After speaking, $2i Feng paid her no further attention.
He tied up Piaomiao Hong with a rope and dragged her away in frustration.
The woman behind him remained in a daze.
What exactly was this man's goal?
And how had he spent a full day and night in the Forest of Terror without a single incident, emerging completely unscathed?
The shock in her heart made her instinctively glance back at the Forest of Terror.
At first glance, nothing seemed amiss, but upon closer inspection, her astonishment only grew.
The eerie, bone-chilling aura that the Forest of Terror once exuded was gone. The oppressive darkness that loomed from the outside was nowhere to be seen.
Even the overwhelming sense of threat she used to feel just by looking at the forest had vanished.
In its place was an atmosphere of tranquility and peace.
"H-How is this possible?"
Her lips parted slightly before she shook her head firmly, dismissing the thought.
Because a terrifying hypothesis had just crossed her mindâone she couldnât bring herself to believeâthat Yi Feng had entered the Forest of Terror and eradicated all its threats in one go.
She raised her head and looked at Yi Feng again.
The manâs silhouette was hazy, impossible to decipher or comprehend...
After a long silence, $2he finally voiced the question burning in her heart.
"May I ask why youâve captured me?"
She spoke to Yi Feng, who was walking ahead.
Yi Feng paused mid-step and turned to look at her.
"Before I answer that, could you answer a question for me?"
He paused briefly before continuing, "Could you tell me when the Hong Sect behind you plans to come rescue you?"
"Hong Sect?"
The woman frowned. "Rescue me?"
"Never mind, Iâll be straight with you." Yi Feng decided there was no harm in being upfront. "I captured you solely to provoke the Hong Sectâs hatred. Iâm waiting for them to come save you!"
"Wait⊠so youâre waiting for the Hong Sect to rescue me, just so you can wipe them all out?"
Piaomiao Hongâs expression turned incredulous.
Given Yi Fengâs strength, if he wanted to deal with the Hong Sect, why go through such convoluted methods?
Couldnât he just storm their stronghold and crush them with a single slap?
"Not to wipe them outâIâm waiting for them to kill me."
Yi Feng said earnestly.
Hearing this, $2iaomiao Hongâs mouth formed a silent "Oh," her face blank with shock.
Her expression grew even more bewildered.
"So youâre saying⊠you captured me just to draw the Hong Sectâs hatred, so theyâll come and kill you?"
Piaomiao Hong asked in disbelief.
"Yes, youâre quite sharp."
Yi Feng nodded approvingly.
Piaomiao Hong was utterly speechless.
Yi Feng, a super expert of unfathomable strength, had captured herâsomeone whose power far surpassed that of the Hong Gateâjust to wait for a mere sect to come kill him?
Was he out of his mind?
And why did he even want the Hong Gate to kill him in the first place?
As if sensing her skepticism, Yi Feng sighed and explained, "You might not believe me, but my goal is to die."
After a pause, he added, "Fine, Iâll lay it all out. Iâve tried countless methods to end my life, but none worked. Thatâs why I intercepted your convoy."
"At first glance, your convoy looked impressive, so I assumed your forces were strong enough to slaughter me as a mere bandit. But your people..."
Here, Yi Feng paused, his expression stern.
"I have to criticize youâwhere did you find those guards? They were utterly pathetic. I finally managed to provoke one into slashing me with his sword, but he didnât even leave a scratch. His strength was worse than my neighborâs elderly grandfather."
"Since your guards couldnât kill me, I had no choice but to kidnap you." Yi Feng continued, "This way, your Hong Sect will come to your rescue and gang up on me, finally putting an end to my misery."
"Unfortunately, despite their grand reputation, the Hong Sect is painfully slow. Itâs been ages, and not a single one of them has shown up."
Piaomiao Hong listened to Yi Fengâs entire explanation with a mix of exasperation and bewilderment.
But judging by the absolute seriousness on his face, she realized there was a ninety percent chance he was telling the truth.
So his reason for capturing her really was just to lure the Hong Sect into killing him.
The absurd part?
Her guard, Luo Chen, couldnât even scratch him. What made him think the Hong Sect stood a chance?
"Here, take a look at this."
After a moment, Piaomiao Hong pulled out a jade slip.
Yi Feng recognized itâhe had bought one before. These slips updated in real time with the latest happenings across the Nine Realms.
Piaomiao Hong had likely acquired it to gather intel, perhaps about the Saints.
But right now, the slip recorded the following event:
"The Hong Sect first announced a half-month retreat.
After the half-month passed, they promptly disbanded.
Countless Hong Sect disciples returning from training missions found their sect⊠gone."
Reading this, Yi Fengâs face twitched.
"What the hell?"
"Such a massive sect, disbanded just like that!"
"Can they really be this reckless?"
Yi Feng grumbled under his breath.
If this was the case, hadnât he just wasted an entire month for nothing?
Piaomiao Hong, however, wore a complicated expression.
She could more or less guess the reason behind the Hong Sectâs dissolution.
If even someone like her could be kidnapped, how could the Hong Sect possibly stand a chance against such a force?
So, she couldnât help but think to herselfâwasnât this all your doing?
At the same time, she drew a conclusion about Yi Feng.
This unbelievably powerful young man seemed to have no grasp of his own strengthânor anyone elseâs, for that matter.
Otherwise, why would he do something as absurd as kidnapping her just to provoke the Hong Sectâs wrath?