By the time they left Holy Soul Village, it was already late at night. Lu Jing and Wang Dong'er did not take the main road. Using the moonlight, they moved through forest paths, their figures like two wisps of smoke as they silently slipped back into Nuoding City.
Nuoding City's gates had long since closed. The soldiers guarding them hugged their spears as they dozed, torchlight swaying in the night breeze.
Lu Jing and Wang Dong'er scaled the wall and slipped inside, not even disturbing a single fallen leaf when they landed.
"Where are we going now?" Wang Dong'er asked in a lowered voice, her pink-blue eyes especially bright in the darkness.
The soul bone in her arms radiated a gentle warmth, leaving her with a lingering sense that none of this was real.
"To Nuoding Academy," Lu Jing answered.
"Nuoding Academy? What are we going there for?" Wang Dong'er asked in confusion.
"You'll find out when we get there!"
Nuoding Academy stood at the northeastern corner of the city. Its lights had long been extinguished, with only a few patrol lanterns swaying within the compound walls.
The two avoided the patrolling guards, scaling the wall like agile cats before darting through the shadows cast by the school buildings.
Lu Jing's Spiritual Power had long since locked onto his target—the student dormitories on the academy's eastern side.
He remembered clearly that Tang San and Xiao Wu lived in the small room at the very end.
Once they reached the dormitory window, Lu Jing signaled for Wang Dong'er to stand watch outside. Holding his breath, he gently pushed open the half-closed window.
The room was pitch-black. He could only vaguely make out two crude wooden beds. On one of them, a petite figure lay curled up asleep, her long scorpion braid