'I couldn't kill her on stage. I'm sorry.'
Being faster than the boyish lady, Tianshi reached the lobby first, hugging into Xuefeng's chest without even releasing her wings. He naturally accepted her into his arms and wrapped his arms around her head, rubbing it affectionately.
'You did well, my love. You surprised me. I didn't expect you would master such a powerful art in so little time. I'm proud of you.'
'I'm happy. Now I can fight alongside you and protect you,' Tianshi said as she tightened her hug. 'Don't worry, this wife will not let anyone hurt you.'
'You are cute,' Xuefeng replied simply as he kissed her head before lifting her chin up. 'But this is my job. I'm your white knight and you are my Queen. That will never change.'
He leaned down and tapped on her lips with his own.
'I will give you a better reward once you win all three matches. For now, I might be a bit busy,' Xuefeng said as he looked to the side, his gaze turning frosty.
The boyish lady happened to land in the Waiting Lobby and their glances met. His killing gaze caused her to immediately turned away and walk to the exit without even stopping to chat with anyone. Her annoyance at her loss was obvious.
'She needs to die…' Ming's voice returned to his mind before she appeared next to them. 'If you don't do it, I will.'
She seemed more than angry as if she just wanted to destroy the whole place.
'What happened?'
'She killed her Fate Spirit,' Ming replied straightforwardly, causing Xuefeng and Tianshi to frown. 'I can't feel the Fate Spirit presence in her body. Unless she has some powerful Artefact that masks everything, there is only one explanation. What's more, it has been dead for a while. That's why you can only feel the Fate Qi but no Fate Spirit presence.'
'It's them again… It seems it's more popular than we thought,' Tianshi commented.
Ming gripped on Xuefeng's sleeve.
'I want to kill them all…' Ming expressed. 'I want to burn their soul and make them suffer… No one can save them…'
Xuefeng knew very well how much it meant to Ming. After all, she was the mother of all Fate Spirits. She gave birth to them. She created them. Everyone would feel the same after learning their children were being murdered.
'Don't worry. Leave it to me,' Xuefeng assured as he gazed at the back of the leaving boyish lady. 'You stay with Tianshi. I will find out the truth.'
The Organization that found a way to kill Fate Spirits inside the Fate Holders without harming them was definitely one of their top enemies. Just thinking of losing either Ling or Ming made his blood boil.
Xuefeng turned invisible, wanting to follow his target when he heard Ming's plea.
'Do me a favor and don't leave anything. The moment she killed her Fate Spirit, there is no place for her in this world. Heaven's won't welcome her in the Middle Heaven.'
'That was my plan from the very beginning,' Xuefeng muttered, leaving the Waiting Lobby.
———
"Bleeeh!"
Blood splashed all over the floor as the boyish lady smashed into the wall. Her limbs were bending in unnatural positions as her throat touched a dark blue edge of the blade with red droplets dripping down.
"Talk," Xuefeng ordered coldly. "Who was it and where can I find them."
They were in the middle of the hallway but the whole room was filled with mist, blocking the sight of his killing.
Tfu!
The boyish lady spat out blood, trying to hit him with it but Xuefeng dodged it easily.
"Why would I tell you? I'm going to die anyway," the boyish lady replied with a grin, her teeth all red from blood. "If you kiss my ass, maybe I will tell you."
"I wanted to give you a less painful death but it seems you want to die in tortures," Xuefeng said with a shrug and grabbed on her wrist with her body fully under his control. "If you try to stall for time, no one is going to come. They won't hear your screams either."
'Do it,' Xuefeng ordered and the lady's facial expression changed immediately.
"Aaaaaarrrghh!!" She screamed on top of her lungs till he blocked her mouth, suppressing it to simple muffles. Her muscles tensed and her eyes widened as she stared with fear at her arm.
Only she knew how much pain she was in. Her arm slowly lost its color, turning white as a lotus flower before it slowly disappeared, decomposing into powder from the tip of her fingers, all the way to her shoulder. Her whole arm was gone within seconds and her eyes rolled in pain.
"Talk. If you don't, I will make your whole body disappear, together with your soul and you won't be able to reincarnate. You will be gone forever," Xuefeng threatened. "I don't care what happens to you, so the choice is with you."
The smirk was already gone from the boyish lady's face, replaced with fear and pain. Xuefeng didn't even want to imagine how it felt but from Ling's explanation, he knew the lady would never recover from such a wound.
If she simply lost a chunk of her soul in a fight, it was possible to heal but Ling's ability completely removed that option, making the soul unable to recover.
"I-I will talk… B-but I don't know much…" the lady stuttered, her voice cracking in fear. The pain should have already passed but the damage was already done.
"How did you find them? Who are they? How did you kill your Fate Spirit?" Xuefeng questioned sternly.
"They contacted me themselves… I don't know who they are. All of them had black cloaks on and I don't even remember what happened. They drugged me and when I woke up, my Fate Spirit was already gone," the boyish lady explained. "If I didn't do it, I'm sure I would be dead by now. My Fate Qi was already running out."
"So you have no information whatsoever," Xuefeng muttered and reached out to her second arm when she cried out to stop him.
"Wait, I know something! They all had a snake tattoo on their forefinger. I noticed it as they gave me the pill. It happened when I was in Earth Land Capital. They took me outside the Capital while blindfolded, but I could feel we were going underground, so it has to be an underground base," the boyish lady recounted. "That's all I know. Just kill me, safe me tortures."
"I cannot do that," Xuefeng replied honestly.
"W-what…? But I told everything I know! What else do you want to know?!" The boyish lady cried out.
Xuefeng looked at her, void of any pity or emotions.
"Someone really close to me wants you gone completely," Xuefeng replied coldly and reached out, grabbing the lady's forehead.
"Aaaaaaaaaa—"
Her scream ended as soon as it started with her body slowly vanishing till there was nothing left aside from the boyish lady's clothes and Storage Rings.
'Baby, I'm scared…' Ling muttered softly. 'My ability—'
'Don't worry, we are not going to use it often. Only against those who deserve the worst,' Xuefeng assured as he picked up the boyish lady's belongings.
'It is still scary. I can make Fate Holders disappear within seconds…' Ling continued till Xuefeng closed his eyes and suddenly appeared inside Ling's space, hugging the worried beauty into his arms.
"Everything will be alright. You are the owner of your ability. As long as you control yourself, nothing bad will happen. I'm with you," Xuefeng muttered while looking into Ling's eyes and kissed her gently, giving her the warmth she needed.
Her Fate Ability was something even her father, the King of Heavens, feared the most, wanting to get rid of her the moment her ability got discovered. How could he leave a monster like her, the only person that could possibly challenge him?
Xuefeng found that reason one of the main theories why the Fate Kingdom, home to all Fate Spirits, was closed. This way, Ming can never bring Ling back.
"You know you are the best husband ever?" Ling asked, finally smiling at him.
"You are my wifey. Of course, I will do my best for you," Xuefeng expressed, leaning over to kiss her again when he froze, hearing footsteps in the real world.
"Go, I'm fine already," Ling called out, pushing him away but he fought back, pulling her closer for one last deep kiss. Nothing could stop him when their lips were meant to taste each other's love.
His mind returned back to his body and he found himself surrounded by various Arena Members, together with the Main Judge, staring sternly at Xuefeng.
"We sensed the signs of battle. Where is she?"