"How different?" Linyue asked, her voice lowering.
Master Yin Xue placed her cup down, no more teasing in her voice. "The demons came in waves. Fiercer and relentless. Like something was pushing them forward. They've never attacked like this in the east before."
Linyue fell quiet, her tiredness forgotten.
Shu Mingye stepped forward slightly, voice low. "It's starting."
Master Yin Xue gave a single nod. "Whatever we're caught in now… it's no longer just about angry cabbages anymore."
Linyue's brows knit together. "Then they're still fighting the demons out there?"
"Yes," Master Yin Xue replied. "They haven't returned or sent news. It's likely still a mess out there."
Linyue turned to Shu Mingye, her voice firm. "I want to go outside the wall and take a look."
Shu Mingye exhaled slowly, then gave her a small nod. "Alright."
Master Yin Xue raised her hand lazily. "Be careful. I can't leave Xuanyi Pavilion. Just in case the angry cabbages make a surprise comeback."
Linyue nodded and rushed outside only to come to a full stop at the gate.
Right. No horse. She stood there blinking at the empty road, looking a little too heroic for someone stranded five steps into her journey.
Shu Mingye stood beside her, utterly unbothered. With a flick of his hand, shadow guards stepped forward from seemingly nowhere. One of them led out a beautiful horse, its coat shining like it had been brushed a hundred times.
Linyue blinked at it, her serious expression cracking into surprise. "You prepared this?"
Shu Mingye smirked. "I prepared it just in case you suddenly wanted to go out on a date."
Linyue blinked again. "A date?"
He gave a long-suffering sigh. "Yes. You never thought of it. That's why I'm heartbroken. I demand compensation."
She stared at him, trying not to smile. "Fine. Let's go first. I'll pay any compensation later."
Shu Mingye mounted the horse behind her, eyes glinting with triumph. "You said it. Don't regret it."
Linyue muttered under her breath as the horse started moving, "I think I'm already starting to regret this…" Her voice was quiet, but Shu Mingye heard it. She was frowning but her lips twitched. Just a little. Like a smile trying to sneak out before she could catch it.
Shu Mingye's grin grew instantly, wicked and far too pleased. Then he urged the horse into a full gallop. He was already thinking about what compensation he'd ask from her later. But he set those delightful thoughts aside for now. Because deep in his chest, something heavy settled. A bad feeling.
The demons had attacked suddenly. Out of nowhere. And in the east. The peaceful side where old farmers mostly fought over cabbage prices was now in chaos?
There had been no strange reports from Shulin lately. No spies sneaking around. No demons attacking. No suspicious letters. No explosions in the kitchen. Too calm.
He didn't know exactly what was happening yet. But one thing was clear, he was worried. Not about the demons. Not even about the east. He was worried about her. His Pie. His lovely, secretly smiling Pie in front of him. If the situation turned dangerous, if the threat was bigger than expected, then forget everything. He'd just scoop her up and take her back to Shulin himself. Maybe tie her to bed with chain, or he was also very open to using rope. Because demons or not, his Pie was his priority. Always.
Linyue's mind was still spinning as the wind whipped past her.
First, they found the cause of the angry cabbages. Good. Then, they confiscated the suspicious books. Also good. But just as they were about to cure the angry cabbage victims… the wall had been attacked. It couldn't be a coincidence. Her logical brain refused to accept it. Angry cabbages, demon invasions, suspiciously convenient timing?
Nope. Not random. And if it wasn't random, then who could control demons enough to time an attack like this?
That unsettling question was still echoing in her head when the horse suddenly stopped. She blinked and realized they were already at the wall. She had been lost in thought for longer than she realized. (Or Shu Mingye just really enjoyed galloping dramatically into battle.)
Without a word, Linyue swung off the horse and headed toward the gate. Shu Mingye followed beside her in complete silence. No teasing, no flirting, no snarky comments about "his brave little Pie." He just walked beside her, steady as a mountain. And oddly, that made her feel better. Like the world might be falling apart, but at least she wouldn't have to face it alone. At least she wouldn't have to argue with anyone about who should jump into danger first. Though she suspected Shu Mingye would still try to shield her with his entire body if she so much as sneezed.
Outside the second wall, everything was chaos.
Demons ran wild. Some jumped, some bit, some smashed into anything that moved. Soldiers shouted orders over the noise. Swords clashed hard enough to send sparks flying. The air stank of blood and smoke. Screams filled her ears—some human, some definitely not.
Linyue froze for a moment. Her eyes widened as she took it all in. She had never seen these many demons in Luyan before. The few attacks in the past were small and quick, barely worth writing down. But this? This looked like one of Song Meiyu's exaggerated war stories, except real and without dramatic pauses for snacks. Her heart thudded faster as her gaze swept the battlefield. She scanned the chaos, searching for familiar faces.
Finally, she spotted them. Her chaos family.
Song Meiyu stood front and center, waving her sword at a snarling demon while yelling something very noble and heroic such as, "You ugly walking mushroom!" It was hard to say if the insult hurt the demon's pride, but it did make it angrier.
He Yuying stood a few paces away. He was holding something (likely dried plum or steamed buns) with one hand and swinging his sword lazily with the other.
Shen Zhenyu moved like shadow—silent, fast, deadly. His sword blurred through the air as he cut down another demon.
They were all still fighting side by side. No major injuries. Still alive. Still fine. Linyue exhaled, tension easing just a little. She stepped forward, her fingers already buzzing with sparks of lightning spiritual energy. There was no point in holding back anymore. No more careful little bursts. No more saving strength for "just in case." This was the "in case." It was time to finish this fast and return to a life where she was not constantly covered in demon goo.
Over the past few weeks, she had grown stronger. Her control over her spiritual energy had improved a lot, thanks to endless meditation, array practice, and spiritual sense training. And speaking of endless training, Shu Mingye was right there beside her. His fire spiritual energy blazed to life, wild and hot, spilling red flames across the battlefield. Of course, he didn't say anything either.
They moved together smoothly like they had been doing it for years. Her lightning cracked through the air, frying demons where they stood. His fire roared, burning them into ash in seconds. Zap. Burn. Slice. Dodge. Repeat. It was almost satisfying how efficient they were.
They kept going until the sun dipped low and the sky turned dusky purple, but the demons kept coming. It wasn't that these creatures were strong. Most were low-level. Ugly. Loud. Annoying. They weren't hard to kill. The real problem was simpler. They would not stop. Wave after wave, they just kept popping up.
Linyue had no idea how. This wasn't even Weeping Moon. Still, they fought. Her chaos family was still standing strong. Even Prince Lu was there, dramatically slicing through demon heads with his embroidered robe flapping. He looked ready to cry and yell at the same time. The soldiers around them were exhausted. Their faces sweaty, clothes torn, weapons shaking in tired hands. But they didn't fall. They held their ground. Everything was still manageable. Until—
CRACK.
Blue lightning ripped across the battlefield.
Linyue paused. Her hands lowered slightly. That wasn't her lightning. Her own spiritual energy hummed softly inside her. Still calm. Still hers. And her lightning didn't make the hair on her neck stand up like that. This one was cold, sharp, heavy. Her brows pulled together.
Lightning cultivators were rare. Extremely rare. Master Tian Mo had waved his hands and declared her "a one-in-a-thousand-year crispy miracle." And the only lightning cultivator she had ever met was her master. Her weird, confusing, possibly insane, always-appearing-at-the-wrong-times master. But this… didn't exactly feel like him. It was similar. Familiar in the same way a childhood song felt familiar. But twisted, deeper, colder like someone took that song, added a demon choir, and played it backwards in a haunted cave. She wasn't sure. Was it really him?
But of course, because her life was never allowed to be simple, he appeared.
A man in a plain white mask stepped out of nowhere.