Skinwalker Belle – Chapter 173 – The Rift Opens

In the early morning of Azurewood City, the sky glowed an eerie purplish-red.

Lin Fan stood before the inn window, her amber eyes quietly gazing at the ever-expanding Spatial Rift in the center of the city.

“Sister, the Rift’s energy fluctuations have suddenly intensified.” Su Xiaoxiao strode in quickly from outside, her voice laced with nervousness. “A message came from Su Yue. The people from the City Lord’s Manor are already gathering in the direction of the Rift.”

Lin Fan didn’t turn around, merely nodding lightly.

“It’s two days earlier than expected,” she said, her voice calm. “It seems the Pureblood Dragon Clan’s control over the Spatial Rift isn’t as precise as we imagined.”

She turned and retrieved a set of light-azure, vintage-style robes from her Storage Space, along with a pair of plain, flat-soled cloth shoes.

Su Xiaoxiao immediately stepped forward to help.

“Sister, are you really going alone?” Her fingers trembled slightly. “Twenty thousand Demonic Creatures… even if they’re all low-level, that’s still too many.”

Lin Fan didn’t speak, simply letting her tie the sash of the robes and then tidying her long, interwoven dark-orange and pure-white hair before a bronze mirror.

The fox-girl in the mirror was petite and delicate, her amber eyes filled with timidity.

A perfect disguise.

“Don’t worry.” Lin Fan turned around and reached out to stroke Su Xiaoxiao’s fox ears. “To me, twenty thousand mindless, low-level creatures are nothing more than twenty thousand walking Crystals.”

Su Xiaoxiao bit her lip and nodded forcefully.

“Xiaoxiao understands.”

Lin Fan lifted the hem of her robes and pushed the door open.

Azurewood City’s central square.

A cordon had already been set up around the Rift. Tiger clan soldiers, holding long spears, formed a circle to keep the spectating commoners at a distance.

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Lin Fan walked up to the cordon with small, mincing steps. The tiger clan guard on duty glanced at her, a trace of contempt flashing in his eyes.

“Halt. Unauthorized personnel are not to approach.”

Lin Fan kept her head down, her voice soft and sweet.

“I… I’m here on a mission. The City Lord told me to enter the Rift.”

The tiger clan soldier paused, looking her up and down.

“You?” he sneered. “Don’t be ridiculous, little fox. The inside of the Rift is no place for a delicate thing like you.”

Lin Fan bit her lip, her eyes reddening as if she had been terribly bullied.

“But… but the City Lord really told me to…”

“Let her in.”

A deep voice came from behind the crowd.

The tiger clan soldier immediately turned and bowed respectfully.

“City Lord!”

Hu Lie walked up to Lin Fan with steady steps. His tiger eyes lingered on her for a few seconds, a complex emotion flashing within them.

“Where is Long Ningshuang?”

Lin Fan kept her head bowed, her voice even smaller.

“Sister Ning Shuang… she is in seclusion deep within the Mist Forest and couldn’t come.”

Hu Lie stared at her for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed.

“Interesting.”

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He pulled a fist-sized, grayish-white stone from his robes and tossed it directly into Lin Fan’s arms.

“This is a Space Stone, bound to Azurewood City’s teleportation gate. As long as you have it, you won’t be randomly teleported when you return.”

Lin Fan caught the stone, feeling the faint spatial fluctuations from it, and a flash of understanding crossed her eyes.

“Thank you, City Lord.”

Hu Lie waved his hand.

“Don’t thank me.” He turned away, his tone indifferent. “I’m just following the Dragon Clan’s request. As for where you get the Crystals, I don’t care, nor do I want to know.”

Lin Fan kept her head down, the corner of her mouth curling into an imperceptible arc.

As expected.

If the Pureblood Dragon Clan ever investigated and found out someone dared to do such a thing, Hu Lie would surely push all the blame onto Long Ningshuang.

He was merely conducting a slave trade with Long Ningshuang. Her going to the other side of the Rift was also at Long Ningshuang’s request; naturally, he wouldn’t dare defy the Dragon Clan’s demands.

As for where the Crystals came from, he would claim to know nothing.

This guy is already preparing a way out for himself.

But this was also good. To avoid suspicion, Hu Lie wouldn’t send his own subordinates to the other side of the Rift with her.

This would make Lin Fan’s operation much more convenient.

The membrane of the Rift began to dissipate at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Lin Fan stood ten meters before the Rift, feeling the increasingly strong spatial fluctuations, her heartbeat quickening slightly.

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Not from nervousness.

From excitement.

“Buzzz—”

A low hum resounded throughout the entire square.

Directly opposite the center of the Rift, a small, two-meter-diameter teleportation portal slowly opened.

This was the small portal opened by the Dragon Clan to teleport the Demonic Creatures.

Immediately after, countless bizarrely shaped figures poured out from the portal, rushing toward the massive Otherworld Rift on the other side.

There were lizard monsters with four legs, soft-bodied creatures covered in tentacles, and deformed dwarves only half a meter tall…

There was no intelligence in their eyes, only the most primitive instinct to kill.

The spectating commoners cried out in alarm, and the tiger clan soldiers subconsciously tightened their grip on their spears.

But Lin Fan just stood there quietly, her amber eyes reflecting the surging Demonic Creatures.

Twenty thousand of them.

Twenty thousand Crystals.

She took a deep breath and strode toward the portal.

“Wait.”

Hu Lie suddenly spoke.

Lin Fan stopped and looked back at him.

Hu Lie stared at her, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

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“You… are you really going alone?”

Lin Fan blinked, her voice so soft it sounded like she was about to cry.

“Sister Ning Shuang said… this is my mission.”

Hu Lie was silent for a few seconds before finally shaking his head.

“As you wish.” He turned away, no longer looking at her. “Remember, three hundred female slaves are already waiting at the Slave Market. When you return, tell Miss Ningshuang that once she has the Crystals, she can come and collect them at any time.”

Lin Fan kept her head down and answered softly.

“Yes, City Lord.”

Then, she turned and walked toward the portal.

Her petite figure seemed exceptionally small in front of the surging Demonic Creatures.

Hu Lie stood his ground, watching her back disappear into the portal, a trace of pity flashing in his eyes.

“City Lord.” Hu Ben walked to his side and asked in a low voice, “Are we really not sending someone to keep an eye on her?”

Hu Lie shook his head.

“No need.” His voice was cold. “We must distance ourselves from this matter. If the Pureblood Dragon Clan investigates in the future, we can say that Long Ningshuang acted on her own, and it has nothing to do with Azurewood City.”

Hu Ben nodded, but a hint of hesitation remained in his eyes.

“But… if that little fox dies on the other side, won’t our deal…”

Hu Lie didn’t answer.

He just stared quietly at the Rift, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes.