The weather had cleared, and Yang Xingjian’s illness had greatly improved. Baozhu planned to leave Lingbao County tomorrow to continue their journey. Pang Liangji arrived in a sedan chair while Xiao Ran rode a horse, both coming to the inn to visit and presenting Baozhu with a pile of gold and silver jewelry and four maids skilled in hairdressing for use during travel.
Though she didn’t understand much about common folk affairs, Baozhu knew that travelers shouldn’t display wealth openly, so she couldn’t accept the jewelry. However, she desperately needed people to help with hair and dressing, and had already mentally given these girls new names.
But the servant message-passing incident in the missing bride case made her wary. Accepting new people into their group would risk exposing her true identity. After much hesitation, she tearfully and reluctantly declined, keeping only a few sets of men’s and Hu-style clothing tailored for her.
She asked Pang Liangji: “Have all your senior brothers and sisters left Jade City?”
Pang Liangji replied: “They’ve probably left already. Our sect has no farewell customs—we never say sentimental things like ‘mountains remain unchanged, rivers flow eternal, until we meet again in the martial world.’ When we leave, we just quietly go without informing anyone.”
He had asked Luo Tuotuo to blow up Lu Dan’s tomb and had been waiting for the Lu family to cause trouble so he could fight, but unexpectedly they chose to let the matter rest. Pang Liangji felt both puzzled and delighted, telling Baozhu: “I heard they’re frantically tearing down houses while digging ponds in their courtyard, causing chaos throughout the household. Who knows what they’re up to.”
Baozhu knew perfectly well they were searching for that completely nonexistent prophecy book and felt extremely pleased, instructing Xiao Ran: “If you two have children in the future, they can’t be as unlearned as Pang Six here. They must study hard and earn official positions to protect the family property, otherwise anyone can use written documents to frame and entrap them.”
Xiao Ran, now a rich man’s wife, still wore that half-worn gilt bronze hairpin in her hair. She solemnly agreed, then bowed deeply to Baozhu, saying seriously: “Lady Jiu’s instruction is absolutely correct. I only fear that if the pillar is crooked, the beam will be slanted. After our wedding ceremony, I’ll make Pang study and practice calligraphy properly to set an example for our children.”
Pang Liangji had been grinning foolishly, but hearing this, his face immediately turned pale as he said tremblingly: “Ah Ran! Didn’t you say you wouldn’t despise me for being a warrior?”
Xiao Ran said calmly: “You’ve already washed your hands of the martial world. You’re no longer a warrior. From now on, abandon martial ways for scholarly pursuits—reciting in spring, studying in summer, tilling the fields of ink and inkstone, reading with me day and night, year after year.”
Pang Liangji’s anguished cry immediately pierced through the roof, spreading far into the distance.
The journey to Youzhou was long and dangerous, with bandits and military troubles along the way requiring mounts and weapons. Huo Qi Lang, having received ample travel funds, first exchanged them for a hundred strings of copper coins at a money house, hired an ox cart to carry the money, and spent an entire day in Lingbao County searching for suitable weapons and selecting sturdy horses. After finally picking a satisfactory blade and waiting for the shopkeeper to add non-slip binding to the handle, everything was only completed by hai hour.
Having promised to travel day and night to deliver the letter, she wouldn’t delay overnight. She packed her bundle and provisions, checked out, and prepared to depart.
When leaving, she glimpsed Wei Xun silently emerging from Baozhu’s room, quietly closing the door behind him. She was overjoyed, thinking the boy had finally come to his senses, but then saw he was carrying a backgammon board.
Huo Qi Lang was dumbfounded, asking puzzledly: “You didn’t spend half the night playing backgammon and tire her to sleep, did you?”
Wei Xun said impatiently: “What business is it of yours?”
Huo Qi Lang asked teasingly: “Dare I ask, Senior Brother, how did tonight’s games go?”
Wei Xun raised his head proudly: “Victory in every battle.”
Huo Qi Lang immediately pictured the little girl’s face—repeatedly defeated and furious, finally so angry her face turned red before collapsing into sleep. She thought this person was probably destined for lifelong loneliness.
She forced herself not to laugh, saying with mock seriousness: “Senior Brother truly excels at everything compared to us.”
With that, Huo Qi slung her bundle over her shoulder and strode out of the inn, mounting her horse and galloping eastward. Only after running two li did she let loose unbridled laughter, her bold and hearty laughter echoing under the stars and moon.
On the morning of departure from Lingbao County, the donkey was well-fed and the ox hitched to the cart. Shisan Lang came out of Baozhu’s room looking troubled, returning to the room he shared with his senior brother to find Wei Xun packing.
“Senior Brother, please go help. Jiu Niang can’t manage her hair and is getting angry again. Those rabbit ear buns keep coming out crooked, and I can’t fix them.” The little monk gestured the shape of the double spiral buns on his head.
Wei Xun frowned: “I don’t know how to do hair. What help could I give?”
Shisan Lang hesitated before saying: “But before Sixth Senior Brother’s wedding, when the hairdresser came to try different styles on her, I saw you watching carefully from the side.” The implication was that with Wei Xun’s observational skills, seeing was equivalent to learning, and he could manage with one try.
Exposed by his junior brother, Wei Xun remained silent. If this had been right after leaving Cuiwei Temple, he could have handled this matter openly and without distraction—whether arranging hair or helping with clothing, he wouldn’t have felt any awkwardness. But now that he had developed feelings, he could no longer pretend indifference and casually reach out.
With an almost inaudible sigh, Wei Xun firmly refused: “I’m not a child like you anymore. I can’t touch her skin and hair. Let her manage as is—crooked rabbit ears are quite amusing too.”
He pulled a Hu-style garment from his bundle and handed it to Shisan Lang: “Take this to use as winter inner clothing.”
Shisan Lang took it, and seeing the fabric pattern clearly, his eyes widened in surprise: “This is her clothing?!”
Wei Xun continued packing: “Yes. The precious thing won’t wear patched clothes, and won’t take them even after they’re mended. You’ll be taller than her next year—it would be wasteful to miss this chance.”
Shisan Lang held the Hu garment, lowering his eyes and stammering: “This… I can’t wear this…”
The two brothers had wandered for years, never caring about wearing others’ secondhand clothes. Wei Xun, thinking he felt embarrassed, said: “I already asked her permission, and she tacitly agreed to give it to you.”
Shisan Lang shifted uncomfortably, stuttering: “That… hasn’t Senior Brother noticed? This clothing… this clothing has her scent…”
Wei Xun’s heart jumped. He took back the garment and lowered his head to sniff gently. After a moment, all four ears in the room turned completely red.
The dragon brain incense had not only deeply penetrated the fabric fibers but also lasted an extremely long time. Even after washing, it permeated to the bone and lingered endlessly. Having spent so much time by her side daily, he had gradually become accustomed to it and never noticed.
Wei Xun gripped the clothing tightly, his mind in chaos, and after a long while finally squeezed out: “You’re right, you can’t wear it.”
Shisan Lang looked embarrassed, asking: “Can we only sell it to a secondhand clothing shop?”
Wei Xun immediately objected: “No! Then some stranger would eventually buy and wear it, and we’d never know who.” Only after speaking did he realize he had once said this very thing to frighten Baozhu, and now it had returned to pierce his own heart.
Having discovered this secret fact, he couldn’t even put it back with his own replacement clothes. After long hesitation, he could only say: “Light a brazier and burn it.”
He had always felt that people like her lived in luxury and excess—burning paper they had written on, burning discarded items too. Only now did he understand that things she had used truly couldn’t be touched by others.
Two days later, on a pitch-black night in the deserted Lu family ancestral cemetery, a fresh earth pit appeared with several people standing around it holding hoes, shovels, and other tools, unhurriedly filling it with soil.
Tuoba Sanniang said lazily: “I still prefer arranging heads by generational order.”
Xu Baozhen said: “Since it’s a congratulatory gift, we should keep it low-key.”
Qiu Ren said: “Senior Brother told us to wait until they were far away before acting—he meant the same thing.”
Luo Tuotuo gazed at the large tomb mound with one corner broken open in the distance, remaining silent.
Tuoba Sanniang urged: “Fifth, don’t slack off!”
Luo Tuotuo said: “I still don’t understand one thing. Rakshasa Bird said they hadn’t set any ambush near that tomb mound. Moreover, even if they were their people, how could an arrow that hit its target appear inside a sealed burial chamber? What exactly did the little girl shoot down then?”
At these words, no one responded immediately. The cemetery grass grew wild under the howling wind, and everyone stared at the dark, deep cave entrance in contemplation. After a long while, Xu Baozhen slowly said: “Perhaps… it really was that kind of thing…”
A monster born from the accumulated corpse qi, nurtured by years of resentment, greed, and hatred from both the dead and living of the Lu family—a Rakshasa Bird.
Truth and falsehood, reality and illusion—the answer would never be known.
A moment later, the pit was finally filled. Qiu Ren spat on the fresh earth and smiled with malicious satisfaction: “Rest in peace, everyone. The fallen leaves return to their roots!”
The group threw down their burial tools, brushed dirt from their hands, and without any farewells, quietly scattered in different directions. “United they are scattered sand, separated they are stars across the sky”—the seven members of Sunset Court once again went their separate ways, leaving behind only sinister and dark martial world legends.
Another mysterious incident occurred in Jade City. The prominent Lu family first tore down their own house and dug up their land, then the entire family mysteriously disappeared without a trace, leaving behind even their property and personal belongings. The household servants and slaves, hearts filled with terror, looted all the master’s gold, silver, and valuables before fleeing in all directions during the night. The vast mansion became an empty, ruined ghost house overnight.
Meanwhile, Baozhu, traveling on the road, had just learned of the nickname the martial world had given her—Donkey-Riding Lady.
From that moment, Baozhu finally understood why Lu Songzhi had hated her to the bone over the nickname “Pepper Minister.” Treacherous ministers and rebels never feared criticism from court colleagues or mockery from common people—they only feared being remembered in history by infamous epithets.
“Those who understand my crimes, only the Spring and Autumn Annals”—nicknames were the martial world’s historical records.
The battle at Jade City had not been intended for publicity, but as a Tang princess, she should have had stables full of fine horses and carriages in procession. Now in her impoverished state, not only was she riding an inferior mount, but her very name was bound together with an ugly donkey. Her mouth turned down, and she burst into tears of grievance.
The three men quickly gathered to comfort her. Wei Xun said: “You create a satisfactory nickname you like, and we’ll call you that from now on.”
Shisan Lang said: “If anyone calls you Donkey-Riding Lady in the future, Senior Brother and I will beat them until they change their tune!”
Though Yang Xingjian didn’t know the reason, he still quoted classics and carefully chose words, creating dozens of elegant and noble nicknames for her to choose from.
However, Baozhu knew perfectly well that the Seven Absolutes of Sunset Court hadn’t become Six Absolutes. The Gale Guardian with a broken leg, the Silk Lord with a scarred face, the Green-robed Guest with changed clothes—none had changed their names. One tells ten, ten tell a hundred, a hundred tell tens of thousands—this ugly nickname bound to an ugly donkey would accompany her throughout the martial world from now on, never to be changed.
At this thought, Baozhu couldn’t help but feel grief welling up from within, and she wailed loudly while riding the donkey.
At the same time, the legendary story of Pang’s marriage to the real and fake brides spread throughout Jade City. Several children pretended to be characters from the wedding, running and playing while happily singing a popular children’s rhyme: “Wild geese in formation of three, beauty returns, plain-faced carriage steals spring’s radiance!”
End of Volume “Rakshasa Transformation”
Author’s Note: “Rakshasa Transformation” concludes, thank you all for your love! The ending still leaves some mysteries that cannot be rationally explained, as lingering echoes of legendary tales.
Volume Four: Nine Aspects Temple