214: Chapter 212 Inviting the Enemy into the Trap

The courtyard was very quiet.

After a few breaths, something moved in the shadow of the corner.

A person stepped out from there.

She walked to the stone table and sat in the chair Shen Yizhi had just occupied, her head lowered, not looking at Yun Ming.

Yun Ming poured her a cup of tea and pushed it toward her.

Xue Ji picked it up, took a sip, and set it down.

Yun Ming looked at her, not asking when she had arrived, what she was there for, or why she was hiding.

He simply poured her another cup of tea.

“The tea is already cold,” Xue Ji said, sounding as if she were blaming him, yet also as if she were saying something else entirely.

Yun Ming didn't speak, acting as if he hadn't heard.

“I came here to kill you,” Xue Ji spoke again, her voice very low. “The Second Prince told me to kill you, or to cripple you. If I can't bring you back, then you must never return.”

Yun Ming set down his teacup and leaned back against the chair, looking at Xue Ji.

An exaggerated, feigned look of heartbreak appeared on his face; his brows furrowed together, his mouth pouted, and he even blinked his eyes a couple of times.

“And here I thought you missed me and came back to see me,” he said, his voice carrying a deliberate sense of grievance.

Xue Ji looked up at his affected face, her lips twitching.

She rolled her eyes, her voice tinged with a hint of disdain, but the corners of her mouth were already uncontrollably curling upward.

“You're disgusting,” she said.

But she smiled.

The smile was very shallow and faint.

After she finished smiling, she lowered her head again, looking at the Jade Slip in her hands as her smile slowly faded away.

“I don't plan to kill you,” she said. “But I don't know what to do either. If I go back, the Second Prince won't let me off. If I don't go back, the Fox Race won't let me off. It seems I have nowhere left to go.”

“If you haven't decided, then stay here and talk about it once you have. Your room is still reserved for you, and your things haven't been touched.”

Xue Ji glanced at him, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded.

“Alright.”

She stood up, holding the Jade Slip, and walked toward her room.

At the doorway, she paused for a moment and looked back at Yun Ming, wanting to say something; her lips moved slightly, but she closed them again.

She pushed open the door, went inside, and gently closed it.

The courtyard became quiet once more.

Yun Ming picked up his teacup and took a sip.

He set down the cup, leaned back against the chair, and closed his eyes for a while.

“Have you seen enough?” he said, his voice not loud but very clear. “Come out then; one after another, you're all hiding and being secretive.”

The water mist shifted slightly.

A person stepped out from the mist, leaning on a walking stick. Her back was somewhat hunched, her hair was grizzled, and her face was aged, but her eyes held a sharp glint within their cloudiness, like two gems covered in dust.

The Fox Race Clan Chief, an old woman at Nascent Soul Perfection.

She stood there looking at Yun Ming, her gaze devoid of anger or Killing Intent, containing only a high-and-mighty indifference, as if she were scrutinizing an ant.

“It's you,” she spoke, her voice hoarse like sandpaper grinding against stone. “It's you who helped the Third Prince deal with the Second Prince, you who made Xue Ji become like this, you who caused our Fox Race to offend the Second Prince, and you who pushed our clansmen—whom we finally managed to bring out of the Desolate Lands—back into the fire pit.”

Yun Ming laughed.

He leaned back against the chair with his hands crossed over his belly, looking at the old woman with a calm gaze.

“I don't have such great ability,” he said. “The matters of your Fox Race are of your own making. You chose the wrong ally and placed the wrong bet; you can't blame others. As for the Second Prince, I never once thought about dealing with him. I only have a transactional relationship with the Third Prince—he gives money, and I practice Alchemy. As for Xue Ji—” He paused, looking at the old woman, “Do you think she was bewitched by me?”

The old woman gave a cold snort and did not answer.

She didn't want to waste words with this Late Golden Core Stage ant. She had been lying in wait here for several days and had seen everything with perfect clarity. Xue Ji wasn't bewitched. Xue Ji was willing. This fool had been turned with just a few words, helping someone count their money after being sold. The Fox Race's most talented junior in a thousand years was ruined just like that.

“Useless,” the old woman cursed in a low voice, though it was unclear if she was cursing Xue Ji or herself. She raised her walking stick and tapped it on the ground with a 'thud.'

The Aura of Nascent Soul Perfection erupted from her body like a tsunami or a landslide, overwhelming Yun Ming from all directions.

“I have come today specifically to kill you,” her voice was as cold as ice. “There is no need for further talk.”

Yun Ming didn't move. He sat on the bamboo chair looking at the old woman, even carrying a hint of a smile on his face.

“Mr. Shen,” he called out toward a certain direction in the courtyard, his voice not loud but very clear, “Stop watching the show; I know you haven't left.”

The water mist shifted again. A white light flew out from the mist and landed beside Yun Ming, transforming into a person. Dressed in a moon-white robe with a jade belt at the waist and his hair tied high, his face was handsome but pale. Shen Yizhi stood there, still holding a book as if he had just been reading and was interrupted. He gave the old woman a slight, gentle smile, as if meeting an old friend.

The old woman's pupils constricted violently.

Her Divine Sense had just swept through the entire courtyard, inside and outside the walls, and across the surrounding streets and rooftops, confirming there were no ambushes. She had even used the Fox Race's innate secret technique to investigate, confirming there was no second Nascent Soul Cultivator within several miles.

This Shen Yizhi, where did he spring from?

Shen Yizhi saw her surprise. He closed the book in his hand, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at the old woman.

“This Mr. Yun,” he said, pointing at Yun Ming in a flat tone as if speaking of a very ordinary matter, “is an important partner of the Third Prince. We are responsible for his safety. How could we possibly allow people like you to come and go as you please?”

The old woman's expression changed.

She realized she had been tricked. On the surface, this small courtyard had its gates wide open, without even a decent Restriction.

But in reality, it was a meticulously arranged trap.

From the moment she stepped into Qingyao City, she had fallen into the snare.

She turned around, transforming into a streak of black light, and flew toward the sky. She had to escape. Escape from Qingyao City.

The black light soared into the sky at a staggering speed.

But while her speed was fast, Qingyao City was faster. Above the sky, countless beams of light suddenly lit up. One, two, ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand—tens of thousands of lights lit up simultaneously, weaving into a giant net that enveloped the entirety of Qingyao City. That net was no ordinary net; it was woven from countless formation patterns, with dense runes carved upon every pattern, radiating a golden glow.

The Great Desolate Demon-Prison Formation.

A fifth-rank Formation specifically targeting the Yao Race.

The person who set the Formation had clearly put in a great deal of effort; the formation patterns were dense and layered, covering the entire sky without leaving a single gap.

The black light the old woman had transformed into slammed into that net and was bounced back.

She tumbled several times in the air before stabilizing herself and revealing her original form. A giant white fox appeared above Qingyao City, dozens of zhang long, pure white without a single stray color.

It had six tails, each over ten zhang long, spreading out in the sky like six white waterfalls. Its eyes were golden with vertical pupils, cold enough to make one's spine chill. It opened its mouth and let out a sharp roar that pierced through the clouds and echoed throughout all of Qingyao City.

The Mortals in the city were so terrified they collapsed to the ground, the Cultivators' faces turned pale, and even the guards of the City Lord's Manor couldn't help but retreat a few steps.

The massive fox demon slammed into the net, bombarding it with Spells and Magic Treasures accumulated over thousands of years.

The great net trembled violently, its light flickering uncertainly, but it did not break.

Tens of thousands of elite soldiers suspended in mid-air, each holding a Formation Flag, as spiritual energy poured incessantly into the Formation.

Their cultivation wasn't particularly high, but the weakest among them were at Foundation Establishment.

Yet the Formation they formed could trap even a Great Yao at Nascent Soul Perfection.

The old woman struggled for a long time.

Her body was scorched by the formation patterns, a large patch of her snowy fur was blackened, and blood gushed from her wounds, splattering onto rooftops, streets, and into the city moat.

She finally stopped, crouching in mid-air and panting heavily, her golden vertical pupils filled with exhaustion and resentment.

She looked down at the small courtyard beneath her feet, at the young man sitting on the bamboo chair drinking tea, and at the sickly strategist standing beside him with a smile.

She knew she had lost.

Shen Yizhi looked up at the giant white fox in the sky, the smile on his face unchanging.

He took out a transmission talisman from his sleeve, whispered a few words, and then crushed it.

The talisman turned into a streak of light and vanished into the horizon.

Soon, the great net in the sky began to shrink.

Tens of thousands of elite soldiers simultaneously activated their Formation Flags, and the net tightened inch by inch, wrapping the giant white fox tightly in the middle.

The old woman did not struggle, allowing the net to envelop her.

Under the restraint of the net, her body slowly shrank from dozens of zhang to several zhang, then to one zhang, and finally to the size of an ordinary person.

She reverted to her human form, wrapped in the net like a captured prey.

The elite soldiers in the sky began to withdraw.

Escorting the old woman, they slowly descended onto the square of the City Lord's Manor.

Shen Yizhi cupped his hands to Yun Ming, said "Excuse me," and transformed into a white light, flying toward the City Lord's Manor.

For the next few days, Qingyao City was very busy.

The soldiers of the City Lord's Manor turned out in full force to search for and capture members of the Fox Race inside and outside the city.

Those Fox Race members hidden in various places—some had opened shops in the city, some had built manors outside, and some were mingled among Mortals, living ordinary lives.

One by one, they were dragged out and escorted to the dungeons of the City Lord's Manor.

Some resisted and were killed on the spot. Some surrendered, had their cultivation Sealed, and were locked in iron cages. Some tried to flee but were blocked by the great Formation, trapped in the city like turtles in a jar.

Shen Yizhi sat in the City Lord's Manor, directing the search and capture.

His health was poor, and he couldn't work for long periods, but sitting there, looking at maps, listening to reports, and issuing orders, everything was perfectly organized.

His face was even paler than a few days ago, but he did not rest.

A few days later, the search ended. A total of several hundred Fox Race members were captured in Qingyao City, including the Fox Race Clan Chief and several of her confidants.

Yun Ming didn't concern himself with these matters. He only occasionally heard Shen Yizhi mention that many Fox Race members had been caught, that the old woman was locked in the dungeon of the City Lord's Manor, and that Xue Ji stayed in her room every day and didn't come out.

He spent every day Cultivating, practicing Alchemy, reading the news, and snacking on melon seeds. Life remained as it was—quiet, peaceful, and uneventful.

After Shen Yizhi finished the business of the search and capture, he came to the small courtyard to drink tea. He sat at the stone table, picked up the tea Yun Ming poured for him, took a sip, frowned, and set it down.

“This tea of yours,” he said, “is still just as undrinkable.”

Yun Ming laughed. “If it's undrinkable, then don't drink it.”

Shen Yizhi didn't respond to that.

“The Second Prince's side suffered no small loss this time,” he said, his tone very flat as if speaking of something unrelated to himself. “A Clan Chief at Nascent Soul Perfection and an Early Nascent Soul Stage Xue Ji. Two Nascent Souls lost in one fell swoop. I wonder if he'll be so angry he'll cough up blood.”

Yun Ming picked up his teacup, took a sip, and set it down. “Whether he coughs up blood or not has nothing to do with me. As long as no one comes to disturb me anymore, that's enough.”

Shen Yizhi glanced at him and nodded. “Rest assured. From now on, no more members of the Fox Race will come to disturb you.” He paused and added, “At least, not in this city.”