Chapter 2078: Reunion

Novel

Zhang Zitong was completely confused at this moment. Seeing his smile, she couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"

"Behind this mirror, a space is hidden," Zu An explained. "Someone performed some concealing magic here. It's likely that Chifuzi is behind this." As he spoke, his fingers moved quickly, adjusting the positions of the patterned beast carvings and other decorations in a few corners of the screen wall.

Immediately, a faint blue light appeared on the entire wall. As the surrounding layout changed, the light soon began to fade.

The screen wall no longer looked like a solid wall; instead, it rippled like water.

Zhang Zitong extended a finger and lightly touched it. Immediately, circles of water-like ripples spread outwards, and she exclaimed in surprise, "My lord, there really is a space behind it!"

Zu An found it a bit amusing to see her as delighted as a child. He wondered how this girl had managed to become a Silver Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Just then, Zhang Zitong suddenly cried out as if pulled inward by a hand from behind the space, and she tumbled inside.

Zu An's expression changed. He instantly grabbed her other hand, feeling a tremendous suction force.

A thought crossed his mind: This seemed to be the power of space, not someone secretly ambushing them.

In the blink of an eye, both of them were sucked into the screen wall.

A feeling of weightlessness came over them, and they had already fallen onto the ground.

Zhang Zitong stumbled and couldn't stand firm. Fortunately, Zu An was holding her hand, which allowed her to regain her balance.

"Thank you, My Lord," Zhang Zitong said. Feeling the warmth from his palm, her heart pounded. She thought, "Although My Lord is usually distant, he still cares about me in his heart. Otherwise, he wouldn't have instantly grabbed my hand to save me just now."

"Are you scared?" Zu An asked, noticing her abnormal heartbeat and feeling a little puzzled.

Zhang Zitong originally wanted to say she wasn't scared, but then she thought better of it and nodded shyly. "I've never encountered anything like this," she admitted. "I am a little scared."

This way, she could openly continue holding My Lord's hand, right?

Unfortunately, Zu An didn't give her the chance. He naturally released her hand and said, "There's nothing to be afraid of. Just follow behind me."

"Oh," Zhang Zitong said, feeling a little disappointed. But when she saw him subtly shielding her behind him, her mood immediately improved.

Only then did she have the presence of mind to look around. She noticed a sense of familiarity in the nearby buildings and paused, startled. "Huh, are we still in the same spot?"

"Of course not," Zu An replied. "This is the world behind the screen wall now." He walked forward.

Zhang Zitong hurried to follow. "Huh, it does seem a bit different," she said. "Many places are mirror images of where we were, left and right reversed. And the sky here is hazy, looking quite eerie and strange."

Zu An used his Psyche Jade Cong to sense the surroundings, confirming there were no living animals around.

His divine sense couldn't extend very far; clearly, the mist was obstructing it.

Accustomed to using his divine sense, this situation was like being blind, and he really wasn't used to it.

The two walked up along a bluestone path. Above them was another courtyard house, each of its four sides having an open door, and each door leading to a descending bluestone path.

"These doors look exactly alike," Zhang Zitong said, looking back. A shiver ran down her spine. "And they're the same as the path we came from!"

Her voice echoed endlessly in the courtyard, only adding to the eerie feeling.

Zu An, however, remained calm. He continued to walk forward. After traversing the long bluestone path, they found themselves back at the starting point where they had entered. The screen wall from before stood before them, but now there were no water-like ripples on it; it was just hard stone.

"We can't go back!" Zhang Zitong's voice trembled. She didn't understand what was happening to her. Usually, when facing such dangers, she would be decisive and quickly devise solutions, but now, by Lord Eleven's side, she felt like a weak woman and was actually scared.

"It became a wall right after we entered. Didn't you notice?" Zu An casually replied, while also observing the surrounding terrain.

Zhang Zitong felt a little ashamed; she had indeed been a bit careless. "But we were clearly walking straight forward just now. Why did we end up back here?"

"Many formations have similar effects," Zu An explained. "The space here is distorted to a certain extent, which can mislead one's sense of direction." He continued to walk forward as he spoke.

"Is this like the legendary 'ghost wall'?" Zhang Zitong asked, seeing him continue forward, puzzled. "Didn't we already walk this way? Shouldn't we try another path?"

"It is somewhat like a 'ghost wall,' but this place is clearly more sophisticated," Zu An replied. "After what just happened, most people would subconsciously look for other paths, but they wouldn't realize that doing so would lead them straight into the opponent's trap. By continuing forward, I need to assess how exactly the spatial displacement here works."

He paused, then added, "This time, you walk in front?"

"Huh?" Zhang Zitong's face fell.

Could My Lord want me to go first to trigger traps? She had heard that some Embroidered Uniform Guard colleagues were ruthless and would make subordinates go ahead as cannon fodder.

But Lord Eleven shouldn't be that kind of person, right?

She took a deep breath. "Alright!"

She immediately took long strides and started walking ahead, but gone was her usual heroic swagger. Instead, she walked with small, hesitant steps, like a young lady sheltered in her chambers.

Seeing her somewhat shaky appearance, Zu An chuckled softly. "Don't be scared," he said. "I'll protect you."

Only then did Zhang Zitong breathe a sigh of relief. Emboldened, she asked, "My Lord, why do you need me to walk in front?"

"Two reasons. First, I need to observe from outside the situation," Zu An said, not hiding anything.

"Outside the situation?" Zhang Zitong was a little puzzled.

"Those involved are often confused, while observers see clearly," Zu An explained. "I need to use the stride of your long legs as a reference point to assess the situation of this space."

"Oh?" Zhang Zitong had never expected this reason. Although she had always been most satisfied with her legs, this was the first time she learned they had such a use.

Seeing his serious expression, Zhang Zitong didn't let her thoughts wander, afraid of disturbing his train of thought. "What about the other reason?" she asked.

"Oh, it's just that in this tense environment," Zu An chuckled, "appreciating a pair of long legs can make me feel more pleasant, and perhaps make it easier to figure out a solution."

"My Lord..." Zhang Zitong exclaimed, a hint of coquetry in her tone. She wondered, "Is he flirting with me?"

"Don't you feel less nervous now than before?" Zu An asked, looking at her.

"It does feel a lot lighter," Zhang Zitong replied. She thought, "So My Lord was trying to lighten my mood. I knew it; how could such a serious person as My Lord flirt with me?"

However, she felt an inexplicable sense of loss.

The two continued to walk up a long bluestone path, chatting and laughing. They arrived at a courtyard with doors on all four sides. They continued by choosing the door directly in front and walked down another bluestone path. As expected, they returned to their starting point.

Although the surroundings were growing increasingly eerie, Zhang Zitong, thinking about My Lord watching her legs from behind, didn't feel cold at all. Instead, she felt a warmth radiating on her legs.

"So that's how it is," Zu An's voice sounded then.

Zhang Zitong was startled. "My Lord, what did you figure out?"

"It seems like we returned to the starting point, but this isn't actually the original starting point," Zu An explained. "The formation's creator deliberately created many identical buildings to mislead those who enter. Entrants subconsciously believe that no matter how they walk, they'll return to the origin, becoming increasingly flustered and making various wrong decisions." As Zu An spoke, he took out a formation disk. His fingertips flickered, and small flags flew out in all directions into the void.

Immediately after, he suddenly grabbed a handful of talismans and threw them out. The talismans quickly dispersed, automatically transforming into small paper cranes.

Flapping their wings, they flew in the direction of the previously deployed formation flags.

Zhang Zitong's eyes widened, because she saw many small moving light dots appear on Lord Eleven's formation disk, clearly representing the paper cranes that had flown away.

As those small light dots spread outwards, a three-dimensional map gradually appeared on the formation disk. The buildings on the map were miniature versions of the surrounding structures.

"What is this?"

"A holographic projection formation disk." This was a formation Zu An had improved with the help of Yan Xiangu, combining the *Baopu True Scripture* with some technological concepts from his previous life. It was specifically used for exploring unknown territories.

Its only drawback was that the operator needed a rough understanding of the terrain to be explored before it could be activated.

"My Lord, when did you become so proficient in runic formations?" Zhang Zitong asked, a little bewildered.

"I just learned recently."

Zhang Zitong thought, "Runic formations are vast and profound. Who could master them to this level after just learning?"

As they spoke, a complete map had already appeared on the formation disk. Zu An glanced at it and chuckled, "So it's here."

He immediately led Zhang Zitong, swiftly dashing forward. Having a map made things truly different.

"Slow down, slow down, I can't take it anymore!" Zhang Zitong exclaimed repeatedly. At first, she tried to remember the route, but he led her through the courtyard, turning left and right in various ways, sometimes even backtracking for a distance, and then the scenery immediately changed from what it had been when they first arrived.

After a few turns, she felt completely dizzy. She simply closed her eyes and let him lead the way.

She didn't know how long it had been, but the rushing wind in her ears finally stopped. Only then did she cautiously open her eyes.

Before her appeared a different courtyard. In the very center, a woman with hip-length hair sat cross-legged, eyes closed in meditation.

Beside her, a Changxin Palace Lantern emitted a soft glow, enveloping an area of several zhang.

"Yun Jianyue!" Zhang Zitong exclaimed, both excited and terrified. She hadn't expected to arrive directly at the Devil Sect Leader's secluded cultivation spot!

This person was the court's number one fugitive. If she could capture her, perhaps she could atone for her past mistakes and be reinstated by the Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Just as she was about to draw her weapon, Zu An had already made his move. However, seemingly detecting an intruder, the Changxin Palace Lantern suddenly flared with intense light, directly engulfing his entire body.

"My Lord, be careful!" Zhang Zitong naturally knew how powerful Yun Jianyue's Changxin Palace Lantern was. Once enveloped by its light, one would be rendered immobile and become an easy target.

However, she quickly froze, because Lord Eleven's body was surrounded by black whirlpools. The light couldn't even reach him; it was absorbed by the black whirlpools.

My Lord is even more formidable than I imagined...

Zu An walked several zhang forward. Just as he was about to reach Yun Jianyue's side, a hauntingly beautiful moonlight suddenly swept in from an unexpected angle.

Zhang Zitong's heart leaped into her throat. That was Yun Jianyue's famous weapon—the New Moon Wheel. Countless masters had met their demise beneath its blade.

However, the next scene made her rub her eyes, because the New Moon Wheel did not attack My Lord. Instead, it circled around him, seemingly with a sense of joy and excitement.

"What exactly went wrong?" Zhang Zitong looked bewildered. But she didn't have time to ponder this. After all, this was a good thing. My Lord had successfully reached the demonic woman's side. The demonic woman seemed to be in seclusion and hadn't woken up. Now was the perfect time to subdue... her?

Her jaw nearly dropped to the ground, because she saw that Lord Eleven did not attack. Instead, he pulled the demonic woman into his embrace!