The empty city was destroyed (13)
Zhao Yuxiao stared blankly at the woman. She was about the same age as Ye Yingying, but her features were much more delicate, making her appear more mature and charming.
Shaoling had anticipated that the woman would be angry, so she quickly explained, "I brought him here to hide from the prison guards; he won't cause any trouble."
As he spoke, he nudged Zhao Yuxiao's elbow: "Right?"
"Huh?" Zhao Yuxiao was a beat slow to react, and just nodded blankly.
The woman snorted coldly and walked into the house on her own.
"You stay here and don't go out," Shaoling instructed Zhao Yuxiao. "Also, don't provoke her; she's in a bad mood."
After saying that, Shaoling patted his shoulder again: "Don't worry, I will definitely find Miss Wuyue."
Zhao Yuxiao felt a little awkward. He watched Shaoling leave and then turned to look at the empty courtyard.
The fog wasn't thick, and he could see the entire courtyard at a glance. The place was truly spacious, with nothing but mud-brick houses surrounding it on three sides.
Zhao Yuxiao stood there, at a loss. There wasn't even a place to sit outside. Was he just supposed to stand there and wait? How long would that take?
Feeling a bit bored, Zhao Yuxiao approached the door and listened intently to the sounds outside.
He hoped he could find Wu Yue soon. Zhao Yuxiao prayed silently, but he was still a little uneasy. Given Wu Yue's personality, she might not be willing to come with Shao Ling.
As I was thinking, I suddenly heard a rustling sound outside, like chains scraping against the ground, as if someone had passed by.
The sound of chains was like the lingering echo of a vengeful spirit in the air, heavy and slow, sending chills down one's spine.
Zhao Yuxiao even slowed his breathing a bit. He had also heard the sound yesterday, but the fog was too thick, and he couldn't see what the source of the sound looked like.
"Yes, what exactly is it?" Zhao Yuxiao felt a surge of desire to find out. He leaned down, pressed his face against the door, and peered through the tiny gap in the door.
The sound of chains grew closer, and a disheveled man came into Zhao Yuxiao's view. The man was hunched over, his arms hanging naturally in front of him, swaying with his body. His head was lowered, and his messy hair obscured his face, but this did not stop him from moving forward.
The man, like a mindless walking corpse, walked step by step past the door.
Zhao Yuxiao caught a glimpse of the accessory dangling from his clothes; it was a piece of jade with what appeared to be a carved pattern.
He wanted to see the patterns clearly, but he was too far away and his field of vision was too narrow. The accessory flashed by, and its owner disappeared from his sight along with it.
What exactly happened? Zhao Yuxiao couldn't understand. Someone with accessories on their clothes must have some status, so why were they wandering around in the fog like a ghost?
Before he could think it through, another series of hurried footsteps came from outside the door. Zhao Yuxiao immediately perked up. He took a step back and saw the door being pushed open, and Shaoling and Wuyue walked into the courtyard, panting.
"Great! You're alright!" Zhao Yuxiao ran excitedly towards Wu Yue, but the latter looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Where exactly is this place?"
Wu Yue looked around, and the empty courtyard gave her an inexplicable sense of unease.
"It's safe here. You two can wait here until the fog clears," Shaoling said to the two after closing the door.
"You seem to know this place quite well, like it's your own backyard." Wu Yue looked at him with a displeased expression. "How did you find your way around in the fog?"
Wu Yue's question clearly showed her distrust of Shao Ling. Zhao Yuxiao felt a bit helpless. They were obviously living under someone else's roof, and her obvious hostility suggested she was afraid they wouldn't be kicked out.
He quickly tried to smooth things over and prevent the atmosphere from becoming too tense, but someone else joined the confrontation faster than him—"Didn't anyone teach you to be polite to your benefactor?"
The sound came from the direction of the house. A woman leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching them languidly. This was the same woman Zhao Yuxiao had seen when he came in.
Wu Yue had obviously noticed this guy as well, but the moment she saw his face clearly, she frowned in surprise: "It's you?!"
"Who? Do you two know each other?" Zhao Yuxiao asked Wu Yue, confused.
"You haven't seen her before? She's Gu Wusi!"
Gu Wusi… Zhao Yuxiao was shocked. Wasn’t the enemy that Senior Yun and the others encountered on the mountain in Yuancheng Gu Wusi?
Shaoling brought them here, which means that Shaoling and Gu Wusi are in cahoots!
The situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and the facts were already clear. Zhao Yuxiao immediately shielded Wu Yue behind him.
"Please calm down, you two. We really don't mean to oppose you!" Shaoling anxiously explained from the middle. "If I wanted to harm you, I would have just left you to fend for yourselves in the fog. Why go through all this trouble?"
Shao Ling's words made some sense, but Gu Wusi's previous impression on them was not good at all. Zhao Yuxiao hesitated for a moment but still did not let go, maintaining a guarded posture.
"Heh." Gu Wusi sneered disdainfully, "I told you not to waste your energy, and do you see them appreciate it?"
Shaoling didn't refute, but sighed and continued to persuade the two, "The matter is a bit complicated. If possible, could you listen to me finish before making a decision?"
Inside the inn, the white fog arrived even more suddenly than yesterday, enveloping the inn almost instantly.
"Wu Yue and Zhao Yuxiao are still outside."
Looking at the thick fog swirling outside, Ye Yingying couldn't help but worry about the safety of the two people. She glanced at Yun Yanqiu, whose expression was also grave.
"Should we go out and look for them?" Ye Yingying asked Yun Yanqiu.
To everyone's surprise, Yun Yanqiu looked at the inn's gate and said helplessly, "In this place, you can only enter and not leave during curfew."
"What?" Ye Yingying only then realized what was going on. She walked to the front door and tentatively reached out her hand, only to encounter a soft and invisible barrier.
"This is……"
"Don't think about it, this is to protect you." Yun Yatou suddenly appeared beside Ye Yingying, her face serious.
Ye Yingying was startled and turned to look at her: "My companion is still outside."
"That's their problem. All we can do is protect the people inside," Yun said firmly. "Besides, isn't there still that customer who wasted the buns? Maybe he'll bring the other two back like he did with you yesterday?"
Wasting steamed buns... Ye Yingying pursed her lips, realizing that this girl was quite vengeful.
But Shao Ling is not entirely trustworthy yet, and it would be too risky to place all our hopes on him.
"Can't you be a little more accommodating? We can protect ourselves outside."
"No." Yun shook her head decisively. "You two should go upstairs and rest. Don't even think about running outside anymore."
Ye Yingying watched Yun Yatou turn and leave, but she didn't intend to give up. She touched the barrier again, feeling that it was just as strange as the illusion. Logically speaking, everything in an illusion array should change according to the will of the array setter, but the longer Ye Yingying stayed in this array, the more confused she became.
If Zhan Yan set up this formation and imposed a curfew to prevent outsiders from influencing the formation, then why did he arrange for this inn to provide shelter for intruders?
Oh, and there's the shopkeeper. Yun Yanqiu said the shopkeeper was an old acquaintance, but Zhan Yan and Yun Yanqiu clearly weren't from the same era. How could he create the shopkeeper in this illusion array?
Ye Yingying suddenly remembered what Wu Yue had said earlier: Zhan Yan might never have died.
“Yingying”.
Suddenly, a large hand touched her shoulder. Ye Yingying came back to her senses and found that Yun Yanqiu had come over at some point and whispered in her ear, "Go and rest first. Wu Yue and Zhao Yuxiao have their own ways. Everything will be fine."
"But..." Ye Yingying still had some questions she couldn't understand. She wanted to discuss them with Yun Yanqiu, but he insisted on coaxing her upstairs.
"Rest first, we'll talk about other things when the fog clears." Yun Yanqiu gently pushed her back to the room, softly comforting her as she closed her eyes.
Ye Yingying didn't understand why he did this, but she didn't want to make things difficult for him, so she lay down on the bed and pretended to fall asleep.
As if to confirm whether she was really asleep, Yun Yanqiu stroked Ye Yingying's hand while observing her breathing. Only when he saw that her breathing was even did he let go and leave the room.
Not long after Yun Yanqiu left, Ye Yingying opened her eyes, tiptoed out of bed, put on a robe, and opened the door to look around. Finding the corridor empty, she stepped outside, only to suddenly hear faint voices coming from downstairs.
Ye Yingying quickly squatted down, leaned close to the fence, and listened intently.
"Why aren't you upstairs to rest so late, guests?" The voice was hoarse and clearly belonged to the innkeeper.
The answer he received was Yun Yanqiu's calm voice: "My companions haven't returned yet, I'll wait here."
"Oh dear, it's so late, and they're still not back?" The shopkeeper asked, somewhat surprised. "What are we going to do? Those prison guards outside are not to be trifled with..."
"Would the innkeeper be so kind as to lift the barrier at the door and allow me to go out and search?"
Hearing this, the innkeeper hesitated for a moment, then said, "Guest, you are joking. This is just a small inn, there are no restrictions here. It's just that you really can't go out during curfew, it's for your safety."
"...Does the shopkeeper have a family?"
Yun Yanqiu's sudden change of topic left the shopkeeper somewhat bewildered: "Why is the guest suddenly asking about this?"
"I'm just a little curious, you're a grown man, running a shop here with a young girl, don't you have a wife to lend a hand?"
"Sigh, it would be good if I had one, but it's a pity my face is like this, so no one would be interested in me."
After saying that, he pointed to the hideous scar on his left cheek and laughed self-deprecatingly.
How did you get this scar?
“This?” The shopkeeper became interested when talking about the story behind the scar. “When I was young, I liked to travel around. Back then, I met a lot of like-minded friends, and we went through thick and thin together.”
"This scar is from when I took a knife for an impulsive friend back then."
"Friend...is it Yun Yanqiu?" Ye Yingying listened intently, lost in thought.
Do you remember that person's name?
"Name?" The shopkeeper was taken aback, then chuckled awkwardly, "That was so many years ago, how could I possibly remember?"
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