Chapter 62

"Forget it. It's done now; blaming you won't help."

Zhu Fenglan waved her hand, then her gaze fell on Guan Shanxue, who lay unconscious, and she murmured:

"This girl is of special status—she is the daughter of the Six Ministries' Grand Hunter, Guan Tianqian. I still don't know why she's been targeting you."

"But since you didn't encounter any Six Ministries personnel at the time, this doesn't seem to have been orchestrated by the Six Ministries themselves."

Hearing this, Cang Yunning's eyes flickered with lust and murderous intent as he said:

"This is simple. Why not let Mother hand her over to me for cultivation, then kill her and destroy the body? No one will ever know about tonight."

Yet Zhu Fenglan shook her head sharply and rebuked him:

"Before acting, use your head a little. You still don't know why she's targeting you—or whether she holds evidence of your crimes. What good is killing her?"

"What if she left clues that lead Guan Tianqian straight to our door? Do you want us all to die with you?"

Cang Yunning's face changed instantly. He glanced at Guan Shanxue lying on the ground, then lowered his head and frowned:

"Does Mother have a foolproof plan?"

Zhu Fenglan pondered briefly, then instructed a nearby maid:

"Go bring me the 'Thousand Foolish, Hundred Grudges Powder.'"

"Yes, Lady."

The maid bowed slightly and quickly left, returning from another room in the courtyard with a porcelain bottle.

Zhu Fenglan glanced at the bottle, nodded, and signaled the maid to make Guan Shanxue swallow it.

"This Thousand Foolish, Hundred Grudges Powder was acquired by me many years ago from a rogue alchemist skilled in poison. Anyone who ingests it becomes obsessively infatuated with the first opposite-sex person they see, unable to break free for a period of time."

Zhu Fenglan explained to Cang Yunning, her narrow eyes half-lidded:

"When you question her later, she will answer every question truthfully. Once I learn what she knows, I'll decide how to deal with her."

Hearing this, Cang Yunning's fair, red-lipped face broke into a lewd grin:

"Mother, could you spare me some of this powder? It would aid me in future endeavors."

Zhu Fenglan glanced at him and said:

"Handle your own affairs. This is the last of it—once it's used, there won't be any more."

Cang Yunning's face fell with regret, but he said nothing further.

Seeing the maid now administering the powder to Guan Shanxue—and knowing the effect would take time—he walked toward the woman wrapped in a quilt and said:

"I'll go attend to something first. I'll return later to question her."

With that, he hoisted the quilt-wrapped woman onto his shoulder and turned to leave the room.

Zhu Fenglan watched his back without a word, then nodded and said:

"Yuning's martial cultivation grows ever deeper. Though the Nine Yin Dark Poison Art is sinister, it truly is a remarkable technique—no less potent than my sister's 'Blood Transformation and Return Great Method.'"

Rong Mama, beside her, nodded gently:

"Indeed. But only the young master's exceptional talent could achieve such results. Others could never reach this level."

As she spoke, Rong Mama seemed to recall something and added:

"The date when Her Majesty needs her 'blood offering' this month is approaching. I may need to make several trips outside the city soon—the authorities are cracking down hard, and most human traffickers dare not enter the city."

Hearing this, Zhu Fenglan's gaze turned to the flowers in the courtyard, her expression thoughtful:

"Handle it as you see fit, but my sister's needs must be fully met—her cultivation cannot afford any mishaps."

"It would be best to keep more maids within the mansion, for emergencies."

Rong Mama agreed, then turned to look again at the lush, vibrant flowers in the courtyard, where the air now hung thick with their rich fragrance.

…

"So she's come home."

Beneath the hazy moonlight, Li Musheng appeared silently outside the Marquis of Cangyuan's residence. He glanced at the qi thread in his hand, then stroked his chin.

Given Cang Yin Yue's relationship with the Marquis of Cangyuan's residence, this girl hardly seemed the type to return voluntarily.

"Hmm… understood."

"She probably came back to steal the Bone-Eating Yin Wind Finger technique, so I can remove the branded characters on her face."

Li Musheng suddenly looked enlightened, glancing into the Hou Fu and raising an eyebrow slightly:

"I wonder if she'll succeed?"

"I might as well go in and take a look—perhaps I can collect another favor."

The next instant, he vanished into the Marquis of Cangyuan's residence.

…

After entering a downward-extending secret tunnel, Cang Yin Yue walked a short distance and arrived at a stone-walled cavern.

She lit a firestick and scanned the surroundings—the cavern was surprisingly large.

Some areas bore old excavation marks, suggesting the original cave had been expanded over time, clearly many years ago.

At that moment, Cang Yin Yue spotted wall lamps on the stone walls and lit them one by one with her firestick.

Soon, the entire cavern glowed with dim yellow light.

Cang Yin Yue did not linger. She immediately began searching for the secret manual of the Bone-Eating Yin Wind Finger.

Yet aside from dusty wooden shelves and a dozen rusted, empty iron chests, she found not a trace of the manual.

"Drip."

Suddenly, the sound of dripping water shattered the cavern's deathly silence.

Cang Yin Yue turned her head toward the sound, looking upward—and immediately frowned.

The entire ceiling was studded with thick iron chains, beneath which hung a massive copper cauldron, covered in green rust.

The cauldron blocked half the ceiling, obscuring what lay above; she could only guess the dripping sound originated from above.

She showed a strange expression, wondering why such a peculiar arrangement existed within this secret cave.

After pondering briefly, Cang Cang Yin Yue immediately stamped her foot hard, rushed forward, stepped lightly on the iron box and the brick wall on the rock face, and leaped onto the edge of the copper cauldron wrapped in iron chains.

As the flint was lit, she slowly surveyed the scene above.

However, in the next instant, Cang Cang Yin Yue froze completely, her eyes revealing shock and disbelief.

"This... what is going on?"

Her face instantly turned extremely ugly.

Above the copper cauldron before her lay a patch of dark, damp soil; these soils emitted wisps of rotting scent, and among them were clearly intermingled dark human bones, densely packed like an underground mass grave.

A hand bone was even squeezed out, hanging down outside the mud; yellow corpse oil had settled in the soil, occasionally dripping down along the bones toward the copper cauldron below.

The sound of dripping water Cang Cang Yin Yue had just heard was actually the sound of corpse oil dripping.

For a moment, Cang Cang Yin Yue dared not imagine why such things existed in the secret chamber of her father's study.

"Good daughter, you have indeed discovered your father's secret."

Just then, a mellow middle-aged man's voice drifted up from below.

(End of this chapter)