Chen Yao's fingers were still pressed to her brow when the drumbeats in her mind grew clearer and clearer, as though they were sounding from the depths beneath the earth. Chen Wuya stepped in front of her and pressed his palm to her forehead. Golden light flashed as Misaligned Force surged backward through her bloodlines. She gave a violent shudder, the haze in her eyes dispersing as her breathing steadied.
"It wasn't a dream," Chen Wuya said heavily. "They're knocking on the door."
Before his words had faded, the north wind suddenly howled. A dense, moss-green mist rolled in along the foot of the mountain. Wherever it passed, grass and trees withered, and the soil gave off a fishy stench. Several refugees keeping watch had only just raised their heads when their gazes froze. Black froth seeped from the corners of their mouths, and they raised the stones in their hands high, pointing them straight at the doors of their own homes.
Bai Zhi's sword had yet to leave its sheath, but she had already swept to the southeast corner. The sapphire on her sword tassel glimmered faintly as an invisible barrier silently spread open. Mo Feng lunged for the mechanism array's core, his fingers rapidly working the copper bolts. "There isn't enough pressure in the water channel—we need to increase it!"
"Xuan'er!" Chen Wuya barked.
Chen Xuan immediately snatched up a clay jar by his feet and hurled it into the air. The jar burst apart, and the antidote pills turned to powder. Drawn by Misaligned Force, they swiftly spread into a translucent curtain of light, like a lake suspended upside down, covering the entire courtyard. Almost at the same time, Chen Yao pulled the iron chain in the corner of the wall. The underground water channel opened with