By the time they returned to the City Lord’s Estate, it was already late.
Without a moment to spare to comfort a weeping Chun’er, Sang Nian grabbed a change of clothes and headed straight to the bathhouse, scrubbing herself thoroughly for a solid three hours.
Only when every last trace of the smell of blood was gone did she finally crawl into bed, so exhausted that she fell asleep the second her head hit the pillow.
When she woke up again, the sun was already high in the sky.
Sang Nian rolled over, planning to squeeze in a bit more sleep, when she suddenly found herself face-to-face with a pair of peach-like, swollen red eyes right beside her bed. The fright instantly chased away any lingering sleepiness.
She bolted upright, ready to cry out for help.
With a face full of deep grievance, Chun’er sniffled, > “Miss, it’s just me.”
Clutching her pounding heart, Sang Nian breathed a sigh of relief. > “I’m going to be scared to death by you one of these days.”
Chun’er sniffed again, lowering her head mournfully.
Sang Nian asked, > “Did you stay here and guard me all night?”
“I was afraid you’d get kidnapped again…” Chun’er whispered.
Knowing there was no reasoning with her, Sang Nian let out a sigh, opened her arms, and pulled her into a hug. > “Alright, I’m completely fine now. You can put all one hundred and twenty of your worries to rest.”
Pouting, Chun’er muttered:
“It’s all Xie Chenzhou’s fault! The City Lord said you were only captured by that monster because you went to save him. He really is a regular fox spirit—he’s brought you nothing but trouble.”
“What fox spirit?” Sang Nian found it a bit amusing, reaching out to flick Chun’er gently on the forehead. “It has nothing to do with Xie Chenzhou. That monster was aiming for me in the first place.”
Well, at least it was supposed to be aiming for her originally.
Wiping away her tears and muttering a few more complaints under her breath, Chun’er smiled up at her:
“The City Lord is hosting a banquet for the young heroes from the Xiaoyao Sect at noon today. The estate is going to be so lively.”
Sang Nian slapped herself on the forehead.
She had almost completely forgotten about Wen Buyu and the others.
Leaping out of bed, she rushed to get ready:
“There’s no time to lose, help me wash and dress. I’m going to the banquet.”
Once everything was properly seen to, Sang Nian stepped out of her room.
The opposite door to Xie Chenzhou’s room was dead silent, looking as though no one was inside.
Sang Nian bit her lower lip lightly, feeling a flicker of annoyance.
According to the original plot, Xie Chenzhou wasn’t qualified to attend the banquet and would have spent the entire day locked in his room.
By evening, he would take advantage of everyone’s distraction to make his escape.
After scouring the estate to no avail and searching for a full three days—just as they were about to give up—he would suddenly reappear on his own.
A furious Sang Yunling would be convinced he was deliberately toying with her.
He would be tortured by her to within an inch of his life.
Filled with a sense of lingering pity, Su Xueyin and the others would grow even more disgusted with Sang Yunling, eventually finding a deliberate pretext to whisk Xie Chenzhou away to the Xiaoyao Sect.
And now…
Thinking it over with a touch of uncertainty, Sang Nian figured that since they had struck a deal yesterday, Xie Chenzhou shouldn’t try to run away, right?
Hesitating for a few seconds, she changed direction, walked straight up to Xie Chenzhou’s door, and gave it three sharp raps.
A moment later, the youth’s cold voice drifted through the barrier:
“What is it?”
“Are you free?” Sang Nian asked.
Xie Chenzhou replied, “What’s wrong?”
“I’m taking you to a feast.” Sang Nian tapped on the wood again, her voice bright. “Come on, let’s go. If we’re late, all the good food will be gone.”
This time, the silence from inside lasted much longer.
Finally, Xie Chenzhou said:
“I’m not going.”
“Just stay right here and wait for me, don’t go anywhere,” Sang Nian fretted, unable to completely shake her worry.
“…Fine.”
Casting backward glances every few steps, Sang Nian finally turned and left.
The moment her footsteps faded away completely, Xie Chenzhou walked slowly over to the table and sat down, staring out into empty space with a subtle, inscrutable smile.
“Aren’t you going to come out?”
Ripples like water bloomed in the empty air as two crows suddenly materialized.
With a flash of white light, the crows hit the ground and transformed into two young men.
Dressed in identical black garments with massive tattoos stretching across the left side of their faces, they wore expressions so chillingly cold they would strike fear into anyone who saw them.
Maintaining his lazy posture, Xie Chenzhou remarked:
“It took you this long to find me. The Asura Hall is getting more useless by the day.”
Their expressions shifted instantly. Dropping to their knees in unison, they bowed their heads and spoke in deep, solemn tones:
“We have failed in our duty. Please punish us, Young Master.”
Fading the smile from his face, Xie Chenzhou fell silent for a long beat before speaking in a voice cold enough to freeze ice:
“Does the Sovereign know I’m here?”
“The Sovereign sensed your spiritual fluctuations and specially dispatched us to track you down.”
Looking thoroughly unsurprised, Xie Chenzhou pinched the bridge of his nose:
“Forget it.”
He stood up, his tone entirely calm:
“We’re returning to the Asura Hall.”
The two men on the ground exchanged a glance before speaking with utmost caution:
“Young Master, you cannot leave just yet. The Sovereign gave strict orders—you…”
“You must remain by Sang Yunling’s side.”
The hostility flashing in Xie Chenzhou’s eyes was as sharp as a blade:
“What did you say?”
Trembling, the two men pressed their foreheads nearly flat against the ground:
“There is a fragment of the Kunlun Jade embedded within Sang Yunling’s body. She was meant to die young, and the only reason she has survived until now is entirely due to the power of that divine artifact.”
“The Sovereign requires you to stay by her side and acquire the artifact fragment at any cost.”
Xie Chenzhou fell silent.
After a long pause, he asked:
“Aside from that, did the Sovereign have any other instructions?”
“The Sovereign also said,” they replied, “that apart from Sang Yunling, everyone else in the Sang family may be put to death—entirely at your discretion.”
Tapping his fingertips lightly against the tabletop, Xie Chenzhou said in a flat voice:
“Understood.”
“We take our leave.”
The ripples surfaced once more, their figures gradually fading away until only Xie Chenzhou remained in the room.
The bright midday sunlight streamed through the window, casting countless tiny motes of dust dancing and drifting within the golden pillars of light.
Xie Chenzhou reached out to brush against the beam of light, the corners of his eyes curving into a pleasing arc.
“Everyone else… can die?”
The gratitude banquet was held within the garden’s waterside pavilion.
The pavilion lacked doors and windows, partitioned only by light, gossamer curtains that were currently all looped back against the pillars, offering an unobstructed view of the scenery outside.
Ripples drifted across the emerald-green lake, while a separate pavilion stood at its exact center, occupied by a dozen musicians. The melodious strains of string and wind instruments drifted across the water, accompanied by exotic dancers in colorful silks who swayed and spun with impossibly flexible waists and delicate, floating footwork.
Sang Nian was completely transfixed, holding her chopsticks suspended in the air for ages without ever moving them to her mouth.
Sang Qiyan sat chatting and laughing easily with Wen Buyu and the others. Catching sight of her dazed expression out of the corner of his eye, he couldn’t help but chuckle as he picked up a dish of freshly shelled crab meat and walked over.
Only as he drew closer did he catch the fragments of her muttering under her breath.
He leaned in slightly to listen.
What she was saying was—
“Damn it, grow back already.”
Sang Qiyan: “?”
“What are you trying to grow back?”
Snapping back to reality, Sang Nian shook her head. > “Nothing, I was just talking nonsense.”
Setting the crab meat down, he said gently:
“Eat your food first, it’s getting cold.”
Sang Nian nodded eagerly.
After inhaling a couple of mouthfuls of rice, a thought struck her. She picked up her teacup, her expression brimming with grand, heroic spirit:
“The only reason we’ve gathered here today is to thank the young heroes of the Xiaoyao Sect for saving my life.”
“I’ll use tea in place of wine to offer you all a toast.”
With a look of absolute disdain, Chu Yao scoffed: > “What’s the point of drinking tea? If you’re going to toast, you drink real alcohol.”
Slamming her hand on the table, Sang Nian declared: > “Then bring on the wine!”
Chu Yao slammed her hand down right beside her: > “Someone, bring out the booze!”
Hearing their exchange, Sang Qiyan’s expression turned stern:
“Niannian.”
Sang Nian didn’t dare make a peep.
Showing zero mercy, Chu Yao burst out laughing at her expense:
“You’re this old and you’re still getting reined in by your brother? Anyone passing by would think you were a three-year-old child.”
The exact moment the words left her mouth, Wen Buyu landed a sharp smack on the back of her head:
“You’re not allowed to drink either.”
Looking thoroughly rebellious, Chu Yao protested: > “Senior Brother!”
Without sparing her a single glance, he simply turned back to continue his conversation with Sang Qiyan.
Clumsily offering comfort, Su Xueyin patted her arm:
“Little Senior Sister, Senior Brother is only doing this for your own good. Don’t you remember? The last time you got drunk, you kidnapped Uncle Yan Yuan’s pet cat and castrated it! He’s still holding a grudge and won’t even let you visit Lonely Bamboo Peak. And the time before that, you took advantage of when Senior Brother Gu Bai was bathing—”
Chu Yao clamped a hand tightly over Su Xueyin’s mouth, her teeth gritted:
“I order you to forget everything you just said right this second.”
Obediently, Su Xueyin nodded: > “Should I forget the parts we haven’t had time to say yet, too?”
Chu Yao: “…”
“Just forget the whole thing!”