Although it was very dangerous to head to Holy City like this, Zhou Wen and company ultimately chose to head there.
Zhou Wen didn’t know why Hui Haifeng and company had chosen to go, but although Zhou Wen hadn’t spent much time with Wang Mingyuan, he had provided him plenty of help. He had even saved his life.
This meeting might very well be his last meeting with Wang Mingyuan, so Zhou Wen insisted on going
Wang Fei and Qin Wufu had persuaded them not to go, but no one was willing to give up the last chance to see Wang Mingyuan and resolutely boarded the plane that the League had sent to pick them up.
Qin Wufu wanted to attach his personal guards to Zhou Wen, but Zhou Wen rejected his offer. This was because bringing two top Epic experts was useless in the Special Inspector Bureau’s territory.
The Special Inspector Bureau inspectors were very polite to them. They didn’t look as arrogant as they usually did. They tried their best to satisfy their needs along the way. After arriving in Holy City, they politely got them to stay in a guest house under the jurisdiction of the bureau.
Originally, they thought that the bureau would fall out with them the moment they arrived, but none of that happened. The bureau continued to feed them delicious food, as though they were afraid of ill-treating them.
“When can we meet Teacher?” Zhong Ziya asked an inspector impatiently.
“That will depend on the arrangements of the top brass. I’m just an ordinary inspector. I only listen to orders from above,” the officer said with a smile.
Originally believing that they could quickly see Wang Mingyuan, it took them until the third day before an inspector actually got them to prepare to meet Wang Mingyuan.
After passing through multiple layers of security, Zhou Wen and company entered a secret base located in Holy City. They met Wang Mingyuan in a heavily guarded room.
Wang Mingyuan’s condition didn’t seem too bad. He hadn’t been subjected to inhuman treatment as they had imagined. He didn’t look injured, and he still wore a warm smile on his face.
However, Zhou Wen felt that Wang Mingyuan was still somewhat different. Yet, there was a sense of familiarity which he couldn’t put a finger on. The feeling was very subtle.
“You guys came.” Wang Mingyuan smiled at the four of them.
“Teacher, are you alright?” Zhong Ziya asked worriedly.
Wang Mingyuan shook his head slightly and asked with a smile, “Do you still remember the question I asked you previously?”
The four of them were slightly taken aback as Zhou Wen immediately recalled the question Wang Mingyuan had asked him about pain and death. He asked curiously, “Is it the choice between death and pain?”
Wang Mingyuan nodded and said, “Yes. I’ve asked all of you before, and all of you gave your answers. Later on, all of you asked me how I would choose. At the time, I hadn’t decided, but I now have an answer.”
The four of them looked at Wang Mingyuan in confusion. They didn’t know why he would still care about that question at this juncture.
However, they all understood Wang Mingyuan’s character. They knew that he wasn’t someone who would do things without a reason. Now that he raised that question, perhaps there was some deeper meaning behind it.
Zhou Wen was also pondering over the matter, wondering if Wang Mingyuan was hinting to them about something.
However, Zhou Wen recalled every word Wang Mingyuan said and compared it to every word he was now saying. He couldn’t think of any other underlying meanings.
In another room separated by a wall, the Director-General of the bureau, Shen Yuchi, Qiao Siyuan, and the other important personnel of the bureau were all watching the conversation between Wang Mingyuan and company through a one-way mirror.
“Director-General. Wang Mingyuan is part of Luoyang’s Wang family. He has so much family, including his blood-related brothers. Yet, he didn’t choose to meet them and instead chose to meet his four students. Why do I feel that something’s amiss?” Qiao Siyuan said.
“This is our bureau’s headquarters. Are you afraid that he can escape? Who cares who he wants to see? Once he’s done with the meeting, Wang Mingyuan will be able to help us do what we want,” said a director of the bureau.
Qiao Siyuan frowned slightly. What he hated the most were these people who spent their days in offices without doing anything, just causing trouble for them all day.
“Listen to them. When we send them away later, separate them and ask them what Wang Mingyuan’s question was,” Shen Yuchi said.
“Yes sir,” Qiao Siyuan replied.
In the room next door, Wang Mingyuan’s gaze swept across Zhou Wen and company’s faces before he said with a smile, “My answer is that, like Jiang Yan, I’ll choose the second option.”
With that said, Wang Mingyuan stood up without waiting for them to react. He faced the mirror and said, “Alright. I’ve said what I wanted to say. Now, you can do what you want to do. However, I have a condition. I need the four of them to follow me.”
Zhou Wen and company wore looks of astonishment. Clearly, Wang Mingyuan’s words weren’t directed at them. They didn’t know what was happening, nor did they know what Wang Mingyuan was up to.
“Sir, Wang Mingyuan can’t be trusted in the police station. He must have some plans for taking Zhou Wen and company with him. We can’t agree,” Qiao Siyuan said.
“It’s just four students. Even if we let him take them, what trouble will there be?” The director was always at loggerheads with Qiao Siyuan.
Shen Yuchi frowned slightly and pondered for a moment before saying into the microphone, “Wang Mingyuan, you have too many requests.”
“As the only person who can open the Holy Tower, I don’t think I have a lot of requests, right?” Wang Mingyuan smiled as if he was certain that Shen Yuchi would agree to his request.
Shen Yuchi’s gaze passed through the glass and met Wang Mingyuan’s eyes. After a while, he said coldly, “This is your last request. If I hear any requests from you again, I’ll kill one of your students with every new request.” “Deal.” Wang Mingyuan nodded slightly. Zhou Wen frowned slightly, unsure what Wang Mingyuan meant. However, Jiang Yan muttered to himself, “Didn’t the Holy Tower shut down long ago? Can Tutor open the closed Holy Tower?”
Zhou Wen heard Jiang Yan and was about to ask something when an inspector came over and led Wang Mingyuan, Zhou Wen, and company out.
Very soon, they were escorted to a car. There seemed to be a special design in the car that prevented them from hearing or sensing anything outside. They didn’t even know whether the car was driving or not.
“Teacher, what’s going on?” Although there were still inspectors monitoring them, Zhong Ziya couldn’t help but ask Wang Mingyuan.
“I’ve already told you the answer. Now, I just want you to accompany me along my final journey,” Wang Mingyuan said calmly, his gaze complicated.
Jiang Yan said, “From what I know, the Holy Tower is likely the defensive hub of the entire Holy City, and it’s also the hub of Holy City and Holy Land. Originally, the six hero families could use the connection between the Holy Tower and the six Holy Temples in the Holy Land to form a defensive net with the strength of the six Holy Temples. The strength of the defensive net was so strong that it could even stop a Mythical creature’s attack. However, Jing Daoxian used some unknown method to shut down the Holy Tower, causing the defensive net in the Holy City to vanish as well. As a result, Jing Daoxian was able to storm the League building and launch a killing spree. Although the League has been researching this matter all this while, no one has been able to reactivate the Holy Tower to this day.”