Erica could not help but frown upon hearing his words. Obviously, she could sense that Elder Duke was
not telling the truth.
Meanwhile, Duke scanned the crowd and noticed Sabina and Allen in the crowd. He stepped forward
and asked in a rather surprised tone, "Is that Miss Sabina? Is she with Mr. Allen? Why, isn't this a
surprise! If I may ask, what are you two doing here exactly?"
"It's none of your business. Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong," Sabina snorted in
annoyance.
"It is really licking today! Or perhaps, it is you who stole it?" the elder couldn't help but ask. At that
moment, he couldn't control the words that came out of his mouth. The words slipped his tongue as his
intuition had taken over. After all, he didn't buy the reasoning that Sabina's presence was mere
coincidence.
"I don't care who took it, as long as you hand it over to me. Plus, I don't want to make things difficult for
you. It's my job to stop you from taking it out of this cave, so you'd better appreciate this chance and do
as I say," Erica announced severely as she talked to the crowd coldly.
"Well, it has to be them. What brings so many of them here today? Well, it doesn't matter anyway. We
only got three people here, and it is clear who has the bigger chance," Sabina explained loudly, folding
her arms across her chest and nodded at Duke and his followers.
"Don't sling mud at us, Miss Sabina. He who has a great nose thinks everybody is speaking of it. You
took away the things and framed us!" Duke was almost red in fury upon hearing Sabina's accusation.
On the other hand, Erica was not able to tell who took it right when Sabina and the elder were blaming
each other. After paying close attention and examining Sabina and her two other companions, Erica
concluded that the man among them wasn't the one she was looking for. At that moment, she tried her
best to recall the three portraits she saw. Without a doubt, she was certain that it was Sabina and
another woman that she didn't know. But where was the third one?
After thinking for a while, Erica came to a decision. Soon after, she averted her gaze from Sabina and
the elder, and said, "Since none of you is willing to give it back, then I just have to take you all back to
the city, and ask the imperial preceptor to do his job."
"We refuse. Do not accuse us of something we did not do! Plus, it's impossible for me to go back with
you. I'm an elder of the royal family. How can I be a prisoner of your level?" Duke objected as he waved
his sleeve angrily. At that time, they were carrying out a secret mission, and if they went back with
Erica, it would inevitably cause disputes between the two countries. Moreover, the emperor would
surely be unhappy about it.
"I'm afraid that the decision is not up to you now. Come with me. Otherwise, we will fight right here,
right now. I'll show you, cultivators from the Holy Dragon Empire, how powerful the spirit manipulators
of the Magic Phoenix Empire are!" Erica said in a murderous voice, her eyes narrowing, shooting out a
piercing glance.
Despite being young, Erica was known to be mature and steady. Even if the opponent was an elder of
the royal family of the Holy Dragon Empire, she was hesitant to show any respect towards him.
Seeing how confident and serious Erica was, Duke's face also changed. However, he still had to
consider the three masters of the Divine Stage, who stood behind Erica. At a glance, he knew that in
case they started a fight here, they would surely arrive at a stalemate. And besides, they didn't take it,
so they were not afraid at all to go back with them. At the same time, the elder believed that it was
Sabina and her companions who took it. If they were taken back together, then the perpetrator would
surely show up. By then, everything would be clear, and he wouldn't have to explain anymore.
Naturally, if they really had the object with them, then they would not sit still and wait for death. The
sanest decision would be to take the thing away first so that nobody would find it.
Finally, under Erica's team's surveillance, Duke's team of spirit manipulators together with Sabina and
her companions all left the Nine-phoenix Demonic Land at the same time. Morning came, and all of
them finally arrived in the Blood Phoenix City.
Meanwhile, Erica took the two groups to governor's mansion and arranged two separate courts for
them to rest their weary bodies. Without a doubt, it was a treatment made with courtesy. Of course,
these two courts were also surrounded by heavy troops. In fact, they were so heavily guarded that
even flies could not get in their zone.
Without wasting time, Erica immediately sent the news to the capital city and asked the imperial
preceptor to come over and take care of it in person.
During the night, the cold wind blew slowly.
Erica spent day and night trying to find the team of spirit manipulators led by Duke. And now, she could
finally have a good night's rest. She stretched a little and lay down in the faint fragrance of flowers
which the maid had put in her room.
Just as Erica loosened up and dozed off, a figure suddenly silently appeared in her room.
"It seems that I came at a bad time." The figure shook his head and smiled upon seeing Erica on the
bed.
"Who are you?" As soon as Erica heard the man's voice in the room, she immediately opened her
eyes. At that moment, she saw a man with his back to her. Fear and shock crippled her because she
did not expect that someone would slip in her room without her noticing, which also showed how
extraordinary this man's strength and skill was. However, because the man's back was facing her, she
could not seem to recognize his face!
But who else would show up here at such a crucial time except for Rocky?
"I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm just here to offer you a deal. Let Sabina and her fellows go, and I'll
return the spiritual treasure to you." Rocky put forward his condition with his hands behind his back.
"So, you're the one who took it? Are you the man I'm looking for?" As soon as Erica heard of his crime,
she immediately guessed that Rocky might be the person she was looking for.
"Here it is. You can even check its authenticity. However, you must let them go!" Rocky demanded as
he took out the spiritual treasure and put it on the table.
At this moment, Erica suddenly narrowed her eyes and waved her hand. Soon after, more than a dozen
water drops quickly flew towards Rocky in a swift motion.
Although Rocky's back faced her, he was still able to dodge her attack right away, as if he had eyes on
his back.
As a result, Erica jumped out of her bed and grabbed Rocky unexpectedly.
In the blink of an eye, Rocky turned around and grabbed Erica's arms instead, emitting his aura at the
same time. Instantly, Erica felt an extremely strong spiritual pressure rush towards her, making her
body stiff as a board.
On the contrary, right before she froze, Erica somehow managed to have a glimpse of Rocky's face. As
soon as she saw his face clearly, her body could not help but tremble. Soon after, she exclaimed, "It's
really you!"
"Oh, do you have a crush on me?" Rocky cast a glance at her, smiling slyly.
Not long after, Erica came back to her senses. Angry and nervous, she could do nothing to get rid of
his control.
At the same time, she was shocked to see him again, especially when she was just about to sleep in
peace in her room.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda