Everyone looked angry, Bai Ruozhu took a deep breath and said, "Don’t be anxious, we’ll plan this carefully. When the time comes, you’ll exchange the treasure for the person, and we’ll be secretly lying in ambush to smoothly help you rescue her."

Ning Yu’s eyes lit up, "Thank you."

"You’re my own brother, it’s only right to help you," said Xinghai.

Ning Yu looked at Xinghai, "But why don’t I have any impression of you at all? When I see Ruozhu, I vaguely feel familiar, but with you, there’s no feeling of familiarity."

"I..." Xinghai sighed, "I’ll explain it to you slowly later. Let’s focus on finding a way to rescue her for now."

The group then found a secluded place to discuss, Jiang Yichun proposed that Ning Yu should hide the treasure somewhere and tell the person he must see Diao Bin in perfect condition before revealing where it’s hidden, or he wouldn’t say anything even if it cost him his life.

They would then be lying in ambush nearby, ready to help at the critical moment.

But Ning Yu was deeply worried and said, "I can’t negotiate with him, that man is ruthless and will torture Diao Bin if displeased. I can’t bear that."

"He’s exploiting your weakness," Jiang Yichun was somewhat frustrated but imagined that if it were Ruozhu, he’d feel the same way.

"Maybe we can try another approach." Bai Ruozhu’s mind suddenly flashed with inspiration, "Let Xinghai pretend to be Ning Yu to meet that person, perhaps catching them off guard. The other party isn’t concerned about Ning Yu rebelling for two reasons: having Diao Bin in their hands and being able to control the Poisonous Insect within Ning Yu. But if faced with Xinghai, his control methods would be useless."

Everyone thought this was a good idea, but the question was whether they could deceive that person, and if that person got suspicious, it could put Xinghai in danger.

"We have time, don’t rush. First let Xinghai and Ning Yu learn each other’s speech and movements, I think a day should be enough?" Jiang Yichun said.

Xinghai glanced at Ning Yu and nodded, "No problem, many of our habits are similar, at least they were when we were kids."

"How can I let you take the risk for me, it won’t work!" Ning Yu protested.

Xinghai placed a hand on his shoulder, "Brother, we’re siblings, when I was taken back to the astrological family, only you truly cared for me, you were the closest person to me, and how can doing this for you mean anything? You were affected by the Poisonous Insect before, and were controlled by them; if that affects the rescue, what then?"

Ning Yu hesitated for a long while and barely nodded his head.

The two stayed facing each other for a day, Xinghai and Ning Yu exchanged clothes, Xinghai also applied some disguise scars to his face, and wore Ning Yu’s metal mask, every move becoming the mysterious and cold Xinghai.

"The face feels uncomfortable, kind of awkward," Xinghai said as he adjusted the mask.

Ning Yu chuckled, "I feel uncomfortable too, so I wipe off the disguise as soon as I return home."

Ning Yu then took out the star plate from his arms, handed it to Xinghai, and said, "It’s up to you, please."

Xinghai solemnly accepted the star plate, "Don’t worry, I’ll rescue her even if the star plate is taken away, the astrologer family has ways to locate the position of the star plate." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Bai Ruozhu felt reassured hearing this, "Our goal is to save her, everyone be very careful, ensure Diao Bin’s safety."

"Okay," everyone replied.

Soon everyone reviewed the plan, then Ning Yu led the way to the agreed-upon meeting place with that person.

As they approached, Xinghai went to the meeting alone while the others hid far away, fearing alarming the enemy.

Finally, Xinghai met the person, their head and face completely covered.

"Weren’t you supposed to have received the item the day before yesterday? Why are you coming now?" The person’s voice was unusually hoarse, possibly due to damage or intentional alteration.

"After leaving the city, I was chased by the astrologer family, so I took a longer route to shake them off," Xinghai said, imitating Ning Yu’s tone. "Where’s Diao Bin? You promised to let her go, I want to see her!"

"You’re not in a position to negotiate with me, first let me verify the item’s authenticity," the person in black growled.

Xinghai took out the star plate but didn’t hand it over; instead, he uncovered the wrapped cloth and held it in his hand.

"This thing doesn’t look sturdy, without seeing Diao Bin I feel uneasy, might accidentally break it," Xinghai said as he weighed the star plate, which felt light, not heavy at all.

"How dare you!" The person in the black shouted, "If you destroy the star plate, I’ll destroy your woman!"

"You said you would let her go, I want to see her. Just release her, and I’ll immediately give you the item," Xinghai replied.

The person in black squinted, making Xinghai nervous, uncertain if the Poisonous Insect would be activated, or if his reaction was appropriate.

Fortunately, the person was very concerned about the star plate and reluctantly took Xinghai to see Diao Bin.

Diao Bin was placed in a very concealed cave, as Xinghai entered, he saw her quietly lying on the bed, her white hair scattered across it, making her pale little face look especially pallid and evoking a sense of pity.

It was unclear if Diao Bin was poisoned or unconscious, she kept her eyes closed; if not for the breath still lingering, Xinghai feared she was already dead.

"Alright, hand over the item," said the person in black.

Xinghai went over to hold Diao Bin, while the person in black suddenly attacked him. Xinghai quickly threw the star plate away, as expected, the person in black nervously caught the star plate first, giving Xinghai the chance to escape with Diao Bin.

"Courting death!" The person in black took out a whistle and blew it, immediately alerting Xinghai that it was used to control the Poisonous Insect. He took out a talisman and threw it at the person, knocking the whistle from his hand.

Outside the cave, Ning Yu suddenly fell in agony, clutching his head and screaming, but soon he calmed down as the pain vanished.

Inside the cave, Xinghai’s Yin Yang technique transformed into a fire phoenix and attacked, his spirit god hurriedly picked up the whistle.

Xinghai dared not delay further, rushing out of the cave like a whirlwind, finally reuniting with Bai Ruozhu and the others.

"How’s Diao Bin?" Ning Yu rushed over to embrace Diao Bin, but at that moment a dramatic change occurred, a black dagger suddenly stabbed out, striking hard into Ning Yu’s chest.

"No!" Xinghai shouted, striking a palm towards Diao Bin, but Ning Yu blocked in front, using his body to shield her.

Xinghai quickly pulled his strength, but still applied thirty percent of the force to Ning Yu, originally not very heavy, but Ning Yu was severely weakened due to the sword in his chest, he strongly exhaled a breath.

"Don’t hurt her..." Ning Yu struggled to say one last thing, before falling unconscious.