After the evening glow painted several strokes of extreme brilliance across the sky before vanishing at the horizon, the gentle evening breeze of the fourth lunar month caressed people’s faces with indescribable tenderness and warmth.

After hearing Jiu Feng’s words, Xue Yu turned to look back and discovered that Su You had unusually fallen far behind.

He was tall with a slender frame, standing beside a newly lit lantern. A long, ethereal shadow was cast from his figure. With his eyes slightly downcast, his expression was unclear. His entire being seemed about to silently drown in the tide-like darkness surging forth.

Xue Yu walked before him and said, “Su You.”

“Raise your head.”

The young man’s body stiffened for an instant. He remained silent, holding his breath for a moment. After a long while, as if unwilling to give up or harboring some stubborn purpose, he licked his dry, cracked lips and spoke with hoarse undertones: “Miss, I’m fine.”

“I…”

Xue Yu frowned, completely ignoring his various stubborn excuses of not taking himself seriously. She extended her long fingers, placing them under his smooth jawline, then applied slight pressure to lift his entire face upward.

Su You’s remaining words automatically fell silent.

Under the orange-yellow lamplight, his face looked as if it had just been pulled from water, with even his eyelashes covered in beads of sweat. When he raised his eyes to avoid Xue Yu’s gaze, those beads of sweat rolled down along his eyelids one by one, hanging precariously from his chin.

If his complexion had been an abnormal white before, now his cheeks were flushed with fever-like redness, showing a sweet, mature, peach-like, vivid color.

“This is what you call being fine?”

Xue Yu asked.

Under such a contact, Su You’s expression had nowhere to hide. He gripped his loose sleeves, and whether due to the gradually unbearable pain pulling at various parts of his body or something else, his knuckles turned a sharp white from the force.

His expression at this moment was like a child caught doing something wrong by an adult – both bewildered and anxious.

“The Demon Wu Fruit, have you used it?” As soon as Xue Yu spoke, she felt she had asked a redundant question, so she withdrew her hand and said concisely: “Take it out.”

Su You complied. The orange-yellow fruit completely occupied her palm. He watched as she frowned, lowered her eyes, and with rare clumsiness began to cast the growth-promoting magic belonging to the demon race.

When the wind blew and the lamp flickered, her half-profile was clearly cold as frost, yet he stubbornly perceived several traces of patience within.

Patience toward him.

The Demon Wu Fruit absorbed the pure spiritual power and instantly sprouted a tender shoot. As soon as the shoot stretched its form, it seemed to have its consciousness and wrapped around Su You’s wrist, drilling into his flesh with a whoosh and disappearing without a trace.

When Xue Yu looked at him again, the young man stood tall and graceful under the lamplight, revealing well-behaved obedience from his brows and eyes to the tips of his hair.

“Don’t go later. Just rest at the Law Enforcement Hall.”

This wasn’t meant as a discussion with him.

In other words, it was equivalent to an order.

This was also the reason Su You had been stubbornly enduring without speaking.

Actually, in situations like battling ghost infants, neither he nor Chao Nian and the others would be of much help. But four-and-a-half-star missions were rare – even Xue Yu had only taken on two before.

If he could participate throughout, it would also be a precious opportunity for growth and tempering for him.

He needed rapid improvement, whether in his strength or his ability to handle affairs.

And also.

In such a tense atmosphere on the verge of eruption, Xue Yu shouldn’t be distracted by anyone or anything.

If he couldn’t help, he certainly shouldn’t become a burden.

Suzhou city began to light up with thousands of lamps, and moonlight flowed down from the edge of the sky. Su You seemed dazzled by such brightness, turning aside and averting his eyes slightly, responding low and naturally: “Alright.”

When Xue Yu and the others reached that area in the southern part of the city, every household had hung up lanterns at their doors.

Because the residents were all distinguished and reputable wealthy families, the entire small alley appeared exceptionally quiet. Those coming and going were mostly off-duty servants and maids, or servant girls running errands by order. Their large group’s movement attracted frequent sideways glances from passersby.

Upon reaching the end of the alley and seeing that familiar residence, Xue Yu stopped and nodded toward those behind her: “Everyone, hide in the shadows and don’t make any noise.”

Hearing this, Chao Nian and Liang Yan, as well as the two female attendants behind Shan Shu, leaped onto nearby trees. Using the dense canopy and branches for cover, they hid themselves thoroughly and even suppressed their auras completely.

Xue Yu stepped forward to knock on the door. This time, a kind-faced elderly woman came to answer, speaking with a smile that showed the benevolence befitting her senior years: “Oh, coming, coming. Miss, you are—”

Xue Yu repeated the script she had prepared that morning.

Before long, that pregnant woman received word and was helped out by a pretty maid. She still spoke softly and gently, inviting them to sit inside.

This time, Xue Yu didn’t refuse.

The interior of the residence was simple but had been recently tidied. Everything was arranged in an orderly fashion without appearing chaotic. A few vases of early spring flowers added some pleasant natural charm to the otherwise formal reception hall.

“A great demon injured people, the culprit hasn’t been caught yet. The Law Enforcement Hall elders take this very seriously and ordered us to thoroughly investigate the southern city.” Xue Yu’s fingers rested on the rim of a freshly brewed tea cup. When she spoke, she was particularly serious – anyone could see she showed no signs of deception or abnormality. She looked calmly at the woman sitting across from her: “Such are the orders. We hope Madam will cooperate.”

“This is only natural.” The woman smiled gently at Xue Yu and Shan Shu, nodding. Her hand fell on her protruding belly, gently stroking it twice: “My surname is Luo, given name Cai. I moved here two months ago.”

“Just you alone?” Xue Yu pressed.

Luo Cai nodded. Recalling past events, her face, lively as a young girl’s, couldn’t help but show sorrow and melancholy: “My husband was born with a weak constitution and frequent illnesses. Even with daily medicine, he still couldn’t survive the last snowfall before spring arrived.”

“We knew each other since childhood and were deeply devoted as husband and wife. After he left, I spent my days in a daze, washing my face with tears. I originally thought I would spend the rest of my life in such confusion, but this child—”

“He couldn’t bear to see me suffer and came at just the right time.”

“After the pregnancy was diagnosed, the doctor said that due to excessive worry and grief during the previous period, the child’s condition was unstable. He suggested I change environments to avoid triggers and quietly recuperate, which might improve the situation.”

“It just so happened that we had this empty house in Suzhou. After much consideration, I came here.” Luo Cai said: “Strangely enough, since I arrived, the daily dull abdominal pain hasn’t occurred again. When I had doctors examine me again, they all said this child was perfectly healthy.”

The real child had probably already been killed by the ghost infant that had taken over like a cuckoo in the nest.

Xue Yu and Shan Shu exchanged glances. The latter smoothed her skirt and asked with a smile, as if making casual conversation: “Since you need to protect the pregnancy, how can you manage alone? Wouldn’t this mean being self-sufficient and personally handling all the small matters of daily life?”

“It’s not just me.” Luo Cai tucked a strand of hair at her temple and replied softly: “Previously, there was an elderly woman who had served my husband and me for nearly ten years. I was used to her service, so I brought her along too.”

“Perhaps because this residence was empty and spacious, and we two keep to ourselves, outsiders don’t notice us much and assume I’m alone.”

“Before this young lady reminded me that living alone was improper, kind neighbors nearby had already warned me about it. As this child grows and the situation stabilizes, I thought about it and indeed should hire more people to serve, which is why the residence now has these servants.”

Xue Yu listened to these words with an unchanged expression, neither showing belief nor disbelief. When Luo Cai finished speaking, she unhurriedly set down her teacup, producing a clear ringing sound.

“Madam.”

She looked into Luo Cai’s eyes and suddenly said: “According to testimonies from nearby households, they all say monks have frequently appeared in the southern city these past two months. We’ve investigated for a day but found no trace. I wonder if Madam has ever seen him?”

“A monk?” Luo Cai’s eyes widened in surprise, then she frowned in careful thought and shook her head: “I’ve never seen one. However, to protect my pregnancy, I haven’t gone out much. I only occasionally have the elderly woman move a chair to the diamond-shaped window on the wall to look at passersby outside. I can’t see faces clearly, only vaguely make out clothing and accessories.”

Having interrogated countless demons and spirits in Yedu, when Xue Yu seriously observed someone’s expression, even a subtle raising of eyes or unnatural pursing of lips could become the breakthrough to extract key clues.

But at this moment, Luo Cai’s bright and charming face showed only genuine bewilderment and surprise.

She truly didn’t know.

And she truly anticipated and looked forward to the life in her belly coming into the world.

So if they told the truth now, regardless of whether they held the Law Enforcement Hall’s token, they would very likely be driven out of the residence by the servants with sticks and brooms.

But if they didn’t speak, didn’t make her cooperate in advance and take measures, when the ghost infant was born in three days, Luo Cai might not even survive.

The priorities were clear without deep thought.

Xue Yu knew her limitations – this kind of work wasn’t suitable for her. She looked at Shan Shu: “Please trouble Miss Shan Shu to explain to Madam.”

Shan Shu nodded with a bitter smile, then stood up, facing Luo Cai, and gently spoke words that were extremely cruel for a woman about to become a mother: “Madam, it’s not that we’re tactless or offensive. The following words you may not wish to believe, but time is urgent. We hope that after hearing the whole story, you’ll think carefully and then cooperate with us to capture demons and eliminate evil.”

Facing the innocent and bewildered expression of the human woman, Shan Shu paused: “Your child has been possessed by a ghost.”

The smile on Luo Cai’s face immediately froze. She stood up with the elderly woman’s support, her form trembling, her voice uncontrollably tinged with anger: “I treated you both with kind words and cooperated with everything, never expecting that you would actually…”

Having lived a gentle life, even when angry, she couldn’t find harsh words. After pausing, she raised her voice: “I don’t know about any Law Enforcement Hall. Even if people from Sacred Lands or the imperial court came, they couldn’t make such irresponsible statements, pointing at someone’s unborn child and calling it a ghost!”

After a while, Xue Yu and Shan Shu were pushed and shoved out of the residence by strong women servants. A perfectly good door slammed shut in front of them with a bang, the impact so great that dust fell from above.

The previously smiling elderly woman also changed her expression, reproachfully saying: “Nonsense.”

In short, the two were indeed swept out, and the process was particularly awkward.

Shan Shu good-naturedly rolled up her sleeves. After hearing the low report from her female attendant behind her, she looked at Xue Yu’s expression with some concern.

Xue Yu closed her eyes as if in forbearance. When she opened them again, her face showed barely contained anger: “We won’t give the ghost infant time to grow. Set up the array now. We act at midnight – force it and the demon monk to come out.”

“Chao Nian.” She called toward the tree, then threw a gossamer-thin gauze garment into Chao Nian’s arms, instructing without lifting her eyes: “Go in now and put this on the pregnant woman inside.”

“Shark silk.” Shan Shu looked at the garment and sighed with emotion: “I thought Miss A Yu was angry and didn’t want to care about this person anymore.”

After all, those born to high positions could least tolerate offense and slight.

“No.” Xue Yu said, “Having done many missions, I’ve been shut out many times. They don’t understand these things – there’s nothing to be angry about.”

Shan Shu thought that truly strong people indeed wouldn’t become angry and humiliated over such matters.

Then what was the source of the obvious anger on her face?

Was it for this manipulated mortal woman and that innocent life that had perished?

Or was it for a certain disobedient demon youth who insisted on running around during his growth period?