"Do you want another chance, for you to use your most skilled poison?"
Looking at Tang Hongyao, who was in shock, Shen Lang sheathed his sword and smiled.
"Shen Lang, you..."
Tang Hongyao retorted angrily, "My strength is no match for yours, there's nothing more to say. If you want to kill me, do as you please, but don't even think about me taking you to the Tang family stronghold."
Tang Hongyao couldn't understand. She was already a genius, invincible among her peers. Why was Shen Lang even more terrifying? His hidden weapons couldn't harm him, and even her proud martial arts cultivation was suppressed by Shen Lang.
Tang Hongyao stared intently at Shen Lang, utterly baffled by what kind of monstrous talent this fellow was. He was around the same age as her, yet his martial arts cultivation was at least half a realm higher than hers.
Tang Hongyao knew that with Shen Lang's skill in developing poisons like 'All Beings Equal', her own poison skills would be no match for his, so she wouldn't embarrass herself further and chose to give up.
In any case, they could take her life, but making her lead Shen Lang and Shi Wuxie into the Tang family stronghold was impossible.
"Alas, you may go."
Seeing Tang Hongyao's resolute defiance, Shen Lang waved his hand and said, "Take your subordinates and leave."
"What?"
Upon hearing Shen Lang's words, not only Tang Hongyao was stunned, but even Shi Wuxie, who was standing by, couldn't accept it.
When Tang Hongyao had charged in with her men, Shi Wuxie had stood aside, silently observing the unfolding events.
To be honest, Shi Wuxie hadn't expected that Shen Lang, despite his young age, was not only adept at using poison but also skilled in psychological warfare, and possessed powerful martial arts cultivation.
Shi Wuxie had assumed Shen Lang would subdue Tang Hongyao and force her to lead them to the Tang family stronghold.
After all, Tang Hongyao was from the Tang Sect, familiar with the stronghold, and knew where her sister was being held.
With Tang Hongyao as their guide, their rescue mission would be much easier and involve fewer complications.
However, Shi Wuxie never imagined that at such a crucial moment, Shen Lang would choose to let Tang Hongyao go. She was utterly perplexed.
"Shen Lang, we cannot let Tang Hongyao leave."
Shi Wuxie looked at Shen Lang and said calmly, "Tang Hongyao is one of the Eight Steeds of the Tang Sect, holding a very high position. With her as our guide, we can make a swift entry, find my sister immediately, and take her away. She is the best tool for our rescue."
"I know, but she's unwilling."
Shen Lang looked at Shi Wuxie and replied, "As you just saw, if I force her to lead, it would mean killing her."
Shen Lang sighed and continued, "She is so young, yet her martial arts cultivation has reached the Half-step Profound Realm. She must have practiced day and night. If I force her, she might just take her own life."
"To save one person, I don't want to cause the death of a martial artist with such a promising future."
Shen Lang knew that to cultivate to the Half-step Profound Realm at Tang Hongyao's age required not only talent but also extreme diligence, because he had been through it himself. He empathized and didn't want to ruin such a person.
Of course, Shen Lang could have used a series of cruel tactics to make Tang Hongyao yield, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to trample on Tang Hongyao's dignity.
Tang Hongyao was not a malicious person; otherwise, she would have attacked when she first entered, and not given Shen Lang a chance to release 'All Beings Equal'.
Shen Lang didn't want to go too far with someone like her.
"You..."
Shi Wuxie couldn't comprehend Shen Lang's thoughts at all. She said to him, "Do you know that if you let her go, our presence in Shu will no longer be a secret, and rescuing my sister will become even more difficult?"
"Haha, what you say implies that if we don't let her go, the Tang Sect wouldn't know our whereabouts."
Shen Lang looked at Shi Wuxie and laughed, "If the Tang Sect didn't know our whereabouts, how would Tang Hongyao have brought people here to attack us?"
"The Tang Sect is the overlord of Shu. From the moment we entered Shu, our whereabouts were bound to be exposed. Therefore, whether we kill her or not makes no difference."
Shen Lang said with composure, "Shi Wuxie, I guarantee you that even if we let her go, it will not affect our rescue mission tonight in the slightest. I will definitely be able to save your sister."
Fine, since Shen Lang had said so, what else could Shi Wuxie say? She could only choose to remain silent and let Shen Lang make the decisions.
"Shen Lang, I truly cannot understand what kind of person you are."
Tang Hongyao was also baffled by Shen Lang's decision. She looked at Shen Lang with disbelief.
If Tang Hongyao were in Shen Lang's position, she would never have let him live.
"Actually, I'm a good person."
Shen Lang looked at Tang Hongyao and smiled, "I never kill innocent people. You'll know this when you get to know me better."
"Go now, take your subordinates with you."
With that, Shen Lang produced the antidote and threw it to Tang Hongyao.
Tang Hongyao took the antidote and passed it to her subordinates to smell in turns. Soon, all eight subordinates regained their strength.
"Miss, are we just going to let this go?"
After being detoxified, the eight men in black asked Tang Hongyao tentatively.
"We are no match for him. Continuing to fight would only be self-humiliation. Let's go."
Tang Hongyao said calmly, then threw the small emerald vial back to Shen Lang, picked up the Tang saber from the ground, and left.
Seeing Tang Hongyao depart, the eight men in black quickly followed.
After Tang Hongyao and her group had left, Shen Lang's expression changed as he turned to Shi Wuxie and said, "It's time for us to act."
"Act?"
Hearing Shen Lang's words, Shi Wuxie was shocked and asked, "Didn't you say earlier that our targets would be too large during the day and our actions would be easily exposed? Why are we acting now?"
Shen Lang replied, "Earlier, I said our targets would be too large and easily exposed during the day because we were unfamiliar with the Tang family stronghold's layout, making it easy for us to stray and attract attention. But now that we have a guide, do we still need to worry?"
"A guide?"
Shi Wuxie's shock deepened upon hearing this. "You deliberately let Tang Hongyao go earlier?"
"Yes—"
Shen Lang laughed. "Tang Hongyao has suffered a loss. She will definitely return to the Tang family stronghold to report to Tang Jiutian, prompting Tang Jiutian to send stronger individuals to kill us. Therefore, the hotel is no longer safe."
"Instead of waiting for death, it's better to take the initiative. We'll follow Tang Hongyao to their doorstep, find your sister, and rescue her directly."
Speaking of which, Shen Lang suddenly thought of something. He looked at Shi Wuxie and said, "After rescuing her, you find a way to leave with your sister immediately. I will handle the pursuit from the Tang Sect. Do you understand?"
"Understood—"
Shi Wuxie nodded without hesitation.
After discussing their plan, Shen Lang and Shi Wuxie left the hotel and soon found Tang Hongyao and her subordinates in the parking lot.
As Tang Hongyao got into a car and drove away, Shen Lang rented a Lincoln from the hotel for 1,800 yuan a day and followed.