The two stood face to face in combat stances.
Two minutes later, Yue Xi shook out her hands. “That iron-faced mask is ridiculously hard.”
Lie Gou lay unconscious on the ground, knocked out and joining his brother in defeat.
Yue Xi continued forward, sneaking toward the main hall as she evaded patrols along the way. Once Lou Yuxi stepped out from the hall, Yue Xi seized the opportunity and slipped inside.
She scanned the area but found nothing out of place. Then she stepped up to Gui Hu’s throne, trying to find any clues.
“Who’s there?” A cold female voice came from behind.
Yue Xi reacted instantly, spinning and launching a flying kick. The figure ducked low to evade, then used her shoulder to ram Yue Xi, making her stumble back.
When Yue Xi steadied herself, she saw a cute girl standing in front of her—dressed in a sailor uniform, white stockings beneath a short skirt. She looked delicate and adorable but gave off a strangely contradictory vibe.
“Why did you attack me without a word? That really would’ve hurt if it landed!” the girl huffed in frustration.
“Who are you?” Yue Xi asked warily.
“Me? I’m just here for fun.”
“For fun?”
Yue Xi eyed the girl. She seemed younger than her.
“Yeah. Who are you, and why are you sneaking around my uncle’s workplace?”
“Uncle? Who’s your uncle?”
“Huh?” The girl tilted her head in confusion. “Haven’t you seen him? He always wears a lion mask. I told him it looks ugly, but he refuses to change it.”
“Lion… your uncle is Shimian Xiong? Then why are you here in the main hall?”
“Before he left, Uncle said he had to report something. I followed him secretly, but he’s been gone so long I came in to look for him.”
“Hmm…” Yue Xi still felt uneasy. That level of skill coming from someone younger than her was suspicious.
“And who are you? Why are you sneaking around in here?”
“I’m a guest, invited by the master of this place.”
“Then why sneak around?”
“Well… regular guests aren’t allowed in here. My friend’s missing, and this is the last place I haven’t checked. So I had to sneak in to look for him.”
“Oh? If that’s the case, then I know a place where someone could be hiding!” the girl said eagerly, then skipped toward the hidden door.
“Why are you going there?”
“I know this place. It can be opened.”
“What?”
“You could try brute force. You weren’t exactly gentle with me earlier.”
“This is a door, not something you can just break down. And how do you know about it?”
“Because I saw Uncle go in here while I was secretly following him.”
The girl felt around the door for a moment. “There’s a keyhole here!”
She pulled off a small wooden cover to reveal the hidden keyhole.
“But I don’t know how to pick a lock.”
“Well… I found a key earlier. Looks like it matches.” She pulled out a key and slowly inserted it, turning it gently.
Click—the lock opened.
“Where did you get that key?” The source of this chapter is g.com.
“When that older girl left just now, she dropped it. I picked it up.”
“This coincidence is a bit too perfect,” Yue Xi muttered, her suspicion deepening. But there was no time to dwell on it.
Yue Xi pushed the door hard—bang! Inside, Luo Chenxuan rolled on the ground, clutching his head.
“Ah! My head!”
“What happened?” Yue Xi rushed over in concern.
“Yue Xi!” Luo Chenxuan lit up when he saw her and hugged her tightly. “You’re okay! That’s great!”
Yue Xi froze, flustered, and quickly pushed him away, her face bright red. “Uh… are you okay?”
“Yeah! I’m fine!”
“What just happened to you?”
“Oh, I was trying to pick the lock when everything suddenly went black and my head started hurting like crazy.”
Yue Xi recalled how hard she had slammed the door and looked a little embarrassed.
While the two were talking, the little girl covered her mouth beside them. “Wow~ Brother and Sister are so passionate~”
Yue Xi’s face turned even redder. “Who’s passionate with him?!”
“Anyway, who is she?” Luo Chenxuan asked.
“She said she’s related to Shimian Xiong. She used a key she found to open the door.”
“Thanks a lot!” Luo Chenxuan smiled at her.
The girl seemed smitten for a moment, then grinned mischievously. “Brother, did you fall for me? If it’s you~ I wouldn’t mind~”
Yue Xi glared coldly at Luo Chenxuan.
“No no no, I didn’t—” he panicked.
Yue Xi kicked him hard in the shin. “Move it! You think we’ve got time to be chatting here?”
Luo Chenxuan winced in pain. “Alright…”
The three of them snuck out of the main hall.
“Why are you still following us?” Yue Xi asked the girl.
“Because it’s fun with you guys!”
“Tch. We’re trying to escape,” Yue Xi said impatiently.
“Aren’t you guests? If you want to leave, just say so.”
“It’s complicated. Not all guests are invited—some are captured.”
“I get it! You two are prisoners!”
“You don’t get anything.”
As they spoke, Lou Yuxi was walking back toward the main hall. The three of them quickly hid behind a building.
“Why are you hiding too?” Yue Xi asked.
A loud crash rang out inside the hall.
Lou Yuxi’s face was cold and furious. At that moment, she wanted nothing more than to tear apart whoever had taken her beloved from her.
Moments later, she exited the hall.
Immediately, every member of the Beast Hall gathered in front of the main building. No one knew what she said, but everyone dispersed and began a sweeping search.
The Beast Hall was now in full lockdown. The gates were sealed, and guards patrolled every wall.
“This is bad,” Luo Chenxuan said. The three of them were hiding behind a house.
“I’ll go be the decoy,” Luo Chenxuan offered.
“No! You’ll get caught right away,” Yue Xi said.
“But she won’t hurt me.”
“That still doesn’t work. I have to get you out.”
Suddenly, Yue Xi looked at the little girl. “What if…?”
“No way! I’m just a kid! How could you be so cruel? And how do you know I won’t get caught?”
“Even if you are, nothing serious would happen, right? Your uncle has some status. Besides, you’re hard to catch with those skills. Be our decoy—for our escape.”
“Oh, so you two run off while I get caught?”
“Tch…” Yue Xi thought for a moment. “I’ll go myself. You stay and watch him. If anything happens to him, I won’t forgive you.”
Though Yue Xi still doubted the girl, so far she hadn’t shown any hostile intent. There were no better options. She had no choice but to trust her for now.
Luo Chenxuan grabbed Yue Xi’s arm. “No! Yue Xi, it’s too dangerous!”
“We’re cornered. If we don’t do something, we’ll all get caught.”
“Don’t worry, Brother~ I’ll protect you~”
It was as if Yue Xi had made up her mind. She burst out in a flash.
The patrolling guards shouted and chased after her.
“Alright, Brother~ let’s go!” The girl grabbed Luo Chenxuan’s hand and led him along the walls where there were no patrols.
Just as they neared the main gate, a masked patrolman seemed to notice something and slowly approached.
Closer and closer.
Just as they were about to be discovered, the girl sprang forward—knee strike followed by a knife-hand blow. The patrolman didn’t even react before collapsing, unconscious.
Luo Chenxuan was stunned.
The girl smiled awkwardly. “Haha… um, I learned a bit from Uncle~”
“Ah… is that so?”
“Come on, Brother! Don’t worry about that. Let’s go!”
Once again, she grabbed his hand to lead him away.
“Wait! Yue Xi hasn’t—”
“Looking for her, Chenxuan…?”
The voice behind him came from the abyss.
Terror spread through the air.