Chapter 193: We've Been Discovered! Fight On!

Qing Qing opened the wooden chest; inside were only cloth curtains.

Good! Just what we need!

She cradled Tuan Tuan, stepped back a few paces, flicked her fingertip, and a spark fell into the chest.

With a "whoosh," the flame leapt up, grew larger, spread rapidly, and the passage filled with thick smoke in an instant!

"The water's gone! Quick, put out the fire!"

"Protect the Formation! Quickly!"

The cultivators scrambled into chaos.

The little girls who had been seated within the Formation were startled by the sudden incident; long‑suppressed fear erupted at once, and each one began wailing and screaming, instinctively breaking free of their muddled state.

They surged toward the sole stone gate like frightened rabbits.

Tuan Tuan and Qing Qing slipped into the crying girls amid the chaos, ran out of the underground, and returned to the backyard.

The fresh air cleared the girls' heads; they huddled together, sat on the yard floor, and sobbed.

Guards and cultivators from the Guoshi Residence were drawn over, some fetching water, some dousing flames, rushing about hurriedly.

Seeing this group of wailing "Shen Tong" sitting on the ground, they assumed they were merely people fleeing for their lives and paid them no heed.

With the fire urgent, no one had time to attend to them.

Tuan Tuan lowered her head, untied the Embroidered pouch at her waist, pulled out a grayish scrap of cloth, and hurled it forcefully into the cluster of girls!

She muttered softly, "Can't see them run away!"

Qing Qing's eyes widened as she watched, astonished, the scrap vanish without a trace in a flash of light.

The airflow around the girls began to ripple like water, spreading outward.

Tuan Tuan whispered, "Qing Qing, quick!"

Qing Qing moved at once.

She was swift; each flash of movement let her silently snatch two girls, whispering in their ears, "Don't scream, I'll get you out."

The awakened girls cooperated fully, allowing Qing Qing to carry them; they reached the roof and quickly arrived at the wall's edge.

Yet in the hurried Guards' and cultivators' eyes, the girls still appeared to be sitting and crying in place, showing no sign of change.

Outside the wall, Xiao Er waited anxiously.

Qing Qing handed the girls to the carriage, leapt onto the roof, and kept rescuing the rest.

Xiao Er ushered the girls into the carriage, stared up at the wall, "Miss, why haven't you come out yet?"

Two, four, six… only Tuan Tuan remains!

In the main hall, a cultivator rushed in and whispered a few words into Wu Luo's ear.

Wu Luo's complexion darkened instantly.

He sprang up, "Seventh Prince, an emergency has arisen in the residence; I must depart! See the guests out!"

Xiao Ze hurried to his feet, "National Preceptor, stay!"

Wu Luo, as if unheard, strode like a meteor toward the back courtyard.

Xiao Ze watched his hurried silhouette, his heart lodged in his throat.

He took a stride forward, intending to follow.

The messenger cultivator reached out and stopped him, "Seventh Prince, please return."

Tuan Tuan, have you come out?

Xiao Ze gave him a glance, turned, and left in haste.

Qing Qing lifted Tuan Tuan, tipped her toe, and lightly leapt onto the roof, just as she was about to depart.

Wu Luo hurried over, bellowing, "What's going on! Where are those girls?"

A subordinate pointed, "They're right there, National Preceptor, the fire rose too fast; they escaped on their own."

Wu Luo looked in the direction his finger indicated.

Not right!

He swept the Whisk in his hand forcefully toward the weeping "girls."

The lifelike Illusion quivered violently, then shattered and vanished like a bubble, revealing an empty ground.

"Where are the people?" the cultivators and Guards nearby were all stunned.

Wu Luo's face turned ashen; he jerked his head up, his gaze landing on Qing Qing and Tuan Tuan, who were crouched in the roof's shadow, barely daring to breathe.

"Up there! Bring them down!"

Dozens of Guards swarmed instantly; some drew bows and nocked Arrows, others flipped onto the house.

Qing Qing tossed Tuan Tuan onto her back, "Hold tight!"

We've been discovered! Fight on!

He drew the Soft Sword from his waist, sprang to his feet, ready to meet the enemy.

Tuan Tuan swiftly fished a small tuft of gray‑black Fur Clump from the Embroidered pouch; it was something she had picked up on the Yiguan ground days earlier, a stray fur she didn't know the source of.

She flung the Fur Clump into the air, "No matter what you are! Come save me! Everyone, come!"

A flash of light, and the Fur Clump vanished.

Several Guards who had leapt onto the roof had already surrounded Qing Qing and Tuan Tuan, and they lunged together.

"Puff—!"

"Squeak—!"

Suddenly, countless wing‑flapping sounds echoed in the night sky, accompanied by eerie low cries!

As if a massive black cloud descended from the heavens.

Uncountable bats, a black mass, swooped from all directions into the Guoshi Residence's back courtyard!

They screamed, lunging at everyone except Qing Qing and Tuan Tuan in utter disorder.

Some flapped their wings hard, some scratched with their claws.

Ah! What is that!

It's bats! So many bats!

Get out! Get out quickly!

Everyone instantly fell into chaos; those who had just climbed onto the roof couldn't keep their balance and fell straight down.

People waved swords and arms, frantically driving away the bats that had swooped onto their faces and bodies, hands and feet in disarray, panicked.

Even Wu Luo was entangled by several especially ferocious bats, forced to wave his whisk to sweep them away, his face grim.

Tuan Tuan lay on Qing Qing's back, eyes wide with curiosity at the scene before him: 'Wow! What kind of bird is this? Its wings are so small? How strange!'

Qing Qing: '...'

This is not the time to ponder this, little ancestor!

She turned and ran, and upon seeing the carriage outside the wall, she leapt down and landed steadily on the carriage pole.

Go!

Xiao Er, who had been waiting a long time, sharply shook the reins: 'Giddy-up!'

The carriage swiftly merged into the street and vanished into the darkness.

Just as Tuan Tuan left, the bat swarm dispersed as suddenly as it had appeared; everyone lowered their weapons, panting, still shaken.

Wu Luo stood frozen in place, his face so dark it seemed water could drip from it.

He looked at his subordinates before him, recalling how the Prince of Lie Kingdom had deliberately detained him, and flew into a rage.

The girls he had carefully selected and trained to serve as doubles for Gongsun Zhi had all vanished!

Now Gongsun Zhi spends each day in a daze, not daring to come out and see people.

What are we to do about the Divine Child Manifest Holy Ceremony?

If it were cancelled, wouldn't Da Xia become a huge laughingstock?

How am I to explain this to His Majesty?

A daoist looked at him, trembling with fear, and asked: 'National Preceptor, what should we do? Should we immediately go search the Lie Kingdom's yiguan?'

Wu Luo's icy gaze swept over, and he fiercely swung his whisk at that person.

The daoist let out a miserable cry, rolled to the ground, and after a moment fell silent, his face blackened like charcoal.

Everyone fell to their knees, pleading: 'National Preceptor, spare my life!'

Wu Luo took a deep breath, turned, and left.

The carriage circled the street a few times, confirmed no one was following, then stopped in a dark alley near the Xi Lu yiguan.

As before, Qing Qing personally brought each girl down from the roof to the interior.

Xiao Er said: 'Thank you; we must return first, lest they come to search the yiguan.'

'Go; I will look after them,' Qing Qing replied.

Xiao Er brought Tuan Tuan back to the Lie Kingdom's yiguan.

As soon as he entered, Xiao Ningxun fiercely embraced his sister, and only then did his heart settle.

'Tuan Tuan, you scared me to death, brother!'

Tuan Tuan was very happy: 'Third Brother, I and Qing Qing have rescued them all!'

Wu Luo alone came to the secret chamber.

The furnishings in the secret chamber had all vanished; on the floor lay only a huge crimson formation.

He unfastened his robe, took off his outer garment, drew a dagger, slit his chest, dipped his hand in the blood, and, lying on the ground, carefully began to draw.