[{"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-26":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},2264626,4420,"Chapter 26: The Person in the Fog","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-26",26,"\u003Cp>Before nightfall, everyone searched their assigned areas but found nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now the sunset hung low, its color like blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the fortress walls were tall and blocked the sunlight, the interior was even darker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sixteen gathered again, their expressions all grim.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We have two choices now,” Xu Saifeng said, glancing at the sunset. “One is to stay here until we fully investigate and uncover the truth—but it’s dangerous.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The second is to leave immediately and report what happened here to the County Magistrate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone immediately said: “I choose to leave. Something’s wrong here. Staying longer is dangerous—I feel someone is watching us from the dark.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But someone else said: “We haven’t figured out why the soldiers died or why the True Lord vanished! If we just go back like this, the County Magistrate will think we’re idle and useless!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But it’s better than being dead. What happened here is strange—even the True Lord disappeared.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The True Lord may not be dead. I think we must investigate further. Otherwise, we can’t explain ourselves when we return. Do you really think Huang County Magistrate is easygoing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then they began arguing, the dispute growing louder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After listening to their bickering for a while, Li Lin suddenly spoke: “Let’s leave this place first, find somewhere safer to spend the night, and return to investigate at dawn. Why must we choose only between fleeing or staying?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone turned to look at Li Lin; their expressions seemed strange, almost twisted and strained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Saifeng slapped her own face twice, then said: “We old hands were all blinded just now—ashamed. This place is truly unnatural. Li Xunshou is right—we leave now, and decide what to do tomorrow.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, the sixteen mounted their horses and rode out of the city before the sun fully set.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I know a cave nearby—let’s spend the night there.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After saying this, Xu Saifeng led the way ahead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After riding a while, someone suddenly shouted: “Look at Bobai Town—it’s wrong.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone turned back and saw the entire military town shrouded in black mist under the blood-red afterglow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It looked deeply ominous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There had been no such thing during the day when sunlight still shone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Saifeng involuntarily hissed: “Grief has condensed into mist, visible to the naked eye—it can bewitch the mind! That place is a trap. No wonder none of us thought to leave—we only argued, wasting time. If we’d waited longer, we’d never have escaped.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Bofan asked curiously: “What happens if you stay inside that mist? How do you counter it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Either you’ve cultivated spirit-soul arts, or your yang energy is strong enough to resist its effects.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone suddenly understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Hou laughed: “No wonder Li Xunshou warned us!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone burst into laughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone in Yulin County knew Li Lin was still a virgin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone then asked: “Is Bai Xunshou still a virgin too?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Bofan looked embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At thirteen, he had tried sexual relations with his maid.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing his expression, they laughed even louder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Amid laughter and chatter, Xu Saifeng led them to a high slope, where a cave indeed lay, its entrance fronted by a flat patch of mud. From here, they could see Bobai Military Town in the distance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, the white jade tablets at everyone’s waists began glowing faintly red—indicating a Gui  was nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Saifeng took seven yellow triangular soul-summoning banners from her saddlebag, planted them in a circle around the mud patch starting from the cave entrance, then returned to the cave mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Bofan asked his uncle curiously: “What kind of array is this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Liwei shook his head—he didn’t know.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s a family-secret array—I won’t say its name,” Xu Saifeng smiled. “Its purpose is to gather nearby yin energy and create the illusion of a tomb… enough to make the wild Gui  believe this place is a grave, and that we are the lost spirits within it, so they won’t bother us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone looked and saw the red glow on their white jade tablets had vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This array is powerful—if used outside villages and counties, wouldn’t it save countless lives?” someone said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Saifeng laughed: “It can fool Gui  for a while, not forever. Besides… how large is a single tomb? How large is a county or a city? Can you even compare them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That made sense—everyone understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They tied up their horses, lit a fire inside the cave, and waited until the poisonous insects were driven out by smoke before entering to rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Xu Saifeng arranged the night-watch shifts, everyone silently ate their dried rations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since Li Lin wasn’t on watch, he hugged the thin “Deceive Gui  Cloak” blanket, sat against the muddy wall of the cave, and closed his eyes to rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Logically, this location was ideal, and with Xu Saifeng’s array in place, it should have been safe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But an accident still came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the late night, every night-watchman’s white jade tablet flashed brilliant red light at the same moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All the Spirit Hunters woke up—except Bai Bofan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was still snoring loudly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Liwei strode over and slapped him hard on the head, waking him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What’s going on? What happened?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bai Bofan shook his head, dazed and half-asleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Spirit Hunters ignored him, grabbed their weapons, and stepped outside the cave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outside, nothing was visible—but the dense, whispering murmurs were unmistakable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Saifeng noticed two of her soul-summoning banners were missing; her face darkened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who’s on watch now…” His words had barely left his mouth when he saw a Spirit Hunter collapsed at the cave entrance, blood gurgling from his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other night-watchman was gone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without hesitation, Xu Saifeng pulled two more soul-summoning banners from her saddlebag and replanted them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The red glow on everyone’s white jade tablets gradually faded and vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Shi Xunshou had his throat slit—he’s beyond saving,” Zhou Liwei pulled his nephew back, distancing himself from the others. “The missing one is Old Hou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, every Spirit Hunter instinctively stepped away from the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though Old Hou was the most likely culprit, who could guarantee none of the remaining were his accomplices?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Saifeng’s face was grim. As team leader, this failure was his responsibility. Even if they completed the mission and returned to Yulin County, he would be blamed for negligence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This would reduce his future “Respectful Stipend.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Saifeng took a deep breath: “Gentlemen, it seems we must find the traitor among us.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How?” someone asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Saifeng’s face darkened: “Soul-searching technique. What do you all think?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1085,"2026-06-19T19:39:18.782Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","23e2adf37ce72bf90d47f86d3c075ddf7cbbe079c0e87e6d0d325aa9bed3593c","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-27","dark-and-dawn-light-years-chapter-25",221,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fdark-and-dawn-light-years-cover.jpg"]