[Yao Estate · Council Hall]
Wind poured through the half-latched window, carrying the city's panic and the raw, scorched smell of ash. Far down the streets came the crash of smashed wood and the echo of shouting, like ten thousand people growling in the same fever-dream.
Lin Lie slammed his palm onto the table and shoved a carved battle map forward.
"The southern quarter and the inner wards are already caught in a wave of illusionary disturbance," he said, voice low. "If we don't stop it now, all of Yao City will be turned into puppets."
Sang Qi leaned against a pillar, arms folded, expression unreadable.
"Then we make them lose mobility first." He lifted his gaze, tone flat but edged with cold. "I'll use a large dose of sedative mist to knock them out. Then we get manpower to bind them. It avoids direct clashes and buys time."
Cang Yuan twirled the short blade in his fingers and let out a soft laugh.
"Works for me. Less blood on the streets." His manner was usually lazy, yet his eyes were rare and heavy with focus, the calm of someone who had lived through true killing.
"Do it. Now." Lin Lie snapped the map shut and turned on his heel, crisp and decisive.
He gave Luo Ye beside him a shove. "Don't freeze up. Luo Ye. Move."
Luo Ye's robe fluttered from the push, but he didn't stand. His head had been bowed the whole time, fingers curled tight on his knee like he was holding back an eruption.
Lin Lie frowned, lowering his voice. "What is it?"
Luo Ye raised his head. His eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse to the point of vanishing.
"…Ling Dang is gone."
The air in the hall turned to stone.
"What 'lingdang'?" Cang Yuan blinked, genuinely puzzled. "You're a grown man, why do you need a bell?"
Luo Ye shot him a murderous look. "Ling Dang. The Ling as in Ling surname. Not a bell."
Sang Qi walked over with hands tucked into his sleeves, tone mild.
"And she's his beloved." He patted Luo Ye's shoulder, the hint of comfort in his touch. "Calm down. If you fall apart, nobody can help her."
Lin Lie's brows knotted hard. "When did she disappear?"
"Just now, when the mob first rushed into the city district." Luo Ye's voice rasped. "I went to the inn. When I came back, the door wasn't even locked. The room was wrecked. A table overturned. Teacups shattered everywhere."
He paused, fingers digging into his palm until his knuckles whitened.
"I think Ling Dang was taken by Ling Shuo."
Silence.
Cang Yuan's frown deepened, disbelief sharpening his features.
"What does Ling Shuo have to do with her? If he really started this riot, why would he take Ling Dang?"
Luo Ye shook his head, jaw tight.
"She said he's her elder brother. She's the daughter of the Lord of Xiling." His gaze lifted, and something ruthless flashed through it. "But I've always felt something was wrong with that 'Ling Shuo.' His aura is too strange. His eyes… they're not right. There's something evil in him."
Lin Lie stared at the map, thinking, then his eyes sank into a darker shade.
"Xiling…" he said slowly. "That city was slaughtered long ago. If he truly is the lord's son, how is he here in Yao City?"
A brief, taut silence followed. The wind outside hissed through the cracks, carrying frantic voices and the weight of urgency.
Sang Qi spoke first, calm and absolute.
"Who he is doesn't matter right now. We suppress the riot first." He lifted one hand, fingers turning slightly, and a faint medicinal fragrance spread with his breath. "I'll cast the sedative mist. We subdue the mob. Then we track that man's movements."
Cang Yuan nodded. "I'll help you set the flow."
Lin Lie turned to Luo Ye. "Hold yourself together. Don't go reckless. Once the illusion loosens, we'll find her."
Luo Ye drew a deep breath, forcing the rage in his chest down into a hard, controlled ember.
"…Fine."
Sang Qi hoisted his medicine satchel, voice as steady as ever. "Let's go, Luo Ye. If you really want to save her, make this city quiet first."
Luo Ye snapped his sleeve. The fire-ring hidden within chimed once, crisp.
"Alright." His reply was low. His eyes were sharp again.
The four exchanged a look. No extra words needed.
"Move." Lin Lie gave the order.
The door swung open. Wind surged in, carrying distant screams and the wash of firelight. They stepped into the torn night.
The city burned. The people raged. And this night was about to become the longest Yao City had ever known.
[Yao City · Night]
Flames stained the sky red. The wind carried ash and howling. In the alleys, crowds moved with hollow eyes, stones and blades in hand, like puppets yanked by a nightmare.
Lin Lie, Luo Ye, Sang Qi, and Cang Yuan split up, shadows slipping over rooftops and through lane mouths under trembling lantern-light.
"Too dense here," Sang Qi said. "We work with the wind."
He drew a small vial from his satchel and pulled the stopper. A thin thread of pale green smoke rose, slow and quiet.
Cang Yuan lifted his hand. Water-aspected power flowed into a cold current, sweeping the drug-mist into the night breeze.
"Southeast wind," he murmured. "It'll carry."
They met each other's eyes. The coordination was seamless, as if it had been carved into their bones.
The mist spread like a second fog over the street mouth. The mob's movements slowed. The fractured screams began to break apart, replaced by heavy breathing and stumbling steps.
"It's working," Sang Qi said, covering his mouth, voice even. "Another half quarter-hour and a third of the city will go quiet."
Cang Yuan flicked the water from his fingers and gave a faint smile. "Your medicine is more useful than my blade."
He had barely finished speaking when the pressure behind them changed.
A strong surge of Yao energy rolled in from afar, cutting through the mist like a tide.
Both of them turned at once.
The fog split.
A familiar, commanding voice rang through the night.
"Stop."
It was Si Mo Heng.
He stood at the end of the street, armor slightly loosened, Yao power flowing darkly beneath his sleeves. Beside him stood Gu Xingyu, now You Qing. Her robes moved like snow, and a faint crimson glow hovered in her eyes.
Behind her, the three Rift-Yao generals stood in a straight line, as imposing as mountains: Jia Luo, Lian Yu, Tu Tan.
Firelight seemed to divide itself at their feet, as though drawing a boundary of fate.
Cang Yuan spoke first, smile half-present, caution fully awake.
"What a coincidence, Third Highness."
Sang Qi narrowed his eyes at the three generals, voice turning colder.
"What's this? Even the Nether Domain's army has walked into Yao City now?"
Jia Luo stepped forward, massive as an iron tower, voice rough.
"We're not here to slaughter. We're here to stop the chaos."
Tu Tan added quietly, "The illusion array has taken form. If it isn't broken, Yao City will fall into a dream that never ends."
Lin Lie and Luo Ye arrived at the sound, and the moment Luo Ye's fire-aspected aura swept in, sparks jumped wildly in the air.
Luo Ye's gaze snapped to You Qing.
"Xingyu—" he called, then halted when he saw the crimson light in her eyes.
In that single heartbeat, he understood: she was no longer the girl who needed to be shielded behind them.
[Under Firelight]
The flames turned the sky into a red canopy. Ash drifted through the wind like dead snow.
The four of them stood at the far end of the long street, and there she was, wearing pale-silver battle robes. Her crimson eyes flickered in the fire, familiar and yet unfamiliar enough to tighten the throat.
Only a few months had passed.
It felt like an entire era.
Gu Xingyu—no, You Qing now—looked at them quietly and smiled.
"Long time no see, Cang Yuan, Sang Qi, Luo Ye, Lin Lie…" Her voice was still gentle, but it carried a steadiness that hadn't existed before. "Have you been well?"
All four took a step forward at nearly the same time.
Cang Yuan's mouth curved, but the usual teasing couldn't fully hide the ache that flashed through his eyes.
"It's really you…" he said lightly. "I almost thought… we'd never see you again."
Sang Qi stood beside him, tone calm as ever. "Have you been alright in the Rift-Yao Nether Domain? I heard there's no sunlight there."
As he spoke, his gaze measured her from head to toe, as if verifying she was truly, solidly alive.
Luo Ye stepped forward, firelight staining his eyes.
"You're finally back."
It was low and restrained, but packed with everything he hadn't been allowed to say.
Lin Lie spoke last, the most quiet, the most steady.
"You're not hurt?"
Just four words, yet they carried the whole weight of his silence. His fingers curled slightly, as though resisting the impulse to reach for her.
You Qing looked at them, and her nose stung.
Those familiar presences. Those familiar voices. The emptiness in her chest softened, crack by crack.
She drew a careful breath and nodded.
"I'm fine. Seeing you again…" Her voice caught, then steadied. "I'm glad. Truly."
They fell into a brief silence. The wind swept down from the far end of the battlefield, carrying the smell of burning and the undeniable truth of reunion.
Then a low voice came from behind them.
"After we quell the chaos, you can reminisce."
Si Mo Heng walked forward, black armor still dusted with ash, eyes cold and sharp. He swept his gaze across them, tone steady, leaving no room for argument.
"The array isn't broken yet. The northern Yao Tower is the array's core. If we don't move now, the entire city will be swallowed."
The four immediately gathered themselves. Faces sharpened. Breath tightened.
The warmth of reunion folded away, packed tight like a blade returning to its sheath.
Because the night wasn't finished with them yet.