The night was ink-black, the moonlight a silver ribbon.
Ji Shengyue took out her phone, swiped gently across the screen, and dialed a special number.
A voice quickly answered from the other end. "Your Majesty, this is Zong Yajuan."
Ji Shengyue skipped the pleasantries and asked directly, "Is there a problem at the Demon Cave?"
"No, Your Majesty."
Zong Yajuan's reply was swift and firm. "Everything is under our control."
Ji Shengyue breathed a small sigh of relief. As the source of the Great Jing Empire's Evil Spirits, any anomaly at the Demon Cave could bring unforeseeable disaster to the entire Empire.
Hearing Zong Yajuan's response, the heavy weight on her heart seemed to lighten a little.
"Are you sure?" Ji Shengyue confirmed again.
"I'm sure, Your Majesty." Zong Yajuan's answer held not a trace of hesitation.
After hanging up, Ji Shengyue fell into a brief, deep thought.
As the person in charge of the Time Girl Group, Zong Yajuan knew the situation at the Demon Cave like the back of her hand.
'Since she says there's no problem, then I should trust her judgment.'
Seeing Ji Shengyue hang up the phone, the ministers in the Council Pavilion rose one by one and took their leave.
Their steps were hurried, as they all sensed the tense atmosphere emanating from Ji Shengyue.
Meanwhile, deep within the Demon Cave, the members of the Time Girl Group were gathered in a brightly lit room.
Zong Yajuan sat in the center, facing the other nine members of the group.
All their eyes were focused on Zong Yajuan's face, awaiting her instructions.
The moment Zong Yajuan hung up, Gao Yimin asked urgently, "Did Her Majesty find out there's a problem at the Demon Cave?"
Zong Yajuan shook her head and said in a low voice, "I don't think so, but I don't understand why Her Majesty would suddenly call to ask. Perhaps something has happened in the outside world."
Her brow furrowed as she pondered.
"What happens in the outside world has nothing to do with us."
Dai Ju's voice broke the silence in the room. "Our mission right now is to solve the problem here in the Demon Cave.
Where in the world are those abnormal Evil Spirits coming from?
Why are they able to hunt and kill King-level experts so silently?"
Her words pulled everyone's thoughts back to the most pressing issue at hand.
Zong Yajuan nodded. Dai Ju was right.
The biggest problem facing them now was the abnormal situation in the Demon Cave.
If they didn't solve this problem soon, the consequences would be unimaginable should the situation worsen.
Meanwhile, after a moment of thought, Ji Shengyue picked up her phone again.
She dialed a number saved under the name Xiao Cangqing.
...
「In a spacious, brightly lit villa.」
Shoes, socks, and clothes were strewn about carelessly. Even some intimate apparel was scattered on the floor, creating a scene of utter disarray.
The sofa and coffee table were covered in wet stains that gave off an indescribable odor, hinting that something regrettable had happened here.
Faint traces of blood were interwoven with the wet stains on the sofa.
Stepping into the bedroom, a pungent smell filled the air.
Used tissues were scattered across the floor.
Xiao Cangqing sat on the edge of the bed with a cigarette between his fingers. Through the swirling smoke, his eyes looked deep and cold.
Gu Shuling was curled up beside him, covered only by a thin blanket.
Her face was pale, her eyes filled with pain and fear.
Recalling what had just happened, Gu Shuling felt as if her body had been torn apart.
Xiao Cangqing's behavior during the act had completely shattered her every perception of him.
He was like a mindless beast, all savagery and crudeness, with no regard for her feelings whatsoever.
That endless, brutal onslaught left her feeling utterly hopeless and tormented.
Just as she was drowning in her pain, Xiao Cangqing suddenly pressed the smoldering cigarette butt firmly onto her breast.
The searing heat sent a jolt of excruciating pain through her.
She frantically slapped the cigarette butt away, wrapped the blanket tightly around herself, and struggled to get up from the bed.
"Why would you do that?"
Her voice was filled with helplessness and grief.
A sinister smile suddenly appeared on Xiao Cangqing's face. He lunged off the bed, grabbed Gu Shuling by the neck, and forcefully pinned her down.
His hand was like an iron clamp, locking tight around her throat and cutting off her breath.
The feeling of suffocation filled her with immense fear and despair. She struggled desperately, but it was useless.
"Did you think I didn't know why you got close to me?"
Xiao Cangqing's voice was cold and cruel. "You were only interested in my status and my potential to surpass Chu He.
Who do you think you are?
When I confessed my feelings for you back then, you wouldn't even give me the time of day.
Now that Chu He is disgraced and his reputation is in tatters, you couldn't wait to throw yourself at me.
You said you were a virgin?
How would I know if that's true?
Medical technology is so advanced these days. For all I know, you secretly had yourself 'repaired.'"
His words were like a sharp knife, plunging cruelly into Gu Shuling's heart.
She felt an intense pain spread from the depths of her heart, making it almost impossible to breathe.
She struggled to retort, but with her throat clamped tightly in his grip, she could only let out weak whimpers.
Just then, the phone on the nightstand suddenly rang.
Seeing the caller ID, Xiao Cangqing slowly released his grip on Gu Shuling's neck, answered the call, and walked out of the bedroom.
Finally free from his grasp, Gu Shuling gasped for air in huge, ragged breaths, trying to expel all the foul air from her lungs.
Terror and fear washed over her. She felt as if she had just struggled out of a raging sea, only to be immediately dragged into an even more terrifying whirlpool.
She lay on the messy bed, her body drained of all strength. Tears welled in her eyes before finally sliding silently down her cheeks.
'The choice I made wasn't nearly as wonderful as I'd imagined.'
The image of Chu He suddenly surfaced in Gu Shuling's mind.
That man, once so familiar yet now a stranger, whose eyes and emotions were always constant—calm and gentle, like a clear lake, bright and pure.
She remembered what Chu He had said when they were signing the divorce papers: "So you believe those outside rumors too?"
At the time, Gu Shuling had been so full of anger and confusion that she had no patience to listen for the meaning behind his words.
But thinking back on it now, she felt a sudden, inexplicable panic.
'Would Chu He really neglect his duties just to chase fame?
His past contributions were all real, hard-earned achievements. There was nothing fake about them.'
Back at the Demon Cave, she had even felt the impulse to give herself to Chu He completely, but he had refused her.
Chu He had told her that the crisis at the Demon Cave was not yet over.
He was afraid he might meet an untimely end one day and bring her unbearable pain.
This detail replayed in her mind like a lightning bolt splitting the night sky.
'Maybe Chu He wasn't the person the rumors made him out to be. Maybe he was truly wronged.'
Tears welled in her eyes again, and this time, they streamed down her face, impossible to hold back.