In the main hall of the Western Courtyard, the tension among the Shangxuan Sect elders was thick enough to choke on. The air hung heavy until a young disciple stepped in.
He walked with hesitation, swallowing hard as he clutched a command token tight in his trembling hand. All eyes were on him, sharp as blades.
Bai Lu's patience snapped. "Speak!" he barked.
The disciple jumped, then stammered: "R-reporting to the elders and seniors… About half an incense stick ago, Elder Yue's disciples from Qing Pavilion received word from the Blood Demon Sect…"
He stopped, glancing at the elders' faces. The air seemed to freeze.
Bai Lu slammed his palm down. "I said
speak!"
The disciple flinched, then forced the words out: "They… they've agreed to a ceasefire!"
His voice wasn't loud but in the dead silence of the hall, every syllable landed like a thunderclap.
The elders were stunned.
Bai Lu narrowed his eyes, tone full of suspicion: "With their arrogance and bloodlust? The Blood Demon Sect agreeing to a ceasefire is impossible. There's something off this reeks of a hidden scheme."
Fan in hand, Luo Yinghan spoke with a weary sigh: "Why would they suddenly call for peace? We've lost too much already. If we keep pushing, the price might be more than just casualties…"
Some elders seemed relieved battle-worn and spirit-drained after so much bloodshed.
Qi Yunfeng, seated above them all, had been quiet the whole time. But now, as voices rose around him, he finally spoke
his tone calm, but authoritative:
"For now, the Shangxuan Sect will honor the ceasefire. 'The river shall not disturb the well' but… we investigate in secret. That's final. DISMISSED!"
No one dared defy him.
Bai Lu clenched his fists in frustration, but he bowed his head and kept silent.
Luo Yinghan looked at Qi Yunfeng, long and heavy, before letting out a quiet warning: "Making hasty decisions... will cost more than we think. Be cautious."
Later, when Chu Lin and Mo Yue heard about the meeting, both felt uneasy. Mo Yue, especially, had a sharp intuition
and every fiber of her being screamed:
Something's wrong. Very wrong.
Bai Lu, still distrustful, strengthened the defenses, posted guards on constant patrol, and waited with a heart full of dread.
Three days later.
Silence. A silence too quiet to be natural.
And then.
People began to disappear.
It started with one child from a nearby village. Then two women. Then three. Then five...
In less than ten days, over forty people had gone missing all of them women and children.
No one knew when they vanished. No screams. No signs. Nothing ,Except faint smears of blood on the cold, hard ground.
Panic swept through the Shangxuan Sect.
Chu Lin, Mo Yue, Bai Lu, Luo Yinghan, and Qi Yunfeng... all reached the same terrifying conclusion:
The Blood Demon Sect had made their move.
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