Chapter 230: It Has Arrived

Bai Hang and Sai Fei Er walked back along the relatively quiet street lane.

"Honestly..."

Bai Hang rubbed her temples, her tone tinged with fear, "The questioning just now, the gaze of Han Ya from the Ten Kings Office, could literally freeze a person into an ice sculpture. The questions came one after another, the details were nailed down tightly; I almost thought that with the identity of 'Bai Xing' I would be exposed on the spot."

Sai Fei Er flicked her Tail, crossed her arms, mimicking Bai Hang's tone to complain: "Exactly! That Han Ya kept a stone‑cold face, his speech had no inflection, all gloomy. And that Xue Yi beside him kept staring at me, as if there were flowers on my face... Do all the official organizations of Xianzhou have this much 'personality'?"

"The Ten Kings Office, you see, handles matters of life and death, the netherworld; they deal with ominous things year‑round, so their temperament is inevitably... a bit special."

Bai Hang tried to explain, but even she felt the explanation was pale and powerless.

After all, Han Ya's scrutinizing gaze truly put immense pressure on a person.

As they talked, they had already returned to the gate of Bai Hang's small courtyard.

Bai Hang reached out to push the door, and the wooden door emitted a familiar creak.

Then, her and Sai Fei Er's steps halted simultaneously.

In the courtyard, beside the stone table that had been empty when they left this morning, now, astonishingly, there was an extra person.

The figure stood with their back to the entrance, tall and slender, wearing a Lolita Dress of elaborate, ornate design, dominated by black and dark purple hues.

Most noticeable was the Mo Nu Mao perched on her head, its brim slightly drooping, also black‑purple, with barely perceptible dark‑gold patterns along the edge.

Gray‑white long hair flowed like moonlight from beneath the brim, cascading down to her waist.

Even that silhouette alone exuded an aura that made the courtyard's previously tranquil atmosphere suddenly tense.

Bai Hang's heart leapt, her pupils constricting slightly.

(This silhouette... this aura... could it be...?)

She recognized the newcomer almost instantly.

She instinctively straightened, the complaint on her face vanishing, replaced by a respectful yet slightly nervous expression, and tentatively asked, "He... Heimu, Black Curtain Lady?"

The figure, still turned away, made no move.

Bai Hang's heart gave a sudden thud, she quickly recovered, a hint of helplessness flashing across her face, and hurriedly corrected herself, lowering her voice a bit.

"Master... why have you come?"

Upon hearing that address, the violet‑tinged figure slowly turned around.

Beneath the wide brim of the witch hat, a delicate yet pallid face was revealed, the gray‑white hair making the skin appear almost translucent.

Most striking were the eyes—purple‑black irises, deep as a vortex containing the starry sky, calm and unruffled, yet seeming able to see through all disguises and thoughts.

Her gaze first landed on Bai Hang's face, a slight nod acknowledging the "correct" address, then she lightly swept a glance at the completely stunned Sai Fei Er beside her.

Meanwhile, Sai Fei Er's cat‑like pupils widened, her gaze flickering between Bai Hang's posture and Heimu, her little face filled with shock and a kind of... excitement at having uncovered some incredible secret?

She nudged Bai Hang gently with her elbow, her eyes conveying a clear message:

(Wow! Bai Hang! I didn't see it! Between you two... are you playing so... so 'vibe'?)

Bai Hang received Sai Fei Er's teasing glance, her cheek flushing imperceptibly, and quickly shot a glare back with her eyes:

(Don't overthink! This is protocol! Protocol!)

She hurriedly cleared her throat, trying to steer the conversation back on track, her face adopting a perfectly measured mix of concern and puzzlement:

"Master, you came in person... is there something urgent?"

Heimu's gaze refocused on Bai Hang, without answering immediately, and asked directly, "Huo Huo. How much do you know?"

"Huo Huo?"

Bai Hang was taken aback, not expecting Heimu to suddenly bring up the junior Judge from the Ten Kings Office.

She recalled the brocade pouch Sai Fei Er had helped deliver that morning, as well as the bizarre disappearance she had just witnessed and the subsequent Ten Kings Office inquiry, her heart thudding—could something truly have happened? And be related to them?

"Is it about... that Huo Huo Judge from the Ten Kings Office?"

Bai Hang carefully confirmed, seeing Heimu give a slight nod, she hurriedly recounted what she knew: "This morning, per the prior plan, I had Sai Fei Er deliver that brocade pouch to Huo Huo's residence; it should have arrived safely. Then just now, about an hour and a half ago, we were at Chang Le Tian Street..."

She pointed to Sai Fei Er beside her: "Sai Fei Er—well, her eyesight is sharp and she's quick, so she saw Huo Huo sitting on a bench, and then... then she suddenly vanished on the spot! Only a pair of sunglasses fell to the ground... that's the gist of it."

Heimu listened quietly, her purple‑black eyes turning to Sai Fei Er: "You, did you see the whole process?"

Being stared at by those eyes, Sai Fei Er instinctively drew her neck back, feeling as if locked by some unseen presence, a shiver running through her.

She nodded.

"Yes! I saw it with my own eyes! She was sitting there, and then—'swish'—she was gone! Extremely sudden, with no sign at all!"

Heimu asked no further, but stepped forward two paces, coming to stand before Sai Fei Er.

She was considerably taller than Sai Fei Er, her gaze slightly lowered, then she extended her right hand—wearing a black lace glove—and lightly tapped the tip of her index finger against Sai Fei Er's forehead.

The motion was light and swift, a touch that vanished instantly.

Sai Fei Er only felt a faint chill where her forehead was touched, as if a sliver of ice had brushed it, then vanished.

She absentmindedly patted her forehead, then looked at Heimu, not understanding what that sudden action meant.

Meanwhile, Heimu had withdrawn her hand, her eyelids slightly lowered, as if digesting something.

Through that brief contact, she directly extracted Sai Fei Er's Memory of that instant—a Fox People girl spacing out on the bench, disappearing out of thin air without any sign, the fallen sunglasses, and a barely perceptible abnormality in the air.

(Indeed... it's not a conventional spatial shift or invisibility.)

A trace of clear coldness flickered deep within Heimu's purple‑black eyes.

Bai Hang watched from the side, her heart uneasy.

Huo Huo's disappearance was too bizarre, and that brocade pouch she sent out...

Although the original intent was to complete the Task, what if...

She couldn't help but ask, "Master, could Huo Huo's disappearance be linked to that brocade pouch? Did I handle it improperly?"

Heimu lifted her gaze, giving Bai Hang a look that was calm yet silenced her instantly.

"It has nothing to do with you."

Heimu's voice remained flat, but with an undeniable certainty, "Something else intervened."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Bai Hang and Sai Fei Er, "Be more cautious lately; there are many eyes in the Luo Fu Dark Place. This matter, I'll handle."

As the words fell, without even giving Bai Hang time to ask, Heimu's figure, just as abrupt as when she appeared, turned into a faint violet‑black dust, like mist scattered by wind, quickly dissipating into the air, as if never having been there.

In the courtyard, only Bai Hang and Sai Fei Er remained, staring at each other.

Sai Fei Er blinked, then touched his forehead, muttering softly, "She… just left? Why did she tap me just now? Check if I'm lying?"

Bai Hang exhaled, but felt a heavy weight in their chest.

Black Curtain Lady personally intervened, explaining that Huo Huo's disappearance was no trivial matter.

She patted Sai Fei Er's shoulder, "Don't overthink it. Since the master said she would handle it, we obey the order and act low‑key lately."

Sai Fei Er nodded, yet remained full of curiosity about the matter.