Xue Yu and Su You entered the painting one after the other. Night immediately overflowed with streaming light, the entire sky froze, pedestrians on the streets became dazed, their feet seeming rooted to the ground like nails. The great formation hosted by Fo Nu rose into the air at the precise moment, weaving into countless golden rays like an all-encompassing giant net, covering that dangerous and enormous breach.

Lu Chengze and Song Heng stood against the wind, one half-crouching, one squinting to capture that grand yet eerie scene in the sky.

At a certain moment, an inconspicuous glimmer lit up in the prefect’s rear courtyard. Immediately after, that Feitian Diagram magnified countless times and locked overhead like a canopy suddenly burst forth with doubled brilliance.

Lu Chengze’s gaze shifted back and forth between the two sides. Fo Nu’s command token flipped in his palm as he ground a pebble under his toe, speaking in a deep voice: “The time has come. Force a search of the prefect’s residence.”

Song Heng paused, his expression grave as he spoke: “Searching now, I’m afraid the timing is inappropriate.”

He lowered his voice with some concern: “The demon race is restless. The relationship between the human race and Sacred Lands shouldn’t be impacted. Such a blatant search of the residence—when the common people see it, rumors will fly by tomorrow. If this matter has nothing to do with the court, how do we explain to the Human Emperor?”

Lu Chengze’s pupils reflected the increasingly brilliant light from that diagram. As he spoke, he had already thrown out the command token while immediately following with a stern order: “People from Chenyu Pavilion, follow Chao Nian to the Law Enforcement Hall. No need to detain anyone—register all personnel one by one.”

After doing this, he turned around, his sleeves fluttering in the wind, restraining his usual carefree smile: “There’s no appropriate or inappropriate timing. The Sacred Lands have ancestral teachings—normally we should be low-key and humble, considering the overall situation, but in major matters we need not look ahead and behind, considering others.”

“The Sacred Lands exist to protect all living beings and guard the mountains and rivers. Usually, when facing the court, we can indeed step back once, step back twice. But if one day, what makes the people uneasy and hearts fearful is precisely the court itself, then if we step back again, where can we retreat to?”

Speaking of which, Song Heng had known Lu Chengze for over a thousand years, and this was the first time he’d heard him speak such righteously indignant words.

He moved his lips, his scalp tingling from the current situation.

Lu Chengze heavily patted his shoulder: “The divisions between Demon Capital, court, and Sacred Lands were personally established by the Fusang Tree tens of thousands of years ago. Things should be as they should be. We can only report truthfully—we can’t decide the specific direction.”

“Come, accompany me to the Law Enforcement Hall. Those impure things either put on official caps and roll into the Golden Throne Hall, or clarify their positions and work properly for me.”

Song Heng glanced at the frozen painted curtain in the sky. Rarely hesitating for a long while, Lu Chengze followed his gaze and immediately revealed an indescribable look of understanding, asking: “Worried about Xue Yu?”

“Put your heart back in your stomach.”

Lu Chengze clicked his tongue: “You worrying about her is worse than worrying about me and Fo Nu. She has Chao Hua and Chou Li as her right and left arms. Usually, the occasions are mostly minor skirmishes—you haven’t seen her take action to seriously compete with others.”

“You don’t know about the last Three Lands Grand Assembly. Among the Sacred Lands’ seven inheritors total, except herself, the remaining six have all tasted her Frost Condensation Formation.” Lu Chengze waved his hand with an unwilling-to-recall expression. Speaking of it, he even laughed: “Let’s go, let’s go. After handling things there and coming back, they should be about finished here too.”

But just as they started moving, that exquisitely beautiful scroll in the sky gradually dimmed its radiance, darkly withdrawing its divine powers. In the blink of an eye, Xue Yu and Su You appeared before them.

Song Heng instinctively walked forward. Lu Chengze was quite startled by such speed, pausing with words on his lips, then waving to his attendant behind him: “Go, go, go. You go too. The Law Enforcement Hall isn’t urgent—go ask what was found at the prefect’s residence.”

Seeing this, Shan Shu also gathered her skirts and left the formation’s heart. She looked toward Xue Yu and asked: “The Feitian Diagram matter—resolved?”

Xue Yu imperceptibly nodded, touching the blue butterfly hanging on the hair by her temple. She briefly mentioned a few important points, then turned to glance toward the southwest corner, sunk in night, frowning: “What about the prefect’s side? Is Qiu Tong there? What about Qiu Zhao?”

“Still searching. It’s only been half an hour—probably need to wait a bit longer for results.”

Xue Yu nodded.

Her small face was clear, beautiful, and otherworldly, exquisite and moving in every detail, able to withstand any nitpicking examination. Only her eyes often lifted upward, her lips pressed into a perfectly straight line, almost deliberately showing a coldness that warned others to keep their distance, appearing quite unfeeling.

Like now, she seemed to be in a poor mood, so the atmosphere gradually grew cold.

Xue Yu’s mood was indeed poor.

Whether Song Heng or Su You, from the moment she brought them down from the judgment platform, she had told herself to let bygones be bygones, not to dwell on past matters. No matter how utterly evil and unconscionable they had been before, the past was past.

She only looked to the future.

Now thinking back, Xue Yu still clearly remembered their first meeting, when Su You was forced to look up at her. Whether it was the mocking cold smile at the corner of his mouth or the shocking malice and coldness in his eyes, they all bristled with sharp thorns.

At the time, she had assumed he was naturally rebellious, born with malice toward this world, or perhaps led step by step into the abyss of sin and indulgence by blood and the pleasure of violence, which gave him such a character.

Only after watching that segment of the Feitian Diagram’s memories did she realize that his expression then was the same as when he left home, pressing his worsening wounded wrist bone while standing in snow half a person’s height.

Where was any naturally evil seed that had done all manner of bad deeds? That was merely the last bit of stubbornness and refusal to compromise remaining from eternal emptiness.

He had been so well-behaved as a child, so obedient, able to humble himself to such an extent for just a little kindness and care from others.

All along, Xue Yu had known that Xihe, as the foremost of the Sacred Lands, had people with pride several degrees heavier than other Sacred Lands. But she hadn’t expected that when facing demons and ghosts, they had reached the point of listening to only one side, determining death sentences without distinguishing right from wrong.

Just thinking about it from their perspective, Xue Yu even felt that this battle between the demon race and human race was almost inevitable—something that would happen sooner or later.

Song Heng carefully examined her from head to toe, confirming she wasn’t injured before sighing in relief and asking gently: “Nothing happened, right?”

“Hey, you.” Seeing him fix his gaze on Xue Yu again, Chao Nian reflexively stepped forward: “Can’t you care about someone else for a change?”

Song Heng took a deep breath, simply ignoring him, only looking at Xue Yu: “You know I don’t mean anything else by it.”

His appearance was gentle and refined. When gazing at someone, he conveyed a natural sincerity and tender affection.

Before, when Xue Yu looked at him, she felt he had a good temper and character. A few days ago when she looked, she felt there was a layer of gauze over him, that he was actually hypocritical and conceited behind it. But now, today, though his eyes held Luozhou City’s dim night scenery, she inexplicably thought of Su You’s expression.

Forbearing yet wronged, finally having no choice but to meld all vulnerable, easily seen-through emotions into the bright light of dawn, thereafter showing a defiant, difficult-to-bully, fierce vigor.

“Nineteen.”

Xue Yu no longer looked at Song Heng. She called Su You once, turning sideways to look back, seeing the man’s tall shadow, his pitch-black pupils holding a trace of unexpected surprise, immediately followed by bright, scattered smile-light like glimmering dots.

Just one phrase of two characters, one form of address.

This person, having endured such malice, was still so easily pleased.

Su You pressed his throat, pausing slightly before responding: “My Lady.”

“I’m uneasy—let’s go look at the prefect’s residence.” Having said this, Xue Yu turned first, her long sleeves flowing like water past Song Heng’s hand, then withdrawing cleanly without hesitation.

“Good.” Su You lowered his eyes, even temporarily, and ordinarily suppressed the gloomy malice stirred up by Song Heng’s few words.

His neck was like warm jade, white and slender. When he looked down slightly, it formed a bright, straight arc, creating ambiguous and mottled deep shadows in the lamplight. It was hard to imagine that the newly appointed commander, who was decisive in word and deed outside, could, after shedding his mature and steady exterior, show such complete obedience and compliance before others.

The two walked away together, one tall, one shorter. Song Heng was stimulated by this scene to the point that his Adam’s apple moved.

He remembered that Xue Yu had always paid the most attention to external bearing and image, always cool and aloof. Even during those hundred years together, when she called him, happily it was Song Heng, when unhappy it was a cold, blunt “Heavenly Emperor.”

A demon ghost who had destroyed entire sects.

She called him Nineteen.

Because the prefect played an important role in the mission, Shan Shu was worried and, after thinking, also lifted her feet to follow.

The prefect’s residence was built solemnly. The plaque, illuminated by firelight, showed two characters gleaming bright and new. Buddhist masters in monks’ robes went in and out with solemn expressions and uniform movements. Soon, groups of disheveled people were escorted out.

The last one to emerge had unsteady, faltering steps, graying temples, and was breathless from violent struggling, hair disheveled. But his expression wasn’t dejected or dispirited—instead it showed a kind of bright light.

“Your Highness, this is the Luozhou Prefect. He has confessed everything.” The leading Buddhist master looked toward Shan Shu, then nodded respectfully to Xue Yu and Lu Chengze: “He has confessed.”

“Confessed to what?” Shan Shu raised her voice slightly to ask.

“He says the matter of the Feitian Diagram spirit absorbing blood energy is related to him.” The Buddhist master recounted faithfully: “He accidentally obtained the ancient Feitian Diagram painting, was fortunate to see the true form of the diagram spirit Xuanji, was struck by her heavenly beauty at first sight, and treasured her like a precious object. But the diagram spirit was naturally flawed, couldn’t live long, and had to use sinister methods to absorb blood energy to extend life. As prefect, he was seduced by beauty, turned a blind eye to this, attempting to deceive heaven and earth, thus causing this great error.”

“We asked people in the residence—they all say this prefect indeed began indulging in women from the previous year, even divorcing his wife of humble origins for this.”

“Besides this, the searchers discovered a teleportation array in the back mountain that reportedly leads to the imperial city, but saw no human traces inside.”

Complete nonsense.

Xue Yu touched the blue butterfly at her temple that had completely fallen into slumber, thinking that Qiu Tong was truly thorough in his actions, laying out all escape routes clearly and openly.

According to his plan, as long as he burned the Feitian Diagram, Xuanji would certainly die, no one else could be found in the rear residence, and there was a willing scapegoat prefect to take all the blame. Combined with the mutually balancing relationship between court and Sacred Lands, even if everyone suspected him, Qiu Tong, they would be helpless.

This was what “dead men tell no tales” meant.

As for the teleportation array, that was even easier to explain. Luozhou was originally part of the court. To strengthen control, building a teleportation array wasn’t surprising, and this array wasn’t only in Luozhou.

His calculations were indeed accurate.

Xuanji had fallen into slumber, there was no other strong evidence pointing to him. Tomorrow, and for decades to come, he would still be that awesome, imperious Human Emperor sitting in the Golden Throne Hall.

Xue Yu’s gaze deepened. She looked deeply at the prefect kneeling disheveled on the ground, yet straightening his back with great righteousness: “Escort him to the Law Enforcement Hall prison. I’ll personally interrogate him.”

The Buddhist master received the order and escorted the man away.

“So this four-star mission is finished?” Lu Chengze came to his senses, still somewhat incredulous: “Not really? Though I’ve only done one four-star mission, that time I was truly chased all over the place, spending four full months before barely completing it through opportunism.”

“How many days has this been?”

He counted on his fingers, amazed: “Five days.”

“Twelve days.” Shan Shu corrected with a smile: “The Holy Son was seven days late.”

This comment made Lu Chengze awkwardly squint his eyes.

“This time might not be without opportunism either.” Xue Yu’s brow furrowed slightly, remembering Xuanji’s action before falling asleep. She always felt that she had crushed something at that time, invisibly resolving the most difficult link in this mission.

Shan Shu unfolded the Heavenly Mechanism Book to look. On the small scroll, four stars flickered dimly, as if about to temporarily change difficulty. Lu Chengze immediately spoke: “There won’t be cases of missions changing difficulty after completion, right?”

Shan Shu gently held one edge of the scroll, also saying: “The Heavenly Mechanism Book is one of the two great sacred objects after all—it shouldn’t do such things.”

That “shouldn’t” was truly said quite subtly.

Xue Yu glanced over lightly: “If it dares, next time on the spiritual object rankings, I’ll vote first place for the Fusang Tree.”

With a “click,” the flickering light on the Heavenly Mechanism Book stopped immediately as if a switch had been pressed. Then the small characters in the mission line gradually crumbled into flowing light before everyone’s eyes.

Lu Chengze sighed with satisfaction.

Just then, a spiritual talisman on Shan Shu ignited. She looked at the indicated source and tapped the air with her long finger.

“Two pieces of news, also for the few beside you to hear.” From the other side, Buddha Son Jia Xi’s voice sank into the water-like night.

“First, Xihe Sacred Land has selected a new Sacred Land inheritor. Ji Tingxi assumes the position of Holy Son.”

“Second, Feiyun Summit opens early, in two months.”

These two pieces of news exploded like ground fireworks, shocking everyone present into momentary silence.

Shan Shu looked at the sky, her voice showing fluctuation for the first time: “Two months later? But there are still over a hundred years before Feiyun Summit’s five-hundred-year term. No advance notice for moving it up—why so sudden?”

“Don’t know the inside story. I also just received the news.” Jia Xi’s voice was bland: “Buddha Lord says, after you finish with Luozhou affairs, return as soon as possible. Be careful.”

Almost at the same moment his words fell, the spiritual talismans hanging at Xue Yu’s, Lu Chengze’s, and even Su You’s waists lit up one by one. Colorful spiritual light wove together beautifully.

Others were shocked or anxious, but only Xue Yu felt a sense of “indeed so” in her heart.

As if something in the vast darkness had sent the three of them back, both promoting them to take missions related to the court and the upheaval hundreds of years hence, while also urgently pushing them forward to complete their strength, even actively delivering heaven-sent opportunities early with hasty urgency.

She remembered clearly that in her previous life, Feiyun Summit had opened properly when the five-hundred-year limit was reached.

And Xihe Sacred Land, right up until she and Song Heng fell out and crossed swords, had never selected a Holy Son or Daughter.

Su You answered a spiritual talisman, responding coldly for a few sentences before cutting off. He walked to Xue Yu’s side, speaking sternly: “My Lady, Chenyu Pavilion has also received news. They’re somewhat anxious.”

More than somewhat anxious. Probably right now in all of Luozhou City, the most restless and frantically worried was Chenyu Pavilion, which had just signed sky-high contracts but received notice of Feiyun Summit’s opening before even starting work.

In their eyes, every moment passing now was white silver and spirit stones thrown into the river without even a splash.

Xue Yu pressed her lips, acknowledging, indicating for Su You to handle his affairs while she casually found a large tree that had lost all its leaves, leaning against the trunk to chat briefly with the Lord of Yedu, who had also heard the news.

“Since you’ve finished with matters there, come back early. Feiyun Summit is no small matter—opportunities are everywhere inside, a chance for many to soar skyward.” The Lord of Yedu spoke earnestly.

“I know. I’ll return in a few more days.” Xue Yu paused, responding lightly and shallowly.

Cutting off the spiritual talisman connection with the Lord of Yedu, Xue Yu lowered her eyes and stood quietly for a moment. After a while, she activated the spiritual talisman again, scrolled down for a bit, selected a name, and activated it.

When Su You came looking for Xue Yu holding Chao Hua’s activated spiritual talisman, she was standing with her back to the light, her silhouette slender and straight, her voice carried by the gentle night breeze for a moderate distance.

She said: “I know, I’ve already heard. Congratulations on achieving your long-cherished wish.”

Ji Tingxi was very modest, repeatedly saying “not at all.” After pausing, he couldn’t help but begin describing the thrilling circumstances of the clan voting and battles with several others.

“Ji Tingxi.” After listening to a few sentences, Xue Yu interrupted him: “I’m looking for you about serious business.”

“I knew it—Princess of Yedu never visits without purpose.” Ji Tingxi reluctantly stopped talking: “What matter? Speak.”

“First, Xihe has been increasingly disregarding rules in recent years, acting high and mighty, disregarding human life and death. I hope after the Holy Son takes office, you’ll strictly supervise your subordinates. The demons, ghosts, and spirits that should be sent to Yedu—not one can be missing. Otherwise, from now on, this important task will be entirely handed over to you.”

“Second, a case from ten years ago was wrongly judged. You revise it and have someone send the files to Yedu.”

“…” Ji Tingxi, who had just taken office only to receive a scolding, paused: “Honestly, Xue Yu, this is the longest speech I’ve ever heard you make. Who provoked you?”

“Revising old cases isn’t a problem, but it’s been so long—everyone who should know already knows. There’s no meaning to it.”

“There is meaning.” Xue Yu spoke concisely, uttering one word: “Revise.”

Under the lamplight, Su You’s steps completely stopped. After a moment, he held that spiritual talisman, his hand with distinct bones covering his lashes powerlessly, his sharp-lined Adam’s apple trembling up and down twice as if stimulated.