"Elder Shang, what's going on with that voice?"
The eerie aura vanished, and Pei Xianqiao's expression eased slightly. Still, her gaze followed Elder Shang's line of sight with deep seriousness.
She knew that the owner of that grand residence was Yao Ranran.
Could it be that Yao Ranran had broken through this deadly trap? Had she long seen through the strangeness within Yan Fortress?
Pei Xianqiao's thoughts raced, her tone heavy. "Elder Shang, the one behind that voice…"
Elder Shang furrowed his brows, stroking his long white beard. He said slowly, "That woman's voice is hazy, her words strange and fragmented, mysterious and unclear, riddled with contradictions…
Obviously, she's just not fully awake yet."
"???"
Pei Xianqiao's mind filled with question marks. "After all that time, that's all you have to say?"
At the side, He Huatao finally regained clarity. He helped his companions up one after another, then spoke urgently.
"Little Sister Qiao Qiao, we need to go back quickly. Fortress Master Yan once told us there's a rule inside the fortress—at night, no one is allowed to make noise. We never paid it any mind, but who would've thought something like this would happen tonight!"
Regret tore through He Huatao. He looked at the few corpses inside the room, grief tightening his features.
"Do as he says. Hurry back!" Elder Shang dissolved into mist and hid inside her ring.
"Brother He, we'll follow your lead!" Pei Xianqiao answered, then quickly pulled Yu Wei and Shen Fang away.
-
Elsewhere.
Mu Jialing also realized the truth and flashed to Yu Zhenyan's side. "Return! The only way to survive this trap is to get back to your own quarters!"
"Understood!"
Without hesitation, Yu Zhenyan grabbed the sobbing Huang Baoling and dragged her back.
Mu Jialing turned for one last look at Yao Ranran's room, relief flickering across his eyes. "Thank goodness she's still sound asleep."
Otherwise, no one would have survived this night.
One by one, the lights of Yan Fortress went dark. No one walked the night paths. Not a single Yan clansman stirred awake from the screams that split the air.
…
Morning.
Golden sunlight filtered through the lattice windows, scattering across the pale curve of a girl's neck like ancient mysterious runes.
Smack, smack…
Yao Ranran felt a damp sensation on her hand. Half-dreaming, she blinked open her sleepy eyes and tilted her head toward her arm.
A bright red, round little lump of flesh was nibbling at her palm.
Without ceremony, Yao Ranran flicked her down to the floor. Tang Xiangyin rolled like a dumpling to the foot of the bed, showing not the slightest sign of waking.
"…She really sleeps too soundly. For something like Che Lingzhi, a treasure born of heaven and earth, to have no awareness of danger at all?"
Yao Ranran poked her cheek.
Tang Xiangyin smacked her lips, subconsciously scratched her face with a tiny hand, turned over, and kept on snoring.
"…At this point, even if someone sold her off, she wouldn't wake up."
Yao Ranran felt a twinge of envy at that kind of sleep.
Unlike her. At best, she could sleep until noon before her body forced her awake.
Sighing, Yao Ranran stretched and yawned. She wondered whether Mu Jialing had discovered anything last night.
Could they leave today?
She tidied her robes, slipped the door open, shielding her eyes from the glaring sunlight. Once she adjusted, she looked around.
From the east, smoke was already rising from Auntie Li's home. The fragrance of cooking wafted over, stirring her appetite.
Yao Ranran licked her lips. "Before leaving, I should pay Auntie Li a visit."
She wandered toward the house.
-
At Auntie Li's door.
"You've come to eat, haven't you?" Auntie Li greeted them joyfully.
He Huatao's thick brows pinched together. He was about to speak when one of the men beside him cut in, voice sharp.
"Eat? Eat what? Tell me, how did you kill my brothers? Where have you hidden their bodies?"
The man charged forward, seized Auntie Li by the collar, and lifted her off the ground.
Her feet dangled, her eyes widened, yet her mouth curled into a smile. "I don't know what you mean, honored guests. Was Auntie's cooking not good? If you didn't like it, I can make another batch for you."
"I don't want to eat! I'm not here for food—"
The man roared in fury. Suddenly, Auntie Li raised one hand and set it lightly on his shoulder. At once, his body went limp, every bone losing its strength. His arms dropped like noodles as she settled back on her feet, smiling like a blooming flower.
Her gaze swept over the group. "Whatever you want to eat, Auntie will happily prepare. So long as you're willing to stay, stay here in Yan Fortress and live with us…"
He Huatao's pupils contracted sharply. Before his eyes, the man collapsed with a heavy thud. Blood surged out, seeping through his skin into the cracks of the ground, as if drawn by an invisible power. His flesh and soul were sucked dry without even a struggle.
"Xiao Zhou!" one of the loose cultivators cried, a man who had been close to him.
Terror swept the group.
Someone immediately struck at the gray tiles beneath their feet. The stone flew up, shattering into powder. Yet Auntie Li's smile did not falter.
The attacker suddenly staggered, his legs folding. His spiritual power drained in an instant. Blood tears streamed down his cheeks, and his head slumped forward. With both knees to the floor before Auntie Li, all that remained was an empty husk.
"A grand gift indeed!"
Cries of horror rose.
He Huatao thrust out his arm, blocking the others. "Don't move! Stay back!"
His eyes burned with grief as he shouted, "We're leaving! Now!"
Creak… creak…
A crooked old man pushed a wooden wheelbarrow out from the back room. His skin was wrinkled like parchment. His body, no taller than a child's, was draped in a long gray robe that dragged along the ground.
Auntie Li beamed at him.
The old man tugged his wrinkled face into a smile in return.
Withered hands lifted the bodies of Xiao Zhou and the other cultivator with ease, laying them on the cart.
Creak… creak…
He slowly pushed the cart back into the house. In the dim light, his frame seemed to shrink lower and lower until it disappeared into the darkness.
Auntie Li kept smiling as she picked up a broom and cheerfully swept the bloodstained floor.
Knock knock.
Yao Ranran noticed the door ajar, but still politely rapped on it as she approached.
Auntie Li looked up from her broom, delighted. "Fairy Ranran, you've come! Come in, come in. Have you eaten?"
Yao Ranran walked in a little shyly. She was about to say she hadn't eaten, but her wandering gaze caught the table full of dishes—now covered in a thin layer of dust. The words stuck in her throat.
"…I've already eaten, Auntie Li."
"Already eaten? That's good then. Fairy is such a well-mannered child. Auntie can't help but adore you." Auntie Li suddenly set aside her broom and, ignoring the mess, came forward to take Yao Ranran's hand with a tender smile.
Yao Ranran's eyes flicked toward the untouched meal on the table. A pang of regret rose in her chest, but then her gaze dropped to the floor.
Why were all the tiles bulging upward like that?
"Auntie… did someone come by your house earlier?"
Auntie Li chuckled. "Yes. A group of children who didn't know any better came to make trouble. Auntie had to teach them a little lesson."
"Children who didn't know any better?"
Yao Ranran had lived in Yan Fortress for four days now. The people here had always been gentle, never quarrelsome. The only ones who could possibly fit that description were the visiting cultivators.