Li Ming wasn't expecting to see such a sight, to be honest.

When she and Mallow heard the screeching sound, they both had come out of the library hurriedly.

But rather than finding someone trapped in her bait, Li Ming found a note entangled in the firey net that she had set.

The net made of firey particles was completely destroyed and there was nothing left of it except ashes.

Everyone had heard the sharp screeching sound and they all had gathered around the entrance of the Xiao Tiantang, where the net or whatever was left of it, had fallen just a few minutes ago.

The pixies looked like they all had dragged themselves out of their beds and Snowy was looking no different.

They all looked at Li Ming with confusion and unasked questions visible in their eyes.

But all their questions, confusion, and sleepiness flew away after watching what happened next.

Li Ming took a deep breath as she bent down to pick the paper which was still perfectly fine even after getting caught in the firey net.

A hiss left her mouth as a sharp pain hit her fingers the moment she touched the paper. She immediately pulled her hand back. A deep repulsive feeling took over her as her energy tried to distance her from the paper.

But it was already too late!

The crimson drops of blood rolled down her fingers which were suddenly burning with immense pain.

Within a blink of an eye, Li Ming was on the verge of passing out due to all the pain.

***********

Two hours ago before sunset...

A silhouette in black and red-colored robes appeared in the Black Market of the Capital City of the Han Empire.

His dark black hair danced in the winds as he continuously played with his flute by flipping it over and over.

It was a miracle that even though the person carried a very powerful aura around him and his appearance, including his mask which was hiding most of his face, was on otherworldly levels, the passers-by never gave him a second look.

Somehow, he was successfully diverting everyone's attention from himself.

The man stopped in front of the Herb Hall where the lilac scent was denser than the other parts of the black market but he didn't enter. Rather his feet carried him towards the Black Jade Inn.

According to the information that he had been provided with, the Black Jade Inn was under the ownership of his 'Sweet Prey'.

He entered the inn and to his surprise, both the inn and its services were as great as the rumors he had heard from his shadow guards.

After about ten minutes and a few plates of snacks and a couple of cups of coffee which he actually enjoyed, he left the inn. There was no point in staying there since his prey wasn't there.

In the next five minutes, the silhouette in black and red robes suddenly appeared near the fields of the Dongji village.

He could clearly see the differences in the Dongji village since the last time he visited that place about a year ago to check on his brother's condition.

He stood there staring at the green fields for a few minutes when his eyes suddenly picked on the light movements happening in the sky above the Dongji Village.

What he saw there was something he wasn't expecting to ever see out of the Demon Realm.

***********

"Did you find out anything about why Hei Long can't recognize her?" Lord Yueliang asked as both Ruoshan and Zhang Yong settled down on their seats.

The three of them had been constantly seeing each other since their soulmate had appeared in their world. Before that, it was barely once in a few years when they actually came across each other.

Currently, all of them were trying to find the reason due to which the Second Demon Prince wasn't able to recognize Li Ming.

They were bound by the prophecy and that meant they could not tell him the truth about Li Ming's identity directly. But that didn't mean they were not going to help him.

"Actually, I did find something," Ruoshan replied as a sigh left his lips.

The other two looked at him and waited patiently for him to explain.

"Remember when the prophecy was first made, he was the only one out of our circle who was happy to meet our future mate?" Ruoshan asked the Moon Deity who in return nodded his head.

Zhang Yong wasn't a part of their group at that time, therefore he had not seen everything with his own eyes, but throughout the years he had listened too much about that day that there was barely anything about the prophecy that he wasn't aware of.

Sometimes, he wondered if he also ended up as one of Li Ming's soulmate if he had been a part of their circle.

Zhang Yong shook his head to dismiss the thoughts and focused on what Ruoshan was about to say.

It didn't matter to him if he was one of her soulmates or not. For him, his own bond with her was as precious and unique as a soulbond.

"At that time all of us were too confused and doubtful about the sudden prophecy. That's why the Immortal of Prophecy had carved a mark on Hei Long's shoulder. There were five tendrils joining with a single leaf of ivy. I checked it personally, one of the tendrils is no more attached to the ivy. It's like someone or something has erased the part where it met with the ivy," Ruoshan told the other two about what he had found out.

"Was it always like that? Maybe you guys never realized that." Zhang Yong voiced his opinion but even he didn't sound convinced about his theory. It's impossible that they didn't realize such a thing in all these years.

"No. I'm more than a hundred percent sure that it has happened recently. Maybe the rest of us didn't get that mark but it's carved in our memories and in it, all the five tendrils were joined with the Ivy," Ruoshan said and Lord Yueliang also nodded his head in agreement.

"So, what do you think? Is it just some coincidence or there's something deep behind this?" Zhang Yong asked after a few minutes of silence.

"It's hard to say. Let's find more about this before coming to any conclusions," Lord Yueliang said. His deep cerulean eyes were full of so much experience and knowledge that it was impossible for someone to go against his words.

The Moon Deity never needed to order anyone. No matter who his opponent was, it was impossible for that person to object against his words.

Lord Yueliang was known as a wise and humble Immortal throughout the three realms.

The women could die to see a single glimpse of the Immortal of the Night while the men respected him for his modesty even though he was one of the most powerful persons of their world.

Even the Demons respected him for his righteousness and honest personality.

A sudden discomfort in their souls immediately made Lord Yueliang and Ruoshan stand up.

None of them wasted a single second and disappeared from the study of the Moon Manor, Zhang Yong following them as his own bond had alerted him about the danger.

**********

Just as the drops of Li Ming's blood were about to touch the note, four rays of different colored lights appeared out of nowhere and dragged the droplets of blood away from the note.

Two hands grabbed Li Ming's bleeding fingers and jerked them away from the note which had suddenly caught on fire.

All this while it was made sure by the Immortals that not a single drop of Li Ming's blood would touch the ground.

Hei Long let his qi flow out of his hands that were covering the small bloody fingers of the unconscious girl. His qi circled around those bloody fingers and he felt how thirsty his powers were for her blood.

What he didn't expect was the sudden lust that appeared in his soul.

He didn't know exactly what was happening. Why was he helping the same girl whom he wanted to destroy? Why his powers were suddenly hungry for her?

"Let's take her to the Moon Manor," Lord Yueliang said as he healed the cuts on her fingers.

Hei Liang nodded his head and without uttering a single word he teleported directly outside the Moon Manor. His hands tightly hugging the unconscious girl in his embrace as he carried her in his arms.

On the other hand, it took Zhang Yong and Ruoshan a few precious minutes to calm down all the furious pixies, Mallow and Snowy, who were not happy with the fact that out of nowhere four gorgeous men had abducted their Master from under their nose.

The last thing that Zhang Yong remembered before teleporting to the Moon Manor was how Snowy muttered a few lines for them as a warning.

'You guys are really delusional if you think she can't handle this on her own. You will regret this when she will become conscious. Just wait and watch.'

And deep down somewhere even Zhang Yong was aware that Snowy was right but at that moment nothing was more important than his Ming'er, not even how they would answer her questions.