Changling hadn’t wanted to reveal herself.

In fact, rescuing those young women was merely something done in passing. Since she had the antidote on her anyway, after picking the locks, she simply brought them along as she fought her way out. After all, those Eastern Xia soldiers weren’t after them. Changling used mud and sand to make herself look wretched, truly managing to slip away in the chaos.

The young women were naturally tearfully grateful, calling her their great benefactor while begging Changling to see her good deed through to the end—if she could safely send each of them home, that would be even better.

Changling had been somewhat unwilling to begin with. Upon inquiring and discovering that the five women lived in four different villages, she completely abandoned this impractical notion. Taking advantage of their kneeling and kowtowing, she slipped away in a flash.

Firstly, she figured the Five Poisons Sect was too busy with their own troubles to continue their crimes brazenly. Secondly, she truly had no strength left.

Her last meal had been that roasted chicken with Ye Qi, and three full days had passed since that night. In these three days, aside from water and Soul-Numbing Powder, her stomach was completely empty.

Therefore, she dragged her frame that could faint from hunger at any moment, managing one step at a time. With great difficulty, she moved to a fruit tree, lifted her foot to step on the trunk and climbed up—only to discover it was a hawthorn tree.

Immediately, Changling gained a new understanding of the phrase “misfortunes never come singly.”

In the end, she still ate what she could in her hunger. Though she didn’t know whether this fruit famous for aiding digestion could actually fill her stomach, however, before she could even finish one complete fruit, she heard someone approaching.

The newcomer’s footsteps were quick, steady but not heavy—possibly an expert.

Changling steadied herself, plucked a tree branch, and just as she leaped down, felt dizzy and unsteady. The “weapon” in her hand was also seized by this uninvited guest in one grab.

Turned out it really was an expert.

Changling sighed, acknowledging her bad luck, and discovered that the other party neither dodged nor counterattacked, but stared at her for that instant.

In that instant, she pressed the branch against the person’s neck, putting on a full show as she asked: “Who are you?”

The person was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly asked: “Nan… xu?”

Changling’s heart sank with a thud.

Could this familiar voice be… that person called Fu something?

Fu Yangui looked at Changling in confusion. “You… don’t recognize me anymore?”

“…”

If heaven allowing her to return from death was fortune within misfortune, then ever since her rebirth, her luck had absolutely hit rock bottom—to the point where even drinking cold water got stuck in her teeth, and wearing a Daoist robe would run into ghosts.

If this man surnamed Fu learned his fiancée had been killed by her, would he send her to the underworld right then and there to accompany Nanxu?

Changling felt somewhat regretful: She should have known not to ask his identity. Now she didn’t know if impersonating Nanxu again would still be believable.

Just then, from her rumbling hungry stomach came an ill-timed “gurgle—”

The forest fell momentarily silent.

Fu Yangui first froze, then asked with concern: “Are you hungry?”

Changling: “…”

Damn it, if she weren’t currently so weak she could barely stand, she would genuinely be capable of murder to silence a witness.

The familiar dizziness surged up again. Changling tried to reach out and steady herself against the nearby tree but missed. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed headfirst.

Everything around her ceased to matter.

The fires in Canlang Mountain had mostly been extinguished.

Dawn clouds drifted across the sky. The smoke and haze were torn to shreds by the wind, dissipating without a trace.

Ye Qi and Yu Ping had ridden all night, finally arriving at the Five Poisons Sect at daybreak.

Inside the stronghold, everywhere showed the chaos of battle aftermath. Soldiers were all busy cleaning up and searching. Seeing outsiders enter, they immediately swarmed forward to question them. Ye Qi, already anxious and frustrated, simply darkened his face when stopped: “Tell Fu Yangui to come see me!”

The soldiers were all shocked by this imposing manner. Yu Ping quickly showed the token in his hand: “This is Marquis He. Where might Lord Fu be?”

Fu Yangui had left a step ahead before dawn, leaving a general surnamed Tong named Qing to handle the aftermath. Upon seeing Ye Qi, he respectfully bowed, wiping sweat as he smiled apologetically: “What wind has blown Your Lordship here?”

Ye Qi, concerned for Changling’s safety, was too lazy to waste words with him and got straight to the point: “General Tong, I won’t hold this stronghold attack against you for now. I only ask you—you’ve been here so long, do you know where the Five Poisons Sect imprisoned those women they captured from outside?”

“I know, I know. Your Lordship, please come with me.”

Tong Qing led Ye Qi to a prison chamber, pointing at the empty chains: “We questioned everyone carefully. In the past month, the Five Poisons Sect captured a total of ten young women. Last night, six escaped…”

“Escaped? How did they escape?”

“Our people let them go,” Tong Qing said. “Before attacking the stronghold, Lord Fu gave strict orders not to harm the innocent. Those young women were all pitiful people—how could we make things difficult for them…”

“You just let them go like that?” Yu Ping also found it hard to believe. “How do you know they weren’t Five Poisons Sect members in disguise?”

Tong Qing immediately called over the soldier who had released them for questioning. The soldier was still young, clearly a rookie who had just enlisted not long ago. Kneeling on the ground, he stammered: “The young women looked so pitiful, and… they were all very beautiful. The general… the general said that the female disciples of the Five Poisons Sect were either disfigured or ugly looking. As long as we saw ugly ones, we should cut them down, but if we saw beautiful ones… we should let them go…”

By the end, his voice involuntarily weakened. Yu Ping gaped, touching his own face: “These days, is being ugly a capital crime?”

Tong Qing coughed unnaturally. “Young Hero Yu misunderstands. We thoroughly investigated how many sect members the Five Poisons Sect had and what kind of people they were before attacking the stronghold. In the past, Nanxu’s appearance was completely destroyed from refining poisons, so she was both jealous and hateful toward beautiful women. Among those serving by her side, occasionally one or two slightly pretty ones would disappear. The ones remaining really weren’t very good-looking. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to see right now…”

Ye Qi felt slightly reassured. “Lord Tong said six escaped. What about the other four?”

“The other four… it’s said they were all fed to snakes…”

“What does fed to snakes mean?”

Tong Qing pointed at the large pot in the prison chamber, his tone rather unbearable: “They say they first boiled them alive, then chopped them up for snake feed… Alas, truly evil deeds.”

Ye Qi’s face changed drastically. He grabbed Tong Qing’s elbow: “Where is Nanxu?”

In the earthen fortress, within the courtyard, a bright red large serpent lay dead. The snake’s body was obese and swollen, with several burst marks on its back, soaked in a pool of black-blue pus and blood. Getting even slightly closer, the smell made one retch.

Ye Qi’s foot stepped to the courtyard gate. He merely glanced once and didn’t continue walking inside. Yu Ping stood at the doorway, also feeling his scalp tingle: “This… this… this…”

“Truly ruthless and cruel. I heard Nanxu raised this venomous insect for a full four years…” The soldiers in the courtyard all had cloths tied over their faces. Tong Qing had someone fetch two new ones for Yu Ping. Yu Ping didn’t bother taking them, only pointing at the large snake before the gate. “This is an insect? How can an insect be this big?”

“This venomous insect was originally only palm-sized. It was bloated from eating human flesh…” As Tong Qing said this, soldiers brought forward a bound female disciple. Tong Qing immediately walked to Ye Qi’s side, asking for instructions: “Your Lordship, this is the highest-ranked person we captured, named Qingda. She’s always served at Nanxu’s side.”

Tong Qing stepped forward: “Lift your head. Our Marquis has questions for you.”

Qingda was forced to kneel on the ground, her eyes full of bloodshot veins. When she looked up and saw Ye Qi, she couldn’t help but show surprise. Ye Qi asked keenly: “You recognize me?”

“So you’re a marquis of Eastern Xia…”

Hearing this, Yu Ping also recognized her. “It’s her—she’s the one who took that young lady away.”

Ye Qi: “Where is she?”

“Who?”

Ye Qi’s face darkened in silence. Qingda thought for a moment. “That young lady? She’s in the room. Didn’t Your Lordship see her?”

Yu Ping froze, not understanding. “What do you mean, there’s someone in the room?”

“There might not be much left in the room,” Qingda made an “ah” sound, twisting her head to glance at the courtyard. “You could dig out more from our Little Seven’s belly… Your Lordship might as well…”

Before she finished speaking, Ye Qi abruptly interrupted: “Impossible!”

Seeing his sudden shout, Yu Ping and Tong Qing were startled. Ye Qi bent down and grabbed Qingda’s collar, saying word by word: “Tell the truth, and I’ll spare your life.”

Seeing his face written all over with tension, Qingda instead smiled: “Does Your Lordship know why the Sect Master captured those beautiful young women? The Sect Master practiced poison refining since childhood. Her skin was eroded by poisonous liquids and had long ceased to be human in form. Before the old Sect Master died, she left a prescription. As long as the Sect Master took it, she could shed her old skin and replace it with new skin. But where could this new skin be found?” Her smile widened. “Naturally, it had to be peeled from others… That young lady’s beauty and color were so rare, the Sect Master fell for her at first sight. How could other goods enter her eyes?”

Ye Qi said: “Im-pos-sible.”

He didn’t believe it.

She… was someone who could leap to the top of the Dacheng Pagoda in one bound, repel Abbot Yuan Hai with one palm, and subdue the Four Great Elders in an instant. Even if she fell into the Five Poisons Sect’s hands, how could she be completely powerless and at their mercy?

A meaningful gleam appeared in Qingda’s eyes: “Three young women died last night. Whose skin the Sect Master ultimately used—wouldn’t Your Lordship know by going into the room to look?”

Ye Qi suddenly released his grip. Though he clearly didn’t believe it, cold sweat involuntarily seeped from his palms. Then he turned around and quickly strode into the room, as if any slower and he wouldn’t be able to enter.

Seeing him suddenly rush in, Tong Qing looked at Yu Ping questioningly. Yu Ping only shook his head and hurriedly followed.

In the boudoir lay three corpses gnawed clean to the bone.

Fresh blood pooled wetly all over the floor—by the bed, beside tables and chairs, then winding all the way to the courtyard entrance, traces of where the large snake had crawled.

Ye Qi followed the blood trail step by step into the room. With each step, his heart sank another measure.

By the sandalwood table leg lay three corpses—they couldn’t even be called “whole” bodies anymore. Scattered and fragmented without a shred of flesh remaining, yet strangely, the skins still hung on the skeletal frames like drying clothes, appearing especially eerie beneath the room’s fluttering gauze.

He seemed to have stepped on something. He looked straight down at the ground three feet below and saw a piece of jade ring.

He stood frozen, unmoving for a long time. Finally, he crouched down to pick up the jade. His gaze moved forward a few inches—on the skinless hand bone before him was a ring carved with dragons and phoenixes.

It was a gilt ring.

Ye Qi’s throat moved twice. He removed that ring.

He was someone who, when encountering any matter, always habitually ran through the most tragic outcome in his mind first. As long as the final result was slightly better than expected, he could optimistically laugh and say he’d had great luck.

But this time, he uncharacteristically… kept wanting to lean things toward a better direction.

Perhaps that person had only given the ring and jade pendant to someone else?

Ye Qi turned over the clothing covering the corpse, desperately trying to find proof this wasn’t Changling. However, as soon as he lifted it, bronze soft armor was revealed.

His face had never looked as terrible as it did at this moment. Yu Ping watched his heavy, laden back, and somehow didn’t dare step forward.

Even Tong Qing now sensed something was wrong. “Marquis He… are you alright?”

Yu Ping scratched his head. He really wasn’t good at handling this kind of situation and could only look around. Catching sight of paper and inkstone on the table, he tried to divert everyone’s attention. “Um… there seems to be writing on the paper on the table…”

Tong Qing also saw it. He walked forward to pick up the letter, murmuring: “I willingly offer my skin to Five Poisons Sect Master Nanxu…”

Before he finished reading the first line, the paper was snatched away by Ye Qi. After scanning it a few times, he turned and walked out.

Qingda was still kneeling in the courtyard. Seeing Ye Qi emerge, he asked in a hoarse voice: “This letter… what is this about?”

She glanced at the letter, her gaze sharpening, then said indifferently: “Before that young lady died, she made a request. She said as long as the Sect Master would spare Your Lordship, she would willingly write this letter.”

Ye Qi’s pupils trembled. Unable to hold back any longer, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood with a “pff.” Yu Ping and Tong Qing were greatly alarmed and hurried forward to support him. “Young Master!”

“What’s happened to His Lordship? Quickly, someone come!”

“That young lady truly loved so deeply,” Qingda said, as if Ye Qi’s blood hadn’t been spat viciously enough, adding: “Your Lordship, I’ve told the complete truth. Can you spare my life now?”

Tong Qing spoke up first, pointing at Qingda’s head and shouting: “Someone! Drag her away and behead her!”

Qingda feigned shock. “How can you go back on your word? I haven’t said a single false word…” After shouting a few lines, she was lifted and dragged away by soldiers. She shrilly screamed for mercy, but after rounding the corner, gradually gave up struggling.

She tilted her head back, a triumphant smile slowly appearing at the corners of her mouth: “Sect Master, your revenge will be repaid sooner or later… I’ll come accompany you first…”

Canlang Mountain’s canopy of trees blocked out the sun.

Ye Qi sat cross-legged before the tombstone, using a sharp knife to carve the four characters “Tomb of Changting” on it.

“I forgot to ask how to write your name. I don’t know if I got it wrong.” He blew away the stone dust from the characters. “It should be correct. Surely no one would name their daughter after a pavilion.”

He nodded to himself, then carved the four characters “Respectfully erected by Ye Qi” in the lower left corner of the stone tablet.

The person was buried, the monument erected. Not knowing what else he could do, he simply sat there in stillness.

Ye Qi scattered a handful of yellow earth, counting on his fingers—from the day he abducted her from the carriage, nine days had passed.

Nine days—only nine days?

“I originally had many things I wanted to ask you… I didn’t expect…”

Didn’t expect that seeking answers would ultimately become impossible.

Somehow, his mind inexplicably flashed to the last conversation with her. She had said “Don’t close your eyes, open them wide and look carefully,” and then, what was the next sentence?

He couldn’t remember.

In the end, he knew nothing about her.

Ye Qi began to feel anxious and short of breath again. He used the breathing method Changling had taught him, taking deep breaths one after another.

In a trance, he seemed to hear her softly saying beside his ear: “Use the mental cultivation method I taught you to circulate your energy. You won’t expire so quickly. Look, the sun has come out—haven’t you lived another day?”

Ye Qi opened his eyes, looked at the tombstone and smiled slightly: “It seems it doesn’t work anymore.”

If it were useful, how could this heart be so constricted and unable to find relief?

At this moment, Yu Ping walked forward and said to him: “Young Master, there’s news about Nanxu.”

Ye Qi stood up. “They caught her?”

“Not exactly…” Yu Ping hesitated. “General Tong received news that Lord Fu rescued her, saying she’s the long-lost daughter of a friend’s family. She’s now already on the way back to Jinling.”