“Boom…”0

The fire engulfed everything, revealing the original night sky.0

As the flames subsided, the once elegant and refined pavilion, the colorful and beautiful lanterns, and those seductive yet grotesque female ghosts all vanished, as if they had never existed. All that remained was a pitch-black desolate mountain.0

Even though Heroine Wu had good vision, the sudden shift from the brightly lit ghost pavilion, combined with the dazzling firelight, left her temporarily unable to see anything. However, she could hear voices nearby—some filled with suspicion, others with fear—causing her to grip her sword tightly and swiftly turn around. But since the voices were from ordinary men, she held back from attacking immediately.0

“Relax,” came a familiar voice from behind her.0

Heroine Wu exhaled in relief.0

As her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, under the crescent moon and the twinkling stars, she could vaguely make out the desolate mountain. Countless tree stumps surrounded her, with horses from the southwest tied to them. Her companions from Yizhou stood behind her, and several terrified men had already sat up on the ground.0

Though the night concealed much, the pale forms of the...0