Chapter 19: Parting Ways

Bai Yue'ning's response was so straightforward that it caught Li Mao completely off guard.

He had expected at least some pretense of refusal, even preparing himself to use threats and bribes if necessary, but to his surprise, she agreed so readily.

A trace of suspicion flickered in his eyes, but it was quickly overshadowed by the elation of his plan going smoothly. He hurried to say,

"Sister Bai, you truly are decisive! Brother Zhao, Brother Wang, cooperate with Sister Bai and be extremely careful!"

Zhao and Wang exchanged glances, both catching a hint of relief and ruthlessness in each other's eyes.

They flanked Bai Yue'ning, one on each side, appearing to escort her but actually subtly hemming her in, inching ever closer to the shadowy cave entrance.

Up close, the runic carvings around the entrance seemed even more ancient and primitive, exuding a faint, prickling sharpness that stung the skin.

"The energy remaining in this sword formation is no joke, but the structure seems a bit off?"

Ye Ming’s mind was brimming with confusion as he focused all his senses on the flow of energy ahead.

"It's as if something forcibly twisted it, the energy nodes are terribly misaligned. This doesn't feel like natural decay—more like… the remnants left behind after someone violently destroyed it?"

Bai Yue'ning felt her heart sink. The remnants of a formation destroyed by force? What did that imply?

Was it the result of Li Mao and the others’ failed attempt to break the formation earlier?

Or was it… a trap already sprung, lying in wait for the next victim?

She kept walking, but her sharp gaze swept over the ground and cave walls.

Sure enough, in several inconspicuous corners, she spotted traces of recent magical blasts and footprints—deliberately concealed, but not enough to escape her careful inspection.

Li Mao was lying!

He hadn’t come here for the first time. In fact, he might have already felt the formation’s power!

When she was less than ten paces from the cave entrance—

"Stop. The ground three steps to your right—energy reaction is highly active, as if just injected with spiritual power!" Ye Ming warned urgently.

Almost at the same moment, Bai Yue'ning also sensed a fleeting, minuscule surge of spiritual power under an otherwise ordinary-looking rock to her right.

That was clearly the trace of a manmade trigger!

A trap!

Li Mao not only wanted her to test the remains of the formation, but he’d also secretly set up a second layer of insurance to ensure she would "coincidentally" trigger the most violent attack.

Such a venomous mind!

In that split second, Bai Yue'ning made her decision.

Instead of retreating, she suddenly accelerated, darting forward!

But her trajectory wasn’t straight for the entrance, rather it veered subtly to the right, her toes tapping precisely next to the suspicious rock.

This step, which seemed hasty and accidental, was in fact carefully measured—just enough not to actually trigger the trap, but more than enough to make the trap’s creator’s heart leap into his throat.

At the same time, she let out a perfectly-timed cry of alarm.

As if she had tripped over something, her body lurched, and the sword in her hand "frantically" slashed forward, sending a seemingly fierce but hollow sword-light toward the cave entrance!

"Be careful!" Zhao and Wang, clueless behind her, shouted instinctively when they saw her "lose control."

—

In the distance, Li Mao’s face changed dramatically. He saw clearly that Bai Yue'ning’s step had nearly landed on his bait!

His heart almost leapt out of his chest; he couldn’t be bothered with further calculations, all his attention was riveted.

The sword-light Bai Yue'ning had flung out so hastily was, at the very last instant before reaching the cave’s mouth, yanked aside by an invisible force.

Its trajectory deviated by the tiniest margin, grazing the left side of the entrance and skimming over a deeply concealed energy node!

That was the weakest interference point, calculated by Ye Ming based on the detected energy distortions.

Suddenly, all the runes carved around the cave entrance flared to life.

Countless wild, chaotic blades of energy erupted from the entrance and ground around them.

But this surge, owing to Bai Yue'ning’s masterful "misstep," didn’t follow the sword formation’s original path.

Instead, it became more frenzied and chaotic, its coverage skewed unpredictably.

And the first to bear the brunt was not Bai Yue'ning at the front—

—but Li Mao, slightly behind and to her side, standing in what had been a safe zone, but now distracted and off-guard for fear his trap had been exposed!

"What?!" Li Mao was utterly undone. Never had he expected the formation to burst forth in this manner, at this angle.

All he could do was desperately activate his protective artifact and spiritual power, bracing himself against the oncoming storm of destruction.

Boom!

Blinding sword-light swallowed him whole; the sound of shattered artifacts and a choked cry of pain rang out together.

Bai Yue'ning, meanwhile, had already used the recoil from her step to float backward at the moment the sword array erupted, narrowly avoiding the densest hail of sword energy.

The few stray strikes that came her way were deftly dodged or deflected with her sword.

Zhao and Wang were terrified, scrambling and crawling away in utter panic.

The sword array’s explosion came swiftly and faded just as quickly. It was, after all, only a remnant, its energy limited.

When the light died away, the cave entrance was a mess, the ground pitted with deep gouges and sword-marks.

Li Mao was kneeling, clothes in tatters, blood at his lips, a wound across his chest so deep the bone showed—clearly, he was seriously hurt.

He looked up at Bai Yue'ning, his gaze filled with shock, fury, venom, and disbelief.

How could she have dodged it?

Even managed to redirect the sword array onto him?

Bai Yue'ning stood with her sword in hand, her breathing steady, only a few strands of hair severed by the sword energy.

She met Li Mao’s gaze calmly and said, "Brother Li, it seems your calculation of the safe path was somewhat off."

Her words were like a resounding slap, making Li Mao’s face turn from green to white and back again.

Zhao and Wang helped him to his feet, their eyes filled with terror and wariness as they looked at Bai Yue'ning.

At this point, it was obvious: she had seen through their scheme all along, turning their plot on its head and severely wounding Li Mao in the process!

"You… You knew all along…" Li Mao ground out between his teeth, blood seeping from the corners of his mouth.

—

"What do you mean?" Bai Yue'ning feigned confusion, then seemed to realize.

"Oh, do you mean the little contraption on the ground that hasn’t gone off yet? I almost stepped on it by accident—gave me quite a fright. My apologies."

Her tone was mild, yet it cut deeper than any mockery.

Li Mao trembled with rage, but had nothing to say—nor did he dare to act again.

He was gravely wounded, his two followers were scared witless, and Bai Yue'ning was obviously unharmed. If it came to a fight, he would lose without question.

Cooperation? That was now a joke.

Bai Yue'ning could not be bothered to waste another word. She glanced at the still-dangerous cave entrance, then turned to leave.

"Stop!" Li Mao called after her hoarsely, unwilling to give up.

She didn’t so much as pause.

"The cave… The cave really exists!" Li Mao nearly spat out the words, gritting his teeth.

"It's just that the outer sword array is tougher than I thought. If you and I work together, we might still—"

His words were answered by Bai Yue'ning’s unwavering retreating figure, quickly vanishing behind a pile of stones.

Li Mao glared after her, then slammed his fist to the ground in fury, aggravating his wounds and triggering a fit of violent coughing. His eyes were filled with venom and unwillingness.

Behind the rocks, Bai Yue'ning quickly put distance between herself and the trouble behind.

"Hahaha! That was brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Ye Ming’s laughter almost made him somersault in her mind.

"Did you see his face? Like he’d just swallowed a fly! Trying to trap us? He ended up hoisted by his own petard!"

A faint smile tugged at Bai Yue'ning’s lips as well.

Though she hadn’t entered the so-called cave-dwelling, seeing Li Mao suffer such a loss was highly satisfying.

"Still, that cave might actually be worth something," Ye Ming said once his laughter subsided, his tone turning serious.

"When we’re stronger, we can always come back. For now, let’s stay far away from that unlucky bunch."

Bai Yue'ning agreed completely.

After this ordeal, she needed to find a safe place to recover and digest her recent gains.

She chose a direction and quickened her pace.

She hadn’t gone far when Ye Ming’s voice sounded again, tinged with new gravity.

"Wait… something’s off."

"Are we being followed again?" Bai Yue'ning immediately tensed.

"No, it’s the metal shard."

"It’s moving again. This time the sensation is stronger. And it feels… hot."