A smile fell onto Wei Wuxian's lips.

He turned around, meeting a ghost soldier's sword right to the face—

The sword was knocked out of the ghost soldier's grip. Wei Wuxian simply tugged on the ghost soldier, dislocating its shoulder in one swift motion. The sound of bones cracking underneath his grip became prominent, as the ghost soldier howled in fear at the noise.

"Now!" Wei Wuxian shouted.

Climbing on top of the roofs, five familiar figures revealed themselves. Xie Lian hugged his bamboo hat, afraid of it drifting away. Hua Cheng wrapped an arm around his waist. Shen Qingqiu fanned himself elegantly. Beside him was Luo Binghe, who clutched on his sleeve tightly. Lan Zhan had long unsheathed his sword, Bichen, which let out a solemn yet cold glare.

The five cultivators went to their designated jobs—I meant, battles.

Lan Zhan wore a cold expression, as he looked at his opponents. Twenty ghost soldiers charged at him, unaware of what was about to befall upon them.

Lan Zhan took upon his stance. He breathed, with his chest rising, then falling back down.

His inner body seemed to calm down, with his abdomen filled of a growing cold. It felt like icicles began to take root in his stomach, replenishing him of constant spiritual energy.

The corner of Lan Zhan's eye twitched.

In an instant, the twenty ghost soldiers vanished into ashes. Lan Zhan took a deep breath, sheathing his sword, and hiding away the glacial-like cold dancing on his blade.

He turned to look at the remaining couples; Xie Lian, Hua Cheng, Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe.

They had teamed up into pairs, and eliminated all the ghost soldiers briefly.

"Let's go." Wei Wuxian nodded at them.

They nodded back.

Yi Ran watched how everything played out. She was in awe, these six cultivators are too strong! No wonder they're able to beat us during every mission...

She quickly snapped out of her stupor. Now isn't the time to be worshipping them! We're still enemies... just under a temporary truce...

"You coming or not?" Wei Wuxian looked at her.

Yi Ran's rambling stopped midway. She stiffened. In one hand, she carried Nu Wang. In the other hand, she carried Bo Fan. The Strongest Sword was in Nu Wang's arms.

She looked at Wei Wuxian, then nodded. "Mn."

The three couples (plus the three cannon fodders) draped a hood over their heads. They continued navigating, trying to keep themselves out of hind sight. Instead of jumping across roofs after roofs, they blended in with the crowd of civilian ghosts.

Shadows covered their figures.

Little by little, they managed to inch closer to the exit gates...

"Hold it!" There were two ghost soldiers guarding the gates. They both had cloaks draped over their heads, but one could certainly sense the animosity behind their body language. Behind these two ghost soldiers were a group of ghost soldiers; at least five of them?

All of these ghost soldiers had their faces covered.

One of them unsheathed their sword, pointing at the three couples, "Wait!"

The three couples flinched. Shen Qingqiu bit his lip. Anxiety seemed to pressure at his shoulder... but then, he realized it was just someone's hand! Xie Lian patted him, "Don't be nervous. We're safe."

Shen Qingqiu's eyes widened. What?

Luo Binghe was confused as well. "How are we safe?"

Xie Lian just gave his cute smile (Hua Cheng said it's cute, so it's cute), and didn't bother to back up his calm composure. Behind him, Lan Zhan could only just trust this Crown Prince. After all, out of everyone there at the moment, Xie Lian seemed to be the most reliable (other than his own lover, of course).

"C'mere!" The ghost soldier had no patience.

He dragged onto Lan Zhan's arm without warning. The GusuLan disciple could only bite his lip, and try to seem as invisible as possible.

Wei Wuxian wore a concerned expression. Normally, HanGuang-Jun would be like an untouchable block of ice. Nobody would dare to touch him—and nobody can. Other than the Yiling Patriarch though, Wei Wuxian was happy to admit that.

"Hmm...?" The ghost soldier looked at Lan Zhan blankly.

The three couples and cannon fodders held their breaths. Everything depended on this moment...! Yi Ran had already prepared to flee. If those ghost soldiers were to attack them, she'll first find a corner to hide in!

Luo Binghe had already set a hand on the hilt of his sword.

Shen Qingqiu tucked away his fan.

Hua Cheng stood there domineeringly.

Xie Lian just smiled, as if nothing would happen—

"Huh, you can go now." The ghost soldier removed his hand off of Lan Zhan. "There's nothing wrong. Now now, don't slow down the line."

The three couples and cannon fodders were surprised.

"What?" Wei Wuxian couldn't conceal the surprise he felt. They were clearly labelled as wanted people! How come these ghost soldiers didn't react...?

"Don't slow down the line!" The ghost soldier roared.

By accident, the three couples managed to take a glimpse of this ghost soldier's face. In an instant, they were stunned... IT WAS MU QING!?!

Taking a peek at the other ghost soldiers, they recognized familiar faces. There was Feng Xin, Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling, Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, and Lan Xichen...

"Oh." Shen Qingqiu took a sigh of relief.

So it turned out that the two Martial Gods were in Ghost Nation! They had saved the GusuLan and Yunmeng Jiang cultivators from the ghost soldiers. Now, they're undercover as guards.

"Good luck." Xie Lian lowered his voice, as they kept moving. He brushed shoulders with Mu Qing, "Make sure to take no longer than when sunset arrives."

The disguised ghost soldier merely huffed.

The three couples and cannon fodders gradually made their way out of the gates. Slowly, the ominous and foreboding aura of the Ghost Nation had dissipated. The nation of ghosts was finally out of reach! They walked in a small forest. The trees reached almost to the skies, with their leaves covering the sunlight from hind sight. However, a small leeway was left for the sun to shine through.

The three couples and cannon fodders trudged through the several roots of trees, the dirt that smells awfully like Mother Nature, and the pile of grass that never seems to end.

"We... escaped?" Yi Ran shuddered.

She understood that those ghost soldiers had some kind of connection to the three couples. If they were just regular ghost soldiers... things wouldn't have gone as easy as then.

She also saw a familiar face that incited hatred. That Jiang Clan Leader... that damned person who tied me up...

"Yes." Luo Binghe confirmed. "We escaped."

Although they finally left Ghost Nation, the stiffness on Yi Ran's shoulders seemed to become heavier by the second. She just stood on the spot, unmoving.

"That was a close call!" Wei Wuxian relaxed.

He plopped himself on Lan Zhan's bosom, with the latter melting into comfort.

"You should've told us that they were our people, Xie-xiong!" Shen Qingqiu couldn't help but throw a mini temper tantrum. "My heart almost stopped there. I felt like I was going to die any second!"

Hua Cheng defended his lover with three words. "But you didn't."

Shen Qingqiu, "..." No shit, Sherlock. If I was dead, would I be right in front of you?

He coughed, "Yes, Hua Chengzhu. Xie-xiong is the best."

The crease between Hua Cheng's eyebrows had smoothened over. It was clear that the Ghost King felt pleased by that remark.

Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Anyways," Lan Zhan brought back up the original topic. "We're in the forest right now. We should get to the Heavenly Capital and bring the Strongest Sword back."

Shen Qingqiu fanned himself. "That's right! How do we get back?"

Xie Lian just smiled. "Naturally, I have a way. All Gods should be able to get there easily." He turned to look at their three cannon fodders (with two unconscious).

Yi Ran stiffened. Her feet stuck to the ground like glue. She understood exactly what Xie Lian's gaze meant. They said... the Heavenly Capital! What is the Heavenly Capital? But... it probably mean that... I have nowhere to flee. If I go to wherever they're going... I definitely won't have a chance to escape! This means... I'm done for!

Sweat seemed to slide down her forehead twice every minute.

She could barely control the anxiety that rolled down her stomach. Yi Ran looked at her two unconscious companions, and thought, We're going to fail our mission!

Her fists clenched up by her side.

That is why... I must—

"Oh yeah, Yi Ran," Wei Wuxian aimlessly strode over to her side. "We have a truce, right? An alliance, basically. As long as you give us the Strongest Sword and answer a few of our questions, we will let you and your buddies go-"

Yi Ran didn't let him finish his sentence.

Her eyes were burning with impatience, and without caution, she directly dropped both Nu Wang and Bo Fan. Her two unconscious companions fell onto the ground.

Yi Ran grabbed onto Wei Wuxian's black and red robes by the collar. Immediately, the robes were set on fire. A well-known infamous colour of blue fire.

Wei Wuxian's eyes widened. "You-"

His husband came to the rescue. Lan Zhan took only one step, but leaped like a wild and untamed beast. With a swift motion, he knocked Yi Ran's probing grip off of his lover's robes. However, at that moment, Wei Wuxian's black and red robes had begun to burn!

Ashes had already collectively dropped down the fabric!

"Take it off!" Lan Zhan said told him to do so, but did it himself. He directly tore the black and red robes off of Wei Wuxian, leaving him with only his inner robes.

Thankfully, the blue fire didn't manage to spread to his inner robes... otherwise... Wei Wuxian wondered what would he possibly wear?

Lan Zhan felt strangely nervous.

He took off his own white outer robes, draping it gently over Wei Wuxian's shoulders. "Don't get cold." Lan Zhan offhandedly remarked.

Wei Wuxian's eyes brightened. "Wow! Lan Zhan, you're so cool!"

Beside him, Xie Lian also clapped. "Very cool, HanGuang-Jun!"

Yi Ran gritted her teeth. She took a few steps backwards, almost wobbling from her earlier hallucinations. In her hands were two balls of blue fire.

I need to stall for time. Nu Wang and Bo Fan must wake up!

"So... we no longer have a truce?" Shen Qingqiu's face darkened. He unsheathed the Xiuya sword, which unleashed a calm scent of bamboo sprouts.

Yi Ran inched backwards.

"You could've cooperated with us. You could've gone the easy way out." Luo Binghe cracked his knuckles. His demonic mark seemed to burn brighter than ever. He unsheathed his Zhengyang sword. "I hope that you won't regret this."

Yi Ran had a frantic gaze.

It is happening again. Just like back then in Yunmeng Jiang. They fought me back then, just like this.

She was facing the three couples once again. They encircled her, surrounding her like beasts crawling around their prey.

This is the thrill of the battle... Yi Ran tried to convince herself. At least, that was what Bo Fan would always say.

Suddenly, a villainous smile fell on her lips. "Naturally."

Wei Wuxian: Today, Lan Zhan gave me his clothes to wear... so happy...

Lan Zhan:（っ＾▿＾） ❤️ Anytime

Yi Ran: ( ͡눈 皿 ͡눈)✊

Yi Ran: I thought that we were having a battle? Why am I eating dog food?

Shen Qingqiu: How do you feel about living for so long in this novel, despite being a cannon fodder?

Yi Ran: I feel good—Hey! Wait a second! 💢 I'm not a cannon fodder—

Shen Qingqiu: Shut up. I know a cannon fodder when I see one