Chapter - 3457

"You." Vesper's captivating eyes suddenly grew slightly misty as she pointed toward Blaze and spoke to Zeke with a hint of melancholy. "Go back."

"I can go back now?" Zeke shivered slightly, taken aback by how abruptly she had given him permission to leave.

Suddenly, he felt torn, and he didn't know why.

"Yes, you may leave," she said, a hint of reluctant bitterness tugging at the corners of her smile. "You did save me, after all, and I'm not an ungrateful person. You're free to go." Since your heart is set on the orthodox path, you should return. After all, you are an orthodox cultivator. It was my mistake to try to keep you here. I can hold you down physically, but I can't hold your heart."

Zeke found those words particularly strange. After a moment of hesitation, he still decided to head toward Blaze since he had a chance to.

Upon witnessing Zeke's genuine departure, Vesper revealed a melancholic smile. In the next moment, her expression fluctuated a few times.

Suddenly, she steeled herself, her demeanor turning ruthless.

She then pulled Zeke back to her psychically with a derisive smirk. "I knew you'd try to run. Initially, I just wanted to test you, but I didn't expect you to actually attempt to escape! Do you really think you can leave just like that? I'm giving you another chance now to make a different choice."

Zeke was utterly at a loss for words, giving up on his struggle. I hadn't even gone that far, yet she had already dragged me back. I should've known she didn't mean it. It doesn't seem like I have a chance to escape.

Zeke sighed. "It seems a witch is still a witch. I actually thought you were going to let me go. Well, in that case, I'm not leaving then."

"I'll be letting you off too easy if I allow you to leave, pretty boy," Vesper said with a mischievous yet charming smile, gently caressing Zeke's handsome face.

That gave Zeke goosebumps. "Men and women should have proper boundaries. Don't touch me so casually, witch!"

Vesper giggled and then turned her gaze toward Blaze and the others, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"I'm in a good mood now that I've obtained the Demonic Lotus petals, so you're all free to leave. Remember, Zeke is now mine, and no one can take him away from me!" After she finished speaking, she waved her hand, causing a black mist to swirl around her.

Then, with Zeke, she vanished from their original location.

Blaze stood still, surrounded by his fellow disciples, each wearing a different expression.

"I think I've figured it out," Blaze said, grimacing. "This witch seems to have fallen for Zeke."

Octantis' expression contorted. "Why can he earn the favor of a top demonic cultivator prodigy? Given a bit more time, he might completely turn over to their faction. He even saved that witch just now. What do you think we should do, Blaze? Should we inform the others about this?"

Blaze hesitated for a moment, his expression complicated. "Well, how do I put this? He wasn't in the wrong. If not for him, Vesper would've attacked us. While it was because of him I could use my trump card, it was also because of him that my trump card failed. In the end, he successfully stopped Vesper from surrounding us. I don't really know how I should deal with him, so let's just pretend this never happened."

Octantis gritted his teeth. "Blaze, don't you think you're letting him off too easily?"

"What's that?" Blaze furrowed his brow. "Wasn't the beating you received earlier enough? You still dare to talk back to me?"

Octantis appeared fearful, shaking his head. "Blaze, I was only offering a suggestion. Whatever you say goes."

"Good!" Blaze waved his hand. "Let's clean up the battlefield and then leave quickly. It'll be best if we can contact Aretta to find out exactly how Zeke was taken away."

At his side, there were several other notable and influential disciples within the Southern- Martial House, and they were all nodding in agreement.

"Indeed, we should thoroughly investigate the matter first."

"I feel that what Zeke did was a mix of right and wrong. It's too early to make a definitive judgment about him at this point. If there's a chance to save him, we should try our best to do so. It's not like he completely betrayed us."

"If he could win over the heart of that witch and make those demonic cultivators suffer a bit, that would be absolutely fantastic!"

Upon hearing them say that, Octantis couldn't help but speak up, even if he didn't want to.