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Night had fallen.

Inside a dark room within the Tenth-Floor City—

"Huff… huff…"

Alina panted softly, her breath uneven.

Clutching at her pink ponytail in frustration, she muttered, "That ghost's ability… it must be tracking, right? We barely escaped, and it still found us not long after."

Liyue exhaled deeply, steadying her breathing.

After running all over the Tenth-Floor City, even her usually calm voice trembled with fatigue.

"It seems so," she murmured. "The bait traps we set up were seen through almost immediately."

After sneaking into the city yesterday, they'd scattered countless traps and decoys to confuse the ghost. Yet, after barely half a day of rest, the ghost had found them again.

They'd spent the entire day setting up new traps—even luring it toward the hills outside the Tenth-Floor City. Then they had to run, circle back, and weave false trails again and again.

"Damn it! At this rate, I'm going to run out of hair to cut!"

Alina groaned, tugging at her locks in despair.

They'd been using strands of their hair as bait—and every time they made a decoy, another handful vanished.

"Your hair's still plenty long." Liyue smiled faintly. She rolled up her sleeves and took out a small lantern beetle, carefully removing the black cloth covering its tail.

A soft yellow light glowed, filling the dim room.

"So handy…" Alina whispered, her pink eyes shimmering with admiration. "It gives light without fire… and it doesn't expose us at night."

Every time she saw that little creature, she couldn't help feeling a twinge of envy.

"You'll have your chance someday."

Liyue's eyes softened. She recalled the commotion earlier—the great tortoise outside the city gate.

If they could just lose that ghost once and for all, she could take Alina to meet Luciel.

She didn't want to drag him into this. The force behind those ghosts… was far too dangerous. If they found out she'd taken shelter in Black Tortoise City, it would draw the gaze of Shengyang City—and next time, it wouldn't be a mere fifth-tier ghost that came.

"You've been saying that for days," Alina huffed, pouting. "And now it's the second night. Who are you even talking about at this point?"

"Our situation's not great for looking right now," Liyue said helplessly.

"I still think we should join up with Yu Fei'er. If the three of us team up, we might just be able to kill that ghost."

Alina's tone was defiant—she hated running.

After days of fleeing, she'd finally gotten tired of it all.

"A fifth-tier ghost?" Liyue's silver eyes narrowed. "You really think just the three of us can handle that?"

"Well…" Alina hesitated, then admitted, "Maybe not."

Even with her enhanced strength, she couldn't pierce a ghost's defense. Not before… and definitely not now.

"Ugh! If only we had real spirit weapons," Alina grumbled, clenching her fists. "We'd crush that monster."

"Spirit weapons, huh…" Liyue brushed her fingers across her bracer, then sighed.

Her bow was a spirit weapon—but her arrows weren't. Ordinary shafts couldn't break through the ghost's body at all.

"Come on, get up. We still need to leave a mark for Yu Fei'er," Alina said suddenly.

Her pink hair bounced as she stood. "If she arrives here, she'll definitely draw that ghost's attention!"

"Oh no…" Liyue's face stiffened. "That ghost knows Yu Fei'er too."

If they didn't show up soon, Luciel might come searching for them—with Yu Fei'er by his side.

And if Yu Fei'er appeared within the city, the ghost would surely notice her aura.

"Then let's move—let's find Yu Fei'er before that happens!" Alina urged impatiently.

"Never thought I'd end up troubling him again…" Liyue sighed, her voice filled with mixed feelings.

She wanted to burn that ghost to ashes—completely erase it.

If they could destroy it fully, there'd be no trail left for anything else to follow.

"What now? You spacing out again?" Alina crossed her arms and glared. "If you've got a helper, bring them out already! If that ghost links up with another one, we're done for."

"There is… a helper," Liyue said quietly.

"Who?"

A beat passed—then Alina's eyes widened in realization.

"Wait… you mean him? The one you like?"

Liyue lifted her chin slightly. "He's strong. Very strong."

"How strong?" Alina frowned. "If he can't stop that ghost from escaping, he'll be in danger too."

"Tier six," Liyue said softly, her tone brimming with subtle pride.

"Tier six?! Then why are we still running?" Alina groaned.

She started toward the door, muttering under her breath, "Women in love really are trouble…"

Halfway out, she stopped again and looked back curiously.

"So how are you going to contact him? Through Yu Fei'er? Or are we leaving marks for them to follow?"

"I know where they are," Liyue said with a sly little smile.

"You… what—?" Alina groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"Liyue, how much have you not told me?"

"Not… much," Liyue said meekly, taking a cautious step back as Alina's fist twitched.

She knew too well—one punch from that pink-haired girl could leave her lying flat for days.

"Lead the way," Alina sighed, hands on hips. "I give up."

She shook her head with a weary smile. "Honestly, I was right—women in love really do become troublesome."

"Oh." Liyue tucked away the lantern beetle and stepped outside.

The two slipped quietly into the streets, heading toward the city gate.

"Where are we even going?" Alina asked, pulling up her scarf and glancing at the crowd.

People were streaming toward the gate in droves—everyone eager to see the massive beast outside, even at night.

"To the gate," Liyue murmured.

"The gate?!" Alina blinked. "We're heading there too?"

"Mm. Yu Fei'er and the others are outside," Liyue said, her pace quickening.

She wanted to see them again—to see him. And she wanted to sleep in her own room in Black Tortoise City tonight.

"Wait—hey! Slow down!" Alina called, half jogging after her.

Outside the Tenth-Floor City, a large animal-hide tent had been erected—arranged personally by Waldo.

They'd refused to let the visitors enter the city, so this was the next best thing. Anything else would've seemed impolite.

"There's so many people…" Alina whispered, standing on tiptoe to see past the crowd—only to grumble, "Ugh, everyone's so tall!"

"Come on, this way." Liyue grabbed her arm and pulled her aside.

They slipped out of the crowd, circling toward the wilderness in a wide arc—hoping to sneak closer to the Black Tortoise unnoticed.

"Wait, look!" Alina stopped suddenly.

"Someone's coming down from the beast!"

A stone platform was descending from the sky—from the back of that ancient creature.

The torchlight was too dim for her to see clearly, but the silhouettes were moving toward the animal-hide tent.

"Hold on. Don't move yet," Liyue said softly.

Her silver eyes caught sight of him.

Luciel.

He was walking toward the tent—calm, steady, composed.

Going now would only cause confusion, she thought. Better to wait—just a little longer.

"Eh? Why?" Alina asked, a little disappointed.

She followed Liyue's gaze, then frowned. Was her normally cold companion actually interested in someone over there?

But wasn't finding Yu Fei'er supposed to be more important?

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