If I, a death row inmate, am not to become a demon, am I to become a member of the Imperial Guard?

Rainwater pattered on the roof tiles.

The sound was urgent and loud.

Inside the room, it was so quiet you could hear your own heartbeat.

The eunuch's smile was colder than the rain outside. He slowly dusted off imaginary dust from his sleeves, every movement exuding deliberate composure.

"Commander Qin, did you understand what I said?" he spoke, his voice high-pitched and thin. "Doctor Liu is a doctor; the capital cannot do without him. But his family is another matter."

Liu Qian's body trembled like a leaf in the wind. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word; a "hoarse" sound came from his throat, as if he were being choked.

Qin Shuang's face darkened. It wasn't anger, but something deeper—a cold, almost icy killing intent. Her hand gripped the embroidered spring knife, her knuckles becoming distinct from the force of her grip.

"The reach of the Eastern Depot is truly extensive," she said, enunciating each word clearly.

"You flatter me." The eunuch smiled even more broadly. "The task the Emperor has entrusted to me must be handled well."

Zhou Yang watched all of this.

He didn't look at the smug eunuch, nor at Liu Qian, who was on the verge of collapse. His gaze swept around the room. Doors, windows, beams, pillars, corners. Everything became a calculable variable in his eyes.

A direct confrontation won't work.

Two eunuchs stood at the entrance, their auras heavy and menacing; both were skilled fighters. Outside, twenty-five guards stood in a strange formation. How many could Qin Shuang handle? And how many could he possibly defeat?

Even if they kill everyone at the entrance and rush into the outer formation, it's like jumping into a net. They'll be like insects stuck in a spider web, slowly drained dry.

Moreover, they have Liu Qian as a burden.

This net is so well-woven that it leaves no room for error.

The only way to break the deadlock is through the formation.

Zhou Yang didn't know much about formations. But his system could instantly make him a master in any field.

The price is lifespan.

He glanced at Qin Shuang. She was confronting the eunuch, the murderous intent in her eyes almost tangible. He remembered the first time he met her, that high-ranking officer of the Imperial Guard, who used silver notes as weapons. He remembered the bowl of steaming meat soup she handed him during their escape.

Some things are no longer simple transactions.

Zhou Yang suddenly spoke up.

The sound wasn't loud, but it was like a pebble thrown into stagnant water.

"Take Doctor Liu with you."

Qin Shuang froze. She turned around abruptly to look at him, her eyes filled with astonishment and confusion.

"Zhou Yang, you..."

"Execute the order," Zhou Yang interrupted her. His tone was calm, revealing no emotion, as if he were stating something perfectly ordinary. "Go through the back door. Quickly."

The eunuch narrowed his eyes. He sized up Zhou Yang as if he were looking at a madman who didn't know his own mortality.

"Oh? Young master, you want to stay behind alone and play the hero?" He sneered. "I admire your courage. Too bad you won't live to enjoy it."

Zhou Yang ignored him.

He just looked at Qin Shuang.

"Hurry," he said again.

Qin Shuang's heart sank. She understood Zhou Yang's eyes. It wasn't bravado, nor was it madness. It was a resolute determination. A resolute determination that cut off all escape routes.

What is he going to do?

She didn't have time to think it through. Zhou Yang had already made his move.

He didn't rush towards the eunuch at the door, nor towards the window.

He closed his eyes.

In that instant, an invisible flame suddenly ignited within his body.

It felt like my heart was being gripped tightly by an invisible hand and then suddenly ripped apart!

ten years.

A full ten years of life were instantly drained away.

An indescribable sense of weakness swept over him. He felt his bones soften and his blood grow cold. But at the same time, an unprecedented clarity filled his mind.

The world has changed.

Those Eastern Depot agents standing in the rain were no longer blurry figures. Their positions, the direction of the airflow beneath their feet, the frequency of their breathing, and even the moment their eyes met, all transformed into clearly visible threads.

These threads intertwine in the air, forming a huge and complex net.

The core of the network is that eunuch standing under the eaves.

A Seven Fiends Soul-Locking Array.

An extremely insidious formation. It consists of groups of seven, forming a defensive network that draws upon the earth's malevolent energy. Those who enter the formation are first disturbed by the seven malevolent energies, causing their minds to become disordered. Then, they are relentlessly strangled by the formation until their true energy is completely exhausted, ultimately turning into a pool of blood.

The key element of this vast network is neither a person nor an object.

It is an empty space.

Right behind the eunuch, about half a foot to the left. There was nothing there, just air shrouded in rain. But all the threads converged and twisted there, forming a miniature energy vortex.

That was the weakest point in the entire formation.

That's also... the most fatal spot.

Zhou Yang opened his eyes.

The world returned to normal.

But he is different now.

"You're asking for death!" The eunuch saw that he was still with his eyes closed and assumed that he was scared out of his wits. He grinned and gave a wink to his two subordinates at the door.

The two eunuchs moved. Their figures were as fast as ghosts, one on the left and one on the right, rushing straight at Zhou Yang.

Qin Shuang also moved. She wanted to draw her sword and rush forward. But Zhou Yang's earlier words, "Go quickly," acted like a shackle, freezing her in place.

Just then, Zhou Yang also moved.

He moved faster than anyone else.

He ignored the two eunuchs who rushed at him, and instead charged straight at the leading eunuch under the eaves like an enraged bull!

His target was the empty space behind the eunuch!

This charge was completely haphazard and illogical. It was as if all the strength in the body was being poured into it.

The lead eunuch's pupils constricted sharply. He hadn't expected Zhou Yang to launch a counterattack instead of defending, and that his target was actually him!

"act recklessly!"

He snorted coldly, raised one hand, and a chilling true energy gathered in his palm, ready to shatter Zhou Yang's chest.

Qin Shuang's heart was in her throat.

Zhou Yang also threw a punch.

This punch looked incredibly powerful, accompanied by a whistling sound.

But in the eunuch's eyes, the trajectory of this punch was full of flaws. He could even easily dodge the punch and counterattack Zhou Yang's ribs.

He did indeed do that.

He slightly shifted his body to the side, his palm slicing towards Zhou Yang's fist, while his other hand formed a claw and grabbed at Zhou Yang's neck.

However, at the last moment, Zhou Yang's wrist flicked, slightly changing the angle of his fist.

The force of his punches remained unchanged.

His fist missed its mark.

It did not strike the eunuch's palm, nor did it hit his body.

It hit the empty space to his side, about half a foot away.

Liu Qian was so frightened that he closed his eyes.

Qin Shuang also subconsciously held her breath.

Nothing happened?

No.

happened.

The moment Zhou Yang's fist touched the air, the whole world seemed to freeze for a split second.

There was no earth-shattering noise.

There was only a low, resonant "hum" sound, like the ringing of a bell.

Centered on the spot where the fist missed, a semi-transparent light curtain appeared out of thin air. Like a giant piece of glass, it instantly opened, enveloping Zhou Yang and the leading eunuch inside.

Inside the wall of light, Zhou Yang was thrown back two steps by a tremendous recoil force, and his chest heaved with a surge of blood and qi.

Outside the wall of light, the two eunuchs who lunged at Zhou Yang, and Qin Shuang who had just rushed to the door, were all stopped by this suddenly appearing barrier. Their outstretched hands stopped on the wall of light, unable to even stir up a ripple.

Under the eaves, the remaining twenty-five guards trembled violently. The formation beneath their feet suddenly became chaotic, and several of them even lost their footing, staggering back two steps, their faces turning deathly pale.

The formation... has been broken.

No, it wasn't broken, it was locked.

The core of the Seven Fiends Soul-Locking Array is an energy singularity, which is extremely unstable. Once it is impacted by an external force, it will explode instantly like a ignited powder keg, forming a closed energy shield.

This shield will isolate the inside from the outside.

The array's core inside the shield and the array's base outside the shield were thus severed.

The formation is useless.

Inside the wall of light, the sinister grin on the head eunuch's face froze. He stared in disbelief at the smooth, mirror-like wall before him, then looked back at Zhou Yang.

He finally understood.

This man's target from the very beginning wasn't himself, but the empty space behind him!

He risked his life to instantly deduce their most secret array node.

Then, with one punch, he shattered everyone's plans.

Outside the wall of light, Qin Shuang's face was deathly pale. She stared at the equally pale-faced man inside the wall of light, her mind blank.

Zhou Yang glanced at her.

He smiled, his lips moved, but no sound came out.

But Qin Shuang understood.

He said: Go.

Tears welled up in Qin Shuang's eyes without warning. She desperately tried to hold them back.

She bit her lip hard, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth.

She turned around and grabbed Liu Qian's arm, who was still trembling.

"Walk!"

Her voice was hoarse, yet it carried an irresistible power.

She grabbed Liu Qian and rushed towards the back door without looking back.

The rain instantly swallowed their figures.

Inside the wall of light, the eunuch's expression changed from shock to endless resentment and coldness.

He looked at Zhou Yang as if he were looking at a dead man.

"We underestimated you," he said slowly. "You think locking yourself in will allow them to escape?"

Zhou Yang took a deep breath, suppressing the sweet, metallic taste in his throat. He moved his wrists, feeling the emptiness within his body caused by overdrawing his lifespan.

"At least, I'll give you a chance, and you'll give me one," he said calmly. "This deal isn't a loss."

The eunuch fell silent.

He simply drew a soft sword slowly from his waist.

The sword was jet black, like a venomous snake.

The sound of rain, the sound of wind, and the soft "clang" of a sword being drawn.

The wall of light isolated the world.

Here, only he and it remain.

The fish died and the net broke.