This was the method which Ren Baqian came up with after suffering a good las.h.i.+ng.

The gas masks had activated carbon on both sides, which could filter part of the odor. Although it couldn't completely eliminate the odor, it could at least reduce it by half.

In addition, after a few days, the stench had decreased a little. The few of them were also somewhat accustomed to this stench, making them less sorrowful.

Lin Qiaole, who was still crying from time to time, was the exception.

It wasn't that she wanted to cry, but this type of smell made her cry uncontrollably, as if her lacrimal glands were being stimulated.

"Your Majesty, we will go back in the afternoon. I wonder if they are still outside. How is the recovery of your body?" Ren Baqian's words seemed somewhat melancholic after disseminating from the gas mask.

As a result, it was difficult to say if they would meet the experts of Tianjing Basin or Xi Wanya.

"Even if I'm left with half of my strength, they are still not my match," the empress casually retorted. Her words showed great confidence in herself.

"But Your Majesty, you don't even have half of your strength now," Lin Qiaole said faintly as she wept. For those who didn't know the situation, they would have thought that she was devastated.

In fact, it was indeed devastating, so devastating that her tears could almost fill a river.

Over the past fews days, she couldn't even eat or sleep well, causing her already flat-chested self to be even flater.

After weeping for a few days, there were big patches of redness around her eyes. She looked very similar to a walnut.

The empress gave her a death stare.

"Your Majesty?" Ren Baqian was alarmed! He didn't know that the empress's strength had depleted this much.

The empress's wounds had more or less healed over the past few days. Even Lin Qiaole's legs, which had been like fried dough twists, were almost healed due to her body's speedy recovery rate. However, the ignition of the empress's essence blood wasn't something that could completely recover in a short span of time.

"It's fine. I'll be alright after a couple of days' rest." The empress paid no attention to it.

"What if we return and they are still there?" Ren Baqian couldn't help but to feel worried. If the empress was in tip-top condition and with the addition of Lin Qiaole, facing 11 Spirit Wheel experts and numerous Earth Wheel experts would probably be a bitter struggle. However, if the empress's strength was at half of her peak strength, then the situation would be kind of dangerous.

"How could any of you measure my strength!" the empress asked coldly.

This sentence included all the experts from Tianjing Basin, Ren Baqian, and Lin Qiaole.

"Even if everyone else doesn't know, Your Majesty, you are only left with 30 percent of your strength!" Lin Qiaole continued to yawn and weep as she exposed the empress.

The empress's face turned black as she shot Lin Qiaole a death stare. She gritted her teeth, wanting to slap her to death so badly.

Ren Baqian didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Why are you still so reluctant to admit it at such a time?

"Your Majesty, I still have a few fortified smoke grenades…" Ren Baqian cautiously suggested.

Due to these d.a.m.n smoke grenades, the empress had been giving him the cold shoulder.

If it were someone else, he or she would have been killed by the empress long ago.

"You dare!" The empress's eyes were full of murderous intent.

"Out of the question!" Lin Qiaole immediately jumped up from the ground.

"Your Majesty, endure a little for your safety. Furthermore, you have this gas mask which can protect you from the poisonous gas!"

"I would rather die!" Her murderous intent permeated the entire villa.

"Your Majesty, think about your children who have not been born yet…"

Slap! Bang!

Ren Baqian spent a lot of effort getting down from the top of the wall. His gas mask was broken, and the shards p.r.i.c.ked into his face…

Retch!

Without the gas mask, Ren Baqian felt that the smell in the room was getting stronger…

After launching Ren Baqiain onto the wall six times, the empress finally became a little soft-hearted. She clenched her teeth and held back her tears, silently agreeing to Ren Baqian's idea of bringing back the remaining fortified smoke grenades. However, he could only use them in a crisis.

With her pride, she only agreed to Ren Baqian's plan because she became soft-hearted upon seeing his badly battered face trying to admonish strenuously.

On the other hand, Lin Qiaole was grinding her teeth. She even had the thought of biting Ren Baqian to death.

It was comforting, however, that they had the gas masks that could help to reduce the foul smell by at least half.

Such comfort came from Ren Baqian's words. He had said, "When you and your opponent fall into a pit full of feces, but you have a gas mask and your opponent doesn't have one, this is happiness! As a result, the disparity between the strength of both parties would widen. After all, the power of these fortified smoke grenades isn't any weaker than that of large scale biological weapons."

Of course, the price to pay was that Ren Baqian was launched onto the wall six times.

There was of course a reason behind it…

…

Early morning in Wu City.

Since yesterday, there was an unbearable stench that appeared in Wu City.

In particular, the smell had reach its peak during this morning. The entire community in the warlord's residence continued to encircle the area under the circ.u.mstances where it smelled like a mix of feces and decomposed bodies. In addition, these bodyguards and maids were on the verge of fainting.

"d.a.m.n it! I can't stand it anymore!" someone cursed in fury.

"If you ignore it, the stench wouldn't be there anymore. The more you think about it, it naturally would still be there. Retch…" The ident.i.ty of another elderly expert lasted for only a short while.

"The stench is more bearable now, and it'll be better in a few days' time."

"Why do I feel that the stench is stronger?"

"It's because there are more people here…"

"When we catch that b.a.s.t.a.r.d, I must skin him, hang him at the top of the city wall, and let him burn to death from the scorching sun!" Someone was full of hatred.

"Is Qi Zixiao going to come back? How did they disappear?" Everyone was confused, but couldn't find the answer. Qi Zixiao had already disappeared for one day. n.o.body knew where she went or when she would be back. Also, n.o.body knew how they managed to disappear just like that.

"First of all, let's think of how to deal with Xi Wanya. If Qi Zixiao is dead and we kill Xi Wanya over here, the gates of Tianjing Basin would be able to open. However, now that Qi Zixiao has been missing for a day, we have to get Xi Wanya to retreat. After that, dispatch manpower to search all over Tianjing Basin without any restraint. I don't believe that they have disappeared without a trace."

Naturally, the news of Xi Wanya's 3,000-strong army couldn't be concealed. It was just that everyone had previously focused their thoughts on Qi Zixiao as they wanted to encircle and kill her. Next, they would use Qi Zixiao's head to create chaos among Xi Wanya's army and seize the opportunity to strike them.

With Qi Zixiao's disappearance, Xi Wanya's army had already broken through countless intercepting forces, arriving at Wu City at a speed that exceeded everyone's expectations.

They had no choice but to tackle this issue. This was also the reason why everyone was gathered over here.

Subsequently, they spent an hour discussing before it finally came to an end. With so many people gathered, the stench was indeed overbearing.

They had to find Qi Zixiao, station some experts on Mount Wu, and obstruct Xi Wanya.

Their main priority was Xi Wanya and his army. They only stationed the fastest Spirit Wheel expert and 10 Earth Wheel experts that were equivalent to his standard to monitor Mount Wu and guard against Qi Zixiao if she turned up there.

However, no one had much expectations for this. Perhaps Qi Zixiao was already thousands of kilometers away.

At present, everyone was hoping for the disciples of the various sects to locate some trace of Qi Zixiao. Since the disappearance of Qi Zixiao yesterday, they had already ordered everyone from all the factions and sects to search for her. In particular, the region north of Wu City was a key area.