The medicine shop was right before them. Ling Luo led the group inside, while Chang Fei efficiently selected medicine pills to stop Song Yuanyuan’s bleeding and treat his wounds. Chu Yi and Yu Xiu from next door quickly arrived.

Yue Liangze went back to bring the captured Bai Linglong.

The front hall apprentice, hearing the commotion, was completely bewildered by the group that had stormed into the medicine shop at night.

Ling Luo went to the back hall and dragged out the female physician who had tried to hide.

“Please spare me, Cultivator! I had no choice!” the physician woman cried.

Ling Luo looked down at her and asked, “You secretly delivered medicine, fine, but why harm people?”

“It happened suddenly… I was only responsible for delivering the medicine, and they would come to collect it. But today, somehow, their identities were exposed, so they attacked. But this has nothing to do with me! I didn’t know they would kill people!” The physician woman shook her head pleadingly through her tears.

Chu Yi glanced at Song Yuanyuan and asked Chang Fei, “How severe are his injuries?”

Chang Fei, focused on applying medicine, answered, “He won’t die.”

Yu Xiu asked the physician woman, “Who told you to do this?”

“I-I don’t know, truly I don’t! Yuan Lang said someone offered him a large sum of money to buy Nylon Flower Leaves and Giant Spirit Pills, but no one could know about it. He asked me to help deliver them.” The physician woman wiped her tears, looking heartbroken, frightened, and miserable. “We truly didn’t know they were cultivators, nor that they would kill people.”

Yu Xiu: “Where were the medicines delivered?”

The physician woman replied between sobs, “I don’t know… they wouldn’t say. They just took the medicine at the pleasure house and left.”

Chu Yi casually remarked, “We should ask her lover.”

The physician woman immediately panicked, dropping to her knees and crying, “I beg the Cultivators to spare me and Yuan Lang. We truly know nothing!”

Chu Yi: “…”

He was just asking and would have been polite about it.

Chu Yi said, “Do we look scarier than those three Bai Linglong assassins?”

Ling Luo walked past the physician woman to check on Song Yuanyuan: “There’s only one of you.”

Yu Xiu helped the physician woman up, speaking gently, “Don’t panic, miss. We’re just asking questions and won’t harm you.”

The physician woman wiped her tears, thanking them repeatedly between sobs.

It didn’t take long for Yue Liangze to bring back the captured Bai Linglong.

“This… why is Immortal Danshui also here?” Yu Xiu asked in confusion.

Yue Liangze handed the captive to Chu Yi, who casually answered, “Zhen Xianyu was stolen by the Bone Demon, and he tracked it here.”

“How do you know that?” Ling Luo looked at him curiously.

Chu Yi said, “Ziyu said he sent a jade transmission.”

Ling Luo: “…”

Her eyes widened slightly. What did that mean? Why had Yue Liangze added Senior Brother Ziyu as a friend but not her?

Ling Luo looked toward Yue Liangze, but he had already walked to Song Yuanyuan’s side to examine his injuries.

Yu Xiu bent down to remove the cloak from the Bai Linglong assassin, who was immobilized by a formation on the ground. This revealed his true appearance—a man with feminine features and freckles on his face, who was coldly staring back at them.

“Where is Tian Rong?” Yu Xiu asked.

The freckled man gave a cold laugh but didn’t answer.

“Why are you being polite with him?” Chu Yi conjured sword light with two fingers and drove it into the freckled man’s shoulders. The man groaned in pain as Chu Yi continued, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t talk. There are thousands of spells in this world, and surely one will make you speak.”

The freckled man’s face twisted slightly with pain as he cursed, “You’re not skilled enough to make me talk! Go ahead and try, even if I die, I won’t…”

“She’s at the Prince Gan’s Manor,” Yue Liangze said.

The freckled man’s cursing stopped abruptly.

Yue Liangze continued unhurriedly, “One of them was injured by Wusheng and was contaminated with its killing energy. They stopped moving once they reached Prince Gan’s Manor.”

“Prince Gan’s Manor?” Yu Xiu was stunned. “How could they be there…”

The freckled man rolled his eyes, trying to look at Yue Liangze, but could only catch a glimpse of his shadow.

He said coldly, “The Bai Linglong organization has no grudge against the Sacred Sword Sect.”

Ling Luo laughed, “No grudge? Your organization specializes in killing cultivators—you have a grudge against every cultivator.”

Yue Liangze stood up and looked at the freckled man, saying, “You killed the serving girls in my nephew’s establishment.”

The large cat was still weeping inconsolably over Madam Hong’s corpse.

Freckled man: “…”

Damn it!

Yue Liangze glanced at Song Yuanyuan but said nothing more.

If he had been half a moment slower tonight, Song Yuanyuan would have died under Bai Linglong’s black jade sword.

“Now that we know where the person is, I’ll go there immediately,” Yu Xiu sent the news to the other Tianji disciples and promptly set out for Prince Gan’s Manor.

As Chu Yi was leaving, he noticed Ling Luo standing at the door without moving, so he asked, “Aren’t you coming?”

Ling Luo raised her head to look at the moon in the sky, narrowed her eyes, and said softly, “They’ve been hiding at Prince Gan’s Manor for over ten days without any news. Two severely injured people—do you think that’s possible without the manor’s cooperation?”

Chu Yi: “The manor is covering for them?”

“Only six Bai Linglong assassins remain. Tonight, three appeared, plus the injured one makes four.” Ling Luo smiled with curved eyes. “Perhaps all the Bai Linglong assassins are here in Pingyao City.”

“That’s just your pessimism talking. Stay behind if you’re afraid.” Chu Yi mocked her as he turned to leave.

He wanted to resolve this matter and return to Tianji. After staking out in Pingyao City for over ten days, he was utterly sick of surveillance.

Ling Luo didn’t seem offended. “Anyway, you’ll be back soon enough.”

As if the manor would hand over anyone.

At that moment, Prince Gan’s Manor was brightly lit, with heavily armed guards stationed at the base of the high walls.

The manor was currently managed by Princess Gan Ting.

Yu Xiu explained their purpose outside, expecting to be received, but the messenger steward quickly returned with a reply: “The Princess says there are no such people as you seek in the manor, and requests the Cultivators to be cautious.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Yi laughed lightly and lazily raised his head to scan the doorplate.

Prince Gan’s Manor.

Yu Xiu hadn’t expected such a response either. Frowning slightly, he said, “The Bai Linglong are vicious, bloodthirsty, and demonic traitor cultivators. Having such dangerous criminals hiding in the manor is also a threat to the Princess.”

The steward replied calmly, “The Princess says the manor’s safety is the concern of the manor’s soldiers and the Qilin Guards.”

Yu Xiu: “If that’s the case, the Princess can keep the Bai Linglong if she wishes, but please hand over our sect’s traitor, Senior Sister Tian Rong.”

The steward smiled, “The Cultivator forgets. The Princess has already informed you that there are no such people as you seek in the manor.”

Yu Xiu was troubled.

Prince Gan’s Manor was no ordinary household—they couldn’t afford to offend them, nor could they break the rules and force their way in—

Before he could devise any strategy, his Senior Brother had already drawn his sword and slashed toward the manor. The sword light, black yet filled with righteous energy, swept across the manor’s main gate, forcing three hidden Qilin Guards to emerge and block it with their swords.

“One person who has broken through the Life and Death Boundary—the manor’s guards aren’t bad,” Chu Yi said lightly.

The Qilin Guard leader said sternly, “The Princess has given you an answer. Please don’t persist.”

“You should know what kind of people are hiding in this manner,” Chu Yi raised an eyebrow as he appraised the guard. “Moreover, that person is from my Tianji Sect. The Princess is interfering with the cultivator world’s rules, forcing me to persist to the end.”

Five more Qilin Guards appeared using Flash Step, blocking access to the manor gate.

The Qilin Guard leader raised his sword and pointed it at Chu Yi: “Are you planning to force your way into the Prince’s Manor?”

Chu Yi smiled, “And what if I do?”

The atmosphere in front of the manor grew tense, with conflict about to erupt. The steward made a gesture to a nearby serving girl, indicating she should inform the Princess.

The serving girl hurried toward the restricted pavilion in the back of the manor.

As soon as she entered the courtyard, she smelled a strong, bitter medicinal scent.

The door was open, with several serving girls standing outside holding trays. By the bedside sat a beautiful woman in a golden gown, feeding medicine to Tian Rong, who was half-sitting up in bed.

“Princess,” the serving girl entered and said softly, “the two Cultivators from Tianji refuse to leave. They’ve confronted the Qilin Guards and are threatening to force their way in.”

Gan Ting’s delicate eyebrows furrowed, her exquisite face showing traces of anger: “How outrageous! Relying on their cultivator sect background to do whatever they please!”

Just as she stood up, she heard Tian Rong’s faint voice: “Princess…”

Gan Ting handed the medicine bowl to a serving girl and turned to hold Tian Rong’s shoulders, saying, “Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, I won’t hand you over to them. The Qilin Guards can hold them off; they won’t break in. Besides, forcing entry into a Prince’s Manor is a serious crime. If they have any sense, they won’t do such a thing.”

Tian Rong’s eyes were half-closed. “What about Si Chou?”

“Still unconscious,” Gan Ting said. “You focus on recovering and don’t worry.”

She left, and the serving girl continued feeding the remaining medicine to Tian Rong.

Outside, the night was dark and oppressive, weighing down on everyone’s hearts.

Song Yuanyuan had been moved to the medicine shop’s patient room, with Chang Fei and Xu Shen caring for him.

Just as Yue Liangze came out of the room, he saw Ling Luo drawing spells around the freckled man who had been thrown onto the ground in the courtyard.

The freckled man was cursing, “You damned girl! What spells are you drawing on me? Hurry up and remove them, you hear me?!”

“You’re still so arrogant as a prisoner?” Ling Luo pointed a finger in the air near his shoulder, and the freckled man couldn’t hold back a cry of pain. “I haven’t even started being arrogant with you yet. What’s your name?”

She cast a silencing spell with her hand, forcing the freckled man to shut up, then said, “Want to speak? Blink if you do, but I might not remove the spell.”

Ling Luo continued drawing spells. She noticed Yue Liangze approaching, gave a light snort, and didn’t speak.

Yue Liangze was puzzled by being ignored.

When had he offended Ling Luo?

After a moment of silence, Yue Liangze paused and softly asked, “What spell are you drawing?”

Ling Luo: “Forbidden Spell.”

Yue Liangze: “…”

He suddenly remembered years ago at Tianji when Ling Luo and Xu Shen practiced forbidden spells right in front of him, and he couldn’t help but smile.

These two had no sense of secrecy.

Hearing that a forbidden spell was being drawn on him, the freckled man’s eyes widened in alarm, and he blinked frantically to signal her to remove the silencing spell.

But Ling Luo ignored him.

Yue Liangze asked, “What kind of forbidden spell?”

Ling Luo said, “Memory extraction, personality reshaping, Soul Reversal Spell.”

The freckled man was blinking so hard his eyelashes were in danger of falling out.

Yue Liangze: “When did you learn that?”

“A couple of years ago,” Ling Luo said casually. “Senior Brother was right—there are thousands of spells in this world, many that could make him talk.”

The freckled man thought desperately, ‘I’m blinking! I want to talk! I’ll talk right now! Just remove the silencing spell! Ah!’

“But since he doesn’t want to talk, I’ll just extract his memories directly, then shatter them. When a person’s decades of memories suddenly become a mess, they wake up essentially an idiot,” Ling Luo continued drawing as she spoke, completely ignoring the freckled man’s increasingly ferocious expression. “If I’m in a good mood, I might help organize his memories a bit, turning him into an idiot with some basic common sense. If I’m not in a good mood, I’ll twist his memories into a knot, then shatter his spiritual meridians, making him dream every night of being killed in the same way he killed others, magnifying his fear a thousandfold so he’ll never dare sleep again, torturing himself—”

She noticed Yue Liangze’s startled gaze and frowned, “Why are you looking at me like that? It’s not like you haven’t seen me before—”

Ling Luo stopped mid-sentence.

She realized that the Yue Liangze before her didn’t know what she had done after becoming demonized.

The indiscriminate killing.

The disregard for life.

How she had slain everyone who stood in her way without the slightest hesitation.

How she would stop at nothing to save people when feeling benevolent, yet never regretted killing anyone when malevolent.

Ling Luo didn’t want to see Yue Liangze’s surprised gaze, so she turned away, feeling angry. She turned back to snap at him, “What are you looking at? Don’t look! Close your eyes!”

Yue Liangze was indeed surprised by Ling Luo’s application of the Soul Reversal Spell. His first thought was that her strength in spellcraft was as impressive as her swordsmanship, but before he could utter a word of praise, she had snapped at him.

He was a bit bewildered.

Yue Liangze thought for a moment and said, “I have no intention of stealing your technique.”

Ling Luo: “…”

“Why are you looking at me like that?” she said with a cold laugh. “Are you going to say again that my methods are cruel, disgrace the righteous path of immortal sects, and that I’m a greatly evil person?”

Freckled man:?

Aren’t you, though?!

Which righteous immortal sect practices Soul Reversal Spells and tortures people like this? Even we evil people wouldn’t dare to play like this! Who’s evil if not you?!

We’re the same kind of evil person—please just remove this spell, ancestor!

Yue Liangze frowned, “That’s not what I meant.”

Why did she say “again”? I’ve never said such things before.

“Whatever you meant,” Ling Luo said angrily. “Just don’t look at me! You…”

“Ling Luo,” Yue Liangze grabbed her wrist, pulling her back as she turned to leave, looking down at her. “I’ve never said such things before, and I never will.”

At the doorway, Xu Shen reached out to feel the door hinges.

Behind him, Chang Fei asked, “Why haven’t you gone to the front hall to get medicine?”

Xu Shen turned back with a serious face and said, “I don’t think we should go out right now.”

Chang Fei: “?”

Ling Luo blinked as she looked at him. Yue Liangze spoke unhurriedly, yet was attentive to the slightest changes in her expression: “You just said ‘again.’ You also said something similar behind the screen at the Primal Golden Luan Pool banquet platform. Are you mistaking me for someone else?”

What someone else? It’s all you!

Ling Luo thought his question was nonsensical and was about to mock him when she suddenly remembered what she had said behind the screen that day. She instantly bristled: “What similar words? What did I say? Didn’t I tell you those were sleep-talking? How do you still remember? Forget it! Right now, immediately! If you don’t forget, I’ll kill you right now!”

Yue Liangze: “…I’ve forgotten.”

“That’s too fast! Who are you trying to fool?!” Ling Luo reached out to grab him. “Fine, I’ll use the Soul Reversal Spell to remove that memory!”

Yue Liangze held her hand to block her: “Really, I have.”

When Chu Yi and Yu Xiu returned, they saw Yue Liangze holding Ling Luo’s hand and embracing her. One issued a verbal warning, while the other sent a sword light flying toward them.