The fire at the Second Prince's Estate raged like a madly thrashing fire dragon, growing increasingly violent. The towering flames illuminated half of the night sky, making the entire Capital as bright as day. A wave of heat mixed with scorching ash rushed forward, as if determined to swallow everything in the vicinity. Biting her teeth and enduring the piercing agony from the wound on her arm, Shen Mingyue supported Gu Jinghong while forging ahead with Shen Qingyao through the ruins. The tiles beneath their feet were already shattered beyond recognition, requiring every step to be taken with extreme caution lest they tread upon sharp shards. The air was thick with a pungent smell of burning and the stench of blood, mingling with the odors of scorched silk, charred timber, and decaying corpses, creating a nauseating miasma.
Suddenly, a bone-chillingly cold gust of wind swept past. Unlike an ordinary night breeze, it carried the scent of decay, snapping everyone's garments with a sharp rustle. Alarm bells rang wildly in Shen Mingyue's heart; the sharp intuition she had honed through years of fighting in the martial world warned her that danger was closing in. Before she could react, a dark figure flashed like a ghost, moving with breathtaking speed. A pair of withered, bark-like hands with wrinkled skin suddenly seized the back of her neck. The force behind them was astonishingly vast, clamping down like an iron vise and instantly robbing her of all movement.
"Mingyue!" The …
Chapter 66