The wind outside the secret chamber died down, and Si Moheng's figure vanished into the night, but his aura and lingering emotions still saturated the air.
Gu Xingyu sat back at her desk, pressing her hand against her sleeve. The Yao-crystal shard remained warm—it was the signal source she had activated, a private code she, Lin Lie, and Cang Yuan had designed together.
She looked at the door with steady eyes. "Now, it's time."
She moved to the inner corner of the room and peeled back the heavy rug. Beneath it lay her second contingency: a simple transmission array drawn with Yao-crystal powder. It had no offensive power, but it could amplify and stabilize her Yao-energy fluctuations, allowing the Five Yao to pinpoint her location with absolute clarity.
She touched the crystal lines, and a faint thread of Yao-energy seeped into the depths of the valley like a nightingale's song. It was an encrypted "Heart-Anchor Signal"—directional data, distance points, and a silent command: [Lower edge of the west barrier. A rift. Energy will fluctuate in thirty breaths.]
Simultaneously, she began her "misdirection strategy."
She pulled a small pouch from her inner lining containing Yao-grass powder given to her by Sang Qi. He had once told her: "Light this if you are in danger; its rhythmic scent will guide me to you." She burned a small amount, creating a mist that scrambled the guards' intuition while leaving a distinct "cadence" for her companions to recognize.
Within the mist, she coughed in a specific rhythm—the sequence codes they had practiced in secret.
Two long, one short—Safe.
Three short, one pause—I am diverting attention.
Alternating long and short—Prepare for extraction.
[The Infiltration]
In the pine forest dozens of paces away, Cang Yuan crouched low, his eyes flashing with Yao-light. "She's speaking to us."
"She can still use her energy... we have to move fast," Luo Ye growled.
Lin Lie had already begun creeping toward the west. "Now, it's up to us to catch the opening she's giving us."
Xingyu's plan was working. She projected her Yao-fluctuations toward the south to lure the Hidden Guards away, while the actual signal reflected off her crystal mirror toward the west. Between the direction-spoofing and the cross-signatures, the sentries couldn't tell truth from shadow.
A pale blue ripple of water-energy flowed silently through the air. Cang Yuan's Yao-weapon glowed faintly, masking his presence. He moved like a ghost through the tents and fences. Finally, he reached the goal: the cell.
[The Reunion]
Inside the room, Xingyu sensed a familiar, gentle pulse approaching. She didn't make a sound. She simply smiled and walked toward the door.
The door groaned open. A figure appeared—silver-blue hair falling over his shoulders, eyes like starlight reflected in a lake. It was Cang Yuan.
"I've come to get you," he whispered.
Xingyu's eyes warmed, but she only asked softly, "Where are the others?"
"In position, waiting to extract you." Cang Yuan's voice was steady, but his eyes searched her frantically for injuries.
Xingyu shook her head. "I'm okay. But take this." She handed him a scroll and a map she had stolen. "Si Moheng's layout. He's not just after me; he's setting a trap to kill the other Yao-bearers... he might even be in contact with the Rift-Yao remnants."
Cang Yuan took them, his gaze turning sharp. "Can you walk?"
As they prepared to move, Xingyu felt a surge of Yao-energy—someone was approaching at high speed. "He's back," she whispered. "Cang Yuan, there's a tunnel I dug beneath the rug. It leads to the northwest forest."
She looked toward the main tent. "Let him think I'm still here... I'll buy us time."
Cang Yuan stared at her, his expression deep. "Don't ever do this alone again."
Xingyu smirked. "Then move faster next time. What good are teammates if I have to do everything?"
Before entering the tunnel, she turned to him. "You came just in time." Her smile reached her eyes. "If you were a step later... I might have actually convinced myself."
"Convinced yourself of what?"
"That I wasn't actually afraid," she whispered.
In the next instant, Cang Yuan reached out and pulled her into a brief, firm embrace. It lasted only a second before he let go. "Move."
Xingyu's heart skipped a beat. That embrace was like a small fire in a blizzard—brief, but the warmth remained.
[The Empty Cage]
Si Moheng returned on horseback, his cloak billowing like night itself. He strode into the secret chamber, his eyes narrowed. "Gu Xingyu!"
The figure sitting by the lamp didn't move. He reached out with his Yao-energy—and touched nothing but air.
"A Yao-Double?!"
His eyes turned cold as ice, and the black chess piece in his hand shattered into dust. "She's gone."
He whipped around, his voice a thunderous roar. "Seal the west side! Block all forest paths! NOW!"
But in his heart, he knew: it was too late.
[The Extraction]
At the northwest forest exit, the Yao-Rover waited like a silent mountain.
"Movement," Li Yan whispered, hand on his shield.
The stone slab of the tunnel opened, and Cang Yuan helped Xingyu out. "We're here."
Xingyu was exhausted, but her eyes were bright. "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"I was about to storm the gates," Lin Lie muttered, pulling her into a brief check-up before hauling her toward the vehicle.
"I'll cover the rear," Cang Yuan turned, his water-energy creating a thick mist to blind pursuers.
Suddenly—BOOM!
A pillar of crimson fire erupted from the south side of the camp. Luo Ye's voice echoed through the trees: "Barrier broken! Retreat!"
"Go!" Lin Lie carried Xingyu into the Yao-Rover. The wheels hummed as they sped into the dense woods.
Behind them, the camp was a chaotic mess of fire and alarm bells. Si Moheng stood on a high ridge, watching the Rover vanish into the shadows. He should have been furious—she had escaped, and she had outplayed him on his own board.
But his chest tightened. Her composure, her decoy, the way she looked at him even when imprisoned... every memory was a needle in his soul. She understood his loneliness. For the first time, someone had truly seen him.
Si Moheng gripped the railing, a dark, repressed smile playing on his lips.
"Gu Xingyu..." he whispered into the wind. "If you keep making my heart stir like this... I may truly never let you go."
The emotion was suppressed, but the more he pressed it down, the more dangerous it became.