The Yun Ji Restaurant was in the west of the city, while Xue Yu was in the south. After learning of the demon harming people, she and the Sikong Jing brothers took shortcuts by leaping across rooftops, spending a full half hour to rush there.

By the time they reached the restaurant where the incident occurred, the sky had completely brightened.

Few people lived in the south of the city—all wealthy families with many rules—so nothing seemed amiss there. But once on the streets, Suzhou revealed the bustling side of a great city. Hawking and peddling cries chased from street to street, restaurants and inns of all sizes stood in rows, and people sat along both sides of the windows drinking tea and chatting. Everywhere the eye could see presented a scene of prosperity and peace.

Only the Yun Ji Restaurant, where the incident had just occurred, was empty on both floors. Those bold enough to love watching excitement ran to the neighboring restaurant, hiding behind curtains to observe. Other passersby all avoided the area from far away, their steps swift as if oiled.

When Xue Yu and the others lightly descended from the rooftop, they glanced down at the situation directly below.

The victim lay dead right in front of the Yun Ji Restaurant’s main entrance, lying stiffly straight. Dark red blood seeped continuously from skin exposed to the air, and both eyes bulged outward, wide and round, as if having seen something that made the heart and soul tremble.

The death was particularly horrifying.

Surrounding the deceased were Chao Nian, Qing Luo, and others. Besides them, there were also three to five disciples wearing Suzhou enforcement uniforms, swords at their waists. Though not old, they appeared serious. About ten people formed a circle, completely concealing the deceased, as if deliberately hiding some terrifying aspect.

Seeing her arrival, Chao Nian breathed a complete sigh of relief. He pulled the enforcement hall disciples standing beside him over a bit, slightly filling his position, then moved close to Xue Yu and quickly said: “Miss, the situation here isn’t right. When the incident occurred, we had just gone upstairs and taken our seats when Su You tilted his head. Before he could say anything, a scream came from outside. We hurried downstairs, and when we came down, the person was still alive.”

“In the blink of an eye, he collapsed right before our eyes.”

Xue Yu glanced at the noisy surrounding environment and frowned: “Why just let him lie here like this?”

“It’s not that.” Speaking of this, Chao Nian’s voice grew lower and lower: “We can’t move him.”

“He’s like he’s been nailed to the ground. Even with more than ten of us exerting force, we can’t move him.”

At this moment, the leading disciple from Suzhou’s enforcement hall stepped forward. Seeing Xue Yu, Sikong Jing, and the others, he cupped his hands in salute and said methodically: “Greetings to all distinguished guests.”

Slightly larger cities all had enforcement halls. The disciples in the enforcement halls were transferred from various nearby sects, specifically to resolve matters involving cultivators fighting each other or minor demons and spirits causing trouble.

For more serious cases with worse influence, they would report to the locally famous sects. After resolving the matter, whether the troublemaking cultivators or demons, ghosts, and evil spirits, all would be handed over to the Sacred Lands for disposal according to rules.

Therefore, in a certain sense, the enforcement halls were subordinate departments of the Sacred Lands.

Xue Yu walked forward several steps and suddenly smelled an extremely nauseating stench, like a putrid ditch that had been stagnant for over ten years stretching before her. The smell came suddenly, and those surrounding the corpse breathed it in solidly. Several disciples with poor composure couldn’t maintain their expressions and turned to retch.

Chao Nian was slightly better but still couldn’t help coughing heavily several times before barely suppressing that nauseating feeling. Qing Luo was a cat demon with naturally keener senses of smell than humans. Suddenly encountering this, her face went pale from her eyes to her neck, and she only felt better after holding her breath deeply.

Only Su You’s expression remained unchanged, quietly withdrawing his gaze from the Sikong Jing brothers.

He faced the deceased, looking down from above, his pupils containing complete coldness and indifference. Only when he noticed some change in the deceased did his eyes show slight fluctuation. He turned slightly and called to Xue Yu: “Miss.”

Xue Yu seemed to sense something and quickly stepped forward.

She saw that the deceased, who had been lying stiffly, began to rot at a visible speed starting from the soles of his feet. Where the strange and heavy black patterns passed, flesh melted like water into pulp, flowing down mixed with purplish-black blood, so foul that breathing even once required tremendous determination.

In just the blink of an eye, only a pile of twisted white bones remained of the deceased’s lower body.

“This, this…” Sikong Jing followed and looked, saying: “This way of dying is unheard of.”

Seeing that the deceased’s entire body was about to be eroded, Xue Yu half-crouched down and placed her palm on his abdomen without hesitation.

More than ten pairs of eyes all contracted at this moment.

Almost the instant her fingers touched the clothing, thick frost covered the deceased’s entire body, with spiritual light flickering on and off, as if engaged in some kind of tug-of-war struggle with those dancing black patterns.

After a while, everything returned to calm. The frost on the deceased remained undiminished, while the black patterns embedded deep into the skin, temporarily settling quietly like a defeated army.

Only then did Xue Yu have time to carefully examine the deceased’s face and probe the condition of his internal meridians. She turned to ask the enforcement hall disciples who had come: “Have you figured out the deceased’s background and name?”

The leading enforcement hall disciple shook his head and smiled bitterly: “When we received the news and rushed here, we didn’t expect the nature to be so vicious. Afterward, the corpse couldn’t be moved, so we could only guard here. We haven’t had time to investigate the deceased’s identity.”

“Indeed, it can’t be moved.” Xue Yu’s slender finger hooked through the air: “A Soul-Binding Rope is wrapped around it.”

The enforcement hall disciples didn’t understand what a Soul-Binding Rope was, but Chao Nian, who grew up in the Sacred Land, knew. He suddenly drew in a breath, and regardless of that suffocating smell, he also half-crouched down, murmuring: “Even using a Soul-Binding Rope—what kind of deep hatred must this be?”

“Miss, what do we do now?” Chao Nian looked at this troublesome corpse, then swept his gaze over the increasing number of onlookers around, saying: “Just leaving it on the street like this probably isn’t appropriate either.”

Xue Yu waved her hand very lightly toward them, her voice clear and cold: “Everyone, step back.”

Thus, a circle of space was left around the deceased.

“Su You.” Xue Yu raised her eyes and pointed to the position beside her: “Come here.”

Under Su You’s long lashes, his eyes flashed like two stars beginning to tremble, then he did as told. The two half-crouched side by side, their light-colored robe hems touching the ground and staining with spots of blood, occasionally overlapping and intertwining like matching custom patterns.

“The deceased is around thirty or forty years old, the fabric is coarse cloth, poor family conditions, sturdy and powerful build, has done hard labor for years.” Xue Yu observed, occasionally lifting the deceased’s arm: “No spiritual power fluctuations on the body—an ordinary mortal.”

“The Soul-Binding Rope is a sinister object. Those bound by it will have their souls remain in the same place for eternity, unable to reincarnate, unable to be reborn, never to find liberation.” Xue Yu pointed somewhere in mid-air: “Go touch it.”

Su You obediently extended his hand, reaching in the direction she indicated. Soon, his fingertip felt a thick rope knot.

“Ordinary people who don’t know magic can’t see it, and those who know magic but don’t know about Soul-Binding Ropes won’t notice it either.” Xue Yu looked at him, her beautiful almond eyes clear and cold. As if afraid he wouldn’t understand, she spoke with particular care and seriousness: “People locked by the Soul-Binding Rope have bodies heavy as mountains and cannot be moved, while those bound will turn to pus within half an hour.”

“If this body had completely turned to water just now, then he would be bound here for eternity.”

Xue Yu didn’t like to speak much. Most of the time, she remained silent. People like Chao Nian and Qing Luo, following by her side, could learn as much as they could comprehend on their own. Even if she laid out and explained everything in detail, they couldn’t digest it all in a short time, so Xue Yu simply didn’t waste her breath.

Those she would teach so seriously and properly—besides Chao Hua, there was only Su You.

Even Song Heng from her previous life only occasionally received a few words of guidance, with Xue Yu worrying more about his cultivation matters.

“Chao Nian said you sensed something before the person died.”

“Tell me about it.” Xue Yu said, “What exactly happened just now? How did the person die?”

From Su You’s angle, he could see the curve of her long eyelashes, covered with a layer of frost-like crystal clarity that quickly became trembling droplets in the sunlight, falling to the ground.

Just like her as a person, on the surface appearing cold, icy, merciless, but only after contact could one vaguely perceive that handful of water-like inclusive nature that had melted within.

Su You turned his head, his gaze falling on the Yun Ji Restaurant’s signboard, as if trying hard to recall every subtle disturbance: “Nothing unusual. The person who came had considerable cultivation. The reason I could sense it was because I—”

His voice became lighter: “I’m naturally sensitive to killing intent.”

A monster that was neither demon nor ghost, naturally incompatible with the world, to survive, one must have some abilities different from ordinary people.

Xue Yu looked at him steadily for a moment, then said: “There’s only one way to resolve the Soul-Binding Rope. Today I’ll teach you.”

She stood up, her Lingxian dress outlining fine waistlines. Her beautiful eyes swept over the crowd behind her as if examining something, her voice suddenly turning cold: “Chao Nian, clear the crowd.”

Chao Nian hesitated reluctantly. As he passed Su You, he made faces and whispered, “The way to resolve the Soul-Binding Rope is to compete with whoever set the rope. We don’t know anything about that demon’s background—and Miss still has injuries that haven’t been treated with medicine.”

Su You slightly moved his lips: “Call Jiu Feng and Shan Shu.”

Chao Nian blinked rapidly.

After he slowly passed by, Su You moved to Xue Yu’s side and said gently, “Miss, we just arrived in Suzhou, and this kind of thing happens. It’s hard to say the person behind this doesn’t have the provocative intent of giving us a show of force. Setting up the Soul-Binding Rope might be to probe our strength in advance.”

“Then let him probe thoroughly.”

Xue Yu coldly lowered her eyes. Her left hand moved to her right side, lightly and slowly lifting, as if instantly opening some kind of switch. Dense layers of seals peeled away layer by layer, and the temperature in the air almost immediately plummeted.

It was now early spring season with all things reviving. When sunlight fell, it was warm and soft, melting into people’s bones. But at this moment, though the sun still hung high and golden fragments of light struck the eaves and wall corners, creating glass-like seven-colored hues, everyone standing in the light and shadow simultaneously broke out in fine, dense goosebumps.

From the cold.

Light and surging spiritual power poured from Xue Yu’s palm, transforming into a snow-colored arrow. The arrow had a slender body, crystal clear and transparent. Its tail trembled and hummed from being filled with some unbearable force, then heavily fell at an unexpected moment.

This strike made heaven and earth change color.

The arrow fell in mid-air, confronting some unknown force. The snow color seemed tainted by some ominous power, starting from the bottom and winding up with black patterns identical to those on the deceased.

Xue Yu’s expression remained unchanged. Her long sleeves were blown by the alley wind like two drifting clouds, while vast spiritual power transformed into some ancient formation in the air, firmly imprisoning that Soul-Binding Rope.

Before long, a crisp “crack” sound spread through the air.

Everyone looked up to see a strange rope that seemed cast from bronze but bore coarse hemp knots that fell to the ground.

The entire process took less time than anyone had imagined.

All those deadlocked confrontations and responsive assistance scenarios had no chance to appear. Those hands, white as jade, cleanly and decisively severed everything.

Outside the crowd, Jiu Feng, who had received Chao Nian’s message and rushed over excitedly to watch the commotion, immediately looked extremely displeased.

She angrily turned around, looking at Tao Zhi: “What did that little brat Chao Nian say? He called me to help, right? Right?”

“You saw it all, didn’t you?” She glanced toward Xue Yu’s direction, her eyes almost rolling to the sky: “With this kind of strength! This kind of strength—what the hell am I supposed to help with? If I’d arrived any later, the demon on the other end of the rope would probably have been frozen into ice shards by her.”

“No way.” Jiu Feng looked at her palms, becoming more puzzled and self-doubting as she spoke: “It’s only been a few years since I’ve been out—have Sacred Land inheritors already reached this level? Is it just Xue Yu who’s this strong, or are they all this strong?”

After speaking, she quieted down. After a moment, her bright and flamboyant flower-like face showed a listless expression: “Looking at it this way, once we find that alchemist, I’ll probably have to return to the Demon Capital for secluded cultivation again.”

Those in the outer circle watched like flowers in fog, unable to understand clearly, but Jiu Feng, possessing a top-tier bloodline from the Demon Capital, immediately perceived the powerful force contained in that attack and changed color because of it.

Within the ancient spirit formation, Xue Yu stood in place with vast winds blowing. The ice and snow patterns in her forehead had not yet disappeared. When she lowered her eyes, she was like a deity descending to the mortal world.

Then, the deity crouched down, picked up that section of rope, and placed her five scallion-like slender fingers over the deceased’s protruding eyes, covering them with his eyelids.

Without sympathy, without pity—this subtle action stemmed solely from the cultivation flowing in her bones and respect for people.

Respect for an ordinary mortal with a hideous death.

At that instant, Su You almost frantically averted his gaze, not daring to look a second time.