Lu Tong returned to the quarters at the end of the long corridor and lightly knocked on the door.

Yin Zheng, waiting at the door, quickly pulled it open a crack, and Lu Tong stepped in swiftly.

Yin Zheng looked at her nervously: “Miss, is everything taken care of?”

Lu Tong made a sound of agreement.

Only then did Yin Zheng breathe a slight sigh of relief. She helped Lu Tong remove her cloak and peeled off the oilcloth covering her shoes, taking them to burn carefully under the fire.

“Miss, that incense…” Yin Zheng asked again.

“I scattered it in the ditch on the way back. The rain is heavy tonight; the water will wash away any traces.”

Yin Zheng nodded, now completely relieved: “That’s good.”

These quarters in Wuhuai Garden, passing through the tree-lined path in front could directly access the abandoned side hall of Wan’en Temple. Though the path was somewhat roundabout, it had the advantage of being concealed. When Du Changqing first mentioned his childhood pranks, Lu Tong had made a mental note.

After all these years, the small path hadn’t changed.

The burned “Victory Over a Thousand Cups” from the shrine had all been disposed of and replaced with ordinary incense ash. The ashes of “Victory Over a Thousand Cups” had long been thrown into the ditch; tonight’s heavy rain would wash away all traces.

As for Ke Chengxing…

Lu Tong changed out of her inner clothes and asked Yin Zheng: “How is Wanfu?”

“He came back early,” Yin Zheng answered softly. “He’s playing cards with the servants in the corner courtyard.”

Lu Tong nodded and walked toward the couch: “Let’s sleep.”

Yin Zheng was startled: “Sleep now?” She had many questions she wanted to ask Lu Tong, but seeing Lu Tong had already gotten on the couch, she could only give up. The smoke from burning oiled paper in the room dissipated with the wind. Yin Zheng closed the windows, extinguished the lamp, and climbed onto the couch to sleep herself.

Perhaps it was the rainy weather that made for good sleep, or perhaps it was the temple bells that soothed the ear, but Lu Tong slept deeply.

She had a very long dream.

In her dream, it was her first year following Yun Niang to Luomei Peak.

Luomei Peak was beautiful. In winter, snow filled the mountains, red plum branches bent under its weight, poetry could be found everywhere, and an entire ridge was covered in plum blossoms.

Yun Niang wore a peach-red sable fur jacket, her black hair coiled in a high bun, sitting before the courtyard brewing medicine.

The bitter fragrance of the medicinal soup filled her nostrils as Lu Tong sat on a small stool inside the house, silently waiting for Yun Niang to finish brewing the new medicine and bring it for her to drink.

On the table sat a beautiful purple clay incense burner that Yun Niang had bought from down the mountain. Fine incense threads burned inside, their fragrance rich and deep.

She waited for nearly half an hour but didn’t get to try the medicine. Instead, Yun Niang told her to go gather some aconite from the mountainside.

At this time of year, the mountain paths were treacherous. By the time she finished gathering herbs and returned from the mountainside, it would certainly be very late. To avoid wasting time, Lu Tong hurriedly headed down the mountain carrying a bamboo basket.

She feared moving too slowly, worried that by the time she returned, it would be dark. Wild beasts often appeared on the mountain at night in winter; encountering prowling wolves would be very dangerous.

But after gathering the herbs, on her way back, Lu Tong suddenly felt her body go weak and she collapsed to the ground.

She couldn’t walk anymore, nor could she call out for help. After struggling to crawl to a patch of mud, she couldn’t move at all, and could only watch helplessly as the sky darkened and the moon rose from behind the mountains.

Everything was covered in silvery white snow, with red plum blossoms like blood in the distance. She heard wolves howling in the forest, and in the adjacent graveyard, bluish-purple phosphorescent fires gradually appeared, ghost fires glowing one after another.

Lu Tong trembled in fear, unable to move or call out, cold and hungry, lying like a rigid corpse among the wild graves, gritting her teeth until dawn.

The next day, as the sky brightened, Lu Tong’s entire body was as stiff as stone. However, perhaps because she had dressed heavily before going out, she somehow hadn’t frozen to death. And because the ghost fires in the graveyard had kept wild beasts away, she had inadvertently preserved her life.

When she finally dragged herself and the bamboo basket back to the small courtyard, Yun Niang was sitting at the table eating breakfast. Freshly made red bean glutinous rice cakes steamed in the air and lotus heart drink had been sweetened with honey to remove the bitterness.

Seeing Lu Tong’s bedraggled appearance, she was somewhat surprised. She wiped her mouth clean with a handkerchief before walking over to Lu Tong, looking her up and down, and asking: “How did you end up in this state?”

Lu Tong replied woodenly: “…Halfway there, I suddenly lost all strength in my body and couldn’t speak.”

Yun Niang questioned her carefully about the circumstances at the time, then finally broke into a pleased smile: “In that case, the new medicine is a success.”

She picked up the exquisite purple clay incense burner from the table, inhaled rapturously, and said: “Yesterday after I made this smoke, I wasn’t sure of its effectiveness. I didn’t expect that just smelling it briefly would affect you by the time you reached the bottom of the mountain. Though it still needs some adjustment to take effect faster.”

She was lost in thought about the newly created poison smoke, and only after a long while noticed Lu Tong standing to the side. She then spoke to Lu Tong with a kind expression: “You’re fortunate you didn’t freeze to death. You’ve worked hard this time; there’s food on the table, go eat quickly.”

Lu Tong responded woodenly and climbed onto the stool, grabbing the glutinous rice cakes from the table and wolfing them down.

She was simply too hungry and too cold.

Behind her, Yun Niang continued speaking: “Body rigid, mouth numb, unable to move, yet mind clear, as if drunk, surpassing the effect of a thousand cups of strong wine. Let’s call it ‘Victory Over a Thousand Cups.'”

Victory Over a Thousand Cups…

As if hearing distant temple bells ring clear, accompanied by someone’s screaming and shouting, Lu Tong suddenly opened her eyes.

Sunlight filtered through the carved wooden window lattice, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

After a night of rain, the sun had risen in clear skies.

Yin Zheng hurried in from outside: “Miss, something’s happened.”

Lu Tong looked at her.

She said softly: “Someone died in the temple.”

Someone had died at Wan’en Temple.

It had rained all night, and the mountain temple was quiet. Early this morning, when the monks went to move the turtles and soft-shelled turtles needed for the ceremony to the hall, they discovered a person had drowned in the water vat.

This incident shocked everyone in the temple. On the night before the Blue Lotus Ceremony, a death in the Buddha hall seemed an ill omen no matter how you looked at it.

When Lu Tong and Yin Zheng left their room, they found Wuhuai Garden in chaos. The female pilgrims had all come out of their rooms upon hearing the news, each wearing an expression of fear.

Someone next door was asking: “Did you hear? Someone died in the temple last night, and they were from our Wuhuai Garden!”

Another person said: “From our side? Who was it?”

“Don’t know, the authorities are questioning people now. Amitabha Buddha, why did someone have to die at this time?”

Lu Tong ignored the discussions around her, only looking ahead to where constables in black uniforms were hurrying toward the side hall.

As she watched, suddenly a voice came from behind: “Doctor Lu?”

Lu Tong paused and looked back.

At the entrance to Wuhuai Garden, in the fresh sunlight under the weeping willows, stood a young man in a black round-collared narrow-sleeved brocade robe. His black hair was bound with a gold crown, his features as refined as jade and gold, exceptionally handsome.

He was still holding a cluster of fresh willow twigs, and seeing Lu Tong look over, he smiled brilliantly and said: “We meet again.”

Lu Tong was slightly stunned.

It was none other than the World Son of the Marquis of Zhaoning, Right Commander of the Palace Guard, Pei Yunying.