The streets were still bustling with activity, exceptionally lively as always.

However, at this moment, neither Chen Tingyan, who had always enjoyed the pleasures of life, nor Jian Chou, who had originally been quite curious about Shanhai Market, were in the mood to appreciate anything.

After swallowing a pill, her injuries had somewhat improved, and Jian Chou could barely walk normally along the road without showing any signs of distress.

Chen Tingyan led the way, occasionally glancing back at her, afraid she might encounter some difficulty.

Although his heart was full of doubts, he ultimately bore no grudge against Jian Chou, so he wasn’t particularly worried.

Seeing that they had already passed the Eight Treasures Tower, Jian Chou couldn’t help but ask, “Where are we going?”

Chen Tingyan looked around and explained, “Although Xing Wu has already left, there’s no guarantee he won’t return. Didn’t you say you were planning to rent a courtyard? I contacted my clan members earlier, so why don’t we take this opportunity to go directly to Wangsi City to connect with my clansmen? You’ll also have a place to rest and recover.”

Jian Chou only appeared to be fine, but how could Chen Tingyan not see the fatigue in her eyes and the pallor on her face?

Upon hearing this, Jian Chou looked at Chen Tingyan with appreciation, thinking to herself that he was indeed quite thoughtful.

With his company, she could quickly find a place to settle down and recover on her own, without fear of others plotting against her or touching upon her secrets.

The corners of her lips curved slightly, and Jian Chou didn’t object, nodding, “Then I must thank Fourth Young Master for the arrangement.”

“It’s nothing, nothing at all. We’re meeting old friends in a foreign land – how could I not help?”

Chen Tingyan wore a smiling expression, seemingly extremely pleased to have gained Jian Chou’s recognition.

He waved his hand, and they were now standing at the edge of the hazy mist surrounding Shanhai Market.

The city floating in the sky had a blurred outline, with its corners seemingly piercing into the air, yet dissolved by the dim, grayish-yellow sky, becoming indistinguishable from it.

Long pathways continuously extended upward from below, leading into Shanhai Market.

At the same time, beams of light, like falling stars, descended from Shanhai Market into the towering city below.

Chen Tingyan casually reached out, and from the vast mist, a jade token came flying through the air.

Jian Chou recognized it as identical to the identity token she had obtained from the registry office in Wangsi City.

She presumed this must be the jade token they had left behind when entering Shanhai Market.

With this thought, Jian Chou followed suit, reaching out in the same manner.

The mist in the sky immediately began to churn.

A stream of azure light traced a graceful arc, shooting from the sky behind them, as if it had long sensed Jian Chou’s presence, landing in her palm with a “snap.”

“Let’s go.”

Seeing that Jian Chou had already put away her jade token, Chen Tingyan didn’t hesitate. He turned and naturally reached out to grasp Jian Chou’s arm, leaping downward.

The pale white spiritual light was incomparably gentle.

From Chen Tingyan’s brow, there surprisingly emanated a kind of righteous and peaceful aura. The moment he leaped down, this aura immediately enveloped Jian Chou, giving her a strange sense of familiarity.

The scenery before them shifted, and the city below gradually enlarged in their view.

Finally, both landed on the streets of Wangsi City, not far from the towering eighteen-story underground building. The bustling crowd still surrounded the base of the eighteen-story building, chattering noisily.

Jian Chou knew this was mostly about the Extreme Domain Cauldron competition.

She frowned slightly but turned to look at Chen Tingyan.

The faint white light that had emerged from Chen Tingyan’s brow was only now beginning to slowly fade.

Seeing Jian Chou looking at him, he couldn’t help but reach up to touch his brow, asking with confusion, “Is something wrong?”

“I just feel that your cultivation method is somewhat different from others.”

Jian Chou smiled slightly, not hiding her thoughts.

Chen Tingyan was first startled, then laughed, pointing to his brow. A trace of pride floated in his expression as he said leisurely, “Among the Ten Great Ghost Clans, the Riyou Clan is rare in following the righteous and peaceful path of cultivation, naturally quite different from other ghost cultivators.”

At this point, he paused.

Chen Tingyan’s gaze suddenly swept toward Jian Chou, and he became curious, “Speaking of which, Jian Chou, which clan are you from?”

Which clan?

He must be referring to the Ten Great Ghost Clans.

From others’ conversations, Jian Chou had learned that ghost cultivators here, after reaching a certain level of cultivation, all had opportunities to be absorbed by the Ten Great Ghost Clans.

Generally speaking, this was also the advancement opportunity for most ghost cultivators.

But…

Why was Chen Tingyan asking her this?

Jian Chou shook her head, “I haven’t been in the Extreme Domain for long, and my cultivation is shallow. I haven’t joined any ghost clan.”

Pearl Formation realm, yet her soul pearl was pitifully small.

From this perspective, she indeed didn’t seem like someone who would be absorbed by other ghost clans.

However, Jian Chou didn’t really look like someone who had just arrived in the Extreme Domain.

Chen Tingyan’s eyes darted around, and he smiled, “Our Riyou Clan has recently begun seeking new clan members. If Jian Chou doesn’t mind, why don’t I go back and inquire about the situation, then come ask for your opinion to see if you’d be willing to join our clan?”

Just looking at Chen Tingyan, one could tell that this Riyou Clan’s cultivation method was indeed a rare path of moderation and balance.

Jian Chou came from Yashan, and while the Left Three Thousand of the Central Domain had no distinction between righteous and evil, she naturally harbored a sense of “dao spirit” in her heart. Overly extreme cultivation methods would harm both cultivation and temperament.

If she temporarily couldn’t leave the Extreme Domain, she should naturally choose a clan with acquaintances that was suitable for her cultivation.

Thinking this through, she shouldn’t immediately refuse.

After this train of thought passed through her mind, Jian Chou nodded, “Fourth Young Master’s kindness is hard to decline.”

Chen Tingyan was overjoyed upon hearing this.

Actually, what was there to inquire about?

Every matter in the clan, big or small, would reach his ears.

He had long known the specific situation regarding the Riyou Clan’s recruitment of new members. His talk about “coming to ask for your opinion later” was just because he feared Jian Chou might not be willing, so he deliberately gave himself a legitimate reason to come find her again.

Now that Jian Chou hadn’t refused, wasn’t this exactly what he wanted?

A strange sense of satisfaction from poaching Xie Buchen’s corner slowly rose from Chen Tingyan’s heart.

To hide the smile that was about to emerge at the corners of his mouth, Chen Tingyan coughed into his sleeve, flicked his fan, and said, “Just a small favor, just a small favor. Ah, let’s go find that clan member first. Once you’re properly rested, I’ll come find you again.”

“Alright.”

Although her injuries seemed to be manageable, who knew when they might take a turn for the worse?

Jian Chou readily agreed and followed Chen Tingyan’s steps, not even wanting to pay attention to why people were gathered around the eighteenth underground floor—

When one couldn’t even preserve their own life, it was better not to join in any excitement.

The two passed by the eighteen-story underground building, and soon Chen Tingyan met with a long-bearded old man in gray robes at the street corner, addressing him as “Old Zhou.”

Wangsi City was essentially the most mixed place in the Extreme Domain.

New ghosts were frequently escorted here, branches of the Ten Great Ghost Clans were stationed here to recruit talent, and ghosts whose lifespans had finally run out were periodically sent out of the city.

Therefore, housing in the city changed hands frequently, giving rise to “brokers” who regularly negotiated lodging for people.

Old Zhou was just such an experienced broker.

After exchanging pleasantries with Chen Tingyan, he was very respectful, though with a hint of subtle probing and assessment. After glancing at Jian Chou, he guessed in his heart: This was probably a favor-based business.

Chen Tingyan held a special position in the Riyou Clan, and people like Old Zhou most favored such wealthy young masters.

Having received the message today, Old Zhou had rushed over eagerly.

Although Jian Chou looked like a weakling and seemed to be a pauper, this didn’t prevent him from using this opportunity to build a good relationship with Chen Tingyan.

Thus, Old Zhou softened his old face and was quite enthusiastic toward Jian Chou as well.

He led the two of them through the broad streets, finally stopping at an ordinary doorway in the middle section of the street. He produced a jade slip from his person and pressed it against the door, which then opened with a “click.”

“Fourth Master, Miss Jian Chou, this is the residence. It’s ordinary enough and secluded enough, but the inside is quite nice too.”

The courtyard wasn’t large, with two trees planted in the central court. The tree trunks were deep black, as if they had been burned, but the canopy was a deep, dark green with white flowers blooming faintly among them, though they were odorless.

Jian Chou couldn’t identify what kind of trees these were and took a closer look.

Chen Tingyan walked in and, noticing Jian Chou’s gaze, lowered his voice, “Ground Orange trees. They look to be sixty or seventy years old, but these trees generally need to be a hundred years old to bear fruit that’s useful. The fruit can be used for pill refining.”

Pill refining required careful consideration of material quality.

Although Jian Chou had never delved into this field, she had heard about it. With Chen Tingyan’s introduction, she roughly understood the value of these two trees, nodded, and didn’t ask further questions, following Old Zhou’s steps.

Old Zhou held the jade slip in his hand, crossed the flat path through the central court, went around to the left corridor, and began introducing the place to Jian Chou and Chen Tingyan.

“This courtyard isn’t large, but the previous owner maintained it quite carefully. You two can see, on the left are two rooms – one is a pill refining room and the other is an artifact forging room. The two rooms on the right have been connected and serve as a place for quiet cultivation. The original spirit gathering array hasn’t been removed either – just install some profound jade and it can be used.”

“Creak.”

The doors opened one by one, and Jian Chou and Chen Tingyan followed to look.

The floor of the pill refining room was carved with array formations, and the walls were inscribed with many strange symbols. From the depth and age of the writing, one could tell they were definitely left by the successive owners of this courtyard.

The artifact forging room was the same, and a large ordinary iron hammer hung high from the beam, apparently used for forging.

However, both rooms were covered with a layer of dust, as if they hadn’t been used for a long time.

Jian Chou mentally noted this point and walked through the corridor, finally reaching the main house.

“This is where one would normally rest and receive guests. The side rooms still have some spiritual vessels, though some are broken. If you’re living alone, you’ll need to tidy up for a while. This over here is the study. When the previous owner left, they seemed to have packed nothing – there are still quite a few books inside. Hehe, I haven’t looked at them myself, but they should have some minor usefulness.”

Old Zhou pushed open the study door, and Jian Chou saw the interior.

By the window was a long desk with several books placed on it, neatly arranged without any disorder. On both sides were two tall bookshelves, with all the books properly arranged by category, both old and new.

The window paper of the carved window was made of special material, bright as winter snow reflecting light. The light that came through didn’t carry even a hint of the Extreme Domain’s slightly yellowish tone – it was as if opening the window would reveal blue sky and white clouds, with silver snow covering the ground.

A celadon plum vase stood by the window, with three plum branches inserted in the bottle.

However, presumably because the previous owner had been gone too long, these three plum branches had already withered almost completely. A layer of deep black petals had fallen on the windowsill, with only one branch still bearing a dark red dried bud.

“The original owner of this house was quite an interesting person.”

Chen Tingyan’s eyes lit up as soon as he entered, appreciating the previous owner of this house.

“Growing plum blossoms in the Extreme Domain is no simple matter.”

The Extreme Domain was barren land where all things struggled to grow.

Never mind plum blossoms – even the most resilient wild grass would probably be half-dead on the soil of the Extreme Domain.

Chen Tingyan thought this and stepped forward to the plum vase, leaning his head toward the mouth of the bottle to look: “This is truly extravagant luxury…”

“What is it?”

Seeing his grinding teeth expression, Jian Chou became curious and came over to look.

The plum vase was simple without any special features, just elegant and lovely, but inside the bottle there was still a shallow layer of water, now appearing yellowish and covered with a layer of dust, faintly emanating an unusual aura.

After brief consideration, Jian Chou asked curiously, “This water is unusual?”

“Exactly.”

Chen Tingyan withdrew his gaze, straightened up, and looked at the only branch among the three plums that still bore a bud, frowning slightly.

“This water is from the end of reincarnation, the water of the Rebirth Pool, capable of nourishing all things in heaven and earth. Therefore, these human world plum blossoms could survive here. However, the owner has been gone for long, and presumably no one has tended to these plums, so they withered.”

Although Chen Tingyan didn’t explicitly state how precious this water was, Jian Chou turned to see Old Zhou’s expression of sucking in a cold breath and knew this thing was definitely extraordinary.

Capable of nourishing all things in heaven and earth, from the end of reincarnation, water of the Rebirth Pool.

After brief contemplation, Jian Chou couldn’t help but ask, “May I ask, Boss Zhou, what kind of person was the former owner of this residence?”

“This…”

Old Zhou was middle-aged, and this was also the first time he’d heard of someone using Rebirth Pool water to nurture plum blossoms. After careful recollection, he smiled bitterly, “I really don’t know. However, this residence does have some peculiarities.”

Jian Chou became interested.

Chen Tingyan also withdrew his gaze from that plum branch and continued, “Tell us about it.”

“I’ve been in this business for nearly two hundred years. This residence has been in my hands and rented out four times in total, each time for about forty to fifty years. Each time, the owner was a new ghost who came to Wangsi City. But I don’t know what happened – each time, the owner of this residence would disappear before their time was up.”

“Disappear?” Jian Chou was surprised.

Chen Tingyan also found it strange, “Every tenant?”

“Pretty much. Since Fourth Master wants the house, I dare not hide anything from you.”

“For this residence, I only met the previous four owners once when they first rented the place, then rarely saw them afterward. When the rental period was up and I came to check the house, the belongings inside were basically untouched, but the person was gone.”

At this point, Old Zhou laughed dryly, seemingly afraid that Chen Tingyan wouldn’t want the house, and quickly added a few more sentences.

“I think either they died outside due to insufficient skills, or they achieved success in cultivation and went elsewhere, or their time was up and they reincarnated. Looking at those things carved on the walls, they don’t seem like ordinary people at all, haha…”

Chen Tingyan and Jian Chou exchanged glances, both carrying some contemplation in their eyes.

He asked, “What do you think, Jian Chou?”

Do you still want this courtyard?

When Chen Tingyan asked this, Old Zhou’s heart immediately hung in suspense. He instantly realized that this female cultivator was quite significant to Chen Tingyan, and quickly looked over eagerly.

The human world had tales of haunted houses, and presumably Wangsi City wouldn’t be much different.

This house had quite a few peculiarities…

However, Jian Chou raised her head, and her gaze slowly swept across the rows and rows of bookshelves, sighing silently: With so many books here, how could she possibly abandon this place?

Smiling helplessly, Jian Chou said, “This place is quite good, I like it very much. As for disappearing… I probably won’t stay very long anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”

“You truly have good taste. Even searching with lanterns throughout Wangsi City, you couldn’t find such a fine residence. If there were anything better, I definitely would have mentioned it to you two already. Recently, new ghosts coming to the city are about to increase, and residences will be hard to find.”

Old Zhou was delighted when he heard Jian Chou’s approval, beaming at her.

Chen Tingyan could guess with his toes that this residence definitely wouldn’t be cheap.

This old fellow wasn’t targeting Jian Chou based on her appearance – he probably thought Jian Chou had some relationship with him and was planning to fleece him.

However, the woman before him was no pauper.

“Since Jian Chou has decided, then so be it. But since this residence is so peculiar, I’ll come check on you from time to time. Better safe than sorry.”

Great, another excuse to get close to the beauty.

Chen Tingyan felt delighted inside.

Jian Chou nodded and didn’t waste words.

Her injuries hadn’t healed, not to mention that the previous all-out battle had nearly drained her mind and spirit. Having said so much now, fatigue was gradually rising and becoming hard to suppress.

“Boss Zhou, how do we rent this residence?”

“For ten years, it’s seven hundred profound jade. Since you’re introduced by Fourth Master, if you rent for fifty years, I’ll only charge you three thousand.”

Profound jade was truly precious in the Extreme Domain.

Several thousand profound jade could buy a magical artifact that would last a long time under normal circumstances. For a residence rental of fifty years to cost such a price, Jian Chou now understood how expensive it was.

However, thinking of this residence with all its cultivation facilities complete, and even these many books – with just a glance, they were probably all related to the Extreme Domain, exactly suited to her needs.

Others might not appreciate this house so much.

For Jian Chou, it was a must-have.

She had just come from Pinzi Tower, where the short shopkeeper had taken over thirty percent of her pile of junk, exchanging it for a large amount of profound jade – a total of over one hundred thousand. She could still manage a thousand or so profound jade.

So without hesitation, Jian Chou directly reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small bag.

Pinzi Tower’s settlement was mostly in top-grade and mid-grade profound jade, while the low-grade profound jade was specifically requested by Jian Chou.

Even though she had obtained over one hundred thousand, converted to top-grade profound jade, it was only about a thousand pieces.

At this moment, the bag Jian Chou produced contained mostly mid-grade profound jade. One mid-grade profound jade could be exchanged for ten low-grade profound jade, similar to spirit stones.

“I don’t know how long I’ll stay in Wangsi City, so I’ll rent for ten years first. If needed, I can renew later.”

The small bag contained only seventy mid-grade profound jade, which Jian Chou handed to Old Zhou.

She understood the principle of not flaunting wealth.

At Pinzi Tower, the people below only knew she had gone upstairs and somehow changed the short shopkeeper’s mind, making him gift her the black sword, but they didn’t know she had sold her own things.

So aside from Pinzi Tower itself, no one knew she carried great wealth.

Here in Wangsi City, with people of all sorts mixed together, Jian Chou naturally became even more careful.

Renting for ten years, first because she felt she wouldn’t stay that long, and second because she didn’t want people to know she was a fat sheep.

Actually, Old Zhou had originally been muttering to himself, afraid this strange house couldn’t be rented out, still calculating in his belly what words to use to convince Jian Chou.

Who would have thought that before his planned speech had even made a turn in his stomach, the profound jade was already handed over.

Old Zhou was stunned, then overjoyed to the point of dizziness, quickly taking the bag: “You’re truly a straightforward person. Renting this courtyard absolutely won’t be a loss!”

Praising with his mouth, his hands were unambiguous. He opened the bag to look, and his heart immediately jumped!

Good heavens!

Mid-grade profound jade!

Each piece was cut evenly, emanating a restrained radiance, as if spiritual energy might overflow at any moment.

Throughout the entire Extreme Domain, low-grade spirit stones were most common, while mid-grade profound jade was relatively rare.

He hadn’t expected this Miss Jian Chou to produce mid-grade profound jade with a single gesture. Although the quantity wasn’t large, it was enough to show she wasn’t so simple.

However, Old Zhou thought again – it wasn’t top-grade profound jade after all, and she had come with Chen Tingyan, so being able to produce mid-grade profound jade was normal.

He carefully counted them.

Seventy mid-grade profound jade, not one more or less, all lying inside.

Now Old Zhou didn’t care what Jian Chou’s identity was. He pocketed the profound jade bag and produced the jade slip used to open the door earlier, making a gesture on the slip: “This is the residence’s door-opening jade talisman. It can not only open the door but also activate a protective array to prevent others from spying or intruding. When you use the soul recognition method to make it recognize you as master, you’ll be able to control this residence freely.”

Speaking, he presented the jade slip with both hands.

Jian Chou accepted it. It was a small piece, with both ends carved into half-circular taotie shapes, and dense patterns floating in the middle, appearing and disappearing.

She glanced at it and politely smiled, “Thank you, Boss Zhou.”

“I should be thanking you instead.”

Old Zhou had completed another business deal. Though not very large, it still had decent profit, and his attitude toward Jian Chou was genuinely warm, unlike his previous insincere enthusiasm.

“I live with the Riyou Clan in the eastern part of the city. If you need anything later, just come there and ask someone to pass the message. It’s getting late today, hehe, so I won’t disturb you two any longer?”

How could Old Zhou not know what kind of person Chen Tingyan was?

He had sensed something was off between these two from early on. Now that business was done, he didn’t linger, bowing his hands in farewell.

Chen Tingyan knew he was misunderstanding, felt delighted inside, but on the surface laughed and scolded, “What nonsense are you talking about!”

Old Zhou said no more, laughing sheepishly as he left.

Only Jian Chou and Chen Tingyan remained standing at the door.

Having dealt with Old Zhou, the exhaustion that Jian Chou had been experiencing was now completely impossible to conceal. She casually found a round stool by the round table in the study and sat down, raising her hand to press against her waist and ribs. Her brow furrowed tightly, and faint perspiration appeared.

“Is your injury acting up?”

Chen Tingyan’s heart startled with alarm, and he quickly approached, wanting to check her condition.

Jian Chou shook her head, her complexion pale as paper with faint traces of black qi floating across it. She only said, “Today Fourth Young Master has already troubled himself greatly on my behalf, and I feel quite bad about it. Having just settled into lodging, I should properly host you, but right now healing is urgent, so I’m afraid I’ll have to be neglectful.”

Knowing someone else was injured, Chen Tingyan naturally knew this wasn’t the time to stay, no matter how much he wanted to.

But there would be plenty of time in the future.

After brief consideration, he produced a light purple wooden bottle from his chest and placed it on the round table beside Jian Chou, with some worry in his eyes.

“Miss Jian Chou and I are old acquaintances, and when people are in foreign lands, we should help each other. What’s this talk of being neglectful or not? This bottle contains Three Fragrance Earth Restoration Spring, which can heal most injuries.”

He held his folding fan, seemingly afraid Jian Chou would refuse. Seeing that Jian Chou was about to speak, he added another sentence.

“I know your identity isn’t simple, and you don’t lack these things. But this represents my sincere intention – at worst, if I fall into trouble someday, you can just save me.”

He wasn’t giving her a chance to refuse.

Jian Chou shook her head helplessly and sighed, “Then I can only accept this ungraciously.”

“Rest well and recover. When your injuries heal, you can also come find me at the Riyou Clan,” Chen Tingyan smiled, “though I imagine these injuries aren’t severe. I’ll come check on you again later.”

Jian Chou nodded, “Good.”

“Then I’ll take my leave today and meet again another day.”

Chen Tingyan bowed in farewell. Jian Chou wanted to rise to see him off, but he pressed her down, only saying she should sit properly while he walked out by himself, even helping Jian Chou close the door.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of footsteps faded away.

Jian Chou sat by the round table, glancing at the wooden bottle on the table. With her keen perception, how could she not understand this person’s “intentions”?

Only…

She truly had no interest whatsoever.

“Cough, cough…”

She coughed twice and didn’t touch the wooden bottle. Instead, she produced a jade bottle from her qiankun bag, poured out three pills, and swallowed them. After alleviating the discomfort for a moment or two, she let out a long breath.

To fully heal her injuries, she naturally couldn’t rely entirely on pills – she’d need to settle down and meditate later.

The jade talisman was in her hand.

Jian Chou looked down at it but was immediately confused: soul recognition method… she didn’t know how to do that either.

To prevent others from becoming suspicious, she hadn’t asked earlier, but now…

Turning her head to look, Jian Chou’s gaze fell on the rows and rows of books: “Extreme Domain Miscellany,” “Ten Thousand Li Wasteland,” “Five Arts of the Furnace,” “Pearl Formation Stage Records”…

Among the diverse collection of books, there should be information about the so-called “soul recognition method.”

Jian Chou wasn’t worried at all.

She smiled slightly, and her gaze at these books gradually brightened.

When drowsiness came, someone delivered a pillow – wasn’t this exactly what she needed most?

Jian Chou withdrew her gaze, but from the corner of her eye, it fell again on the plum vase sitting on the windowsill…

The end of reincarnation, Rebirth Pool water.

Her brow furrowed slightly. Jian Chou set down the residence’s control jade talisman, rose, and walked toward the plum vase.

The dried bud hung thinly at the edge of the branch, still maintaining its form from who knows how long ago, as if it still had a chance to bloom.

On the windowsill, several black withered petals were scattered sparsely.

The snow-white window paper made the outside light pure and clear, shining on the celadon plum vase with a somewhat translucent quality.

Jian Chou gazed at this corner of scenery, feeling an elegant poetic atmosphere.

Her colorless lips curved upward at this moment, and she unconsciously smiled, having approached the window.

The former owner of this house must have been one who cherished flowers.

Although Jian Chou had no intention of cherishing flowers, seeing the plum petals fallen all over the windowsill, she felt a strange emotion arise. She reached out, wanting to pick up a dried petal.

Unexpectedly, as her fingertip lightly touched it, that black plum petal instantly turned into a piece of flying black ash.

Jian Chou was immediately startled.

The master of this place had been “missing” for who knows how long, and these plum blossoms had fallen for an unknown period. Over the years, they had naturally dried into ash long ago.

They could maintain their original form only because no one had ever touched them.

Jian Chou sighed in her heart but didn’t bother picking up the dried flowers. She simply waved her sleeve, wanting to sweep the dried petals from the windowsill and open the window to look outside.

One sweep of her sleeve stirred a gentle breeze.

The plum petals on the windowsill immediately all turned to flying ash, carried by the wind and slowly falling to the ground.

The clean windowsill was suddenly revealed.

Jian Chou naturally raised her hand to open the window, but unexpectedly, her gaze shifted and fell on the windowsill where the plum vase sat, discovering a line of faint writing.

“Writing?”

She was surprised and frowned.

A line of neat small regular script was deeply carved into the windowsill, written horizontally from right to left.

“May those who cherish flowers and have fate, tend these plums in my stead…”

Jian Chou read aloud softly, her finger tracing along the line of characters, but discovered that half of the character “plum” was pressed under the plum vase on the left side.

Among the three plum branches inserted in the vase, one still bore that dried bud.

Jian Chou glanced at it and, after brief contemplation, couldn’t help but laugh, “Using Rebirth Pool water to nurture plums – what kind of ‘fated flower-cherishing person’ could afford such extravagance…”

The one who left the inscription was probably the former owner of this house, the one who had raised the plums.

Jian Chou looked at this line of writing, not knowing what to say. She originally didn’t want to bother with it and just wanted to push open the window, but as her hand reached halfway, her gaze flashed as if she had thought of something, and she turned back to look at the “plum” character that was only half visible.

With a thought, Jian Chou’s extended hand changed direction, coming back to carefully place both hands on the plum vase, slowly moving it.

The second half of the “plum” character was quickly revealed.

Jian Chou’s face remained calm, but divine light flickered in her eyes. Her hands didn’t stop, continuing to move the vase.

Soon, the plum vase had been moved two palm-lengths away.

The windowsill originally pressed under the plum vase was quickly exposed, and yet—

What was revealed along with the second half of the “plum” character were actually several more characters…