A master of metaphysics is farming.

Chapter 175 Night Detective

A bright moon hangs high in the deep sky, low-hanging, tangled clouds drift slowly across the night, a cool breeze stirs the chaotic shadows of the trees, and the rustling sounds are mixed with the fluctuating chirping of insects, masking the faint footsteps.

The two figures moved as if invisible, running step by step along the mountainside towards Shuilingpo.

Zhu Nan would sometimes pull Xiang He's arm and lead her to use her light-footed skills, but in order not to be easily noticed, the two would run for a while and then stop.

Who knows if that yin energy is being manipulated? We must be careful.

I don't know how long we ran, but the moon in the sky was partially obscured by the messy clouds, with only a corner showing.

Xiang He stopped and looked up at the sky, while Zhu Nan immediately stopped and became wary of her surroundings.

A few gentle breezes blew by, and Da Chun appeared. "Miss, the enemy has begun to move."

"Um……"

Xiang He was still looking at the sky, where the tiny crescent moon was about to be completely obscured.

"Zhu Nan, when we set off, the waning moon wasn't yet obscured by the clouds, was it?"

Zhu Nan looked up and said, "Yes, the moon was bright and the clouds were sparse at that time."

The two people and the ghost watched silently in the sky. The dark clouds continued to move slowly until they completely obscured the waning moon, leaving only a faint light.

The area where they were standing also became much darker.

Xiang He lowered her head and frowned. "It seems to be related to the moon... Let's continue on our way."

"Yes."

The two continued their journey towards Shuilingpo. In the night, only two figures moved about, occasionally disappearing into the darkness.

The black crows flew by silently, following Xiang He without ever leaving the group.

On the way there, Xiang He would occasionally call out the name of the mountain god, but he never received a response.

From the moment night fell until midnight, Xiang He felt like her legs were about to go numb.

I've never pushed myself this hard when running in the mountains before.

"Does the young lady need to rest?"

Xiang He breathed softly, "Just a little longer, I feel like we're almost there..."

Both of them were sticky and soaked in sweat after running for so long.

She finally caught her breath, stood up straight, and continued running.

She had only run ten meters when she suddenly felt a gust of air and grabbed the bamboo nanmu beside her.

"Right here! We'll slowly back away."

The two were in the mountains. Xiang He glanced up at the mountain, and Zhu Nan nodded and followed.

The four ghosts dared not go any further and floated upwards.

"They're here..." Black Crow whispered in He's ear, "It seems like there's a barrier..."

"Shhh."

The black crow took flight and the two of them quietly retreated as they walked up the mountain.

Reaching the top was easy. The two lay down and looked into the distance. There was a dark mass of people on a main road. Because of the dim moonlight, it was hard to see their faces, but they could tell that they were moving slowly.

"Girl, there are some on both the left and right sides as well."

The two men each looked to one side and saw that on the paths across the mountains, troops were still advancing.

With a darkening look, Xiang He, who was lying down, gripped the large umbrella tightly. "They plan to split into three groups, just like Xiao Yang said."

Zhu Nan nodded slightly. "It seems that the troop strength is no less than 50,000, while Shuiyun City only has less than 20,000 troops left, and most of them are wounded."

Now Xiang He was troubled. "According to the wounded soldier, these soldiers survived being pierced by swords and spears. They seem very difficult to kill..."

"Isn't the young lady supposed to refrain from killing?"

"..." Xiang Hexi glanced at him, "We also need to see if these people are still 'human' at all."

If it is already dead, Xiang He will show absolutely no mercy.

"Here they come, let's back up a bit more."

The two of them bent over and retreated quite a bit. Zhu Nan asked, puzzled, "What is this barrier that Black Crow mentioned?"

Xiang He kept watching them move forward, her gait somewhat strange.

"You can see the black mist surrounding them now, right? The area covered by that black mist is quite large, and if we get too close, we'll be easily discovered."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiang He's brow furrowed deeper. "According to Xiao Yang's report, he was closer to these enemy troops, so why is he unharmed...?"

People like them could easily kill Xiangyang with their Yin energy without firing a single shot, but Xiangyang still returned safely. Could it be that there is something she hasn't discovered yet?

"Girl, the yin energy wasn't as strong last night as it is tonight."

Da Chun suddenly spoke in her ear, startling Xiang He who was deep in thought. Luckily, she didn't make a sound...

She rubbed her temples. "Dachun, we're doing something sneaky right now, don't suddenly say something that will scare me..."

"I thought the young lady knew..."

The two slowly retreated a few steps. The enemy troops had already entered the shade of the mountain, and Xiang He kept observing them.

"Should I throw something down? This isn't a solution..."

She had been watching for quite a while, but apart from the eerie aura lingering around the soldiers, she hadn't found anyone suspicious.

Who is controlling the yin energy, or are there ghosts or monsters involved?

"girl!"

Lost in thought, Zhu Nan pulled her back a little. Zhu Nan held his sword horizontally in front of him, his eyes cold and sharp as blades staring ahead.

Xiang He immediately looked up and saw that the yin energy, which had just been like a mist, suddenly began to slowly gather into sharp blades.

"Discovered..."

Since neither of them crossed the boundary, how did they discover these things?

He twirled the large umbrella in his hand, then flicked it with a ready stance, saying, "Be careful, Zhu Nan."

"Yes."

Before the two could make any move, the Yin energy that transformed into sharp blades swept towards them. The four ghosts protected the two in front of them, using the Yin blades in their hands to resist.

Black Crow hid behind Xiang He; his moves had no offensive power, so he could only hide.

The opponent was nowhere to be seen, and there was no way to see who it was. There was not even a shadow, only yin energy attacking from there.

"Four ghosts, be careful not to get hit by the yin energy."

"Yes."

The Four Ghosts' Yin Blade can resist Yin entities, but since the opponent's strength is unknown, caution is still advised.

Xiang He quickly put on her Taoist robe. The sharp blades of Yin energy suddenly attacked her, and Xiang He used her large umbrella to block them.

They fought back while retreating, and behind them was already a downhill road.

The three enemy armies were still advancing, and the dark clouds in the sky continued to obscure the moonlight.

Xiang He opened the large umbrella, pointed to one of the umbrella ribs, and slowly exhaled his righteous energy. While they were blocking in front, Xiang He closed his eyes and focused inward.

He suddenly opened his eyes, bit his middle finger, and quickly drew lines on the umbrella ribs, chanting, "The radiant clouds shine, the spiritual clouds shift in all directions; the qi gathers and twists... harmonizes my body, and ascends to the nine heavens. So be it!"

Finally, he pressed his fingers to his forehead, and the talismans on the umbrella emitted light. The Yin Qi blades suddenly stopped attacking and cowered in the shadows in the face of the light.

The light shot straight into the sky in an instant. Xiang He closed his umbrella, and the two people and four ghosts stared intently at the light. They saw that the light had actually pierced through the clouds and dispersed the dark clouds.

The waning moon suddenly appeared, and Xiang He immediately turned his head to look at the yin energy, which vanished without a trace in an instant.

Xiang He immediately ran up to get a better look, and to his surprise, all the enemy troops had stopped.

"It really is related to the moon..." She pinched her bleeding middle finger with the pad of her thumb. "The moon goes out when it closes, looks like this is going to be troublesome..."