Lu Xigu felt the jade pendant at his waist trembling slightly. This spiritual jade was now Que Chi’s dwelling place.

Lu Xigu knew he was struggling to resist taking immediate action and warned, “Senior, there are still ten days until the birthday celebration. During this time, we cannot create unnecessary complications.”

“Splendid, splendid!” After the silence, the guests on the boat offered awkwardly polite praise.

Of course, some genuinely thought it was impressive, like Lu Xiqiao, who clapped vigorously: “Sister Kui, that was amazing!”

Looking at this brute, Han Qi supported his forehead with his hand. Suddenly, he noticed Yin Changli’s eyes beneath his hood glancing at him, filled with worry and vigilance.

It was as if Xiang Haikui had displayed some astonishing virtue that he feared might attract Han Qi.

Han Qi found it amusing: “So you like her because her mouth is big enough to swallow swords?”

After a moment of silence, Yin Changli’s voice was cold: “You look like a gentleman, but you’re truly disgusting.”

Han Qi was slightly taken aback. What was disgusting about that?

After Xiang Haikui finished her performance and was about to return to her seat, Lu Xigu called out to her: “Second Young Lady Xiang, as the lucky person chosen by lot, you may specify the next competition item.”

Xiang Haikui pointed at her nose: “I get to choose?”

Lu Xigu nodded: “Yes, but this is a banquet. The so-called competition is only for entertainment. The Second Young Lady should propose something refined.”

Understanding now, the “refined” theme suited her purposes perfectly. Xiang Haikui answered without hesitation: “Let’s compete in ‘music’.”

The boss would win.

Bai Xingxian, beside Lu Xiqiao, was already showing a happy expression.

But after she said this, all the guests looked toward a person on the left: “Is there even a need to compete? Master Shang will certainly be the winner.”

This person was named Shang Qingyu, the only music cultivator present.

Shang Qingyu smiled at Xiang Haikui in gratitude.

This was extremely awkward. Xiang Haikui returned a strained smile, thinking to herself, “Sorry, brother, I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

Lu Xigu suddenly looked toward Han Qi: “I heard from my second brother that Young Master Jing is also skilled in music. A pool of summer lotuses at the Sword Dao Academy, after hearing Young Master Jing’s flute, bloomed amid winter snow.”

Lu Xiqiao wondered when he had ever said such a thing.

The crowd turned their attention to Han Qi, equally curious about this young man with no background who had been chosen by the Sword Master.

He was truly strange.

When he first boarded the lotus boat, he had seemed somewhat normal, just overly silent.

Then he began to ignore everything around him, focusing solely on peeling crabs. After finishing with the crabs, he started stacking peanuts, and once he’d stacked them high, he began pouring tea with his eyes closed, apparently trying to fill cups to the brim without spilling a drop by feeling alone.

How bored could one be?

No wonder he was singled out by Lu Xigu, the host.

“Young Master Lu flatters me. Regarding music, I’ve only learned the basics, hardly enough to be presented in refined company.” Han Qi had no desire to participate in their competition; as an elder, he couldn’t take advantage of the younger generation.

Shang Qingyu took out a konghou: “Then let me begin.”

As his long sleeves fluttered, the konghou floated above his head. He plucked it with his divine sense, and musical notes gradually flowed out. These notes seemed to have substance, causing carp to leap from the lake water around the lotus boat, as if dancing joyfully around the vessel.

Everyone was entranced. Xiang Haikui also inwardly admired the performance while feeling concerned: “Senior, can you manage this?”

She didn’t understand music, but the boss’s music could stir her emotions, which she thought was excellent.

However, she had never seen the boss make carp jump with his playing.

Yin Changli hadn’t paid any attention to the konghou music at all. He had been staring intently at Han Qi practicing pouring tea. Upon hearing her question, he came to his senses and reassured her: “He’s merely showing off.”

Yin Changli picked up two chopsticks and began tapping on various vessels placed on the table.

At first, he was just testing the sounds, but then a series of “ding ding dong dong” flowed from under the chopsticks. Though the notes were crisp and clear, they made listeners feel sad.

It was like watching many beloved objects being smashed one by one before one’s eyes.

Shang Qingyu was also affected, accidentally missing a note, causing the carp to splash back into the water.

Among those present, some of the more sensitive individuals recalled something that made their eyes turn slightly red.

Han Qi hadn’t competed with Yin Changli in music for many years. Now, listening to him, he discovered that after having many of his spiritual apertures sealed, Yin Changli’s musical abilities had improved.

Twirling the chopsticks in his hand, he also began tapping on the wine cups in front of him. In direct contrast to Yin Changli, his tune was exceptionally joyful.

Everyone seemed to be transported into beautiful memories, and they all began to smile.

Xiang Haikui was very surprised. She leaned forward to scrutinize Han Qi.

Senior Brother was indeed talented at learning, but he would sing off-key. How could he have changed so dramatically in ten years?

And this competitive attitude—she had never seen it in Senior Brother before. Had he been influenced by Jing Wenxiu’s negative qualities?

She took a deep breath and covered her ears. There was no time to think too much right now; her head felt like it was about to explode.

With one sweeping glance, she saw that everyone else was in worse shape than she was. The konghou player had already stopped, and most of the guests were both crying and laughing, like a group of lunatics.

“This Jing Ran is indeed no ordinary person.” Lu Xigu rubbed his temples, showing a pained expression as he sent a message to Que Chi. “Senior, can you not discern anything?”

“I can’t.” As long as he wasn’t from the Mountain Sea clan, Que Chi didn’t care. He was only focused on Yin Changli and Xiang Haikui, who he suspected might be his junior martial sister.

“Stop!”

The two seemed determined to outdo each other and had been playing for nearly half an hour with neither stopping. Xiang Haikui, unable to bear it any longer, stood up and kicked over the table in front of her.

…

The competition ended with no clear winner. They couldn’t exactly determine who had won by counting whether the guests laughed more or cried more.

It was declared a tie, and the prize fell to Xiang Haikui, the one chosen by lot, which seemed a perfect resolution.

Unfortunately, given the current state of these rich second-generation nobles, the banquet ended before it had properly begun, concluding in discord.

After the lotus boat docked and the banquet dispersed, Que Chi wanted to follow Yin Changli but was promptly stopped by Lu Xigu: “Senior, do not forget our agreement.”

Que Chi said, “They are extremely important to me. You fear her Tian Kuang and dare not have someone watch her. What if they sense something and flee?”

Lu Xigu replied: “Would the master of Tian Kuang be such a coward?”

Que Chi’s bone-scraping laughter sounded again: “But that one beside her is famously slippery…”

He now appeared to have suffered a fatal injury with little cultivation power remaining, making it the perfect time to devour him.

But Que Chi currently couldn’t completely separate from the jade pendant he possessed. His lifeline was in Lu Xigu’s hands, and given their cooperative relationship, it wasn’t good to go against him too much.

Que Chi waved his sleeve, releasing a force toward Yin Changli, marking him: “I’ll let you live a few more days.”

On the shore, a patch of black, fluffy material descended from the sky, landing on Yin Changli’s cloak before instantly disappearing.

He didn’t notice it.

However, Han Qi, not far away, paused his steps, turned to look at the lotus boat, and then glanced at Yin Changli.

He frowned slightly, lingered for a moment, and then continued walking.

Han Qi returned to the Sword Dao Academy. As a disciple of the Sword Master, his residence was separate from those of ordinary disciples.

Before entering his small courtyard, Xiang Tianqing, who had been waiting for his return for a long time, called out to him: “Senior Brother, why do you smell of alcohol?”

He was known to dislike drinking the most.

“At Young Master Lu’s banquet, I had to drink a few cups.” Han Qi indeed disliked the smell of alcohol and was planning to return to his room to change clothes.

Xiang Tianqing was slightly stunned. She had also been invited to the lotus boat banquet, but hadn’t gone because Senior Brother wasn’t invited. She never expected that Senior Brother had attended—if she had known, she wouldn’t have declined: “I thought Senior Brother went out in the evening to see my sister.”

“I originally had an appointment with your sister,” Han Qi explained. “Midway, I was invited onto the lotus boat by Young Master Lu.”

Xiang Tianqing frowned: “My sister also went up?”

“Yes.”

“She didn’t do anything inappropriate, did she?”

“Nothing much, she just performed sword swallowing in public.”

Xiang Tianqing was stunned for a moment: “Sword swallowing?”

Han Qi looked at her in amusement, tilted his head back slightly, and demonstrated: “Like this.”

Xiang Tianqing’s eyes revealed her displeasure. She had specifically instructed her sister that every word and action in the royal capital represented Yin Sha, yet she still did such an embarrassing thing in public. She should have gone; no matter how scheming her sister was, with her former living environment, she simply couldn’t behave appropriately in such settings.

“Senior Brother, please rest inside first. I’ll make you a sobering soup.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“It is.” Xiang Tianqing held back her frustration, but before turning away, she couldn’t help but give a cold laugh. “Didn’t she claim to have admired Senior Brother for years? How could she not know that Senior Brother gets headaches from alcohol? How could she let others pressure Senior Brother into drinking…”

Han Qi heard this and shook his head as he watched her walk away.

Xiang Tianqing truly lacked insight. But when he chose the red marriage star for Yin Changli, he wasn’t looking for someone perceptive.

Perceptive women wouldn’t easily fall into love’s net.

Xiang Tianqing was attentive and considerate, the kind of woman who could quietly accompany Yin Changli, watching falling flowers with him, listening to the sound of snow falling, and even crying for his occasional memories of a tragic past.

This was how one could easily enter his heart.

Han Qi had placed a curse on Yin Changli. The woman he trusted and relied upon could easily enter his closed posterior spiritual realm and see some of the memories he had hidden away.

And thereby find the weapon created by the former Underworld Lord.

No more thinking about this. Han Qi quickly went to his room to embroider—double-sided embroidery with sunflowers on one side and hyenas on the other was indeed challenging.

…

After disembarking from the lotus boat, Xiang Haikui had originally planned to return to the courier station to stay. She had already parted ways with Yin Changli and Bai Xingxian, but then caught up with them to go to the inn together.

Adding a couch under the window, she decided to sleep in the same room as Yin Changli: “I don’t know what that black shadow was. I still feel uneasy, so it’s better to stay vigilant.”

Yin Changli prepared the bed and sat down on the couch: “I’ll sleep here. You take the bed.”

Xiang Haikui pulled him up and pushed him toward the bed: “With that waist of yours, stop pretending to be a gentleman.”

She kicked off her shoes, sat cross-legged on the couch, opened her sword case to take out Tian Kuang, and carefully wiped it with a clean cloth.

Yin Changli had no choice but to lie on the bed, using his arm as a pillow, turning to his side, and watching her wipe the sword without blinking.

“Little Kui,” he called out.

“Hmm?” Xiang Haikui didn’t look at him.

Yin Changli: “I can’t sleep.”

Throughout their journey catching demons, they had stayed in the same cave before, but Little Bai was always between them. This was the first time they had stayed alone in the same room.

Xiang Haikui narrowed her eyes and suddenly turned her sword to point at him: “Want me to knock you unconscious?”

Yin Changli knew she was serious and immediately turned to face the wall: “No need, I’ll just count Mie Mies to fall asleep.”

Xiang Haikui put away her sword and raised an eyebrow.

If she didn’t stop him, he would start saying nauseating things again.

Always saying a bunch of mushy words for no reason, making her want to vomit in his face.

After wiping Tian Kuang, she didn’t put it back in the sword case but placed it at the head of the couch and lay down to rest.

Soon, she heard Yin Changli’s soft, even breathing.

And he said he couldn’t sleep? How long had it been? A man’s mouth is truly a lying ghost. Xiang Haikui pursed her lips and closed her eyes.

She didn’t know how much time had passed when, half asleep and half awake, she heard some mumbling.

Xiang Haikui typically fell asleep quickly but slept very lightly, waking immediately at the slightest disturbance. Listening carefully, she heard the boss’s painful moans.

She raised her head to look at the bed and saw him curled up in a ball, holding his head.

Xiang Haikui flipped off the couch, barefoot, and rushed to his side: “Senior?”

She pushed him, but he still didn’t wake up. Turning his shoulder to face her, she saw that he was covered in sweat, his brows tightly knitted, revealing an expression of pain.

“Senior?” Xiang Haikui reached out to touch his forehead, and suddenly he grabbed her hand.

His eyes snapped open, revealing brown vertical pupils.

Xiang Haikui was startled, mesmerized by his vertical pupils, and her sea of consciousness suddenly felt a sharp pain.

In the moment between closing and opening her eyes, the scene before her had changed.

It was blurry—had she entered the boss’s dream?

It seemed so. Except for the boss being in high definition, everything else was fuzzy.

The boss still appeared as a young boy, with a high ponytail, dressed in sky blue, his eyes spirited, as fresh as dewdrops on lotus leaves in the early morning.

At this moment, he picked up a fallen bird from the ground, flew up a tree, and placed the fledgling back in its nest.

Just as he landed, a clear yet stern male voice came from behind: “A Li.”

The young boss seemed to tremble, cowering in fear: “Father.”

Xiang Haikui blinked. So this was the boss’s father, Chairman Yin. Though his appearance was unclear, his figure suggested he was an imposing man.

Chairman Yin had his hands behind his back, his tone heavy: “I sent you to hunt, where is your prey? What have you been doing these past few days?”

The youth mumbled for a while, then hung his head in silence.

Chairman Yin shook his head, turned his back, his tone seemingly full of resignation: “A Li, it’s not that Father wants to erase your kindness or make your hands bloody. It’s just that Father wants to tell you, kindness without the power to support it is merely weakness.”

The youth hung his head even lower.

“Before you can have the heart of a bodhisattva, you must first have the methods of an asura. When will you finally understand this principle?”

“But Father…”

Xiang Haikui couldn’t hear what the young boss said, as the scene suddenly collapsed.

Like building blocks, stones fell from the sky, slowly rebuilding a new scene.

Along with the stones, blood fell like torrential rain.

It was horrifying. Even within the dream, Xiang Haikui felt as if she could smell the blood.

Unable to see clearly in the pool of blood, she only heard an unfamiliar scolding voice: “A Li, how could you say such things!”

“Brother, if we submit, they will deal with Que Chi and save many of our people. We’ve already lost the war. What’s wrong with surrendering? By preserving our lives, preserving more lives, we’ll have a chance to rise again in the future. Why must we go to our deaths?”

“Be quiet! If you dare say such things again, I’ll kill you myself!”

Xiang Haikui listened to fragments of dialogue for a while.

It seemed that after the Mountain Sea clan’s defeat, a ferocious beast was hunting down these refugees.

The beast had been deliberately brought by a high official of the Heavenly Race. The Heavenly Race wanted to push them into a corner and force them to submit.

The Heavenly Race needed the young nobles of the Mountain Sea clan to submit. These little ones were the hope of the Mountain Sea clan, and their submission would cause the still-resisting Mountain Sea people to lose their will to fight and submit along with them.

But these young nobles, though young, were stubborn. They would rather die than surrender.

Like the boss’s brother.

But there were some different voices, like the boss.

After his last remaining brother was eaten by the ferocious beast, he surrendered with his people and continuously persuaded other resisting noble children to surrender with him.

Then the scene changed again.

Snow fell heavily, covering the bloodshed.

The youth’s eyes were empty, his long hair disheveled, dressed in mourning white, kneeling in the front row with other surrendered noble children, waiting to be branded by the Heavenly Race.

For ordinary Mountain Sea clan members, the characters for “lowly commoner” were branded on their faces.

The nobles received special treatment—the brand was placed on their wrists.

Afterward, they would be sent to various places for hard labor.

Before leaving the Heavenly Palace, the youth brushed away the hair covering his eyes and turned to look at the character for “Heaven” on the city gate. Even after being whipped, he didn’t move. Snowflakes fell on his eyelashes, melted, and flowed into his eyes.

His eyes gradually grew cold with the snowmelt.

The dream collapsed once more, and this time, Xiang Haikui woke up, along with Yin Changli, who was lying down.

The sweat on his face had increased. After gasping for breath several times, his raging heartbeat gradually calmed upon seeing Xiang Haikui’s concerned gaze. His vertical pupils also slowly returned to normal: “I had a nightmare…”

“I accidentally saw it too. That shouldn’t be a nightmare; it’s Senior’s memory. Your memories are finally beginning to resurface.” Her hand was still being held by him. Initially intending to pull away, she instead pulled him to sit up.

He took advantage of this and rested his chin on her shoulder.

Feeling his warm breath on her neck, Xiang Haikui felt uncomfortable all over and wanted to stand up, but sensing his slight trembling, she hesitated and held back.

Taking care of the boss during his amnesia was the first thing she had promised to do.

This was different from deceiving someone’s feelings; she was more like comforting a child. After all, once he regained his memory, none of this would count.

Moreover, her feelings at this moment were quite complex.

She had always thought the boss’s current state was pathological, always treating him like a patient.

After glimpsing his dream, she realized that might not be the case. This demeanor might be the boss’s personality from his younger years, before society had hardened him.

Thinking back to when the boss joked with his father about being sent to work in mines, she realized it was true.

If that was the case, then the white snake turning into a black snake might not have been a joke either.

It wasn’t about the color of his appearance but the transformation of his heart.

From the boss’s experiences, he had been through a dark phase.

However, the present-day boss was already detached and carefree, living more freely and understanding than anyone, which was why he could talk about those unpleasant memories in a joking manner.

But the puppy boss, who had lost the sedimentation of years, was frightened by these memories.

There was no light in the room. Although the moonlight tonight was particularly bright, there was a tree with dense branches outside the window. The tree’s shadows passed through the latticed window, swaying inside the room, giving off an eerie feeling.

Xiang Haikui didn’t know how to comfort him, as no one had ever comforted her: “If you…”

She wanted to say, “If you want to cry, go ahead. I won’t make fun of you this time.”

Yin Changli interrupted: “It’s nothing.”

Xiang Haikui: “But…”

Yin Changli: “Really, it’s ancient history. No need to comfort me.”

Very well then. Xiang Haikui fell silent and said no more.

Yin Changli stayed still for a while, then sat up straight and stared at her face: “So you’re not going to comfort me?”

Xiang Haikui:?

Yin Changli’s lips, which had been pressed together for a long time, finally spoke accusingly: “When your Senior Brother was injured, saying he was fine, you were very concerned and embroidered ducks for many days to comfort him.”

Damn, he’s starting again. Xiang Haikui’s head ached: “Fine, what kind of comfort would you like? I still have half of the embroidered ducks left. Would you like to wear them?”

“You want to give me what he left over?” Yin Changli glanced at her, pushing the nightmare aside. “Besides, those ducks are memories that belong to you two, they have nothing to do with me.”

“Then what do you want?” Xiang Haikui made a generous gesture with her hand, indicating “just say it.”

Yin Changli seized the rare opportunity: “Give me something too, something unique to us—as a token of our… relationship.”

As he spoke, he glanced at her hair.

He had wanted a strand of her blue-black hair as a token for a long time.

For now, it would be a token of their relationship, but later it would become a love token. He was certain he could win her heart; he had never doubted this.

Xiang Haikui didn’t notice his gaze and asked in confusion: “Something unique to us?”

Yin Changli nodded, slowly guiding her: “Think carefully, what was the catalyst that tied you and me together…”

“Ah.” Xiang Haikui remembered, “There is something!”

She twisted the ring on her finger, and with a “pop,” a cleaver flew out, hovering between them.

Yin Changli had been leaning slightly toward her but was forced back by the cleaver.

He was surprised: “This is…?”

Xiang Haikui pointed at the cleaver and introduced it solemnly: “This cleaver is the very one I used to chop you before. Because I chopped you, I had to find Dao Chen, then sew you back together, which allowed you to seize the opportunity to possess a body…”

“So, this cleaver is no ordinary cleaver—it cuts off your destiny and carves out a new future!”

Yin Changli was speechless for quite a while: “Yes, that’s true, but…”

To use a cleaver that had chopped him as a token of affection?

“You don’t want it?” Xiang Haikui didn’t even want to give it to him.

The reason she had kept this cleaver was to boast to her descendants someday, showing it as evidence when claiming she had once chopped a Mountain Sea bigshot.

“Who said I don’t want it?”

Yin Changli snatched back the cleaver, weighing it in his hand. He felt both angry and amused, thinking for the first time, “What kind of person have I fallen in love with?”