After parting ways with Kane, Fatty Zain and Serina continued to the Delicacy Dome, which, as the name suggested, was inside a large dome. The Delicacy Dome was largely split into two areas: a dining area with rows of tables and chairs for disciples to eat and a cooking area where the food was prepared. There weren't many people inside the Delicacy Dome, so after letting Serina choose a seat in the dining area, Fatty Zain went to order their meals. It wouldn't take long to order, and a single look back would be enough to check on Serina, so Fatty Zain was able to part from her without worry. However, when he turned around after giving his order to the staff, Serina was gone.
"Serina? Serina!"
While searching the room, he heard from someone that a group of male inner sect disciples recently left with a large bag big enough to hold an adult. It wasn't a confirmation, but just the thought that Serina had been kidnapped was enough to send him into a panic. He immediately suspected the Stucho clan, and while they likely wouldn't kill him, it wouldn't be far-fetched for them to take Serina's life since she wasn't part of his clan.
After getting an inner sect disciple to pass a message to Kane, Fatty Zain ran out of the Delicacy Dome and headed for the sect gate. He didn't know where Serina had been taken, but he could trust his family to search inside the sect, so he went to look outside.
Along the way to the gate, he asked about the group of suspects, but no one claimed to see any disciples carrying a large bag. Despite recklessly spreading his spiritual sense, Fatty Zain didn't get any leads, but he didn't let that slow his legs. Running more desperately than ever before, Fatty Zain left the sect and searched the city while screaming Serina's name.
"Serina! Serina!"
Every moment her location was unknown seemed to confirm his worst fears. For a cultivator of his level, running for hours wasn't enough to drain his energy, but after running around the city three times without finding Serina, Fatty Zain didn't know what to do.
"Serina... Where are you?"
Tears ran down his cheeks. He wanted to find her so desperately, but he simply didn't know where to look. As he dragged his legs while considering returning to the sect to see if his clan had made any progress on the search, a familiar voice entered his head.
[You careless Fatty, get over here!]
'This voice?!'
Along with the voice, directions flowed into his head, which he followed without question. Hope returned to Fatty Zain's eyes, and even when he tripped while turning a corner, he quickly got back on his feet. The directions brought him to a rundown butcher shop with seemingly no customers or staff. The meat that was hung for sale seemed to be one step away from spoiling and released a nasty smell that would dampen Fatty Zain's appetite even if he was in a better mood, but he trusted the voice and continued inside.
As soon as he made it past the meat, Fatty Zain spotted two inner sect disciples laid out on the ground. They weren't dead, just unconscious, but the sight of the two of them made him more certain of the identity of the one who called him here.
Once he moved over the two disciples after deliberately stepping on them, Fatty turned to enter the room on the left and raised his hands in joy at what he saw.
"Boss!"
He tried to rush up and embrace Shui, but he was stopped by Shui's hand.
"Hold yourself back. You have some explaining to do."
"Ah, right."
Around the same time that he spotted Shui, Fatty Zain also noticed Serina sitting in a chair with her eyes closed and two more inner sect disciples laid out on the ground. Though it was a shame that this incident happened to begin with, Fatty Zain was relieved that Serina was safe.
After hearing about the incident from Fatty Zain, Shui shook his head in exasperation. His soul hadn't fully healed yet, but he had ended his seclusion since further meditation wouldn't be of much more help. He came to Pemacreba to see Fatty Zain since he knew that this was his homeland, but he hadn't known for sure if Serina was with him. After entering Pemacreba, he planned to look for Fatty Zain first, but then he saw a few figures from the Burning Stampede Sect searching for a girl who shared the same description as Serina. With his abilities, finding Serina once she was inside the city was no issue, so he found this shop soon after. They had an artifact that blocked spiritual sense, but that only amounted to a minor inconvenience before Shui's sharpened perception.
"They must have gone after her to get back at you and your brother. As despicable as they are, you're partially at fault for not watching her properly. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"
In response to Shui's question, Fatty immediately kowtowed. Serina was safe, but that was only because they were fortunate.
"No, nothing. I was the one who invited her to come here, and yet I let her end up in trouble because of my enemies. If you weren't here to rescue her then, I don't know how I would have lived with myself."
"Hmm, raise your head."
Once Fatty Zain hesitantly lifted his head, he immediately found his chin meeting Shui's foot. His body flew out from the ceiling before landing back inside, but even as blood spilt from his mouth, Fatty Zain made no efforts to resist.
"Good. It seems you know what you did wrong. Be grateful that this happened while I was here to prevent a tragedy."
"Yes, Boss."
It was rare to see Fatty Zain with a serious expression, so Shui nodded in approval and healed him before lifting him to his feet.
"You still have the 'Alarm' talismans I gave you, right?"
"Yeah, I do."
"In that case, bring Serina back to your house. I'll join you two after I settle some other business."
"Okay, Boss."
Fatty Zain had questions, but he believed in Shui, so he followed his orders without hesitation. Once he left with Serina sleeping on his back, Shui looked down at the bodies on the floor. With just enough control to avoid setting the building aflame, he turned the bodies to ash. His spiritual injuries weren't fully healed yet, but they wouldn't give him any trouble unless he had to push himself. Completing his recovery would take either time or precious treasures, so he planned on keeping a low profile while checking up on his friends and family, but he didn't mind cleaning up any pests he found around them.
Though there was little change in his energy and body cultivation, his soul had reached the edge of nebula four-star and would likely advance once his recovery was finished. This was more than enough for him to feel confident in flattening Pemacreba, much less crushing whoever gave the order to kidnap Serina and anyone who dared defend them.
Elsewhere, within the estate of the Stucho clan, Marco impatiently tapped his finger on the desk next to him.
"So slow! Why haven't those imbeciles sent any news yet?"
Marco knew that the Riot clan was searching for Serina, but he doubted that they would have much success. To ensure that she wouldn't be found, he lent out a rare concealment spirit-rank artifact so even their elders would have a hard time finding her if they didn't know where to look. As long as the ones he sent properly disposed of her afterwards, there would be no trace left to investigate, and he could laugh at the Riot clan with a clear mind. It should be a done deal, but in addition to the lack of communication, he felt that something was off. As if there was a factor that he had failed to include in his plan.