[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-dark-and-dawn-light-years":3,"chapter-dark-and-dawn-light-years-dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-206":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Dark and Dawn Light-Years",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2264806,4420,"Chapter 206: Idle Persons, Step Aside","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-206",206,"\u003Cp>Ji Feng changed his clothes and returned to the inn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, the hall held few people—only a handful of martial artists waiting for news.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Feng went upstairs, arrived at his room, and knocked—three taps, short-long-short—then whispered, “It’s me, open up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door opened—it was his wife.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The middle-aged woman saw her husband’s face and immediately grew serious; she pulled him inside and slowly closed the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then she supported his arm and led him to sit on a chair in the inner chamber.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did Ji Feng’s expression turn pained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He unbuttoned his clothes and looked at the bloodstained wound on his left chest, where the beating of his heart was faintly visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did you get this badly hurt?” Seeing the wound, the woman’s face turned pale with shock: “Who did this to you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a wound—if even slightly deeper—would have killed him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The attacker ambushed me. I didn’t see who it was, but it must have been that Young Master Li.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman pulled a white porcelain bottle from her clothing, uncorked it, and poured yellow powder onto the wound as she asked: “He used a spear?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes!” Ji Feng nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did he wound you?” The woman sighed in relief as the ointment took effect: “Though our Qingcheng Sect’s swordplay doesn’t emphasize offense, our defense is among the best in the world. Logically, even if you were injured, it shouldn’t have been this severe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Feng smiled bitterly: “I went to that small courtyard and found nothing unusual, so I climbed onto the roof and crouched down to lift a tile and peek inside. Just as I bent over, the spear shot out—if I hadn’t dodged fast enough, I’d have been pierced clean through the heart. Even now, I don’t understand how he ‘saw’ me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perhaps this Li Young Master has exceptional hearing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s certainly possible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman sighed: “It seems this artifact won’t be easy to seize. Not only has this mysterious Li Young Master shown such strength, but even if we get it, we may not escape—almost every sect in Jiangnan has sent people here. When the time comes, we’ll be enemies with the entire world.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Feng thought for a moment and said: “What if… we form an alliance?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“With whom?” The woman sneered: “In this world, besides family, who can you trust?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Feng thought again and said: “Tianyi Sect has also sent people here—I saw An Xin today.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tianyi Sect… has a good reputation and some historical ties to our Qingcheng Sect. That could work.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Feng smiled: “I’ll go to them tomorrow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But there’s only one Linglong Jade Box—how will we split it afterward?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Once we get it, cut it in half and divide it evenly!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman sighed: “I still feel this won’t go smoothly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ji Feng smiled: “You’ve got to try.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His smile caused a pang in his chest—he instinctively pressed his hand against it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then I’ll follow your lead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin placed the Nanman Divine Bone back into the box.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this point, his spiritual energy had nearly fully recovered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It had taken only about an hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He resumed making paper figures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One by one, the paper figures were completed and placed aside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously, the sedan chair, horses, and other paper crafts were also made—his speed had increased significantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Qingqing watched from the side, then finally couldn’t hold back: “Can these paper figures really get us out of Yue Commandery?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Paper figures may be frightening, but they can’t scare off so many martial artists.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’ll see when the time comes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Qingqing nodded and returned to her work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew that since she couldn’t help with the main task, she should at least lighten Li Lin’s burden with chores.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time quickly reached evening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin finished the last soul-guiding paper figure and painted it to resemble the Tree Immortal Lady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He counted the paper figures and nodded in satisfaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The paper figures took up little space—even with over a hundred of them, the room still had room to spare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin gestured and said: “Tonight, prepare your rations and rest well. Tomorrow morning, we leave.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright!” Zhou Qingqing looked at the room full of paper figures—though slightly frightened, she also felt reassured.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“By the way, what time do the city gates open in Yuecheng in the morning?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“When the sky just begins to lighten.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perfect.” Li Lin nodded: “Get some sleep.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that, Li Lin took the Five-Colored Divine Bone from the box, returned to his room, and sat cross-legged to cultivate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Qingqing began packing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She prepared rations and dried meat, took some silver notes and several sets of clothes, then lay down fully clothed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, she felt both nervous and eager.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thrilling sensation—like escaping a cage—filled her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She lay awake, lost in wild thoughts for a long while, before finally falling asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At dawn, as the rooster crowed outside, she woke instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She rose at once, shook awake her son Xiao Hua, grabbed their bag, and pulled him to the main hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin was already standing there.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned and saw Zhou Qingqing dressed plainly, then said: “Do you have any luxurious robes? The more splendid, the better.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Qingqing thought for a moment, returned to her room, and soon emerged wearing a splendid gown, with three golden dangling hairpins in her hair, their golden fragments shimmering—she looked every inch an aristocratic lady.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin nodded, then took a yellow talisman, lit it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blue smoke filled the entire house; the paper figures touched by the blue mist instantly came alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They transformed from paper into living people—indistinguishable from ordinary folk: constables carrying wooden plaques, government office runners acting as guards, several maidservants—over a hundred in total—marched out the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the sedan chair was lifted by them, and the horses were led out by the paper figures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Qingqing stared, dumbfounded, unable to recover her wits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The little boy, however, was thrilled—unafraid, he ran around the paper figures, laughing loudly, waving his arms and legs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Lin watched the talisman burn out and said: “Alright, let’s go.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you a celestial being?” Zhou Qingqing looked at Li Lin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just an ordinary man.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Qingqing gazed at Li Lin’s handsome face and sighed: “I suppose a celestial being must look just like this Squire.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying this, she dared not look at him again—afraid that if she looked any longer, she’d be lost in him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She stepped outside and saw a hundred-person procession waiting in the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A maidservant approached and, faintly, seemed to say: “Master, Lady, Young Master, please take the sedan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhou Qingqing hesitated, but Li Lin stepped forward first and climbed into the eight-man sedan, then waved to her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She bit her pink lip, took her son’s hand, and climbed in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She knew it was a paper sedan—but once seated, it felt as solid as the real thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then the paper bearers lifted the sedan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next, the gong-beater struck the bronze gong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dāng dāng dāng!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nobles on the move! Commoners, clear the way!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice echoed down the entire street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1189,"2026-06-19T19:39:19.696Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","4ca0ec7d218f085c211f67ae557fe599b79b65c9ce93dccd082416c30d16ad5b","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-207","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-205",221,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdark-and-dawn-light-years-cover.jpg"]