“Fake?”
Lin Qingye tilted her head to look at her from the side.
Putting on an act.
In their line of work, only those within the Demonic Sect knew the truth. Those who were aware could be counted on one hand, so how could they possibly have chased after nothing?
“Oh, but I had already passed out back then, so how would I know? Hero, you are magnanimous; surely you wouldn’t suspect me, would you?”
“I was merely being considerate of you, which is why I came to remind you. Since this volume is in your Demonic Sect’s possession, I suppose it won’t easily change hands again.”
After all, which death-defying fool would dare to carelessly break into an enemy camp?
Except for Lin Qingye.
Lin Qingye drank tea on the side. As she spoke, she peeked at Ji Mian’s expression, not feeling that she was lying.
“Are you full?”
Ji Mian put down her chopsticks and nodded.
Thus, the two of them tacitly headed toward the bedroom. Once inside, Ji Mian sat down at the desk again and pulled open a small drawer. A mechanism sprang open, revealing the entrance to a secret tunnel. The moment the square wooden panel was pulled back, a faint, flickering candlelight glowed from within.
Lin Qingye was somewhat taller, making it much more difficult for her to walk through that narrow path while bending over, so she walked slower. Upon entering, she only saw a small bed.
Ji Mian was already sitting cross-legged upon it.
Lin Qingye placed the Frost Descending sword aside and climbed up to sit as well. Just as she was about to take off her outer robe, Ji Mian intercepted her with one hand.
Her blocking method was so direct that the two of them ended up frozen in a very strange posture. Ji Mian was pressing down on Lin Qingye’s hand, while Lin Qingye’s hand was in the middle of untying her sash.
Lin Qingye’s clothes were almost half-undone, the flesh beneath the thin fabric faintly visible. Previously, Ji Mian had at least kept her back turned, but now that they were face-to-face, her gaze inevitably drifted toward that area. She withdrew her hand as if stung, a wave of heat rushing to the tips of her ears.
Yet the very next instant, a scene flashed before Ji Mian’s eyes.
In the vision were two children sitting under a tree to cool off. One of them held a slingshot, looking up to shoot at the fruit on the tree, only to be struck in the eye by a rebounding pebble.
“Be careful.”
The other child seemed to notice her rubbing her eyes, brushed her hand away, and gently blew air toward her face…
The illusion faded, gradually merging back with reality. Ji Mian stared blankly at Lin Qingye’s hand.
“What are you doing?”
Lin Qingye’s tone seemed laced with a trace of anger, causing Ji Mian to realize that the palm of her hand was burning hot.
“Help me look at something first.”
Ji Mian kept the medicinal dregs she had accumulated over this period here, wrapped them in a cloth pouch, and handed them to Lin Qingye.
“Could you help me check this medicine?”
Lin Qingye did not say anything, tacitly understanding the other’s intent. She reached out to take it, lowered her head to sniff it, recognized the scent of a few restorative herbs, and pried open the dregs with a dagger to inspect them, yet she could not make out anything specific.
“I am not well-versed in pharmacology, and furthermore, your current physical condition is extremely complex. It’s hard to say whether this thing is a poison or a medicine.”
Lin Qingye put the cloth pouch away.
“When I return, I will take it to show my master; perhaps she can figure something out.”
The routine was no different this time. After regulating her breath, Ji Mian once again wore that exhausted, drained look.
“Ji Mian, how on earth did you get those injuries on your body?”
Ji Mian’s figure was slender, not looking at all like someone with formidable martial prowess. Perhaps it had something to do with the demonic arts she practiced, but her current constitution could hardly be called weak.
Her body was covered in wounds of all sizes, including whiplashes, burns, and slash wounds. Most of them had already healed, piling up into perhaps twenty or thirty old and new scars, with a few deeper ones that had even damaged her tendons and bones.
Ji Mian remained silent. Figuring she did not want to talk about it, Lin Qingye changed the subject.
“Where are you going next?”
“Zheshe.”
Lin Qingye did not ask further, only saying:
“Call me when you set off.”
Time slipped by until the end of the month. While Ji Mian was eating lunch, she received a message post sent from the Ashen Nightmare Pavilion.
The Ashen Nightmare Pavilion.
The place where Chen Que lived.
As hadn’t been fully explained last time, the Demonic Sect possessed the Thirteen Palaces. The inner three were Chen Que of the Ashen Nightmare Pavilion, Cui Lai of the Deep Inkstone Pavilion, and Jian Xiyan of the Hidden Hibiscus Pavilion. The three of them respectively managed sacrificial rites, diplomacy, and military command. Those who submitted beneath them maintained a delicate balance, keeping each other in check.
Compared to Cui Lai’s wild ambitions and Jian Xiyan’s aloof detachment from worldly affairs, this remaining Palace Master Chen Que was the most mysterious. During this period, Ji Mian had heard more than a few strange rumors.
It was said that bone-chilling sounds always drifted out from the Ashen Nightmare Pavilion, resembling the mournful wails of beasts or the crying and sobbing of humans, full of resentment and yearning, weeping and complaining. People dared not even approach that area at night, and swarms of pitch-black, glossy crows constantly flew into the courtyard, their cries sharp and desolate.
Ji Mian definitely had to go, because Chen Que was also a key figure.
This letter was not like Jian Xiyan’s. As for why it arrived right while Ji Mian was eating, it must have been because this little creature was hungry.
What was delivered was a piece of silk fabric tied to the little fellow’s leg, having flown all the way here.
Ji Mian could not quite tell what this little creature was. It looked like a bird, but it had a sharp beak protruding from the front. It was tiny, round, and possessed brilliantly vivid plumage of bright gold and deep red, its feathers shining and quite pretty.
Having delivered the letter, the little fellow flew onto the table and perched right opposite Ji Mian. It used its beak to pick up a bowl and began eating right along with her.
Yuhuai watched from the side for a few moments, her gaze turning cold.
Ji Mian herself didn’t mind at all and even casually picked out a few extra pieces of meat for the little creature.
Chen Que’s handwriting was wild and so cursive that Ji Mian could barely recognize it. She studied those squiggly ghost-like symbols for a long time before she could decipher the character shapes.
Within the territory of the Demonic Sect, the practice of their arts caused deep resentment and baleful qi to accumulate. There were also mortal territories governed under the Demonic Sect. To purge this excessive baleful qi, a sacrifice always had to be held at the end of the year. When that time came, Chen Que would be responsible for performing the rituals, and Ji Mian, as the Sect Master no matter what, had to preside over the ceremony.
Chen Que asked her to choose the date.
Although the letter contained only a few brief words, Ji Mian could still sense the importance of this event. Coupled with the fact that her reputation among the common folk had never been good, she couldn’t afford not to go, yet going also carried potential dangers.
Ji Mian ultimately chose the same time as previous years. By then, the common people would already be prepared, beginning to construct the sacrificial altar in the center of the main city. With the New Year approaching as well, a strong festive atmosphere filled the air everywhere.
Ji Mian changed into less eye-catching clothing, and because of her face, she also wore a veil hat to conceal her features.
As the saying goes, climbing high allows one to look far, so she went to the most bustling teahouse in the city, booked a prime seat on the upper floor, and opened a window to look at the scene outside. From time to time, carriages galloped past, and workers transporting timber bustled about below. Sitting up high and drinking tea, it could be considered a rare moment of leisure.
Because of the sacrificial ceremony, the small stalls on both sides of this street had been cleared away, leaving only the official storefronts. Consequently, the roadside was much more empty than usual, making the tracks of pedestrians difficult to conceal among the crowd, or rather, this person had no intention of hiding at all.
Ji Mian had never met Chen Que before, but she recognized the little bird that had delivered the letter that day. Following behind Chen Que was a maidservant whose appearance looked remarkably familiar.
Walking down the street for a moment, the woman suddenly raised her head, locking eyes with Ji Mian through the thick layer of black gauze. Ji Mian inexplicably felt a chill run down her spine, as if the person beneath that black gauze was revealing a smile.
Before long, Chen Que tracked her down, though the maidservant accompanying her was nowhere to be seen. When she entered, she was followed by a small servant carrying a flagon of jade-vessel wine. The aroma of the wine was rich and concentrated, intoxicating just to smell.
With one hand, Chen Que retrieved the wine flagon, and with the other, she lifted the black gauze from her head, revealing a breathtakingly stunning face.
Chen Que’s appearance strongly resembled an exotic beauty, and her heterochromatic eyes completely stole the attention of anyone nearby, with one side purple and the other green, resembling a deeply scheming snake that was cold-blooded and merciless, carrying an oppressive aura of toying with her prey in the palm of her hand.
Ji Mian stared in a daze, only to have Chen Que reach out and hook her chin a moment later. With a flick of her finger, Ji Mian was forced closer to that face, meeting those glowing, sparkling pupils.
Chen Que’s lips curved into a teasing smile.
“Is it pretty?”
Ji Mian swallowed reflexively, her gaze remaining calm and unruffled.
Chen Que quickly released her grip, offering a light, airy evaluation.
“Your face is truly a bit wasted.”
“Does Palace Master Chen have other business with me?”
Having finally regained her composure, Ji Mian still couldn’t help taking a step back, accidentally bumping into Yuhuai who was standing behind her. Yuhuai secretly reached out to steady her with a hand on her back.
“Palace Master Chen?”
“Forget it, if you want to call me that, go ahead.”
“Your body is in poor health, why haven’t you come to see me?”
Chen Que withdrew that icy, forced smile.
“Can you help me?”
“Of course. I have many methods and will spare no cost to help you.”
Ji Mian was momentarily speechless, wondering what kind of entanglement this person had with her.
“It is still too early.”
Hearing this, Chen Que remained silent, leisurely pouring wine into a cup and draining it in one gulp. Perhaps the wine was somewhat potent, as a flush of crimson immediately climbed to the corners of her eyes.
“You are truly just like before. However, let me kindly remind you that those unorthodox tricks you use will harm you sooner or later. Everything has a price, and none escape it.”
“You cannot die, Ji Mian.”
Until Chen Que left with that flagon of wine, Ji Mian felt somewhat uneasy. Chen Que harbored heavy thoughts, and those enchanting eyes were like a poisonous snake flicking its tongue, as if taking a single wrong step would lead to being swallowed alive.
“Master.”
Noticing her strangeness, Yuhuai stepped forward as if wanting to do something.
“I am fine.”
“Let’s head back.”
The annual grand ceremony was a major celebration within the Demonic Sect. A heavenly ladder would be erected on the sacrificial altar in the main city, extending all the way up into the tens of meters of high altitude, where Chen Que would perform rituals and sacrifices.
The other palace masters would be seated in order of rank below to observe the ceremony. Since it was a grand celebration, banquets would naturally be set up for the entire nation to rejoice together. The mortal realm would also host various fun small activities, making today exceptionally lively with people staying up all night.
Ji Mian finally managed to find some elements similar to her original world in this boring place.
Today felt more like a nighttime market. Small stalls were set up freely on both sides, smoke curled up from cooking fires, and all sorts of snacks and trinkets were on display.
Ji Mian hadn’t seen such a lively scene in a long time, and for a moment she forgot all the troubles piling up behind her, taking Yuhuai to stroll around before the ceremony began.
Walking ahead, Ji Mian momentarily failed to notice that Yuhuai was not closely following behind. She stood in front of a small stall selling spring pancakes, happily ordering two of them.
She had been craving this flavor for a long time and had no idea what it tasted like.
In a narrow alley separated by just one street, Yuhuai’s hand rested on the hilt of her sword, her brows filled with baleful intent.
“Since Your Excellency has been following for so long, aren’t you planning to come out and show yourself?”