Chapter 1 The Wilderness of the Capital

The capital's desolate suburbs.

The moon was bright, the stars were few.

The chill of early winter swept through the air, stirring and swirling the thin, brittle dry grass, creating a crisp, cracking sound of shattered leaves. From a distance, the countless blades of wild grass looked like a sea of leaves, being toyed with by a light hand.

Swirling, swirling again.

A black figure moved silently with the swirling leaves, like a glider propelled by the sea of leaves.

She moved quickly, traversing thousands of meters through the vast expanse of wild grass, arriving at the abandoned old building in just a dozen seconds... and after leaving the grass, the swirling dry leaves no longer propelled her, and she left the sea of leaves.

Ye Ningqiu raised her head, calmly gazing at the old building.

This was where Chen Mo was being held.

She stood silently in front of the old building like a ghost, neither moving nor leaving, just staring for a long time, the blackness in her pupils seeming to seep out like ink... as if by staring, she could see through the structure of the old building, every steel bar, every wooden frame inside.

She did this because she knew.

That old fox at the Arbitration Court was more cunning than any fox in the world. Since he had chosen to detain Chen Mo... he would never allow any accidents to happen.

Tonight's Freedom Ball had drawn all three members of the Special Investigation Group to Freedom Hall, which meant that the detention center holding Chen Mo was empty.

If... it was just because he was confident that no one could find "this place," then it would be too out of character for Zhou Jiren.

There must be a prepared transcendent inscription inside this old building.

Or a powerful transcendent sealed artifact.

Anyone who rashly broke in would pay a terrible price.

She gazed for a long time.

The inkiness in Ye Ningqiu's eyes dissipated little by little, the building already completely dissected and analyzed in her eyes. If there was an "extraordinary region" somewhere that could not be dismantled, then she would actually feel more at ease.

But the reality was strangely bizarre.

The entire building was devoid of any mental fog. As long as one possessed a certain level of mental power, they could analyze and dissect the building's cross-section, seeing everything clearly. There were no traps or defenses here.

This was absolute confidence.

And sometimes, such confidence was a kind of foolishness.

...

...

With a "bang," the door to the interrogation room was kicked open.

Chen Mo, who was leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, playing a mental game of counting sheep, suddenly snapped back to reality. He sat up abruptly, and when he saw the woman who had barged into the room, his tense expression instantly turned to joy.

"Aunt Ye..."

Chen Mo had been calling her that since he was very young.

Ye Ningqiu looked very young, but in fact, she was several years older than Lu Nanzhi. It was just that she took very good care of herself, looking the same as she had ten years ago, with fair and tight skin and a youthful baby face, which gave people that kind of illusion.

"There's not much time. I'm here to get you."

Ye Ningqiu spoke quickly. She was very fast and efficient, reaching behind her head to pull out her hairpin, and then slicing gently.

The indestructible Sacred Wood was actually cut open by the hairpin!

In fact, Zhou Jiren's Sacred Wood was not an absolutely flawless defense... as could be seen from A-009's escape. Sacred Wood did indeed possess top-notch binding abilities, but no matter how refined the transcendent spirit was, it was still just an ordinary vine born in the natural world. It would be damaged by corrosion and cut open by sharp objects.

Moreover, the sturdiness of the Sacred Wood was also related to the distance from its owner.

This old, unfinished building in the desolate wilderness was a world away from the Freedom Hall where the ball was being held, tens of thousands of miles away.

But... no matter how far apart they were, Zhou Jiren could sense the state of the Sacred Wood.

Chen Mo stood up and stretched his wrists. He took a deep breath, savoring the long-lost feeling of freedom... Zhou Jiren was truly a madman, disregarding the fact that his own father was a Capital City Councilor, he had actually confined him here under house arrest.

"Zhou Jiren has already noticed that the Sacred Wood has been cut," Ye Ningqiu reminded in a low voice. "We have to leave immediately."

Chen Mo smiled and said, "Did my father send you?"

Ye Ningqiu lowered her eyes and nodded.

She looked towards the corridor. With just one glance, the glass in the old building's corridor shattered, and countless leaves swirled like a tidal wave, rising up to form a staircase to welcome the two's escape.

"...I think I'll take another route."

Seeing the shattered glass in the corridor, Chen Mo's lips twitched slightly. He remembered a not-so-pleasant memory.

Even now, he still couldn't figure it out.

That explosion, that white, ghostly figure... was it a real 'past' event, or just a virtual dream?

"Zhou Jiren's Sacred Wood travels very fast. If he chooses to set off immediately... he can arrive here in fifteen minutes at most," Ye Ningqiu said. "Do you want to be imprisoned again?"

Chen Mo frowned. He vaguely felt that something was not right, but he still chose to leave with Aunt Ye through the corridor.

"Rumble."

Countless leaves swirled like a tidal wave.

When Chen Mo was very young, when he had just awakened his Chrono-Slow ability, Ye Ningqiu had played with him like this before, in the wilderness where autumn leaves were flying, countless leaves transforming into a large boat, carrying the two across the land.

Ye Ningqiu's ability was the natural element of Withered Grass.

In the capital, where countless buildings had sprung up, there was no withered grass, only a torrent of steel, so she had never displayed her power in front of outsiders. Only a few people knew the secret.

Perhaps because of her own ability.

Aunt Ye's personality was also like a withered blade of grass, always inadvertently revealing a faint sadness.

Chen Mo looked at Ye Ningqiu and smiled softly, "Aunt Ye, I feel like you're a little different today... Today should be the day of the Freedom Ball, right? Did you come from the hall?"

Ye Ningqiu didn't answer, just focused on controlling the sea of leaves, frantically speeding towards the distance.

Chen Mo frowned slightly.

He carefully stared at Aunt Ye's neck. This wasn't the first time he had observed Ye Ningqiu up close... He hadn't noticed anything unusual before, but today, that snow-white neck seemed to be covered with a thick layer of powder.

Was this... makeup powder?

Chen Mo was a little dazed. He heard a very soft voice.

"We're here."

Ye Ningqiu's voice was as pleasant as ever, quiet and peaceful, like a lonely, withering blade of grass.

Revealing a faint, sad, deathly coldness.

Countless leaves swirled, and at the moment of impact with the ground, all rebounded. Tens of millions of dry leaves, like blades, had been gathering momentum on the ground, waiting to be unleashed. At the moment the woman's voice sounded, the blades exploded like a tornado.

Chen Mo's pupils suddenly contracted.

He activated Chrono-Slow at the first possible moment.

But not every situation... could be solved with Chrono-Slow.

What's more, the person who created this deadly trap had watched him grow up for ten years and knew him best... Aunt Ye.

Overwhelming.

All were withered leaves of late autumn.

Even in the realm of Chrono-Slow, where these withered leaves were slowed down several times, they still formed a dense, impenetrable iron wall—

Nowhere to retreat.

Nowhere to hide.

Tens of millions of withered leaves collided in the air, emitting a crisp sound like the clash of metal.

Streaks and streaks of blood erupted in the storm of withered leaves. After Chrono-Slow was activated, the incredibly sharp leaves sliced through flesh like a cruel and extreme form of capital punishment.

Lingchi (death by a thousand cuts).