Yuhu Xuanzong, outer sect.

Xie Lingbi made his way directly to the Shang residence. Several managers were already extremely anxious. Xie Lingbi entered Xie Yuanshu’s room and found him lying in bed, his breath barely perceptible. Xie Lingbi stepped forward to take his pulse and discovered that although his breathing was weak, his internal energy had actually strengthened considerably!

This was natural—in the dream, he had absorbed the cultivation of both Xie Lingbi and Xie Hongchen.

Xie Lingbi wanted to strike him dead with a single palm, but at the end of the day, this was his only bloodline.

He sighed and could only say, “Have Baicao Peak treat him. This matter must be kept confidential. Anyone who asks must not mention it.”

The several managers repeatedly acknowledged the order. They were people Xie Lingbi had transferred over, cautious and tight-lipped. Xie Lingbi wasn’t too worried. After settling Xie Yuanshu, he suddenly asked, “Last night, did you dream of anything?”

“This…” The four managers then recounted last night’s dream in detail. Unsurprisingly, all four had dreamed the same dream.

Xie Lingbi immediately sought out many disciples to verify his suspicions. Indeed, all the disciples of Yuhu Xuanzong had dreamed the exact same thing last night.

So many people having the same dream—as someone from the immortal sects, Xie Lingbi naturally knew something major had occurred. He immediately sent people to investigate ordinary households—was this matter specifically targeting Yuhu Xuanzong, or everyone?

How laughable. Yuhu Xuanzong was called the foremost immortal sect, yet now something this significant had happened, and he didn’t even know who was behind it. Now, he could only first imprison Xie Yuanshu, treating his injuries while also preventing him from actually causing chaos.

And at Anlei Peak.

Xie Hongchen emerged from the secret chamber. Sunlight fell upon him, dispelling the damp darkness of the interior. But the cold dampness in his heart wouldn’t dissipate. Too many questions lay before him, and he had no leads whatsoever.

Were Huang Rang’s words in the dream true? Had she truly been subjected to cruel torture because she discovered her master’s secret? Where had she gone now, and was she safe?

Ah… safe. If she had truly been subjected to the punishment of the Soul-Coiling Bone-Fixing Needle, how could she possibly be safe?

Xie Hongchen descended from Anlei Peak. When he came to his senses, he discovered he had actually arrived at another place—Qilu Terrace.

The walls of Qilu Terrace were white, topped with gray glazed tiles. Standing before the crescent-shaped archway, one could see the exquisite and delicate courtyard inside. Xie Hongchen walked in. Naturally, this place hadn’t fallen into neglect.

The flying eave pavilion remained spotlessly clean, with the stone table and benches inside unchanged. The water in Bailu Pool was clear and pristine. Beside it grew a strange plum tree—none other than Nianjun’an.

This scene instantly overlapped with last night’s dream.

Xie Hongchen slowly stepped inside. Past events scattered down like fragments. In their hundred years as husband and wife, their true affection had always been confined to this small corner of the world. Here, he had witnessed the most enchanting scenery in the mortal realm. He had allowed her to bloom unrestrained, and he had been intoxicated, had been infatuated.

But outside this place, Xie Hongchen was the cold and ascetic sect master of the immortal sect, transcendent and unworldly. She was the gentle and virtuous sect master’s wife, beautiful and wise. The two treated each other with respect, distant and formal.

Xie Hongchen pressed down all his emotions. Those memories were shredded by the blade of his reason, dispersing without a trace.

He walked to the edge of Bailu Pool, staring at the calm, waveless water surface. Just in last night’s dream, she had cried and said, “If you had truly searched for me, you would have seen what I left in Bailu Pool. You never looked for me at all! Never looked for me at all…”

The pool water reflected his face, meeting his gaze coldly.

Xie Hongchen hesitated for a moment. He lifted his right hand slightly, and a gleaming bronze mirror already appeared in his palm. The bronze mirror reflected the pool surface. In an instant, the pool water became transparent, even the mud and sand within clearly visible, grain by grain.

Xie Hongchen swept his robe sleeve. The pool water stirred but remained clear and undisturbed. In a moment, something startled up from the dust and sand. Xie Hongchen put away the bronze mirror and grasped with his right hand. The object seemed to possess spiritual awareness, shooting out of the pool water and flying into his palm.

Xie Hongchen rinsed it clean in the pool water and discovered it was a white jade disc.

Throughout Yuhu Xuanzong, to avoid using the Old Ancestor’s name, no one took “bi” (disc) as part of their name.

Yet coincidentally, what was found at the bottom of Bailu Pool was precisely a jade disc.

Xie Hongchen held this white jade disc in his hand. What overflowed between his fingers wasn’t water drops, but ten years of time. At least several things Huang Rang had said in the dream were true. She said the Old Ancestor had subjected her to the punishment of the Soul-Coiling Bone-Fixing Needle and imprisoned her in the mountain’s belly.

She said talisman light flickered there, and rats had gnawed away half the face of the person opposite her. She said she had left something in Bailu Pool—if Xie Hongchen saw it, he would surely be able to guess her whereabouts.

Xie Hongchen closed his eyes and raised his hand to gently rub the space between his brows.

His injured eyes began to ache, causing his head to throb as well. He tried hard not to think of Huang Rang anymore—it prevented him from thinking calmly.

He didn’t walk further inside. Inside was Huang Rang’s quarters. Since her disappearance, Xie Hongchen rarely went there. Xie Hongchen turned and withdrew from this little world. As he stepped through the crescent-shaped archway, behind him, faintly, someone seemed to call: “Hongchen?”

Xie Hongchen’s hands clenched slightly. He resisted the urge to turn back. All false visions are demonic obstacles.

He resolutely left Qilu Terrace, yet behind him, someone seemed to gaze with gentle attention.

—Every time he left in the past, that person would stand at the archway, seeing him off with a smile. He had never turned back, but he had always known.

“Master.” A disciple spoke before him.

Xie Hongchen’s heart jumped. Only then did he realize he had already reached the mountain’s base, and standing before him was his second disciple, Xie Li. He steadied his mind and asked, “What is it?”

This was also the first time Xie Li had seen his master so distracted. He said, “Master, junior martial sister suddenly suffered a great loss of power and cannot return to human form.” As he spoke, he raised his hand. In his palm was only a golden cicada—none other than Xie Jiu’er.

Xie Hongchen naturally knew the reason—in that strange dream, Xie Jiu’er had also had her internal energy absorbed. She was young and her cultivation wasn’t high to begin with. After this loss, it seemed her foundation had been damaged.

But Xie Hongchen couldn’t spare attention for her now. He could only say, “Send her to Baicao Peak for proper treatment.”

Xie Jiu’er, having returned to her original form, crawled around in Xie Li’s palm. She naturally understood these words. But what could Baicao Peak do about the loss of her power? She could only wait until she cultivated again and transformed back into human form.

As a golden cicada, she had been able to cultivate human form in just a few decades for two reasons: first, she was naturally intelligent, and second…

Xie Jiu’er suddenly thought of someone. Second, because that person had spared no expense, nurturing her with spirit pills and miraculous medicines.

As she shed tears of grievance in Xie Li’s palm, her heart actually thought of that person again—the person she had once regarded as a mother, with whom she had been close. Xie Jiu’er suddenly thought that if she were still here, she might have found a way to help her.

This thought left her bewildered. She hadn’t thought of Huang Rang in many years. Only now, when she was particularly miserable, did that person’s appearance suddenly become clear. She recalled how when she was small, Huang Rang had actually treasured her very much.

Huang Rang would buy her beautiful dresses and braid her hair into exquisite plaits. Back then, her foster father rarely came to Qilu Terrace, and the two of them, mother and daughter, had kept each other warm and spent a happy time together.

Last night’s dream must have been her revenge.

—She must hate me to death now. Exhausted from crawling, Xie Jiu’er lay helplessly in her second martial brother’s palm. In memories that had withered long ago, there was one time when she went shopping with Huang Rang. Huang Rang bought her many delicious and fun things.

Until she couldn’t walk anymore, she tugged at Huang Rang’s sleeve and said, “Mother, Jiu’er can’t walk anymore. Jiu’er wants you to hold her.”

“You! What kind of golden cicada are you? You’re simply a lazy bug!” Huang Rang had restored her to insect form and let her rest in her palm, taking her home.

Later… there was no later. After Xie Jiu’er moved from Qilu Terrace to Diancui Peak, she never again addressed her as “mother.” She resented that it was Huang Rang who had found her, which caused her foster father to be so indifferent to her. She began deliberately maintaining distance by calling Huang Rang “foster mother,” and indeed received her foster father’s devoted cultivation.

But the later her no longer had a mother.

She didn’t know why she was remembering these past events. She had thought she had long forgotten them.

Xie Li put Xie Jiu’er away in his sleeve and continued, “Just now, Seniors He Xijin, Zhang Shujiu, and Wu Zichou came to visit and wish to see the sect master.”

Xie Hongchen wasn’t surprised. He said, “Let’s go. Follow me to receive the guests.”

At Laiyi Hall, the three—He, Zhang, and Wu—had already taken their seats. Disciples naturally served fragrant tea.

He Xijin picked up a teacup. The slightly scalding tea had just entered his mouth when someone outside announced, “The sect master arrives!”

The three quickly stood up. Although in terms of age, the three of them were older, Xie Hongchen was currently the sect master of Yuhu Xuanzong after all. The three greeted him formally, and Xie Hongchen returned the courtesy warmly.

After they were all seated again, He Xijin said, “Last, last last night…”

Zhang Shujiu picked up where he left off, practiced enough to make one’s heart ache: “Last night, we had a strange dream. Feeling uneasy, we’ve come specially to visit Sect Master Xie.”

Xie Hongchen was naturally unsurprised. He said, “I won’t hide this from you all—this dream was quite bizarre. In the dream, my eyes were injured and my cultivation was completely lost. After waking from the dream, my eyes ache and throb, and I cannot see clearly. My cultivation has also suffered some damage.”

With such frankness from him, the three—He, Zhang, and Wu—actually felt guilty. Before coming, they had been considering how to respond if Xie Hongchen intended to deceive them.

Thinking this way, they had been judging a gentleman’s heart with a petty person’s mind.

He Xijin said, “Sect, Sect Sect Master Xie…”

Zhang Shujiu said, “Sect Master Xie has suffered. We are extremely grateful for the sect master’s disclosure. This dream is strange, and now people’s hearts are in turmoil. We fear the heavenly way may be changing. We came specially to discuss countermeasures with Sect Master Xie.”

Wu Zichou wasn’t so circumspect. He directly asked, “Sect Master Xie, actually we’re quite puzzled. With your and Old Ancestor Lingbi’s cultivation and wisdom, how could you both be ambushed and caught off guard by Young Master Xie Yuanshu in the dream?”

He cut straight to the point. Xie Hongchen was momentarily stumped by the question. He naturally couldn’t mention Huang Rang. Throughout the entire strange dream, Huang Rang was actually the biggest point of suspicion. The time in the dream was exactly ten years ago, the last time he and she had met.

Everyone’s memories remained at that time, only she had clearly stated what would happen ten years later. And she had done all this to deal with his master and avenge past grievances.

It appeared she might even be the origin of this dream.

Xie Hongchen’s mind was clear as a mirror, but with the facts still unclear, if he rashly mentioned her, it would likely be disadvantageous to her. Xie Hongchen could only say, “I was momentarily confused in the dream and careless, that’s all. I’ve made the seniors laugh.”

His words were vague, and He Xijin and the others couldn’t probe further. After all, the sect master and old ancestor had suffered such a great loss and had nowhere to seek revenge. They were probably quite frustrated inside. Probing to the bottom would ultimately prove annoying.

Instead, Xie Hongchen continued, “To be honest, these years Yuhu Xuanzong has devoted itself to seeking the Way and rarely moved among the common people. This time such a major incident has occurred. I think there should have been omens among the people first. I wonder if the three of you have heard any rumors?”

The three—He, Zhang, and Wu—had naturally pondered this for a long time. Wu Zichou said, “Actually, these past few years both the immortal sects and the common people have been quite peaceful. Si Tianjian and Yuhu Xuanzong have competed to resolve strange cases and unusual matters submitted by the people. Apart from rampant fraudsters, we haven’t heard of any other issues.”

Zhang Shujiu frowned and suddenly said, “Speaking of which, recently there’s been a case transferred from the government offices to Si Tianjian.”

When he mentioned those three characters “Si Tianjian,” Xie Hongchen’s heart stirred.

After all, these three characters had always been bound together with another person—Di Yiqiu. And in the dream, the divorce letter Di Yiqiu had demanded still stuck in his throat to this day.

Zhang Shujiu continued, “According to Baowu, it’s a disappearance case. Someone impersonated Yuhu Xuanzong’s name, using recruitment of disciples as a pretext to deceive young children. In the end, all the children’s whereabouts became unknown. Initially, the government offices concluded it as a disappearance case. Later, for some unknown reason, the Jianzheng ordered people to transfer the case files back to Si Tianjian.”

“A case of missing children?” Xie Hongchen frowned and turned to ask Xie Li, “Has such a thing occurred?”

Xie Li quickly said, “Sect Master, there have always been quite a few fraudulent schemes among the common people. This matter did involve common folk coming to seek their children, but because it was done by fraudsters and had nothing to do with demons or evil spirits, we disciples simply reported it to the authorities for them.”

Xie Hongchen’s heart slowly tightened, though his expression remained impassive. He said, “Regardless of whether demons or evil spirits are involved, if someone dares to commit fraud using Yuhu Xuanzong’s name, we cannot show leniency. Go retrieve the case files. With the three seniors here, let us examine them carefully together.”

Xie Li quickly said, “Yes.”

In no time, two boxes of case files were carried over. Not just the three—He, Zhang, and Wu—even Xie Hongchen felt alarmed upon seeing them—could there really be so many disappearance cases?

He stood up and bowed to the three: “I must trouble the three seniors. Someone, bring wine for the three seniors.”

The three—He, Zhang, and Wu—had always been eager to help others, and now hearing there would be fine wine, they naturally said, “It’s merely eliminating evil for the people. Sect Master Xie need not be so polite.”

Disciples came forward to replace the tea on the table with wine. The four drank wine while examining the case files, which made it less tedious.

However, these case files caused them to frown continuously. Zhang Shujiu said, “There’s no pattern to the time and location of the incidents, and the fraudsters include both men and women. Over all these years, not a single one of the missing children has been found. This is truly shocking.”

Wu Zichou was even more furious: “The court has been derelict in its duties!”

Xie Hongchen examined the case files while saying, “Speaking of this matter, Yuhu Xuanzong has also been careless.” He quickly flipped through the files, then suddenly exclaimed, “Hm?!”

The three—He, Zhang, and Wu—all looked toward him. Xie Hongchen quickly compared other case files, then said, “Three seniors, these cases are not without pattern!”

The three were stunned. Xie Hongchen continued, “Seniors, please look. This child—his father had him in old age and treasured him like a jewel. This one—his parents were fourth-generation only sons, regarding him as the continuation of their family line. This one—born in a hunter’s family, very robust. His parents surely placed great hopes in him. And this girl—born beautiful, her parents engaged famous teachers and spared no expense in cultivating her…”

He enumerated the special characteristics of these children one by one. A flash of inspiration struck He Xijin: “Most, most…”

Xie Hongchen nodded and said, “All the abducted children were the ones their parents loved most. Everyone, I remember in the eighty-second year of Chengyuan, an epidemic ran rampant. Countless children were sold cheaply. But even in that year, the children who were abducted and deceived still fit this pattern.”

“Why is this? Extortion?” Wu Zichou asked, but quickly denied it himself. “If it were extortion, the court wouldn’t be completely without clues.”

Xie Hongchen said, “No matter. Now that we have a lead, as long as the immortal sects and the court work together in purpose, we’ll surely be able to wait for the criminals to strike again.”

Zhang Shujiu said, “We’ll immediately have our sects pay attention to see whose children fit the characteristics.”

Xie Hongchen made a sound of agreement and said, “Please also inform Si Tianjian on our behalf that in matters of eliminating evil for the people, the immortal sects and the court should no longer distinguish between each other. The court has provincial and county offices everywhere. When they handle affairs, they’re ultimately much more convenient than the immortal sects.”

He instructed them earnestly. All three—He Xijin, Zhang Shujiu, and Wu Zichou—blushed somewhat—after all, not long ago, they had infiltrated this very immortal sect and stolen the sect master’s wife.

The three took their leave awkwardly. After leaving the mountain gate, Wu Zichou sighed, “Sect Master Xie is upright in character and unparalleled in wisdom. He’s truly admirable.”

Zhang Shujiu also said, “I originally thought he harbored resentment toward Si Tianjian and would absolutely refuse to cooperate. Who would have imagined his mind is so broad, making one feel ashamed. Speaking of which, Xie Lingbi does have a discerning eye for people.”

He Xijin said, “The, the, the wife…”

Zhang Shujiu also said, “We all understand elder brother’s meaning. We shouldn’t have concealed the matter of Xie’s wife from him. But after all, we’ve already stolen her out. And now she’s being kept by Di Yiqiu. We are outsiders after all and don’t know the reasons. How should we explain this?”

He Xijin fell silent as well. The three could only carry this guilty conscience back to Si Tianjian.

Si Tianjian, Xuanwu Si.

As soon as He Xijin returned, he instinctively went to the guest room—he had to report to his wife first.

Zhang Shujiu and Wu Zichou were long accustomed to this. The two went together to find Di Yiqiu. Di Yiqiu had just brought Huang Rang back. He sent Huang Rang to the bedroom while he organized the results of today’s freeloading in his study. Those clothes, jewelry, and embroidered shoes filled several boxes.

The servants didn’t know what they were and had them carried to the study.

Di Yiqiu casually picked up a hairpin and compared it against his own head, imagining the effect. Just then, Zhang Shujiu and Wu Zichou pushed open the door.

The two looked at the hair ornament he held by his temples. The ornament was elaborate and magnificent, and he seemed about to pin it in place. Zhang and Wu were instantly quite shocked.

Di Yiqiu could only silently put down the hairpin. This wasn’t easy to explain. He could only ask as if nothing had happened, “Why don’t I see Sect Leader He?”

Zhang and Wu both coughed lightly, pretending they hadn’t seen anything just now. Zhang Shujiu said, “He went to his room to report to his wife.”

“Sect Leader He truly has…” The Jianzheng thought for a moment and praised, “Good family discipline.”

“Ahem.” Zhang and Wu immediately said, “Let’s discuss serious matters, serious matters.”

The two recounted everything from their visit to Yuhu Xuanzong today, especially the case of abducted and missing children. Throughout their account, the two couldn’t stop praising Xie Hongchen’s noble character and brilliant mind, truly a perfect gentleman. The Jianzheng listened with a smile on his face while dark clouds gathered in his heart.

—Hmph. Tomorrow I’ll go to the Cabinet and propose levying taxes on the immortal sects.