen Wei, his eyes filled with an inscrutable emotion.

"That woman is... from the Jade Dew Sect, right?"

Chen Lue's body trembled almost imperceptibly, then he slowly lowered his head, still remaining silent.

"So... you're a member of the demonic sect who's infiltrated the Fuyou Sect?"

He shook his head as soon as he finished speaking, denying his own guess.

"No, your spiritual power is incredibly pure; you couldn't possibly be a member of the Demonic Sect."

Upon hearing this, Chen Lue's eyes revealed deep shock.

His throat was a little dry and hoarse.

"Who...are you?"

The young man before me is not only highly skilled, but also incredibly meticulous.

"This is none of your business."

He leaned down, his tone suddenly becoming sharp.

"Tell me, what exactly is the Fuyou Sect up to behind the scenes?"

These words completely shattered Chen Lue's spirit.

He turned his head away, unable to even look Shen Wei in the eye.

Seeing Chen Lue's reaction, Shen Wei had already made up his mind; it seemed that his guess was pretty accurate.

Indeed, these seemingly righteous sects are not necessarily all clean.

The Fuyou Sect cannot be ruled out either; there are probably already undercurrents within it, and it has some unspeakable secrets with the Demonic Sect.

He remained silent for a moment, knowing that asking any further questions would be pointless; this was probably all the information he could get from Chen Lue.

With that thought in mind, he stepped forward.

Chen Lue groaned, closed his eyes, and instantly fainted, his body collapsing limply to the ground.

After much deliberation, he finally decided that handing Chen Lue over to Wen Yutang was the most appropriate course of action.

Since they are disciples of the Fuyou Sect, they should be dealt with by the Fuyou Sect. This also provides an opportunity to test the attitude of Wen Yutang and her brother, and to see how much they know about the sect's secrets.

Shen Wei carried the unconscious Chen Lue on his back, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and leaped up, returning to Qingyun City in no time.

Wen Yutang was standing guard at the entrance of Fengyue Pavilion, clearly waiting for him.

"Shen Wei, over here!"

Upon seeing Shen Wei, Wen Yutang's eyes lit up, and she quickly waved and called out to him.

Shen Wei landed on his sword in front of her. At this moment, he carried the city lord's token, so even if he was flying on his sword in the inner city, no one dared to stop him.

Her gaze fell on Chen Lue, who was being carried on Shen Wei's back. Seeing that Chen Lue was unconscious, her heart finally settled down.

"You took so long to come back, I was so scared!"

Shen Wei laid the unconscious Chen Lue down, his tone softening slightly.

"What, Miss Wen, are you worried about me?"

Wen Yutang was stunned for a moment, and a faint blush instantly rose to her cheeks.

"Yes...yes! You're my brother's honored guest. You just came out with me to investigate a case and then disappeared. If anything happens to you, my brother definitely won't let me off the hook."

Shen Wei remained noncommittal, then asked, "What about that woman from earlier?"

Wen Yutang gently shook her head and said, "Senior Brother Xu Yu came by just now. He tried his best to find out that the woman's name was Jiang Yan and that she was from Donghua City. As for her identity, purpose, and relationship with the Demonic Sect, he couldn't find out anything. So, Senior Brother took her back to the Investigation Division and planned to interrogate her slowly."

"Yeah?"

Shen Wei looked at Chen Lue on the ground. "His identity is also very mysterious. I interrogated him before bringing him back, but I didn't get anything out of him. But I think he must have some inexplicable connection with the Demonic Sect's conspiracy."

"Yes, let's bring him back to the Criminal Investigation Division as well."

Subsequently, the two brought the unconscious Chen Lue to the Criminal Investigation Department, where Xu Yu was also present.

When Xu Yu saw Shen Wei, his eyes were no longer as cold as before. He cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you for your help in finding out who killed my brother."

Although Xu Yu didn't get much information from the interrogation, he had already confirmed that the woman was the real culprit who killed his brother.

"It's just my duty. I was just investigating the Demonic Sect's whereabouts, and it happened by the way."

After a few polite exchanges, it was getting late, and Wen Yutang offered to see Shen Wei off.

The two walked side by side down the street.

As the sun sets, its afterglow spills onto the streets of Qingyun City. Neighbors gather in twos and threes to chat, while children chase and play, their laughter ringing out clearly and melodiously.

Everything seemed so wonderful.

Wen Yutang silently observed all of this and asked softly, "Do you really think... we can protect Qingyun City on our own?"

His tone carried a hint of confusion and loneliness.

"Well... I don't want to tell you any lies to comfort you. Without the full assistance of the Fuyou Sect, our strength would be negligible."

"You're right." Wen Yutang sighed softly, her voice full of helplessness.

"I don't know why, even though the sects clearly know that Qingyun City is facing a crisis, they have always maintained an ambiguous attitude and refused to go all out..."

She paused, then continued.

"I joined the Fuyou Sect to uphold justice and protect the peace of this region, but in the end, it seems that only my senior brother and I took these words seriously."

"Regardless of what others do, just stay true to yourself."

"Hmm... I understand that principle, but..."

At this moment, the two had reached the intersection.

Wen Yutang didn't finish her sentence; her voice was somewhat cheerful as she said, "I'll leave you here, Young Master Shen. See you tomorrow!"

Shen Wei nodded and replied softly, "See you tomorrow."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the direction of Wangyue Pavilion, the setting sun casting a long shadow of him.