Two days ago.

That was the night Changling left without saying goodbye. Ye Qi sat by the hot spring pool all night, repeatedly pondering over the few sentences she had said.

“Kong Buwu is loyal to the Yue family. He would absolutely never do such a thing.”

“Did Yue Changsheng mention who injured him?”

Not just Jing Wuwei, Shen Yao… she even called the Yue family’s eldest brother by his name directly.

If she had merely received favor from the Yue family in the past, she should have called him “Young Master Yue” like other loyal and righteous people who revered the Yue family.

Just like that day at the Great Zhao Temple, when she called Lu Tianlan and Chi Zishan directly by name, even those two notoriously hot-tempered sect masters hadn’t noticed anything amiss.

As if such words coming from her mouth were perfectly natural.

What concerned him even more was her tone—that unquestionable statement: He doesn’t know… that Shen Yao betrayed the Yue family?

“She wasn’t asking whether Shen Yao had betrayed,” Ye Qi murmured to himself, “but whether Young Master Yue knew about it.”

It didn’t sound like simple suspicion, but more like… she had witnessed something with her own eyes.

He gazed at the rippling hot spring water. Suddenly, a shadow flashed through his mind, and he sprang to his feet with a splash.

It couldn’t be her.

The age didn’t match, the appearance didn’t match… and also…

If it were her, knowing that he was He Yu, why wouldn’t she speak honestly and directly?

The more he muttered “impossible, impossible,” the more a certain place in his heart uncontrollably sprouted a crazy “possibility.”

What if?

Once the thought arose, how could Ye Qi sit still? Without even putting on his outer robe, he rushed outside, wishing he could immediately sprout wings and fly to her side to ask everything clearly.

After leaving the gate and being blown by the cold wind until he felt waves of chill, he finally remembered the role she was playing—and forcibly stopped his steps.

No matter who she was, right now she was Jing Wuwei’s daughter… In this Jinling City, too many eyes were watching. Perhaps one rash move would cause her immeasurable trouble.

He had to suppress his boiling enthusiasm, return to the manor, and have Seventh Uncle send people to watch the Jing Manor, while spreading the He family’s intelligence network, issuing orders to thoroughly and carefully investigate all survivors who participated in the Battle of Taixing.

However, the biggest beneficiary from back then, Shen Yao… who was now the Emperor of Eastern Xia, wasn’t so easy to investigate. After much deliberation, Ye Qi decided that as soon as dawn broke the next day, he would make a trip to the palace.

Speaking of which, he didn’t know if this counted as encountering a ferryman just when wanting to cross a river. He hadn’t entered the imperial palace once in eight hundred years, yet the moment he entered, he actually stumbled upon a bribery scene between Jing Wuwei and Mo Daoyun—Jing Wuwei had given Mo Daoyun a famous sword supposedly personally forged by the divine craftsman Dong Zhi, subtly suggesting that Director Mo arrange an entrance examination slot for his daughter.

After they left, the young marquis crouching behind the decorative rocks patted the green grass fragments off his robes and walked straight into the imperial study, requesting from Shen Yao a nominal directorship for the “East Campus.”

So-called nominal… meaning he didn’t have to do anything, could arrive late and leave early or even be absent, but his salary would continue without interruption.

This type of position that aroused envy in others, which others wanted but couldn’t get—the moment Ye Qi opened his mouth, the Emperor eagerly issued the decree, even omitting the step of consulting Premier Fu.

Shen Yao finally didn’t have to worry day and night about Young Marquis He leaving Jinling at any moment.

Changling naturally knew nothing of all these twists and turns.

When she saw Ye Qi suddenly appear at Qingcheng Academy as if descended from heaven, her heart felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

…Could his relationship with Shen Yao really be so extraordinary that they’d reached the level of ruler and minister embracing each other in mutual support?

Damn it, she shouldn’t have transmitted that portion of true qi to him back then!

Thus, the sullen mood that had finally dissipated came bubbling up again.

At Qingcheng Academy’s opening ceremony, the person making speeches and grand statements was mainly still Mo Daoyun. Most of the time, Old Man Shu remained silently speechless, while Young Marquis He wore an expression of “I’m just here to sit around,” using his peripheral vision to occasionally steal glances at Changling.

Unfortunately, Changling didn’t return him a proper glance from beginning to end.

Ye Qi’s heart felt truly strange: Did I somehow provoke her again without knowing it?

“Marquis He, what do you think?” Just as his mind was wandering, Mo Daoyun’s question pulled his thoughts back.

Not having heard the previous sentence, Director He nodded, “I think that’s fine.”

Mo Daoyun nodded. “Good. Then starting today, the East Campus students’ riding and archery classes and martial arts classes will be taken over by Director He. The West Campus scholar students will still be supervised by Director Shu. Whether new students or old, you should all respect teachers and value the Way, living up to Qingcheng Academy’s cultivation.”

“…”

What happened to the nominal position?

“We respectfully receive the Director’s teachings!”

The young marquis who had only come to muddle through received a respectful collective bow from all the academy students, and his heart suddenly felt extremely hollow.

After the meeting dispersed, Changling left the great hall without looking back. Just as Ye Qi wanted to catch up, he was forcibly dragged by Mo Daoyun and the others to tour Qingcheng Academy, momentarily trapped with no way to break free.

Second Young Master Fu, immersed in joy, saw Changling turn and leave as if flying, and instinctively followed. When they reached a relatively open area, he asked: “Sister Ting, didn’t you always want to see the young marquis? Why did you run away when he came?”

Changling barely stopped her steps and turned to look at Fu Yanyang. “What was Marquis He’s previous relationship with Qingcheng Academy?”

Fu Yanyang went “uh” and said, “Haven’t heard of any.”

“Then why would he come to Qingcheng Academy to be a director?”

“How would I know? I don’t even know why Sister Ting wanted to come. But… the young marquis, no matter what absurd and preposterous things he’s doing, in the end he always succeeds.”

Changling looked at Fu Yanyang strangely. “Why do you say that?”

“Considering you’re my master, I’ll tell you secretly…” Fu Yanyang leaned close to Changling and whispered: “In the past, my eldest brother thought the young marquis was unreliable in his actions and suffered a huge setback because of it…”

Before he could finish, a figure suddenly darted in front of them. Fu Yanyang abruptly cut off his words. Looking up, he saw a young girl with braided hair excitedly pointing at Changling and laughing: “Big sister! It’s you!”

Changling froze for a moment. Wasn’t this the girl who had been performing street acts and lifting jars before…

“You’re Zhou…”

“Zhou Qin, my name is Zhou Qin. I really didn’t expect big sister would also come to take the Qingcheng Academy exam! Eh? How come I didn’t see you at all in the examination grounds today?”

“We’re Scholar Tier students,” Fu Yanyang answered for Changling. “Who are you? Are you very familiar with my Sister Ting?”

“Not familiar, not familiar. I used to perform street acts in the jianghu. When a little thief snatched my silver, it was this big sister who helped me get it back.”

Fu Yanyang’s brow slightly furrowed, seeming somewhat disdainful. “How can even street performers get into our Qingcheng Academy…”

Zhou Qin scratched her head. “I’m… quite stupid. Initially I didn’t pass. Later I got lucky—the person ranked before me was seriously injured, and they counted me in to fill the numbers, so right now I’m just a temporary academy student…”

A certain fellow temporary academy student who also got lucky: “…”

Seeing the two chatting, Changling wanted to walk straight past, but suddenly remembered something and turned back to ask: “That cloth bundle you gave me before…”

“Hm?”

“You said an old gentleman gave it to you. Can you remember what that old gentleman looked like?”

“A monk who had left home, what did he look like… I can’t really say, just a particularly kind old grandfather, and when he smiled, he had those very cute little dimples on both sides of his face…”

It was Master.

Changling’s heart trembled. “When and where did you encounter him?”

“In my hometown Linan, half a year ago.”

Half a year… If it was only half a year ago, perhaps Master was still in the Central Plains.

A thread of hope rose in Changling’s heart. If she could find Master, the other half of her internal energy that had been sealed might have hope of being unsealed. “Do you know where he went afterward?”

“I…” Zhou Qin hesitated slightly, then quickly shook her head with a smile. “Not quite sure… Does big sister know that old gentleman?”

“In the past… I received his kindness.” Seeing Fu Yanyang stretching his ears to listen, Changling didn’t say more, only saying: “It’s nothing, just asking casually.”

Zhou Qin nodded. Only after watching them walk away did she secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

After leaving Qingcheng Academy, Changling ate a meat bun at a street stall to simply deal with her hunger. Just as the sky darkened, she turned back toward the academy.

On this opening night, Jinling City’s Scholar Tier students all returned to their respective homes. Other academy students were busy rolling around in their newly assigned dormitories, while the academy directors and other assistant teachers’ duty posts—the Sanqing Hall—began dismissing people one by one.

She waited in an old cypress tree behind the hall for quite a while. After the last person locked the main gate, she unhurriedly snuck into the hall.

Mo Daoyun’s room wasn’t hard to find. Changling held a small oil lamp and walked all the way to the innermost part. Pushing open the door, she saw a calligraphic inscription hanging on the wall: “Mo Dao conquers the southeast, who says the northwest has no one.” Changling quickly entered, closed the door, and began wandering around the room.

Although she had prepared herself for the possibility of finding nothing useful… when she searched all around and truly found nothing, her heart couldn’t help but surge with disappointment.

Sure enough… to verify certain truths, she still had to face him directly and ask the person himself.

Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside the corridor.

The pace was quick and steady, neither like an old man’s nor like a young person’s.

Changling’s pupils abruptly contracted—it was Mo Daoyun.

Changling extinguished the oil lamp and immediately moved to the window. Her hand touched the frame and had just pushed open a crack when she stopped again.

She thought to herself: Isn’t this exactly a good opportunity for a face-to-face encounter?

No need to reveal her identity.

About what happened back then… as long as she inquired about a few details she knew in the capacity of a descendant of an old friend of the Yue family, she could see if he spoke truth or lies.

If it was truth, she could ask for more details later. If it was lies… then she might as well let him become a ghost on the spot.

Just as the footsteps neared the room, suddenly a hand reached in from outside the window, grasped her arm with substantial force, and pulled her out of the room.

When that hand appeared, Changling almost instinctively struck back with a palm. Hearing a familiar light cough, Changling forcibly stopped her action. In a moment of distraction, she let that person embrace her and tumble onto the green grass.

Changling looked down at the man beneath her. In the hazy moonlight, he raised the corners of his mouth toward her, revealing a smile.

How could this guy be…

Seeing Changling about to open her mouth, Ye Qi raised a finger to her lips. “Shh—”

“Who’s outside?” Mo Daoyun heard the commotion and walked toward the window.

Ye Qi rolled to the side with a “gurgle” and like a ghost popped his head up from the window, startling Mo Daoyun so much he almost struck with his sword. Upon seeing the brilliantly golden crown of the visitor clearly, “Mar-Marquis He?”

“It’s me, Director Mo.” Ye Qi leaned against the windowsill, completely blocking everything below the window.

Mo Daoyun sheathed his sword. “Why hasn’t Your Lordship returned yet?”

“I lost something when touring the Sanqing Hall, so I came to look for it…”

“Is it something important? Should I send more people to search together?”

Ye Qi waved his hand. “No need, no need, it’s just a small trinket. I found it—just dropped in this grass pile.”

A certain “small trinket” lying in the grass pile glanced up sideways. The young marquis inexplicably felt a chilling cold.

“I also remembered there was a file I hadn’t reviewed, so I came back… I should finish all my work before feeling at ease.” Mo Daoyun lit a lamp. “Would Your Lordship like to come in and sit?”

“I haven’t eaten my evening meal yet, so I won’t disturb the Director.” After Ye Qi finished speaking, he consciously moved to close the window, then thought better of it and pulled the window open again, suddenly saying: “Director Mo.”

Mo Daoyun had already sat down at the desk. Hearing this, he raised his head and saw Ye Qi’s gaze calmly spread over. “I suddenly remembered an old matter I’d like to ask Director Mo about.”

“An old matter? What old matter?”

“The old matter from eleven years ago, in the cave beneath Beiming Peak.”