Chapter 160

"Frost falls in the courtyard, golden chrysanthemums gleam; the full moon casts faint fragrance along the quiet path~…"

A young girl's melodic hum echoed through the silent courtyard.

Linghu Qingmo silently peered over the eaves, glanced at the alchemy chamber, and found Xie Jinhuan absent—she frowned inwardly.

Meiqiu, however, knew the way well; she lifted her head toward the western courtyard, then flapped her wings to the alchemy chamber's window, opening her beak for food.

"Hey? Meiqiu! Come here, help fan the fire…"

"Gujii?!"

Meiqiu stared in shock, but upon seeing the snack he pulled out, she immediately began fanning…

…

Linghu Qingmo, fearing discovery, withdrew her gaze and drew her sword, walking along the eaves until she reached the Young Lady's courtyard; the doors and windows were shut, but voices could be heard:

"Look at yourself—how badly hurt are you? Not a single inch of skin is unbruised…"

"It's not that bad…"

"Don't move around…"

…

Was Xie Jinhuan injured?

Linghu Qingmo's heart tightened; she leapt instantly and landed at the door, shoving it open without warning.

Whoosh~

Inside, a woman's sharp scream erupted:

"Ahh—?!"

…

Linghu Qingmo, desperate to see the source of the cry, froze in shock.

There, on the embroidered bed, Xie Jinhuan lay face-down on the pillow, his exposed shoulders, back, and arms covered in large bruises, slick and glossy with ointment.

Beside him, the plump woman with glasses sat astride his lower back in a duck-style posture, rubbing ointment into his shoulders and back.

Normally, this would count as casual, practical healing.

But the woman's attire was disheveled: her arms hugged her chest, a jade bracelet adorned her wrist, and she wore nothing but a pale purple "Fengxian Lüyi."

This garment, produced by the Danyang Academy, was extremely valuable and beautiful—a halter-strap dress paired with thigh-high stockings and a tiny rear garment, translucent and hazy…

"Ahh—!"

Linghu Qingmo, belatedly realizing, stood stunned for an instant before shrieking and slamming the door shut:

"Lin Young Lady, what are you doing?!"

Lin Wanyi, thinking it was her own daughter, nearly fainted; upon recognizing Linghu's voice, she exhaled in relief and hastily pulled on her skirt:

"I'm healing him—what else would I be doing? You… you didn't knock?!"

"Healing?"

Linghu Qingmo stood outside the door, eyes suspicious.

"Why aren't you wearing clothes to heal him?"

Lin Wanyi flushed, fastened her sash, and forced an explanation:

"I'm not wearing clothes? At home, why would I dress so much?"

You might as well have worn nothing…

Linghu Qingmo thought this sister was scandalously provocative, but this was Lin Wanyi's private chamber—what the woman did at home wasn't her business. She merely stood outside with her sword, waiting.

Rustling…

Creak~

Moments later, Xie Jinhuan emerged, dressed neatly, his expression as detached as a master beyond mortal concerns:

"Seeing Mo Mo, why are you here?"

Lin Wanyi, still flushed, hid behind the wall inside, clearly too embarrassed to show her face.

Linghu Qingmo pretended she'd seen nothing, first checking Xie Jinhuan's injuries:

"The Yunling County incident caused too much uproar—the Princess has forbidden anyone to leave. Wang Fu lacks a leader, so I came to find you. Hmm… didn't I interrupt you?"

Xie Jinhuan shook his head with a smile: "I came only to heal. It's daytime—what could you possibly interrupt?"

"Hmph~"

A faint, barely audible huff came from inside—the woman still resentful about being pinned beneath the desk earlier, subjected to that oaf's liberties.

Linghu Qingmo felt it was too mocking to flirt at Lin the Physician's door; she turned her head:

"Let's return to Wang Fu."

Xie Jinhuan greeted Wanyi and departed Lin Fu with her…

——

Nightfall.

Imperial City, Imperial Study.

In profound grief, Emperor Gan had gone nearly white-haired overnight; compounded by his chronic illness and discontinued medicine, he looked twenty years older.

Now, Emperor Gan sat behind his desk, expressionless, studying a document drafted by the Council of State Affairs.

The document concerned the case "He Family Collusion with Demons." To prevent public unrest, it would be made public in a few days, and its contents read:

Grand Tutor He Xiu, obsessed with immortality, conspired with demon bandits, secretly committing major crimes: the "Imperial Palace Ghost Incident," the "Huaijiang Bay Massacre," the "Corpse Case," the "Ye Shirong Blood Slave Case," the "Black Cat Assassination Attempt," and the "Yunling County Massacre." By law, the entire He family shall be executed as a warning.

Empress He, though long secluded within the palace and uninvolved, as the He family's direct daughter, failed in her duty to admonish them; her empress title is revoked and she is imprisoned in the Cold Palace.

The Crown Prince bears no guilt; Chancellor Fan Li of the Imperial Academy, Minister of Justice Hou Jiye, and other court officials jointly petitioned for clemency; thus, the Crown Prince retains his position but is confined to the Eastern Palace for reflection.

For this grave crime by the maternal relatives, Emperor Gan bears responsibility for negligence; he issues a self-condemning edict to the realm and draws silver from the imperial family's private treasury to bury and compensate the victims.

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau failed in its duty; Lu Wu Zhen was demoted to Deputy Director, and the abbot of TianTai Temple, Wu Xin Chan Master, was appointed as Deputy Director as well.

Additionally, Xie Jinhuan's father, Xie Wen, was wrongfully implicated in the haunted imperial palace incident and assassinated by the He clan while en route to Ruizhou; he is now officially exonerated.

Xie Jinhuan single-handedly solved the Huaijiang Bay massacre, the dried corpse case, the Ye Shirong blood-slave case, and led the investigation in Yunling County, delivering the greatest contribution to the Great Qian in quelling national chaos; for these combined merits, he is granted the title of County Marquis.

Mount Zihui rendered meritorious service in slaying demons; ten sets of Ziyuan Dan are granted as reward. Li Jing of DanYang Academy slew demons with merit; one set of treasure armor is granted…

The official document was long; even after deliberately omitting the name of Emperor Qian and concealing the exact casualties, it was sufficient to severely damage the Emperor's authority.

Emperor Qian may have once been a passable ruler, but after this incident, he will essentially become a cautionary tale in history books.

Yet at this moment, Emperor Qian cared less about posthumous judgment; according to the Imperial Astronomical Bureau's inspection, the Empress, the Crown Prince, and the Dan Prince's faction showed no irregularities. Though he had lost everything, he still retained a few loyal family members by his side.

Though after today, the Empress, who loved him his entire life, may be shattered; the Crown Prince, who revered him for half his life, may be hollowed out—he no longer had to commit the act of killing his wife and children.

To him, this was now the greatest blessing.

Cao Fuer stood behind him, holding his dust whisk in both arms, knowing the Emperor's days were numbered, his eyes filled with sorrow, yet still fulfilling his duty as "Great Companion," soothing him:

"Your Majesty hasn't slept for two days. Won't you rest? Even now, things are far better than during the Jian'an Rebellion."

Emperor Qian's eyes moved slightly; he picked up his brush and annotated the document:

"The Jian'an Rebellion was more perilous, but not nearly as agonizing as this."

"Yet fortunately, we have unearthed the traitor. Had Xie Jinhuan not pursued relentlessly, the He clan might have survived until Zhao Jinghuan's succession, at which point nearly no one in court could restrain them. Zhao Jinghuan would inevitably have listened to his grandfather and He Man's counsel—witch-doctors would rule, the realm would descend into chaos, and the Zhao clan would perish."

"Xie Jinhuan was originally the son of an official family—intelligent, virtuous, and outstanding in both talent and character. His family's ruin was due to my failure to discern true worth."

"Now, with lone courage, he has saved the collapsing empire. Granting him only the title of County Marquis feels like a betrayal—I bestow upon him a mansion, ten hectares of land, and ten thousand strings of cash…"

…

—

Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

Moonlight, like frost, spilled across the Bai Shi plaza before the Gao Ta, where celestial officials occasionally entered and exited, reporting matters.

Inside the Hall of Deliberation of the Gao Ta, seven Daoists of ethereal bearing sat upon chairs; Lu Wu Zhen, seated at the head, convened an internal meeting of the Danding Sect:

"Our ancestors bestowed the name 'Wuzhen' to signify that the Three Thousand Dao Paths, though divergent, ultimately converge—do not exclude those of differing views. Yet cultivation is like rowing upstream: if you do not advance, you retreat…"

All seven were the heads of Danding Sect branches in the Central Plains region, including Li Chi of Xuanhu Guan and Qingya Zi of Qinglian Palace.

Mount Zihui, owing to the meritorious deeds of True Person Qixia during the Wu Sect upheaval, ranked second within the Danding Sect.

Thus, Nangong Ye, though the least accomplished among the seven Patriarchs, held the second position; now clad in black-and-white Daoist robes, he sat listening to Lu Wu Zhen's speech, his expression as cold as celestial stars and moon—but his heart was filled with the stain of transgression…

After returning in the daytime, she did nothing but bathe all day in her secret base by Fengyi River, changing the water countless times.

As a cultivator, she had eaten almost nothing for months to purify her body for entering Super Rank, sustaining herself solely on 'Grain Bigu Pills,' drinking only wine or water, clean inside and out.

Yet for some reason, today she felt guilty, terrified that some Daoist present, with profound cultivation, might discern through minute details what she had done.

But this was clearly mere psychological delusion—or a mind demon's trick.

The six other Danding Sect Immortals present could not possibly have deduced that the icy-cold leader of Danzhou's Daoist sect, sitting beside them, had spent the day blindfolded in her carriage, being beaten by Huang Mao—and now merely discussed grand strategy and dire straits.

Though Daoist sects preach "Believe if you will, leave if you won't," belief costs nothing, but cultivation demands sacrifice.

Now suddenly demoted to parity with the Buddhist sect, cultivation resources and fresh blood would inevitably plummet—this was a loss the Danding Sect could not bear.

Lu Wu Zhen's main topic today was "Demon Daoists secretly infiltrating, Wu Sect harboring ill intent, Buddhist Golden Sutras and Easy Scripts, Martial Dao's ambitious designs."

In simple terms: four of the Great Qian's five Xiuxingliu Sects wished to see Daoism collapse.

Since cultivation demands progress or decline, Lu Wu Zhen demanded each branch devise ways to preserve the Danding Sect's current status, even issuing annual tasks.

For instance, Mount Zihui must subdue Fan Yun Temple to prevent "Ziyun Temple" from truly being established in Danzhou.

Nangong Ye currently lacked the strength to subdue Fan Yun Temple, but in Daoist cultivation, status is guaranteed by power; she could not admit defeat, and so solemnly pledged to complete the task.

After the internal meeting concluded, the various sect heads departed one by one; Nangong Ye also left the Imperial Astronomical Bureau alone, intending to return home in silence.

But halfway, she changed her mind and wished to see how her beloved disciple was faring—and how Xie Jinhuan was doing.

Thus, Nangong Ye first went to Lin Fu and found the Lin family, large and small, busy refining pills; Meiqiu was still fanning the fire as a servant—so she turned and went to Wang Fu on Zheng'an Street.

Inside Wang Fu, lanterns burned brightly, for the Dan Prince's household had yet to be fully investigated; outside, Chi Lin Guards still stood watch.

In the eastern residence, Zhao De was confined to a bare-walled study, sitting in meditation with Jingkong Monk, still chatting idly:

"Master Jingkong, do you think I have any spiritual roots?"

"All beings possess spiritual roots; the Young Master simply has not yet revealed his."

"Oh… then why is Brother Xie so powerful? Has his spiritual roots already been revealed?"

"Brother Xie's spiritual roots are immense."

…

?

Nangong Ye heard this Chan discourse and silently shook her head; she crossed Wang Fu to the western residence.

The western residence was the domain of Princess Changning; now, numerous maids stood obediently outside her boudoir.

Inside the boudoir, Duoduo played the pipa as accompaniment; Princess Changning wore a splendid Hezi dress, accompanied by a Daoist nun, who was:

"One-one, two-two, three-three, four-four…"

The Daoist nun was Jing Wuniang, Lu Wu Zhen's granddisciple; by Danding Sect seniority, she should be called Master's Grand-Aunt, but their ages were similar, and they had once trained together internally.

Nangong Ye gave a brief glance and thought the Dan Prince's two children were truly unconventional—her own disciple was far more well-behaved—so she proceeded to the western residence guest chamber.

What met her eyes was a room bearing the plaque "Upright Gentleman," where a cold, handsome young master in white robes sat on a Luo Han couch, half his robe undone, revealing his muscular arms.

The cold, beautiful girl, dressed in matching attire, held healing ointment and carefully wiped as she spoke:

"You're incredibly bold. He Hai is the favorite grandson of He Guozhang; you smashed his skull and threw his jade tablet before him. He Guozhang didn't immediately enter Super Rank from rage alone—his cultivation was just a bit too weak…"

"Hehe~ I was startled too. His reaction was like a mad dog—he chased me until I ran for my life. Too bad you weren't there…"

"You didn't even think to bring me. When you returned from outside, the first thing you did was rush to Lin Fu…"

"Sigh~ This opponent was a bit too strong. I could only follow the elders' heels and assist. Next time, I'll bring you along…"

"Hmph..."

The cold and beautiful Miss seemed indifferent, yet the glances she occasionally cast at the man concealed admiration and heartache.

And the man sitting there perhaps noticed that gaze, which held a touch of love, and turned his head to launch a surprise attack.

"Mmph?!"

Nangong Ye, seeing this scene from afar, felt like a mother picking up her daughter from school only to catch her being forcibly kissed by a hooligan; her phoenix eyes instantly darkened.

But soon she realized that her own aloof disciple, who seemed to eat no mortal food, her face flushed and hand slightly raised as if to strike the rogue, did not actually strike.

After being kissed for a while, she belatedly pulled away, her eyes slightly fierce:

"Speak quickly! Don't be angry!"

"Hehe~" The Young Master in white robes, feeling secure, even took a small box out from his clothes: "I passed by Changle Street today and bought you a bracelet on a whim..."

"You... did you buy one for Physician Lin too? I saw it..."

"I am not just fulfilling a duty. Knowing you like white, I chose it specifically; try it on and see if it matches your skin tone..."

The obedient disciple, her face slightly flushed, looked a bit embarrassed, but when he pulled her hand to put on the bracelet, she ultimately did not pull away...

Nangong Ye's wide-brimmed hat swayed with the wind; her phoenix eyes reflected the two people inside the room. The sharpness in her gaze did not diminish, but a trace of complexity inevitably appeared.

Linghu Qingmo truly liked this young man...

Today's incident was the only time, and also the last time; from now on, she could not compromise again...

Tomorrow, when this young man comes to deliver the medicine, she must be firm in attitude, strictly draw a line, and absolutely not allow him to harbor even a fraction of improper thoughts...

Thinking of this, a few more points of unshakable determination appeared in Nangong Ye's eyes, and she quietly left the Wang Fu...

————

Begging for monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)