Yusang fell asleep leaning on Yan Qige’s shoulder. She didn’t know how much time had passed when she vaguely seemed to hear some commotion. She suddenly woke up to find that Yan Qige beside her had already fallen asleep, her body was covered with his outer robe, and standing by the fire ahead was Zi Feng in purple robes, holding the bamboo leaf message she had sent out earlier.

Zi Feng looked at Yan Qige, then at Yusang, and said with considerable displeasure, “I told you to stay away from him, but you’ve completely ignored my words.”

“He’s now powerless as a trussed chicken, pedantic and dull-witted. Leaving him in the desert would be sending him to his death.”

“Then let him die. A mortal’s life is only a few decades anyway—dying early means reincarnating early,” Zi Feng said irritably.

“Alright, alright. I just thought that since we knew each other, I’d find a caravan tomorrow to arrange something for him. After that… after that I’ll never concern myself with his affairs again.”

Yusang coaxed Zi Feng coquettishly to soften his stance. Only then did Zi Feng relent, casually taking out a purple compass from his sleeve and presenting it to Yusang. “Is this his belonging?”

Yusang recognized it immediately as Yan Qige’s purple compass and quickly asked, “It’s what he uses to hunt demons. Where did you get it?”

Helian Yu dropped it when we fought. She’s gained tremendous power with the soul artifact’s strength now—even I can’t defeat her by much.”

“Where is she now?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps she’s fled to the ends of the earth, or perhaps she’s hiding somewhere nearby as we speak.”

…

…

“Then what should we do?”

“I need to return to Taiyi Island. You should use this opportunity to deal with the trouble that is Yan Qige first. We’ll make plans after I return. Don’t act rashly before then.”

“Fine.” Yusang agreed. Zi Feng specifically reminded her not to take risks on her own before using magic to leave.

After Zi Feng disappeared, Yusang smiled slyly and extended her hand—the cosmos pouch that Zi Feng had confiscated was back in her hand. Looking at the sky, she estimated there were still several hours until dawn, so she sat back down beside Yan Qige, planning to sleep a bit more.

In her drowsiness, Yusang fell into a dream where Yan Qige was calling her name through a thick fog, telling her to leave quickly. She looked around trying to find Yan Qige but only walked in circles in the mist, until a bright yellow figure emerged from the fog with boundless radiance that stung her eyes. She tried to see that person’s face against the backlight but was frightened awake.

Opening her eyes suddenly, Yusang’s eyes were stung by sunlight—the golden light from her dream was the rising sun. Yusang lightly shook her neck and turned her head, discovering Yan Qige was gone. She stood up to look for him, but after walking around in a circle, she couldn’t see his shadow anywhere. The horse was also gone. An ominous feeling rose in Yusang’s heart. She reached for her waist to get her cosmos pouch and magical tools, only to find her waist empty—the cosmos pouch was gone.

That pouch contained several soul artifacts she had painstakingly collected! This discovery made Yusang burn with rage after the initial shock. She leaped to the top of the dune, closed her eyes, and chanted an incantation, using the wind’s messages to sense what had happened hours earlier.

Helian Yu had been here. Yan Qige had taken the cosmos pouch from her waist and ridden her horse westward, with Helian Yu pursuing him closely.

Sensing these residual images, Yusang could no longer remain calm. She also forgot Zi Feng’s reminder not to act rashly. Seeing a caravan passing below the dune, she flew over, kicked someone off horseback, commandeered a horse, and galloped straight west.

Heading west, the landscape became increasingly desolate, but Yusang felt the power of the soul artifacts growing stronger and stronger. The four soul artifacts, combined, now possessed extraordinary power.

At noon with the red sun high overhead, Yusang found a dilapidated earthen city. After entering, the city was empty with broken walls and ruins everywhere. A tall, prominent compound stood in the city center, with a dusty golden plaque hanging crookedly at the main gate: Helian Castle.

Yusang dismounted, gripped her white jade brush in hand, and carefully pushed open the half-closed main gate to enter the castle. Following the soul artifacts’ trail, she entered the rear courtyard, passed through a circular stone gate, and finally determined that the soul artifacts were in the white stone building ahead.

The white building was three stories tall, all built from white stone and carved with various floral and bird patterns—very beautiful. Though she knew entering might be walking into a trap, Yusang still pushed open the carved stone door of the first floor without hesitation.

As the door opened, Yusang was immediately startled—not because of any powerful trap inside, but because she saw a horrifying corpse. Helian Yu lay there holding a Qiang flute, her eyes wide open and bulging, with fresh blood pooled far around her body.

Yusang approached the corpse for a closer look. When she took the Qiang flute from her hand, she discovered the body was still warm—she had died not long ago. Scanning the area near the passage to the second floor, she noticed blood trails leading upward, and her heart suddenly clenched.

“Yan Qige!” Yusang didn’t even have time to be afraid and ran quickly toward the second floor, calling out loudly.

Reaching the second floor, Yusang immediately saw Yan Qige sitting against the wall with his brow tightly furrowed. His shoulder was injured and bleeding, and he was clutching something tightly in his hand—it seemed he had been severely wounded because he refused to let go while someone tried to snatch that item from him.

“Yan Qige, how are you?” Yusang crouched beside him in panic, calling his name while checking his pulse. Only after confirming he wasn’t dead did she let out a long sigh of relief.

“For… for you,” Yan Qige struggled to open his eyes a crack, enduring the pain as he lifted his injured arm and loosened his clenched fist. Inside lay her cosmos pouch.

“Do you know what’s inside this?” Yusang asked after taking the cosmos pouch.

Yan Qige shook his head.

“Then why did you fight so desperately? You’re truly foolish,” Yusang scolded with a laugh, but her heart couldn’t help feeling warm. Remembering the corpse on the first floor, she was quite puzzled and asked, “Helian Yu—the woman downstairs—how did she die?”

Hearing Yusang ask this, Yan Qige’s face showed a strange expression. Just as he was about to speak, his gaze passed over Yusang’s shoulder as if seeing something terrifying. He suddenly sat up and embraced Yusang as they rolled to the side.

A thunderous roar erupted, and the entire building began to shake and collapse. From Yan Qige’s shoulder, Yusang saw a blurry figure standing at the stairway entrance to the third floor. She was shocked and wanted to see clearly who it was, but before she could react, she was struck by a powerful spiritual force and lost consciousness.

Opening her eyes again, Yusang found herself lying on sandy ground. Beside her stretched endless yellow sand being slowly moved by the wind. The sun was directly overhead, heating the sand until it was scalding.

Yusang propped herself up with her arms to sit up, discovering a hand resting on her shoulder. Turning her head, she saw Yan Qige also lying unconscious nearby. The wound on his shoulder was no longer bleeding, having scabbed over, and the sand beneath him was stained red with quite a bit of blood.

Yusang couldn’t care about anything else. She called Yan Qige’s name while helping him up, checking his pulse and forehead with her hands. She discovered he was running a fever, likely due to excessive blood loss.