Xue Yu didn’t stay in the south of the city for long. Instead, she went to a place Su You hadn’t expected.
On the glazed tile roof of Yun Ji Restaurant, Xue Yu and Su You sat shoulder to shoulder with a moderate distance between them. Looking down, they could see all the restaurants, large and small, and the bustling streets around them.
Because they had cast a small concealment technique, the bustling crowds below couldn’t see them.
She didn’t speak for a very long time. The sun gradually tilted westward from the center of the sky dome, finally scattering golden fragments across the sky. The color changed several times, eventually becoming the gentle orange of evening lanterns.
She frowned in thought, pushing through the entire matter from beginning to end over and over again, until the sunset had gently fallen across her entire body, when she suddenly turned her wrist.
During this time, she didn’t speak, and Su You didn’t disturb her with words either. He sat quietly, his robe hem swaying left and right in the wind, yet his body remained completely still. If not for his dark pupils occasionally moving slightly, he would have looked like a heavily inked portrait.
Seeing her finally show signs of getting up, Su You’s expression also became lively. He moved his lips and said softly, “Miss, the Sikong brothers and Fo Nu have already arrived at the enforcement hall.”
Xue Yu nodded. She turned slightly, looked at Su You, and asked: “Is there anything you don’t understand?”
Su You’s crow-feather-like long lashes fluttered rapidly up and down like butterfly wings, as if experiencing momentary internal struggle, then he nodded frankly: “Yes.”
He was born intelligent, and after making waves in the world, he had witnessed many treacherous landscapes. He knew well that there were always stronger people beyond the strong, that powerful individuals were everywhere, yet only in matters of intellect had he never been inferior to others.
Even after following Xue Yu, people like Chao Nian, who came from the Sacred Lands, were often confused. When executing missions toward the end, they often became too lazy to think for themselves, simply doing whatever Xue Yu told them to do. Only he could always keep up with Xue Yu’s thoughts.
Except this time.
He had thought all afternoon, vaguely sensing something, yet repeatedly getting stuck at crucial points and unable to progress.
She had said within three days, complete this mission. And they had only one mission—to find the Worldly Lamp.
The Worldly Lamp had been bought by some wealthy family in the south of the city and was connected to the alchemist who had provided the soul-borrowing evil methods years ago. They had come to Suzhou to pursue this person, had barely begun, when they encountered Liu Er’s murder and the Soul-Binding Rope incident, followed by investigating the Xie family, which led to that pregnant woman.
All this had happened in one day.
They had been in Suzhou for only one day, not even a full day.
Each incident was shrouded in suspicion.
Where was the lamp, where was the alchemist, even who was the demon that killed Liu Er—all remained unclear.
Solving the case within three days was like a fairy tale.
But the person saying this was Xue Yu.
Xue Yu never spoke without purpose, and never did things she wasn’t confident about.
“This morning, you reminded me that the great demon killing people was meant to provoke and test our strength. That statement was half correct.” Xue Yu looked down from above at the bean-sized carriages and pedestrians coming and going below: “Anyone with brains wouldn’t use this method to provoke enemies whose strength and identity they hadn’t figured out. If he’s survived until now, he can’t possibly be arrogant to that degree.”
“But he did exactly that.”
“Not only did he do it, he did it so thoroughly, even using the Soul-Binding Rope.” Xue Yu slightly raised her chin, her expression focused, trying hard to reconstruct that scene in her mind: “Not to mention how sinister the Soul-Binding Rope is, or whether it might backfire on oneself—that rope alone is an excellent spiritual treasure for capturing.”
“If he truly killed Liu Er just out of righteous indignation or on impulse, or to provoke me, there were countless methods available—subjecting him to extreme punishment, death by a thousand cuts—any of which could make life worse than death and let him taste the bitter consequences. Yet he chose the most extreme method, which has only one characteristic: eternal suffering without release.”
Xue Yu extended her slender finger, casually pointing at the Yun Ji Restaurant beneath their feet: “This restaurant has an excellent location. Once the sun rises, it will surely shine on this intersection. Liu Er, locked by the Soul-Binding Rope and transformed into a ghost soul that most fears light, would live daily under the sun’s exposure.”
“Spending a fine spiritual treasure, risking being caught by me, yet still taking such desperate measures can only prove one thing—Liu Er did something that made him lose emotional control and rational thinking.”
“He’s related to that woman.” Su You said softly, “I considered this before. The woman is pregnant, and even if she’s a concubine who can’t appear in public, she wouldn’t be without even a single servant. If they truly cared so little, why rent an estate in the south of the city to keep her?”
“But that woman—her words, actions, and aura were all perfectly normal. She’s an ordinary person.”
“Yes.” Xue Yu nodded in acknowledgment, glancing at the setting sun: “So now I have two questions—one needs Sikong Jing to answer, one needs Fo Nu to answer.”
“Let’s go back first.”
Speaking thus, Xue Yu rose and lightly leaped down from the roof, appearing on the gradually emptying street like a leaf falling from heaven. Just as Su You landed beside her, she turned back, looked at him, and said seriously: “This way of yours is very good.”
Su You was stunned.
“Not understanding is not understanding. Only when you don’t understand can I teach you properly.” Xue Yu said word by word: “If you don’t understand but stubbornly refuse to say so, even if I want to teach you, I’d have no way to begin.”
With Xue Yu’s personality, she rarely spoke even a few sentences normally. If she had just asked Su You whether he understood, she would have received an answer of understanding, she certainly wouldn’t have opened her mouth to explain all that.
In such situations, if Su You had truly pretended to understand when he didn’t, in subsequent events, he could only be like Chao Nian and others—doing whatever she said without being able to keep up with her thoughts and pace.
Xue Yu spoke as if she had experience, because she had encountered such situations more than once.
Song Heng had a good temper and character, always able to maintain selfless kindness and tolerance toward all living beings. Undeniably, this was his shining point that repeatedly attracted Xue Yu over the millennia. Even when he couldn’t keep up with her thoughts and rhythm, he only showed a kind of clumsy frankness with helpless acceptance.
But later, starting from some unknown point, that good nature became a kind of unconscious stubbornness, as if admitting he wasn’t her equal was something shameful and unspeakable. Even when there were things he didn’t understand, he absolutely wouldn’t speak up or ask questions.
Xue Yu didn’t understand.
But she was busy, very busy—too busy to ask. As long as he said “I understand,” she would never say another word, as long as he didn’t interfere with her work.
Su You came to his senses. He suddenly curved the corners of his eyes: “I won’t.”
He was a tender shoot desperately growing from stone cracks, who would grasp every opportunity to climb upward.
Seeing this, Xue Yu’s words also softened somewhat: “After I’ve asked them and confirmed my guesses, I’ll explain in detail to you.”
When returning to the enforcement hall, the Sikong brothers immediately approached from the main entrance. The elder said, “Little Brother Chao Nian notified us to wait at the enforcement hall for you, miss. Do you have clues about the Worldly Lamp?”
Sikong Jing’s junior brother also spoke timely: “If there’s anywhere we can be useful, please don’t hesitate to give direct orders, Miss Xue Yu.”
“Not needed.” Xue Yu continued walking toward the morgue without stopping, saying coldly, “Contact your master. Ask him what he’s discovered from investigating the Worldly Lamp’s origins these past few days.”
Speaking of this, Sikong Jing couldn’t even speak, only managing a bitter smile.
There was no other reason, mainly because this Purple Micro Cave Mansion’s master, though regarded by the world as an immortal figure, was too unreliable, unreliable to a degree that would anger anyone who heard his words.
A few years ago, he had casually thrown the Worldly Lamp onto Thunder Sea and never cared about it again. Later, when the Worldly Lamp was lost, he nonchalantly waved at his disciples, speaking with such casual indifference, swearing confidently that it was just a useless thing for deceiving people. But not long after, he changed his tune, urgently dispatching the Sikong brothers to find the lamp, saying that if the lamp wasn’t found, it would be a great disaster for Suzhou’s people.
When Xue Yu asked him this morning what the lamp’s use was and how it would cause a great disaster, that master stammered without being able to answer. After a long while, he said the lamp was a treasure he had obtained by chance, and since the lamp had never acknowledged a master, he wasn’t clear about these things. He said the lamp’s loss would cause great disaster because when he obtained the lamp, he had also gotten a book. The first page wrote that if one day the book glowed with spiritual light, then the lamp had changed, and they needed to quickly return the lamp beside the book, otherwise, great trouble would arise.
When Xue Yu asked what else the book contained and the lamp’s specific uses, he said he would go flip through it now.
Sikong Jing, listening on the side, felt his face burning with embarrassment.
Fortunately, after investigating all afternoon, they finally discovered something. Sikong Jing composed his expression and replied seriously: “My master just sent word saying the Worldly Lamp’s appearance changes according to its environment. Hanging on a tree, it becomes a palace lantern of novel design; placed on a table, it becomes an ordinary oil lamp.”
“The lamp’s effects have also been discovered. There are many, large and small. If the lamp acknowledges a master, it can be used as a spiritual weapon. The fire core inside can have a burning effect. Besides this, it also has the functions of concealing aura and suppressing or pacifying cold, dark things.”
Xue Yu slowed her steps slightly, asking about the most urgent matter: “The book glowing with spiritual light represents the lamp having changes—what changes?”
Sikong Jing paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was lower: “Generally, when the lamp is used normally, the book won’t change. But this lamp is special precisely because it has another use—it can follow the master’s commands to gather the dark energy and filthy things from hundreds or thousands of li around into one place, and it can conceal aura.”
Xue Yu suddenly stopped walking.
“Simply put, when used properly, this lamp is a holy object for things that can’t see light.” Sikong Jing also stopped, summarizing: “Being able to both gather dark energy and do so silently without detection—this isn’t a righteous method. Very likely, some century-old vengeful infant or ghost child is about to be born.”
“If such a thing truly happened in Suzhou city, it would indeed be a disaster for the people here.”
Xue Yu and Su You exchanged glances, almost simultaneously thinking of the woman living alone in an estate in the south of the city and her slightly protruding belly that couldn’t be hidden.
After a long silence, Xue Yu threw the Sikong brothers a sentence, “I understand,” then continued walking toward the morgue without stopping.
Inside the morgue, Shan Shu slightly lowered her head, her fingers falling one by one on Liu Er’s face, as if carefully sensing something.
During this process, Jiu Feng was thoroughly bored, fidgeting with her crystal-clear fingernails, occasionally tilting her head and collapsing precisely onto Tao Zhi’s shoulder as if overwhelmed by the stench.
When Xue Yu entered, both looked up simultaneously.
“Have you examined the body?” Xue Yu nodded to Shan Shu, asking straight to the point: “Any discoveries?”
“Indeed, there are.” Shan Shu wiped her hands, looking back at Xue Yu with an especially grave expression: “Miss A Yu asked me to come look—did you already have this suspicion?”
“Yes, but not certain.” Xue Yu hooked the Soul-Binding Rope beside Liu Er on her fingertip, observing it: “When confronting through the Soul-Binding Rope, I could sense dense demonic power from the other side. But on this corpse, that wound by the ear looks like it was pierced by a Buddhist staff, and upon careful sensing, it indeed carries hints of Buddhist techniques.”
Shan Shu straightened her body, nodding at her wearily: “Miss A Yu guessed correctly. In our Northern Wilderness, there’s a saying about monks who achieved great enlightenment but entered the mortal world due to obsession, staining themselves with human lives and killing karma. After fusing with demon blood and demon pearls to walk the world, they’re called demon monks.”
She sighed lightly, shaking her head: “Now I understand why I drew this mission.”
Upon hearing this, Jiu Feng tugged at Tao Zhi’s sleeve and laughed lazily, showing some interest: “What are you two doing, speaking in riddles?”
“Yaoyao.” Tao Zhi supported her body for the countless time, gently reminding: “Please stand properly.”
“A human is saying: ‘Good birds choose trees to perch in.’ Haven’t you heard it? I’m a phoenix—shouldn’t I rest on trees?” Jiu Feng, annoyed by his tireless actions, threatened half-jokingly: “If you move me again and mess up my hair, I’ll circle that area of yours and fill it into my Nine Phoenix Sea.”
Probably knowing her temperament, Tao Zhi naturally swallowed back the words that had reached his lips.
Good birds choose trees to perch in—the place where she should rest should be on the shoulder of the true young clan leader of the Phoenix Wood clan, who had been betrothed to her since birth, not on an ordinary peach blossom tree in the mortal world that no one cared about.