Hours later, Meng Qinghuan arrived with a few people as expected. As everyone anticipated, Zhi Yue's mouth started moving non-stop as soon as she got there.
"Hey, I say, how can you all be so irresponsible with your work? You asked us to help, and here you are, lounging comfortably in the shade of the trees." Zhi Yue looked at Bai Cha, who was quietly drinking tea, and started her passive-aggressive remarks, "What is it that makes Miss Bai so troubled? And..."
"Zhi Yue!" A clear voice, tinged with childishness, startled Zhi Yue. She looked in surprise at Mo Ziye, who stood beside her with a solemn expression.
In Zhi Yue's memory, Mo Ziye had always been a little brat – skilled, impulsive, and strong sense of justice, but never calm. He was far from his father, Mo Yuntian, yet unlike Mo Yuntian, he was also uninvolved in affairs. Now, his sudden display of overwhelming presence left Zhi Yue speechless for a long time.
However, Zhi Yue didn't know that Mo Ziye's phone, which was still on, was covered in a string of notes from Bai Cha.
How to speak, how to control temper, facial expressions, etc. – a long list of instructions. At that moment, Mo Ziye's palms were sweating as he held his phone, but the effect was surprisingly good.
"Yes, it was me who asked for your help, and it's to participate in the World Competition. If you don't want to come, you can go back. I, I have plenty of people to replace you," Mo Ziye said a mouthful in a low voice. It was the first time he had spoken to someone in this manner, and he felt awkward somewhere.
Yet, seeing Zhi Yue's obedient response, he felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
That's right, even if he wasn't the family head now, he was still the young crown prince. His subordinates had always been disobedient before, and now to be able to discipline them himself, of course, it was a completely different feeling.
Bai Cha nodded with satisfaction. These people from affiliated families were usually undisciplined simply because the Mo family had never really managed them. The Mo family had considerable prestige and was highly respected, and most people would likely obey if managed properly.
"Cha Cha!" A familiar voice called out, like a lark in spring. The little pink elf, who had been doing something unknown, arrived a step later than Zhi Yue. Upon seeing Bai Cha, she immediately pounced.
The lounge chair creaked and groaned. Fortunately, Bai Cha and Freya were both light. If it were two other people, the lounge chair would have given out.
The little pink girl landed on Bai Cha like a butterfly, gently kissing her cheek about a centimeter away from Bai Cha's lips, and giggled happily.
"Miss Freya, you must be tired from your journey. How about a cup of tea?" Lucifer's smile was a bit stiff as he offered black tea to Freya.
"No thanks, I only want Cha Cha," Freya seemed not to understand Lucifer's hint for her to get up. She hugged Bai Cha's neck and nuzzled her. "To be absent from you for a day is like three autumns; absent for a few hours must surely be an autumn already~"
Freya's voice wasn't the annoying, high-pitched one that grated on the ears. It was naturally cute and melodious, filled with girlish energy and brightness, which made Bai Cha quite happy.
"What nonsense," although refuting, Bai Cha's upturned lips showed her good mood. Looking at Mo Ziye, who was almost suffocating nearby, Freya nuzzled Bai Cha's neck again as if showing off.
Bai Cha could only helplessly hug Freya's slender waist and lift her up from the chair. Freya was more than half a head shorter than Bai Cha. Being lifted like this, her feet left the ground, and she let out a cry and wrapped her arms around Bai Cha's waist.
"Scared?" Bai Cha snorted softly, patting Freya's thighs that were wrapped around her, and teased.
"Not at all, how could I be?" Freya snorted and then jumped off Bai Cha, smoothing her fluffy light pink bangs, and winked proudly. "Cute girls are omnipotent~"
Bai Cha smiled. Under everyone's stiff gazes, she didn't refute. Instead, she gently stroked Freya's cheek, chuckled, and pulled Freya closer.
"Brother, do you think Xiao Bai might actually like girls?" Mo Ziye whispered to Michael. "Do I still have a chance?"
"Yes, how do you know she's not bi? You have to try yourself!" Michael put his arm around Mo Ziye's shoulder and teased, "After all, you didn't appear as early as he did, so you just have to work harder."
On the other side, another pair was also whispering.
"Brother, I feel like you don't have much hope," Gu Mingze nudged Cang Liu with his elbow and whispered, "I have a feeling that Freya and Miss Bai's relationship is already more than just ordinary intimacy."
"Mhm," Cang Liu nodded. "Indeed."
Cang Liu's direct agreement made Gu Mingze almost slip up. "So, brother, do you want to give up?"
There was a hint of probing and caution in his voice, as if he were afraid of touching a sore spot for Cang Liu.
"It's difficult," Cang Liu shook his head. "Neither of us is possible."
"Ah?" Gu Mingze was completely confused. "Their relationship is so good, why is it impossible? Could it be that Miss Bai is straight and doesn't like women?"
"She does, but they aren't possible. Fate is hard to change," Cang Liu said faintly. Gu Mingze didn't understand what this had to do with fate. When he tried to ask further, Cang Liu refused to say anything more.
"Let's begin," Bai Cha pointed at the maple forest and said to Meng Qinghuan, "Unravel the formation without destroying the maple forest. It should be that the core inside has a problem."
Meng Qinghuan nodded, placed his compass on the ground, and began to demonstrate the patterns of the two formations to everyone.
"The first formation is the Twelve Du Tian Men Formation. To the untrained eye, it has no discernible pattern. The trees here are scattered east and west, some upright, some slanted, as if planted randomly, but within them there are..." As Meng Qinghuan was earnestly explaining the formation to everyone, the word "pattern" had not yet left his lips when Zhi Yue couldn't resist interrupting again.
"The trees here are so lush, how are they scattered east and west?" Zhi Yue's pretty and proud face showed a furrowed brow as she opened her mouth to retort, "How can you possibly..."
Bai Cha's brows twitched, about to get angry, when Mo Ziye beat her to it and snapped,
"Shut up." Mo Ziye frowned, tightly gripping his phone. "Outsiders shouldn't dictate. If you're so capable, you do it."
The last sentence was Mo Ziye's own addition. He thought he had added it very well.
"Hey! Mo Ziye, what's your deal!" Zhi Yue finally exploded, looking incredulous. "We're on the same side, how can you speak for the enemy faction?"
"So, even if you're wrong, you want me to agree with you?" Mo Ziye was also a bit annoyed. "If you're so capable, you do it."
Zhi Yue was immediately choked speechless. She certainly couldn't break the formation; she knew nothing about it. She could only sit down sullenly, glaring at Bai Cha.
Meng Qinghuan shrugged. He didn't know how Bai Cha had trained Mo Ziye, but as long as that annoying woman's mouth was silenced, that was good enough.
Although he usually acted like a half-baked troublemaker who loved to play, Meng Qinghuan was always serious and meticulous when it came to work and missions. He hated it when people made baseless arguments in his area of expertise and also hated having two mouths in a team working on a mission.
After introducing the characteristics of the two formations and detailing how to break them, everyone was ready.
Outside this layer of maple forest, there was actually another layer of low-level illusion. When Bai Cha discovered this low-level illusion, she noticed a more profound formation within it. Human formations were different from dragon illusions; disturbing one aspect affected the whole. Therefore, Bai Cha didn't act rashly.
Meng Qinghuan had no such concerns. He was an absolute master of formations and wouldn't touch any forbidden areas. With a casual wave of his hand, he broke the illusion.
As the fiery red maple leaves lost their color, this maple forest turned green. It was early spring, full of life. The verdant maple leaves swayed in the wind. The sea of fire receded, leaving only green waves rippling towards the distance.
"Ah, no wonder Lucifer said the leaves were strange," Mo Ziye finally came to his senses. "Is it because of the different texture?"
"Mhm, you're smart for once," Bai Cha praised Mo Ziye, which was rare. "The difference between tender green leaves and deep autumn red maple leaves is considerable. The leaves are tough and full of vitality, but the color is red, which is not logical."
Upon hearing Bai Cha's praise, Mo Ziye became excited. He had been trying to maintain a serious demeanor to uphold his image as a leader, but hearing Bai Cha's words, he lost all his composure, and his eyes lit up.
"Is it you?"
"Who!"
Meng Qinghuan's expression stiffened, and he suddenly turned around. But there were only maple trees around. The murmur that had sounded as if it were right by his ear had vanished without a trace.
"Someone?" Bai Cha frowned. She knew Meng Qinghuan's strength. If he felt something, Bai Cha definitely wouldn't believe he was mistaken. With such a feeling, there must be a reason.
"Strange," Meng Qinghuan became vigilant. Although he usually acted flippantly, when it came to tasks and serious matters, his seriousness was no less than Bai Cha's.
"Meng, is it you?"
The faint murmur came again, but this time it was much more ethereal.
"No, it's not, but..."
"Xiao Bai, Xiao Nan, did you hear anything?" Meng Qinghuan's brows furrowed even tighter. He had a strange premonition.
Bai Cha looked at Xiang Nan. A moth was lightly fluttering and resting on Xiang Nan's hand. This was a Luna moth, capable of hearing sounds up to 300 kilohertz. To date, no other animal in the world possessed such acute hearing. Humans could only hear sounds up to 20 kilohertz, and even with Bai Cha's sharp hearing, it was difficult to compare with that of moths and insects.
However, after a while, Xiang Nan also shook his head, indicating that his insects hadn't heard anything.
Bai Cha and Meng Qinghuan exchanged glances and temporarily put aside their doubts. Any conclusions could only be drawn after breaking the formation. Even if they focused on the sound now, they wouldn't find any clues. It was better to break the formation first.
Before they began, Mo Ziye warned Zhi Yue again. Although he didn't understand formations, he knew that if the order of breaking them was disrupted, there could be great trouble, even being trapped in the formation forever.
Zhi Yue knew this too. Although Zhi Yue found the Shadow faction very displeasing, she was a smart person at crucial moments and wouldn't act impulsively to cause trouble.
These were two high-level formations, requiring precise coordination to break. Fortunately, although it was their first time cooperating, everyone was a master. Mutual cooperation was naturally not an issue. Although there were a few minor mistakes, they were all overcome with a scare and timely recovery. Everyone managed to break both formations.
With the formations dispelled, Bai Cha took a long time to calculate before confirming that the "Ghost Knocking Door" no longer existed. However, they were surprised again not long after they started walking.
The numerous maple trees had returned to green, but one particularly tall maple tree in the center of the maple forest remained a dazzling red. Maple leaves were scattered on the ground, like a wedding dress worn by a hazy, almost dissipating figure standing beneath the tree.
The woman wasn't stunningly beautiful but possessed a tranquil and charming demeanor, like a learned lady from ancient times who was frail yet knowledgeable, making the spring breeze bow in submission.
"Master, this is the evil dragon I sensed," Lucifer whispered into Bai Cha's ear. "But it seems to have lost its body, leaving only this soul."