"Mistress! Is it really you?!" Xiao Lü's initial joy upon seeing An Xi Yue appear before her instantly turned to panic. "Mistress, why did you come?! You must leave! It's a trap!!"
"Hahaha!! Leave? Now you realize it's a trap? Do you think you can still escape?" Qin Yulong's mocking voice rang out, thick with triumph. "I'd only hoped to lure you out, but I never truly expected you'd take the bait, Xi Yue. This time, you won't slip away. Our 'wedding date' approaches… you wouldn't dare 'break the engagement,' would you?"
An Xi Yue swiftly helped Xiao Lü stand, cutting the ropes binding her and dispelling the energy seal restricting her movements. Only then did she turn to face Qin Yulong, her expression icy. "Qin Yulong, the debt your Qin family owes my An clan will be repaid a hundredfold. Mark my words."
Qin Yulong sneered, baring his teeth. "Repaid? Hah!! Xi Yue, are you delirious? Do you honestly believe you'll live to see that day?"
An Xi Yue met her enemy's gaze with chilling calm, refusing to dignify his taunts with a response. Her lips moved silently, sending a voice transmission only Xiao Lü could hear: "Xiao Lü, I'll create an opening. Stay close behind me when we charge."
"What?" Before Xiao Lü could fully process the words, a series of deafening explosions shattered the night!
"KABOOM! KABOOM! KABOOM!!!"
The ground heaved violently. Simultaneous blasts erupted from multiple points around the derelict mansion, pillars of fire clawing at the sky like ignited gunpowder.
The sudden assault startled Qin Yulong and his companions. Before Qin Yulong could shout an order, another thunderous detonation ripped through the air just ten meters away! Flames and shrapnel-like debris erupted, engulfing the courtyard. Everyone recoiled instinctively, shielding themselves from the onslaught.
"Go!!" An Xi Yue had activated a protective barrier a split-second before the blast. Seizing Xiao Lü's arm, she lunged towards the gaping hole torn in the courtyard wall by the explosion.
"Swish!" Just as they were about to breach the fiery breach, a streak of violet sword light sliced through the flames ahead, aimed directly at them! An Xi Yue twisted desperately, narrowly avoiding the blade. But she couldn't evade the palm strike that followed from the inferno's heart. A sickening thud echoed as the blow connected with her right shoulder. She gasped, the impact hurling her backward like a ragdoll.
"Mistress!!" Xiao Lü screamed, instinctively reaching out. But weakened and off-balance, she couldn't stop An Xi Yue's fall. Both women tumbled back into the center of the courtyard, landing hard on the scorched earth.
A gust of wind whipped through the yard, clearing the smoke and debris. An Xi Yue pushed herself up with her left hand, her right shoulder useless, her face pale. She stared in dawning horror at the figure now revealed blocking their escape path: a middle-aged man in white robes, sporting a short beard, stood with hands clasped behind his back. An aura of crushing power radiated from him, pressing down on the air itself.
"Nascent Soul!!" An Xi Yue whispered, a bitter taste flooding her mouth. A Nascent Soul cultivator lying in wait… The last shred of hope for escape vanished.
"Did you truly believe a few paltry Flameburst Talismans could free you from my grasp?" Qin Yulong strolled towards her, utterly unruffled. He looked down at her sprawled form, satisfaction dripping from his voice. "To ensure perfection, I specifically invited a Nascent Soul elder to assist. See how highly I value you?"
He clicked his tongue in mock disappointment. "Though, I must admit, I expected more of a fight. Did you truly come alone? Is that courage… or sheer stupidity?"
"Mistress…" Xiao Lü trembled, wiping blood from An Xi Yue's lips before glaring furiously at Qin Yulong, her teeth grinding audibly.
An Xi Yue ignored Qin Yulong's jibes, her lips pressed into a thin line. Her eyes darted subtly, scanning the surrounding shadows.
"Still hoping?" Qin Yulong sneered, catching her desperate search. "Give up. There's no escape. Hmph… This is no place for conversation. Let's take this… 'home'." He flicked a glance at two guards behind him. "Take them!"
"Yes, Young Master!" The guards advanced, hands outstretched to seize the women.
An Xi Yue clenched her jaw. Her left hand, still pressed against her injured shoulder, shifted almost imperceptibly. Clutched between her fingers was a small, unassuming grey pill – the False Nascent Pill. A desperate gambit, it could temporarily grant a Golden Core cultivator near-Nascent Soul power… at the cost of shattered cultivation or death.
Just as she prepared to swallow it, the white-robed Nascent Soul elder's eyes snapped wide open. "BEWARE!!" he roared.
Confusion erupted. Before anyone could react, two faint whooshing sounds cut through the air. Two small, glittering objects arced over the compound wall, landing amidst Qin Yulong's group.
"What are th—"
"KABOOM!!" "KABOOM!!!"
Qin Yulong and his cronies scrambled aside as the objects – Spirit Stones – hit the ground. Before impact, they erupted in blinding flashes and concussive force, ripping through the courtyard.
"ARGH!!" One guard, too slow to raise a barrier, was blasted off his feet. His scream cut off as he smashed through the dilapidated main hall doors.
The Nascent Soul elder whirled, his spiritual sense frantically probing the surroundings. Yet, he detected nothing. As he hesitated, three more glittering projectiles streaked towards him from seemingly empty air!
"More… Spirit Stones?!" Recognition dawned a fraction too late. "BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!" The triple detonation engulfed him completely in a vortex of raw energy.
Amidst the chaos and blinding flashes, An Xi Yue and Xiao Lü felt strong arms encircle their waists. They gasped, looking up to see a figure materializing beside them as if stepping from the void.
They instinctively struggled. "Don't fear me!" a low, urgent voice hissed near their ears. "I'm here to save you!"
…
Seconds later, the survivors staggered amidst the settling dust and fading echoes. One guard glanced towards the courtyard center and froze, his eyes bulging. "G-Gone!! They're gone!! The women… vanished!!"
"What?!" Qin Yulong, who had been scanning the walls for attackers, whirled around. His face contorted with rage as he saw the empty spot where An Xi Yue and Xiao Lü had lain moments before. "WHERE ARE THEY?! HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!"
The white-robed Nascent Soul elder emerged from the dissipating smoke of the triple blast, robes singed but otherwise unharmed. His expression, however, was thunderous, far darker than any physical injury. He leapt onto a nearby rooftop, unleashing his immense spiritual sense in a torrent, sweeping across the city blocks for a kilometer in every direction.
Nothing. Not a ripple.
"No spatial fluctuations… not a Teleportation Talisman… He stood rigid, utterly baffled. "How… how could they simply vanish into thin air?!"
…
Under the night sky, in a deserted alleyway deep within Black Loong City, the air shimmered violently. It was as if an invisible curtain was pulled aside, revealing three figures.
Lin Feng released An Xi Yue and Xiao Lü. With a flick of his wrist, his Invisibility Cloak vanished into his storage ring. He met An Xi Yue's bewildered gaze. "Miss An, are you alright?"
"You…" An Xi Yue stared at him, shock and confusion warring in her eyes. Her gaze lingered on his face for several heartbeats. Suddenly, her delicate eyebrows shot up, recognition dawning with profound astonishment.
"It's you?!"