The night was black as ink. Sparse starlight spilled over the dense woods at the foot of Sky Dome Mountain. A breeze stirred the swaying shadows of the trees, as though countless phantoms were stirring in the darkness.
Draped in a dark cloak, Yun Ying silently crossed the town's flagstone streets and ventured deep into a rarely visited stretch of woods.
Her steps were light as a cat's, but she could not hide the unease in her heart.
Several owl cries sounded in the distance. Yun Ying looked toward an old locust tree in the woods, her pupils abruptly contracting as her body stiffened.
The tree's gnarled bark suddenly twisted, eerily revealing a Black-Clothed Man.
The Black-Clothed Man was short and gaunt, almost blending into the night. Only his faintly gleaming eyes betrayed a trace of icy menace.
With his back to Yun Ying, he spoke in a voice as rough as scraping sandpaper. "Any news?"
Yun Ying's legs gave way, and she dropped to her knees with a thud, pressing her forehead to the ground. Her respectful voice carried a tremor. "Master... there's no definite news yet, but... I'll find a way..."
Before she could finish, the Black-Clothed Man flashed before her like a phantom, his skeletal hand clamping around her fair throat like iron pincers.
Yun Ying dared not resist in the slightest. Her breathing grew rapid, and her face flushed red from lack of air.
"My patience has limits..." The Black-Clothed Man's voice was icy. "I'll give you one more year at most. If you still can't uncover anything, I'll make you wish you were dead..."
His fingers tightened slightly. Yun Ying felt herself suffocating, and images of the organization's spine-chilling tortures surfaced in her mind. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"I understand..." Yun Ying forced