The fire in the abandoned waystation was almost out.
Black Lock sat beside the window, the two sheets of paper still lying on the table. One had come from Spirit City, ordering them to go into hiding on their own, neither returning nor entering any Branch Hall; the other was a wanted notice from Tiangou, promising to spare their lives if they voluntarily disclosed the full story of the Soul Hunting Operation.
The wound in Giant Rhino's chest was worsening, and their medicine was almost gone. He leaned against the wall in silence for a long time before finally speaking. "If we keep dragging this out, I'll die before Tiangou's people even find us."
Black Lock did not look up. "You really want to surrender to them?"
"I want to live."
Giant Rhino stared at him. "Didn't you just ask whether Spirit Hall still acknowledged us?"
Black Lock finally raised his eyes.
"Surrendering to them is hardly any different from walking to our deaths. But we at least need to know which side wants us alive more."
Early the next morning, an ordinary mercenary entered the southern military headquarters and handed a tightly folded slip of paper to the soldier guarding the entrance.
There was no name on the paper, only an address, a meeting time, and an utterly inconspicuous code name.
[Green Seven]
A single sentence followed it.
[Midnight tonight, East Ridge Old Manor. If you want to know how many Soul Hunting operatives have yet to withdraw, go there.]
The message was delivered to Heaven Dou City as quickly as possible.
After reading it, Qian Renxue did not immediately issue an order. She merely handed the paper to Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan's gaze first fell on the code name. The codebook seized from the