After getting in the cab back to Y City's downtown, Chen Hao pressed the power button on his phone. A moment later, the phone booted up, and a flurry of missed calls and two unread text message notifications popped up on the screen.

Chen Hao checked the notifications and saw that most of the missed calls were from Xie Xiaoluan; there were also a few from Tang Jing, Tang Chao, and Ren Deshan.

One of the unread text messages was from Xie Xiaoluan. He told Chen Hao that after tracking Xie Xiaofeng's phone location, he had discovered that the last known location of Xie Xiaofeng was shown to be within the maple forest on the outskirts of Y City to the east. He also mentioned that he and Xie Da were preparing to rush over to the maple forest and wanted Chen Hao to call him back immediately after seeing the message.

The other message was from Tang Jing, requesting that Chen Hao contact her immediately upon reading the text.

After reading the messages, Chen Hao immediately dialed Xie Xiaoluan's mobile number.

The phone was turned off!

Next, Chen Hao called Ren Deshan, intending for Ren Deshan to bring the Yin Yang Master Association for support.

Unexpectedly, the phone was turned off again!

Suddenly, Chen Hao felt uneasy, wondering if both Xie Xiaofeng and Ren Deshan had gone to the maple forest looking for Xie Xiaofeng and then fell into Wang Chuan's ambush?

At that moment, a sense of warmth came from his palm. Chen Hao turned his head to look beside him and saw Ye Yuqiao smiling at him. Instantly, the anxiety in his heart eased.

After smiling back at Ye Yuqiao, Chen Hao resumed making calls on his phone and dialed Tang Jing's number.

This time, to Chen Hao's relief, the call finally went through. After only two rings, Tang Jing answered.

"Chen Hao, where have you all gone?" Tang Jing's anxious voice came through the phone.

"We went to Dao County!"

Tang Jing exhaled a long breath on the phone and said, "Today, I couldn't reach you, Yuqiao, or Xie Xiaofeng. All of you were not at home either, and I was worried something had happened to you guys."

"Something did happen," Chen Hao said softly. "By the way, Tang Jing, did you go to the Yin Yang Master Association today?"

"What happened?" Tang Jing's calm tone became tense again before she answered Chen Hao's question: "After we couldn't reach you all at midday, my brother and I went to the association, but only the office secretary was there. The vice president and the heads of the groups were all missing."

Chen Hao frowned, thought for a moment, and then said to Tang Jing, "Tang Jing, you and your brother should go to the maple forest on the outskirts of the eastern suburbs right away to check the situation, and then call me back promptly."

"The maple forest on the outskirts of the eastern suburbs!" Tang Jing sounded somewhat bewildered, "Okay, my brother and I will go there and have a look right away."

"Remember, be extremely careful. Wang Chuan might have set up an ambush there!" Chen Hao instructed on the phone, "Yuqiao and I are on our way back to the downtown area. It will take at least two hours before we can get back."

"Okay!"

After hanging up, Ye Yuqiao asked expressionlessly, "Your Tang Jing is alright, isn't she?"

"My Tang Jing?" Chen Hao was surprised, then he tilted his head closer to Ye Yuqiao's face and stared at every detail on her face with wide eyes.

It wasn't long before Ye Yuqiao's face turned red. She raised her hand, lightly slapped Chen Hao's face, and shyly said with her head lowered, "Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Haha!" Chen Hao laughed out loud, always happy to see Ye Yuqiao's bashful side, then teasingly asked, "Your Majesty the Queen, aren't you jealous? I've always been puzzled why you seem to be jealous of Tang Jing."

Ye Yuqiao ignored Chen Hao and buried her head even lower. Only when Chen Hao's head leaned back against the headrest with a long sigh, did Ye Yuqiao look up again towards him and asked, "Are you especially worried about the activation of the Five Elements Reincarnation Formation?"

"Hmm," Chen Hao's voice was very heavy.

"Actually, this may not necessarily be a bad thing. If those monsters and evil spirits sealed by generations of Onmyoji are released, you can simply seal them again. This could be a good trial for you!" Ye Yuqiao said in a soft voice.

"What are you talking about!" Chen Hao's pupils suddenly dilated, his tone tinged with anger. "If all those monsters and evil spirits were to be set free, who knows how many people would suffer as a result? I don't care for such a 'trial' at all!"

In an instant, Ye Yuqiao's face turned an ashen blue, she moved away from Chen Hao's shoulder, and muttered discontentedly, "You've been so harsh on me lately; I was only trying to look on the bright side for you!"

After a long silence.

Seeing tears welling up in Ye Yuqiao's eyes, Chen Hao immediately felt a pang of guilt and moved closer to Ye Yuqiao, whispering, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be harsh on you, please don't be angry, okay?"

Ye Yuqiao looked at Chen Hao with a sullen face, huffed lightly, and then said expressionlessly, "The nicer I am to you, the less you seem to care about my feelings, isn't it?"

"No, not at all!" Chen Hao hurriedly shook his head, his expression and tone becoming exceedingly sincere. "Your Majesty, the nicer you are to me, the more I cherish it."

Without another word, Ye Yuqiao turned her head to look out the car window at the deepening night sky and leaned her head on Chen Hao's shoulder, slowly closing her eyes.

Half an hour later.

Y City, in the maple woods on the eastern outskirts.

By now, the afterglow of the sunset had completely succumbed to the night, and the full moon had quietly climbed atop the branches.

Different from usual, tonight the moonlight carried an eerie hint of blood-red. The pale red light, like a gauzy veil, enveloped the earth.

In the maple woods tinged red by the season, this pale red seemed even more intense. The scattered crimson maple leaves under the moonlight were so red, they looked like human blood. Whenever a cool autumn breeze rustled through the woods, it seemed as though the moonlight trembled with the sway of the leaves, like silently flowing blood.

Tonight was destined to be an extraordinary night.

After receiving a call from Chen Hao, Tang Jing and Tang Chao hurried to the location without delay.

Before even entering the maple woods, the two of them could sense two powerful forces—one was the Five Elements Yang Energy Power; the other was the Five Elements Yin Qi Spiritual Power.

In addition, through their Yin Yang Eyes, they saw a large amount of purple Yin Qi gathering above the center of the maple woods.

Under the blood-red moonlight, the purple Yin Qi seemed to sporadically emit red flashes as though evil was symbolized by demonic eyes.

"Brother, be extra careful. Chen Hao said there could be an ambush inside!" Tang Jing cautioned Tang Chao before they prepared to enter the woods.

Tang Chao nodded, then whispered, "Sister, shall I carry you on my back? That way, if we run into an ambush, I can still carry you to safety quickly."

After thinking for a moment, Tang Jing nodded and then climbed onto Tang Chao's back.

Having secured Tang Jing, Tang Chao leapt into the air and into the maple woods.

At that moment, the wind suddenly picked up.

Two dark figures descended from the sky...

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