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"Is it you?"

After the shock that shattered all her beliefs, Chen Ying finally snapped back to her senses and made her way towards the harbor as quickly as possible.

She didn’t understand what was happening, but her reason told her that it couldn’t be as simple as it seemed—a technique that would drive every sorcerer family in the world mad, used as a mere dowry for taking a concubine? It was as absurd as exchanging half a kingdom for a courtesan!

She couldn’t comprehend what was going on in front of her eyes, she was in urgent need of someone to guide her, and of course, the person she trusted most in this world was her own teacher...

But when she arrived at the harbor, she suddenly remembered that there were no ships left at the docks...

The harbor now was completely different from the bustling scene of the previous few days, with cargo ships arriving one after another, and at least a thousand laborers working on the docks.

Even at midnight, it was brightly lit and extraordinarily lively.

She still remembered how Ma Erniang would make her husband carry two buckets of meat porridge to the harbor to sell every day.

But ever since the strange fog had appeared on the river, the harbor had become increasingly deserted, almost reverting back to the desolation it had experienced before.

However, at this moment, a figure appeared on the harbor, catching Chen Ying by surprise.

The person was dressed in red and looked delicate and charming, standing alone on the dock, evoking pity from those who saw her.

Wasn’t this the beautiful concubine her master had asked her to escort over—Chen Qing?

No, that’s not right...does this mean that she herself has become the second concubine?

As this thought crossed her mind, Chen Ying looked at the person in front of her and felt even more odd, biting her teeth involuntarily...

"Young lady, where are you heading to?"

The speaker was Ali, who had always stayed in Cui Yan’s former courtyard and rarely went out, as her meals were brought to her three times a day. Yet, on this rare occasion, she had traveled quite a distance.

"That’s exactly what I want to ask," said Chen Ying, looking coldly at the other party. "Where are you planning to go?"

"Oh?" Ali chuckled coquettishly. "I thought Lord Chen no longer cared about me; I didn’t expect to have someone come looking for me."

"You thought too much..." Chen Ying scoffed with a cold sneer.

So, it seemed that Chen really didn’t care much about this delicate and beautiful concubine, who was nearly able to run off without his knowledge...

With this in mind, Chen Ying herself didn’t realize that the corners of her mouth unconsciously curled up.

"So, young lady, you wish to leave by boat?" Ali asked with a gleaming smile.

"You’re also thinking of running?" Chen Ying said with amusement, looking at her.

"I do have that thought..." Ali nodded sincerely, her gaze drifting towards the dense fog on the river surface, which seemed as if it would never dissipate.

Chen Ying was taken aback and also turned her eyes towards the river, her expression immediately becoming grave. She had been summoned by Chen in the morning to check the fog, and now at noon, there wasn’t the slightest sign that the fog intended to lift. Could it be a sign of something?

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw the silhouette of a ship slowly emerging from the fog in the distance.

"A ship is coming?" Chen Ying’s heart stirred. If she wasn’t wrong, this might be the first ship to enter port today.

But as the ship drew closer, she saw a group of people on the deck, jumping up and down in fury.

"What on earth is going on here?"

The people on the ship were clearly merchants, all looking like they were on the brink of tears.

"What kind of sailing skill is this?" a fat merchant berated the old helmsman, "You claim to be an experienced sailor? With skills like these? We’ve been turning around for days, and now you’ve brought us right back to where we started!!"

"My lords, it’s really not my fault!" the helmsman, who was all muscle, replied with a bitter smile, "I’ve been steering ships for many years and have never encountered such a bizarre situation.

I know this river route like the back of my hand, having sailed it thousands of times.

I could navigate it blindfolded, especially the last time when I went straight, planning to take the waterway from Baishui County, but this damned fog. .."

The thought of what had just happened sent a chill down the helmsman’s spine. It felt as if he were trapped in a loop, no matter which way he steered or how he tried to redirect or detour, the ship would always end up back where it started!

And more than that...

"Look, my lords!" the helmsman said with a helpless, wry smile, pointing towards the sky, "It’s that time again!"

When the people heard that, they looked up and felt a chill in their hearts; it was odd. It was just dusk a moment ago, so why had the sun climbed back up to its zenith?

"You just said, you’ve been turning in this fog for days?"

Chen Ying, who had been listening by the side, suddenly approached and asked with a heavy expression.

"Who is this young lady?"

Seeing two people with beauty like jade, the merchants’ mood suddenly improved quite a bit.

Some of them even cast covetous glances.

Such beauty, which household’s daughter was she, venturing here alone without a single servant?

If they could abduct her to Tiandu, she would certainly fetch a handsome price!

"Answer my question!" Chen Ying had no patience to idle talk with these merchants. Her magic power surged, a gust of wind pressure swept over them, and before any of the merchants could react, they all fell to their knees with a thud.

Some of the more worldly merchants immediately realized their mistake and began to kowtow continuously, "Are you from the Yin Yang Academy, my lord? This humble one has been blind to offend you, please forgive us!"

"You said earlier, you’ve been turning in the mist for days?"

"Yes..." the merchants nodded hastily in reply, pecking like chickens, even those who had no idea what the Yin Yang Academy was had been frightened by the manifestation of powers.

Joking aside, the ability to make you kneel helplessly without moving a finger—this was not something these merchants could deal with.

"How is that possible..." Chen Ying said, staring blankly at the fog by the river. If she remembered correctly, this fog had only appeared yesterday, right?

"When did you set sail?" Ali, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke.

"It should be... four days ago!" one of the merchants calculated and said.

"Say the date on the calendar!" Ali demanded coldly.

"Uh... the fourth, yes, the fourth. I remember it!

" The merchant promptly replied, "It was the tax-free period in Lyuzhou. After making a big profit from our last shipment, we wanted to catch the second round while it’s hot. We pushed that Wang merchant for goods, and he delayed us for two days, it was only the night of the third that the goods arrived, we checked and loaded the goods overnight, and set sail in a hurry the morning of the fourth. I remember it clearly; it can’t be wrong! "

The fourth?

Ali and Chen Ying glanced at each other, with curious looks in their eyes. The other party had said they were at sea for four days, yet the fourth day... was clearly yesterday!

"Do you know the reason?" Chen Ying asked Ali.

Ali, who rarely showed a serious expression, shook her head.

She had come to the dock because she felt as if some dangerous thing was drawing near.

This sensation was very uncomfortable for her, and even with a thousand years of reincarnations, she had never felt such an all-encompassing sense of impending doom.

Keep in mind, she was a Reincarnating Demon, one that did not fear death. For beings like her, death was merely the beginning of something new.

But...

The thing that was about to arrive made her feel a threat unlike any before, as if encountering it could lead to a real crisis of life and death!

"Let’s go!" Chen Ying immediately boarded the ship and said to the kneeling merchants, "Get up, sail the boat, I’ll accompany you on this journey!"

"This..." The merchants looked at each other, hesitating for a moment as the fog seemed truly sinister, but they didn’t dare to defy the revered ancestor before them. Eventually, the leader gritted his teeth and ordered, "Old Li, set sail!"

Perhaps this wasn’t a bad thing. With an official from the Yin Yang Academy accompanying them, maybe they could navigate out of the fog, and his cargo could still be sold in time.

"Aren’t you coming?" Chen Ying asked Ali, who showed no intention of boarding the ship.

Ali hesitated for a moment but ultimately shook her head.

She felt... it would be safer to go back to Chen Qing...

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The ship, propelled by Chen Ying’s wind-walking technique, set sail extremely quickly, leaving the dock within a few breaths and entering the dense fog.

Ali frowned, turned back to leave, but then she saw Chen Qing hurrying over.

"Has my lord also arrived?" Ali asked with a bright smile.

"Where is Chen Ying?" Chen Qing asked directly.

"Ah, I thought my lord was worried about me, but it turns out he’s concerned about that wild woman outside!" Ali said coyly.

"Just answer the question!" Chen Qing said coldly. "You should be able to feel it, right? This thick fog surrounding the Capital City, the talismans that can protect you might not work!"

"What about you, my lord?" Ali looked at Chen Qing earnestly. "Can you keep me safe?"

"That depends on whether you cooperate or not."

"How would my lord like me to cooperate?" Ali asked teasingly, approaching Chen Qing and whispering in his ear, "Do you want me to lay down or stand?"

Chen Qing: "..."

"Alright... I was just joking," Ali said, looking at Chen Qing’s darkening face, no longer teasing him. She pointed towards the riverside, "Just now, a ship arrived. The merchants aboard said some strange things, and your little sweetheart went with them."

"Strange things?" Chen Qing asked eagerly. "Tell me every word they said without missing anything."

"Oh, how could I remember all that?"

"Do you believe I can throw you into the river?"

"Would my lord truly be so heartless?"

Seeing Chen Qing’s increasingly dangerous look, Ali’s heart skipped a beat, and she huffed, "A man like a stone, truly no fun at all."

With that, she roughly recounted what the merchants had said.

"Trapped in the fog for three days? And each time they returned at dusk?"

"Yes..." Ali said with a smile, narrowing her eyes. "My lord, who do you reckon is so mighty and playful to trick these hardworking merchants within the fog?"

"It’s not trickery..." Chen Qing shook his head. "It’s protection!"

"Protection?" Ali was taken aback.

Before she could ask any more, she saw Chen Qing turning around to leave.

"Hey, my lord, where are you going?"

"To find someone!"

Chen Qing didn’t look back as he walked briskly, internally calculating.

Honestly, the chances of Chen Ying encountering the Shen Family in the fog were slim since the vastness within the fog trapped a million players before, many of whom walked for three days and nights without coming across another soul.

But just because the probability was low didn’t mean it was nonexistent; some accidents had to be prevented.

"Hey, my lord, wait for me..."

Ali, who had been following Chen Qing, couldn’t help frowning. Her powers were sealed, and she was pregnant, which made her even weaker than the average woman. After walking for over half an hour, her feet were blistered, and this Chen really didn’t know how to cherish and care for her.

Just as she was about to complain, a chilling and terrifying sensation suddenly surged into her heart, causing her to look up abruptly.

Without realizing it, the two had reached a desolate place, an area so barren that not even weeds grew, clearly a place not even dogs would visit. However, it made her feel extremely dangerous now.

There was a patch of fog ahead.

Different from the fog on the river, this fog carried a faint blackness, like a layer of hazy black gauze!

"Chen Qing, where is this? Don’t get any closer!" Ali warned hurriedly.

She could feel a terror she hadn’t experienced in a thousand years, giving her an urge to turn and run.

Chen Qing ignored Ali and called into the black fog, "Is General Weichi there? Please show yourself!!"