In the dry air of summer, the sound of rolling wheels chased away some of the night creatures that were out for food. An owl has just hooted loudly when one of the men in charge of pulling the cart spoke, "Can someone take my place here? I'm about to past out from exhaustion."
His companion scoffed into the dark night, "I have just recently exchanged with you. Just swallow it. It can't be helped that the master wishes to enslave us days and nights."
The other men also piped in as he was also in charge of wheeling another one, "What are you complaining of? My cart is heavier than yours. Seriously, this bitch can't be any fatter."
"Do you call your wife while she was pregnant fat too, stupid bastard?"
"You want a broken jaw?"
"Piped down, idiots. We are nearing the gate."
The guards had barely grazed them with a glance. They only approached and stared at the two carts cautiously. One of them asked in a threatening tone, "Only two? What have you pigs been doing for the whole day?"
"Good sir, pregnant ladies are as rare as jewels. Now that we've been emptying them day by day, two are considered lucky."
The guard glared at the man before checking the women's faces. "No magic disguise. Looks legit. This one is ugly. Such a big scar. Wheel them in before I slice your throat."
"Those dogs. They must have forgotten they were just disciples like us before the new master appointed them a new ranking," the man that hadn't been wheeling the carts helped his fellows laid down the bodies onto the haystack. The few prisoners inside eyed them as they had been suddenly disturbed in their sleep. "What are ya bitches looking at? Disgusting."
The iron door slammed roughly loud despite the slumber hour. The men couldn't drag their feet or mind their actions any longer because they were about to pass out in any second to their beds.
In the silent prison chamber, a woman crawled to the two new bodies. "They're gone. Taohua or Lan Yan?"
One of the pregnant ladies was pretending to pass out and she rose up quickly upon the question. She shook the other awake too. "Taohua. Wake up, idiot. Are you asleep for real?"
"Don't bother me, Wan Qiang."
Wan Qiang quickly rid herself of the fake giant cotton belly after she pinched the other into opening his wide teary eyes, "There is no time for sulking. Hurry and help me draw the array."
"Why does it have to be me? Why can't it be Wu Huan? I feel so ashamed in this getup," he tugged hard at his hair, stomping his feet like a child.
"How many times do we have to tell you? Have you seen a lady so tall and masculine? He would have been exposed quicker than a snap of the wrist."
Luo Yang stared at the fake big scar Wan Qiang had plastered on her face. Fair enough. This would compensate for his heavy makeup and his fake pair of boobs with the huge belly.
Suddenly, the woman who had crawled to them grabbed onto Wan Qiang alarmingly. She had seen the chalk she had pulled out after clearing away the scattering hay. "What are you doing? The array lies on the other side of the prison. I'll take you two there. It's about to be finished. Roughly another week."
Wan Qiang realized that the woman must have been from Lan Yan Sect. "I've heard. How long have you been here?"
"Just last week. The old ones all got taken away. Have they been rescued?"
Luo Yang sighed, "Most of them are alive but we are hiding them outside our walls as of now."
"Did you kill his disciples? Wouldn't Yin Fan find out if no one came back to report?"
"Don't worry. The leader in charge has turned to our side with a few death threats."
"That's a relief to hear. The others have left me with one-third of the array. With you two, we can finish a bit early than expected. But, we can't be too rushed. The guards come to check very regularly at random times. It's so frustrating."
"You're the only one left?" Luo Yang gaped.
The woman nodded solemnly. "My name is Cai Jie, by the way."
"Luo Yang."
"Wan Qiang," she smiled. "Alright, no more chitchat. The sects actually have a new plan."
Cai Jie waited patiently.
"There's no time to explain much but we rescue the young master tomorrow. Today, we must draw a one-person array before dawn. The giant array can wait."
"One-person array?"
Luo Yang had started to take up one-third of the drawing with Wan Qiang. Cai Jie didn't want to question further so she also got into position. Wan Qiang sweat from the humid air and tension but her brows were clenched in determination. "Wait, you two drew this. It won't take long. I'll watch the door instead."
It indeed took them barely half an hour to finish the array. After Luo Yang had confirmed it held no inaccuracies, he called for Wan Qiang to get into position.
"The summoned person is already in the closest proximity, I believe?" Cai Jie formed what was left of her spiritual energy.
"Yes, he is. Say 'Wu Huan' once the array lit up," Luo Yang poured his energy simultaneously to the two women.
The array turned a golden color and they half-shouted, "Golden array, I summon 'Wu Huan' on thee's twin in the closest proximity. Abide."
A golden glow rose as high as the ceiling. Out of it was a young man in a black cloak. His dark eyes immediately scanned the surrounding. The three rose up as he turned around to scan the prison. "This place is quite large. As the report stated, it can summon at least a hundred people, right?"
"Can you explain why we are rushing the operation?"
Wu Huan glanced at Cai Jie, "You must be from Lan Yan. We have no choice because the hostage won't survive long enough until next month. I'll infiltrate the enemies alone while you three finished the big array tomorrow."
"What? It's too dangerous. Even if you're strong, they've gotten really tight security and the big array will notify Yin Fan once it's activated anyway. Why don't you wait for us to finish the array?"
"When will you finish? Can you three finish by the end of this month? What will happen if our hostage dies? And, where do I hide in this tight security? The outside troop is already stationed at this moment in the forest. They will distract the guards while we rescue the hostage then we will escape through the array again. Nothing for you to worry about."
Cai Jie only blinked, her cheeks were red from embarrassment. She didn't speak anymore and only followed Luo Yang to the big array.
"I know you're tense. But, do you have to sound so harsh?" Wan Qiang took notice of his unapologetic face and decided to walk away, "Nevermind. Just be careful. We will try to summon the others at seven o'clock sharp."
"Ok."