Quickly, a team sent to capture the Big Boss of Seven Paths Bay swiftly flew out from the city gates.
As soon as this team left, the entire Eternal Dawn City wavered like a mirage, fading away mysteriously, as if the vast city had suddenly vanished into thin air.
People rushing towards the gate outside stopped one by one, dumbfounded.
The city was gone.
Heaven and earth were vast and empty, with only distant mountains and desolate fields.
If not for seeing others also heading this way, they might have thought they had taken the wrong path.
Many didn't understand what was happening, but some knew there was only one situation where this would occur—when the gates of Eternal Dawn City were closing, sealing the city completely.
It was a rare event, unobserved by many, with most only having heard about it.
The guards atop the city walls looked out, seeing no change in the scenery, everything still as it was...
Inside the guest room, the seemingly composed Ba Yingshan visited again.
Upon seeing Qi Yueru, he hurriedly urged in a low voice, "Leave quickly, you can't stay here any longer. Hurry and leave."
Qi Yueru sensed something off in his reaction and had to ask, "What's wrong?"
Without asking it would've been fine, but upon asking, Ba Yingshan couldn't help bursting out in anger, gritting his teeth, "I trusted your nonsense and went after those two local bullies, and now the Prison Overseer is suspicious. The Prison Overseer has taken over the prison and is personally involved in the interrogation."
Qi Yueru couldn't believe it, "Catching just two people would alert the Prison Overseer? This is your territory, how could you mess this up?"
"Who would've thought Lan Qiaoyan would stick her nose into this..."
Ba Yingshan then quickly recounted the general situation of what happened.
Qi Yueru was speechless after hearing, never expecting such an unexpected situation—Lan Qiaoyan would mistakenly think it was an attack directed at her.
How could this be reasoned with?
If Lan Qiaoyan was saving her future son-in-law, neither Ba Yingshan nor she believed she would be interested in such a nobody.
From one woman's perspective to another, she couldn't see it happening.
So, truly, it was just a misunderstanding.
They couldn't dwell on whether it was a misunderstanding, as things had come to this point.
With Du Huoguan personally involved, even though Ba Yingshan said the clues had been cut off, she didn't dare linger.
If those two local bullies were thoroughly investigated, some things would easily come to light.
Following Ba Yingshan's advice, she swiftly packed and prepared to leave.
Earlier, she had been hoping to take her son's and brother's bodies for burial.
However, the rules here mandating that those who die in exile lands remain here, returned to dust, were hard to circumvent.
Yet now, she couldn't care about that, fearing that if she delayed, she wouldn't get the chance to escape.
Traveling together was inconvenient, so Ba Yingshan left the guest room first and walked a few steps out, suddenly stopping and looking up into the sky with a changed expression.
Qi Yueru, peeking out from inside, saw he hadn't left and was standing there without reacting.
She immediately went out, glanced around, and was about to inquire when Ba Yingshan already spoke, "You probably can't leave for now."
Qi Yueru, a bit nervous, asked, "What do you mean?"
Her answer came immediately.
Ba Chengzhu’s trusted subordinate hurriedly approached, reporting in a low voice, "Lord Ba, the Prison Overseer has ordered the city to be sealed, cutting off all paths leading outside."
Ba Yingshan, with a somber face, acknowledged with a grunt, dismissing the subordinate.
He looked back at Qi Yueru’s pale face, lightly taunting, "Satisfied now?"
It was an obvious jab at her for not listening earlier and insisting on making trouble.
At this point, Ba Yingshan couldn't say much more or vent his frustration.
He gestured for her to return inside and wait, then quickly left.
Once he understood the situation in the city, he directly sought out Du Huoguan.
Du Huoguan was still indulged in the star chart within the pit, leisurely playing his game.
Ba Yingshan respectfully greeted him, asking, "Prison Overseer, why is the city sealed?"
Du Huoguan glanced at him, explaining clearly, "Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang were falsely accused. We're catching the orchestrator, some Big Boss from Seven Paths Bay."
"Falsely accused? Such a thing!" Ba Yingshan feigned outrage, immediately offering, "Allow me to personally lead the capture!"
Du Huoguan playfully waved a gem, focused on the star chart, "There might be a mole, you should avoid suspicion."
It was straightforward and blunt, revealing the power of authority, leaving Ba Yingshan speechless.
He could only reluctantly acknowledge and obediently cooperate, then quietly withdrew.
By dusk, someone delivered the items Du Huoguan requested: Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang's confessions and some detailed information related to them.
After reviewing it, Du Huoguan pondered for a while, then ascended to the top floor.
Changes had occurred on the top floor.
A new brocade couch had appeared, and on it lay Warden Nie, resting his head comfortably, half asleep.
The opened black umbrella lay discarded on the ground.
Paintbrushes and supplies on the desk were scattered.
Du Huoguan approached the couch, intent on speaking to the seemingly sleeping Warden Nie, relaying Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang’s situation, including their life records collected on them.
With a clear objective, acquiring such non-secretive information wasn't hard for him.
Shi Chun's operations in the Eastern Nine Plains were well-known, and many had long since gathered intelligence on him.
The earlier part of their history, Du Huoguan discussed in general terms, aiming for brevity, as his focus was on later events—Shi Chun's conflicts with Qi Yueru's son, Shen Youkun, and the sudden influx of resources a month ago, intending to deduce some correlations.
Unexpectedly, just as he mentioned how, years ago, Shi Chun had gradually sent dozens of his people from the Eastern Nine Plains away, highlighting his capabilities, Warden Nie's eyes suddenly opened.
Du Huoguan paused, as Warden Nie reached for the papers from him, clearly wanting to see for himself.
It was rare, for this prominent figure seldom showed interest in anything at all.
Du Huoguan stood startled until Warden Nie gestured for the papers, prompting him to offer them up promptly.
With the stack of papers in hand, Warden Nie shifted slightly, finding a more comfortable position for reading.
He carefully read the page Du Huoguan had opened, seemingly studying it intently.
This scene astonished Du Huoguan, observing from the side.
Having finished the current page, Warden Nie turned through the documents page by page, reading all the contents, even the testimonies of Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, before returning to the front page.
Half dozing, he stared at it a while longer, suddenly musing aloud, "So, over these years, he had at least dozens of chances to leave the Exile Lands, yet he offered them all to others."
Rarely did he speak, yet here he was, remarking on a seemingly insignificant little character.
Du Huoguan was quite intrigued by where his focus lay.
Nevertheless, he nodded, confirming, "Indeed. Based on the gathered information, it wasn’t exactly a secret. After taking charge in the Eastern Nine Plains, this Shi Chun openly proclaimed his gratitude, having grown up on the generosity of many there, he promised he wouldn't leave until everyone else could, saying he would be the last to go."
Warden Nie’s gaze remained on the paper, "Meaning, he truly practiced what he preached."
Normally reticent, here he was, speaking because of one humble soul.