Yi Chen's ears twitched slightly. He seemed to hear someone approaching the courtyard. He sprang up and darted into a secluded grove nearby.
A dozen seconds later, a patrol arrived near the courtyard. The officer leading them asked in a low voice, "Who's there?"
"Reporting, sir! No sign of anything!"
"Continue the patrol. No one is allowed near this place."
Yi Chen hid in the thick undergrowth. Only after he heard the soldiers hurry away did he breathe a sigh of relief. He touched the Jade Talisman inside his robe and said, still shaken, "Good thing I had a way to defend myself... otherwise, I'd really have been done for this time. Isn't this dark art a little too vicious?"
Using his psychic power, he pressed several Jade Talismans against different parts of his body. A thin, transparent shield enveloped him. Yi Chen sat cross-legged and silently regulated his breathing, restoring the vital energy he had expended.
Although he had suffered quite a few minor injuries, they were only wounds of the flesh to Yi Chen. A few days of rest would see him fully healed.
The sky gradually darkened. Night fell, and the lights throughout the city slowly went out. The gates on all four sides closed, and every shop in the four districts shut its doors. Only the occasional inn still showed a sliver of light through its entrance.
Darkness shrouded the great city. An invisible force bound everyone, making their movements considerably more sluggish.
Merchants, travelers, and ordinary residents began heading home one after another, and the streets grew increasingly deserted. Suddenly, a cold glint shot toward him from afar. A razor-sharp dagger cut through the wind, stabbing viciously toward Yi Chen's throat.
Yi Chen opened his eyes and leaned backward. The dagger skimmed past his Adam's