Little Yun Ya remained expressionless, but called to her, “An’an.”

Hearing her name spoken in such a clear childish voice melted her heart. She felt that all the risks she had taken were worthwhile.

“What exactly happened to you?”

Little Yun Ya stared at her blankly, saying nothing.

Perhaps the question was too complex for him to answer in his current state.

Feng Miaojun’s body ached, but she still managed to gather her spirits. “How can we drive away those monsters outside?”

Speaking to such a small child, she instinctively softened her voice, adopting a coaxing tone.

Little Yun Ya stood in place, seemingly processing her question. After a long moment, he finally looked upward.

Feng Miaojun followed his gaze and saw the massive black cloud in the sky.

So it all came back to that thing? She knew those black shadows emerging from the abyss wouldn’t form such a shape without reason.

But both she and little Yun Ya were standing on the ground, with the courtyard surrounded by enemies. How could they dispel the anomaly in the sky?

She stroked little Yun Ya’s hair—there was no helping it, a child’s hair just felt soft and pleasant—then asked him, “This is your domain. Surely you have a way to deal with them?”

The jade boy stared at her without blinking, as if there were flowers on her face.

Had she spoken too profoundly for him to understand? Feng Miaojun sighed deeply, rubbing her forehead. She guessed that the Prince of Yan must have used some method to trap Yun Ya’s consciousness, reverting his mind to an innocent state where he could only act on the most basic instincts.

But she truly didn’t know how to communicate with Yun Ya in this state.

Little Yun Ya seemed to understand the frustration on her face. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand and said, “An’an marry me.”

Feng Miaojun opened her mouth but couldn’t find her voice. These sacred words had come from a child’s mouth, accompanied by a childish tone, leaving her uncertain whether to laugh or cry.

“Yes, I will marry you. But you’re too small now. You need to grow up before you can take me as your bride.” She pinched his little face with mock seriousness. Ah, so soft and smooth, tender enough to squeeze water from. The sensation was incomparable; she was instantly addicted.

The little child remained obediently still. Feng Miaojun sighed inwardly—once he grew up, he would never be this docile again.

“Disperse that mass of dark clouds, and you’ll be able to grow up,” she said, holding his chin up to look at the cloud mass covering the sky.

She wasn’t skilled at coaxing children. But this wasn’t entirely nonsense either. Whatever the shadow monsters were fixated on, she would destroy. As long as they worked against the monsters, the chance of awakening Yun Ya was high.

Now the monsters were lingering outside the courtyard, sneering and cursing under their breath. But what they said most often was a single phrase:

“Who exactly are you?”

Though Feng Miaojun paid little attention to this, she feared that the longer they waited, the worse things might get. The courtyard was completely surrounded by these creatures. With their superior numbers, she didn’t know how to drive them all away or kill them.

Otherwise, how would they get out?

Little Yun Ya indeed stared intently at the sky, murmuring, “Disperse.”

“Yes, disperse them. I don’t have much strength left, so you need to think of a solution.” Feng Miaojun moved closer and planted a kiss on his forehead. “I’m tired. Yun Ya, will you take me out of here?”

Her voice was tender yet weary.

She was truly exhausted. The fatigue from deep within her soul made her feel she could fall asleep at any moment, especially since she had just been wounded by the monsters. Injuries here—to her soul form—would be difficult to heal even after returning to her physical body.

Little Yun Ya’s expression shifted slightly. This voice seemed familiar as if heard long, long ago. Accompanying it was that familiar face.

“Mother?”

This mutter remained indistinct, unclear even to Feng Miaojun’s ears.

As she raised her head to ask for clarification, little Yun Ya had already grabbed her hand, and something cold and hard slid into her palm.

Feng Miaojun looked down in surprise to find a small arrow resting in her hand.

The arrow was only half a foot long, completely black except for white feathers adorning its tail. It looked exquisite, more like an art piece than an actual arrow.

Little Yun Ya pointed to the dark clouds in the sky and said only two words: “Break demonic.”

Feng Miaojun understood. She ruffled his hair. “Good boy.” Then she took several deep breaths, searching her entire being to gather her last bit of soul power.

Around her hand, a gentle breeze circled, transforming into a fine bow.

Draw the bow, nock the arrow, and aim.

As soon as it was nocked, the black arrow immediately grew to three feet in length, perfect for a full draw.

Feng Miaojun had used arrows in combat only a countable number of times in her life, but she had seen various bows and arrows in military camps and had handled them personally. She wouldn’t boast about her accuracy, but with a target as vast as the cloud mass above—an unprecedentedly huge target—how could she possibly miss?

She could feel the black arrow frantically drawing on her soul power, as voracious as a person starved for three days suddenly entering an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Blacklight radiated from the arrow shaft, growing increasingly intense. As she transferred more and more soul power, the runes inscribed on the arrow even rose from its surface, slowly rotating around the black arrow.

These were ancient alien scripts; merely looking at them with the naked eye produced a sense of sharpness.

Feng Miaojun could barely stand, but she understood the critical importance of this shot. Whether Yun Ya would survive, whether she could escape this sea of consciousness—success or failure hinged on this single action.

She cleared her mind of all distractions and steadied her hands.

Then, the black arrow left the string.

A flash of black light streaked across the heavens, penetrating the center of the cloud mass. From there, a fork-shaped lightning bolt split out, illuminating the entire sky.

Then came a second bolt, and a third.

Feng Miaojun looked up to see lightning flashing within the cloud mass, and silver snakes dancing in the air. Then, in weather without wind or rain, a sudden thunderclap shook even the ground.

The once-heavy cloud layer was forcibly torn open in several places and then shattered into fragments.

With her excellent vision, she could still discern countless wisps of black smoke fleeing in all directions within the cloud mass, unwilling to face the lightning’s assault.

Once the clouds parted, nothing could block the sunlight. Countless golden rays broke through the dark shroud, illuminating mountains and rivers.

Coincidentally, the first ray of sunlight shot straight down, covering the small courtyard, and bathing both people in golden light.

This dark, gloomy world suddenly had light again.

Feng Miaojun instinctively raised her palm to shield her eyes from the intense direct light. She believed that under the sun’s illumination, shadows would not dare to cause mischief.

They were safe.

At this moment, someone suddenly grasped her slender wrist. Those hands were long, fair, with prominent knuckles, and radiating warmth, able to completely envelop her delicate hands.

Though lustrous as jade, these were certainly not a child’s hands.

Feng Miaojun smiled, finally relieved of her burden.