Five days later.
The rickety horse carriage rolled slowly along the uneven official highway. The road grew increasingly desolate. Flanking them were no longer farmlands or villages, but sheer limestone precipices, jagged and sharp as the fangs of monstrous beasts. The wind howled through the canyon crevices, creating a blood-curdling screech that sounded like the wailing of ghosts, sending involuntary shivers down one's spine.
This was Ghost Gate Canyon, one of the most treacherous and infamous locations on the path to the Azure Capital. The terrain here was impossibly perilous. The canyon floor was narrow, only wide enough for a single carriage to pass, flanked by towering cliffs—a flawless battlefield for an ambush.
"Y-Young Master," Trinh Cong, playing the role of the old steward, stammered tremblingly to Ly Tin, who was lounging on horseback. "The Yin energy here is too heavy, perhaps... we should travel a bit faster?"
"What is there to fear?" Ly Tin fluttered his folding fan, forcing an expression of a carefree, debauched youth. But inwardly, the general was as taut as a drawn bowstring. His Spiritual Sense had already detected no less than a hundred auras concealed atop the cliffs on either side, lying in wait like venomous serpents for their prey to enter striking distance. "This Young Master is out on a pleasure excursion; I happen to favor places with a bit of peculiar charm like this."
Inside the carriage, Lam Vy, in her guise as a maidservant, anxiously clutched the hem of her robes. Her small hands were already drenched in cold sweat. Despite being warned beforehand, facing such suffocating killing intent in person left her utterly terrified.
She stole a glance at the "Young Miss" seated beside her.
Tran Kien, disguised as a frail girl, was leaning against the carriage wall. His eyes were half-closed, his long eyelashes trembling slightly. He looked as if he were dozing off from exhaustion, his face somewhat pale. But if one looked closely, they would see that his hand, hidden within his wide sleeves, rested firmly upon the hilt of a dull black saber. His long, slender fingers were tapping a light rhythm known only to him.
He was not afraid. He was calculating.
Eighteen on the left cliff, twenty-three on the right. Up ahead, about fifty zhang away, behind a massive boulder, is the strongest aura—most likely Huyet Luyen. Behind us, there are also people blocking the retreat. A perfect cage, Tran Kien analyzed within his mind. Their numbers are greater than we anticipated. It seems the Black Dragon Stronghold has mobilized their entire nearby force. They truly place high importance on this 'Young Miss'.
He knew their theatrical play had been a resounding success. The big fish had taken the bait. Now, the question was how this prey could escape the fish's maw, and perhaps even shatter a few of its teeth in the process.
Just as the carriage reached the center of the canyon, where the path was narrowest, a massive boulder suddenly cascaded from above, landing with a deafening BOOM and completely severing their path forward. Simultaneously, another boulder crashed down behind them, sealing off their retreat.
"Hahahaha!"
A shrill, ear-piercing laugh, like the screech of a night owl, echoed from the cliffs above. Hundreds of dark figures clad in the robes of the Myriad Snake Cave materialized in unison, the bows, crossbows, and weapons in their hands aimed directly at the four of them.
Huyet Luyen, the gaunt-faced Vice Cave Master dressed in black robes, slowly floated down from the massive boulder ahead. He stood there, about ten zhang away from the carriage, his eyes narrowed as he stared at Ly Tin and the vehicle, his gaze overflowing with greed and smug satisfaction.
"A Young Master of the Duke Dingguo Estate? Hmph, you certainly look the part," he sneered. "It's just a pity that today, this place will be your graveyard."
Ly Tin showed no signs of panic. He shed his playboy facade, and the majestic aura of a military general abruptly erupted from his body. "You rats of the Black Dragon Stronghold, is resorting to these underhanded tricks all you know? If you have the skill, come out and fight this General Ly in single combat!"
"Single combat?" Huyet Luyen burst into laughter, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. "General Ly, do you think this is a battlefield? Here, there are only hunters and prey. And you... are the prey."
He paid no more attention to Ly Tin, casting his lecherous gaze toward the carriage. "The Young Lady of the Duke Dingguo Estate must surely possess beauty capable of toppling cities and ruining nations, yes? Why have you not come out to let us admire you for a moment?"
The carriage curtains were slowly drawn back.
The "maidservant" Lam Vy fearfully helped the "Young Miss" Tran Kien step down. Tran Kien maintained his sickly, frail guise, coughing weakly and swaying slightly on his feet, looking as though a gust of wind could blow him away at any moment.
Seeing this, the disdain in Huyet Luyen's eyes deepened. "Hmph, truly nothing but a walking flower vase. It's almost a pity to kill her."
"W-what do you want?" Tran Kien spoke in a "feeble" voice, letting a tremble seep into his words.
"Nothing much," Huyet Luyen sneered. "I merely wish to 'borrow' a little of the Young Lady's Lac Viet bloodline for my own use. Rest assured, we will be very 'gentle'."
He waved his hand. "Attack! Capture that little wench alive! As for the rest, kill them without mercy!"
Hundreds of lackeys let out a collective roar, surging down from the cliffs and both sides of the canyon like a tide of black water, their killing intent surging toward the heavens.
Ly Tin and Trinh Cong instantly drew their weapons, stepping in front of Tran Kien and Lam Vy, preparing for a battle to the bitter end.
An inescapable dead end.
Once again, an absolute dead end.
But this time, Tran Kien did not display the same crazed desperation he had at the Phong Van Inn. Within the "Young Miss's" seemingly terrified eyes, a cold, calculating light flashed.
He was waiting. Waiting for the encirclement to tighten to its absolute limit. Waiting for every single enemy to enter his range.
When the foremost lackey was less than five zhang away, Tran Kien suddenly shed all pretense of "weakness". He stood up straight. The aura of the Peak of the Qi Condensation Realm, completely unhidden, erupted outwards!
Simultaneously, he pulled an object from his sleeve. It was not a weapon. It was a token forged of black iron, engraved with a symbol that every lackey of the Black Dragon Stronghold would instantly recognize.
A silver centipede.
It was the exact same token the wounded man had used to set a trap for Anh Tuoc at the Phong Van Inn!
"HALT!!!"
A majestic voice, not belonging to Tran Kien, suddenly thundered from the very center of the Black Dragon Stronghold's formation.
All the charging lackeys froze, coming to an astonished halt as they looked toward the source of the voice. From within the crowd, a tall man wearing a ghostly demon mask slowly stepped forward. He was not from the Myriad Snake Cave. The aura radiating from his body was even more terrifying than Huyet Luyen's!
Upon seeing this person, Huyet Luyen's pupils constricted. "Ghost-Faced Emissary! Why are you here?!"
The demon-masked man did not answer him. He merely stared intently at the token in Tran Kien's hand, and then at the youth's face.
"You," the masked man spoke in a deep, gravelly voice. "Are you 'His' person?"
Tran Kien did not reply. He merely gave a faint, enigmatic smile.
It seemed this theatrical play had just welcomed a new actor—one whom no one could have ever anticipated. The chessboard, once again, had descended into chaos.