Late at night, in a major city of the Heaven Dou Empire.
At this moment, the Zhang Manor was filled with the continuous sounds of shouting and killing, while the clashing of Spirits and Spirit Abilities echoed through the residence and out into the surrounding streets.
Yet, despite such a massive commotion, not a single patrolling guard came to provide support.
Just then, a stunningly beautiful lady led an eleven or twelve-year-old girl and a five or six-year-old boy to a very inconspicuous compartment.
The space inside the compartment was small, but it was more than enough to fit a slender girl and a small boy.
"Le Xuan, quickly take Xiao Yu and hide inside. Do not make a sound!"
Yu Qingya looked at the two children through tear-filled eyes, her heart aching as if pierced by knives.
She didn't understand why her Family had been targeted by Evil Soul Masters, or how they could be so bold as to commit such violence in a major city where the Heaven Dou army was stationed.
Whatever the reason, why had so much time passed without anyone coming to their aid?
What about the neighboring Spirit Master families with whom they had always been on good terms? Didn't they have shared interests? Didn't they call her husband brother?
Why was no one coming to help even a little bit now?
And what about the City Lord's army? Hadn't they always claimed they would protect the safety of the city's commoners and families?
Why had they vanished now that Evil Soul Masters were causing chaos?
"No, Mama, I don't want anything to happen to you!"
Zhang Lexuan looked at her mother; her slightly immature yet stunning face was already covered in dust, but one could still see a sixty-percent resemblance to Yu Qingya in her features.
Roars continued to echo from the courtyard of the Zhang Manor, causing Zhang Lexuan's slender waist to tremble uncontrollably. Her face was pale, and tears flowed down incessantly, leaving clear tracks.
Beside her, the boy whose hand Zhang Lexuan was holding also spoke up, his voice trembling.
"Yeah, Aunt Yu, Sister Lexuan is right. Let's run away quickly. As long as we aren't here, Uncle Zhang won't have to keep fighting those people. He'll definitely be able to get away and then come find us."
Although he tried to sound calm, the fear hidden in his heart was evident from his trembling voice.
The boy's name was Fu Yu. He had just turned six, with delicate features, gray hair, and blue eyes. He was the child of Zhang Lexuan's father's best friend.
Because of work, his parents had to travel far to the Star Luo Empire, so they entrusted the young Fu Yu to Father Zhang to be looked after for a while.
Unfortunately, they never returned. The news that came back was that their merchant caravan had encountered Evil Soul Masters, and not even one in a hundred had survived.
In the end, Fu Yu, who was only two years old at the time, stayed with the Zhang Family and grew up with Zhang Lexuan.
Yu Qingya didn't say anything. She simply crouched down and kissed Zhang Lexuan and Fu Yu on their foreheads.
Then she looked at the older Zhang Lexuan and said softly,
"Le Xuan, you're the older sister. You must take good care of Xiao Yu, do you hear me?"
The children were still young and naive, but Yu Qingya knew full well that those Evil Soul Masters wouldn't give them any chance to escape.
Her husband was burning his life force just to keep those Evil Soul Masters at bay in the courtyard. She had to use this time to hide the children and then go to support him. As long as she could stall for long enough, the children's chances of survival would greatly increase.
No matter the reason the city defense force wasn't coming to help, there had to be a time limit.
If they didn't help for ten or twenty minutes, they could claim the response was just delayed. But if they didn't help for an hour or two...
Not only would the other Spirit Master families in the city not stand for it, but it would also be unacceptable to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. It would be a direct slap in the face to the royalty.
If several Evil Soul Masters were allowed to wreak havoc in a provincial capital for hours, the City Lord would have no way to explain it to the Imperial Family.
Zhang Lexuan stared blankly at her mother, seemingly understanding something, and nodded silently.
She didn't tell her mother that she was also a Spirit Master, and the youngest Spirit Elder in the city, and that she could fight the Evil Soul Masters like her father.
Because it was pointless. The weakest one in the front courtyard was an Evil Soul Master at the Spirit King level. Even if there were ten of her, she wouldn't be a match for them.
The most important thing for her now was to follow her mother's instructions, hide quietly in the compartment with Fu Yu, and wait for the dust to settle.
"That's right. That's my good girl. Hide well with your younger brother, don't make a sound, and everything will pass."
As she spoke, Yu Qingya pushed both of them into the compartment, then slowly slid the partition shut, taking one last look at the two children.
This compartment was located in the corner between two buildings and was very well hidden. Once closed from the outside, it was difficult to find without a thorough and detailed search.
Yu Qingya sighed, her gaze turning cold as she looked toward the front courtyard. She had to do what came next.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black! A six-ring Spirit Emperor!
Six spirit rings rose continuously from beneath her feet. An exquisite and small silver bead appeared above Yu Qingya's head. As light flowed across its surface, it looked like a tiny bright moon constantly changing its phases.
A top-tier Tool Spirit, the silver moon pearl!
Not only that, but several Rank 6 spirit tools appeared on Yu Qingya's person, ranging from attack to defense, and from long-range to flight. There was even a Milk Bottle, an item rare even among the three nations of the original continent.
With everything ready, Yu Qingya tapped her toes, and the flying spirit tool on her back spat out several silver streams of spirit power, carrying her straight into the sky.
As her spirit rings flashed continuously, another small bright moon appeared above the Zhang Manor, reflecting the silver moon in the sky as silver light spilled into the courtyard.
Continuous explosions rang out from the courtyard once more.
—
Time passed bit by bit. The roars from outside gradually subsided until there was no more sound.
"Sister Lexuan!"
"Shh! Be good, Xiao Yu. We'll definitely be okay."
In the darkness, Zhang Lexuan curled up and hugged Fu Yu. While comforting her younger brother, tears fell continuously.
Just then, a voice speaking outside suddenly reached them.
"That couple was a real pain. They had one spirit tool after another. Damn it, I didn't know the Heaven Dou Empire had Spirit Masters like that."
"Alright, stop nagging. Word is there are still kids in this house. Let's split up and find them."
"Got it. The old ones are dead, so the little ones will be easy pickings. As long as they're still in this courtyard, my nose will be able to sniff them out easily."
The voices gradually faded into the distance, but the information they revealed made Zhang Lexuan and Fu Yu, hidden in the compartment, weep silently.
Feeling the tears dripping from Zhang Lexuan's face, Fu Yu made a firm decision in his heart.
From the Evil Soul Master's words, he knew the man could smell the scent of living people.
And such an ability would surely have limits. The more people there were, the clearer the scent would be; conversely, it would become weaker.
Thinking of this, Fu Yu looked up and kissed Zhang Lexuan's slightly pale lips.
Zhang Lexuan, still immersed in the pain of losing her parents, didn't understand why Fu Yu was doing this.