Chapter 43

Chapter 43

That night, a shadowy figure slipped into the quiet room, gradually coalescing into human form. "Everything is ready. We can begin at any time."

A man inside the room opened his eyes. He was seated upright in the shadows, his face unclear, and responded with a low, muffled sound, "Mm."

Wu Lan sauntered over to him. "Cheer up. Being so serious will make you age faster."

The man ignored him and closed his eyes again, gesturing for him to get lost.

Wu Lan, in a good mood, didn’t take it personally. He threw out a comment before turning to leave. "You’d better hurry up."

With that, he dissipated like mist, as if he had never appeared. The man in the shadows clenched his fist.

Inside the room, incense smoke curled lazily from the burner. Qi Wuyu flicked the black chess piece from between his fingers into the chess box and stretched his legs. "I’m done playing. It’s boring."

Liu Nanzhou began putting away the chess pieces. Qi Wuyu rested his chin in his hand and gazed at him, smiling. Liu Nanzhou touched his own face. "What is it? Is there something on my face?"

Qi Wuyu shook his head. "No."

"Then why are you staring at me?"

"You’re handsome."

Liu Nanzhou: "..."

An idea occurred to Qi Wuyu, and he leaned in mischievously toward Liu Nanzhou, extending a hand with a clenched fist. "How about I show you a magic trick?"

"What trick?"

Qi Wuyu opened his hand and wiggled his fingers. "See? There’s nothing here, right?"

"Mm."

Qi Wuyu made a show of closing his fist and blew on it. "Now there is."

Liu Nanzhou played along. "What is it?"

Qi Wuyu made a mysterious throwing gesture. Liu Nanzhou instinctively looked up, and Qi Wuyu seized the chance to lean in and steal a kiss.

Liu Nanzhou: "..."

This man truly had no sense of propriety.

After tricking the little simpleton, Qi Wuyu floated back to his room in high spirits. The next morning, as he left his room, he saw that the pear blossom tree outside had lost even more blossoms. The branches were already looking somewhat bare, with only a few scattered blossoms still clinging precariously—more pitiful than a balding head.

He felt an inexplicable pang of unease. In all the time he had known this tree, he had never seen it so denuded.

Qi Wuyu circled it, pondering for a long while, and decided to go ask Shen You—did trees also have midlife crises?

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly felt a blockage in his chest. A muffled, droning sound rang in his ears. His steps faltered, and he nearly stumbled, but Liu Nanzhou caught him.

"Wuyu!"

Qi Wuyu steadied himself with Liu Nanzhou’s support, took a moment to recover, and shook his head. "It’s nothing. Just now..."

Before he could finish, a commotion suddenly erupted from the back mountain. The two exchanged a glance, and Liu Nanzhou swept Qi Wuyu up and flew toward it.

But the scene before them was now rather chaotic.

Two or three disciples were frantically charging toward the waterfall. Other disciples tried to stop them, and a fight broke out. For a moment, Qi Wuyu also felt an urge to rush forward. He bit the tip of his tongue, suppressing the impulse.

Yao Shuning struggled to hold back Fang Xun, shouting, "Senior Brother, snap out of it!"

Fang Xun seemed deaf to her words, as if his mind held only that single goal.

"What’s all this noise?" Xie Yongdao arrived upon hearing the commotion, frowning and scolding.

Ying Nianling saw Fang Xun still trying to charge into the waterfall. He grabbed Fang Xun’s shoulder, subdued him in a few moves, and asked sternly, "Fang Xun, what are you trying to do?"

But Fang Xun seemed not to understand. He tilted his head blankly. Shen You seized his wrist and immediately sealed several of his acupoints. The other disciples were treated similarly, and only then did they calm down.

"What’s going on? They’re acting like they’ve lost their minds again." Xie Yongdao looked at them. "Aren’t these the disciples who were poisoned a while back? Was the poison not fully cleared?"

Liu Nanzhou glanced at Qi Wuyu. Shen You said, "Impossible. The poison must have been cleared."

Xie Yongdao asked Qi Wuyu, "How are you?"

Qi Wuyu’s face was somewhat pale, but his condition was better than the other disciples. "I’m fine."

Liu Nanzhou tightened his grip on Qi Wuyu’s hand. Qi Wuyu patted him reassuringly.

"It seems the poison was just a decoy," Qi Wuyu said.

As soon as he finished speaking, a strong light suddenly burst from within the waterfall, accompanied by strange noises. The elders exchanged glances. Xie Yongdao said, "Chu Minghe, take the junior brothers and sisters back."

With that, he immediately entered the waterfall with the others to investigate. At the same time, disciples from other sects who had been poisoned also rushed toward their respective Fourfold Arrays. The Golden Que Valley and the Five Cities of Heaven’s Gate were thrown into chaos.

In recent days, Yang Zhen had been utterly overwhelmed. Several disciples from her sect had mysteriously disappeared.

She had investigated for days but found nothing. The missing disciples had vanished without a trace—neither alive nor dead—simply gone within the sect grounds. Before she could even inquire with other sects, she had been unable to sleep properly for several nights. Today, she had finally managed to doze off for a moment when she was awakened by a clamorous noise.

"What’s that sound?" Yang Zhen looked up and saw a bloody glow on the horizon. Her heart trembled with a sense of foreboding.

A disciple followed her gaze. "That seems to be the direction of the Third City."

Several disciples rushed over in a panic. "It’s terrible, Master! Over a dozen disciples are causing trouble near the Fourfold Array!"

Yang Zhen stood up abruptly. "What?" she asked. "Where’s Jiang Ce? Isn’t he in the Third City?"

"The Third City Lord has already gone."

Yang Zhen led her people toward the Third City, issuing orders as she walked. "Find the other City Lords. Head to the Third City immediately. Contact the other sects, inform them of this matter, and ask about their situations."

"Yes."

She walked with such speed that she left the First City in the blink of an eye. A light drizzle began to fall, dotting her sleeves.

Liu Nanzhou brushed off the water droplets on his sleeve and looked up. Inside the waterfall was an extremely spacious cave, emitting a chilling cold from below. Yao Shuning shivered as soon as she entered. Qi Wuyu was even worse off, covered in goosebumps and trembling slightly. Fortunately, his robes were loose, making it less noticeable.

Liu Nanzhou placed a hand on Qi Wuyu’s back, channeling some spiritual energy into him. The warm energy flowed through his meridians, and Qi Wuyu felt much warmer.

The group walked deeper inside and saw the Fourfold Array in the center flashing with an unsettling red light. Shen You asked, "Who tampered with the Fourfold Array?"

Ying Nianling’s face showed concern. "I’m afraid something has happened in the other sects."

Qi Wuyu frowned, his nerves stretched taut, a thread pulled tight within his Spiritual Platform. "First, we need to stabilize the Fourfold Array."

Xie Yongdao said, "Right. Stabilize the Fourfold Array first, then we’ll talk."

The three of them each took a corner, joining forces to cast spells. A massive ring materialized in the air, rotating toward each other, its interior inscribed with intricate curse patterns.

Qi Wuyu had no energy to spare. He was still resisting a force akin to a command within his body. Inside, he was seething, yet his expression remained calm. He stood to the side, instructing Liu Nanzhou and Yao Shuning on the incantations, getting them to help.

In about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Fourfold Array gradually stabilized. The red glow slowly faded, and the group, utterly exhausted, ceased their casting, breathing heavily.

But before they could catch their breath, the Fourfold Array suddenly went berserk. A fierce gale swept up, whipping sand and stones around them. Those standing close were caught off guard and were all sucked toward the array. Almost the instant he was swept up, Qi Wuyu pulled Liu Nanzhou over, shielding him in his embrace.

They felt pressure from all sides. Liu Nanzhou felt as if he were being forcibly crammed into a hole smaller than himself, every inch of his skin under pressure, making the slightest movement strenuous. He had no idea how long it took before they finally landed. Qi Wuyu lost his footing for a moment, and Liu Nanzhou quickly steadied him.

"Where is this?" Yao Shuning asked, looking around.

Xie Yongdao took a look around and recognized the place. "This is the Five Cities of Tianmen."

As soon as he finished speaking, two more groups appeared behind them. One was led by Si Muyun, with members of Chaowu Tian, and the other was led by Zhuang Yanming, with disciples of the Golden Que Valley.

They exchanged glances, their faces fell, brows furrowed. The Fourfold Array connected the major sects, so when the array was established, teleportation formations were deliberately added to link to specific locations within each sect. This was to ensure timely reinforcements and prevent catastrophe.

If a sect needed assistance, they could contact others through the Fourfold Array. Activating the teleportation formation would connect them, though the cost was enormous and it was only used as a last resort.

Qi Wuyu looked up at the crimson sky over the Five Cities of Tianmen, figuring they were in for serious trouble here.

After exchanging a few words and discovering their situations were quite similar, they were just about to go find Yang Zhen when she arrived.

Yang Zhen was very surprised to see them. "How did you get here?"

They glanced at each other. Xie Yongdao asked, "Didn't you call for us?"

Yang Zhen replied, "No, I didn't. Someone's messing with the Fourfold Array; I was just on my way to check." Her expression softened slightly. "But since you're here, why don't you all come take a look with me."

The group immediately followed Yang Zhen to the Fourfold Array. The protective barrier around the array had been breached at some point. Black mist now billowed from the array, so thick it nearly obscured the formation's patterns, tinting the sky black. Even a fool could sense the heavy demonic energy.

Over a dozen disciples were rushing toward the array, being held back by their fellow sect members. One disciple broke through, plunging headlong into the black mist as if swallowed by it. The black energy then intensified.

They arrived just in time to witness this. Liu Nanzhou had a chilling realization: the disciple had been sacrificed to the array.

Yang Zhen spotted the hem of a Five Cities of Tianmen disciple uniform at the edge of the array. Combined with what she had just seen, a horrifying thought struck her: someone was using Five Cities disciples as sacrifices for the array. Those missing disciples from the past few days were likely all here.

At this realization, Yang Zhen felt her blood run cold.

"What is going on?" Ying Nianling asked.

"Why is there such intense demonic energy?" Si Muyun inquired. "City Lord Yang, are you keeping something from us?"

Yang Zhen couldn't answer because she didn't know either. She tightened her grip on her sword, vaguely making out a shadowy figure within the array. Squinting, she thought it looked familiar.

"Jiang Ce?"

Jiang Ce slowly emerged from the black mist. His eyes were blood-red, shrouded in dark energy. His arms hung limply, and he dragged the body of a Five Cities disciple behind him, obviously dead. Seeing him, Zhou Xun's heart lurched, unable to believe it. He stared unblinkingly, the sight nearly bringing him to tears.

Yang Zhen stepped forward, asking in disbelief, "Did you do this? Have you gone mad?"

Jiang Ce looked down at his hands, covered in blood—the blood of his fellow sect disciples.

He knew them all, could call them by name. They would greet him when they saw him. Even if he didn't respond, these junior disciples thought well of him. During festivals, some would even bring him small gifts or snacks, though some weren't particularly tasty.

Of course, some spoke ill of him behind his back, but he didn't mind and wouldn't hold it against these juniors. In death, they were all the same—unbelieving, uncomprehending, eyes wide open, asking him why.

Why?

"I'm not mad."

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Author's Note: Managed to finish this on the road [heart]