The shout spread through the street. "The Prince is there!" The villagers immediately began moving away from Su Yuan. A woman pulled her child behind her, while several others hurried into nearby houses and shut their doors. Whispers followed them through the street. "The Demon Prince..." "He was hiding here?" "Don't stay near him." Su Yuan stood motionless as the crowd scattered around him.His eyes moved from the villagers to the soldiers approaching from the other end of the road.
For a moment,he seemed unable to understand what was happening. Then his breathing suddenly quickened.His fingers curled tightly into his sleeves, and he took an instinctive step backward."Su Yuan?" Chen Yu noticed the change in his expression and moved toward him. Su Yuan didn't answer. His gaze remained fixed on the soldiers. Another group appeared behind them, blocking the road they had come from. Su Yuan's face became paler. "No..." he whispered.Chen Yu stopped in front of him. "What is it?"
Su Yuan shook his head quickly."Nothing. We need to leave." He turned as if to move, but stopped when he saw soldiers spreading across the opposite street. His breathing grew heavier. "No, no..." He took another step back. "They're already here."Lin Chen looked toward the soldiers blocking both ends of the street, his expression turning tense. "They've sealed the road." Hei Long glanced at him.Lin Chen lowered his voice. "Then we should be careful. If they have come for the Prince, anyone standing with him may be treated as an accomplice."
Hei Long looked at Su Yuan for a moment before turning back toward the soldiers. "I doubt they will ask who is willing to be involved."Xu Yang looked at him carefully. "You knew they would come?" Su Yuan's eyes flickered toward him. "I knew they would look for me." "Then why are you this scared?" Xu Yang asked. Su Yuan opened his mouth, but his voice failed him. He swallowed and looked away. "Because I can't let them take me."
Chen Yu stepped closer. "Then don't think about that yet. Stay calm." Su Yuan gave a strained laugh that held no amusement. "How am I supposed to stay calm?" His voice trembled. "They're going to take me back."Lin Chen glanced at Su Yuan. He hesitated before speaking. "If you had known this would happen, you should have told us sooner." His tone wasn't accusing, only cautious. "We might have chosen another road."
Su Yuan lowered his eyes. "I didn't want to involve you." Hei Long gave him a quiet look. "That choice was no longer yours the moment they found you."Su Yuan's fingers tightened inside his sleeves. "I know." He looked toward the soldiers surrounding the street. "I never meant for any of you to be caught in this."Lin Chen remained silent for a moment before speaking. "Your intentions are no longer important." His tone was calm, but his expression was guarded. "The moment they saw us with you, they had reason to connect us to your escape. If we are questioned, I doubt they will care whether we knew the truth from the beginning."
Su Yuan looked at him. Lin Chen held his gaze for a moment before adding, "I have no desire to make an enemy of the royal court over a matter I know nothing about."Hei Long glanced at him. "Yet you haven't left."
Lin Chen's eyes shifted toward the soldiers. "Because leaving now would be foolish." He paused. "I may not wish to be involved, but I have no intention of walking straight into their hands either."Wei Han, who had been watching the soldiers in silence, finally spoke. "Enough. This is not the time." His gaze remained fixed ahead. "Whatever happened in the palace can be discussed later. Right now, they are closing every road around us." He glanced toward the narrow street beside the wooden houses. "If we intend to leave, we should first find a way out."
Su Yuan looked at Wei Han, then lowered his gaze again. "You shouldn't have to do this." Wei Han's expression did not change. "We can decide what we should do after we are no longer surrounded." Su Yuan fell silent.
He looked at them, his voice barely audible. "I don't want to go back... I lost myself there." Xu Yang's expression changed slightly. He looked at Su Yuan for a moment, then glanced away. What happened in that palace to make him this afraid? I don't remember anything like this happening in the story. I shouldn't be getting this involved. He was just a character I was supposed to stay away from... so why did I care so much?
"Back to the Demon Palace?" Qing Li asked quietly. Su Yuan looked at him, and the fear in his eyes was enough to answer before he spoke. "Yes." Qing Li's expression became serious. "What happens if you return?" Su Yuan immediately looked away. "I don't want to talk about it." Yan Luo watched him."Then tell us why you're running." Su Yuan's breathing caught. "Because I have to." Yan Luo studied his expression for a moment. "But what happened there that made you—" He stopped when Wei Han stepped forward. He moved close to Su Yuan and caught his hand. "We should leave." he said quietly. Su Yuan looked at him, startled. "Do you really think I can escape from them?"Wei Han's gaze shifted toward the soldiers.
Su Yuan's fingers tightened around Wei Han's hand. His breathing grew uneven as he looked toward the soldiers. "They're coming." He took a hurried step back, his face losing what little color remained. "We can't stay here." Wei Han held his hand firmly and guided him away from the approaching soldiers.Suddenly soldier stepped closer, his armor making a sharp metallic sound. Su Yuan flinched and moved behind Chen Yu without thinking. Chen Yu glanced back at him, surprised by the movement. Su Yuan quickly stepped away, but his hands were still trembling. "I'm sorry." he whispered. Chen Yu shook his head. "You don't need to apologize."
Lin Chen watched him silently for a moment. His expression remained guarded, and he kept a careful distance from Su Yuan. "I don't know what happened in the palace," he said quietly. "And I have no wish to learn it tonight. But if they are frightening you this badly, then whatever lies behind this is not something we should take lightly." Su Yuan looked at him but said nothing.The soldier raised his voice. "Your Highness. Stop resisting and come with us."
Su Yuan stared at him from several steps away. "I won't." "You have no choice." Su Yuan's jaw tightened. "I do." The soldier's expression hardened. "You are the Demon Prince. Your place is in the palace." Su Yuan's eyes dropped. "That's exactly why I left."Xu Yang looked at him. Su Yuan's voice had become quieter, but the fear beneath it was impossible to miss. "Everyone keeps telling me where I belong. What I should do. What I should become." He swallowed hard and looked toward the soldiers again. "I don't want to go back there." Chen Yu stepped beside him. "Then we won't let them force you right now." Su Yuan turned toward him. "You don't understand what you're saying." "Maybe not," Chen Yu replied. "But I can see that you're terrified."
Hei Long's gaze remained on the soldiers. "Whatever his reason for leaving, we can settle the rest after we get out of this street." Lin Chen looked toward the blocked roads. "If we can get out." Hei Long nodded slightly. "Then we find a way."Su Yuan went silent. His eyes lowered, and his breathing slowly began to steady, though his hands remained clenched. Xu Yang stepped closer. "You don't have to explain everything now. Just tell us one thing. Do you want to go back with them?" Su Yuan looked at him for several seconds before shaking his head. "No." Xu Yang nodded. "Then that's enough for now."
More soldiers spread through the street, their boots striking against the stone as they moved into position. Two soldiers blocked the road behind them, while another group moved toward the opposite end. Others positioned themselves beside the old houses, leaving only narrow gaps between them. Yan Luo's eyes moved across the street,following their movements. "They're blocking both ends." Qing Li looked toward the soldiers near the alley. "And they're watching the side roads too." Yan Luo's expression hardened. "They're making sure he can't escape."
One of the soldiers stepped forward and raised his voice. "Your Highness, do not make this difficult. Come with us willingly, and no one else needs to be involved." Su Yuan's breathing faltered. He looked around again, his eyes moving rapidly between the soldiers. "No..." His fingers tightened inside his sleeves. "They said that before." The soldier's expression remained cold. "Then you should know what happens when you refuse." Su Yuan took a step back. His shoulder brushed against Chen Yu, and he immediately stopped, his breathing becoming quicker. "Don't come closer."
The soldier continued forward. "Your Highness, you have nowhere left to run." Su Yuan's face slowly lost its color. His eyes moved from one soldier to another, and his breathing became shallow again. "They came prepared." Wei Han quietly moved closer to Xu Yang and the others, his attention fixed on the soldiers. He didn't draw his weapon, but his stance became more guarded. Qing Li glanced at him before looking back toward the soldiers. "They're not here to bring him back quietly." Hei Long's gaze remained cold. "Then we need to move before they close the distance."
Su Yuan looked toward the narrow road behind the houses. His chest rose sharply as he realized there was nowhere open. "There's no way out..." he whispered. His hands began to tremble. "They've closed everything." Chen Yu glanced at him. "Stay calm." Su Yuan shook his head quickly. "You don't understand. If they take me back, I won't get another chance to leave." His voice cracked slightly, and he forced himself to take a breath. "I can't go back."
The soldier stopped several steps away from them. His hand rested near the weapon at his waist, but he made no attempt to draw it. "Your Highness, we have no intention of harming you. But we will not allow you to leave." Su Yuan stared at him, his breathing still uneven. "You say that as if I should believe you." The soldier's expression did not change. "Whether you believe us or not does not change the order." Su Yuan's fingers tightened around his sleeve. "Then tell me why no one came alone." His voice trembled despite his effort to keep it steady. "Why bring so many soldiers if you only want to take me home?"
For a moment, the soldier said nothing. His silence was enough to make Su Yuan's face tighten. Xu Yang watched him carefully. Su Yuan was trying to remain composed, but the longer the soldiers stood around them, the harder it became for him to hide his fear. His breathing quickened again, and he took another step backward. Wei Han noticed immediately and moved with him, keeping himself between Su Yuan and the soldiers. "Don't corner him." he said quietly.
The leading soldier's gaze shifted toward Wei Han. "This does not concern you." Wei Han's expression remained calm. "It became our concern when your soldiers surrounded us." The soldier looked at the others before answering. "Move aside." Wei Han didn't move. "No." Qing Li's gaze sharpened as several soldiers spread farther across the street. "They're cutting us off." Yan Luo glanced toward the road behind them, then toward the soldiers at the other end. "Both sides are blocked." Hei Long's expression hardened. "Then we have to move." Lin Chen looked at the soldiers closing in. "Before they surround us completely."
A soldier suddenly stepped forward. Su Yuan flinched and moved back without thinking. His heel struck against a loose stone, and his body stumbled. Chen Yu caught his arm before he fell. "Su Yuan." Su Yuan quickly steadied himself, but his face had gone pale. "I'm fine." Chen Yu looked at him for a moment. "You're shaking." Su Yuan lowered his eyes. His fingers tightened around his sleeve. "I just... I don't want go back there."
Xu Yang looked at him in silence. The fear in Su Yuan's expression was no longer something he could mistake for simple reluctance. Whatever had happened inside the Demon Palace, it had left a wound Su Yuan was still carrying... Xu Yang's gaze shifted toward the soldiers. He tightened his hands. This wasn't how I remembered him. In the story, Su Yuan was proud, distant, and difficult to approach. He never looked like this. So what happened in that palace? Why was he so afraid of going back?... Xu Yang lowered his gaze for a moment. I shouldn't be getting involved... I came into this world knowing exactly which people I was supposed to stay away from. Yet somehow, watching him stand there terrifiedI couldn't bring myself to leave. If they handed Su Yuan over now...I would never see him again...
The leading soldier raised his voice. "Your Highness, this is your final warning. Come with us." Su Yuan slowly lifted his head. His breathing was still unsteady, but something in his expression changed. Fear remained in his eyes, yet there was desperation beneath it. "I said no." The soldier's eyes narrowed. "You are ordering soldiers to disobey the royal command." "I'm asking you to leave me alone." "That is not an option."
Wei Han glanced toward Yan Luo. Yan Luo gave a small movement of his eyes toward the narrow street behind the old houses. Wei Han understood immediately. Hei Long noticed it as well and shifted his position slightly. Qing Li moved closer to the side of the group, quietly creating space between them and the nearest soldiers.Su Yuan noticed their movements. "What are you doing?" Hei Long answered without looking at him. "Finding a way out." Su Yuan shook his head. "There are too many of them." "Then we don't need to defeat them."
Hei Long's voice remained steady. "We only need enough time to get past them." Yan Luo added quietly, "The alley is narrow. Their formation won't work well inside it." Lin Chen looked toward the dark passage. "And after that?" Yan Luo's expression hardened. "We keep moving."The leading soldier noticed the change in their positions. His eyes narrowed. "Don't even think about running." Several soldiers immediately stepped forward. Metal armor struck against metal as they tightened their formation.
Su Yuan's breathing stopped for a moment. He instinctively moved closer to Wei Han, his hand catching the edge of Wei Han's sleeve.Wei Han looked down briefly at his hand, then back toward the soldiers. "Stay close." Su Yuan nodded. "What if they catch us?" Wei Han's voice remained calm. "They won't." Su Yuan stared at him."You can't promise that." Wei Han looked toward the blocked road. "Then I won't promise. I'll make sure they never get the chance."
Xu Yang looked at them for a moment. Su Yuan's hand was still gripping the edge of Wei Han's sleeve, and although Wei Han had not tried to pull away, his attention remained fixed on the soldiers ahead. There was a quiet tension in the street now. The soldiers had stopped shouting and they had already surrounded the area, blocking the main road and the narrow paths between the old houses. Then Xu Yang noticed a faint blue light appearing beneath one of the soldiers' feet. It moved silently across the stones before reaching another soldier farther down the street.
A second strand of pale green light appeared and slipped through the narrow alley beside the houses then more followed. They moved without a sound, passing beneath doors, around walls, and through the gaps between buildings until the faint blue and green lights connected the soldiers standing in every direction. From above, it almost looked like an invisible net had been spread across the entire village.
The villagers noticed it too. A few people froze near their doors, their faces turning pale as the strange light passed beneath their feet. An old man quietly pulled his grandson behind him and lowered his voice. "Don't stay here." The boy glanced toward the glowing strands,but the old man immediately shut the door. Another woman hurried across the street, grabbed the hand of a child, and disappeared into a nearby house. Within moments, the street became almost empty. The blue and green lights continued moving silently through the village, connecting every road and alley before fading into the darkness. Xu Yang's expression tightened. They weren't simply surrounding the village with soldiers. They had sealed every direction.
Qing Li's gaze followed the faint light beneath the stones. "That's a formation." Yan Luo looked toward the alley where another green strand had just appeared. "A sealing formation." Hei Long's expression darkened. "So even if we get past the soldiers,the village itself won't let us through." Lin Chen glanced toward the road behind them. "Then we need to break it before they close it completely." Wei Han said nothing. His eyes remained on the thin blue light running between the old houses. Then he slowly raised his hand and dark ring rested around his finger,its surface marked with a faint silver pattern. Su Yuan noticed it and immediately looked at him. "Wei Han..." Wei Han's expression remained calm. "Stay back."
He pressed his thumb against the ring and faint pulse of silver light spread from it. The blue and green strands across the village suddenly trembled. One of the soldiers turned sharply. "What was that?" Before anyone could react,the silver light shot across the ground and struck the nearest strand and sharp crack sounded through the street. The blue-green line split apart,its light scattering into tiny sparks before disappearing. The pressure around the village weakened for a brief moment. Wei Han's ring glowed once more. He moved his hand slightly,and another silver pulse struck the formation. This time,a narrow gap opened between two rows of old houses.
Qing Li's eyes sharpened. "He broke it." Yan Luo looked toward the soldiers. "Not completely." Hei Long glanced at the fading light. "Enough for now." Wei Han lowered his hand and silver glow around the ring disappeared. He looked toward the opening. "We have a moment." Xu Yang glanced at the soldiers,then at the narrow passage between the old houses. The soldiers had already noticed the broken formation and were beginning to move.
Xu Yang shifted his gaze back to Su Yuan. "You really don't want to go back." Su Yuan's stared at the ground for a moment before answering quietly, "No." he whispered. "Whatever happens there, I can't go back." Before Xu Yang could say anything else, a sudden sound came from above. Everyone looked up.They saw a dark shape swept across the rooftops. It was a large black bird with rough, uneven feathers, a long curved beak, and pale red eyes. Its thin, sharp claws looked almost like black needles. A narrow black tube was tied to one of its legs, sealed with dark red wax.
The leading soldier immediately stepped forward and removed it. He broke the seal and pulled out the message. At first, his expression remained unchanged. Then his eyes stopped moving. He read the same line again. His face slowly hardened. The soldier beside him noticed. "Commander?" The leading soldier folded the paper once. "Close the eastern street." Several soldiers immediately moved.The soldiers had already surrounded them, yet now they were tightening the formation instead of taking Su Yuan away.
Su Yuan looked toward the commander. "What did the message say?" The soldier simply looked at Su Yuan for several seconds then he said, "The palace has changed its orders." Su Yuan's face went pale. "Changed them to what?" The commander lowered his voice. "You are not to be taken back to the Demon Palace." Silence fell across the street. Even Wei Han's eyes shifted slightly.Su Yuan stared at him. "Then where?" The commander's expression remained cold. "The order says you are to be taken to the Blackwater Fortress."
Su Yuan stopped breathing for a moment. Chen Yu immediately noticed. "Su Yuan?" Su Yuan did not answer. His hand slowly loosened from Wei Han's sleeve before gripping it again. "No," he whispered. "That place..." Chen Yu stepped closer. "You've been there before?" Su Yuan shook his head, but his face had already given him away. "No one who goes there is allowed to return."Xu Yang's eyes narrowed. He looked toward the soldiers again. "Then why send him there?" The commander heard him but said nothing. He only raised the message slightly. "These are the orders of the Demon Palace."
Wei Han's gaze settled on the sealed message. "An order doesn't explain the reason."The commander looked at him. "You don't need to know the reason." Wei Han's gaze remained steady. "Then we have no reason to trust the order." Several soldiers immediately shifted their weapons. The commander lifted one hand, stopping them. His eyes moved across the group before settling on Su Yuan. "His Highness knows exactly why the palace wants him there." Su Yuan's face remained pale. He looked away. Xu Yang watched him closely. "Su Yuan." Su Yuan did not respond. "What is Blackwater Fortress?" After a long silence, Su Yuan finally whispered, "A place where the palace sends people it doesn't want anyone to find."
Yan Luo glanced toward the soldiers, then toward the rooftops. "So they aren't trying to bring him home." Qing Li's hand slowly moved closer to his weapon. "They're trying to disappear him." Hei Long looked toward the narrow streets behind them. "Then standing here is a bad idea." Lin Chen gave a quiet glance toward the soldiers. "We don't have much choice." Hei Long's eyes shifted toward an old wooden gate half-hidden between two old house. "We always have a choice. We just need an opening."
Xu Yang looked toward the gate. It was narrow, partly blocked by broken carts and old wooden boards. Two soldiers were standing nearby, but their attention remained on the main road. Wei Han noticed it at the same moment. His eyes stayed on the soldiers for another few seconds before he quietly said, "There." Yan Luo followed his gaze. "Too narrow." Wei Han shook his head. "Not for all of us." Qing Li looked at him. "You're thinking of splitting up." Wei Han didn't answer directly. "We only need enough space to get past the first line."
Su Yuan heard them and turned toward Xu Yang.He looked at each of them before meeting Xu Yang's eyes. "If you stay with me, you'll become their enemies too." His voice was quiet, almost apologetic. "You don't have to do this."Xu Yang looked at the soldiers surrounding them. More were moving into the street now, their footsteps slow and deliberate. The distance between them was shrinking.
For a moment, he hesitated. I shouldn't be involved in this. I came here by accident, and Su Yuan's trouble has nothing to do with me...He looked at Su Yuan.I don't even know what really happened in the Demon Palace, and yet I'm standing here, watching him look more frightened with every step those soldiers take. I could leave. Maybe that would be the sensible thing to do...This isn't my story, and I have no idea what I've just stepped into... But if I walked away now, I knew I'd keep thinking about the look on his face. I couldn't explain why that bothered me so much. Maybe I was simply being foolish. Or maybe I'd already gotten involved the moment I chose to stay beside him...
Then Xu Yang looked at Su Yuan again.
He stepped closer instead of moving away. Su Yuan's eyes widened slightly. Xu Yang said nothing. He simply stood beside him. For a brief moment, the street became strangely quiet. Then the black messenger bird on the stone railing slowly turned its head toward Xu Yang. Its pale red eyes fixed on him. Xu Yang's expression changed. The bird opened its beak."Xu Yang."