Phoenix Flame Burns the Sky, Tracking Urgently · Ice Heart Locks the Gate, Protecting the Lord Safely

Night deepened, yet Phoenix Perch Pavilion remained brightly lit.

For the third time, Ma Xiaotao tried to contact that familiar presence through the Dragon Pattern Contract on the back of her hand. Yet all she received was the same deathly silence, as though a stone had sunk into the sea.

Her initial patient waiting had long since been replaced by anxiety. Like a trapped beast, she paced back and forth through the living room. The night outside the window was thick and impenetrable, and it was already far past the time Long Jinyu usually returned.

"Where the hell did that brat run off to...?"

She muttered to herself, her brows tightly furrowed. "The Medical Pavilion—Dean Luo Yun clearly said he'd left a long time ago..."

She forced herself to think positively—perhaps Mu En had summoned him for something urgent? Or perhaps Elder Zhuang had encountered a difficult case and needed his help?

But the panic born from the contract's loss of contact only tightened around her heart like creeping vines.

This was far too abnormal! Given Long Jinyu's personality, no matter what happened, even if the sky came crashing down, he would never leave her without even the slightest response for no reason!

A terrifying thought uncontrollably sprang into her mind—

Evil Soul Masters! It must be those persistent bastards! The brat was captured by them and restrained!

The thought chilled her to the bone. The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became, images of Long Jinyu suffering in the hands of the Holy Spirit Cult surfacing in her mind.

She could not wait any longer!

Blazing Phoenix Flame erupted around her with a boom, dyeing the entire living room crimson. She transformed into a streak of scarlet light and shot out of Phoenix Perch Pavilion, hovering