Chapter 487: 461 The Jade Person

"Something is not right..."

Outside Yutang, Mingzhu Bay was filled with a gloomy, eerie atmosphere, teeming with ghostly shadows.

The white fox stood on the surface of the lake, pacing back and forth, restless and filled with unease.

"It has been so long... so long and no one has come over... Tang Zhao promised me he would lure the giants over to me one by one. Why is there not a single giant here even now?"

She muttered to herself: "Could it be that he is unable to do it? That can't be, right? Has his strength weakened?"

"Could it be that the message was not delivered? Did something go wrong with that strange bird?"

"Could it be that I didn't express myself clearly, and he failed to understand?"

"Could it be that something happened to the Sun Bird halfway? Or, could it be that something happened to Tang Zhao?"

Her tone grew increasingly anxious, her expression gradually turned ferocious, and the flames of Doubt flared up, as if more ghosts were about to crawl out: "Could it be that I misunderstood, and the Sun Bird wasn't sent by Tang Zhao at all? Could it be that Tang Zhao died long ago? Could it be... that there is no such person as Tang Zhao in this world?"

Aqin had been drifting aimlessly in the reflection on the lake, but upon hearing this, she couldn't help but pop her head out and say: "Hey, Auntie, although you doubt everything, isn't this going too far? Brother Tang is clearly..."

Ling Baoyu turned back to stare at her, her gaze filled with suspicion.

Aqin flattened back down and muttered: "Pretend I didn't say anything."

Ling Baoyu finally said: "Something is not right. You wait here, I will go take a look."

Aqin hurriedly said: "I will go with you."

Ling Baoyu immediately stopped her: "You must not go! You are a reflection; you are in your element on the lake surface. What can you do on land? You stay here and provide cover for me. If you have any Sword Art techniques for reflections, just display them. If I return, regardless of whether I bring a giant back or lead some trouble here, you can be well-rested and deal with it for me. If I don't return, Mingzhu Bay is safer than Qianqiu Tower; you wait here for the next turning point."

Aqin had no choice but to agree, but still whispered: "But Auntie, there are ghosts all around here, I'm scared."

By now, that giant had been gnawed away completely. A large number of ghosts had died from the giant's various counterattacks, but there were simply too many ghosts, and quite a few remained, wandering aimlessly on the lake surface.

The lake surface was now far more terrifying than a mass grave. Aqin only felt as if ghosts were stepping all over her head.

Ling Baoyu said: "It's fine, they cannot harm you."

It was not that those ghosts were docile or harmless, but that Aqin existed independently on the water surface; she was invincible within the mirror, so there was truly no need to worry about her safety.

Aqin said: "But..."

Ling Baoyu raised a claw and pointed; there was a small depression on the water surface, rippling slightly, as if something was emerging: "You help me watch this place, I am about to come up."

Aqin was stunned for a moment, then reacted and said: "Ling Gugu, is your body coming up?"

The white fox nodded and said: "I just made contact with myself, released the ghosts from my Doubt, and incidentally pulled the Shelter up as well. In a moment, you just open my Shelter, and you can quietly wait for me to wake up. Don't worry too much about me; right now the white fox is just a Sword Image, even if it disappears, it will return to Ling Baoyu's side."

Aqin breathed a sigh of relief and said: "With Auntie accompanying me, I won't be afraid. Then... what about the others?"

Ling Baoyu was silent. She had just relied on instinct to make contact with herself, but she hadn't dared to check on the others.

Yes, she did not dare.

She truly did not dare to contact the others. Firstly, the situation was still very dangerous, the giants were still rampaging, and the Shadow was pervasive; it was not the time to awaken weak companions. Secondly... she also did not quite dare to face everyone's current state.

It had been over a hundred years, sleeping quietly under the dark lake water; how many people could actually wake up?

And how many people, like Bai Ni, would be nothing but a pile of Bone when opened again?

Therefore, Ling Baoyu only fished up her own coffin, simply because she herself was still alive; this was a matter beyond doubt.

Although she did not know what she looked like now either.

Would she be gray-haired and aged?

She said to Aqin: "Wait for me to return, and we will save everyone together; everyone will be reunited."

Aqin was moved and said loudly: "Rest assured, Auntie, I will wait for your return. I will definitely watch over your body well. You don't need to worry about your back!"

Ling Baoyu nodded in approval and left Mingzhu Bay alone.

Ever since she released many ghosts, her Doubt had expanded more than a hundredfold, and even her walking posture had changed. She had originally been silent when landing, but now she was even more stealthy, hunching her back and tilting her head, truly looking like a sneak.

Passing through a patch of black shadows, Ling Baoyu felt a faint heat rushing toward her face.

This heat was just like the lingering warmth she felt after the Palace Lamp was extinguished when she first entered Qianqiu Tower. Perhaps because it was outdoors, this warmth was not as well-preserved as it was inside the building, but it was still very comfortable.

What was going on?

Did someone light that Lamp?

Outdoors, wouldn't one need to light dozens or hundreds to be enough?

Ling Baoyu thought of Tang Zhao; could it be that he was laying out some Rune Formula?

At this moment, she saw a huge black shadow walking past not far away in the black fog.

It was a Shadow giant.

Sure enough, these giants were still fine, with all their limbs intact. What exactly was Tang Zhao doing?

The Shadow giant walked very fast, and it seemed to be carrying something in its hands.

Something is not right!

Ling Baoyu's Doubt flared up again with a start. She had dealt with Shadow giants before and knew well that they were simple-minded and lacked rationality; the operation of carrying things was too profound for them. This action was highly suspicious and very much like...

Someone was manipulating them from behind!

Very well, has the mastermind behind the scenes already appeared?

Ling Baoyu was both nervous and somewhat exhilarated. Although the mastermind behind the scenes would certainly be troublesome, they were not necessarily difficult to deal with.

For her, the most difficult to deal with were those mindless big oafs, while smart people were actually within the range of her Sword Intent; the smarter a person was, the more Doubt they had, and the more opportunities there were to exploit.

She became increasingly cautious, her body beginning to turn ethereal, hiding within her own Doubt. Although her concealment technique was ineffective against giants, if the mastermind was human, they would likely not be able to discover her.

Carefully passing through the black shadows in this way, suddenly, the surrounding black shadows dispersed, unexpectedly revealing a clear night sky.

Although the night sky was also dark, ordinary night and the thick, heavy shadows were truly distinct. After walking in the shadows for a long time, arriving under the night sky, Ling Baoyu only felt the air was exceptionally fresh and the view before her exceptionally bright.

Immediately following, she saw a shocking scene:

"I remember, we had buildings here!"

The center of what was originally Yutang had abruptly turned into a large, neat, flat area. Ling Baoyu vaguely remembered that there were at least three halls and pavilions here, but now there were none left, transformed into a large plaza.

On the plaza, various materials were piled up in a crisscross manner—some stone, some wood, and other inexplicable materials—piled here and there, seemingly disorganized, yet seemingly following some kind of pattern.

That Shadow giant was carrying a block of stone to the plaza, placing it in the center, right at a gap, making the arrangement of these materials in the plaza look more tightly connected and more pleasing to the eye.

"Well done, you go rest too."

Someone spoke, the voice very familiar.

It is Tang Zhao.

Ling Baoyu was overjoyed and turned her head.

She saw a young man standing not far away; borrowing the faint starlight cast down from the night sky, one could see his features were like a painting, his bearing elegant and handsome, his body seemingly covered in a faint radiance, not as if illuminated by starlight, but as if he were the stars themselves.

Ah...

This is the type I like.

No... what type or not, I like him!

Ling Baoyu only took one look, and it was as if she had drunk a large jar of aged fine wine; she felt dizzy, her face burning like fire, and in her heart, she only thought: Ah, I am dead. Where did this peerless jade-like person come from? Where did he come from...

Where did he come from???

In an instant, she felt as if she had been fed a large bowl of sobering soup, and she became a bit clearer.

If it were her usual temperament, upon seeing such a beauty, her brain would have immediately run away from home, and regardless of anything, she would have muddle-headedly followed him; it would have taken quite a while just to summon her reason back. It was thanks to her having released a large number of ghosts just now that her Doubt had greatly expanded; although her intelligence had followed the beauty, her Doubt had not.

Precisely because Doubt pricked her hard, she managed to recover some of her brain, staring at the young man's profile, thinking only: Where did this jade-like person come from? Is he a companion called over by Tang Zhao? Or a Sword Guest who happened to be treasure hunting? Or perhaps a subordinate of Wangliang?

Thinking of the third possibility, Ling Baoyu shook her head; no, no, she could not accept it.

Does a demon or monster like Wangliang, who only deserves to command some crooked melons and split dates, deserve to have such a subordinate?

However, apart from Tang Zhao and the few of them, who could come to Baiyujing with a legitimate purpose?

At this moment, the giant the young man had told to "rest" walked past her, went to a certain spot, and suddenly suffered a Disappearance.

Ling Baoyu was startled; looking closely, it turned out the ground had split into a large pit, and the giant hadn't vanished, but had fallen into the pit.

Her angle was poor, and she couldn't see the scene in the pit, so she secretly crept forward a few steps and looked again, only to see many giants standing and squeezed inside the large pit, one next to the other, like a Stone Forest; the last giant entered the pit, filling the remaining empty spots, and the large pit was instantly packed full, with no room left to stand.

What is this...

Before she could think it through, the young man waved his hand lightly, as if an invisible giant hand pinched both sides of the large pit—the large pit closed instantly.

The giants, gone.

This... what is this again?

Ling Baoyu only felt inexplicably shocked; so many giants, the giants she had made up her mind to spend days or months slowly grinding away, were wiped out just like that?

How is that possible?

Moreover, she immediately thought of a key point: the ground appeared as a large pit and then closed again, because this young man commanded the Cloud Silk of Baiyujing, right?

As an unrelated outsider, by what right could he command the Cloud Silk?

Is he relying on Ruyi Silk?

Ling Baoyu felt great unease in her heart, because at this moment she thought of one person.

Meng Huazhou, that bastard. He seems to have Ruyi Silk, and previously he even fought with Tang Zhao for control over a piece of cloud.

Could it be... that this person is a companion of Meng Huazhou? Did he get the Ruyi Silk from him?

Better not. Do not get involved with that kind of ugly and evil guy.

At this time, everything returned to calm, and the young man said: "Only the last step remains, then let's..."

He waved his hand, and a pure, brilliant radiance lit up.

Ling Baoyu was stunned and blurted out: "Tang Zhao?"