Yun'er Is Captured

Both plans unfolded at the same time. He Ya represented the entire He Family, so he had abundant resources and manpower. Before long, the small warehouse in the suburbs had been turned into a trap, with no sign of it visible from the outside.

On the other side, Huo Yan and the others began making their own moves. Huo Yan did not show himself personally, nor did any other members of the Huo Family. They feared that showing themselves would trigger something undesirable.

Over the past few days, the Lineage's surveillance of them had grown increasingly strict. Yesterday, only after expending tremendous effort had a few of them managed to sneak out and contact He Ya with Huo Yan. Now, to ensure the plan proceeded smoothly, none of them would personally take action. On the surface, those carrying it out were merely hired mercenaries.

At noon the next day, Huo Yuner indeed snuck out of the Lineage once more. She had been doing this frequently these past few days, and after enough time had passed without anything happening, the higher-ups of the Lineage temporarily had no time to deal with her.

They did not believe anyone would dare lay a hand on Huo Yuner. With the Huo Family's current strength, none of the other families dared act rashly. Huo Yuner came to the streets with only her personal maidservant.

"Miss, Miss, slow down. Isn't this a little inappropriate? We keep sneaking out to play behind the family head's back. Won't he scold us when we return?" As a maidservant, Xiao Cui could not help worrying about this. Huo Yuner might be fine, but if she failed to watch over her mistress and something happened, she would have to bear the blame herself.

A few days ago, because Huo Yuner had secretly slipped out, servants like them had received no small amount of lecturing from Huo Kai. If Huo Yuner had not spoken up for them, they did not know where they would be doing menial labor now.

Huo Yuner looked completely unconcerned. "Xiao Cui, what are you afraid of? It isn't as if we've never been discovered before. At most, he'll say a few words to me. It's nothing at all." Huo Yuner did not care about such things in the slightest, and the helplessness on Xiao Cui's face deepened.

There was nothing she could do but follow Huo Yuner. As her personal maidservant, she had no choice. Huo Yuner was the eldest young lady, so naturally she would not receive any real punishment. She was about to enter Imperial City Academy, so the Lineage would be even less likely to do anything to her. But servants like Xiao Cui were different. Young ladies and young masters were not the same—if it had been a young master, he would not have been so willful.

Just then, Huo Yuner suddenly stopped at a stall. There was only a box on the stall, and inside the box was a butterfly. The butterfly was exceptionally beautiful, and it was still alive. At once, it captured Huo Yuner's gaze.

"Wow, an Illusion Butterfly! I never thought I would see such a rare species here." The Illusion Butterfly was a famously renowned kind of butterfly. It possessed the spiritual power of a Spirit Body Realm spirit beast, yet did not have the slightest attacking ability.

The Illusion Butterfly's sole ability was to release spiritual power and create illusions. But insect-type spirit beasts were not especially strong mentally, so at most they could create some special scenery for people to enjoy. Even ordinary people were not afraid of Illusion Butterflies. On the contrary, because of their beautiful and elegant appearance, they would be captured whenever discovered.

Thus, Illusion Butterflies were said to have once been extremely numerous, but now they were rarely seen. This was the first Illusion Butterfly Huo Yuner had ever encountered. At first glance, she found it extraordinarily beautiful.

The numerous phantoms around it had been unconsciously created by the Illusion Butterfly's released spiritual power. Most were related to flowers, and they were breathtakingly beautiful. It was not only Huo Yuner; many young women had gathered nearby as well. The Illusion Butterfly's destructive power over girls was simply that immense. If they waited a little longer, perhaps even more people would be drawn over.

"Such a beautiful Illusion Butterfly! Stall owner, how much is this Illusion Butterfly?" At this moment, the first young woman unable to hold herself back spoke up to ask. No matter who it was, they all wished they could own such a beautiful butterfly.

The stall owner replied blandly, "One hundred Spirit Stones. Fixed price." With that single sentence, he blocked everyone else. One hundred Spirit Stones was nothing to great families, but it was beyond the reach of ordinary people like them.

Everyone revealed disappointed expressions and looked pleadingly at the stall owner. "Please show some mercy and lower the price. We truly can't afford one hundred Spirit Stones. How about one Spirit Stone? Or two?" They surrounded the stall owner and continuously begged, but he turned a blind eye. In any other place, let alone one hundred Spirit Stones, people would pay a thousand.

Just then, Huo Yuner suddenly said, "One hundred Spirit Stones? I'll buy it. Here." As she spoke, Huo Yuner casually took out a note marked with a value of exactly one hundred Spirit Stones.

These notes had been specially made through unique methods, intended to prevent the inconvenience of carrying large quantities of Spirit Stones around. To Huo Yuner, a mere hundred Spirit Stones truly amounted to nothing. After paying, Huo Yuner picked up the box and prepared to leave.

The others watched Huo Yuner with faces full of envy, all thinking to themselves that they wished they were the ones holding that box. Unfortunately, the Illusion Butterfly they had finally gotten to see had been bought away just like that. Yet at that moment, after taking the note, the stall owner suddenly called out, "Miss, please wait. I have a few words to tell you."

Huo Yuner stopped with a puzzled expression, wanting to hear what he had to say. The man beckoned, leading her to a place with no one around, then whispered, "Miss, you are so generous. I wonder if you like insects—particularly special and rare ones?"

At those words, Huo Yuner's eyes lit up. "Is the insect pretty? Is it truly rare?" Having spent this period of time with Huo Hai, Huo Yuner had become less and less repulsed by insects. She had even begun to like beautiful insects somewhat.

The man sneered inwardly. Hmph, the information was indeed correct. These brother and sister both have an unusually strong fondness for insects. But his mouth did not slow in the slightest. "Of course, of course. If it weren't rare and beautiful, I wouldn't bring it out to sell. I only told you because you are such a generous customer, Miss. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't bother."

That sounded perfectly reasonable. Huo Yuner nodded and asked, "Do you have the insect on you? Take it out and let me see. If it's pretty, I'll buy it. Spirit Stones aren't a problem." To Huo Yuner, a few Spirit Stones truly meant nothing.

The man in black lowered his voice. "The item isn't on me. There are too many people here; it isn't safe. Please come with me, Miss. We can trade somewhere else. Rest assured, with your status, someone like me wouldn't dare do anything to you."

The vigilance in Huo Yuner's eyes faded considerably, and she followed the man in black forward. Behind her, Xiao Cui anxiously grabbed Huo Yuner's clothes and whispered, "Miss, let's go back. Isn't it just an insect? What if something happens to you?" Xiao Cui began cursing her young master inwardly. How had he taught the young lady to become like this?

Xiao Cui knew that Miss Yun'er had once been terribly afraid of insects—she had been afraid of every kind. Ever since Young Master Huo Hai began raising many insects, the young lady had stopped being so afraid and had even started to like them somewhat. Sometimes, she would even catch them herself.

She often caught a type of little insect with a beautiful chirp, then raised them in the grass cage Huo Hai had given her. It could be said that Huo Hai's courtyard housed countless insects, while Huo Yuner's courtyard now kept quite a few small insects as well.

"It's fine, it's fine. We're only going to buy something; it'll be alright... Huh, why is my head so dizzy? Xiao Cui, why did you fall down?" Huo Yuner felt a wave of dizziness. Turning around, she discovered that Xiao Cui had actually fainted. Then darkness fell before her eyes, and she too quickly lost consciousness. The man in black turned around, still holding a smoking bamboo tube in his hand.

"Hmph, the plan succeeded. Hurry up, don't waste time. Are things ready on your side? We need to deliver the news." As soon as the man in black spoke, several others dressed in black immediately emerged nearby.

The leader whispered, "Don't worry, everything is ready. Go deliver the news now. Hmph, if you're discovered, you'll suffer for it." The people behind him had already taken out ropes and tied up both women. Then they put sacks over them and carried them away. Their movements were extremely deft, without the slightest drag or hesitation. Who knew how many times they had done such a thing?

"Very good. There won't be the slightest problem on our side. I hope you don't make a mistake on yours. Otherwise, hmph, you won't have an easy time either." Putting away the bamboo tube, the man spoke coldly. The sleeping smoke inside that tube was not cheap.

The group met up with remarkable speed and went their separate ways moments later. Before long, a man in black appeared outside Huo Hai's courtyard. Looking around at the Huo Family experts constantly patrolling outside, the man in black waited patiently.

Huo Hai's courtyard was originally close to the street outside, making it easier to approach. There were quite a few patrols here, but it was ultimately a public street, so they did not dare be too conspicuous. There were still gaps between them.

The instant everyone vanished from sight, the man in black knew his chance had come. He swiftly ran to the courtyard wall and casually tossed something over it. Then he turned and ran into the shadows. At the same time, another patrol slowly emerged from nearby. Had the man in black left even a little later, they would have discovered him.

These past few days, Huo Hai's life had been very peaceful—so peaceful that it was almost excessive. To protect Huo Hai, no one was permitted to come within half a step of his courtyard. Even his food was delivered by specially assigned people.

Such days left Huo Hai somewhat bored, but there was nothing he could do. All he wanted now was to reach Imperial City Academy soon, so that he could be a little freer. These days, even little sister Yun'er could not come in. Left with no alternative, Huo Hai could only raise insects and refine Gu. He had already made several jars of Star Gu, though he did not know how many would be born this time.