The only good news right now is that the City Lord has already asked Qingyou Prefecture for reinforcements.

At present, Yanhe City seems on the verge of collapse; when Qingyou Prefecture’s Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator arrives, things might be resolved.

The problem is, how to survive until then.

Liou Yuan rubbed his brow, quickly running through the city’s situation in his mind.

"We can’t do anything about that Calamity-level Star Evil."

"No way to predict when Qingyou Prefecture’s Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator will arrive."

"The only thing we can do now is prepare to deal with the series of consequences that might be triggered by the Star Rotation five days from now."

Liou Yuan got up and paced slowly around the courtyard a few times.

Suddenly he turned to look at Mr. Ge, giving a bitter smile: "If Mr. Ge has come looking for a Qi Cultivation Second Layer like me, then I guess there aren’t many capable cultivators left in Yanhe City?"

Mr. Ge immediately returned Liou Yuan a bitter expression: "Counting the two of us, there aren’t even five cultivators left in Yanhe City."

"The strongest among us is Qi Cultivation Third Layer; after all, we’re all loose cultivators, our cultivation isn’t high."

"Five?" Liou Yuan repeated Mr. Ge’s words.

Those five people included himself and Mr. Ge.

"This situation can’t even be described as terrible anymore."

Yanhe City’s circumstances were even worse than Liou Yuan had imagined.

He looked up at the Bi Su Star in the sky, his eyes hollow: "It’s an utter mess, riddled with holes."

"Exactly!" Mr. Ge chimed in from the side.

Liou Yuan’s face twitched listening to that.

"So, Mr. Liou, what do you think we should do now?" Mr. Ge threw Liou Yuan a hopeful look.

He’d worked with Liou Yuan twice before.

This young man’s sharpness and steadiness made even an old fox like him feel inferior—otherwise he wouldn’t have thought to come to him first.

Of course, there was also the fact that all those reliable colleagues from Qinghe Division were gone.

Leaving Mr. Ge with no one else to consult.

"When the sky falls, each finds his own shelter."

"That Calamity-level Star Evil isn’t our responsibility, and we couldn’t handle it if it were."

"We just guard our own little corner of Yanhe City."

That was Liou Yuan’s answer.

"First thing, Mr. Ge, you need to gather all the cultivators in the city."

"Then... figure out how to maintain peace in the city while Qingyou Prefecture’s Great Cultivator hasn’t arrived."

Finally, Liou Yuan added with deep meaning: "Tell them—we’re all grasshoppers tied to the same rope, none of us are getting away."

As he said that, Liou Yuan wasn’t even confident in his own tone.

He didn’t know how five people, with the strongest at Qi Cultivation Third Layer, could hold back those Star Evil waiting to rear their heads.

"I just hope next month brings an Auspicious Star."

"If it’s an Evil Star, us five will be the first to die—the City Lord definitely won’t let us sit back and do nothing."

Liou Yuan stated this with absolute certainty.

At this point, where life and death was at stake.

Not even his big brother behind him would be any use.

The City Lord would do whatever it took to force the five cultivators to act.

Even threatening their families wouldn’t be out of the question.

Qinghe Government Office dared to establish Qinghe Division, the Jin Dynasty used cultivators against Star Evil—they must have ways to restrain cultivators.

Or rather, the imperial family ruling the Jin Dynasty itself is a powerful cultivation force.

By that logic, how could Yanhe City’s City Lord be a mere mortal?

Mr. Ge was startled by Liou Yuan’s words.

He was old now, his cultivation capped; he didn’t cling to life the way he used to.

But he had family—two young grandsons—they were Mr. Ge’s softest spot.

"The City Lord is virtuous, I doubt it." Mr. Ge said, perhaps deceiving himself.

Liou Yuan gave him a cold look, then said something that made his whole body go cold: "Don’t count on luck. If I were City Lord, I’d be even harsher than him."

"Not just the five of us—even if Yanhe Government Office were wiped out, if it meant saving Yanhe City, the City Lord would sacrifice the entire office without hesitation."

The City Lord’s duty is to defend the city. If the city falls, the City Lord is held responsible.

That’s not a minor offense—it’s enough for the City Lord to die a thousand times over.

Put yourself in his position—if Liou Yuan were City Lord, he’d do even worse than what he described.

Mr. Ge didn’t linger with Liou Yuan for long.

Because that last remark really hit the old man’s softest spot.

He left in the dead of night, heading out to find the remaining three cultivators in Yanhe City.

To arrange a time for the five to meet.

"Damn it, there’s only half a year left." After Mr. Ge left, Liou Yuan sat where he’d been before.

He clenched his fist, and slammed it down hard on the tea table in front of him.

BANG! The stone tea table cracked under the blow.

A glimmer flickered in his eyes as he started thinking about whether escaping was doable.

"Now there are still five days until Star Rotation."

"With my cultivation, if I run with my mother, we won’t get far out of Yanhe City."

Bai Xin is just an ordinary person, after all.

The nearest city is over three thousand li from Yanhe City.

If I escape but can’t reach the closest city in time, without the protection of a city, when the Evil Star Shift comes, I won’t survive either.

Dead either way.

"Just hope it’s an Auspicious Star." That’s the safest outcome Liou Yuan can think of.

The next day, before dawn.

Mr. Ge returned, knocked on Liou Yuan’s door, and brought him out to the east side of Yanhe City, to an inconspicuous house.

Knock knock knock!

Mr. Ge rapped on the door—a pattern of three long, two short, like some kind of secret code.

Right after knocking, in just moments, Liou Yuan saw the door crack open.

A wary eye appeared in the gap.

The man took one look at Mr. Ge, then Liou Yuan felt his gaze lock onto himself, full of vigilance.

"Mr. Hua, this is the Liou Yuan I told you about—Mr. Liou." Mr. Ge explained quietly to the man behind the door.

Then the man finally opened the door fully.

Revealing a thin, gaunt old man, cheeks hollow, always tense and guarded.

Even after Mr. Ge clarified Liou Yuan’s identity, Liou Yuan still saw not a shred of trust in his eyes.

"Come in, everyone’s here—just waiting for you two." The old man said, his voice gentle enough.

Liou Yuan followed closely behind Mr. Ge, stepping into the courtyard.

Along the way, Mr. Ge explained to Liou Yuan who this man was.

"Loose cultivator Hua Xuanyi, settled in Yanhe City ten years ago."

"He’s always been like this. Not many loose cultivators live to his age."

Liou Yuan agreed with that.

For loose cultivators, life is tough.

You have to guard against Star Evil targeting you, keep up cultivation,

and be wary of other cultivators trying to kill you.

No background—if you’re killed, nobody cares.

Mr. Ge hadn’t stopped talking: "He’s a registered loose cultivator in Qinghe Division, Qi Cultivation Third Layer. He hasn’t done anything out of line through the years, and actually helped Qinghe Division quite a bit."

Qinghe Division has oversight duties, so any loose cultivator appearing has to be documented.

"Mm!" Liou Yuan nodded to show he understood.

By then, they’d entered the house.

Since it was still dark, there was a bright candle burning in the inner room.

By its pale light, Liou Yuan saw the other two people in the room.

The most eye-catching was a young girl fresh as a bean sprout—though winter’s coming, she wore only a thin pale green dress, delicate and refined.

As Liou Yuan entered, she just stared at the candle in a trance, mind elsewhere.

She looked even younger than Kong Yi, maybe thirteen at most, which made Liou Yuan study her with surprise.

"So young—and already cultivating."

This little girl’s cultivation was about the same as Mr. Ge’s, Qi Cultivation Second Layer.

Thirteen and already Qi Cultivation Second Layer—call her a prodigy and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

As Liou Yuan and Mr. Ge entered, she finally snapped out of it, her gaze settling on Liou Yuan, scrutinizing him.

Probably because Liou Yuan was closest to her age of the five cultivators present.

The last person was a middle-aged man dressed like a scholar.

The moment Liou Yuan’s gaze rested on his face, his expression froze.

"Donghe Academy’s Dean, Di Xi."

The middle-aged man was the Dean of Donghe Academy, Yanhe City’s most renowned academy.

Before Liou Yuan crossed over to this world, Donghe Academy was Liou Yuan’s most coveted institution.

"He’s actually a cultivator." Liou Yuan shook his head slightly, marveling at fate.

"Truly, the greatest are often hidden in plain sight."

"Everyone’s here, let’s begin." That was spoken by loose cultivator Hua Xuanyi, who started puffing on a pipe by the doorway, blanketing the air in smoke.