CHAPTER 257: AN UNEXPECTED AMBUSH

Unless Senior Sister Meng activated a Spirit Sense sweep specifically to detect Han Yu, he was confident she wouldn’t notice.

But he had to stay sharp. Senior Sister Meng was no ordinary disciple—her illusory arts were subtle and layered. She could be leaving false trails. She could vanish behind a veil of spirit mist. She could double back.

Still, she didn’t use any of those tactics now.

Whatever business she was heading toward, she didn’t want to waste time.

Han Yu narrowed his eyes.

"Why now?" he whispered. "What’s so urgent that it can’t wait until morning?"

His legs moved with near-silent fluidity across the dirt path, eyes locked on the flickering shape of Senior Sister Meng just ahead.

Whatever she was doing, whoever she was going to meet—Han Yu was going to find out.

And this time, he wouldn’t just be watching from behind a tea shop window.

Han Yu kept his distance as the night stretched on. The road had long since turned into a narrow dirt path, twisting through the outskirts of Wujing City and into the thicker woods beyond. He maintained his pursuit for nearly an hour, keeping just far enough to remain undetected but close enough to monitor every turn she made.

The moon hung low, casting silver light through the canopies of the surrounding forest. It was eerily quiet, broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves or the soft crunch of gravel beneath their boots. Meng hadn’t slowed down once. She was moving with absolute intent.

Han Yu furrowed his brow. The city was far behind them now, and they’d passed the last village some kilometers ago. There were no settlements out here, no sect branches, no official strongholds or hideouts. The only thing in this direction was—

His eyes widened slightly.

"Wait... this path leads toward the mountains," he muttered to himself, his breath steaming in the cool night air. "The same range surrounding the Broken Fang Ravine..."

There was nothing for hundreds of kilometers but forest and then jagged peaks. If you went far enough—days even—you’d reach that cursed ravine. The site of their blood-soaked mission. Where he, Fatty Kui, Wu Shuan, and the others had fought for their lives against an ambush from the Mist Eye Sect. Where Meng had been part of the attacking force.

Han Yu’s footsteps slowed just slightly. A cold sliver of doubt crept into his mind.

’Was this a trap?’

Was she bait, luring out spies or dissidents? Was someone following him instead?

He glanced around, activating his spirit sense to the full extent. While its range was just ten meters it also had the effect of amplifying his other senses. The world sharpened, his senses expanding. No presence behind. No surge of hostile intent. Still, the paranoia lingered.

But before he could decide whether to turn back or press on, it happened.

Meng suddenly stopped in the clearing up ahead.

Without warning, she spun around, and with a sharp cry, flung two silver daggers into the darkness.

Han Yu’s eyes widened. "Tch!"

He dove to the side and rolled behind a thick tree, instincts kicking in. For a second, he thought she’d sensed him, but—

Thunk! Thunk!

The daggers embedded themselves in a completely different direction. Not at him, but into the underbrush across the path.

A beat passed, and then figures emerged.

Five... no, six cloaked cultivators stepped into view, brushing past the trees as if they’d always belonged to the forest. The moonlight glinted off their robes—black with faint, swirling gray patterns.

Han Yu stiffened.

’Mist Eye Sect robes.’

His heart thudded. ’Why were Mist Eye Sect disciples—her own comrades—ambushing her?’

Senior Sister Meng drew her sword with a hiss of steel and glared at them, eyes narrowed. Her aura flared slightly, crackling with the pressure of someone who stood near the peak of the Qi Refining realm.

The lead disciple chuckled and stepped forward. A thin, sharp-faced man with angular features and a long scar that ran down his left cheek.

"Well, well. Senior Sister Meng," he said mockingly. "You made it so far, only to meet us out here. Going for a midnight stroll, were you?"

Meng didn’t answer. Her blade stayed steady.

Another disciple stepped forward, this one shorter and stockier, with a toothpick dangling from his lips.

"Cut the act. Just hand over the intelligence and you won’t have to die out here. We can say you were attacked by bandits or spirit beasts. A nice clean ending."

Meng let out a bitter laugh. "So this is what it’s come to. Internal betrayal. The Mist Eye Sect really is rotting from within."

"Oh please," sneered the scar-faced one. "Don’t pretend you’re loyal to the sect. You’ve been snooping where you don’t belong. You should’ve stopped digging when we gave you the chance."

"I should’ve reported all of you to the elders the moment I saw that hidden meeting hall," Senior Sister Meng snapped. "You think no one noticed the corrupted symbols carved into the walls? The forbidden runes? You’re dabbling in powers you don’t understand."

The toothpick snapped between the other man’s teeth. "You talk like you know something."

Meng’s eyes gleamed with a dangerous light. "I do know something. I know about the skeleton."

That got their attention.

The group collectively froze. One disciple even cursed under his breath.

Meng smirked. "The Magma Ancestor. You idiots are playing with ancient remains sealed beneath molten earth. Even if you could extract power from it, it would consume you first."

"Shut up!" snarled the scar-faced man. "Tell us everything you know. Right now. Or we’ll peel it out of you layer by layer."

"Try it," she said coldly.

That was all it took.

The clearing erupted into battle.

Spirit light flashed as blades clashed. Illusory mists exploded into the air, veiling the skirmish in illusions and shadows. Han Yu stayed rooted behind the tree, wide-eyed, suppressing his presence even more.

He didn’t move.

This was not his fight.

Not yet.