Escape in the Dead of Night

An Yi didn’t use the forgery skill often.

But this thing was practically divine.

In his hands, it felt like a pearl hidden in dust—underutilized.

Forging took time, but soon enough,

under the covers, a perfect replica of An Yi appeared.

Ahem, it was fake, of course.

It couldn’t move at all, its body cold and rigid, lacking any of the softness of a living person.

An Yi’s forgery ability couldn’t replicate living beings yet.

Otherwise, those "teachers" in videos could’ve given lectures in person.

No need to stare at his phone late at night, yearning.

Quietly, An Yi took out the Evil Ghost Mask from his storage space and put it on.

Concealment ability!

In an instant, his body turned transparent.

One of the mask’s two major powers:

Invisibility!

Honestly, this was his first time using it.

How shameful!

During Shen Muxuan’s absence, he’d lazed around like a salted fish, barely even studying the mask he’d worked so hard to obtain.

Hongtian stared at An Yi in surprise. "Why is your body just outlines now?"

Outlines?

An Yi looked down at himself and nearly facepalmed.

Damn it!

Sure enough, he was just a sketch.

He’d thought it was true invisibility!

He pulled up the system and checked the Evil Ghost Mask’s description.

A closer look revealed a footnote: Insufficient strength—only 75% of ability unlocked.

75% invisibility?

Screw this!

An Yi gritted his teeth. This thing drained his energy like crazy.

Well, 75% would have to do. At night, a sketchy figure was hard to spot anyway.

Next, An Yi turned Hongtian into a wireframe dog and swapped it with a forged replica from his storage.

The whole switch was seamless.

"Big Hong, it’s up to you now," An Yi said.

He turned back—only to find the dog sprawled out, snoring again.

Goddammit!

Useless mutt!

How the hell did this thing become a fearsome beast if all it did was eat and sleep?!

An Yi grabbed Hongtian’s soul chain, dragged it to the window, and dangled it by the neck, slowly lowering it down.

In its dreams, Hongtian returned to five thousand years ago.

It was untouchable, ruling with arrogance, treating puny humans as snacks without a care.

Those were its glory days—before it got sealed away.

Then, in the dream, that man appeared. No black greatsword this time—just a massive hand clamping around its throat.

Tighter. Tighter.

Choking, Hongtian thrashed, jolting awake in terror.

Hongtian: "…?"

It realized it was currently hanging mid-air, suspended by its neck from the third floor, slowly descending.

"An Yi, you—!"

Hongtian was livid.

"Shh, quiet!" An Yi hissed.

Hongtian’s fur stood on end.

"An Yi, you’re the real dog here! I don’t even compare!"

Thud.

Hongtian landed, finally breathing fresh air.

"Alright, sniff around. Where is it?" An Yi asked.

Boss Nie wasn’t simple.

From the start, An Yi had suspected him as the mastermind behind Qin Yao’s kidnapping.

Of course, it was just a hunch.

So, he’d brought Hongtian along.

This mutt had mind-reading abilities—it could peek into memories and thoughts.

A power this broken, wasted as a guard dog?

Just bring it along, and everything about Boss Nie—whether he was the mastermind, his goals, his identity, even how many mistresses he kept—would be laid bare.

But right before leaving, Hongtian lazily admitted that mind-reading was near-divine, and with its powers sealed, it couldn’t pull it off.

Even so, An Yi dragged it along.

Useful? Great. Useless? Stew meat.

After reaching the villa, Hongtian actually did sense something.

So, An Yi decided to sneak out in the dead of night.

"You sure about this?" An Yi eyed Hongtian skeptically.

The more time passed, the less reliable this dog seemed.

"Definitely something here. Just follow me."

Hongtian strutted ahead, radiating arrogance.

Right then, the Evil Ghost Mask’s invisibility wore off.

"What a trash ability…"

An Yi kept the mask on and followed Hongtian.

The two crept to the villa’s backyard.

"Who’s there?!"

A guard’s voice rang out.

An Yi and Hongtian froze.

Whoosh!

A steel needle shot from An Yi’s hand, striking the guard’s pressure point.

"Ow—!"

The guard yelped, swaying before collapsing, dizzy.

Crap!

If they got caught now—!

An Yi’s expression darkened.

Killing was out of the question—that’d be admitting guilt outright.

He just wanted intel.

Picking a fight with Boss Nie wasn’t the plan, especially since he was Nie Qinglan’s father.

But the guard would wake up eventually.

And since he’d seen their faces, he’d report to Boss Nie.

Then, Hongtian trotted over and pressed its forehead to the guard’s.

Muttering, it said,

"You were dreaming. Saw nothing. Just rolling in the sheets with your dream girl…"

It worked.

The unconscious guard grinned dopily. "Madam Nie… Madam Nie…"

An Yi: "…"

This guard had taste.

"You can hypnotize people?" An Yi raised an eyebrow.

Hongtian lifted its chin. "This lord is the Nightmare Beast. Weaving illusions is child’s play—hypnosis is nothing."

"Impressive."

An Yi was genuinely awed.

Maybe he should treat this mutt better. A friend of his also wanted to dream about certain activities…

The guarded door led to a backyard warehouse.

But it wasn’t that simple.

An ultra-complex password lock secured it.

Hongtian squinted with its one eye and shook its head.

"Ridiculous. How’d you humans invent something this absurd in five thousand years? Let’s go. Can’t crack it."

"Shut up and move."

Before it finished, An Yi had already opened the door.

A joke. In the face of his maxed-out lockpicking, was this even a lock?

The warehouse door slid open.

Instantly, a thick, metallic stench assaulted them.

An Yi’s pupils constricted. Even Hongtian looked grim.

This wasn’t a warehouse.

It was hell.