Chapter 2040 by Marina Vittori

“Me?” Sophia was stunned when Dustin pointed at her. She asked instinctively, “Why?”

The discussion earlier went well, she had no idea why things turned sour abruptly.

“Because I really hate people who repay goodwill with ill will. That’s my reason. Happy?” Dustin replied coldly.

He had never liked Sophia’s behavior. However, her behavior hadn’t affected him before, as such he was able to let it slide. However, it was different now.

If Sophia hadn’t caused subversion, they wouldn’t be in this mess today. If they were any weaker, they might have been murdered for profit. Hence, he was unable to forgive Sophia for what she’d done.

“Dustin, please listen to my explanation. This wasn’t my fault, I had no other options!” Sophia was flustered and appeared pitiful.

“Not your fault? You had no other options? There are only a handful of people who know that we have treasure with us.

“If it wasn’t you, who else could it be? Who could work with Harmony Sect and Embersteel Order simultaneously? “Dustin asked.

“It wasn’t me… It really wasn’t!” As Sophia thought of something, she suddenly said, “It was Jackson Hawk! Jackson was behind all this, I was just following orders. If you’re unhappy about this, please bring it up with Jackson. It’s not my fault!”

It was difficult to convince them without any evidence. She needed to find a scapegoat. Jackson wasn’t around now and he was also involved in this incident. He was the best fall guy.

Chester frowned slightly when he heard Jackson’s name but he said nothing. It wouldn’t be wise for him to speak up in a situation like this. The smart way was to keep quiet and save himself.

“Jackson?” Dustin smirked, “Do you think I’m an idiot? If Jackson was involved, why isn’t he here now?”

Discounting the fact that Jackson had already sent him a message in secret prior to this, he wouldn’t even suspect

Jackson if he didn’t.

“He has already escaped when he saw that things have gone awry!” Sophia was still trying to push the blame on Jackson.1

“Is that so? Since Jackson has already escaped, then you should take the blame. I feel uncomfortable if you’re not dead.” With a chilly expression, Dustin reached for his Celestial Blade with an outstretched arm.

The sword which was located more than ten yards away, transformed into a black light and reappeared in Dustin’s hand.

“Don’t… don’t kill me!” Sophia was getting anxious and kept begging. “If you let me live, I’ll do anything you ask me to. I’ll be your slave!”

When she saw that Dustin remained unfazed by her begging, she turned to look at Bertha, her mentor, and shouted while crying, “Master Peach, please save me! I’m still young, I don’t want to die yet!”

Bertha sighed and didn’t say much when Sophia begged for help. She wasn’t even able to save herself, how would she be able to save someone else?

“You should have known better before you did it. Time for you to be on your way!” Dustin didn’t want to waste any more time so he raised his sword and got ready to swing it down.

“Hold on!” Suddenly, someone shouted loudly in front of the hotel. Dustin raised his eyebrows slightly and turned to look, only to see Jackson running frantically toward them.

As he ran, he kept shouting, “Hold on! Hold on!”

Jackson ran forward as fast as he could and stood in front of Sophia with his arms outstretched to protect her.

He begged nervously, “Dustin, Sophia didn’t know any better. Please forgive her and let her live!”

“Jackson, she’s a toxic woman. Why are you protecting her?” Dustin frowned slightly.

He found Jackson’s personality and behavior quite admirable. As such, he’d hoped that Jackson would realize this before it was too late.

“Dustin, Sophia is my fiancée! It’s my duty to protect her! Please forgive her on the grounds that we went treasure hunting together!” Jackson knelt on the floor right away.

“Jackson, did you know that she blamed it all on you? You’d be better off without a back-stabbing woman like her!” Dustin said.

“Dustin, it was all my fault. I should have stopped her. You can kill me if you want to, I’d gladly take Sophia’s place under your sword!” Jackson said sincerely.

“Why are you doing this?” Dustin was a little helpless. He had seen fools in love but never this foolish.

He clearly knew that Sophia had been using him, and yet, he still stood by her side regardless. He was too deep in love.

“Dustin! I have never begged anyone in my life. Now, I beg you to spare her!” Jackson got on all fours with his head lowered to show his sincerity.

“Fine! I’ll spare her today because you asked me to.” Dustin shook his head and lowered the Celestial Blade.

“Thank you, Dustin!” Jackson looked grateful.

“Thank you for showing me mercy today!” Sophia appeared delighted.

“Don’t be too happy just yet. I won’t let you off easy just because I’ve spared you.” As Dustin finished his sentence, he sent a heavy slap on Sophia’s abdomen from a distance.

Sophia grunted softly and staggered a few steps backward. Then, her knees buckled and she collapsed on the floor with blood streaming down from her nostrils and mouth.

“You… you actually destroyed my cultivation!” Sophia clutched her abdomen with a surprised and angry look.

“If I didn’t do it, you’d continue your despicable behavior,” Dustin replied with certainty.

Sophia gritted her teeth but was too afraid to say anything.

“Get lost!” Dustin snorted coldly.

“Sophia, let’s go!” Jackson helped Sophia up without hesitating and walked away with great difficulty.

“Alright, disperse!” Grace waved her hand and everyone from the Harmony Sect and Embersteel Order left immediately.

Many powerful parties got wind of the incident at the hotel. However, they were frightened when they saw the skilled fighters from those two sects running away.

The ability to subdue two of the major sects was enough to prove that there was a very strong martial artist at the hotel. They would be courting death if they decided to be greedy.

The night passed by peacefully after the chaos. However, a piece of shocking news greeted Dustin as soon as he got up in the morning the next day.