The sky over Yanling Village was as thin as gauze, with stars of all sizes embedded in the deep blue curtain, appearing peaceful and serene.
After confirming that the visitors from beyond were destined to be new villagers, the village chief enthusiastically arranged accommodations for them—he had his sister, Auntie Tian’s house cleared out of empty rooms, letting the six people stay temporarily. As for future housing… well, they had all the time in the world to build more slowly.
The dwellings in this village were quite spacious. Two people sharing a room wouldn’t be cramped at all. Originally, there were only three empty rooms. When Auntie Tian learned that Changling and Ye Qi weren’t married yet, she hurriedly tidied up her daughter Aguo’s room, insisting that unmarried men and women shouldn’t share a chamber.
“A young lady’s reputation is of utmost importance. Even separate beds won’t do,” Auntie Tian said, placing a clean set of bedding on the bed. “Once we find an auspicious day, I’ll have my elder brother arrange your wedding ceremony, and then there won’t be so many taboos.”
Changling: “…”
Truth be told, she didn’t care where she slept. But Ye Qi always felt something was off about this village and was unwilling to be separated from Changling. He had specifically emphasized that they were engaged, and initially Auntie Tian had treated them as husband and wife.
After chatting for a bit, Auntie Tian noticed that while this young lady was beautiful indeed, her temperament was quite cold. She stopped making idle conversation, but before leaving, she solemnly instructed: “Everything else in our Yanling Village is negotiable, but once night falls, every household locks their doors tight. You must remember, no matter what sounds you hear, you absolutely cannot leave through this door before dawn, otherwise… evil spirits will claim your life.”
After Auntie Tian left, she knocked on the doors of the other rooms one by one, repeating these exact words three times before finally retiring to sleep with Aguo. When the courtyard fell silent, Changling heard light knocking sounds coming from outside her window. She pulled it open and, sure enough, it was Ye Qi.
Ye Qi made a gesture for silence. Since the window was too small, he squeezed through with great difficulty. Changling yawned: “Why didn’t you use the front door?”
“There’s a bell tied to your door,” Ye Qi said as he closed the window. “It’s probably meant to guard against wolves…”
Changling asked: “Guard against what wolves? Are there wolves in this village?”
The guilty party cleared his throat and changed the subject: “Did she just tell you about not going out at night…”
Changling hummed in acknowledgment. “If she hadn’t said anything, I wasn’t planning to go out. But now that she mentioned it, I’m rather curious. Should we go take a look around?”
“Let’s not act rashly yet. Though there are no ghosts or gods in this world, there’s no guarantee someone isn’t playing tricks. There’s no smoke without fire—since this village has such a saying, let’s behave ourselves tonight. We can investigate further after dawn tomorrow.” Ye Qi’s gaze swept around the room. This had originally been Aguo’s room, and the things on the table and floor were mostly children’s toys. “However, during dinner earlier, did you notice something odd about the village chief…”
Changling sat down at the table and poured two cups of water. “That village chief… should be someone trained in martial arts.”
“You think so too?” Ye Qi looked around but found nothing particularly unusual. He casually picked up a rattle-drum and sat down, taking a sip of water. “If he were just an ordinary farmer, he’d be somewhat hunched. But his wrist when using chopsticks was very nimble, his spine straight, and when he walks, his hips lead his legs—clearly he’s practiced stance training… And it’s not just him. The other villagers should also know some martial arts.”
Changling pondered briefly. “Since they were brought here by the older generation to live in seclusion, perhaps their ancestors were martial artists. Knowing martial arts isn’t that strange. But he only asked casually about our origins, and Gao Xuan and Gao Kui are both carrying weapons. Yet he took us in like this—isn’t he afraid we’re bad people?”
“Not only is he not afraid, he’s practically fearless…” Ye Qi clicked his tongue. “Earlier when I passed by Gao Kui and Gao Xuan’s room, they were already discussing how to leave once they find the treasure… I guessed right, didn’t I? Jing Wuwei must have tricked them into believing there’s treasure in these mountains.”
Speaking of treasure, Changling remembered something and said in a low voice: “This morning when we were climbing the mountain, Xu Laifeng clearly recognized you, but why didn’t he expose you later?”
Ye Qi replied: “Although I don’t know where I slipped up, he only called me ‘Young Master He’ at the time, not ‘Marquis He,’ which shows he had no intention of exposing me…”
Changling’s brow furrowed. “Then why go to all that trouble?”
“It wasn’t going to trouble,” Ye Qi said. “Our He Family Army’s Twenty-Eight Constellations Formation is quite famous throughout the realm. He knows that once I make a move, I can pass through the formation. However, if he hadn’t exposed me then, perhaps I would have pretended to be helpless to hide my identity, and then found an opportunity to come back up the mountain myself after going down… That’s why he dropped those hints. First, to tell me he’d already seen through our intentions and that going down the mountain would do us no good. Second, to a certain extent, it was also a show of goodwill…”
“Goodwill?” Changling became more confused. “If he’s someone sent by Jing Wuwei, why would he show us goodwill?”
Ye Qi smiled slightly. “I couldn’t figure it out before either—why would the mighty Master of East Sea Island be willing to serve under Jing Wuwei’s command? After interacting with him this time, I understand somewhat… Rather than saying Jing Wuwei is using him, it’s more like he’s using Jing Wuwei… Since he’s a martial arts fanatic, he naturally cares about martial arts matters. If there really is the other half of the folding fan, he only needs one look to know the complete poem. Isn’t the secret of Wu Run’s divine technique hidden in that poem?”
Seeing Changling’s brow furrow slightly, Ye Qi continued: “So Jing Wuwei’s position is completely unimportant to him. Rather than being our enemy, he might as well stand on the same side as us. If we get there first, he only needs to propose borrowing it for a look, then leave with it, and Jing Wuwei can’t do anything about it. Since that’s the case, why would he oppose us?”
Now Changling truly understood. She first nodded in sudden realization, then raised an eyebrow. “You only exchanged a few words back and forth, yet you could communicate so much hidden meaning?”
Ye Qi shook his head proudly: “Hehe, between smart people, there’s no need for excess words.”
Changling glanced at him sideways. “Oh, so you’re saying I’m stupid?”
“How could that be?” Ye Qi quickly added: “These little tricks of mine are nothing more than verbal maneuvering. How could they compare to when the heroine uses just one glance, one gesture to make me willingly bow in defeat, with no regrets even unto nine deaths?”
His last sentence was originally just teasing, but when Changling heard the word “death,” her heart sank—these past few days Ye Qi had been so lively and energetic that she’d almost forgotten he was dying.
Whether they could find the ice snake’s gallbladder was still unknown, but was Wu Run’s folding fan truly in this Yanling Village?
Ye Qi saw her expression inexplicably darken and tilted his head: “What, are you really angry?”
“No.”
“Then why the long face?”
“I already said no.” Changling rather impatiently glanced at him. “Why don’t you go back to your room?”
Hearing this, Ye Qi made an exaggeratedly coquettish expression and smiled at her: “What, are you afraid I’ll take advantage of you?”
Changling looked at him somewhat strangely.
Before, he’d always had a loose tongue, but he’d rarely joked about such things. Though he’d always treated her well, he’d never really expressed his feelings to her—but recently, he’d increasingly enjoyed making these “libertine” jokes.
Saying whatever would earn him a scolding, with no particular emotion in his tone, purely to annoy people.
As if using this method to conceal something, to downplay something.
When had it started?
Changling couldn’t recall for a moment. Seeing Ye Qi’s smiling face, she said out of nowhere: “Did you take your medicine tonight?”
Ye Qi was startled. “I did. Why?”
“Oh, then I’m not afraid.”
Now it was Ye Qi’s turn to be confused. “Not afraid of what?”
“Not afraid of you taking advantage of me.” Changling rose leisurely and walked to the bed. “The beds in this village are more spacious than ordinary beds. Two people lying down would be more than enough. Since you’re worried about this village, why don’t we sleep in the same bed tonight?”
Ye Qi’s heart skipped a beat. “Ah?”
“Oh, but you definitely wouldn’t dare. Young Master Ye’s verbal skills are unmatched in the world, but his courage is as small as a needle point…” Changling returned a look of “using his own medicine against him.” “So nothing you say should be taken seriously.”
Seeing Changling cast him a mocking glance, the young marquis’s long-dormant pride blazed up. “Who says I don’t dare?”
With that, Ye Qi strode boldly to the bedside, kicked off his shoes, and quite shamelessly climbed onto the bed. He rolled over to make room, patted the mattress, and challenged: “I’m lying down. Why aren’t you coming up yet?”
Changling curved her lips. “I don’t like wearing too many clothes when I sleep.”
As she spoke, she untied her sash and removed her outer robe, revealing only a milk-white undergarment. Though this silk inner garment covered what needed covering, it was as thin as gossamer. The woman’s smooth, lustrous skin showed faintly through it, and when she bent down, one could even glimpse the valley between her breasts—it was simply maddening, making one wish…
Ye Qi hadn’t expected her to actually lie down beside him so brazenly. He instinctively wanted to turn his head away, but this time, for some reason, his eyes were completely out of his control, drowning in hers. Even his breathing grew heavier. “Do you know this kind of joke can’t be made lightly?”
“Making jokes?” Changling blinked. “I never make jokes…”
He suddenly threw back the covers and pressed his whole body against hers. Their burning bodies touched, hearts separated only by thin layers of skin. This time he didn’t need to use his hands to feel each other’s heartbeat. His voice grew husky: “Your heart is beating so fast…”
Changling tilted her head back slightly, gazing at that handsome face less than an inch from her own. That strange feeling from the carriage surged up again. “I asked you before if this is what it means to be moved…”
Before she could finish, the next moment, an undeniable presence rushed toward her as he captured her lips.
Unlike the feather-light touch of last time, this kiss carried a hint of plunder—rubbing and grinding, tender yet tingling. Changling’s mind went slightly blank. She suddenly felt somewhat flustered and instinctively wanted to push him away, but when her hands pressed against his chest, somehow, she couldn’t muster the strength.
Gradually, his movements slowed, becoming gentle and lingering. He traced along her neck toward her right ear, his fingers gliding up from her palm along her wrist. Suddenly, he touched that cold scar. His body stiffened and he stopped.
His knuckles pressed against the bed turned white as he abruptly came to his senses—what am I doing?
She’d lived a solitary, bitter life. All those she’d cherished had left her one after another. Only because she didn’t know she had emotions did she not know suffering. And he, a dying man, why should he burden her and make her taste the pain of losing someone dear again?
Ye Qi hurriedly left her body, practically fleeing from the bed in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I… I lost my head for a moment…”
An awkward yet indescribable ambiguous atmosphere permeated the air.
Changling sat up slightly dazed. The palpitations lingered, the scorching breath lingered, but her mind couldn’t keep pace with her racing heart. For a moment she too felt confused—what just happened to me? Wasn’t I just trying to tease him?
“Who… who told you to lie beside me dressed like that… I’m a normal man after all, and you’re so devastatingly beautiful. Who could remain calm and unmoved upon seeing you?” Ye Qi resumed his devil-may-care demeanor, quickly waving his hands. “Hurry up and put your clothes back on, otherwise I can’t guarantee I won’t do something even more outrageous…”
“You’re saying your rapid heartbeat is a reaction any normal man would have?” Changling asked seriously: “Then what about me? When I see you, I always involuntarily feel my heart clench—is that normal too?”
Ye Qi looked at her clear eyes reflecting the light, then turned his back. Finally, he gritted his teeth and laughed: “Isn’t that obvious? This marquis is so handsome and dashing, and I’ve treated you… quite well. You were always disguised as a man before, no one ever did these things to you… Suddenly having such intimate contact, who wouldn’t have their heart pound? But this kind of attraction… it’s only temporary. After a while it returns to normal. If we insist this is being moved by love, that’s… that’s too far-fetched.”
Young Marquis He naturally didn’t realize his nonsensical explanation was what was truly far-fetched.
But to Changling, who knew nothing of romance or intimacy, it seemed to make some sense.
Changling thought for a moment and said: “But you were willing to die for me…”
“That’s because this life of mine was saved by you in the first place. We who roam the jianghu place righteousness above all—it’s only natural.” Ye Qi took a deep breath, adjusted his facial expression, turned back with a smile. “Just like at Dazhao Temple, when you were willing to jump out and take that palm strike for me, then desperately fought the four great monks alone—could it be you already liked me back then?”
Changling froze.
At that time, she’d only known him for a few days. Saving him had been for the sake of his ten years of bitter searching.
Changling furrowed her brow thoughtfully. This time, her mind roughly understood, but her heart vaguely felt something was wrong.
Ye Qi saw her lost in deep thought and added: “Besides, even Old Man Ji said that if you truly experience romantic feelings, all your martial arts would be restored. Do you feel your internal energy has returned now?”
Changling tried circulating her dantian. Her true qi still showed no change.
Seeing her remain silent for so long, her face written with “so that’s how it is,” Ye Qi quickly sighed several times. “Alright, I admit I’m just a verbal hero who can’t compete with you, Second Young Master Yue. I’ll roll back to my room right now. Hey, but don’t sleep too deeply. If anything happens, remember to call out. I’ll be the first to come find you… seeking protection.”
Changling watched impassively as the young marquis squeezed out through the window. After a moment, she quietly lifted the window and gazed at the opposite room for a long time, inexplicably curving her lips.
Whether she had romantic feelings or not, she didn’t know. What she did know was that this person was very important to her. Very important.
Only after the light across the way went dark did she finally return to bed.
That night passed quite peacefully. She heard no strange sounds. When dawn broke dimly, everyone woke up one after another. Auntie Tian steamed a large basket of meat buns and served them with eggs and pumpkin porridge. Breakfast was quite delicious.
At least it appeared so.
Ye Qi kept stealing glances at Changling from the corner of his eye. Finding her expression unchanged, as if she hadn’t taken last night’s incident to heart at all, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Yet at the same time, an indescribable sense of loss inexplicably arose.
Several emotions intertwined back and forth. Though they didn’t show on his face, his actions betrayed him—Aguo stared at him in amazement and said: “Immortal Brother, your bowl is empty. What are you drinking—air?”
Ye Qi bit his own tongue, wincing in pain, then calmly set down his bowl: “I just found this bowl so exquisite I was admiring it carefully.”
Aguo said: “Old Uncle Chen from next door made this. If you like it, I’ll have him teach you later.”
Ye Qi nodded repeatedly. “Excellent, excellent.”
Xu Laifeng and You San looked quite spirited. They’d probably been exhausted from climbing the mountain and busy catching up on sleep, so they hadn’t wandered about. But throughout the meal, they still hadn’t seen any sign of Gao Kui. When asked, Gao Xuan had no idea: “I got up late. When I woke, I didn’t see him. Could he have gone out for a stroll first?”
Since they’d infiltrated this village with different ulterior motives, missing one or two people at breakfast wasn’t strange—presumably he’d gone treasure hunting impatiently. Xu Laifeng saw Auntie Tian’s worried expression and quickly laughed it off: “I think I heard some noise this morning. Brother Gao probably went out early to properly appreciate your village’s scenery. Just save a couple of steamed buns for him.”
Hearing this, Auntie Tian suspected nothing. Seeing they’d all eaten their fill, she smiled: “Our village isn’t large. You might run into him just walking around. In a bit, I’ll have Aguo and Adou show you around. We’ll all be fellow villagers from now on, so you should get familiar with the place.”
Ye Qi automatically ignored the phrase “fellow villagers” and smiled: “Who’d have thought little Aguo, despite her young age, could serve as a guide? This humble one is most impressed.”
Aguo giggled at his teasing. “Immortal Brother, you talk so funny.”
Yanling Village truly wasn’t large. A complete tour wouldn’t take even an hour. Basically every few steps was another household, each with their own rice paddies and livestock. Several clear streams converged into a river through the village, with fish and shrimp clearly visible in the water. Though there was no market, many villagers set up stalls at their doorsteps selling goods—clothing and shoes, everything one could need. Of course, the so-called selling was all barter, since the village chief couldn’t mint copper coins—all in all, though the sparrow was small, it had all five vital organs. The entire village was like a pearl embedded in a mountain hollow, pure and leisurely.
If one truly planned to live a life unconcerned with worldly affairs, Yanling Village would be a decent choice.
Unfortunately, none of those present had any heart for pastoral retreat. The more they toured, the gloomier their mood became—no matter how they looked at it, this village didn’t seem like it could hide any treasure.
Brother Adou led them around all morning. Feeling he’d introduced everything that needed introducing, he was about to head back when Gao Xuan couldn’t help asking: “Do you really only have these… fields and such here? No other places at all?”
“There’s also the surrounding mountains, but there’s nothing much to see up there either.” Brother Adou furrowed his brow. “What else did you want to see?”
Xu Laifeng said: “Nothing, we just haven’t seen Gao Kui all morning and find it strange. We’re wondering if he might have gone somewhere else…”
Brother Adou scratched his head, unable to think of anything. Aguo exclaimed: “Could that big uncle have gone to the temple?”
Everyone’s spirits lifted at the mention of a temple—this tiny village even had someone build a temple?
This village’s temple wasn’t actually built at all, but rather a large cave carved into the mountain wall. Outside the cave, ancient trees embraced it, flowers and plants clustered around it, and a stream flowed down from the mountain.
Inside the cave, a Buddhist statue several zhang tall was carved into the stone wall. Below it sat a long sandalwood table with incense burners and all the necessary implements, though relatively simple. When they entered, two villagers happened to be kneeling on cushions, offering incense and prayers, mostly for peace and health.
The Buddha statue held a treasure vase, its expression solemn and serene. It was even more lifelike than the divine images in ordinary temples. Most remarkably, this image appeared to be embedded from within the stone wall—what divine craftsmanship must have created such a masterpiece.
Ye Qi looked around and discovered a large bronze bell hanging from the cave ceiling. Beside the bell stood a bamboo ladder—presumably the monks here had to climb to the highest point to ring it daily. He inexplicably frowned, thinking this thing couldn’t be placed a bit lower? One careless slip and it would be death or severe injury.
You San looked east and west but saw no monks. He asked oddly: “Do you have a temple here with no monks?”
Brother Adou rolled his eyes. “Of course we have them. Abbot Liaozhen is the most venerable and respected high monk in our village.”
His words had barely fallen when they heard someone say: “Amitabha.”
Everyone turned toward the voice and saw a gray figure slowly walking out from behind the Buddha statue. It turned out there was another small cave behind it. When Gao Xuan curiously approached for a closer look, he saw it was a tiny room. The old monk emerged slowly, his face full of benevolent kindness: “Are the benefactors the new villagers?”
Brother Adou and Aguo called out in unison with smiles: “Greetings, Master Liaozhen.”
Master Liaozhen nodded and smiled at the two children. Xu Laifeng and the others, seeing the abbot appear, naturally bowed respectfully. Liaozhen returned the courtesy with hands pressed together. “This old monk heard yesterday that extraordinary guests descended from heaven. I didn’t expect to meet you so soon today. You all possess exceptional skills—your coming to reside here is truly a blessing for Yanling Village.”
Seeing this old monk could tell at a glance they were all martial artists, everyone secretly admired him. Ye Qi smiled amiably: “We truly didn’t expect such a uniquely styled Buddhist temple could exist in Yanling Village. Where might the temple’s other disciples be?”
Master Liaozhen smiled slightly: “Oh, this temple has only one monk—this old monk.”
“…”
A temple with only one monk—if you’re not the abbot, who else would be?
Ye Qi was about to ask something else when suddenly a scream came from outside: “Master! This is terrible! The evil spirit—the evil spirit has appeared again!”
Everyone’s hearts tightened at these words. They immediately rushed outside the cave. Near the temple, by the stream, several people stood trembling in terror, staring at a figure lying on the shore rocks.
Xu Laifeng ran ahead and with one glance saw who it was.
It was Gao Kui.
His hands draped over a round stone, his head twisted at an odd angle, mouth gaping wide with teeth fully bared, both eyes filled with red blood vessels. Blood of a dark red color flowed from all seven orifices.
Anyone could see the man was already dead. This was a corpse.
No, half a corpse.
Only when they passed the round stone did everyone see clearly—Gao Kui had only his upper half stuck to the ground. His lower half had vanished completely.