The faint click of a door opening pierced through the wind. The instant it reached his ears clearly, Xue Mingqing's motionless figure paused slightly.
A trace of surprise and speechlessness flashed through his clear, profound gray-gold peach blossom eyes.
He had stood at the edge of the rooftop moments ago, agonizing over every possibility, racking his brains for a foolproof way to infiltrate the hotel without alerting anyone. He had even been hindered by mundane access restrictions, left utterly helpless.
Yet in the end, he had completely overlooked the simplest, most straightforward path.
The rooftop terrace atop the Starcrown Grand Hotel, sealed off from outsiders, clearly had a stairwell exit connecting it to the interior.
All it took was a single door to pass between inside and outside.
At that thought, a faint flush rose imperceptibly to Xue Mingqing's refined, handsome face, and a touch of embarrassment and shame quietly passed through his heart.
He had always been one to plan for every possibility, exceptionally intelligent and skilled at strategy. Yet today, such a simple oversight had tangled his thoughts. It was truly absurd, almost Xiao.
"Tsk... how embarrassing..."
The two quiet words scattered into the night with the wind, the young man's soft self-mockery.
Coming back to himself, Xue Mingqing swiftly suppressed his embarrassment and lightly stepped back several paces.
The black wings of his External Soul Bone, which had been folded behind his back, suddenly spread wide. Dense, profound darkness surged forth in an instant, and layer upon layer of shadow enveloped him, completely swallowing and concealing his tall, slender body.
The black wings naturally devoured starlight and blocked out lamplight, blending perfectly into the deep night.
In but an instant, he became a traceless shadow in a corner of the rooftop. His aura was entirely restrained, his