Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

"You, how could you possibly..." Di Xinjian stared at the person in front of him, his expression one of shock and disbelief.

Xiao Hongyun smiled faintly, bowed slightly in greeting, and was very elegant and polite: "It's just a little trick to turn the tables on someone else."

Di Xinjian's mind raced, and he instantly realized he had been tricked. His heart pounded, his pupils contracted, and he said urgently, "I understand. You transferred all the people monitoring inside and outside the mansion, deliberately letting me discover you. It was all for my benefit."

Xiao Hongyun smiled slightly: "That's right. You dragged Duanmu, Jiang Hongla, and Wang Dafu into this mess just so we could focus all our attention on them. Well then, I'll grant your wish and withdraw everyone. I'll then move my surveillance from the shadows to an even more secretive place, keeping an eye on your every move. Otherwise, how could someone as smart as you fall for this trap?"

"In short, thank you for leading the way tonight. Not only did you help us find the two escaped remnants of the rebels, but you also unexpectedly uncovered another group of thieves who were planning to cause trouble. Master Di has truly made a great contribution and deserves our praise. I will definitely write a proper entry for you when the case is closed."

Di Xinjian's face turned deathly pale, and he instantly lost the will to struggle. He knew it was over, everything was over, and there was no need to struggle anymore. Since they had already calculated this far and had been waiting here for a long time, how could they have come alone? There must be many subordinates hiding in the shadows around them.

As expected, government officials appeared at the alley entrance, the alley end, and on both sides of the wall. In order to capture him, Xiao Hongyun personally led the team, along with eight officials of the Food Fiend Realm. It was a sure thing to capture Di Xinjian, this Food Fiend Realm thief, without any suspense.

Moreover, Xiao Hongyun had already taken the initiative from the shadows and completely trapped Di Xinjian, with the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife pressed against his forehead. If he were to struggle to break free, it wouldn't be an escape, but rather forcing Xiao Hongyun to use the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife to pierce his skull.

Since things have come to this, let's all perish together!

Di Xinjian hardened his heart, forcibly circulated his magic power, and barely managed to form a hand seal under the 'Divine Prophecy Sand': "Life-Strangling Technique!"

Hundreds of hanging ropes appeared instantly in the alley, covering the entire alley. Nine officials, including Xiao Hongyun, were all strangled by the ropes. Once strangled, they would be imprisoned in place. Moreover, it wasn't just the neck that was being strangled, but their lives. It would forcefully sever their lifespan. Even the strongest cultivators at the Devouring Fiend Realm could not escape the hanging ropes and could only watch helplessly as their lives were strangled and they died suddenly.

In an instant, Di Xinjian seemed to have turned the tide, fighting against nine cultivators at the Devouring Fiend Realm single-handedly and gaining an absolute advantage. However, Di Xinjian was still trapped in the same spot, with the gleaming Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife still pressed against his forehead, ready to take his life at any moment.

"Uh uh uh……"

"Uh uh uh uh..."

"Ugh... Ugh... Ugh... Ugh..." Xiao Hongyun and the eight officials struggled desperately, but none of them could break free of the noose around their necks.

Di Xinjian shouted, "Either way, you're going to die. If you have the guts, kill me. If not, I'll kill you all. Don't even think about escaping my strangulation technique. It's a sure way to kill you. Once it's around your necks, you're dead!"

Di Xinjian was utterly reckless; he'd rather die than be captured alive. There was no other way; he would fight for anything that offered a chance to survive. Unfortunately, he had exhausted all possible methods, yet he still reached a dead end. Now that things had come to this, he should have come to his senses.

Hesitation and indecisiveness often lead to a situation where one is neither alive nor dead.

"Snap!" The hanging rope snapped Xiao Hongyun's neck.

Eight officials, their hands gripping the tightening noose around their necks, their legs dangling in the air, struggled desperately, crying out in terror, "Lord Xiao!!!"

Xiao Hongyun was instantly killed, but in the blink of an eye, his body turned into fine sand and scattered on the ground.

What was killed was only one of his sand clones; no one knows where his real body is.

"The Life-Strangling Technique, ranked forty-fourth among the evil-level techniques, is indeed among the top hundred. It lives up to its reputation and is truly powerful." Xiao Hongyun's figure slowly condensed and reappeared a foot away from Di Xinjian. He looked at Di Xinjian with a smile, showing no sign of being in a hurry: "Of course, Master Di, you can try to kill me again, but I still advise you to surrender and not continue to resist to the end."

Di Xinjian looked at Xiao Hongyun's smile, his face gradually darkening: "Don't try to persuade me to surrender. I won't say anything. Just kill me. Otherwise, your men can only hold out for another thirty breaths at most. If you don't kill me, then they deserve to die!"

Xiao Hongyun nodded slightly: "What's the rush? There's still time. Why are you in such a hurry to die? Give me a chance, and give yourself a chance too. As long as you surrender, confess everything you know, and help us eliminate all your accomplices in the Sword Tower."

“Then I can plead with my superiors to secretly pardon your crimes, and I can also arrange a completely new identity for you. Whether you want to start your life in the Tower of Swords again or immigrate to another major city under a different name, I can arrange it. In addition, I can apply for a bonus for you, which can allow you to live comfortably for the rest of your life.”

“Even if you have a wife, children, or parents, I can send someone to bring them over to live with you.”

"Well, think it over, Master Di. Don't think about dying. Think about how good it is to be alive. Think about your parents, wife and children. Think about your future happy life. Are you really willing to die? Give up resistance and surrender. This is the best way out right now."

Xiao Hongyun could kill Di Xinjian, but capturing him alive would be extremely difficult. If someone wants to commit suicide before they have completely lost their ability to take care of themselves, who can stop them? Only by capturing Di Xinjian alive can we seize this opportunity to expand our gains. Otherwise, why bother with all the effort of persuasion? Killing him directly would be much more straightforward and satisfying, but it would cut off our connection with Di Xinjian.

Di Xinjian chuckled, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "Naive. Enough with the nonsense, just kill me already."

He wanted to live, not die.

However, things in the world often don't go exactly as we wish.

As a long-term undercover agent, his family lives in Maine. He has also undergone rigorous training. When he goes out to carry out long-term undercover work, his consciousness and memory are protected by anti-spying restrictions. Even his life palace is protected by a secrecy restriction. Once he betrays his country and leaks information to the enemy, triggering sensitive keywords, he will be wiped out on the spot by the secrecy restriction. There will be no survivors.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Hongyun said regretfully, "It's a pity. Why insist on going down this path to the bitter end? Wouldn't it be better if we gave each other a chance?"

Di Xinjian said, "When you're in the martial world, you're not in control of your own destiny."

"No more talk?"

"No."

"Won't you reconsider?"

"I won't consider it anymore."

"Alright, goodbye." Seeing that his eight other colleagues were about to die, Xiao Hongyun could only shake his hand and turn to leave.

The Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife pierced Di Xinjian's forehead in an instant. His Life Palace floated out of his body and hovered in the air. Strange patterns and restrictions appeared on the surface of the Azure Pill Life Palace. As the restrictions shone brightly, the Life Palace and his soul shattered and dissipated on the spot, and a large amount of magical power leaked out and returned to the world.

Having lost their magic and control, the countless hanging ropes in the alley vanished in an instant, and the eight officials fell to the ground on the spot. As soon as they caught their breath, they hurriedly clasped their hands and bowed, saying, "Your subordinates thank Protector Xiao for saving our lives."