The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis

Two days had passed since Zhao Xinying vanished.

Two days of refusing anyone, even the Emperor, from leaving the hunting ground. Two days of waiting for so much as one minister to argue with him. Two days of restraint... of not killing every minister in sight.

And now, Zhu Mingyu was done waiting.

The sun hadn't yet risen over the eastern ridge, but the ground shook with boots. The wind carried the heavy scent of steel, blood, and fury as the Red Demon Army advanced—not in ranks, not in parade form, but as a wave of vengeance, armor clinking like warning bells. This was no inspection. No search party.

This was war.

And leading it all was Crown Prince Zhu Mingyu. He didn't speak. He didn't blink. The only sound he made was the quiet grind of his teeth.

In fact, the Crown Prince's eyes hadn't closed since the night of the banquet. He hadn't shaved, hadn't eaten, and hadn't spoken to anyone except Yaozu. And now, with his armor hastily thrown on and a cloak hanging off one shoulder, he looked like a man who had decided mercy was no longer a virtue worth preserving.

Behind him, Yaozu said nothing. He didn't have to. His blade was already drawn.

Zhu Deming was half a step behind Minyu, his half-mask glinting beneath the early morning light, breath rising in curls around his face. Beside him, General Sun Longzi kept his silence, his hands clenched tightly around his reins. Not far behind, Sun Yizhen rode without a word, fan closed and strapped to his belt for once.

The Red Demon Army surged forward behind the five men like a storm descending on the mountain.

Soon enough, the mines appeared in front of them all.

They were just as Yaozu had mapped it. High cliffs rose around them, jagged and black. A fortress carved into the bones of the earth, black, jagged, and yawning wide.

The command came from Mingyu with a single motion—two fingers raised and a sharp turn of his wrist.

"Deming. Longzi. Take the eastern tunnels," Mingyu ordered as they dismounted. His voice was low, but it carried like a blade. "Yizhen, take the west. Yaozu, with me."

None of them hesitated.

Torches were lit, and commanders barked out orders to the soldiers under them as they all surged forward.

But Mingyu didn't wait for the army to sort itself out. He was the first into the cavern, his footsteps echoing off stone as he moved deeper and deeper into the dark, his heart pounding like war drums behind his ribs.

The tunnels reeked of salt, sweat, and decay. This place wasn't abandoned like everyone had assumed it to be. They had been lived in, with supplies stockpiled and organized. Rows of crates lined the walls, each one marked with the seal of a noble house long thought loyal. Mingyu pried one open with the tip of his sword and stared.

Rice, enough to feed the palace for a year.

Another crate held more salt than three villages could ever afford in their lifetime.

A third crate had iron-forged weapons wrapped in silk to keep them from rusting.

It was enough to equip ten thousand men.

Every inch of the mines screamed treason, that someone was planning a rebellion, and they were almost ready to pull the trigger. But none of that mattered to Mingyu.

"She's not here," Yaozu murmured beside him, scanning the floor. "No blood. No torn fabric. No trace of her scent."

Mingyu didn't answer. He kept walking forward, his silence speaking more than words could. He continued to slice open crates, kicking over stools, tearing through stacks of parchment and folded uniforms. Each empty corner carved another notch into his spine. He refused to leave until every last stone had been turned over and examined for a trace of Xinying.

Where was she?

Zhu Deming appeared at the far end of the tunnel, his breath ragged as his eyes wild. "Nothing in the east tunnels. But we found ledgers. There is a long list of names that you are probably going to want to see."

"Names?" Sun Yizhen asked, appearing behind him.

"Donors," Zhu Deming said grimly. "Nobles. Merchants. Foreign envoys. Every single one of them funnelling goods to these mines. It's clear that they are preparing to overthrow the Emperor and set up a prince of their choosing."

"Planning a coup," Sun Longzi confirmed, arriving last. His knuckles were scraped raw. "Not just against the Crown. Against the Empire itself."

The five men stood in a narrow chamber surrounded by shadows and crates and betrayal.

But no Xinying.

And that silence… it was unbearable.

"She should've been here," Mingyu said softly. Too softly. "The trail led here. We saw the marks on the trees. Yaozu scouted this place. This was the only logical place."

"And yet, she's not here," Yaozu confirmed again. "And she's left no signs. No traps. No weapons. Nothing to indicate she ever touched this place."

Mingyu's jaw clenched, and his younger brother Deming exhaled sharply. "Could they have moved her?"

"No," Yizhen said with sudden certainty. "No one can move her unless she allows it. If she wanted to be found, we'd find her. If she doesn't…"

The words hung like smoke.

Mingyu turned slowly toward the exit. His eyes burned with a cold, furious light. "Then she never intended to be here."

"She's drawing them out," Longzi said after a beat. "Letting them think they're winning."

"She always plays the long game," Yaozu added, confirming everyone's worst fear.

"But how long?" Deming snapped. "What if—what if she miscalculated?"

"She didn't," Mingyu growled. "She knew exactly what would happen. She let herself be taken because she wants evidence to justify their deaths. She is going to destroy everyone, and she doesn't want to bring us down with her."

"And if they kill her before she gets the chance?" Yizhen asked.

Mingyu looked at him.

Really looked at him.

Then he turned toward the mine entrance and walked with lethal calm into the morning light.

"Bring me Yuyan," he said, not raising his voice. When no one moved, he briefly looked over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing on Yaozu. "Now," he repeated, eyes cutting toward the soldiers still lingering at the edge of the camp. "If she resists, drag her."

Yaozu was already moving before the last word left his lips.