Ling Yu was on the verge of panic. She had just come from Xue Qin Lou's basement, and it was empty. She and the two female doctors had been searching for the victims, the warriors, and Xuan Tian, but they were nowhere to be found.
Now, she stood in the middle of the street as the last traces of sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon. The air had grown colder, shadows stretching across the buildings. According to the doctors, Xuan Tian had left not long ago. But they were already too late.
Ling Yu was never one to give up, but right now, she didn't know what else to do.
She turned to the doctors, anxiety and helplessness showing on her face. The doctors were worried about her. She was their first priority. They were coming with her to make sure she was safe. They weren't worried about Xuan Tian—they knew he was more than capable.
"Ling Yu," Lin Qian held her wrist, checking her pulse. "Calm down. Everything's going to be okay. If you don't calm down, you'll collapse again."
"Lin Qian Jie-Jie, I can't calm down. I'm really worried. I don't know where they are. I don't know where they're going!" Ling Yu's voice started to tremble.
Xu Yun channeled her spirit energy into Ling Yu to calm her and to give her strength so she wouldn't collapse again. "Breathe. Calm down. When you're calm, you can think."
Ling Yu inhaled, following Xu Yun's directions. She closed her eyes, feeling herself steady.
When she opened them again, determination shone through.
"Okay, let's split up. We'll ask around. Whatever info we get, we meet back here in 30 minutes."
Both doctors nodded. They split.
Ling Yu started asking around. But no one had seen anything. It didn't make any sense! It was quite a large group of people. They couldn't have just vanished!
Ling Yu stopped in front of a tea stall, gripping one of the wooden pillars, trying to even her breathing. Frustration gnawed at her. How could no one have seen anything? A group that large couldn't just disappear without a trace. She was about to move on when—
Suddenly, her ears caught a conversation. Four men sat at the stall, drinking tea and chatting.
"It's very creepy. That's why no one dares to go up the mountain anymore. Not after the stories of floating fires were seen every five days!"
"Some people heard someone screaming."
"My neighbor's son went up and he never returned!"
Ling Yu felt there was something more, so she approached the table.
"Excuse me, what are you talking about? Floating fires? Where?"
The four men all turned to look at her. Seeing a young woman, they were eager to share an urban legend.
"Miss, it's true. Nowadays no one dares to go up Bai Mountain. It's been six months! They say there are floating fires. They appear every five days."
One of the men pointed in the direction of Bai Mountain. Ling Yu followed his gesture but remained skeptical. Floating fires? It sounded like an old wives' tale. "It's probably just a natural phenomenon," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. The men, however, were dead serious.
All heads turned that way, as if hoping they would really see flickering fires. But then—
But in the next second, the men jumped in fright. "Oh My Saint! Floating Fires! It's true! Spirits are out!"
They scrambled and ran.
Ling Yu's breath caught. She stared at the flickering fires up the mountain without blinking. It wasn't just a story. It was real.
Someone tapped her shoulder. She jumped and turned.
"What are you watching so intently?" Xu Yun asked.
Ling Yu pointed up. "Floating Fires. Spirits are out."
Xu Yun and Lin Qian looked up as well. Their cultivation was better than Ling Yu's. They could see a little clearer than normal humans.
"Those are not floating fires. I think they are torches," Lin Qian said.
Ling Yu frowned. "Why would anyone go up the mountain at this time? And that's a lot of torches."
All of them turned to look at each other in unison, realization dawning between them.
"If those are torches, that means someone's up there," Xu Yun said, voice sharp with urgency.
Lin Qian nodded. "And if someone is up there on the exact night the legend says these fires appear..."
Ling Yu clenched her fists. "Then we've found them!"
All three of them rushed to climb the mountain. Before entering the path leading up, Lin Qian stopped them.
"Ling Yu, you cannot go up there running. You're still weak. Your body won't be able to handle it."
"But—"
"No but, you cannot go. You wait here. I'll go," Lin Qian was firm.
"Lin Qian Jie-Jie, I have to go. If I wait here, I'll be even more worried. I won't be able to stop stressing over it. Wouldn't that be harder on my body?" Ling Yu was determined to go.
"But you're not strong enough—" Lin Qian insisted, her worry deepening. Ling Yu had already collapsed once today, and pushing herself too hard again could be dangerous. The last thing they needed was for her to fall unconscious in the middle of the mountain.
Xu Yun cut in, "How about this? How about we carry Ling Yu?"
"In turns," she added before Lin Qian could protest. "If we carry her in turns, she won't have to walk, and using our cultivation, we can get there faster."
After about two hours of running non-stop, they slowed down when the torches could no longer be seen, and they were nearing the field. Ling Yu got off Xu Yun's back. They approached the field slowly and carefully.
They suddenly heard the rustling of leaves and quickly hid behind the bushes. They saw a female cultivator emerge from behind a curtain of vines. Behind her was an opening, big enough for one person to enter.
They waited until the female cultivator left the field. Lin Qian and Xu Yun stayed hidden in the bushes until they were sure she was completely gone. They observed their surroundings.
The night was dark, the only illumination coming from the moonlight. A gentle wind blew softly. Everything was silent and still, only the sound of wind, leaves, and branches moving against each other.
When the doctors believed it was safe, they emerged from the bushes, guiding Ling Yu toward the vine curtain. Ling Yu reached out, but just as her fingers brushed the air near the entrance, Lin Qian grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
"Wait, I can sense an energy." Lin Qian stepped in front of Ling Yu and examined the cave entrance. "I think there's a barrier here. Wait—yes, I'm sure there's a barrier here. We can't enter without a key."
Ling Yu was frustrated. "We are this close and we can't enter! Can you break this barrier?"
Xu Yun shook her head. "No, whoever placed the barrier is stronger than us."
"Then how are we supposed to get in?!"
The doctors couldn't answer her. They didn't know either.
Ling Yu felt frustrated. They were so close, yet so far away. She refused to give up. She started carefully examining the rock wall where the cave was hidden. The doctors saw what she was doing and decided to help.
After what seemed like forever, Ling Yu finally found an opening in the wall. It was small—so small that even petite Ling Yu wasn't sure she could squeeze through. She decided to try anyway.
"Ling Yu!" Xu Yun stopped her. "Don't! What if you get stuck?"
Ling Yu's head had already entered. "Then you pull me back," a muffled voice was heard.
She moved forward slowly. The hole was tight, and she inched forward little by little.
The doctors watched her squeeze herself in, their minds in disarray. They knew they wouldn't be able to follow Ling Yu. They were confused—should they pull her out? Should they let her go? While the doctors were contemplating, Ling Yu saw a light at the end of the tunnel and quickened her pace.
She was finally out! She crawled out slowly, observing her surroundings, afraid that someone might see her. But she was lucky. No one was there.
Then she heard the clanking of chains. Then voices—
"Him. I pick him. Let's harvest him first."
Ling Yu gasped. Oh no! She rushed toward the direction of the voice. She arrived at a vast chamber, with two stone beds at the center. What she saw stopped her heart. Xuan Tian was chained, his expression blank, eyes unfocused. He was in a hypnotic state, bound to one of the stone beds.
Cultivators in shades of light green robes surrounded him. One of the older cultivators stepped forward, addressing the younger ones. "You already know the method, you just need practice. Now watch how I do it."
He moved his hands—
"STOP!"