"Where did you get that net? Did the lord give it to you? If you work for the lord, why did you interrupt our mission?"
He didn't know who was the one that had captured him, but he assumed it was either Qing Ao who was their target or the person he was talking to who was clearly the leader of the other group.
But that didn't make sense.
The net that had been used on him, he clearly recognized the aura of the lord that had been on it, so he knew that this was something that the lord had given them.
But if the lord was willing to give them something, then that would mean that they were also working for the lord. So why would the lord send them to kidnap Qing Ao's daughter and attack him?
None of this made sense.
That confusion drove him to blurt out these questions in the end.
Lin Fan and Qing Ao were both surprised to hear this voice, but then they saw that it was the Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper who asked this.
Both of them knitted their brows when they looked at him.
Qing Ao had knitted his brows because he was thinking about how to take care of this person, but Lin Fan had knitted his brows because of what he had said.
He had asked about the net and said that it was something that the "lord" had given them.
The last time he had heard someone being called "lord" was back in the Ancient Era Ruins. It was that cloaked figure who had been forced out by the owners of the Ancient Era Ruins in the end…
If he recognized this net, then it was most likely that the person that they were working for were…
Qing Ao was about to say something, but then Lin Fan came forward to raise the net and asked, "Why do you think that the lord gave me this?"
The Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper couldn't help revealing a stunned look when he heard Lin Fan's response, but then his mind quickly started to turn.
He could tell that there was no fear or hesitation in Lin Fan's words, so did that mean that it was his fault?
But he was just following his orders…
Then could it be that he had been set up by someone?
There were countless thoughts that filled the mind of the Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper, but he wasn't able to come up with a single idea that he could believe in.
All he could do was stare at Lin Fan with a confused look as his mind kept turning.
Finally, Lin Fan helped him by saying, "Tell me what your orders were and who were the people that gave them to you. There might be a spy among our ranks."
The Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper hesitated for a bit before he started giving Lin Fan the information that he wanted.
As it turned out, this whole plan was to take care of all uncontrollable variables before they put their plan into action, so that was why they were targeting Qing Ao. However, the kidnapper also expressed his doubt since if Lin Fan was close to Qing Ao, that would mean that Qing Ao had connections to the lord and there was no need for them to do all of this.
After getting all the information that he needed and making sure that it was everything that the Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper knew, Lin Fan revealed a smile and told him the truth.
"I didn't get this net from your lord, I got it from someone who tried to kill me on behalf of your lord."
The Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper's eyes suddenly opened wide as he realized his mistake and he was about to struggle, but before he could move, Lin Fan's other hand behind his back came out. It had a bone white dagger in it and it created a line across the Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper's neck.
The Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper's eyes opened up even wider as he realized what had just happened, but there was nothing that he could do about it.
It started out slowly, but there was a line of blood that suddenly appeared across the Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper's neck. It continued to grow in size until blood gushed out and the Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper choked on his own blood.
Finally, the blood slowed down before finally clotting and stopping to drip.
But that wasn't because the wound had closed, rather it was because there was no more blood to come out of his body.
With his eyes wide open, the corpse of the Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper fell straight forward and landed on the ground, creating a splash of blood.
Lin Fan had created a barrier of life energy in front of him when he had slit the Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper's throat, so none of the blood had splashed on him.
In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that the Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper's cultivation had been sealed, Lin Fan wouldn't have been able to break through the defenses of this Nascent Soul Realm kidnapper that easily.
Still, since he had taken care of this one, he couldn't leave the rest alive.
Lin Fan turned to the other two who were still asleep and he put them out of their misery.
Qing Ao looked at Lin Fan with a slightly surprised look, but there was also admiration for his decisiveness in those eyes.
Lin Fan turned back and said, "How many other allies do you have? Or rather, how many other True Soul Realm beasts do you know?"
Qing Ao was surprised, but then he said, "Well, we True Soul Realm beasts have all made deals with humans, so they normally don't attack us. To make sure that we're safe, we do have a sort of coalition. In total, there's around eight of us right now."
Lin Fan asked, "Can you contact them?"
Qing Ao thought about it before saying, "Even if I do contact them, it's very unlikely that they will believe me."
Lin Fan shook his head and said, "That doesn't matter. All that matters is that they know about what's happening so they won't be completely caught off guard. Once they get attacked, they'll know what the truth is and they will have no choice but to cooperate with us."
Qing Ao had a look that seemed like he didn't really think the same, but he still gave a nod in the end.
Lin Fan then said, "This is bigger than you think, it's not just a plot against beasts, but rather a plot against everyone on this Galactic Humanity Alliance."
Qing Ao revealed a confused look, but he chose not to ask anything since he knew that this wasn't the time.
Lin Fan didn't say anything else after that and then prepared to leave, but there was still something else that had to be taken care of before they left.
Qing Bao Lan just wouldn't let go of Xiao Feng when they were about to leave.
Xiao Feng tried to convince her to let go, but she wouldn't let go no matter what.
In the end, Qing Ao said with a difficult look, "Perhaps it's better if she goes with you."
All the adults revealed surprised looks while Qing Bao Lan looked at her dad with sparkling eyes. They knew how much Qing Ao pampered Qing Bao Lan, so it was very surprising to see that he was willing to let her go. Especially with how dangerous it was for her right now.
Qing Ao could see what they were thinking, so he explained, "It's safer for her to go with you since it's clear that they're targeting me. If they could kidnap her from my palace the first time, they'll definitely be able to do it again. So instead, it is better to send her to a place that they don't know about, namely your store."
Lin Fan thought about this and thought that it did make sense, but there was also a problem with this plan.
Since Qing Bao Lan wasn't one of his pets, she would have to stay out in the open.
Since the other side knew about her, they would clearly know about her appearance and her aura. If she were to stay outside all the time, it would be very easy to track her down to Lin Fan's store.
This wasn't a risk that Lin Fan was willing to take, both on his part and on Qing Ao's part.
But Qing Ao had the solution for this.
"You humans have something that's like a temporary contract, you can just form one with her." Qing Ao said in a surprisingly casual manner.
Lin Fan had indeed thought about this before, but he hadn't used this contract to help bring Qing Bao Lan back because he knew that forming this contract would be pushing the line with his relationship with Qing Ao. But now, Qing Ao himself was suggesting that he form this contract with Qing Bao Lan.
Qing Bao Lan didn't really get what was happening, but she knew that this would mean that she could go out with Xiao Feng, so she was very excited about this.
She came over to Lin Fan and asked, "How do we form this contract?"
Lin Fan looked at both Qing Ao and Qing Bao Lan's expectant looks and he couldn't help feeling overwhelmed.
But he knew that they were right, so he formed the temporary contract with Qing Bao Lan in the end.