Qing Xuzi and Yuan Jue had clearly noticed the problem as well. The two of them got down from the carriage and began walking slowly along the academy’s perimeter, wanting to get a clearer look.

But before they had taken more than a couple of steps, dark figures suddenly appeared without a sound atop the high courtyard walls, standing at the battlements, drawing their bows and nocking arrows, loosing them all at once toward the group like a volley of shooting stars.

It was clear the academy had long since been set with layer upon layer of ambush.

Though Qin Yao knew full well that Lin Xiao would surely have a countermeasure ready, she still couldn’t help feeling a surge of indignation — if Consort Yi kept dragging things out like this, they would have no way of suppressing Nüxiu before it emerged, and a great catastrophe would become unavoidable.

The Southern Garrison soldiers, having campaigned year-round across the south and north, were well-practiced at handling such ambushes. They spurred their horses forward at once, raising their shields to block the first volley of arrows, and before the second volley could come, all at once cracked the long whips in their hands, yanking the guards down from the battlements one by one while their attention was diverted by nocking the next arrow.

Before these men could even struggle up from the ground, soldiers from the rear ranks of the Southern Garrison dismounted and moved in, swinging their blades to cut them down one after another.

But another wave of guards immediately appeared atop the battlements, attempting the same tactic, still hoping to use arrows to block the group from breaking into Yunyin Academy. This time, however, the troops were better prepared, knocking them down from the wall before they could even steady their footing.

Seeing that the moment was about right, Lin Xiao gave a meaningful glance to a middle-aged general at his side.

The man had an iron face and furious eyes, a body built like an iron tower, every bit as imposing as could be. Receiving the order, he spurred his horse forward to the academy’s gate and bellowed in a great voice, “Break it down—!”

A few dozen soldiers, who had already been waiting at the ready, joined forces to grip a thick tree trunk, and amid the dull, heavy sound of impact, the academy’s two massive wooden doors — which had stood firm for a hundred years — burst open.

The general drew his heavy sword and swung his arm, and amid a deafening, earth-shaking roar of battle cries, the soldiers surged into the academy in orderly fashion.

Watching from inside the carriage, Qin Yao found the scene thrilling and her heart pounding. This kind of cold, unyielding battlefield bearing was something she had never witnessed in her life before — it felt unstoppable, magnificent and surging, and beyond simply opening her eyes to a new world, it stirred within her a measure of awe.

The clash of weapons soon rang out from within, making it clear that Consort Yi had stationed no small number of men inside the academy, all of them elite soldiers and capable fighters. Although the Southern Garrison troops and Imperial Guards who went in outnumbered them, the fighting still lasted a full quarter hour before being thoroughly cleared out.

Without Lin Xiao’s permission, Qin Yao didn’t dare get out of the carriage, but she kept lifting the curtain now and then to check the sky, and saw dark clouds blotting out the sun, the malevolent energy above the academy rapidly converging. It was clear the female demon would soon break free of the formation.

Just as she was growing anxious inwardly, the dark, sturdy general from before emerged from the academy and cupped his fist toward Lin Xiao. “My lord, the inside has been cleared out.”

Lin Xiao nodded and swung down from his horse. “Leave some men inside, but keep the majority stationed outside the academy. When Consort Yi’s next wave of men arrives, meet them with everything you have. Above all, if anyone among them is dressed as a palace eunuch or a Daoist priest, you must guard against them with utmost vigilance — under no circumstances let that person in.”

The general acknowledged the order and waved his hand at the soldiers behind him, going off to deploy them.

Lin Xiao turned his gaze away, walked back to the carriage, and helped Qin Yao down, then said to Qing Xuzi and Yuan Jue, who stood nearby, “There’s no time to lose. Let’s go in first and deal with Nüxiu.”

A’Han, knowing he was about to follow his master and senior martial sister into battle against a great demon again, felt an inexplicable thrill of excitement and was about to stride eagerly into the academy when, suddenly, the sound of hoofbeats came once more from the far end of the road, sounding especially unsettling in the silence of the night. Qin Yao, assuming Consort Yi had yet another move up her sleeve, tensed and watched the approaching figures closely — only to see a column of soldiers on tall, sturdy horses come galloping up to Lin Xiao. The one in front was Jiang Sanlang, who dismounted, glanced once at the academy, guessed that all was momentarily well inside, and turned with a grin to Lin Xiao. “Old Jin of the Zhechong Commandant’s office has already been captured.”

He added mockingly, “All these years, it’s been Old Jin running the Zhechong Commandant’s office. Even if the Crown Prince makes it there smoothly in a moment, without General Jin giving the orders, whether those soldiers fall into disarray on their own is another matter entirely. If Consort Yi wants to egg the Crown Prince into forcing the issue with the throne, she’ll have to see whether his shoulders can actually bear that banner.”

On the way over, Qin Yao had heard a few words from Lin Xiao and knew that Prince Wu had already been brought under control and could not, for the time being, mobilize the Army Inspectorate. As for the hidden guards Consort Yi had cultivated, though difficult to deal with, their numbers were limited and posed no great threat. What people feared most was the Zhechong Commandant’s office under the Crown Prince’s command, which held a third of Chang’an’s troops, all of them elite soldiers — should the two sides clash, there was no telling how it would go. It was the single most uncontrollable factor in tonight’s contest for power.

But what Qin Yao hadn’t expected was that, lacking proper grounds to detain the Crown Prince outright, Lin Xiao and the others had simply gone ahead and captured General Jin instead. Just as Jiang Sanlang had said, with General Jin’s command removed, the Zhechong Commandant’s office’s strength was greatly diminished — no different from severing one of the Crown Prince’s arms.

In this way, the forces under Consort Yi’s command, far from being united into a single cohesive force, had instead been scattered to pieces.

Lin Xiao gave a brief acknowledgment, only saying, “There’s a great demon inside the academy. Don’t follow us in and get underfoot — stay well clear if there’s nothing else for you to do.”

Jiang Sanlang ignored him and said to Qin Yao with a smile, “Sister-in-law, just look at this man — apart from you, I’ve never once seen him give anyone else a kind look. I can’t be of any use catching demons and exorcising ghosts, so I’ll stay out here and deal with the forces that vicious woman sends. You all take care.”

Watching Jiang Sanlang chat and laugh so easily, Qin Yao could tell he shared the same composure as Lin Xiao — the kind that would not so much as flinch even if Mount Tai collapsed before him — and that the two only appeared different because their temperaments differed. She couldn’t help but sigh inwardly at how, true to being maternal cousins, the two of them could work together so seamlessly even at this life-and-death juncture.

She smiled and nodded to Jiang Sanlang, saying sincerely, “Please be careful in everything as well, Third Brother.”

Lin Xiao very much disliked seeing Qin Yao exchange smiles and easy laughter with any man other than himself, but he genuinely couldn’t bring himself to be jealous of Jiang Sanlang. He had no choice but to pull Qin Yao along into the academy, leaving Jiang Sanlang standing there alone.

The group strode briskly into the academy, with Qing Xuzi, his heart burning with urgency, walking at the very front.

The Seven Killings Infant-Binding Array was a formation of unprecedented malevolence, and breaking it properly required great care in many particulars. If they failed to break the formation through the proper method, and Nüxiu instead burst out and shattered it by force, then even if the curse placed upon A’Han were to vanish for the time being as a result, the iron tablet pressed beneath the corpse had already been steeped in the dead one’s blood and resentment. Because of the special material used to forge it, the tablet could only ever be split in two — it could neither be melted by fire nor smashed apart — and after three years, the remaining half of the tablet would very likely re-gather the surrounding resentful energy, causing A’Han to fall back into idiocy once more.

This formation was therefore not only extraordinarily vicious, but its effects could drag on without end. That was why they absolutely had to find the formation’s eye before Nüxiu emerged.

And before that, they first had to break the academy’s Spirit-Blocking Array.

Qing Xuzi led the group straight to the academy’s back garden, and just as before, began walking the forward-and-reverse Four Symbols footwork within the garden. As soon as he reached the Li position, he called A’Han and Qin Yao forward to dig at the ground before his feet.

The two crouched down as instructed and dug for a long while without finding anything buried beneath, so they kept grunting and digging deeper. Lin Xiao, worried Qin Yao would tire herself out, came forward to help as well, and they soon dug out a small, deep, round pit, at the bottom of which lay a golden talisman.

Qin Yao had only ever heard rumors of how extravagantly costly this method of forming the array was, without ever knowing the specifics — but once she held this gleaming golden talisman in her hand, she truly understood. It was no wonder that only a handful of Daoists over the years had mastered this Spirit-Blocking Array; the talisman paper alone required gold to forge, presumably to draw on gold’s incorruptibility through the ages, ensuring the formation wouldn’t fail anytime soon.

Seeing that a talisman had indeed been buried at the Li position, Qing Xuzi grew all the more certain that this was the Spirit-Blocking Array. He swept up the hem of his Daoist robe and moved on to the Dui position.

He continued in this manner through the Zhen, Xun, Qian, Kun, and Gen positions, and at each one, Lin Xiao and the senior-junior siblings dug up a golden talisman from the corresponding soil. By the time all seven positions had been covered, Qin Yao held seven golden talismans in hand.

Yuan Jue, not being a Daoist himself and unfamiliar with Daoist formations, said not a word from start to finish, only standing solemnly and silently to one side, watching as Qing Xuzi and his disciples broke the array.

Only the Kan position remained, corresponding to the spot beneath the large tree in the garden. Just as Qin Yao rose to her feet, she found that the malevolent energy in the garden had suddenly turned overwhelmingly thick. Chixiao at Lin Xiao’s waist, and the compasses in Qin Yao’s and A’Han’s sleeves, all began to stir abnormally. It was clear that most of the Spirit-Blocking Array’s power had already failed, and there was no longer any way to conceal Nüxiu’s malevolent energy.

Hearts pounding with alarm, the group rushed to the Kan position as fast as they could and dug the last golden talisman up from the ground, only to find the malevolent energy growing thicker still — taking on an almost tangible quality now, mixed with a rank, coppery stench that struck straight at the nose.

Sensing that things were taking a turn for the worse, Qing Xuzi leapt up to the top of the large tree, narrowed his eyes, and looked ahead — only to see malevolent energy surging skyward from a row of buildings behind the academy. At the same time, the ominous star in the night sky that foretold disaster seemed to be ignited by some unknown light, growing ever more dazzling.

“The formation’s eye is right there.” Qing Xuzi’s voice trembled slightly. There was hardly any time left — to say they were racing against the clock would be no exaggeration. He gathered his energy and sprinted toward the rear buildings, calling out as he ran, “My lord, your lightness skill is exceptional — please go there first and plant Chixiao in the soil to suppress that thing. Every moment we buy is precious.”

Lin Xiao acknowledged this, and with a few bounds, vanished beyond the courtyard wall.

Qin Yao ran after her master, sweat rolling down from her temples in her anxiety, yet still chills crept over her in waves from behind. She hadn’t imagined that the formation’s eye would be buried right beneath the very dormitory where they usually slept — had they, all this time they’d studied at the academy, been sleeping night after night atop Nüxiu’s corpse?