As the black figure lunged toward Li Ying, Yu Fuwei swiftly pulled a peachwood dagger from his sleeve and stabbed at the figure with a backhand strike.

But the figure was exceptionally agile. Yu Fuwei’s attack only managed to slice its arm. Yu Fuwei shielded Li Ying as they turned to look, and what they saw left them both utterly astonished.

The one who had lunged at Li Ying wasn’t a cat ghost at all, but a person.

The man appeared to be in his fifties, with a dark, gaunt complexion and a beardless chin. But the strangest thing was that he crawled on all fours like an animal, his eyes emitting an eerie green glow. He looked exactly like a cat, not a human being.

Li Ying asked in disbelief, “Is that… Jiang Liang?”

Yu Fuwei gripped the peachwood dagger, keeping Li Ying behind him. “Is that the eunuch who raised the cat ghost?”

Li Ying nodded. “How did he end up like this?”

Yu Fuwei furrowed his brow deeply as he watched Jiang Liang arching his back like a cat ghost, baring his teeth and snarling. Suddenly, Yu Fuwei had a moment of clarity: “This isn’t Jiang Liang—it’s the cat ghost!”

“What do you mean?”

“When the cat ghost attacked you last time, it was seriously wounded by Cui Xun’s peachwood arrow. I presume that after being injured, its vicious nature flared up, and it turned on its master. The Jiang Liang you see now is just a shell—inside, he’s been completely possessed by the cat ghost.”

Li Ying shuddered. “So, is Jiang Liang already dead?”

Yu Fuwei nodded. “Not only is he dead, but his soul has been seized by the cat ghost. He can neither reincarnate nor pass on to the netherworld. He can only be the cat ghost’s slave for all eternity.”

Li Ying listened with wide eyes. It seemed that Jiang Liang’s fate was even more tragic than hers. She was trapped in the mortal world, unable to reincarnate, but Jiang Liang no longer had his own will and would forever remain neither human nor ghost.

Driven by the cat ghost inside his body, Jiang Liang stared at Yu Fuwei and Li Ying with glowing green eyes. On all fours, he circled them quickly, seemingly looking for an opening to attack Li Ying. Yu Fuwei gripped the peachwood sword, watching him vigilantly. Suddenly, Jiang Liang leaped behind them and then lunged toward Li Ying with lightning speed. But as fast as he was, Yu Fuwei was faster. He grabbed Li Ying’s arm and pulled her back. Jiang Liang landed on the ground, missing his target, but he had seen Li Ying’s face.

He seemed to freeze, not lunging again. Instead, in a hoarse voice, he uttered four words: “Princess… Yong’an?”

When these words came out, both Yu Fuwei and Li Ying were stunned. Li Ying said, “It’s Jiang Liang. He recognized me. He still has his own will.”

Jiang Liang’s green pupils, which had been contracted to pinpoints, gradually lost their glow, and his pupils slowly dilated. He laughed harshly, “I never expected the Empress Dowager’s most beloved Princess Yong’an would become a wandering ghost after thirty years. Retribution, retribution!”

Yu Fuwei reached out to shield Li Ying behind him. “Even if you hate the Empress Dowager, the Princess has done nothing wrong. You cannot harm her!”

“What a gallant protector.” Jiang Liang supported himself with his hands on the ground, his withered white hair scattered messily over his haggard face. His palms were rubbed raw and bleeding, yet he seemed completely numb to the pain. Looking at Yu Fuwei, who was protecting Li Ying with all his might, he chuckled, “A merchant, a princess, the living, the dead—how interesting, how interesting.”

Li Ying looked at him with pity. “Jiang Liang, while you can still control your body, stop this. Then perhaps you can still reunite with Wan Xiang in the netherworld.”

“You have no right to mention Wan Xiang!”

“I know it was my mother who killed Wan Xiang,” said Li Ying. “I can’t say that Wan Xiang brought it upon herself. Perhaps Mother’s punishment was too severe, leading to the series of tragedies that followed. But Wan Xiang cared for you deeply. If she saw you like this from the underworld, she would be heartbroken.”

“What would make her even more heartbroken is that I cannot avenge her!”

“Jiang Liang, you cannot kill my mother. If you continue like this, you’ll be devoured by the cat ghost and never find salvation.”

“Even if I can’t kill her, I can kill her most beloved daughter.” Jiang Liang’s pupils gradually returned to that eerie green pinpoint, and his smile was as grotesque as a cat’s grin. “Even if I never find salvation, I’ll make sure the Princess joins me in eternal damnation!”

With these words, he opened his mouth to reveal sharp, cold fangs and lunged at Li Ying.

Yu Fuwei pulled out a bright yellow talisman from his sleeve and threw it at Jiang Liang. The talisman landed on him, burning terrifying blisters into his skin, but he paid no attention to them. It was as if he were determined to kill Li Ying even at the cost of his life. Yu Fuwei was alarmed and was just about to raise his sword in defense when suddenly, a peachwood arrow swift as the wind, shot toward Jiang Liang.

Jiang Liang dodged sideways, but the peachwood arrow still pierced his thigh. He howled in pain and tumbled to the ground. Looking up, he saw Cui Xun riding a Kangju horse, holding a crossbow and galloping toward them. Jiang Liang cast a resentful glare at Yu Fuwei and Li Ying. Knowing he could not kill Li Ying today, he dragged his pierced leg, tiptoeing like a cat on all fours, and fled rapidly.

Cui Xun pulled on the reins, and the horse stopped. He sat astride the horse, looking coldly down at Yu Fuwei and Li Ying below. Li Ying felt inexplicably guilty, while Yu Fuwei gave an awkward smile. Just as he was about to say something, Cui Xun enunciated each word: “Yu Fuwei, do you have a death wish?”

Yu Fuwei was taken aback. He gave a forced laugh, “Lord Cui, that’s a harsh thing to say.”

Li Ying quietly defended Yu Fuwei: “Don’t blame him. I wanted to catch the cat ghost, so I forced him to bring me out.”

Hearing this, Cui Xun’s expression grew even colder. Li Ying hadn’t seen him look like this in a long time, and she was somewhat frightened. She opened her mouth to say something, but Cui Xun seemed to have no interest in listening. He turned his horse around, preparing to leave. Li Ying hurriedly said, “Cui Xun, where are you going?”

Cui Xun ignored her. Li Ying quickly ran in front of his horse and grabbed the reins. Looking up at him, she asked, “Cui Xun, where are you going?”

She held the reins with a look that said she wouldn’t let go until Cui Xun answered. Finally, he spoke, his tone flat: “It’s none of your business.”

Li Ying glanced at the bloodstains on the horse’s head from Jiang Liang. “How is it not my business? You’re going after Jiang Liang, aren’t you? Take me with you.”

Cui Xun’s voice remained flat, showing no emotion. “You have Yu Fuwei to accompany you. Why bother me?”

Li Ying was taken aback. Yu Fuwei could stand it no longer and had just uttered “Lord Cui” when Li Ying discreetly waved him off, signaling him not to continue. Though reluctant, Yu Fuwei complied with Li Ying’s wishes and said no more. Li Ying held Cui Xun’s reins and said, “Cui Xun, I want to go. Take me with you.”

She slowly released the reins and extended one hand, her eyes bright as she looked at Cui Xun. His eyes still held that frost-like coldness, but his grip on the reins tightened. He stared at Li Ying for a long while, and just when she thought he would ignore her, he silently reached out and took her wrist. Li Ying’s heart settled. She pressed her lips together, smiled faintly, and with Cui Xun’s help, mounted the horse.

Li Ying looked back at Yu Fuwei, “Mr. Yu, you should first—”

Before she could finish, Cui Xun suddenly cracked his whip. The whip struck the Kangju horse, and the animal, in pain, shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.

The Kangju horse galloped very fast. Li Ying sat on the horse with the wind whistling in her ears. Cui Xun held the reins behind her, his arms encircling but not touching her, ensuring she wouldn’t fall. Yet from beginning to end, he hadn’t said a word to her.

Only when the blood trail disappeared into a grove of trees did Cui Xun pull on the reins and stop. He frowned at the deep, dark forest ahead, squeezed his legs slightly against the horse’s belly, and the Kangju horse slowly moved forward.

In the forest, only the clip-clop of hooves on the solid earth could be heard. Li Ying bit her lip and asked, “Cui Xun, are you angry?”

Cui Xun didn’t speak. Li Ying said, “I know you’re angry.”

The person behind her remained silent. Li Ying slowly continued, “You told me to stay in the Cui residence and not go out, but I didn’t listen. I asked Yu Fuwei for help to remove the talismans from the Cui residence, and I left with him. I wanted to use myself as bait to lure out the cat ghost. That way, the cat ghost wouldn’t harm more people.”

Cui Xun finally spoke, though his voice remained as cold as water: “I would have found the cat ghost. You didn’t need to take matters into your own hands.”

“I know you would have found it, but every day the cat ghost exists, my mother is in more danger.” Li Ying paused. “And you are in more danger, too.”

Cui Xun was silent for a moment, then said, “You were in even greater danger just now.”

“I didn’t come out recklessly,” Li Ying explained. “Yu Fuwei brought many talismans and a peachwood sword. Even if you hadn’t arrived just now, I would have been fine.”

After she said this, the person behind her did not speak again for a long time. Finally, he asked, “You trust him that much?”

Li Ying was a bit confused. She said, “Although Yu Fuwei doesn’t speak very pleasantly, he’s still someone worthy of trust.”

Cui Xun’s grip on the reins unconsciously tightened. The Kangju horse, which had been clip-clopping forward, stopped. With the horse standing still, Li Ying was slightly puzzled. She looked around but didn’t notice anything suspicious. Cui Xun seemed to come back to himself and squeezed the horse’s flanks. The Kangju horse continued forward with a clip-clop. Cui Xun remained silent, and Li Ying felt unsettled. Anxiously, she said, “Cui Xun.”

Cui Xun ignored her.

“Cui Xun, I was wrong not to inform you, but I only wanted to catch the cat ghost as soon as possible.”

The moonlight was cold, casting dappled shadows through the trees. Cui Xun’s voice was distant: “You don’t need to explain to me. Your legs are your own. Go wherever you want. It has nothing to do with me.”

Li Ying froze. “Cui Xun…”

But Cui Xun didn’t answer her again. He pulled on the reins. Ahead, there was a gleaming silver sword embedded in a tree, covered in fresh red blood. A yellow talisman with vermilion writing was pierced on the sword’s tip.

Cui Xun frowned at the talisman and murmured, “This is… the North Star Evil-Breaking Talisman.”

The North Star Evil-Breaking Talisman?

Li Ying was startled. The North Star Evil-Breaking Talisman was an extremely vicious spell that only someone with profound spiritual cultivation could write. Any ghost struck by this talisman would have their soul scattered, never to be reborn. Jiang Liang’s blood trail ended here, and there was a North Star Evil-Breaking Talisman on the tree. Could there be some connection between these two things?

Suddenly, she thought of something—perhaps she and Cui Xun weren’t the only ones tracking Jiang Liang? Perhaps someone else was watching and waiting.

Blood dripped from the sword onto the ground, drop by drop. Could it be that Jiang Liang had fled here, only to be ambushed by someone using the North Star Evil-Breaking Talisman? Once the North Star Evil-Breaking Talisman was deployed, Jiang Liang had no chance of survival. If so, where was his corpse? And who had killed Jiang Liang?