Volume Fourteen: "Dawn Sword Qi Ushers in Spring" - A Beauty Hidden in a Thatched Cottage, Gathering Autumn Waters and Spring Clouds

When Xing Yan abducted Yinghuo and fled by water, darkness was already approaching. Once the red sun in the western sky finally sank beneath the sea, an immense black curtain shrouded the boundless ocean. The water above Xing Yan's head still retained the warmth of the day, but to the youth swimming beneath the surface shallows, the sea around him felt cold enough to pierce his bones.

Night had fallen over the limitless sea, and the salty, bitter water was pitch-black, as terrifying as the netherworld. Yet on this flight, the darkness that swallowed everything felt strangely comforting to Xing Yan. As he sped through the water, he occasionally turned to look beside him and saw Qiong Rong following closely, her expression solemn. The determination on her gentle face brought a sudden warmth to the heart of the youth, whose breast had been filled with grief, indignation, and murderous resolve. Before he knew it, his throat had begun to tighten.

His emotions stirring, Xing Yan instinctively drew his arm inward, securing the demon maiden lying across his side more firmly.

They raced through the icy, black seawater until the water overhead gradually brightened, and only then did the two fleeing abductors begin to approach their destination. The place Xing Yan had chosen for concealment was an immense marsh in the wilderness near the southwestern coast-Reed Marsh. From Lingyi and Xueyi's capture by the Devil Race to his decisive abduction of their palace mistress that evening, only twelve or fourteen hours had passed. Yet in that brief half-day, Xing Yan had already planned every advance and retreat. He had learned the geography of Reed Marsh during an idle conversation a few days earlier with the two wild gods of mountain and marsh, Red Tiger and Azure Xi.

Ever since deciding to