The first quarter of the Rabbit Hour.

A faint trace of dawn’s fish-belly white appeared on the horizon.

It was a time when the moonlight had yet to fade, and Dawn was about to break.

Shuzhou, General Town, built against a mountain range.

At this moment, if anyone were to face the mountains and look toward General Town, they would witness an incredibly bizarre scene.

The bright moon was setting in the west, its light having just dipped behind the other side of the mountains.

And yet, the "mountain shadow," which should not have been so distinct, seemed to have been magnified countless times. The elongated "shadow" covered General Town like a pot lid, an oppressive, dark mass.

Under the cover of this "shadow," the entire town seemed to have become a "Shadow City," and it was now Jun Buxiao’s Home Field.

The reason Jun Buxiao chose this place to "Capture Mystic Feng Bei" was that he had long calculated the direction of the setting moon and the slanting shadows. By leveraging the terrain and the precise timing, he had maximized the effect of his "Shadow Puppetry" Miracle Technique.

At this moment in General Town, Ye Weiyang’s side could be said to possess every advantage: the right time, the right place, and the right people. Furthermore, Mystic Feng Bei, who had always been completely unattached, had suddenly grown deeply concerned for an unfamiliar Mighty Man. It was like a breach in a solid dam, giving Feng Bei a vulnerability.

With this vulnerability in her heart, Feng Bei now had a weak point. She was no longer invincible.

This was why, for twenty years, Feng Bei had served in Ye Weiyang as "Upper Three" and remained perfectly safe. And it was also why tonight, twenty-one years later, Ye Weiyang finally decided to make its move.

This was an opportunity that came once in a decade!

No one knew that the Ravens circling throughout the Daqian Territory were like the eyes of the "Crow Fosterer." Although the Crow Fosterer couldn’t see more clearly through the Ravens’ eyes than someone on the scene, the Night Lord had long known of Machoman Zheng Shan’s existence and had been monitoring the movements of Feng Bei’s group ever since they entered Shuzhou.

Taking full advantage of his "Home Field," Jun Buxiao had enveloped the entire city in "shadows."

Now, the high walls of shadow that Jun Buxiao had cut out divided the city into separate, isolated spaces.

While Zheng Xiu fought alone against two members of Ye Weiyang’s Twelfth Moon,

Feng Bei, Chu Susu, and Dou Xie were partitioned into another area together.

Not far away was Chu Susu’s "Orphanage." This was clearly no coincidence, but a deliberate arrangement.

Feng Bei didn’t know about Jun Buxiao’s "Shadow Puppetry" Miracle Technique.

But that didn’t matter.

Feng Bei had never wasted time trying to figure out her opponents’ Miracle Techniques. First, because it was unnecessary. Second, because it was still unnecessary.

If one slap couldn’t solve the problem, then she’d use two.

It had always been this way.

Feng Bei calmly removed her black silk gloves and dropped them at her feet.

"As expected of Mystic Feng Bei, always so calm and composed. Tsk, tsk..."

Xu Shu seemed to have forgotten the time he had knelt before Feng Bei, begging for mercy. Now, a sneer crossed his face as he shook the heavy sword on his shoulder, causing thick, blood-stained gauze to fall away.

The edge of the heavy sword was forged with sharp, tooth-like serrations. It was less a sword and more a saw.

"Xu Shu?"

All along, both Feng Bei and Zheng Xiu had suspected Xu Shu was the mole. Now, with this disaster befalling General Town and Xu Shu drawing his weapon, Feng Bei understood. She nodded. "So it really was you."

Behind Feng Bei, Chu Susu was stunned for a moment, then gritted her teeth and growled, "It’s you!"

Even if Xu Shu’s vicious face were burned to ash and scattered on the ground, Chu Susu could reassemble every last speck.

Xu Shu’s face was sinister, a deeply hidden hatred and greed flashing in his eyes. He didn’t even spare Chu Susu a glance, his gaze locked onto Feng Bei as he chuckled darkly. "It is me. But not just me."

One by one, the orphans emerged from the doorway. Their eyes were vacant, but their faces were twisted into strange, stiff smiles, like walking corpses.

DING!

A crisp ring broke the dead silence.

DING DONG, DING DONG, DING DONG.

"Come, come, no need to rush. Line up, there’s enough for everyone. No one will be left out."

All fifteen orphans, except for Chu Susu, walked out blankly and obediently formed a line.

The person walking at the very end was clad in a Cloud-Sleeved Black Robe. A Black Iron Wood Order hung from his waist, with the two words "Lower Six" engraved in a prominent spot. Hanging alongside the Black Iron Wood Order were two exquisitely crafted bells. With each of Lower Six’s steps, the bells knocked against the waist token, creating a crisp DING DONG sound that immediately drew everyone’s attention.

"No!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Seeing the orphans—with whom she had shared everything, like brothers and sisters—transformed into these bizarre figures with their not-quite-smiles, Chu Susu felt a sharp pain in her chest. But Dou Xie, quick of eye and hand, grabbed her as she was about to rush forward. "Be careful!" he whispered.

Chu Susu slapped Dou Xie’s hand away in frustration and glared back at him, shouting, "You’re all in this together!"

Dou Xie opened his mouth, a look of stunned astonishment on his face, but he was speechless, unable to offer a rebuttal.

Whether in terms of attire or position, they were indeed on the same side.

They all belonged to Ye Weiyang.

’But why?’

At this moment, even if Dou Xie scratched his head raw, he couldn’t figure out what had happened to cause such a strange standoff.

Feng Bei flicked her long sleeve, placing her arm in front of Chu Susu and Dou Xie, and was about to say something. But just as the words reached her lips, her gaze wavered. She shot a quick glance from the corner of her eye at the tense Dou Xie.

’Everyone who joins Ye Weiyang has their own reasons.’

’She didn’t know, care, or give a damn about anyone else’s reasons.’

’But her reason had always been to find Zheng Shan, who had disappeared from Baili Village twenty years ago.’

’To find Zheng Shan in a boundless sea of people, joining Ye Weiyang and using its intelligence network was undoubtedly the fastest way.’

’And now, she had found him.’

’The moment she was reunited with Zheng Shan, she had, for all intents and purposes, lost her reason to remain in Ye Weiyang.’