Do you want them to die right now?

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New Capital District.
The Ning Family Estate.
A secluded courtyard.
"Qingyun, you're entering the mystic realm tomorrow. Is there anything else you need me to pack? I'll get it organized for you." Ying Cai'e looked to be in good spirits, dressed in a purple qipao that accentuated her slender and graceful figure.
"Entering the mystic realm requires one's own spiritual energy to establish a connection. You can restrict my freedom now, but if I refuse to initiate that connection, what can you do?" Ning Qingyun looked at the woman before him with a cold gaze. Except for the faint fine lines at the corners of her eyes, she looked exactly as he remembered.
"Have you forgotten the Ning family's underground intelligence network, the Crimson List? Haven't you ever wondered how the clan knew about your every move in Chongzhou?" Ying Cai'e's expression sank, a trace of mockery appearing in her beautiful eyes, as if ridiculing his naivety.
Ning Qingyun seemed to think of something, and his expression turned ugly.
"Among those by your wife and children's side, there are people from the Crimson List. Safely escorting them to the capital might be somewhat difficult, but contacting the Chongzhou branch of the Crimson List to have them killed is very easy. Would you like to try?" A playful smile appeared on Ying Cai'e's face. If he could truly remain indifferent to the life and death of that mother and her two children in Chongzhou, she might actually hold him in slightly higher regard.
"What benefits did they give you to make you as stupid as you used to be? I remember, a long time ago, you wouldn't dare provoke me like this." Ning Qingyun's eyes were full of frost, sharp as knives and swords.
Seeing Ning Qingyun's icy expression, Ying Cai'e seemed to associate it with something from the past. Drained of all color, she involuntarily took a few steps back.
"Mom, are you alright!" A woman who pushed the door open stepped forward to support her, asking with concern.
Ying Cai'e stroked her daughter's beautiful face, and thinking of the promise made by her eldest brother, her courage returned.
"It's not that I want to provoke you. If you don't do as the clan wishes, what I just said will immediately become a reality. I'm merely reminding you." Ying Cai'e said with a cold sneer.
Rong Xianxian's calm and gentle demeanor flashed through Ning Qingyun's mind.
He slumped powerlessly back into his chair.
"This is a map drawn by the clan based on the footage sent back by the drones. This list contains the items the clan wants. As long as you bring back even a single item from this list, not only will you be heavily valued by the clan, but the clan will also escort your wife and children to the capital." Ying Cai'e placed the items she was holding onto the table.

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"The Azure Dragon Team is already prepared to set out. They were a notoriously famous mercenary squad even before the apocalypse. Once they reach Chongzhou and find your wife and children, as long as they are still alive, they will protect them all the way to the capital." Hearing Ying Cai'e's words, Ning Qingyun showed no joy on his face.
"Asking me to search for these items—is it because you're worried I won't die?" Ning Qingyun said mockingly as he flipped through the chart.
Unfortunately, they had miscalculated. If they hadn't used Xianxian and the children to threaten him, he might genuinely have taken risks to increase his strength.
Ning Qingyun and the others had long since come to flaunt their power, slipping a note inside to tell him that the mystic realm was a one-way trip with no return, and that this journey of his meant certain death.
If he truly could not return, and Xianxian and the others survived only to be lured, deceived, and taken hostage by the clan, what kind of treatment would they receive?
Those three, mother and children, would merely be discarded pawns and cannon fodder for the family.
Amidst the deep grief in his heart, the stubbornness and unwillingness deep within his bones gradually surfaced. You don't want me to live, so I simply won't survive?
I will live on well. Thinking of this, a chilling arc formed at the corner of Ning Qingyun's mouth.
"If any harm comes to my wife and children, I will make all of you pay with your lives—every single one of you." A flash of blood-red light seemed to cross Ning Qingyun's cold, clear eyes.
Far outskirts of the capital.
Entrance to the Misty Mystic Realm.
"Must he go in? Didn't you try to persuade him? That place is an absolute deathtrap now." Gong Hanyu had short hair and looked crisp and decisive, but at this moment, her brows were tightly furrowed.
"The enemy has seized his weakness; anyone's persuasion is useless." Yun Shan was wearing a light blue combat uniform, tall and handsome, but right now he completely lacked any composure, irritably running a hand through his hair.
"I knew those people from Chongzhou would definitely hold him back." A trace of annoyance laced Yun Shan's handsome brows and eyes.
"Are you really going to accompany him in? The Ning family must know the inside is fraught with danger, yet they didn't even assign him a single retainer." Gong Hanyu looked straight into Yun Shan's eyes.
"Wherever he is, I am." Yun Shan glanced at Ning Qingyun, who was surrounded by Ying Cai'e and Ning Qingning, wearing an expression of utter annoyance.

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"Why are you so good to him? I heard Ning Qingcheng confessed her feelings to you several times and you rejected her every time. She has a good background, is beautiful, and has always held herself in high regard; right now she's probably dying of anger because of you. You should know this is an olive branch extended by the Ning family—recruiting you as a favored son-in-law shows utmost sincerity, and it has far more prospects than following a discarded chess piece driven to a dead end." Gong Hanyu looked at Yun Shan with a scrutinizing gaze.
"Then why do you, knowing full well that he keeps avoiding you, still shamelessly stick around?" The single sentence successfully caused Miss Gong's face to darken.
"Who made us childhood sweethearts? Sooner or later, he's going to be mine." Gong Hanyu quickly adjusted her expression and smiled brightly.
"This is a spatial ring. Although the space inside isn't large, it's enough to hold some daily necessities and bring some food. Take it and keep it for him; if I gave it to him directly, he definitely wouldn't accept it." Gong Hanyu handed a ring to Yun Shan.
"You're giving it to him so obviously that he'll know it's yours without even guessing. What difference does that make from giving it to him yourself? Aren't you afraid he won't use it when the time comes?" Yun Shan was somewhat speechless.
"You spend every day by his side, and I don't have any other opportunities to see you! Whether he uses it or not in the end will depend on you." Gong Hanyu encouraged him.
"You must protect him well. Remember what you promised me." Watching Yun Shan put the items away, Gong Hanyu instructed once more.
Yun Shan smiled faintly, revealing a slightly cute canine tooth.
"You must also remember what you promised me. I imagine that matter shouldn't be too difficult for you to accomplish." He turned his head toward where Ning Qingyun stood and said it as if casually.
"Rest assured, I issued a confidential order long ago. Good news might arrive right away—after all, what you are asking for is precisely what I desire." Gong Hanyu smiled slightly.
"I have internal intelligence: the inside of the mystic realm is extremely dangerous. You must be extremely cautious in there. Remember, do not go near areas with excessively dense spiritual energy, do not attempt to harvest those precious spiritual herbs guarded by mutated beasts, and do not go searching for any immortal dwelling caves—there are traps upon traps inside, far beyond what our current level can handle," Gong Hanyu said at a very rapid pace.
"Understood, do I even need you to tell me that? Who would go looking for death when they can live?" Yun Shan and Gong Hanyu spoke with the tone of old acquaintances, clearly having known each other for a long time.