Besieged, the Forbidden Character Talisman, and the Last Chance to Intervene Personally

[Northern Liang City]

[Passing through the city gate posed no trouble!]

[Mercury's scouts had already reported to you that Ye Mu was at Marquis Changping's Estate in the city.]

[Your identities had long been prepared. A guard's gaze swept over you with a hint of scrutiny; your face seemed familiar to him, but he let you pass in the end.]

[People came and went through the city, and trade flourished.]

[Northern Liang City bustled with voices and merchants, alive with the sights and smells of everyday life.]

[It was worthy of a great city that dominated an entire province.]

[The three of you rode to Marquis Changping's Estate. Its gates were shut tight, without a single guard outside.]

[Even with your cultivation, you could sense no movement within. The estate seemed empty, without a trace of life.]

[Ji Qinxin's cultivation was still shallow. Gazing at the dark-red gates, she felt that the vast estate was far too quiet.]

[Just then, a clear eagle cry pierced the sky. Young Phoenix the Gyrfalcon swept down and landed steadily on your shoulder.]

[A rolled slip of paper was gripped tightly in its sharp talons.]

[You slowly unrolled the note. Its writing was clear: "Ye Mu summoned his household troops before dawn today and quietly headed north."]

[Your eyes passed over the note, your expression unchanged.]

[Lu Yu asked coldly, "He fled north?"]

[Lu Yu held a peculiar place in the Lu Family Army. Everyone was a little afraid of him. He rarely spoke to anyone and had always done as he pleased.]

[Before a battle, he had to discuss tactics and deployments with others. He had always found it troublesome, and once Lu Chen arrived, he simply stopped involving himself.]

[All he did was take the field and kill the enemy!]

[Apart from