Black clouds covered the moon, and several feet of snow accumulated in the deep forest. From time to time, patrolling Sword Sect disciples passed by in the sky, but they did not notice the four people speeding in the forest below.
Ye Anping and his group winded through the hidden passage under the *Cloud Mansion* lotus pond for about thirty minutes before emerging from a cave on the **Flowing Water Peak** mountainside.
After waiting for a patrol to pass, they rushed into the snowy forest. Taking advantage of the gray cloaks on their bodies blending into the night, they silently made their way to the meeting point.
The fact that Yu Shuiting didn't recognize Ye Anping yet was probably pure luck. He was wearing a mask, and his hair was covered by a cloak; moreover, the light in the Lotus Pond Pavilion at that time was dim.
In a while, when they arrived at a brighter place and Yu Shuiting saw his features, she would definitely realize that he was not her cultivation partner "Ye An".
Therefore, Ye Anping, currently following behind, was thinking about how to deceive or eliminate her.
It would be easy to kill her.
Yu Shuiting was only in the early stages of *Foundation Building*, not to mention she had her back exposed to him without any precautions.
However, if he were to take action now, the man leading the way would definitely not stand idly by.
And that person...
---Just now, in the secret passage, Yu Shuiting had a conversation with that man. From their chat, he learned that his name was He Longyu, and he was a cultivator in the late *Foundation Building* stage.
Ye Anping estimated that if he were to start a conflict with him, he would probably only have a 70% chance of winning.
70% was a bit low for him, so he temporarily shelved the idea of taking action against Yu Shuiting and instead focused on the rendezvous.
The night before yesterday, he asked Feng Yu Die to assist these people in kidnapping Yun Jiujiu and ensure her safety at the same time. As long as there were no unexpected situations, they should meet soon.
The only problem now was that Ye Anping didn't know how Feng Yu Die would choose to infiltrate. He just hoped it would go smoothly.
The three people, one of them carrying Yun Yiyi, raced through the snowy forest for a while and arrived in front of an old pavilion deep in the forest.
The three-story pavilion stood up among the trees. The walls and tiles on the second and third floors were already broken, and the interior was covered with snow. In front of the pavilion's door, five people wearing gray cloaks just like them, were waiting.
Sensing their approach, one of them tightened his grip on his long sword and turned toward them.
"Who is it?!"
He Longyu gestured to Ye Anping and Yu Shuiting not to speak, then led them through the woods toward the pavilion.
Once they approached, the other party relaxed and sheathed their swords.
"Brother He, weren't there five of you? How come only three of you have come back? Did something happen?"
"Well, it's not a big deal." He Longyu nodded. "The Young Master of the *Hundred Lotus* Sect was expecting us. Qi Yuan and Liu Renyi died at his hands, but they still dealt with him."
"I see... We didn't lose anyone here, but we couldn't find that guy Feng in the *Cloud Wine Mansion*."
He Longyu frowned slightly. "Where is the Second Lady?"
"She's tied up over there."
The man shrugged and pointed his chin to the beam next to the pavilion door.
Ye Anping and the others looked over and saw a little girl in a blue dress, her hands and feet bound by three chains. She seemed to have fallen asleep leaning against the beam of the pavilion gate.
But the moment he saw the girl, Ye Anping was confused.
"Are you sure you didn't kidnap the wrong person?" He Longyu voiced his doubts in his place.
"We're sure. We confirmed it several times. She is indeed Second Miss."
He Longyu narrowed his eyes, still somewhat skeptical. He walked over, leaned in for a closer look, and only then confirmed her identity before asking, "Why is she dressed like this?"
"Maybe she got drunk and went crazy." The man shrugged, indicating that he didn't know. "She was like this when we found her."
"..."
He Longyu frowned, somewhat puzzled, but since their target was already tied up, he didn't say anything and just reminded them. "Add a few more *Immortal Binding Locks* to her. In case she wakes up halfway through, these three might not be enough to restrain her."
Ye Anping didn't care about why Yun Jiujiu was wearing a dress. He turned his head and scanned the five people in front of him. Because they all had their faces covered, he could only distinguish them by their eyebrows, but he could tell that Feng Yu Die was not among them.
In other words, Feng Yu Die did not choose his infiltration method.
Then, where was she now?
Ye Anping raised an eyebrow, looked toward the snowy forest around the pavilion, and suddenly, he noticed a bright golden light on a snowy cedar in the eastern direction.
Oh... over there.
Ye Anping breathed a sigh of relief, but he was somewhat speechless. Couldn't this gal think of a smarter way?
The five people who kidnapped Yun Jiujiu were also stupid. They said they couldn't find her, but they had no idea she followed them here.
After He Longyu had someone put two more iron chains on Yun Jiujiu, he came over and asked, "Where are the people from the **Night Tide Peak**?"
"No news. Most likely they failed."
"In that case... If they don't come back in another quarter of an hour, we'll take Eldest Miss and Second Miss back first..."
*Swoosh---*
As he spoke, the tree where Feng Yu Die hid shook twice, and the snow on the branches fell to the ground.
He Longyu immediately took out a talisman from his storage bag and looked up at the tree. "Who's there?"
"..."
At the same time, the five people who tied up Yun Jiujiu also picked up the swords one after another and turned to face the tree where Feng Yu Die was.
Seeing this, Ye Anping felt that, most likely, a fierce battle couldn't be avoided. He quickly drew out his sword and took small steps to move himself to a better position for action. He thought that when Feng Yu Die made her move, he could ambush these few people together with her.
However, the next moment, some chirping suddenly came from above the cedar tree.
"Chirp chirp~~ Chirp chirp chirp~~~"
"..."
???
Everyone below, including Ye Anping, was instantly dumbfounded.
---Someone was taking them as fools...
He Longyu's eyes twitched. He took a deep breath and threw the talisman he held to the top of the cedar tree.
A dazzling burst of firelight erupted from the talisman, illuminating an area of one hundred feet around and revealing Feng Yu Die hiding in the cedar tree.
Feng Yu Die blinked and hunched her head. She could only take out her sword and jump down from the tree, saying, "Hey, you guys, is this how you treat people? Where do I go now? As for all of you... just pretend you didn't see me, alright?"
"..."
He Longyu and the others looked at her speechlessly.
Meanwhile, beside Ye Anping, Yu Shuiting was looking at the deep purple eyes exposed above his mask in the firelight of the talisman thrown by He Longyu just now.
Yu Shuiting had felt something was wrong; however, it was only a feeling. But now...
"You..."
Ye Anping clicked his tongue slightly and didn't dare to wait any longer. He raised his sword, ready to seal Yu Shuiting's mouth.
But before he could take action, He Longyu, while carrying Yun Jiujiu, stepped between him and Yu Shuiting, grabbing Yun Yiyi from her. "Ye An, you and Yu Shuiting block the silver-haired one here. I'll take Yun Yiyi and the other one with me first."
Saying that, he stepped onto the flying sword, holding Yun Yiyi on his left side and supporting Yun Jiujiu on his right side like luggage, then flew westward.
