At that moment, I hesitated.
I really wanted to help Sun Mingyue, but my abilities were insufficient.
I had witnessed Lu’s corpse-controlling skills firsthand. What I had learned from Grandmother was limited to midwifery and some minor spells to assist with childbirth—compared to Lu, it was like a novice trying to outmatch a master.
If I went now, I’d be walking straight into a death trap.
Liu Juan, unaware of the situation, suggested, “If something’s wrong, call the police.”
Sun Mingyue immediately stopped her: “No!”
I understood Sun Mingyue’s desperation to save her mother. Alerting the authorities would only make things worse and likely hasten her mother’s death.
Sun Mingyue pleaded with me relentlessly. I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling deeply troubled.
Saving lives was urgent, but so was preserving my own. More importantly, if the pregnant woman died with the fetus still inside, forming a mother-child malevolent spirit, and it fell into the hands of a corpse-controlling expert like Lu, the consequences would be endless.
So, if there was even a glimmer of hope, I shouldn’t stand by and watch, nor should I aid the wicked.
At this moment, I actually had two options.
One was to return to the courtyard. Shen Li had said that Liu Xuanyi had hired someone to protect me. I could take that person to rescue Sun Mingyue’s mother.
The other was to seek help from Feng Lao. Liu Xuanyi had gone to the Eastern Yi Salt Sea to retrieve the Turtle Shell precisely to save Feng Lao’s only son. So, at this point, we were still bound by shared interests, and Feng Lao might not refuse to help me.
Thinking of this, a bitter taste filled my heart. No matter how I tried to escape, I couldn’t break free from the circle Liu Xuanyi had drawn for me.
This brief escape made me suddenly realize that from the moment Grandmother passed away, I was already trapped in this circle.
What was the point of struggling?
“Ah, a snake! Huai Yan, there’s a snake on your hand!”
Liu Juan pointed at my hand and gasped. A pale green snake had coiled around my wrist at some point, but it vanished in an instant.
Immediately after, Shen Li’s voice rang out: “Miss Huai, what are you doing here?”
I turned to see Shen Li rushing over, followed by a girl with a high ponytail, dressed in a dark blue robe.
The girl had sharp, striking features and an imposing presence. She wore a pale green snake bone bracelet on her wrist and was sizing me up with an unapologetic gaze.
This must be the person Liu Xuanyi had sent to protect me.
She clearly wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
Shen Li grabbed my hand, ready to take me back, but Sun Mingyue clung to me desperately.
I hesitated and said, “Shen Li, I… ran into some trouble.”
“What trouble?” Shen Li asked worriedly. “Don’t be afraid. I’ve brought Songyu here. She’ll help you.”
Shen Li beckoned to the girl, who walked over, crossed her arms, and said haughtily, “I’m Liu Songyu. While Fifth Brother is away, I’ll be keeping you alive.”
Shen Li added, “Miss, tell Songyu whatever’s troubling you. She used to be the Lead Commander of our Yin Escort Bureau—she’s incredibly capable.”
The Lead Commander of a branch hall was the main strategist during conflicts or negotiations. In the Yin Escort Bureau, she was the primary protector during escort missions.
For someone like her, a bit of arrogance was only natural.
I nodded to her. “Hello.”
Then, I briefly explained the situation at Sun Mingyue’s home. Liu Juan listened, stunned.
After hearing the story, Liu Songyu raised an eyebrow and said, “The Yin Escort Bureau mainly handles escort missions, but we also take on tasks from other branch halls.”
She took a contract from her bosom and handed it to Sun Mingyue, saying, “If you want our branch hall to help you save your mother, you must establish a contract with the branch hall. Once the matter is accomplished, you simply need to pay us the agreed-upon reward.”
Sun Mingyue asked, “What reward do you want?”
“Money, merit, Yin Artifacts, offerings—all can be negotiated.”
Sun Mingyue immediately agreed, “As long as it saves my mother, I’d even sell my house.”
Liu Songyu had Sun Mingyue and me press our fingerprints on the contract, then tucked it back into her bosom.
I asked Shen Li to send Liu Juan back, but she refused, saying she wanted to come along and see the world. Liu Songyu glared at her, and she shrank back in fear.
Shen Li looked back every few steps, saying, “Girl, stay far away when Songyu is handling things so you don’t get hurt. Come back early when it’s done—I’ll make something delicious for you.”
I waved to Shen Li, my nose tingling with emotion.
No matter what, Shen Li was truly good to me.
As good as my grandmother.
·
What surprised me was that Liu Songyu actually had a car—a somewhat old but stylishly modified jeep.
Once we got in the car, Sun Mingyue gave her hometown address, and Liu Songyu stepped on the gas, speeding off.
Along the way, Sun Mingyue tightly gripped my hand; she was very nervous.
And wasn’t I the same?
I tentatively discussed with Liu Songyu, “From my deduction, the key to this whole matter lies with the fetal deity. As long as we get the fetal deity out, everything else should be easy to handle.”
Sun Mingyue nodded vigorously, “The fetal deity is enshrined in the attic of my old home. It’s always been locked, but I know how to sneak it out without anyone noticing.”
“Song… Songyu, when the time comes, you and I will distract Lu below, while Mingyue goes up to steal the fetal deity. With coordination from inside and out, we’re sure to succeed.”
“Yes, yes, coordination from inside and out—it’ll definitely work.”
Sun Mingyue and I went back and forth discussing the plan, while Liu Songyu held the steering wheel with both hands, her eyes fixed on the road ahead.
After a while, she suddenly spoke up, “I heard the Feng, Zhu, and Bai families all forcibly broke off their marriage engagements with you?”
I was taken aback, not expecting Liu Songyu to know about this, and nodded, “Yes, the marriage contracts were burned.”
“The Chang family didn’t break it off?”
Liu Songyu glanced at me, her gaze sharp.
“No, Liu Xuanyi didn’t mention breaking it off.”
“And you?” Liu Songyu retorted, “Why didn’t you take the initiative to break it off?”
“Huh?”
For a moment, I didn’t understand—what did Liu Songyu mean?
“You’re not Liu Zhen.”
Liu Songyu was the first person in these days to say I wasn’t Liu Zhen.
“You look nine-tenths like Liu Zhen, but your temperament is completely different from hers. She was born with extraordinary talent and exceptional Spiritual Power—even Fifth Brother looked up to her. She was the woman Fifth Brother loved most, but you—”
Liu Songyu gave me a disdainful glance, “You’re just an ordinary mortal, timid and willful. You’re not worthy of Fifth Brother. Staying by his side would only be a burden.”
“…”
What could I say? She spoke the truth.
“I know the marriage contract is your lifeline, so it’s understandable that you don’t want to break it off. But there’s no need to cling to Fifth Brother.”
“I’m not…”
“If you don’t want to break off the engagement, that’s fine too. The Chang family has plenty of talented young men—any one of them would be more than a match for you, Huai Yan. I can introduce you.”
It suddenly dawned on me that the marriage contract didn’t specify a name—the person bound to me by this engagement wasn’t predetermined.
My engagement with the Chang family wasn’t necessarily with Liu Xuanyi either.
Then why did Liu Xuanyi want me?
He deceived me into giving myself to him, clearly gaining no benefit from it.
Could it be for the Plum Blossom Coffin Nail?
I couldn’t figure it out, but Liu Songyu spoke again: “Huai Yan, no matter what reason Fifth Brother has for keeping you by his side, please let him go, okay?”