The sun rose, and the ghostly creatures on the ground seemed like dew on grass—evaporated completely, reduced to dust.
Yun Xiaoyang pinched some of the decayed ashes and extracted a fragment of the twisted talisman. He quickly formed a hand seal, intending to use it to track the person behind the scheme. Before the tracking could even begin, the talisman fragment completely disintegrated.
Unable to track anyone, Yun Xiaoyang gave up and turned back to the tree, asking, “Is General Ye feeling any better?”
Ye Lizhi hurriedly stood and gave him a formal bow. “Thanks to your elixir, Immortal Scholar, the General’s corpse poison and ghostly energy have greatly dissipated, and his wounds have stopped rotting.”
Yun Xiaoyang lightly steadied her. The sword energy in his palm turned into a gentle wind that supported her bent knees. Without acknowledging her bow, he said in a calm voice, “Slaying demons, banishing evil, and restraining ghosts is my duty. You needn’t offer such a formal courtesy.”
He had already noticed the bloodstained sleeve on her clothes and produced a small vial of medicinal powder from his robes. “You’ve also been hurt badly, Miss. Here is some healing powder to relieve pain and aid recovery. Use it for now.”
Earlier, she had been so focused on tending to her father that she had barely noticed the pain in her shoulder and palm. Only now, with his reminder, did the aches return sharply.
She accepted the medicine with both hands, deeply grateful. “If not for you, Immortal Scholar, we likely would have perished tonight. I have no way to repay your great kindness at present, but I hope that one day I may have the chance to do so.”
Yun Xiaoyang glanced back at the soldiers in the forest, digging graves and burying their fallen comrades, and muttered with some guilt, “I still arrived a little late.”
He had been away on a mission, resting in a nearby town, when in the middle of the night his sword’s spiritual resonance woke him. Sensing the surge of ghostly energy in this area, he had immediately ridden over—but even so, he arrived too late.
Of the more than twenty soldiers General Ye had brought, nearly half had fallen to the ghosts, their deaths gruesome, their bodies corrupted by corpse poison. They needed to be buried quickly to prevent the spread of the spectral energy.
Once the graves were prepared, Yun Xiaoyang drew protective seals around them to prevent any living being from accidentally coming into contact with the corpse poison, leaving only time to gradually dissipate the remaining ghostly energy.
Having done this, he examined General Ye’s injuries once more. “The corpse poison in General Ye’s body has been removed, but the rotting tissue remaining on his wounds must be excised and treated quickly. Otherwise, the wounds could still become fatal. Thirty li to the east is Linfang Town, where there is a medical hall.”
The bodyguards thanked him repeatedly and quickly improvised a stretcher to carry the still-dazed General Ye, preparing to head to Linfang Town.
With the ghosts hiding at dawn, Yun Xiaoyang wanted to continue investigating the origins of these ghost bandits and find the mastermind behind it all, so he did not accompany them. Instead, he split off a fragment of his sword energy, forming a small, palm-sized blue sword, and entrusted it to Ye Lizhi for protection.
Unexpectedly, as they prepared to depart, a dispute broke out.
Ye Lizhi found herself surrounded by the soldiers. The small sword Yun Xiaoyang had given her earlier was handed over to General Ye’s bodyguards.
One of the guards said, “If I let you go on your own, and the General wakes up, he will punish us. You must come with us.”
Although polite in words, his tone was firm; he would not disobey the General’s orders.
Ye Lizhi looked around warily. “The General is injured and cannot return to the post station to see the Holy Lady off. Someone has to go report to her.”
The guard replied, “The sacred envoy assigned to escort the Holy Lady to the Celestial Way Palace will handle that. The General’s duty was only to see her safely out of Liandu City. I will send someone else to notify her; there’s no need for you to take this trip.”
He finished speaking, then gave orders to the others: “Watch her carefully. We must leave now to avoid delaying the General’s treatment.”
Ye Lizhi could not reason with them. As they gave the command, she suddenly broke through one of the guards and ran.
“Seize her!” a guard shouted.
Hearing this, Yun Xiaoyang hesitated.
The young lady was alone, a weak woman among soldiers. He had heard her cry out “Father” in her panic earlier, so he guessed she was General Ye’s daughter. Yet the bodyguards seemed to show her little respect.
Considering her injuries—the claw marks on her shoulder, the cut on her palm which was not infected by ghost poison, and the obvious marks on her neck—her situation seemed grim.
Seeing her being restrained and dragged away, Yun Xiaoyang moved to intervene.
At that moment, General Ye, lying on the stretcher, finally stirred. He let out a low groan, and everyone froze. The bodyguards immediately stepped forward.
“General?” they called.
Ye Lizhi’s father forced his eyes open and, with their help, sat up. With the corpse poison removed, his vision had recovered enough to see clearly. He looked at Ye Lizhi.
He had always looked down on this daughter—not only because her mother had been a low-born singer, but because, despite her humble origins, she had never submitted to him. Even if her body obeyed, her eyes had never truly yielded.
Especially her eyes—they resembled her mother’s, and every time Ye Róng saw them, he was reminded of the disdainful expression her mother once gave him.
A lowly woman, how dare she look at him that way?
Ye Róng stared at her and asked, “You hate me, yet you turned back to save me?”
Tears brimmed in Ye Lizhi’s eyes. She bit her lip. “No matter what, you are still my father. You are my only family.”
The answer did not surprise him. Studying her closely, he saw, deep within her tearful eyes, a hint of ambition and desire to rise above her circumstances.
In that moment, he saw a trace of his own bloodline reflected in her.
For the first time, Ye Róng felt a hint of satisfaction toward this daughter. Her earlier act of risking her life to save him had moved him. He said, “Release her. From now on, she shall be the officially recognized Second Miss of the Ye House.”
The grip on her arm loosened. Ye Lizhi looked up in surprise, slightly overwhelmed by the favor.
The surrounding soldiers stepped aside, and their attitude toward her shifted dramatically. They bowed respectfully, kneeling in unison. “We greet the Second Miss.”
Yun Xiaoyang slowly stopped. Seeing that Ye Róng had dismissed his bodyguards and only Ye Lizhi remained nearby, he assumed the two intended a private conversation. Out of respect, he retreated to a distance, though he continued to watch.
Ye Lizhi approached her father. After speaking briefly, with their expressions calm, she stepped back, knelt, and bowed three times.
Ye Róng nodded, his remaining strength spent, and collapsed back onto the stretcher, drifting into unconsciousness.
The bodyguards gathered around to escort him to Linfang Town. After seeing them off, Ye Lizhi turned and saw Yun Xiaoyang standing at a distance. A smile appeared at the corner of her lips as she hurried toward him.
“My father asked me to thank you for saving his life, Immortal Scholar. This is his personal jade pendant, to serve as a token. If you should ever need anything, the Ye family of Nanrong will give their full support.”
Yun Xiaoyang waved his hand. “I told you before, exorcising demons and eliminating evil is my duty. I cannot accept such a pledge.”
Seeing he would not take it, Ye Lizhi carefully stored the pendant. The gratitude was in her heart, not the object—she would remember the favor with or without it.
Looking down at the traces of ashes on the ground, she added, “Father also said that if you wish to investigate the origins of these ghost bandits, you might check around Mount Futuo in Pingyang. Four years ago, he cleared a band of bandits there. The appearance and weapons of these ghosts are similar to that group.”
Yun Xiaoyang, glad to have a lead, said, “Excellent.” He glanced in the direction Ye Róng had departed and asked, “Miss Ye did not accompany your father. Are you heading elsewhere?”
Ye Lizhi hesitated. “To be honest, I’m also heading to Pingyang post station. May I travel with you, Immortal Scholar?”
Yun Xiaoyang raised his hand, releasing his spirit sword to float in the air, and extended it to her with a bright smile. “Since it’s on the way, why not accompany you a bit?”
…
Pingyang Post Station.
Mu Zhaoran touched a string of jade beads on her wrist. There were twelve in total, with a spirit bead carved with a communication talisman every two beads. One of the beads’ glow had just faded. Yaogu’s voice echoed in her mind.
They had not failed to notice Ye Róng’s ambition, but with the Ye family’s power firmly rooted in Nanrong, her father could neither control him nor remove him. Eliminating Ye Róng would destabilize the delicate balance of the southern region and make matters worse.
In her previous life, when had Ye Róng allied with the influential families? It seemed to begin when Ye Lizhi became a direct disciple of the Celestial Way Palace. From that moment, the proud families abandoned the Mu clan, siding with the Ye family, ultimately storming the palace and causing the death of her father and mother.
Now, Mu Zhaoran, bound by her system task, still had to escort Ye Lizhi to Tiandu, right under the eyes of the Celestial Way’s revered master.
Mu Zhaoran sat by the bedside for a long while. Morning light spread across the land before she called for hot water to bathe and change. Sitting at the dressing table, her heart finally began to calm.
She studied her youthful face in the silver mirror, pinching her soft cheeks and reassuring herself repeatedly, “It’s alright, Mu Zhaoran. Everything is just beginning. You’ll have many chances to make changes. No need to rush now.”
A maid brought a box of floral forehead ornaments. “Will Your Highness wear one today?”
Mu Zhaoran exhaled her frustration and turned to carefully choose a flame-shaped ornament.
The maid delicately moistened the ornament with water and placed it on her brow.
Mu Zhaoran’s eyes half-closed as she felt the cool touch on her forehead. Her lashes trembled slightly, and she momentarily drifted into thought.
Once, when her consciousness had possessed a ghost bandit, Yun Xiaoyang’s sword had touched her brow. She had felt a faint force pressing on her forehead, a prick that allowed her to escape the bandit in time, avoiding death under his blade.
The sensation had been dreamlike, unreal.
Even upon seeing Yun Xiaoyang again in this life, her heart still raced uncontrollably, just as in her previous life, leaving her senses unsettled.
Shaking off the thoughts, she descended to the post station hall. Breakfast had already been arranged, and everyone waited for the Holy Lady to take her seat.
Ye Lingyan’s mind was heavy. She had barely slept and had been waiting at the door since early morning, fearing that her father had taken Ye Lizhi back.
As the departure time approached, her tension gradually eased.
When Mu Zhaoran came down from the upper floor, Ye Lingyan immediately stepped forward with practiced politeness, trying to smooth over yesterday’s unpleasantness and return to her usual demeanor. She reached to take Mu Zhaoran’s arm and said with a smile, “Your Highness, I noticed you didn’t have much of an appetite last night. This morning, I specially had someone collect the morning dew, added some sour plums and snow pears, and brewed a sweet soup to whet your appetite.”
Mu Zhaoran, still frustrated by her failed attempt to kill Ye Róng the previous night, felt bitter and resentful. Her gaze, turning toward Ye Lingyan, carried an almost uncontrollable edge of murderous intent.
Ye Lingyan recoiled, startled by her eyes, and quickly withdrew her hand.
Mu Zhaoran walked past her and sat down, asking pointedly, “Has General Ye not yet returned with her?”
Ye Lingyan glanced at the sweet soup a servant was holding, her nails digging into her palm as she forced a smile, trying to maintain her usual air of composure. She stepped forward and replied, “Father personally went to find her. They searched all night and still haven’t returned. That girl must be deliberately hiding. Even when she was at home, she was sly and tricky, often hard to locate. Now that she’s left the Ye residence, if she wants to hide, she could disappear like a stone in the water—completely impossible to find.”
Shuang Xu asked, “Your Highness, should we send a few spirit envoys to search for her?”
Cultivators, with their spiritual power, had many ways to locate someone, far easier than General Ye and his soldiers could manage. Last night, Shuang Xu had wanted to suggest it, but since the Holy Lady did not volunteer, she hesitated and stayed silent.
Now, with the departure time approaching, the journey could not be delayed. Seeing that the princess seemed genuinely concerned about Miss Ye, Shuang Xu felt compelled to take the initiative.
Mu Zhaoran remained silent, not answering immediately. Although she had failed to kill Ye Róng last night, she had inflicted serious injuries. He would certainly be unable to return and report to her.
As for Ye Lizhi, she was likely staying by her father’s side, fulfilling her filial duty—or perhaps even with Yun Xiaoyang.
Mu Zhaoran hated Ye Lizhi to the core, but the damn system task left her no choice to simply walk away. Sending Holy Palace envoys out worried her too—she feared that, like in her previous life, something could go wrong, leaving the dispatched people unable to return.
Seeing Mu Zhaoran hesitate, Ye Lingyan pressed, “Once Father finds her, he will send word to me. Whether she is to be brought before you to answer for her actions, or punished in some other way, will be entirely up to Your Highness. But the time is pressing. Must you delay the mission for her? If we arrive late and fail to show proper respect to the Celestial Way Palace, what if the Immortal Masters punish Nanrong?”
Though Ye Lingyan had her own motives, her words were not without reason. After the events of the previous life, Mu Zhaoran had deeply learned the absolute authority of the Celestial Way Palace; she was no longer as reckless as before.
After a moment of thought, she made her decision: “Everyone, prepare to depart on schedule. Only one person needs to stay with me. Shuang Xu, take the remaining spirit envoys and personally go find Ye Lizhi. You must bring her back to me unharmed.”
Shuang Xu objected, “Your Highness, your safety is paramount. How can you be left with just one person?”
Though Mu Zhaoran did not wish it, she forced herself to say, “My carriage was personally crafted by the Holy Palace elders. It is a top-grade magical artifact. What danger could possibly befall it? Go at once. Protect her, and also protect yourselves.”
Shuang Xu had no choice but to comply. She turned and stepped outside, ready to lead the search.
Just as she exited, she saw someone standing frozen in the courtyard. Who else could it be but Ye Lizhi?
Shuang Xu’s heart skipped a beat. Such a living person had reached the courtyard without her noticing—a lapse she should not have made. Warily, she studied Ye Lizhi and stepped forward, calling, “Miss Ye, you’ve returned?”
Ye Lizhi had not yet recovered from the words she had accidentally overheard. Since birth, she had endured cold glances and harsh treatment. Her mother had died early, leaving only a single nanny by her side. She had never felt even a trace of warmth from others.
Yet today, she had unexpectedly heard those three words—“protect her”—from someone as seemingly unrelated to her as the Holy Lady.