Chapter 160: The Corroded Lighthouse and a Treacherous Offer

The journey back to the apartment unfolded in an unusual silence within the car.

Su Mian leaned against the passenger seat, her gaze fixed on the city’s nightscape rushing past the window. Her fingertips unconsciously traced the cold watch face on her wrist.

The news of Xiao Moyuan’s solitary venture to the appointment weighed heavily on her heart, a crushing stone. Each beat resonated with a suffocating echo.

“The key…”

She murmured, the word Xiao Moyuan had omitted now flashing repeatedly in her mind. Coupled with previous events, a vague yet terrifying conjecture began to take shape.

Xia’s objective was never simply revenge or expanding his influence.

From the moment he first appeared at N University, he seemed to possess a distinct purpose, and perhaps she was a crucial link in his grand scheme?

‘A ‘feast’… could it be that he intends to use my bloodline for some malevolent ritual?’

She dared not delve deeper into the thought, for fear, like icy vines, began to coil around her heart.

She turned to look at Xiao Moyuan in the driver’s seat. His profile was stark and resolute, his gaze intently fixed on the road ahead. He seemed unperturbed by the mysterious invitation.

“Xiao Moyuan,”

Su Mian finally broke the silence, her voice carrying a subtle tremor, “The key… does it refer to me?”

Xiao Moyuan’s hand, gripping the steering wheel, tightened almost imperceptibly.

He remained silent for a moment, neither denying nor fully confirming. Instead, he spoke in a deep, grave tone:

“It’s merely a conjecture at present. Xia’s intentions are well-hidden, and any unverified deduction could mislead us.

Regardless, your safety is the highest priority. After I leave tomorrow night, Hong Luan will personally lead a team of elites to ensure your protection. You must follow her arrangements; no matter what happens, do not leave her protective perimeter.”

His tone conveyed an unquestionable command.

Su Mian knew she couldn’t change his decision, nor could she risk herself in his stead.

The sense of powerlessness washed over her once more, mingling with worry and a hint of reluctance.

“Then… you must be careful.”

A thousand unspoken words ultimately condensed into this single, pale yet profoundly weighty admonition.

“Mm.”

Xiao Moyuan responded, freeing his right hand to gently clasp her cold one. “Wait for me to return.”

****

That night, the apartment’s atmosphere was heavy and bustling.

Xiao Moyuan secluded himself in his study for nearly three hours, engaging in encrypted communications with Hong Luan and a select few utterly trustworthy core members. He meticulously rehearsed the terrain of the “Corroded Lighthouse,” anticipated various scenarios, emergency protocols, and the evacuation routes for Su Mian and Lu Yang.

Su Mian, meanwhile, was instructed to continue her cultivation, adjusting her state. Yet, her heart remained restless, and her demonic energy, as it circulated, always carried a trace of impatience.

It was late into the night when Xiao Moyuan finally emerged from his study.

Several arcane artifacts and pieces of equipment, which Su Mian couldn’t name but were clearly extraordinary, were neatly secured on tactical straps around his waist and thighs.

His aura was completely restrained, his eyes calm and unwavering, as if he were merely embarking on a routine night patrol. However, the latent sharpness, held in reserve, only intensified Su Mian’s apprehension.

“Everything is arranged.”

Xiao Moyuan approached Su Mian and handed her a thin, black jade-like sliver, no larger than a fingernail. “This is a single-use trigger core for the [Shadow Escape Talisman].

If… and I mean if, Hong Luan’s situation becomes uncontrollable, crush it. It will instantly teleport you randomly to any shadowy area within three kilometers and mask all your presence for ten minutes.

“This is a last resort; never use it unless it’s a matter of life and death, as the teleportation spot is entirely random. You could appear anywhere, including mid-air or inside a wall.”

Su Mian took the cold sliver, clutching it tightly in her palm as if it were a talisman itself.

“I’ll wait for you.”

She looked up at him, striving to make her voice sound resolute.

Xiao Moyuan gazed deeply at her, as if to engrave her image into his heart.

He said nothing more, merely raising a hand to lightly brush his fingertips across her cheek. Then, he turned and, like a shadow merging into the night, silently departed the apartment.

The soft click of the closing door echoed exceptionally clearly in the quiet night.

Su Mian stood rooted to the spot, unmoving for a long time, until Hong Luan entered the apartment, accompanied by two female demon hunters whose presences were as serene as still water. Only then did Su Mian snap back to reality.

“Miss Su, for the next twenty-four hours, please cooperate with our work.”

Hong Luan adjusted her glasses, her tone as professional and calm as ever, as if this were just another routine field assignment.

She swiftly waved her hand, directing her subordinates to inspect all defensive nodes in the apartment, activate a higher alert level, and set up new trigger traps and detection arrays at several critical locations.

Time crawled by in anxious anticipation. Every minute, every second, felt stretched.

Su Mian was restless, several times attempting to contact Xiao Moyuan, only to be calmly stopped by Hong Luan.

“The Young Master has ordered that we maintain absolute silence until he contacts us, to avoid interference or exposure.”

She could only force herself to concentrate, attempting to calm her agitation through cultivation, but with little success. Her mind was relentlessly plagued by various dangerous scenarios that might unfold at the Corroded Lighthouse, and images of Xiao Moyuan facing unknown, formidable enemies alone.

***

Meanwhile, in the old port district of the city’s south, stood the Corroded Lighthouse.

This was a long-abandoned navigation tower, its reinforced concrete structure mottled and decaying from decades of erosion by sea wind and salt spray, revealing a skeleton of rusted rebar.

The tower stood isolated on a small, desolate promontory extending into the bay, its base surrounded by dark reefs and the relentless crash of cold sea waves.

Tonight, there was no moon, and thick clouds obscured the starlight. Only the sporadic lights of the distant port and an occasional flicker of eerie luminescence from within the tower—whether foxfire or something else—outlined its bizarre and solitary silhouette.

Precisely at midnight.

Xiao Moyuan’s figure appeared like a phantom in the shadows of some scattered rocks near the lighthouse’s base.

He did not immediately approach the tower. Instead, he first moved swiftly and silently around the promontory.

There were no energy fluctuations indicating an ambush, no hidden life signs, and no obvious traces of recent frequent activity by humans or supernatural beings.

The only sounds here were the wind and the waves.

‘Either the opponent hasn’t arrived yet, or their concealment methods are exceptionally skilled.’

He entered.

He did not hesitate. With a flicker of his form, he drifted inside like a falling leaf, making not the slightest sound.

The interior of the tower was thick with the heavy scent of damp mold, sea brine, and the peculiar odor of iron rust oxidizing over a long time.

The ground was littered with bricks and unknown debris.

Looking up, the spiraling, rusted staircase stretched upwards into the darkness, as if leading into the maw of some monster.

He used no lighting, relying solely on his extraordinary night vision to ascend swiftly and cautiously, investigating.

First floor, second floor, third floor… there was nothing but deeper darkness and dead silence.

Until he reached the room at the top of the lighthouse, where the navigation light had once been installed.

The view here was expansive, with the dark, churning sea visible through the broken glass windows.

In the open space at the center of the room, someone had drawn a complex magic array, approximately two meters in diameter, using a dark red substance that resembled dried blood.

At the center of the array rested a palm-sized, irregularly shaped fragment of black obsidian.

The moment Xiao Moyuan stepped into the room and his gaze fell upon the array, the black obsidian fragment suddenly glowed with an eerie violet light!

Simultaneously, the dark red lines on the ground seemed to come alive, pulsating faintly like veins. The air throughout the room abruptly became viscous and heavy.

‘A trap!’

Xiao Moyuan’s eyes hardened, and his body recoiled instantly! But the array activated with unexpected speed. A powerful restraining force and a mental shock descended simultaneously, attempting to bind him in place and interfere with his perception and judgment!

In that critical instant, an inconspicuous jade pendant at Xiao Moyuan’s waist silently shattered, erupting in a soft, clear light that instantly nullified most of the mental shock.

At the same time, he stomped his left foot fiercely on the ground. Several counter-talismans, which he had subtly laid out beforehand, shot out from inconspicuous cracks beneath his feet.

They did not attack the array itself but precisely struck the critical nodes of several load-bearing structures in the room!

“Rumble!”

The already severely corroded lighthouse structure groaned under the strain. Large amounts of dust and debris cascaded from the ceiling and parts of the walls, and the entire room shook violently!

The light from the not-yet-fully-formed restraining array immediately became chaotic.

Utilizing this momentary disruption and the flaw created by the structural vibrations, Xiao Moyuan, like a leopard escaping a spiderweb, transformed into a blurred black streak. He shot out through the nearest broken window, twisting and turning in mid-air to land steadily on a protruding concrete platform below.

Almost as he landed, a louder roar erupted from the top of the lighthouse. Bricks, mixed with rusted metal components, crashed down onto the spot where he had just stood, raising a cloud of dust.

“Such quick reflexes.”

A slightly regretful, yet seemingly long-anticipated, hoarse voice echoed from the shadows behind Xiao Moyuan.

Xiao Moyuan slowly turned. A figure, clad in a tattered gray cloak and thin, slowly emerged from behind a pile of abandoned construction materials.

The hood of the cloak obscured most of his face, revealing only a tangled, grizzled beard on his chin and a pair of murky yellow eyes that glinted in the darkness.

It was the same old sorcerer who had ambushed Shen Zhixia with a voodoo doll in the previous alley fight and whom Xiao Moyuan had supposedly killed!

His aura was still chilling, but he was more unstable than when they last met. His steps were unsteady, clearly indicating his injuries had not yet healed.

“It’s you.”

Xiao Moyuan’s voice was icy. “The Nameless Observer? It seems the last lesson wasn’t enough.”

“Heh heh.”

The old man let out a low, owl-like chuckle. “Young man, don’t be so quick to anger. Last time, we each served our own masters. This time, perhaps we can discuss a trade.”

“Trade with such a welcoming gesture?”

Xiao Moyuan glanced at the still-falling debris of the lighthouse.

“Merely a necessary test. If you can’t even avoid such a small trick, you’re not qualified to know more.”

The old man was unconcerned, his murky eyes fixed on Xiao Moyuan. “I know you’re looking for that vampire girl, and I know what that old bat Xia is plotting. I also know… the key is almost in his grasp.”

Xiao Moyuan’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly. “You seem to know quite a lot. Your terms?”

“Help me retrieve something.”

The old man extended a withered hand, pointing towards the opposite side of the bay, in the direction of the city’s most dazzling lights.

“It’s a sealed artifact hidden deep within the third archives of the Demon Extermination Bureau’s main headquarters, designated ‘Weep-Seven-Zero-Nine’ – the ‘Withered Heart.'”

“Bring it to me, and I will tell you the exact location of Xia’s lair, the precise time of his ‘Blood Moon Feast,’ and the core ritual. I can even tell you how to temporarily sever his blood pact control over that girl, giving you a chance to save her.”

“The Demon Extermination Bureau’s main headquarters? The third archives?”

Xiao Moyuan’s tone betrayed no emotion. “You know what kind of place that is. Asking me to steal a top-secret sealed artifact from there is tantamount to asking me to betray the Demon Extermination Bureau and cut myself off from the human world.”

“Betrayal?”

The old man scoffed.

“Don’t make yourself sound so noble, young man. You know how many sordid dealings happen within the Demon Extermination Bureau.

Factional infighting, experimenting on [supernatural beings] and even their own kind, resorting to any means for power and authority…

The Withered Heart was never meant to belong to them. Bringing it back, returning it to its rightful owner, how can that be considered betrayal?”

He took a step forward, his voice laced with temptation:

“Think about it. An artifact that, to you humans, might just be a sealed antique, exchanged for the opportunity to utterly destroy an ancient and dangerous vampire lord, to save a poor girl who might still have hope, and to protect your precious little fox. This trade, by any measure, is not a loss.”

The sea wind howled, rustling the old man’s tattered cloak and Xiao Moyuan’s clothes.

The dust from the ruins gradually settled, leaving only the silent standoff between the two in the darkness.

Xiao Moyuan’s face was devoid of expression, as if he were weighing his options, or perhaps merely waiting.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice clear amidst the sound of the waves:

“I refuse.”

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