Moonlight shines on the ruins
The night was as dark as ink, swallowing up all the hustle and bustle of the day.
Wanghai Villa is located in the northeast corner of Chang'an City, adjacent to the long-abandoned Tongji Canal. Far from the bustling city, it enjoys a desolate tranquility forgotten by time.
The crescent moon cast a cold, pale light, barely outlining the dilapidated silhouette of the buildings: crumbling pavilions and towers resembled the skeletons of giant beasts, while wild grasses swayed in the wind, rustling softly like the whispers of the dead.
Several figures, as if blending into the night itself, silently made their way to the outskirts of the deserted garden.
Pei Qinhu lay hidden behind a broken wall, his aura concealed. His sharp eyes, even in the darkness, carefully scanned the darkness before him. He could sense that beneath this deathly silence lay an extraordinary presence, like an undercurrent beneath a calm surface.
Yi Xing sat in a specially made wooden wheelchair, pushed by Yang Yuhuan to the shade of a withered old locust tree. He wrapped his thin cloak tighter around himself to ward off the chill of the night dew. Looking up at the ruins shrouded in the hazy moonlight, his gaze was calm, his fingertips unconsciously twirling a cold chess piece in his sleeve.
Ming Shiyin stood slightly ahead of them, his crimson robes blending seamlessly into the night, except for the vermilion mark on his forehead, which glowed faintly red in the dim moonlight. He quietly "senseed"—the scent of the wind, the subtle flow of energy in the soil, and the sense of incongruity permeating the air.
Gongsun Li's figure rose and fell silently atop the eaves of a half-collapsed pavilion. She kept quiet, her rabbit ears catching any movement in the wind. From here, one could overlook most of the desolate garden: dark, gaping windows, a huge, dried-up pond, and traces of recently disturbed soil beside it.
"Darkness is not nothingness; it is the breeding ground of all secrets and the prelude to all light."
Yi Xing gazed at the deep darkness and suddenly spoke softly.
Ming Shiyin tilted his head slightly: "There is indeed something unusual about this place. Although the residual aura of the formation has been deliberately concealed, it cannot escape our senses. Moreover... there is the sound of flowing water coming from underground."
Underground? A chill ran down everyone's spine.
"True light is never afraid of shadows, because the existence of shadows proves the unstoppable nature of light."
Yi Xing's voice was calm as still water, yet it carried a power that pierced through the fog. His words sent a jolt through everyone—wasn't their pursuit of the truth precisely the light that wasn't obscured by shadows?
"I'll go scout ahead first!" Pei Qinhu said in a low voice, his muscles bulging.
"Be careful," Yi Xing said, uttering only two words.
Pei Qinhu nodded, then lowered his body and darted out like a ghost, disappearing into the shadows of the desolate garden.
Time passed slowly in silence.
Sudden--
"Snap!"
A slight, unusual sound came from the depths of the desolate garden! It wasn't coming from Pei Qinhu's direction, but from another stone pavilion covered in vines!
Almost simultaneously, Pei Qinhu's figure suddenly paused in the distance and quickly disappeared behind the artificial rockery.
Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats.
It wasn't Pei Qinhu's voice.
There are others in this desolate garden!
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