Defeated Hade?

Lin Yun could feel the chill in Jiu Jia Yi, cold to the bone. With every step into the dark passage, she felt as though she were drawing closer to his past.

They passed through the backstage corridor. The theater's interior glowed a dim blue. The seats were empty, and the curtain hung over the stage, black as ink, as though a thousand eyes were hidden behind it, silently watching them. A strange vibration moved through the air, almost too low to detect, like a string pulled taut by some invisible force.

"Shh." Jiu Jia Yi suddenly held out an arm to stop Lin Yun. He crept toward the curtain at the left side of the stage and pressed his ear to the wall.

Faint whispers came from backstage.

"...The Seventh Gate has opened. The bloodline pact is sealed."

"Tonight... will be the end before the dawn."

"We shall guide the Emissary from Beneath the Sea... to this place."

The voices were low and raspy. They seemed to come not from one person, but from several overlapping at different pitches. They were chanting—perhaps praying, perhaps casting a spell.

Lin Yun's face went pale. Cold sweat seeped down her back, and an inexplicable pressure rose from her feet to her throat. She looked at Jiu Jia Yi and saw a dangerous glint flash in his eyes.

"The priests are inside," he whispered. "They haven't begun the main ritual yet. We still have a chance."

"What are you going to do?" Lin Yun's voice was barely audible.

"Find the 'key.'" Jiu Jia Yi's gaze sharpened. "The heart of the ritual isn't blood. It's an object. Before every sacrifice, they use a special artifact—the Spirit-Guiding Lock—to begin the ritual. That's why I came aboard this ship."

"I thought you were investigating the Night Raven Society?" Lin Yun froze.

Jiu Jia Yi smiled faintly, but there was no humor in his eyes. "That was just something I did along the way."

He drew a black Short Blade from his waist. Intricate runes were carved into it, and a faint, cold light gleamed along its edge. He used the tip to lift a corner of the curtain, revealing the scene backstage.

An ancient altar stood at the center of the backstage area. Six people in dark robes surrounded it, their faces hidden beneath hoods. Each held a bone staff wrapped in red thread. The whispers came from their mouths, merging like tides into a hypnotic rhythm.

A Bronze Lamp burned quietly atop the altar, its flame a strange deep blue, like light from the depths of the sea. At the altar's center, a twisted metal lock floated in midair. Fine black threads wound around it and spread across the entire backstage area like a spiderweb.

"That's the Spirit-Guiding Lock," Jiu Jia Yi whispered.

Lin Yun held her breath and instinctively shrank behind him. The lock looked alive, as though it might lunge at anything that came near.

"You want to steal it?" Lin Yun asked, her voice tight.

"No," Jiu Jia Yi said evenly. "I'm going to destroy it."

His eyes swept over the stage like a hawk's. A corner of the wall, a hanging steel cable, the vent on the right, and the unlit stage torches... He sketched a layout in his mind.

"Can you go back to the rear door and pull the breaker in the corridor? Then hide in the spare dressing room and wait for my signal." He spoke to Lin Yun without looking back.

Lin Yun bit her lip and clenched her fists. Her voice trembled slightly. "Can you handle them... alone?"

Jiu Jia Yi turned his head and glanced at her, his expression so calm it was almost cruel. "I've died once. I'm not afraid to do it again."