At dusk, the party from Tianjing Martial Academy selected a relatively safe area and began digging a cave as well.
There were seven people in this squad in total. They dug a fairly large cave and built a lean-to shack outside using tree branches.
These were standard routines for temporary shelters in the wild, so there was little need to say more.
At night, they naturally kept a watch.
In the dead of night, a short, stocky man took the watch. He was a bit older, though still under forty.
Compared to the others, he possessed relatively rich wilderness survival experience.
He sat beneath the lean-to in boredom. Nights in the Guizu domain were never peaceful, but he was essentially immune to those anomalies by now.
Yet at some point, he began to feel uneasy.
It was a faint, elusive palpitation of dread.
At first, he hadn't thought much of it, assuming the intense pressure of the Guizu domain was merely affecting his mood.
But why did it keep lingering in his heart without fading?
He didn't want to alert anyone else. The others were resting, and since the feeling came out of nowhere, he couldn't afford to embarrass himself.
After half an hour, though, he decided not to endure it anymore and quietly nudged the grand knight awake.
Only the chief instructor wouldn't laugh at him—this could involve the safety of six knights.
The chief instructor slept lightly. Before the man's hand even touched him, he woke and let out a soft grunt: "Hm?"
Hearing what the stocky man had to say, his gaze instantly sharpened, and he sent out a subtle pulse of perception.
Unfortunately, he detected no significant threat.
Just as he prepared to gradually amplify his perception, he felt an inexplicable gloom vaguely descending upon him.
He knew this was his intuition warning him—doing so carried potential danger!
In the Guizu domain at night, even someone as formidable as a grand knight could not do whatever he pleased.
Withdrawing his perception, he pondered for a moment and said in a low voice, "Something does seem off. It feels like something's watching us."
The two spoke in hushed whispers, but by this time, two other knights had also awakened.
In an unsafe environment, a person's alertness exceeded all expectations.
The stocky man handled external affairs for the martial academy and possessed considerable experience and worldly knowledge. "A more powerful entity?"
"Can't say for sure," the chief instructor shook his head. At a time like this, he didn't mind acknowledging his limitations.
Putting on a brave face just for vanity would be irresponsible to everyone, including himself. "Perhaps they're numerous."
Against a single Guizu at the grand knight level, he could still put up a fight. But if there were several... things would look very grim.
The stocky man didn't know what to say either, only muttering, "Our camp is still too crude."
The grand knight felt there was no point being demanding about it; it was clearly just a makeshift camp after all. "The main camp should be fine."
"Then we'll just have to tough it out tonight," the stocky man said softly. "We'll head back as fast as we can tomorrow."
Suddenly, one of the awakened knights chimed in with a whisper: "Could it be... that bunch from daytime?"
"Them?" The grand knight sneered dismissively. "Threaten me?"
It wasn't a boast. If not for the knights around him holding him back, he would have dared to clash with them directly.
Even if danger arose, no one could stop him if he wanted to leave.
Yet that knight's imagination wasn't lacking: "What if other Guizu are thrown into the mix?"
The chief instructor fell silent. He was confident the threat he sensed didn't come from that squad.
As for whether those people would pursue them, he considered it improbable. "This is a Guizu domain. Would they dare travel at night?"
"Sigh," the stocky man sighed softly, hesitating for a moment before speaking up. "Chief Instructor, they might have something to rely on. That wouldn't be unheard of."
Hearing that, the knight murmured under his breath, "Mainly, those people... are crazy enough!"
***
At that moment, five hundred meters away, three faint figures lurked.
They were indeed crazy enough. Even Rossi, who had been contaminated by Guizu aura, had followed Wu Youren and Namuzha in pursuit.
Manna had been left behind at the camp.
The three had initially intended just to give it a shot, never expecting that following the direction of the enemy's retreat would actually turn up clues.
It could only be said that the Tianjing Martial Academy crowd was truly careless.
Perhaps having looked down from on high for so long, they had completely forgotten that they weren't the only ones entitled to pick fights.
This oversight... seemed understandable. After all, Wu Youren's squad had no grand knight backing them; only madmen would pursue them.
What they failed to anticipate was that the people they provoked this time were genuinely mad enough!
Namuzha had only brought it up casually to show he wasn't someone to mess with. Who would have guessed the Jin hostage would call his bluff right away?
Naturally, he couldn't show cowardice—if he swallowed such a heavy loss, how could he keep his head high at Red Pine in the future?
If you dare to think of it, I dare to back it!
Rossi felt it even more acutely. The daytime incident was an outright provocation from the other side.
He had battled Guizu multiple times before, yet this was the first time he had ever been invaded by Guizu aura!
In truth, Wu Youren had been a bit hesitant, stating that as a hostage from Jin, getting involved in such an affair was somewhat taboo.
If he had known the other side was a team from Tianjing Martial Academy, he would never, ever have gotten involved!
In the end, Rossi had bluntly declared, "If you don't go, how can we track them? If anyone asks, just say I forced you!"
Even Manna had voiced her stance: "It hasn't been that long and our harvest is already quite good. We can't let others keep coveting what we have, can we?"
Namuzha had concluded with, "Is someone who only knows how to defend fit to be called a warrior?"
In short, on the surface, the Jin hostage had indeed been egged on into coming along.
Yet it was also fortunate that he came along; the Guizu domain at night was many times more dangerous than during the day.
Wu Youren didn't dare project his perception too far. Several times, fast-roaming Guizu had brushed right past them.
Now that the three had caught up with the enemy, their plan was to observe for a while before making a move.
Around them, Guizu scurried back and forth—in the broad sense, Guizu included Guizu-transformed creatures.
They could only communicate in the faintest whispers.
Rossi suggested that using ghost-destroying mines would be best: "...We brought plenty anyway, and it'll let them know who's come for them."
"I agree," Namuzha said, a trace of hesitation in his voice, "but how do we get away?"
If they caused such a commotion, escaping would be difficult even in broad daylight, let alone at night.
"We can set a delay. Young Wu is very skilled at that," Rossi replied without hesitation.
Pausing for a moment, he added, "Or how about we find a spot in the distance first and dig a simple cave?"
There was still most of the night left anyway. Even if they proceeded with caution, they should have enough time.
The two turned together to look at the Jin hostage, waiting to hear his stance.
Wu Youren pondered for a moment before speaking. "Is there a chance that they have a main camp too?"
"Holy shit..." Rossi nearly failed to keep his volume down. He gave a thumbs-up. "You're truly something else!"
"It's not what you think," Wu Youren said. "I don't like taking things too far. But... I really am broke."
"Like anyone here isn't broke," Rossi replied dismissively. "Still, I love this suggestion!"
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! They tried to rob us, so we rob them!"
"We might not succeed!" Wu Youren immediately cautioned. "I just mourn the ghost-destroying mines we burned through during the day and want to recoup a bit."
"No need to explain," Rossi snorted. "You just want to see Liang burn! Still, I like the idea!"
Goddammit... Wu Youren gritted his teeth. Running your mouth has to have limits, doesn't it?
I haven't even settled scores with you yet for flattering the powerful and trampling the weak back then!
Namuzha didn't find the remark out of line. Instead, he felt a bit envious of their rapport—being able to joke around like that!
However, he also had a doubt. "If they really have a formal camp, the defenses should be very tight, right?"
Ghost-destroying mines could trigger turbulence in the Guizu aura, but it was only an area-of-effect chaos and uncontrollable; they couldn't serve as a targeted attack.
Earlier, by hiding inside their own shelter, they had avoided the chaotic Guizu aura around them.
Under such circumstances, even if the enemy had a main camp and the three of them tracked them down, what method could they use?
The three of them couldn't very well gang up on a whole crowd, could they? The other side still had a grand knight!
Hearing that, Rossi paused for a second, then gritted his teeth. "Even if we just stir up some chaos and keep them on edge, it'll still be worth it!"
Though this fellow was quite utilitarian, down in his bones he still possessed a bit of hot-blooded spirit.
"If it's just to vent anger without accomplishing anything..." Namuzha hesitated.
Chief Instructor Hong had provided all the major supplies for this expedition; the other four had only brought along a few personal items.
So when using these supplies, they couldn't be too reckless.
Namuzha knew Hong Da also had a temper and likely wouldn't blame them, but making such a call on his own felt a bit...
"Mm," Wu Youren nodded. "We've already made some gains. Right now, prudence is best."
"Like I said, the best defense is a good offense," Namuzha said instinctively.
Pausing, he added, "We need to find a way to make it a targeted attack."
Rossi pondered for a moment and said, "Too bad we only have a tiny bit of Guizu-luring agent, and Manna's holding it."
Guizu-luring agent was strictly controlled in Great Liang, far more strictly than ghost-destroying mines and the like.
Once this stuff got out of hand, it could trigger catastrophic consequences.
Yet when battling Guizu, Guizu-luring agent was genuinely an indispensable necessity. If one was outmatched and wanted to retreat, scattering it could draw away the Guizu's attention.
Martial artists could also use it to lure Guizu after setting up an ambush.
For this trip to Mount Xuanling, Instructor Hong had procured some Guizu-luring agent and left part of it with them when she departed.
"Guizu-luring... agent?" Wu Youren muttered softly. "Sister Manna seems to have lent me a bit."
"Hm?" Hearing this, both knights turned their heads toward him in unison, rendering them utterly speechless for a moment.
After a few breaths, Rossi finally spoke up: "Did you do that on purpose?"
"No," Wu Youren replied with a face full of innocence. "I just casually mentioned that moving around at night wasn't very safe and that I had some concerns."
Pausing briefly, he added, "Actually, Guizu relics can lure Guizu too, right?"
Chapter 130