Back in the courtyard, torches flickered against the damp air.
Without someone maintaining the formation, the sea of yin energy had already dissipated.
Yang Zhen and Zhao Xing stood at the steps, their expressions dark.
Hong Ning rushed through the door.
“You all need to leave immediately.”
Seeing her return unharmed, Yang Zhen’s expression relaxed slightly, but his voice remained steady. “What happened?”
There was no time to explain.
Hong Ning spoke quickly, “Go now. If you delay any longer, I won’t be able to protect you.”
Yang Zhen frowned.
The guards looked at each other in confusion, clueless about the situation.
Zhao Xing glanced up at the dark sky and hesitated. “It’s still before dawn. Do we really have to set out in the rain—”
“If you want to live, then leave. Now.”
Her voice was ice-cold.
The severity of her tone, coupled with the eerie mystery of Wang Hu’s death, sent a chill through the group.
No one dared argue further.
Hong Ning turned to Yang Zhen.
“The talisman has sealed his power, but it will only last for half an hour. Once the time is up, he will be far more difficult to handle. Take your men and leave for the nearby manor. Stay there until morning—I will meet you then.”
She added, “Don’t worry. I will tell you everything.”
The situation was dangerous, and with so many people unfamiliar with magic, keeping them here would only mean certain death.
Yang Zhen grabbed Hong Ning’s wrist without hesitation.
“If we failed to capture him, he will surely come back for revenge. You should leave with us.”
Hong Ning was momentarily stunned.
She deliberately avoided looking into his eyes—eyes that felt far too familiar.
The concern in them drained her resolve, making it difficult for her to argue.
She averted her gaze, her voice turning cold.
“Since I choose to stay, I have my reasons. If he truly seeks revenge, do you think you can escape him? Besides, if we all leave, won’t the nearby families suffer his wrath instead? Are other people’s lives truly so worthless in your eyes, Young Master Yang?”
Her words were laced with sarcasm, but they weren’t without logic.
Yang Zhen hesitated. “Are you certain?”
Hong Ning replied, “Without you all here, I’m even more certain.”
He knew her temperament well. Though the remark was clearly meant to provoke, he didn’t let himself get angry.
Realizing that keeping his men here would only hinder the fight, he finally released her wrist and turned away with a sweep of his sleeve.
“Let’s go.”
Zhao Xing and the others, relieved to receive an order, immediately followed him out of the courtyard.
But just as Yang Zhen stepped past the gate, he suddenly stopped.
Without turning around, he said, “Be careful.”
Hong Ning had been feeling restless and impatient about facing this battle alone, but those two simple words caught her off guard.
Something inside her stirred, a strange ache that she couldn’t quite place.
She was silent for a long moment before smiling faintly.
“Thank you.”
Yang Zhen did not respond, leading his men away without looking back.
* * *
As the courtyard fell back into silence, the rain intensified, falling in steady sheets.
Hong Ning moved unhurriedly, retrieving several objects from inside her robe.
She walked to each corner of the courtyard, carefully placing them down one by one.
The formation activated.
Before long, waves of yin energy surged from all directions, rolling in even more fiercely than before.
Once everything was set, she stepped onto the veranda and turned to face the wall.
A solid, unbroken wall.
Hong Ning chuckled.
“Quite the clever illusion.”
Before the laughter had even faded, she had already pulled out the Demon-Revealing Mirror.
Light flared from the mirror’s surface, casting a brilliant glow over the wall.
Under the intense radiance, a door suddenly materialized where the solid wall had once been!
Using the mirror’s reflection, Hong Ning peered inside the room.
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