Evan Yang stood before the Demon Sect Cavern, his heart pounding. The place was notorious for its danger, but he had to go in.
He glanced at the guards—there were three, but none seemed alert. Still, Evan Yang kept his movements cautious.
Joel Qiao, the Demon Sect's strategist, was patrolling nearby, his divine sense sweeping the surroundings.
Evan Yang waited for Joel Qiao to pass, then slipped closer to the cavern entrance.
Suddenly, a faint sound came from behind a rock. Evan Yang tensed, ready for anything.
A figure emerged—Chad Jiang, a thin man with a haunted look. He motioned for Evan Yang to follow.
Evan Yang hesitated, but Chad Jiang whispered, "Trust me, there's a tunnel here. It's safe."
Joel Qiao was still nearby, so Evan Yang quickly followed Chad Jiang behind the rock.
Chad Jiang pushed aside a stone, revealing a hidden entrance. "This way," he urged.
Evan Yang slipped inside, feeling the cool air of the tunnel. Chad Jiang followed, closing the entrance behind them.
"Yeah, the few of us spent years digging these tunnels. No one else knows about them," Chad Jiang said earnestly.
"What about your friends?" Evan Yang had been hearing him say 'we' over and over, but hadn't seen anyone else.
The man sighed, "They died on the battlefield. I'm the only one left."
Hearing this, Evan Yang understood, then entered the tunnel with him. Afterwards, Evan put the rock back exactly as it was.
Once inside the underground tunnels, Evan Yang saw there were many paths, as if they'd been dug out after much trial and error.
"Senior, this path leads straight to the Demon Sect Cavern." At a certain spot, Chad Jiang stopped and explained to Evan Yang.
Evan Yang nodded and smiled at him. "What's your name?"
"My name's Chad Jiang," the man replied after Evan Yang asked.
"Once you get out, live well." Evan Yang said with a smile after learning his name.
Chad Jiang nodded. These years, the worst part was being dragged into Demon Sect without even knowing how. Now that he was free, he felt light as a feather. The person he was most grateful to was the man before him, so he asked curiously, "How should I address you, senior? If we ever meet again, I’ll be sure to treat you well."
"Me? People outside call me Evan Yang." Evan Yang smiled.
"Evan Yang?" Chad Jiang was shocked—of course he knew who Evan Yang was: the youngest Spirit-Wandering expert recognized across the continent, the sworn enemy of the Blue Clan, and Demon Sect's target.
"Alright, there's not much time—hurry and leave, or you'll be discovered by Demon Sect." Evan Yang knew the other recognized his name, so he didn't react much, but reminded him anyway.
Chad Jiang took a while to recover, then nodded, glanced at Evan Yang, and finally left.
Evan Yang headed off in another direction.
"He never imagined that was Evan Yang—too bad he never saw his real face," Chad Jiang said excitedly as he walked along the path.
Meanwhile, Evan Yang had already reached the end of the path—above was the Demon Sect Cavern. He carefully opened a small hole at the tunnel's end.
The people in the Demon Sect Cavern had no idea there was a tunnel nearby—and that Evan Yang was in it.
At that moment, Evan Yang suppressed all aura, becoming like a dead object below—no one could sense him unless he revealed himself. Only then could the Spirit-Wandering expert above see who he was.
Outside, Joel Qiao had no idea Evan Yang was already inside—he kept patrolling with his divine sense outside the Demon Sect Cavern, making sure no one got close.
Everything was so calm. Evan Yang released his divine sense to check outside and found that just a dozen steps away was Winter, and a few feet beyond her were the others.
"Three guardians—not a threat. But that Man-Eater must be dealt with." Evan Yang was already planning how to handle them.
Now that Evan Yang was inside the Demon Sect Cavern, he felt even more confident—at least, those outside would only notice what was happening inside once the fighting started.
The people inside had no idea someone was watching them—and not just anyone, but someone fierce. By the time they realized, three had already fallen.
With a bang, Evan Yang leapt forward, four daggers flying at the four people. Man-Eater reacted first; the other three realized too late—their heads and bodies parted ways. Even Man-Eater, though, lost an arm as a dagger grazed him.
"Ah!" Man-Eater was stunned—he hadn't expected anyone to appear from underground.
Winter also reacted, staring in shock at the stranger before her.
Evan Yang attacked Man-Eater again.
Man-Eater was terrified—he knew his opponent was strong, far beyond what he could handle. Seriously wounded, he tried to run, shouting for help.
"That sound?" Joel Qiao heard the cry—it was a call for help. The Cult Master, who had been in a meeting, also noticed and rushed out.
Joel Qiao quickly locked his divine sense onto the cavern.
He saw someone rescuing Winter.
"Don't be scared, it's me." Evan Yang dropped his disguise, looking at Winter whom he hadn't seen in so long.
Winter, curious at first, was shocked to see Evan Yang, and quickly said, "Hurry, go! It's dangerous here."
"It's fine. No matter how dangerous, I'm taking you out of here." Evan Yang swung his dagger and furiously attacked the chains.
Clang! The chains binding Winter were destroyed by Evan Yang. Winter looked at him with worry and said, "If you don't leave now, it'll be too late."
"Don't worry. They've found us, but they won't catch us now." Evan Yang smiled, and Blaze the Firebird appeared at his side.
He scooped up Winter and leapt onto Blaze's back.
Just as Blaze took off, Joel Qiao arrived, glaring angrily at the departing Evan Yang. "Damn it!"
The Cult Master appeared next. He saw three corpses on the ground and the badly shaken, bloodied Man-Eater clutching his injured arm.
"What happened?" Joel Qiao stared at Man-Eater and asked.
"I don't know. He suddenly appeared, then sent four daggers flying. Those three didn't even have time to react, and I almost got hit too." Man-Eater still couldn't shake off the terror of that deadly attack.
Seeing Man-Eater's expression and the scene, Joel Qiao snorted, "Why is there a hole here?"
The Cult Master hurried over, and was shocked to find a hole. "When did this get here?"
"Damn it. Looks like we had an insider!" Joel Qiao concluded. Otherwise, no one would dig a tunnel without being noticed.
Digging a tunnel is hard work. No matter how careful you are, someone should notice. Yet this tunnel was clearly dug long ago.
"I'll investigate right away." The Cult Master hadn't expected this. That there would be such a tunnel inside his own Demon Sect.
When Demon Sect members checked the cave, they were stunned—the tunnel network connected to many places outside.
The Cult Master was furious, cursing his subordinates for their management—how could there be so many tunnels?
Joel Qiao was livid. After all the trouble to lure Evan Yang here, he had just rescued Winter and escaped.
Not just Demon Sect—the Blue Clan's spies were also shocked when they heard what happened, and immediately launched a new round of encirclement against Evan Yang.
Demon Sect also started a new hunt for Evan Yang.
"Luckily, I kept Western Poison Hag and Winter in separate cells." Joel Qiao calmed down after a while and said.
"What's the connection between Western Poison Hag and Winter?" The Cult Master asked, puzzled.
"I don't know, but anyone willing to risk so much must have a close relationship. So this time, we'll use her—but let's wait until we've cleaned out Demon Sect's traitors first." Having suffered a setback, Joel Qiao was extra cautious, afraid of another internal disaster.
The Cult Master knew this was their last chance. If they missed it, Evan Yang would be even harder to catch. He agreed with Joel Qiao's plan and began clearing out tunnels and suspicious areas in Demon Sect.
Evan Yang hadn't expected that rescuing one person would throw Demon Sect into chaos—everyone was interrogated, and many suffered for it.
But Evan Yang had no time to worry about them. Instead, he was catching up with Winter.
"I miss my mother so much." Winter lay in Evan Yang's arms, filled with grief.
"Don't worry. They won't harm her so easily, and they'll try to capture me again." Evan Yang remembered Joel Qiao's words, so he wasn't rushing back to his death.
"My mother came to save me that day, but was wounded by that strange man before she could escape. She's been missing ever since," Winter said anxiously.
"She's in Demon Sect's hands, and they're planning to use her to force me to surrender," Evan Yang explained to Winter.
Winter didn't know what to say. She realized rescuing her mother would be extremely difficult, especially after this incident—Demon Sect would be even harder to infiltrate, and she worried Evan Yang would be in danger if he tried.
Seeing Winter's worried eyes, Evan Yang smiled. "Don't worry. I will make them pay, and your mother will return to you safely."
"Really?" Winter asked, her eyes full of sorrow.
"Yes. No matter what, she'll come back to you. Besides, she's my family now too, isn't she?" Evan Yang comforted her.
Evan Yang's words deeply moved Winter. She was no longer the naive girl she once was; after all she'd been through, she'd seen the true nature of people—most were selfish or discarded others when no longer useful.
Only those closest would risk their lives to save her. As for Evan Yang, his place in Winter's heart rose even higher.
Evan Yang had no idea Winter was no longer so innocent. She was beginning to have her own thoughts and her own world.
(End of chapter)