His voice was flat and devoid of emotion, his words brushing past her ear.
Xu Songhe felt like she was about to faint.
If only I could, she wished.
She really wanted to black out and wake up to find everything resolved. She’d rather be back in her cozy bed at home, and she’d even be willing to work an extra hour of overtime every day if it meant escaping this.
Desperate and without tears, she pleaded with the system: “System, is there anything I can eat to make me lose my memory?”
The System replied coldly, [Sorry, Host. We don’t have anything that advanced yet.]
Well, guess I’m on my own.
“Alright,” Xu Songhe said aloud. “If you don’t even believe that, then you definitely won’t believe the truth of what I’m about to tell you.”
Qi Wuyang let go of her, waiting patiently for her to continue.
“Actually, I had a dream,” she said, struggling to keep her voice steady.
She chose her words carefully, trying not to set him off. “Someone in the dream told me about your past. She didn’t just tell me you were a demon; she told me you’re the Nine-Tailed Fox—the Lord Nine-Tails they all speak of. I knew from the start, but I wasn’t sure. Looking at your reaction now, it seems everything she said was true.”
She didn’t know if he would buy this half-truth, half-lie.
His gaze swept over her again and again, and the flicker of doubt in his eyes vanished.
Qi Wuyang tilted her chin up, his gaze fixed on her trembling eyelashes.
He sneered, “That person told you so much. Did she also tell you what happens to those who learn my true identity?”
“She did, but I didn’t believe her,” she replied, meeting his surprised stare.
“Like I said, I don’t think you’re a bad person. The people who coveted what was already yours and tried to hunt you to extinction—they’re the ones who are truly hateful. But even so, you still spared that father and son from the Flowing Cloud Sect the other day. You don’t actually want to kill anyone, especially not innocent people, right?”
A sudden force pushed her back, and Xu Songhe stumbled a few steps, her eyes wide and bewildered as she looked up at him.
Qi Wuyang glanced down, brushing a fallen flower petal from his sleeve. He suddenly found this interrogation utterly pointless.
She didn’t want to tell the truth, and he wasn’t interested in it anyway. What was the point of pressing a woman who posed no threat to him?
“Weren’t you going to help me find my body?” He turned to her, a cold smile playing on his lips. “I’m not that patient. If we don’t find it in a few days, I’ll just have to kill them all.”
What does that mean… Just like that, we’re moving on?
Of course, a big shot’s thought process is completely different from a normal person’s.
Xu Songhe blinked, then immediately hurried after him. “Young Master, I think Shopkeeper Yu’s statue is a bit off. Why don’t we start our investigation there?”
“…”
***
The snow had been light the past few days. From outside, a low rustle of voices reached Xu Songhe’s ears.
“We owe it all to Shopkeeper Yu again today. If it weren’t for him, none of us would have made it this far.”
“You’re right. Someone so kind-hearted as Shopkeeper Yu… I can’t believe those poisonous snakes tried to frame him. If they’d been caught, I’d have flayed them alive!”
The voices drew closer until two men entered the room. They each took an incense stick, lit it, and knelt before the statue in a reverent bow, completely unaware of the pair of eyes watching them from behind it.
“Why is there a pot of flowers here?” one of the men said, standing up and frowning. “Didn’t the Shopkeeper say no plants were allowed beside the statue?”
The other man’s brow furrowed too. He reached out to grab the pot. “Let’s just throw it out…”
Suddenly, a pebble flew from behind them. The two men cried out in pain and spun around to find a rabbit lingering by the doorway, its eyes fixed on the offerings.
“Where did this rabbit come from? This is no place for you. Get out!”
The men completely forgot about the flowerpot, immediately chasing after the rabbit.
The young woman dusted off her hands and stepped out from behind the statue.
“Young Master, look.”
She stared at the withered plant, her eyes widening in surprise.
It had been perfectly fine when she brought it in. It couldn’t have wilted this quickly—not in less than an hour.
“There’s definitely something wrong with this statue! Young Master, can you see what it is?”
Just as she finished speaking, a fluffy white ball of fur slipped back inside through the doorway.
Xu Songhe crouched down, scooped it up, and stroked its soft fur. “Good job, Little White. You were a huge help this time.”
Qi Wuyang glanced at the harmonious scene of the girl and the animal, then said unhurriedly, “If there’s a problem, wouldn’t it be easier to just ask him directly?”
Seeing her anxious expression, he offered a faint smile. “Don’t worry. I’m just asking. I won’t kill anyone.”
***
The setting sun cast a golden glow over the streets, painting the faces and arms of the people below.
A dense crowd had gathered in front of the pharmacy. Shopkeeper Yu sat contentedly in a reclining chair, eyes closed, his body rocking back and forth like a tumbler doll.
Beside him, A-Fang stood with a scowl, handing out antidotes to the townspeople waiting in line.
“Shopkeeper, are we just letting them get away?” A-Fang asked, his voice tinged with hesitation.
Yu Baisui exhaled a slow, unhurried sigh. “Enough, enough. Their poison has been neutralized. There’s no need to drive them to desperation. As for the pills we lost… I’ll just have to work a little harder to make more.”
A murmur of admiration swept through the crowd. “The Shopkeeper is always so kind,” one man exclaimed. “That thief is truly despicable. Don’t worry, sir—they won’t get far. When we catch them, we’ll make sure that kid pays!”
A-Fang glanced at Yu Baisui, who looked utterly pleased with himself. His brows furrowed, and his hands slowed as he continued to distribute the medicine.
Suddenly, a series of crashes and clatters erupted from behind the window, followed by several sharp squeaks that reached the ears of everyone standing outside.
Curious, someone craned their neck to peek inside. “Shopkeeper, are there rats in there? Is everything alright?” they asked.
Yu Baisui opened his eyes and glanced at the pharmacy. He frowned but remained sprawled in his chair, making no move to get up.
A-Fang expertly set down the medicine basket. “I’ll go check. Just call me if you need anything,” he said quietly.
He turned and walked through the door. The dense leaves outside blocked the sunlight, leaving only a few stray beams to filter into the dim shop. A-Fang struck his fire starter, and the moment the flame illuminated the room, a hand’s shadow stretched across the wall.
A-Fang froze. “Who’s—”
Before he could finish, the hand shot out from the wall, clamped over his mouth, and yanked him closer. His words were stifled in his throat.
A-Fang struggled to keep his eyes open as he hoisted his fire starter high. Before he could even see the other person’s face, he heard a low whisper.
“Don’t make a sound. It’s me.”
He froze. The grip on his mouth loosened slightly, and a young woman’s face appeared before him.
Realizing he could speak, he struggled against her hold. “You? What are you doing here? Let me go—”
“Don’t move,” Xu Songhe said, awkwardly shifting the knife closer to his throat.
Though she was the one threatening him, she swallowed hard, her own nerves betraying her. “You mentioned Shopkeeper Yu has a secret chamber. Where is it? Take us there.”
Us?
A-Fang’s eyes darted upward, finally seeing the face of the person holding a knife to his throat.
The other person tightened their grip, losing patience. Only after A-Fang’s face turned a sickly shade of blue did they loosen the hold slightly.
“Lead the way,” they said coldly.
When the grip finally released, A-Fang collapsed to the floor. Xu Songhe quickly retracted her knife.
She had expected him to refuse them, even in the face of death. Instead, after a long spell of coughing on the ground, he looked up at them, gasping for air.
“I don’t know exactly where it is,” he panted. “But if you trust me, I can take you to a place.”
Xu Songhe paused, thrown by how quickly he had agreed.
“Wait,” she said, her gaze shifting from A-Fang’s eyes to Qi Wuyang. “He agreed too fast. Is he trying to trick us?”
The young man smiled faintly. His fingers traced the softest part of A-Fang’s neck, and he asked casually, “Do you dare?”
A-Fang trembled visibly, yet he still managed to retort, “What do I have to fear? The people outside are all after you. If I hadn’t taken pity on you and just shouted right now, you’d have no chance of escape.”
He had said so much in one breath, but Xu Songhe only caught the words “taken pity on you.”
She frowned. “What did he just say?”
From A-Fang’s perspective, she and Qi Wuyang were the villains framing Shopkeeper Yu. Why would he pity them?
Qi Wuyang said blandly, “He says he wants to die.”
“…”
A-Fang’s hands were bound, and he didn’t dare say anything else. He swallowed hard. “There’s a door in the back. We can use it to avoid being seen.”
Hearing him suggest leaving, Xu Songhe’s suspicion grew. “Shopkeeper Yu’s secret chamber—is it not inside the pharmacy?”
A-Fang glanced at her and shook his head. “I’ve walked this pharmacy in and out hundreds of times. If there really was a secret chamber, Shopkeeper Yu would never have let me in here.”
They exited through the pharmacy’s back door, but she still found it strange.
She asked the same question again: “A-Fang, why are you helping us? Didn’t you say you’d rather die than betray Shopkeeper Yu?”
A-Fang gave a wry smile. “I only said that when my life was going well. Now that I’m facing death, of course I don’t want to die. Besides… I know you two are innocent.”
His voice trailed off at the end, but his words were heard clearly. Xu Songhe’s eyes widened in surprise as she turned to look at the young man holding A-Fang captive.
Qi Wuyang’s expression remained unchanged. “Did he force you to do this?”
“He did, with the part about framing you. But not this time,” A-Fang said, his face twisting with pain. “I’ve followed the shopkeeper for three years. I never imagined he was this kind of person. I don’t know what grudge he has against you or why he’s making you take the fall, but in the end, I’m still his accomplice. If I didn’t help you now, I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night!”
Xu Songhe and Qi Wuyang exchanged a glance, falling silent.
She desperately wanted to know why Yu Baisui would do this to them. According to A-Fang, he had brought many people here over the years. Why did he suddenly resort to such schemes with them?
If Yu Baisui really was so malevolent, why go to all the trouble of staying here and helping so many of the townspeople?
Xu Songhe was lost in thought, but when she snapped back to reality, she realized the path they were taking looked familiar.
She stopped in her tracks and eyed A-Fang warily. “Isn’t this the way to the temple? Where exactly are you taking us?”
“How did you—”
A-Fang cut himself off mid-sentence. “We’re going to the temple. The Shopkeeper goes there regularly, always in the middle of the night, and always stays for half the night. If you’re looking for the secret chamber, that’s the only place it could be.”
Xu Songhe was puzzled. They had already searched the temple thoroughly multiple times and found nothing. Had they really missed something?
A-Fang led them to the temple entrance. “I can only go as far as here. You’ll have to find the rest yourselves. If I’m gone too long, the Shopkeeper will get suspicious.”
“Stop right there.”
Before he could take another step, several white silk threads shot out from behind, binding his arms tightly.
A-Fang struggled, but the threads, though thin, tightened with every movement, cutting into his skin and drawing blood.
A soft chuckle sounded in his ear.
A-Fang looked up, meeting a pair of dark, strikingly beautiful eyes.
“Do you want to go back now, or do you want to die?”
***
A few hours passed, and the sunlight began to fade. The crowd in front of the pharmacy had thinned out.
As the last few customers collected their medicines, one of them joked, “Shopkeeper, you must have a lot of rats in your shop. A-Fang went in there half a day ago and still hasn’t come out.”
Another customer chimed in, “That boy A-Fang always likes to slack off. He’s probably in there refusing to come out and work.”
Shopkeeper Yu chuckled and waved a greeting, but he didn’t reply.
“Shopkeeper! Shopkeeper! Something’s wrong—”
Just as the last customer walked away, a figure came tumbling out of the pharmacy behind them. The man scrambled to his feet, his face and hands covered in scrapes and bruises.
Yu Baisui frowned and flinched away from the hand reaching out for help, terrified the dirt on it would soil his own clothes.
“Haven’t I taught you? Stay calm in an emergency. Why are you being so frantic?”
After a moment, he gritted his teeth, bent down, and grabbed a clean patch on the man’s arm to pull him up.
“S-sorry, I was too reckless,” A-Fang said after catching his breath.
He pointed toward the pharmacy and continued slowly, “At first, I thought it was just a rat, but as soon as I went inside, someone tied me up with a rope. I had to struggle a lot to escape. That person… they were covered in black clothes from head to toe. I couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. I bet they are with the person who poisoned us that day.”
Yu Baisui’s face darkened. He shot to his feet. “What?! Why didn’t you say this sooner?”
A-Fang looked wronged. “Didn’t you tell me to stay calm…?”
Yu Baisui suppressed his rage, threw out a command—”Stay outside. Don’t come in”—and then turned and hurried back into the shop without looking back.
He slammed the door shut. With a wave of his hand, he erected a barrier. After confirming that no one could get in from the outside, he crouched and slipped into the medicine cabinet, rummaging around inside.
Seconds later, a few creaks echoed. The cabinet merged seamlessly into the wall, revealing a pitch-black space behind it.
Without a careful look, no one would ever guess there was a second room hidden there.
Yu Baisui rushed inside. He didn’t even bother lighting a candle, just grabbed a weapon in the dark and swung the broadsword several times.
“I know you’re hiding in here!” he shouted, slashing the air. “You… I don’t want to kill you. There’s a door behind you. If you’re smart, you’ll get out through it—now!”
As his words fell, a loud crash echoed through the room. The door at the back was kicked open, and a figure darted out into the night.
A triumphant smile spread across Yu Baisui’s face. “Hah, scared out of his mind!”
His victory was short-lived. He quickly lit a candle and began pacing the secret chamber.
Finally, he cupped a dusty small jar in his hands, muttering to himself, “Thank goodness it’s still here. I thought it was stolen…”
This secret chamber was seamless; no one in town knew it existed except him. How could anything have been stolen?
Just as he was savoring his relief, a sudden chill crept up his spine. His expression shifted instantly. He spun around, swinging his sword down in a fierce strike.
But a sudden tap to his back froze him mid-motion. His body locked, and his arm, raised high, refused to come down.
Stuck in that awkward, straining posture, he could only roll his eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of his attacker’s face.
Who could possibly best him?
“So this is where it was. You really made me work for it.”
A series of clatters echoed behind him. Yu Baisui’s hands were empty.
His face froze. “Put it down. Whatever you want, we can negotiate.”
“Put it down?” The young man toyed with the object in his hands, a cold smile spreading across his face. “Is this even yours?”
“You?”
The acupressure point on his back was released, and the sudden force nearly knocked Yu Baisui off his feet. He steadied himself, glaring viciously at the uninvited guest.
The dusty air in the room was stifling. Xu Songhe covered her nose, her brow furrowing. “Young Master, what’s in this little box… is it your body?”
They had found the object, but the sight of a man standing before his murderer, cradling a piece of his own corpse, was utterly grotesque.
A shiver ran down her spine. She wanted to vanish from this place immediately.
Qi Wuyang’s gaze swept over her. “What’s wrong?”
“N-nothing,” she stammered. “Since we have it, let’s go…”
“Wait.”
They were about to leave when a vicious cry rang out behind them.
Yu Baisui gripped his knife, his face twisting into a smile that pulled at his muscles. “If that’s gone, I’ll take you all to the grave with me!”
What kind of cliché line is that?
Wait, did I transmigrate into a cheesy CEO novel?
His voice was so loud that Little White shivered at his feet, fur bristling.
Xu Songhe, terrified of attracting other townsfolk, shot him a glare and hissed, “What are you trying to pull?”
He’s not even going to let them take it? Why is this guy so obsessed with someone else’s body?
Yu Baisui chuckled darkly, his voice booming. “Young man, are you sure what’s inside is what you’re actually looking for?”
Qi Wuyang lowered his gaze, his expression flat as he pried open the jar. Upon seeing its contents, he seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, with a flick of his wrist, he let the round pills spill out one by one into his palm.
“These are…” Xu Songhe stared, stunned. These were the pills. It wasn’t a body at all.
Could it be… Shopkeeper Yu took his body?
But before the terrifying thought could take root, a flame erupted in the young man’s palm. In the blink of an eye, it consumed the pills.
Yu Baisui’s smile froze. His gaze shot over, blazing with fury. The spiritual energy he unleashed was powerful enough to blast ordinary people back several meters.
Xu Songhe stepped back, clutching Little White to her chest. She lowered her head and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing for the expected blow.
But the pain never came.
She opened her eyes, puzzled, to see the sleeve of a red robe fluttering before her.
She looked up, stunned, barely processing the scene. The rabbit in her arms was so tightly squeezed it was practically being flattened.
The young man’s lips curved into a smile, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. He gripped Yu Baisui’s neck, a cold sneer on his face. “Who was about to be buried with whom?”
“I don’t want to kill you. If you’re smart, you’ll give me the item. Otherwise…”
Yu Baisui’s face turned crimson as he choked in the young man’s grip, his feet dangling off the ground. He had always been revered by the townsfolk; no one dared disrespect him. How could he bear such humiliation?
His hand, hanging at his side, twitched.
Taking advantage of the young man’s momentary lapse in attention, he suddenly raised his fingers, channeling every ounce of his strength to summon a blast of spiritual energy.
A magic circle materialized out of nowhere, enveloping them all. Yu Baisui seemed determined to take them all down with him, his resolve clear: he would rather die than endure the humiliation of his defeat.
Qi Wuyang’s brow arched slightly, but his grip on the man’s neck didn’t loosen. As he looked up, his vision was obscured by a blinding blue light.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t even need to lift a finger to break such a pathetic, amateurish array. But his current body was too weak. Unless he let Yu Baisui go, he could only barely hold his own by drawing on all his strength.
He sneered, tightening his grip. The rims of his eyes flushed a faint red.
“So you want to take me with you?” he taunted. “Fine. Let’s see who dies first—you, trapped in your own array, or me, crushing your throat.”
“Be careful!” Xu Songhe cried out.
She didn’t understand why this man was willing to die without resisting, but this was her capture target—she couldn’t let him perish.
She had no spirit core and knew no magic, leaving her completely defenseless against such a technique.
Desperate and reckless, she raised the knife in her hand and threw it at Yu Baisui with all her might.
The blade sailed through the air in a low arc, grazing Yu Baisui’s arm and leaving a deep, bloody gash.
After she’d thrown the knife, Xu Songhe’s mind went blank. She looked up, her heart pounding, as the magic circle’s light slowly faded.
Yu Baisui stared, his eyes wide with regret. In his desperation to kill the intruder, he had completely forgotten about the other person in the room.
He clutched his bleeding arm as a sudden force shoved him backward. He crashed to the floor, staring up in bitter defeat at the now-dissipated array.
“Are you… Are you okay?”
Xu Songhe snapped back to her senses. She cautiously moved to Qi Wuyang’s side, her eyes quickly scanning him for injuries.
This was the first time she had ever used a weapon against someone. Still trembling, she glanced at Shopkeeper Yu, who was bleeding out on the floor.
She prayed she hadn’t cut him too deeply—she didn’t want him to bleed to death.
Qi Wuyang lowered his hand, his gaze falling on her shaking fingers.
A faint smile touched his lips. “Weren’t you just saying yesterday that I shouldn’t kill innocent people? Yet here you are, attacking someone with a knife.”
“That’s different,” Xu Songhe blurted out. “If I hadn’t hurt him, I was afraid he would have hurt you.”
“What does him hurting me have to do with you?”
“I didn’t want you to get hurt,” she answered, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
She then added, “Stop asking me these weird questions. I can’t answer them.”
“Do you two have any respect for me at all?!” Yu Baisui gritted his teeth, hastily stemming the bleeding from his arm.
He glared at the pair, who were still chatting idly. “I’ve truly let wolves into my house! I should never have brought you back here!”
He then snarled, “Listen, if I die now, everyone here dies with me! If you have even a shred of conscience, you shouldn’t have tried to kill me!”
Xu Songhe stared at him warily. “What do you mean by that?”
Yu Baisui might have deserved what he got, but the other townspeople were innocent. They had only been deceived—they didn’t deserve to die. She couldn’t bear to implicate them.
“You wanted that box because you sensed your own aura inside, didn’t you?” Yu Baisui spat blood from his mouth and grinned savagely. “Don’t want to know why? I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. There’s nothing here. What you’re looking for…”
He paused deliberately, then chuckled.
Under their intense gazes, he continued, “I can’t remember where I put it. Why don’t you find it yourselves?”
“…”
“You can’t even heal,” Qi Wuyang said, his voice flat, his gaze unwavering. “You used my artifact to gain fame, then tried to have the very people I saved kill me. You certainly had a lovely dream.”
“You guessed right. Too bad you’re too late,” Yu Baisui sighed dramatically, feigning regret. “I just stumbled upon that thing. I never expected its owner to come looking for it. But oh, it’s so useful! Just a tiny bit of its aura can cure any disease—at least, any disease these people have. So what if it’s yours? They worship me now. Even if you tell them the truth, who do you think will believe you?”
Qi Wuyang’s lips curled into a cold sneer, his gaze so sharp he looked ready to kill.
Unsure if Yu Baisui was lying, Xu Songhe stepped in front of him, worried his anger would get others hurt. “You said earlier that if you die, everyone else dies too. Was that just a threat?”
Yu Baisui snorted coldly. “Who’s lying? At this point, I have nothing to hide. You’ve already visited the temple, haven’t you?”
He paused, then continued, “I’ll tell you right now: the thing you’re looking for is inside that statue. But if you destroy it, everyone here will die.”
He let the words hang in the air before adding, “It locks away everyone’s spiritual energy and life force. If it’s destroyed, all that energy will be lost, and they will all turn into piles of bleached bones.”
Spiritual energy? Life force? Xu Songhe wondered. What is he even talking about?
She suddenly remembered the first night they spent in the temple and what that middle-aged man had said.
The Medicine Immortal would drain people’s life force. That sounded more plausible, but why would a normal man like Shopkeeper Yu want such a thing?
“You can kill me if you want,” Yu Baisui cackled, blood from his teeth staining his lower lip. “If I die, the statue will be destroyed too. I’ve told you the truth. Now it’s up to you to decide what to do.”
“Fine,” Qi Wuyang said, his eyes narrowing as a cold smile touched his lips. “Then go ahead and die.”
“Wait, wait just a moment!”
Xu Songhe spun around.
Noticing the spiritual power condensing at his fingertips, she immediately looked up at him with a pleading gaze. “Young Master, this man just tried to frame you! How do we know anything he says now is true?”
Qi Wuyang didn’t even glance at her. “Won’t we find out if he’s lying once he’s dead?” he replied casually.
She opened her mouth to argue again, but he suddenly turned his gaze to her, a faint smile in his eyes. “If everyone else dies, won’t I finally be able to find my body?”
The young man leaned in, suddenly closing the distance between them.
Xu Songhe’s eyes widened, and she instinctively tried to pull away, but he caught her arm, drawing her back.
His smile lingered as he leaned in, his breath brushing against her ear, tickling like a blade of grass sweeping back and forth.
“You said you wanted me to be well, didn’t you? Were you lying to me?”
“I do want you to be well, but I don’t want innocent people to get hurt,” Xu Songhe said, her scalp tingling under his gaze.
She quickly turned her head away, stammering, “I—I think there has to be another way. By the way… what’s wrong with your hand?”
Dark red liquid dripped from his fingertips. For a moment, Xu Songhe forgot what she was about to say. On impulse, she grabbed his hand, and a flash of crimson blood met her eyes.
When did he get hurt? she wondered.
Was it inside the formation just now? Or when Shopkeeper Yu lunged at him and he pushed her behind his back?
“You’re injured. Don’t fight him anymore,” she said, glancing at the more severely wounded Yu Baisui behind them.
She lowered her voice. “Let’s stop the bleeding first.”
A flicker of confusion crossed the young man’s eyes. “What’s there to stop bleeding for? This is nothing.”
“You’re right, there’s no need to stop the bleeding anymore,” Yu Baisui said, wobbling to his feet.
His fingers fumbled against the wall, searching for something. Suddenly, he slammed his entire body into the wall, smashing a hole right through it.
He flew out, leaving only a string of wild laughter and a final shout: “You’re on your own now!”
“Ah!” Xu Songhe gasped, her mind still reeling. “What does he mean, ‘you’re on your own’?”
But before anyone could answer, a massive boom shook the room.
Dust and debris rained down from the walls. Tables and chairs overturned in the violent shaking. The windows of the secret chamber rattled, and the doors banged against their frames, sounding as if they would burst open at any moment.
Is the building collapsing?
She hugged Little White tight and looked up anxiously, meeting the young man’s gaze.
He smiled faintly and beckoned her with a wave of his hand. “Are you tired of living?”
“N-no, of course not.”
“Oh,” Qi Wuyang said, his eyes glinting with amusement. “I thought you’d given up, seeing as you’re standing so far away from me.”
Right. Even Yu Baisui found a way out. Surely this big shot could get them out too?
Xu Songhe understood his meaning.
She stepped over the fallen roof beam that lay between them. The moment she reached his side, an arm wrapped around her waist, and the warmth of his palm seeped through her clothes.
As her feet left the ground, she shivered and instinctively closed her eyes, throwing her arms around him.
This was her first time experiencing a cloud-riding spell. She should have been terrified, but as she held onto his waist, only one thought crossed her mind:
He’s not using his own body. So who am I hugging right now? Was this person dead or alive before their body was taken over? If they were alive… does that mean he has to kill someone every time he needs a new body?
Before she could untangle her messy thoughts, her feet touched the ground.
Xu Songhe opened her eyes cautiously and saw she was standing firmly on the earth.
Good, good. At least he didn’t drop me.
“Young Master, thank you…”
She looked down and smoothed out the wrinkles she had made in his sleeve.
When she looked up with a smile, she was surprised to find his eyes closed.
…Does this big shot not need his eyes to see while flying?
She patted him all over, but he didn’t react. Xu Songhe touched his hand, confused. “Young Master, what’s wrong?”
Before her words even finished, his cold sleeve slipped from her grasp. She stared in confusion as the body, stiff as if frozen, fell straight forward in front of her.
She blinked numbly, stuffing a scream back into her throat with her hand.
Stay calm, stay calm. He’s… just switched bodies again, right?
Xu Songhe knelt down, her hand trembling as she checked for breath. Sure enough, there was none.
The red robes he wore gradually faded, returning to the same appearance she had seen on this body the very first time.
She took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over the collapsed house. She had to face the truth: she was alone again.
Why did he have to leave me at a time like this? she fumed.
What if the villagers find me? Couldn’t he have warned me before switching bodies? How am I supposed to find him now?
After a flurry of angry questions, she decided to tackle the second problem first.
They had caused a huge mess, and Yu Baisui wouldn’t let them go easily. She needed to find a place to hide and protect herself. As for Qi Wuyang… well, his body was still here.
He couldn’t possibly abandon her and just leave on his own, right?
On the verge of tears, she pleaded with the system. “System, can I borrow a tool from my next reward in advance?”
[Advance withdrawals are not available,] the System replied.
[However, the Host’s Favorability is now high enough to unlock Tool Mode. The Host may request a tool three times a day. Please use them wisely.]
It had been ages since the System last announced her Favorability. Xu Songhe asked offhandedly, “What’s the Favorability at now?”
[It is now 40%. Please keep up the good work, Host.]
Forty already?
The last time she checked, it was only in the twenties. She racked her brain, trying to remember what she’d done lately, but she couldn’t think of anything.
How did it shoot up so much?
But she had no time to dwell on the reason. A flicker of secret joy crossed her face instead.
So Qi Wuyang isn’t that hard to woo after all, she thought. At this rate, I’ll have my body restored and be able to go home in no time.
She gently plucked Little White from her shoulder and cradled the creature in her arms, walking aimlessly. Shopkeeper Yu would likely return soon, and staying here was clearly not a good idea.
After turning several corners, she heard the distant murmur of voices ahead.
Xu Songhe paused, hesitating over whether to proceed. Suddenly, a hand shot out from an alley, pulling her inside before she could even react.
“Let me go—”
“Shh, it’s me,” a low voice whispered.
“A-Fang?” Xu Songhe was stunned to see him here.
Uncertain of his intentions, she immediately backed away, her voice laced with wariness. “What are you doing here? What do you want?”
“Don’t be so tense. I won’t harm you right now.” Once the voices outside had faded, A-Fang led her back out and pointed to a wall. “Look at that! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for you to be walking around so openly? Don’t you value your life?”
Xu Songhe focused her gaze and saw a piece of paper pasted to the wall. It featured two crudely drawn faces, their names scribbled below in such a messy hand that they were barely legible.
“I’m really grateful you came to warn me, but I don’t think you need to worry so much.” She sighed helplessly.
Under A-Fang’s confused stare, she tapped the paper. “With a drawing this bad, I’m sure I could walk right past him and he’d never recognize me.”
“You’d better be careful!” A-Fang shot her a glare. “The shopkeeper just said you all burned down the pharmacy in a fit of rage, trying to drive him into a corner. Everyone is out looking for you now to avenge him!”
His voice suddenly dropped into a mutter. “I’m helping you now, but… about what happened before… we can call that a clean slate. I’m still on the shopkeeper’s side. Next time we meet, I’ll capture you just like the others.”
As he spoke, he waved his hand in the air, clawing at the empty space in a mock-threatening gesture.
Xu Songhe didn’t react. She stared at him impassively, but a hint of amusement flickered in her eyes. It wasn’t because she was mocking him.
With only the two of them left in this spot, she finally began to take in the young man standing before her.
His face was always smudged with gray dust, and his exposed arms were a shade darker than the earth.
At first glance, he looked like a man in his mid-thirties, but the face beneath his straw hat was only about sixteen or seventeen. When he spoke, his eyes widened, still holding a touch of childishness.
“Hey, are you even listening?” A-Fang asked, his voice tinged with annoyance.
Xu Songhe smiled and played along. “Fine. I’ll try not to let you catch me next time.”
“A-Fang! A-Fang!” Yu Baisui’s voice echoed out. When there was no reply, he muttered a curse, “Where did that brat run off to now?”
A-Fang gave her a shove, urging her to hurry. “You’d better go. The shopkeeper’s looking for me, and the others will be around here too.”
Xu Songhe had no desire to run into them. While A-Fang went to deal with Shopkeeper Yu, she turned and ran in the opposite direction without a moment’s delay.
She requested a mask from the system.
The moment she slipped it on, a group of townsfolk armed with weapons marched past her, swearing and shouting.
Her heart hammered against her ribs.
She quickly lowered her head, trying to hide, and whispered to herself, “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m wearing a mask, and that drawing is so ugly. They won’t recognize me.”
“Hey, you! The one over there! Come here.”
Xu Songhe froze. She slowly turned her head, peering through the eyes of her mask.
“Me?”
“I’ve been calling you for ages and you haven’t budged. Are you deaf?” The group approached her, unfolding a crumpled piece of paper. “Have you seen these two?”
Isn’t that the same ugly drawing from before? Xu Songhe hastily shook her head and pointed behind her. “T-They just ran that way.”
“Thanks.”
The men hurried off, still in a rush. Xu Songhe let out a sigh of relief, only to have them suddenly turn around and double back.
She nearly choked, her breath catching in her throat. Why are they back? Did they recognize me?
They gave her a quick once-over. “Heard those two are ruthless killers. You’d better be careful.”
“…”
A small stream ran beside the town, the grass near it shimmering white under the snow. Xu Songhe knelt down, patted the slush off the ground, and then carefully hugged her knees as she sat.
She couldn’t search for the others alone. Her top priority was finding Qi Wuyang.
But where to start? Her mind was a jumble, offering no clues. Xu Songhe leaned over and dipped her hand into the water, sending a series of ripples across the mirror-like surface.
She removed her mask, wetted her hand, and wiped her face. She then tried to smooth down Little White’s ruffled fur, but it squirmed restlessly in her palm before leaping out and darting back and forth along the stream.
Xu Songhe froze. “What’s wrong?”
The creature only ran faster, as if it had encountered some demon.
Hesitantly, she followed its gaze. A shadow flickered on the shimmering, sun-drenched surface of the water.
Xu Songhe spun around, but before she could see the newcomer’s face, her feet slipped. She fell backward, the icy stream instantly flooding her arms as droplets of water flew past her eyes.
The man tilted his head and let out a soft laugh, watching her.
“Caught you,” he said, his eyes crinkling.
The girl looked up, her wet eyelashes trembling. Panic and terror filled her eyes. Seeing he was alone, she scrambled to her feet and tried to run.
“Come with me to see Shopkeeper Yu.” He took a step closer, leaning down to study her.
His dark pupils reflected her trembling form.
He chuckled and offered her an alternative. “If you don’t want to go, you can tell me where your companion is. I’ll pretend I never saw you.”