Chapter 18: Barrier Part 3

Jiang Huaining hurriedly reached out and gripped her tightly.

Yu Ruoyin felt the pulling force on her weaken greatly, but it still did not release her. It kept dragging her into the barrier.

She panicked and struggled outward with hands and feet.

Jiang Huaining yanked her hard, and Yu Ruoyin crashed into her embrace.

Once Jiang Huaining held her, the binding force vanished completely. But their bodies still sank into the barrier, as if another force pushed Jiang Huaining, and she did not resist.

‘Ning…’

Before Yu Ruoyin’s fear escaped, Jiang Huaining pressed her raised head down against her chest, blocking her vision entirely. Only then did she whisper in her ear, ‘We’re entering the barrier. Don’t be afraid. I’m here.’

Jiang Huaining’s voice was soft and gentle, inexplicably reassuring.

Yu Ruoyin’s world plunged into darkness, her nose buried in softness, inhaling a rich fragrance.

She was no longer afraid. Instead, she felt shy.

Too close.

Close enough to feel all of Jiang Huaining’s softness.

Her chest was full, her abdomen flat, her waist slender, her scent intoxicating…

Yu Ruoyin lost herself in it. When she came to, she heard Xing Ruoyan’s curse. ‘Who the hell set up this barrier!’

After entering, Jiang Huaining released Yu Ruoyin.

Light returned to Yu Ruoyin’s eyes. She saw Xing Ruoyan and He Meijie, who had been pulled in with them, and the barrier’s full view.

From outside, the barrier seemed tiny. Inside, its scope was astonishingly vast, nearly replicating the entire Abundant Garden.

Their position resembled the spot where they had encountered those two with lost souls. Xing Ruoyan cursed because the wall was piled with fainted people, stacked haphazardly. Yu Ruoyin roughly counted nearly a hundred. They lay askew, lips pale, faces ashen, all looking utterly terrified.

Because they all lived in Abundant Garden, Yu Ruoyin recognized some faces.

They appeared to be ordinary people caught in the barrier—neither sorcerers nor otherkin.

Clearly, the barrier had sucked them in.

No wonder Xing Ruoyan was furious. With so many ordinary people dragged inside, Yu Ruoyin felt it would be hard to wrap up.

Huff huff—

A gust swept over. Clusters of flames suddenly rose from the ground, bringing scorching heat. Yu Ruoyin flinched twice in fright.

She was just scared, not injured.

He Meijie fared worse; holes burned into her legs.

She snatched the black umbrella from Xing Ruoyan and floated up with it. Only then did the flames spare her.

Xing Ruoyan’s face looked even worse: “My Lord, this couldn’t be Lady Xia…”

Xing Ruoyan did not need to finish her words before Jiang Huaining already knew what she meant to express.

Her own face did not look too good either, but she still maintained her composure: “It should be her. Ordinary sorcerers generally can’t create this kind of barrier.”

Barriers were divided into two types. The first kind created one’s own space, where everything inside was an illusory scene. The second kind used one’s own power to influence the environment and then condensed barrier boundaries, where everything inside was real. The former required more power, and the barrier was also stronger.

Non-humans were fine—as long as they were strong enough, they could allocate some power to set up illusory scene barriers and create their own space.

But sorcerers were humans.

They had no extra power to draw upon, so when creating barriers, they would basically choose to enclose a certain range.

The one Yu Ruoyin and the others had encountered now was the first kind of illusory scene barrier. Not many non-humans in Abundant Garden had the power to replicate another one.

The bursts of flame aura that occasionally darted out were also very familiar. It had to be Xia Yu.

To deploy a large-scale barrier in broad daylight was not ignorance—it was arrogance.

Xing Ruoyan’s face reached the peak of ugliness. Of course, she would not take out her anger on Jiang Huaining or Yu Ruoyin.

She merely suppressed her fury and said: “It looks like Lady Xia is better off not leaving the Four Spirits Shop.”

“I let her out.”

Jiang Huaining took the responsibility onto herself, and Xing Ruoyan immediately fell silent.

Jiang Huaining was also surprised that Xia Yu had caused such a huge commotion. She let out a light sigh and released Yu Ruoyin: “A’Yin, wait for me a moment. I’ll first complete the barrier.”

Yu Ruoyin held the red jade fruit in one hand and pressed the other to Jiang Huaining’s back: “I’m willing.”

She still remembered what Lu Qingzhen had said—the closer they were, the stronger her inner agreement, the easier it would be for Jiang Huaining to use the spiritual energy allocated to her.

Jiang Huaining laughed softly and did not struggle free of her hand.

Since Jiang Huaining had taken the initiative to complete the barrier, Xing Ruoyan would not idle either. She took the nether token from her waist, gripped it tightly with both hands, and recited an obscure and difficult incantation.

Ghostly energy surged around Xing Ruoyan, her pupils completely turned dark red, and drops of blood tears rolled down from the corners of her eyes.

A strong wind suddenly rose from her body, blowing out a thick mass of black mist.

The black mist was then scattered by the wind, turning into wisps of fine mist.

The fine mist transformed into illusory shadows that automatically lined up neatly and walked to the wall corners, one by one carrying the unconscious people on their backs and heading out of the barrier.

Soon, over a hundred unconscious people had been sent out of the barrier by Xing Ruoyan.

Jiang Huaining also added a layer of protection to the barrier, so it would no longer draw in ordinary people.

Xing Ruoyan’s face was a shade paler than before. She cupped her hands toward Jiang Huaining: “Thank you, my Lord, for completing the barrier.”

It sounded like Jiang Huaining’s task was even more arduous, but Jiang Huaining’s condition showed no change—not even as much drain as from telling a few lies.

“Ruoyan.” Jiang Huaining looked deeply at Xing Ruoyan: “Have your people send them to the Four Spirits Shop. I’ll take responsibility for cleansing their memories.”

Xing Ruoyan was stunned and looked up in surprise: “My Lord, will their souls be damaged?”

“No.”

Xing Ruoyan let out a deep breath of relief: “Thank you, my Lord.”

“This was caused by Xia Yu in the first place.” Jiang Huaining shook her head. Clearly, she did not approve much of Xia Yu’s actions either: “A’Zhen probably couldn’t stop her.”

The corner of Xing Ruoyan’s mouth twitched: “Lady Xia isn’t that easy to stop.”

She had cursed quite mildly without directly calling Xia Yu crazy.

Yu Ruoyin had not interacted much with Xia Yu, but she also felt that Xia Yu was too reckless. As Xia Yu’s guardian spirit, she seemed to care little about human lives at all.

One barrier had drawn in so many innocent people.

Only now did Yu Ruoyin truly understand why Xing Ruoyan had said that powerful forces would cause fear. With Xia Yu wielding power this way, who wouldn’t be afraid?

Xia Yu had wanton and reckless power but no heart of a Bodhisattva. Anyone would fear her blade falling on their own head.

Fortunately, Xia Yu had Jiang Huaining keeping her in check, so she would not go too far.

Yu Ruoyin secretly sized up Jiang Huaining. She was a little puzzled—Jiang Huaining suppressed the Four Spirits from doing evil, but who suppressed Jiang Huaining?

The Nether King?

If she had not misunderstood, Jiang Huaining possessed power even greater than the Four Spirits. Could the Nether King suppress her?

There were too many incomprehensible questions.

Just as she was about to be overwhelmed by doubts, a sharp scream suddenly came: “Damn it! You damned mad dogs!”

This voice… sounded familiar.

Yu Ruoyin followed the sound with her ears and subconsciously took two steps forward.

Jiang Huaining hurriedly tried to stop her: “A’Yin!”

Upon hearing the voice, Yu Ruoyin retreated half a step and grabbed Jiang Huaining’s arm, running toward the direction of the sound.

She was timid.

In such a strange environment, she should have been cautious, but as long as she held Jiang Huaining’s hand, there seemed to be nowhere she dared not go.

Jiang Huaining reached out and caught He Meijie, who was floating in midair, drifting around to dodge the flames.

The moment the black umbrella fell into her hand, it automatically closed, locking He Meijie’s soul inside. Only her head could still poke out, but those flames no longer attacked He Meijie.

She followed behind Yu Ruoyin without stopping her, just a bit worried: “A’Yin, slow down. Don’t fall.”

Xing Ruoyan, following behind them, had her face twitch slightly. She pinched herself several times to hold back the urge to speak.

Though Xing Ruoyan did not know what had happened between them, she sensed the spiritual energy on Yu Ruoyin and did not think Yu Ruoyin could trip and fall.

Yu Ruoyin, of course, did not know that the Yin Messenger at the rear was inwardly complaining about Jiang Huaining’s excessive doting on her. She instinctively chased the familiar voice faster and faster, gripping Jiang Huaining’s hand tighter and tighter. She feared she might accidentally let go—and even more feared that Jiang Huaining might suddenly pull away.

In this unfamiliar and dangerous environment, Jiang Huaining was her only source of security.

After running another stretch, Yu Ruoyin finally found the source of the voice.

It was a young woman with her face smeared thick with paint.

The woman wore a white camisole and a gray short skirt, with a row of bells tied around her waist and a vine-woven bag on her back.

At this moment, she was being chased by two large, fierce gray dogs. There was already a claw mark on her calf that was bleeding, and she limped away in a very sorry state. But her momentum did not yield at all as she cursed nonstop along the way: “Mad dogs, dead dogs! Stop chasing! If Grandma’s bone brush hadn’t shattered, I’d beat you until you’re picking up your teeth off the ground!”

Though the thick paint covered most of her face, Yu Ruoyin still recognized her identity from her exposed eyes and partial outline: “Yue-jie!”

Yu Ruoyin shouted once, and the woman fleeing in disarray turned her head to look. Her pupils contracted sharply: “You dead love-brained idiot! How are you here? Don’t tell me you were caught by the female ghost to be cannon fodder! Let me tell you, you’re still too green! You can’t believe what female ghosts say—the prettier the female ghost, the less you can believe her ghost talk! Run fast, run back! This barrier suppresses ghosts—while the female ghost is weakened, leg it! Didn’t Granny say you had an expert helping you? How’d they help you into this hellhole?”

It really was Zhuang Ciyue!

Her voice was even louder, and she had even more to say.

Clearly still being chased and killed, she could shout out so many words the moment she opened her mouth.

Yu Ruoyin was fiercely shocked. Seeing the gray dogs getting closer and closer to Zhuang Ciyue, she had no time to ask how Zhuang Ciyue was here or how she had ended up being chased by dogs.

She tugged nervously at Jiang Huaining: “Auntie Ning, save her quickly.”

Jiang Huaining did not move immediately.

She looked at Yu Ruoyin, her lips pressed tight, a faint smile in her eyes: “A’Yin, is the female ghost your friend is talking about me?”

Jiang Huaining was clearly smiling, but Yu Ruoyin felt cold.

For the first time, she had this feeling. She usually thought Jiang Huaining’s smiles were exceptionally gentle.

“P-Pretty wife, I… I didn’t tell her you’re a ghost. She assumed it herself.”

Yu Ruoyin spinelessly betrayed Zhuang Ciyue. Zhuang Ciyue’s ears were exceptionally sharp somehow—they were clearly quite far apart, but she still heard her voice: “Yu Ruoyin, you’re all lust and no humanity! I’m breaking off our friendship. I won’t forgive you unless you watch seventeen or eighteen horror movies with me to make up for my broken heart!”

“…” Jiang Huaining could not help but frown: “She’s even noisier than A’Zhen.”