**Chapter 303: Side Quest: Evading Capture!**
Yun Zhonghe slammed his hand on the table with a bang that could scare the bravest of souls. Despite Liu Yan’s frail form, the intimidating aura radiating from him was enough to make even her heart race in panic and reverence. She involuntarily took a step back, her eyes wide with fear.
After all, these were just NPCs in a fantasy illusion, not real-life humans. Even if these people had once existed, they were mere mortals from a century ago, long turned to dust.
Thus, Yun Zhonghe’s tone was a bit harsh, but who cared? This was a life-or-d*ath situation, and every second mattered!
Though Liu Yan felt deeply aggrieved, she dared not lag behind for even a moment. She turned on her heel and rushed off to instruct everyone in the household to gather what Yun Zhonghe needed.
Originally, Yun Zhonghe had planned to use this wedding preparation time for some hardcore training with Liu Yan. Even if he couldn’t completely crush the Chen family, he at least wanted her to gain the strength to protect Liu Father, Liu Mother, and herself.
If they could just dodge that tragic fate, maybe they could break free from this vexing illusion.
But the illusion clearly didn’t give him a moment to breathe; now, all he could do was damage control.
He couldn’t help but wonder if this illusion wanted him to change Liu Yan’s destiny.
“Did I get it wrong?”
Yun Zhonghe frowned, doubt creeping into his mind.
Moments later, the maid returned with a delicate tray holding various items that Yun Zhonghe had requested.
Of course, coming from a wealthy family, these items might seem trivial to him, but in the mundane world, they weren’t exactly easy to come by.
Yun Zhonghe recalled that the Xuantian Sect’s Outer Gate taught some emergency self-defense techniques using mundane items to temporarily craft weapons with magical properties.
However, since they were for emergencies, their durability would be laughably low.
He quickly got to work, using a gold hairpin as the base for his creation.
First, he sketched a petite formation on yellow paper with cinnabar, then placed the necessary materials on the formation in a specific order.
Every object carries some spiritual energy, though it varies in quantity. By this method, even without infusing it himself, the formation would generate a weak spiritual energy from the connections between the materials.
It’s a bit like a fruit battery; just insert some metal plates and voilà— you’ve got yourself some current!
And that tiny bit of spiritual energy transformed the hairpin into a makeshift magical weapon.
The hairpin began to glow softly with golden light under the formation’s influence.
Sometimes, Yun Zhonghe couldn’t help but marvel— the Xuantian Sect was pretty progressive when it came to training disciples. They avoided teaching airy-fairy theories and focused on practical skills.
With the hairpin newly upgraded, it pulsed gently with spiritual energy, as if it had received a hasty enchantment, gaining some weak magical power.
Just as Yun Zhonghe completed the hairpin, the auspicious moment arrived— a group of people suddenly swarmed in to throw a red veil over him and cart him off in a flower sedan!
As for the newly enchanted hairpin, he tucked it away in his hair for safekeeping.
As the canopy of the sedan lowered, the flower cart began to sway and move.
Yun Zhonghe’s heart sank— he realized he had lost control over Liu Yan’s body again!
He could only watch helplessly, as if forced to endure a cutscene in a video game.
And this time, there was no option to “skip.”
Sitting in the cart, surrounded by darkness, the red veil obscured his vision completely until, half an hour later, he finally regained control.
Without hesitation, Yun Zhonghe yanked off the red veil and peeked out through the sedan’s curtain, only to find they had reached the outskirts of the city.
Before him lay a scene of trees.
Clearly not the route to the Chen residence.
In this forest, it was just him and his lonely flower sedan; the rest of the wedding procession had vanished, even the bridesmaids and dowry were nowhere in sight.
Just then, he overheard a conversation among several bearers.
“Hehehe, we just wait here, right?”
“Yup, the Chen family said just bring the bride here; maybe they’ll share a bit of fun with us later.”
“What are the Chen family thinking? Handing over a bride for others to enjoy like that?”
“Shh! Keep it down! We don’t want the beauty inside to hear. Getting a taste of a Liu family darling like that? Worth dying for!”
“Hahaha…”
Their voices were dripping with sleaziness and excitement.
Yun Zhonghe: “…”
Without a beat, he yanked the magically enhanced hairpin from his head, took a deep breath to calm himself, then flung open the curtain and sprung forth with Liu Yan’s delicate body like a whirlwind.
The hairpin sliced through the air, leaving a golden trail, capable of cutting through iron and bone. Even a stab from behind the neck would take heads clean off.
“Ah—!”
A shrill scream shattered the tranquility of the forest, and bl**d gushed forth like a fountain.
Yun Zhonghe decisively claimed the lives of those two bearers.
Strike first or suffer the consequences; any delay could lead to irreversible doom!
This Liu Yan body was pathetically weak. If it weren’t for Yun Zhonghe’s timely crafting of the hairpin and utilizing its meager magical power, he wouldn’t have stood a chance against those burly bearers.
After all, one adult man was enough to overpower the original Liu Yan, let alone two ruffian bearers!
After the attack, Yun Zhonghe didn’t waste a second. He swiftly made his way deeper into the woods, knowing that shortly, the Chen family would dispatch a horde of their clan members to surround him.
Once that happened, not even his superhero skills would save him from the encirclement.
As he dashed through the trees, a sense of familiarity washed over him. He scrutinized the surroundings and realized this place resembled the area near the cave where he had once shared a life with Chen Leling!
Though the vegetation and scenery had drastically changed over a century, the terrain was still remarkably recognizable; that cave stood quietly, unbothered by time.
With that landmark as a reference, a vague map of the area sprang to life in his mind, and finally, the mission of the illusion dungeon clicked into place.
**[Evade capture by the Chen family! Avoid tragedy!]**
