Youqing lifted the letter Ye Yi had sent, her fingertips brushing over the lines of handwriting that carried a faint, malignant chill. Her voice was calm—yet left no room for doubt.
"There's no location. No time. Ye Yi is laying a snare, waiting for us to panic and step into it ourselves. Before he moves, we decide how we restrain him—how we draw his soul out."
Luo Ye's brows were tightly knit, urgency pressed down hard behind his restraint.
"He's slippery to the bone. If he hides Lingdang… how do we find her?"
Youqing raised her eyes to him, her tone firm.
"I've already accounted for that. If he's using Lingdang as bait, then we use the same current to pull him into our net. I will not agree to any exchange unless I see her alive with my own eyes. If he wants the Yao-Spirit Heart, he'll have to show her."
She turned to Lin Lie.
"How many Yao Barge units can we mobilize? What's their capacity?"
Lin Lie answered immediately, crisp and factual.
"Five or six. Around ten passengers each. The frames are reinforced, the power cores stable—usable as mobile cover and as guidance anchors within a formation domain."
A spark lit in Youqing's gaze.
"Good. Then we build the array around the Yao Barges. We make them the outer ring's movable pillars—flexible to shift, able to conceal personnel, able to shield the weak. If Ye Yi dares to appear, the barges become his cage."
"That sounds incredible!" Ding Yuxuan's eyes shone. She couldn't help stepping forward. "Can I help?"
Youqing paused—clearly not expecting her to speak up.
"You?"
Lin Lie's mouth curved faintly; he spoke for her with the ease of someone who had long accepted her brilliance.
"She's part of the workshop. Mechanical aptitude is her gift. The flying automaton bird—and the repeating crossbow—both came from her designs."
Xie Wenyun nodded in agreement. "It's true. Miss Ding's ideas are ingenious. Even Peak City's craftsmen praised them."
For once, Youqing's expression softened into a rare smile.
"Then that's excellent news. Miss Ding—welcome. The Yao Barge array will be designed by you and Lin Lie together."
The discussion had just warmed into momentum when the heavy doors swung open.
Li Yan strode in, his voice deep and resonant.
"You weren't going to forget me, were you?"
"Of course not." Youqing turned, smiling. "We only wanted you to rest a few more days. This injury was not light."
Li Yan shook his head, his gaze steady as stone.
"Xingyu—I'm not that fragile. This wound is nothing. If the Five Yao are missing even one, how can I be at ease?"
Sang Qi arched a brow, amused.
"Fair. Without you, we lose our sturdiest backstop."
The hall's tension loosened by a thread.
Youqing's gaze swept the room; the commander's steadiness returned to her posture and voice.
"Good. Then now—I'll lay out the operation in full."
Luo Ye still stared at her, impatience barely caged.
"Xingyu. Tell us. I need the plan."
Youqing saw the fear behind his eyes, and her tone softened—just slightly.
"Sit down first. Eat. Recover enough strength to stand when the net tightens, and I'll give you everything."
For a fleeting second, warmth touched her expression.
In a world that never stopped burning, the thought came unbidden—
if Luo Ye and Lingdang truly belonged to each other, then perhaps they were the rarest kind of human light left in war.
The council hall's candle flames trembled.
Besides the Five Yao and Youqing, the three generals—Jialuo, Tutan, and Lianyu—and Si Moheng were all seated. The room was so quiet it seemed you could hear ink scratching paper.
Youqing set Ye Yi's letter on the table again. Her fingers traced the strokes that felt like they had been written with nightmares.
"No location. No time." Her voice was even; her eyes, razor-sharp. "It means he's waiting for us to make a mistake—waiting for anxiety, waiting for wavering. This time, we reverse it. We make him walk into our trap."
Luo Ye's voice sank, rough with restraint.
"He has Lingdang. If he hides her—what do I do? If she's in danger, even a fraction, I…"
Youqing lifted her hand, cutting him off—not coldly, but decisively.
"I know. That is precisely why we plan first. Ye Yi wants to use her as bait—then we let him believe it's working."
She turned and placed the black obsidian bracelet at the center of the map. The beads breathed a dim, swallowing light, like a bottomless well.
"He's taken Ling Shuo's body. Ling Shuo's true soul is still trapped within Wanluo."
Her palm rested over the bracelet. A chill like winter water crawled along her fingers from bead to bead. The obsidian drank the candlelight, devouring sound.
Her voice lowered, steady as iron.
"When Ye Yi's soul is lured out and sealed into this bracelet, his grip over anything else loosens—temporarily. At the same time, we must return the portion of Ling Shuo's soul being dragged out of Wanluo back into his own body—completely. These two actions must occur in sync. Otherwise, we risk loss… or misplacement."
She unfurled a fresh scroll—an array diagram centered on Yao Barges.
"We use the Yao Barges to transport Wanluo, and also as the formation's moving pillars. Sang Qi's calming medicine will place her into a controlled sleep. Once her dream-layer stabilizes, I will use guiding-Yao techniques to draw Ling Shuo's soul out and send it back to his own vessel. The inner array will be executed by me and the Five Yao."
Her gaze shifted outward.
"The outer array—belongs to the three of you."
Jialuo's voice was low and firm.
"I hold the eastern line. If Rift-Yao forces appear, I'll cut down their frontal assault myself."
Tutan gripped his long halberd, voice like distant thunder.
"The northern line is low ground. Nether qi gathers there. I'll deploy a fire-thunder grid. No one comes within a step."
Lianyu lowered his head slightly; his eyes were cold and sharp.
"I hold the west. The Nether-river branch is the likeliest infiltration route. I'll seal it. No soul crosses."
Youqing nodded once.
"Good. And the shadow line—"
She turned to the man reclining on the far side.
Si Moheng tapped the table lightly with one finger, composed as always.
"Ye Yi doesn't only move forces on the surface. His remnants hide beneath the nether veins. My Shadow-Scale Guard has already entered the underground channels. If he tries to reverse the flow, I'll cut his soul-vein in the nether stream."
Tutan frowned.
"You make it sound easy. We don't know the Shadow-Scale Guard's methods."
Si Moheng only smiled faintly.
"You hold the daylight. I hold the dark. We don't interfere with each other."
His gaze swept the room—and finally paused on Youqing.
"If Ye Yi appears, I'll make sure he doesn't finish a single word."
Luo Ye's eyes darkened.
"And Ye Yi—what happens to him?"
Youqing lifted the bracelet. The obsidian beads rotated subtly in her palm, a dark-red glint threading through their black sheen.
"His soul is sealed here. Once he loses his host body, he can't cast—can't threaten—can't use Lingdang as leverage."
Sang Qi tapped a medicine vial with his knuckle.
"I've adjusted the formula. Wanluo's constitution is weak; we'll use dream-layer suppression to anchor the soul without damaging her vitality."
Lin Lie spread blueprints over the table, pointing to the array's heart.
"The Yao Barge power cores will link to the soul-guiding array to stabilize flow. Ding Yuxuan designed refracting Yao-mirrors—capable of deflecting nether interference."
Cang Yuan smiled, leaning in with lazy confidence.
"I'll lay a Water-Yao mirage veil on the perimeter. If he shows his face, he'll lose his direction for one breath—maybe two. One breath is enough."
Li Yan's voice was low, solid.
"I guard the primary ring. If anything breaks through, it breaks on me."
Youqing's smile was slight; her tone remained calm as frost.
"Good. This time, we are not reacting. We're deciding."
Her eyes moved to Luo Ye.
"And you—I know what you're thinking. This operation isn't only for Lingdang, but every step is also for her. Once Ye Yi is restrained, I'll force her location out of his soul."
Luo Ye's throat worked.
"If he won't speak?"
Youqing's gaze sharpened, a cold edge flashing.
"Then his soul returns to Fengdu in fragments. I won't let her suffer for nothing."
Lianyu lifted his eyes, controlled and clear.
"If the array fails—what is the consequence?"
Youqing was silent for a heartbeat, then spoke evenly.
"If we fail: Ling Shuo's soul collapses, Wanluo becomes nightmare-corrupted, Ye Yi takes the Yao-Spirit Heart, and the Yao Realm falls into his grasp."
Her voice did not tremble.
"If we succeed: the soul returns, the nightmare is sealed, and the realm stabilizes. Two paths. Only two."
Tutan exhaled.
"Then there's no retreat."
"There isn't." Youqing's voice was quiet, absolute.
She turned toward Si Moheng.
Si Moheng's mouth curved—so faint it was almost less than candlelight.
"I advance and retreat with you, Qing'er."
Youqing looked at him. She did not speak.
But the look she gave—
was like a wick lit in deep night: brief, warm, and utterly resolute.
Jialuo stood, voice heavy with oath.
"Then the three of us hold the outer lines. Si Moheng seals the dark. The Five Yao execute the array. If Ye Yi dares to come, he leaves no road back."
Tutan slammed a fist to his breastplate.
"To the death—no retreat."
Lianyu answered softly, like a blade sliding from its sheath.
"When the soul-array opens, we fight for the realm."
Youqing gathered the bracelet into her palm, her tone turning into steel.
"In three days, we open the formation. If I lose control—Si Moheng—"
He cut in before she could finish, unexpectedly gentle.
"You won't. I'll be there. I'll guard you."
For one instant, the air stilled.
Luo Ye turned his gaze away. Sang Qi lowered his head to his medicines. Lin Lie rolled the scroll back up. Cang Yuan's fingers tapped lightly against his scabbard. Li Yan studied the map as if memorizing every line.
No one spoke.
Only Youqing and Si Moheng held each other's gaze across the candlelight—
a promise that required no words at all.