Xie Ling’s affirmative answer was undoubtedly a blunt blow that sent dark spots dancing before Yin Huizhi’s eyes. Given Xie Ling’s personality, if he truly believed it, he would absolutely use this matter to tease him mercilessly!
Wait, why was he feeling ashamed in front of Xie Ling, a fellow who did not seem to care about gender anyway? Besides, it was not as if he liked that book; even if he did, it was none of Xie Ling’s business.
Yin Huizhi pulled the book from Xie Ling’s hand and stuffed it back onto the shelf. He took a deep breath, mentally commanding himself to forget what had just happened. “I am going to find Ouyang Yi. Are you coming or not?”
Xie Ling sat down across from him and poured himself a cup of tea. “I am coming.”
It was the expected answer. Yin Huizhi said, “Then let us go.”
Xie Ling said unhurriedly, “I have not had breakfast yet.”
“Have you not already achieved inedia?” Yin Huizhi suppressed his irritation and added, “The sun is already high in the sky; it can hardly be called morning anymore, Young Master Xie.”
“Oh,” Xie Ling selectively ignored the first half of the sentence. Without looking up, he said, “Then I shall have morning tea. Waiter!”
A worker in the corridor heard the voice of a high-paying guest and shouted back immediately, “Coming! Sir, what are your orders?”
“Serve morning tea.”
The worker, of course, would not tell Xie Ling that it was not morning like Yin Huizhi had. He rushed downstairs and soon returned with steaming pastries and thick soups. Yin Huizhi was speechless.
Xie Ling picked up a spoon and stirred the bowl gently. “If you find this boring, you can continue reading your little yellow book.”
Little yellow book?
Yin Huizhi chewed on the unfamiliar term and intuitively grasped its meaning: erotic literature. Yin Huizhi’s palms grew hot, yet he could find no words to strike back. He could only keep a cold, sullen face and ignore Xie Ling.
Xie Ling glanced at him and pushed a plate of osmanthus cakes across the table. “Do you want some?”
“No,” Yin Huizhi replied ungratefully.
Xie Ling did not insist. He took a slow sip of the sweet soup. “The early osmanthus blossoms are picked in July, rinsed gently in small baskets, sprinkled with fine salt, soaked in well water, and then dried. After that, they can be preserved for a whole year, ready for use at any time.”
“However, cakes made from preserved osmanthus inevitably have a stale air to them. Osmanthus cakes are always best when made with fresh blossoms.” His tone was light, as if he were just engaging in casual conversation.
Yin Huizhi’s eyelashes fluttered uncontrollably. Xie Ling’s words triggered a childhood memory. It was also a season when the early osmanthus was in full bloom. He had followed behind his mother, watching her wash the blossoms, sift the flour, and finally place the steamer on the large pot in the small kitchen.
“A-Hui, does the osmanthus smell sweet?”
“It does! Mother, I want a bite!”
“A-Hui, you little glutton, this must be steamed thoroughly before it can be eaten. Go read your books first; Mother will call you when the osmanthus cakes are ready.”
“No, no! I want to sit right here and wait for it to be done.”
The woman laughed helplessly and tapped his nose. “You are exactly like him, identical. Very well, then you shall wait here with Mother.”
Xie Ling acted as though he had not noticed Yin Huizhi’s distraction. He simply said, “I asked the shopkeeper; these were made with this year’s fresh osmanthus. Won’t you try some?”
This time, Yin Huizhi did not refuse. The osmanthus cake was very sweet, but the more he ate, the drier it felt. It stuck in his throat, and his eyes began to sting with heat. Xie Ling also picked up a piece, took a bite, chewed a few times, and then stopped eating.
He said flatly, “The shopkeeper lied to me.”
Yin Huizhi did not respond, continuing to chew in silence. Xie Ling glanced at Yin Huizhi’s reddened eyes, pushed a teacup toward him, took the half-eaten cake from his hand, and placed it back on the plate.
“I will accompany you to find Ouyang Yi. Let us go.”
On their way out, they passed the inn where they had encountered Ji Huixue the day before. Yin Huizhi did not enter; instead, he pulled aside a worker who was coming out to pour water. He learned that Ji Huixue had checked out and left that same night.
Ji Huixue had broken his confinement to come down the mountain to find him. Now that the matter was resolved, he had likely returned to the Guanlan Sect. Yin Huizhi’s heart settled, and he headed straight for Mount Fulin, as mentioned by the pharmacy shopkeeper.
After seven years, Fortune City had changed completely. Mount Fulin, which once had a constant stream of visitors, was now a desolate mountain. This was actually normal. Mount Fulin and the divine temple within had been developed and built by the Ouyang family. Their purpose was not to worship the gods but to expand the family’s reputation. The deity enshrined in the Fulin Divine Temple was an ancestor of the Ouyang clan.
When the Ouyangs controlled Fortune City and commanded the region, the Fulin Temple naturally saw many offerings. When the family fell, this place, like the surname Ouyang itself, became a symbol of bad luck. The weeds inside the mountain gate were already waist-high. A single glance revealed a mess of overgrown vines and shrubs. The long grass on both sides of the mountain path had been haphazardly cut away, preventing it from completely obscuring the stone steps. It seemed that besides them, others had been coming and going from this place.
Mount Fulin was not particularly high, and they soon reached the summit. The divine temple remained imposing, though years of exposure to sun and rain without maintenance had stripped it of its original color, leaving it gray and dilapidated. The surrounding area was filled with jagged rocks and no resources for human life.
Yin Huizhi frowned. He walked up the cracked stone steps with Xie Ling and saw a wicker basket at the temple entrance. The basket contained clean clothes, vegetables, fruits, and food. Everything they had seen on the path now had an explanation. After sending Ouyang Yi to the temple, the Yang clan had not left him to fend for himself; instead, they sent someone to periodically bring supplies up the mountain for him.
Xie Ling leaned down, fished an orange from the basket, peeled it, and popped a segment into his mouth. Meeting Yin Huizhi’s unreadable gaze, he raised an eyebrow and offered him a segment.
Yin Huizhi pushed his hand away. “Ouyang Yi should be inside.”
He was about to enter when Xie Ling suddenly grabbed him. He thought Xie Ling had something important to say, but when he looked down, he saw Xie Ling wiping his fingers, sticky with orange juice, on Yin Huizhi’s sleeve.
Yin Huizhi’s brow twitched. Suppressing the urge to rip that part of his sleeve off, he said angrily, “Can you not carry a handkerchief?”
Xie Ling looked at his clean fingertips and curled his lips in satisfaction, offering no reply. Yin Huizhi wanted to curse him, but his little finger suddenly felt a strange chill. He instinctively looked down. A dark, black ring had been pushed onto his finger by Xie Ling. Xie Ling’s index finger tapped lightly at the base of his finger, causing a sharp, fleeting pain. He instinctively tried to pull his hand away, but Xie Ling held it firmly.
In the next instant, a drop of blood emerged from the painful spot. Upon touching the ring, it seemed to gain a life of its own, drilling into the interior of the ring, surging and moving until it finally merged with the pitch-black body of the artifact. Yin Huizhi’s eyes widened instantly. Within the ring lay a strange, terrifying, and unpredictable power. He looked at Xie Ling in a daze. “What is this?”
Xie Ling lowered his gaze, his eyes falling on Yin Huizhi’s fingertips. He said softly, “Yan.”
Yan?
Yin Huizhi had read many books but had never heard of a Yan that could be stored in a magical artifact like spiritual energy or demonic essence. He tried to take the ring off, but the artifact seemed to sense his intention. It tightened around the base of his finger, making it throb with pain. When he stopped trying, the ring loosened, returning to a perfect fit. The phrase “an artifact like its master” surfaced in Yin Huizhi’s mind.
“Do not waste your energy,” Xie Ling said as he pushed Yin Huizhi’s hand down. “It has already recognized its master.”
What kind of bandit artifact is this?
Yin Huizhi was almost laughed at by the situation. “It recognizes me as its master, yet it will not let me take it off?”
Xie Ling curled his lips. “This is how the artifacts of us demonic cultivators are. You must be stronger than it for it to completely obey your words.”
Yin Huizhi replied, “Then what do I want it for? To wait for it to devour its master?”
“It will not. Try it.” Xie Ling took Yin Huizhi’s other hand and used Yin Huizhi’s index finger to tap the ring gently.
The Yan within the ring surged and boiled like an untamable beast, yet it instantly calmed the moment Yin Huizhi touched it. It sat quietly, waiting for his command. Yin Huizhi even felt the power affectionately lick his fingertip.
“This thing is quite stupid and lacks much intelligence,” Xie Ling said. “That is why it likes you and will not devour its master.”
Yin Huizhi’s jaw tightened. Xie Ling looked at him and said, “Go in. Be careful.”
Yin Huizhi felt as if his chest had been lightly poked. He turned his head toward the dark interior of the temple and understood Xie Ling’s intention. He pursed his lips, lowered his hand, muttered a quick acknowledgment, and headed inside.
Inside the Hall of Divine Virtue, the air was thick with the scent of rotting wood and stale incense. The entire hall was empty, and the divine statue in the giant niche was covered in thick dust. There were footprints, both fresh and old, crossing through the courtyard and the dharma hall toward the meditation rooms.
Yin Huizhi followed the footprints until an indescribable smell reached his nose: the smell of rotting meat. Thinking of a certain possibility, Yin Huizhi’s expression changed drastically. He followed the smell, quickened his pace, and pushed open a meditation room door. It was empty.
Yin Huizhi quickly pushed open another door and found the source of the smell. This meditation room was filled with several baskets identical to the one they had seen at the entrance. The rotting smell emanated from them. Yin Huizhi walked to a basket and saw a pile of raw meat that had turned black and was crawling with maggots. It was not a corpse; Ouyang Yi was still alive.
An indescribable stench assaulted him. He felt like retching, but a hand reached out from his side, covering his nose and mouth with a handkerchief. The faint scent of soap blocked out the stench. He turned his head and met the gaze of Xie Ling, who had followed him in at some point. Xie Ling’s voice sounded by his ear. “Let us go.”
They withdrew, and the meditation room door was closed once more. Yin Huizhi glanced down at the handkerchief in his hand and said nothing. He turned to continue checking the other meditation rooms.
Xie Ling stopped him. “There is a body in the refectory.”
Yin Huizhi’s pupils shrank.
Xie Ling led him into the refectory. Behind dozens of long tables, a body was hanging. A hemp rope dangled from a beam, suspending the corpse in the air above an overturned bench. The face on the rope was covered in a thick beard and filth. The skin was purple from suffocation, making the features nearly unrecognizable. Yet Yin Huizhi recognized him instantly: Ouyang Yi.
He was dead?
Yin Huizhi stared at Ouyang Yi’s body, thinking almost maliciously that the man chose to die right when he came looking for him. Ouyang Yi truly would not let him have his way even in death. A sharp pain in his palm brought Yin Huizhi back to his senses. Remembering Xie Ling was beside him, he turned his head and found that Xie Ling was also staring at Ouyang Yi’s face.
Xie Ling pulled a dagger from his sleeve and threw it, severing the hemp rope. The body hit the ground with a heavy thud. Xie Ling knelt beside the body before Yin Huizhi could. After a few seconds, he said, “He has been dead for over a day.”
But there were supplies from the Yang family at the door. Had the person who delivered them not noticed Ouyang Yi was dead?
Yin Huizhi knelt in silence for a moment before suddenly reaching out to strip Ouyang Yi’s clothes. Xie Ling glanced at him but did not stop the strange behavior. Yin Huizhi pulled back Ouyang Yi’s collar. On the dirt-covered neck, besides the rope mark, there were two distinct finger marks.
“He was strangled to death,” Yin Huizhi said, looking up at Xie Ling.
Xie Ling looked down at the finger marks but said nothing. Who would come up the mountain specifically to strangle a lunatic? Whose path could a lunatic possibly be blocking? There was only one answer: the Yang family wanted to legally and completely seize the Ouyang family’s properties, so they decided to kill Ouyang Yi to silence him once and for all.
“No,” Yin Huizhi murmured.
He looked at Ouyang Yi’s empty sleeve and thought it was not that simple. Although Ouyang Yi was missing an arm, he still possessed a cultivation base. To consolidate their power, the Ouyang family had monopolized the resources of Fortune City for generations, taking in every talented youth and storing all immortal techniques in a secret room, strictly guarded and kept from outsiders. As for the location of the secret room, only the successive heads of the Ouyang family knew, and only the head and heir could open it.
Before changing their surname, the Yangs were merely a branch family and were not qualified to access these secrets. Due to the control of the main family, their members had little to no cultivation. As the legitimate son of the main family, Ouyang Yi’s cultivation was far superior to that of an average person, even if he was not exceptionally gifted. There had to be someone else involved.
“Catch them!” “Do not let them escape!”
A chorus of shouts and hurried footsteps came from outside. The half-open door of the refectory was slammed open. A group of people dressed in sturdy clothes with vermilion bird patterns rushed in, drawing their swords and surrounding Yin Huizhi and Xie Ling.
“Bold thieves! How dare you trespass in our Yang family’s divine temple!” the leader shouted. When his gaze fell on the ground, his eyes widened in rage. “How dare you!”
Yin Huizhi was still looking at Ouyang Yi’s neck, so Xie Ling stood up first, crossing his arms as he looked at the man. “What do you mean by that?”
The leader ignored him and shouted, “Men, seize these two murderers who killed Young Master Ouyang!”
“Ha,” Xie Ling curled his lips, his eyes turning cold. “So you are looking for scapegoats.”
The leader’s expression shifted. He turned to his subordinates and shouted, “What are you waiting for!”
The subordinates rushed forward, but before they could touch Xie Ling’s robes, their faces filled with pain, and they began to scream and struggle. Xie Ling reached out his right hand and lightly snapped his fingers. The five men who had rushed forward suddenly began to lose their life force at a terrifying speed. Their cheeks turned gray and black, and their pupils began to dilate.
Yin Huizhi stood up and pressed down on Xie Ling’s hand. “Enough.”
Xie Ling actually stopped.
Yin Huizhi glanced at the five men who were half-dead on the ground. In an extremely cold and indifferent voice, he asked the leader, “Did you see that?”
The arrogance and ferocity on the man’s face had turned into fear and cowardice. He stammered, “S-see what?”
Yin Huizhi placed a hand lightly on the man’s shoulder. “When we kill, we do not need a rope. And furthermore,” his eyes flashed with a chilling coldness, “I loathe it when people slander me.”
Xie Ling watched his every move with interest, not exposing Yin Huizhi’s use of borrowed power. The man’s face turned various shades of pale and green. His eyes darted around until they landed on the rope on the ground. Like catching a lifeline, he shouted tremulously, “It was a misunderstanding! Ouyang Yi hanged himself! It has nothing to do with you!”
Hearing this, Xie Ling stepped forward with a smile. “Whether it was a hanging or not, your word likely does not count. Go and call your master here.”