Qian Renxue ignored Tang San's shock; her gaze had been fixed on Ning Lin ever since she landed.
When she saw his pale face, the bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, and his figure bound by chains, her heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.
A surge of rage, accompanied by boundless heartache, ignited in her chest.
She slowly raised the Angelic Holy Sword in her hand, the tip of the sword pointing directly at Tang San.
"Tang San".
Her voice was clear and majestic, each word as if forged from divine gold.
"If you dare to touch a single hair on his head, I will annihilate your soul and spirit."
Tang San's face darkened.
He sensed the resolve in Qian Renxue's words.
"Qian Renxue, what do you mean by this?"
"This man is a spy planted in the Heaven Dou Empire by your Spirit Hall, plotting treacherous schemes. What's wrong with me eliminating this threat for the empire?"
"spy?"
Qian Renxue laughed, a laugh filled with endless mockery.
"When did it become your place to deal with my people?"
"Your people?" Tang San frowned.
At this moment, Ning Lin, who had been silent all along, finally opened his eyes.
When he saw that familiar yet unfamiliar golden figure, he was completely stunned.
He gazed at her exquisite face, at the six wings behind her, and at the familiar divine aura emanating from her.
The previous despondency and despair were swept away.
Instead, there is a pure, heartfelt joy.
He didn't see God, he only saw the blonde little girl who used to cry in the garden when she was a child.
"Xue'er!"
Ning Lin's voice trembled slightly, tinged with excitement.
"You...you've finally emerged from seclusion!"
"After more than ten years, you've finally come out of seclusion to see me!"
These words, like a thunderclap, resounded simultaneously in the ears of Qian Renxue and Tang San.
Qian Renxue's body trembled violently.
Ning Lin's ecstatic gaze was like the sharpest knife, piercing through all her pretense and defenses, reaching the softest part of her heart.
He...he knows nothing.
He didn't know that Xue Qinghe was her.
He thought that she had really been in seclusion somewhere in the Spirit Hall for more than ten years.
He thought that the "brother" he was fighting to protect was just a "brother".
And he had been waiting for her to emerge from seclusion.
Endless guilt, like a tidal wave, engulfed the towering snow.
She looked at Ning Lin, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn't utter a single word.
His eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"Ning Lin…I…"
Meanwhile, Tang San was completely bewildered.
Clearing customs?
Seclusion?
What's the meaning?
What did Ning Lin mean by that?
According to the intelligence he obtained, Qian Renxue had been disguised as Xue Qinghe and infiltrated the Tiandou Empire for more than ten years, never leaving.
Where does this talk of seclusion come from?
Moreover, judging from Ning Lin's tone, he and Qian Renxue seemed to have known each other for a long time and had a close relationship.
Isn't Ning Lin one of Bibi Dong's people?
He and Qian Renxue...
In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Tang San's mind, but he couldn't make sense of any of them.
He felt that he had overlooked some crucial information.
Things seemed to be completely different from what he had imagined.
Inside the main hall, there was deathly silence.
Ning Lin's joyful "Xue'er" was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up huge waves and shaking the hearts of everyone present.
Especially Tang San and Qian Renxue.
One is filled with doubts, feeling that there are incomprehensible deviations in the script they are in control of.
The other is that one's defenses have been completely breached, and beneath the divine radiance lies an endless surge of guilt and sorrow.
Her hand, holding the angel's holy sword, trembled slightly.
He didn't know.
He really doesn't know anything.
The "brother" he fought so hard for, and the childhood sweetheart he had longed for and waited for for more than ten years, turned out to be the same person.
How absurd that must have been for him.
But in his eyes, there was not a trace of anger at being deceived, only the purest joy of reunion.
This joy, like a red-hot branding iron, burned into Qian Renxue's heart.
Tang San's eyes darted back and forth between the two, his mind racing as he tried to piece together the fragmented information.
Xue'er?
Seclusion?
Are Ning Lin and Qian Renxue old acquaintances?
However, intelligence indicates that Ning Lin is a trusted confidant whom Bibi Dong has promoted in recent years, and should have no connection with Qian Renxue.
There must be something fishy going on here.
Tang San's gaze hardened again; he could not allow this sudden turn of events to disturb his composure.
"acting?"
Tang San's voice broke the silence, carrying a hint of scrutiny.
"Ning Lin, at this point, who are you still putting on an act for?"
Upon hearing this, Ning Lin snapped out of his excitement at the reunion, frowned slightly, and looked at Tang San.
"Tang San, what do you mean by that?"
"What's the meaning?"
Tang San let out a soft laugh, and the tip of the Sea God Trident lightly touched the ground, making a crisp sound.
"You keep saying she's been in seclusion for over ten years. Are you pretending to be stupid, or are you really stupid?"
His gaze shifted to Qian Renxue, carrying an undisguised mockery.
"Qian Renxue, or... should I address you as His Highness the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe?"
These words caused an uproar throughout the hall!
The avalanche, which had collapsed to the ground, suddenly raised its head, its eyes wide open like copper bells.
Prince Xuexing shuddered and almost fainted.
The rest of the Shrek Seven Devils following behind Tang San exchanged bewildered glances, their faces filled with shock.
"Third Brother, what did you say?"
Ma Hongjun couldn't help but ask, "That Xue Qinghe... was it Qian Renxue in disguise?"
"That's right." Tang San nodded. "She has been infiltrating the Heaven Dou Empire for more than ten years in order to steal the country."
The shock of this earth-shattering secret being revealed in public was no less impactful than the arrival of the two demigods just now.
Ning Lin, at the center of this storm, was completely stunned.
The joy on his face froze little by little, and then shattered.
His gaze mechanically shifted from Tang San's face to Qian Renxue's face.
Xue Qinghe...
Is it her?
That "brother" with whom he had supported each other and discussed national affairs for years in Tiandou City...
The prince who, when he was besieged by two titled Douluo, screamed "Leave them alive!"...
Is it her?
Is it the one in front of me, with golden armor and six wings, as holy as a goddess, Xue'er?
Countless fragments of the past flashed through Ning Lin's mind.
Xue Qinghe occasionally revealed a sensitivity and gentleness that was not typical of men.
He had complete trust and reliance on himself.
And that profound bond that transcends the relationship between ruler and subject, and between brothers.
I see.
So that's how it is...
He always thought he was protecting two people.
One is her childhood sweetheart, who is currently in seclusion at the Spirit Hall and whom she doesn't know when she will be able to meet again.
One was a close confidant, a brother he could entrust his life to.
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(End of chapter)