Chapter 2036: Reunion

Zhang Zitong was completely bewildered. Seeing his smile, she couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"

"Behind this mirror is a hidden space," Zu'an explained. "Someone has cast some concealment spells here; it must be the doing of that Chi Fuzi." As he spoke, his fingers moved rapidly, adjusting the positions of the patterned beast carvings and other decorations in a few corners of the screen wall.

Immediately, a faint cyan light appeared on the entire wall. Soon, as the surrounding arrangement changed, the light gradually faded.

The screen wall in front no longer looked like a solid wall; instead, it rippled like water.

Zhang Zitong reached out and gently touched it with her finger. Immediately, rings of water-like ripples spread out, and she exclaimed in surprise, "Sir, there really is a space behind it!"

Zu'an found it a bit amusing to see her act like a curious child. He wondered how this girl had managed to become a Silver-Rank Embroidered Envoy.

Just then, Zhang Zitong suddenly cried out, as if an unseen hand from beyond the space was pulling her inward, and she tumbled inside.

Zu'an's expression changed. He instantly grabbed her other hand, feeling a huge suction force.

A thought crossed his mind: this seemed to be the power of space, not someone ambushing them.

In the blink of an eye, both were drawn into the screen wall.

A feeling of weightlessness came over them, and both had fallen to the ground.

Zhang Zitong stumbled and couldn't stand steadily. Fortunately, Zu'an was holding her hand, which allowed her to regain her balance.

"Thank you, Sir," she said, feeling the warmth from his palm. Zhang Zitong's heart pounded. *Though Sir is usually distant,* she thought, *he still cares about me deep down. Otherwise, he wouldn't have instantly grabbed my hand to save me.*

"Are you scared?" Zu'an asked, noticing her abnormal heartbeat.

Zhang Zitong originally wanted to say she wasn't scared, but then she thought better of it and nodded shyly. "I haven't encountered anything like this before, so yes, I am a little scared."

*This way, she could openly keep holding Sir's hand, right?*

Unfortunately, Zu'an didn't give her the chance. He naturally released her hand and said, "There's nothing to be scared of. Just follow behind me."

"Oh," Zhang Zitong replied, feeling a little disappointed. But seeing him subtly position himself to shield her, her mood immediately brightened.

Only then did she have the presence of mind to look around. Noticing a familiar feeling about the nearby buildings, she couldn't help but be surprised. "Huh, are we still in the same spot?"

"Of course not. This is the world behind the screen wall now," Zu'an said, walking forward.

Zhang Zitong hurried after him. "Huh, it really does seem a bit different," she remarked. "Many things are mirrored horizontally compared to the last place, and the sky here is hazy, making everything look eerie and sinister."

Zu'an sensed his surroundings with the Soul Jade Cong. There were no living animals nearby.

His divine sense couldn't spread very far either. Clearly, the mist was obstructing divine sense.

Accustomed to using divine sense, he was truly unaccustomed to this situation, which felt like being blind.

The two followed a bluestone path uphill. At the top was another courtyard, with an open door on each of its four sides, and each door led to a bluestone path going downwards.

"Why do these doors look exactly the same?" Zhang Zitong asked, looking back. A chill ran down her spine. "It's the same path we came from too!"

Her voice echoed continuously in the courtyard, adding to the eerie feeling.

Zu'an, however, remained calm. He continued walking forward. After traversing the long bluestone path, they found themselves back at the starting point where they had first entered. The screen wall from before stood before them, but this time, it had no water-like ripples; it was solid, hard stone.

"We can't go back!" Zhang Zitong's voice trembled. She didn't understand what was wrong with her; normally, when faced with such dangers, she would be decisive and quickly find solutions. But now, by Sir Eleven's side, she felt like a weak woman, suddenly overcome with fear.

"It turned into a wall right after we came in. Didn't you notice?" Zu'an replied casually, while also observing the surrounding terrain.

Zhang Zitong felt a little embarrassed, admitting she had been a bit careless. "We were clearly walking forward just now," she said, "so why did we end up back here?"

"Many formations have similar effects," Zu'an explained as he continued to walk forward. "The space here is somewhat distorted, which can mislead one's sense of direction."

"Is this the legendary 'ghost wall'?" Zhang Zitong asked, seeing him continue forward. "Didn't we just walk this way? Shouldn't we try another path?"

"It does resemble a ghost wall, but this is clearly more sophisticated," Zu'an replied. "After experiencing what we just did, most people would instinctively look for another path, unaware that doing so would lead them right into the situation the array setter wants. By continuing forward, I need to gauge the extent of the spatial displacement here."

He paused, then added, "How about you go first this time?"

"Huh?" Zhang Zitong's face instantly fell.

*Is Sir going to make me go first to trigger traps?* She had heard that some of her Embroidered Envoy colleagues were ruthless and would send subordinates ahead as cannon fodder to scout.

*But Sir Eleven shouldn't be that kind of person, right?*

She took a deep breath. "Okay!"

She immediately took long strides and started walking ahead, but without her usual heroic swagger. Instead, she took small, delicate steps, like a young lady raised in seclusion.

Seeing her somewhat trembling appearance, Zu'an chuckled. "Don't be scared," he said, "I'll protect you."

Only then did Zhang Zitong breathe a sigh of relief, and bravely asked, "Sir, why do you need me to walk in front?"

"Two reasons," Zu'an replied, not hiding anything. "First, I need to observe from outside the situation."

"Outside the situation?" Zhang Zitong asked, a little confused.

"An observer sees more clearly than one who is involved," Zu'an explained. "I need to use the stride of your long legs as a reference to determine the situation of this space."

"Ah?" Zhang Zitong never expected this reason. Although she had always been most satisfied with her legs, this was the first time she learned they had such a use.

Seeing his serious expression, Zhang Zitong didn't let her thoughts wander, afraid of disturbing his thoughts. "And what's the other reason?" she asked.

"Oh, it's just that in such a tense environment," Zu'an chuckled, "admiring a pair of long, shapely legs makes me feel more pleasant, and perhaps makes it easier to figure out a solution."

"Sir!" Zhang Zitong pouted playfully. *Is he teasing me?* she wondered.

"Do you feel less tense now?" Zu'an asked, looking at her.

"It does feel much more relaxed," Zhang Zitong replied. *So Sir was trying to comfort me,* she thought. *I knew it. How could someone as serious as Sir tease me?*

However, a strange sense of disappointment welled up in her heart.

The two continued to walk up a long bluestone path, chatting and laughing. They arrived at a courtyard with doors on all four sides. They continued by choosing the door directly in front and walking down a bluestone path, and, unsurprisingly, they returned to the starting point again.

Although the surroundings were becoming increasingly eerie, Zhang Zitong, thinking that Sir was behind her, staring at her legs, didn't feel cold at all. Instead, she felt a warmth radiating from her legs.

"So that's how it is," Zu'an's voice rang out just then.

Zhang Zitong was startled. "Sir, what did you figure out?"

"It appears we've returned to the starting point, but this isn't actually the original starting point," Zu'an explained. "The array setter is deliberately being misleading. They've created many identical buildings to misguide those who enter the array. People will instinctively believe that no matter how they walk, they'll return to the same spot, becoming increasingly flustered and making various wrong decisions." As he spoke, he took out an array disc. His fingertips moved rapidly, sending tiny flags flying in all directions into the void.

Immediately after, he suddenly pulled out a handful of talismans and threw them. The talismans quickly scattered, automatically transforming into tiny paper cranes.

Flapping their wings, they flew in the directions where the array flags had gone.

Zhang Zitong's eyes widened, because she saw many small moving light points appear on Sir Eleven's array disc, clearly representing the paper cranes that had flown off.

As those small light points spread outwards, a three-dimensional map gradually appeared on the array disc. The styles of the buildings on it were miniature versions of their surroundings.

"What is this?"

"A holographic projection array disc," Zu'an replied. This was an array that Zu'an had improved with the help of Yan Xianggu, combining concepts from the *Baopuzi True Scripture* and some technological ideas from his previous life, specifically for exploring unknown territories.

Its only drawback was that the operator needed a rough understanding of the terrain to be explored before activating it.

"Sir, since when have you been so proficient in rune formations?" Zhang Zitong asked, a little bewildered.

"Just learned it recently," he replied.

*Rune formations are vast and profound,* Zhang Zitong thought. *Who could learn to this level after just starting?*

As they spoke, a complete map appeared on the array disc. Zu'an glanced at it and smiled, "So it's here."

He immediately led Zhang Zitong, quickly dashing forward. Having a map made all the difference.

"Slow down, slow down, I can't keep up!" Zhang Zitong exclaimed repeatedly. At first, she tried to remember the route, but then he led her through the courtyards, turning left and right in all sorts of ways, sometimes even backtracking a bit, and then the scenery immediately changed from how it had been when they arrived.

After a few rounds, she felt completely dizzy. She simply closed her eyes and let him lead the way.

She didn't know how much time had passed. The whooshing sound of the wind in her ears finally stopped, and only then did she open her eyes, still with a lingering sense of trepidation.

Before her, a different courtyard appeared. In the very center, a woman with hip-length hair sat cross-legged, her eyes closed in meditation.

Beside her, a Changxin Palace Lantern emitted a soft glow, enveloping a space of several yards.

"Yun Jianyue!" Zhang Zitong exclaimed, both excited and terrified. She never expected to have come directly to the Demon Sect Master's secluded meditation chamber!

This person was the court's number one most-wanted criminal. If she could capture her, she might be able to atone for her past mistakes and be reinstated by the Embroidered Envoys.

Just as she was about to draw her weapon, Zu'an had already moved first. But apparently sensing the intruder, the Changxin Palace Lantern suddenly flared with intense light, directly enveloping his entire body.

"Sir, be careful!" Zhang Zitong cried out, naturally knowing how powerful Yun Jianyue's Changxin Palace Lantern was. Once enveloped by its light, one would be rendered immobile and left at the mercy of others.

However, she quickly froze in astonishment, because black whirlpools appeared around Sir Eleven's body. The light couldn't reach him at all; it was simply absorbed by the black whirlpools.

*Sir is even more powerful than I imagined...*

Zu'an walked a few yards forward. Just as he was about to reach Yun Jianyue, a strangely beautiful moonlight suddenly sliced through the air at an unexpected angle.

Zhang Zitong's heart leaped into her throat. That was Yun Jianyue's famous weapon—the Crescent Wheel. She didn't know how many masters had met their demise by its blade.

However, the next scene made her rub her eyes, because the Crescent Wheel didn't attack Sir at all. Instead, it circled around him, seemingly with a sense of excitement and joy.

"What on earth went wrong?" Zhang Zitong looked completely bewildered. But she didn't have time to ponder this. After all, this was a good thing. Sir had successfully reached the Demoness, and the Demoness seemed to be in seclusion and hadn't woken up. *Now was the perfect time to subdue... her?*

Her jaw nearly dropped to the floor, because she saw that Sir Eleven didn't attack. Instead, he pulled the Demoness into his embrace!