By this point, even the slowest to catch on could guess what was happening. Everyone was gripped with fear—even the Wang family’s young child, who had earlier been fussing now and then in his mother’s arms, sensed the tension about to snap and no longer dared to cry or fuss.

For a moment the entire garden fell so silent one could have heard a needle drop.

Qin Yao, while keeping careful watch on the commotion outside, also felt a quiet unease—how strange that the emperor had just been rescued by Lin Xiao and the others, only for Consort Yi and the Crown Prince to appear outside the academy right after.

Qu Ziyu, noticing his sister’s pale face as she stood there in a daze, clearly on the verge of collapse, worried she might fall and quickly pulled her aside to sit down. He forced her to eat a few bites of dry rations, and once her color improved somewhat, he followed her gaze toward the gate outside and said thoughtfully, “Consort Yi probably intended all along to create an opportunity for the young lord to rescue the emperor. Because if the emperor died inside the palace, neither she nor the Crown Prince could clear themselves of suspicion—even if the Crown Prince successfully ascended the throne, he could never escape the accusation of regicide. But if the emperor were with the young lord and the others, Consort Yi could use the chaos to kill the emperor outright, while pinning the blame for the regicide on the young lord and Duke Lu. Once the unrest settled, she could then righteously eliminate her rivals and install the Crown Prince, silencing all doubters. The most terrifying part is that even if the young lord saw through their scheme early on, for the sake of righteousness, he still couldn’t abandon the emperor—which makes this scheme nearly foolproof. It shows this woman has remarkable foresight and cunning, certainly no shortsighted fool.”

Although he hadn’t understood what was happening when he first arrived, after these past few hours of upheaval, he had already pieced together the general sequence of events.

Qin Yao suddenly understood. Glancing quietly at the emperor, she saw his face dark as though it might drip with malice, looking utterly disgusted—clearly, like her brother, he too had thoroughly seen through Consort Yi’s scheme.

She gave a cold inward laugh and no longer bothered to let her gaze linger on the emperor. Instead, she took out a stack of talisman papers she had drawn earlier at the safehouse and handed one to her brother. “Brother, this talisman is called the Spirit-Stabilizing Talisman. In a moment, swallow it with water—it will stabilize your spiritual roots. Nüxiu’s killing aura is too strong; ordinary people who don’t protect themselves with such talismans will, even if they manage to escape her by luck, suffer damage to their constitution—lying ill in bed for months at the least, or being left with lasting ailments and shortened lifespans at worst.”

Qu Ziyu acknowledged this and swallowed the talisman with water.

Qin Yao then handed talismans to Qu Chen Shi and Qu Enze. Once her parents had taken them as instructed, she passed the remaining talismans along to those nearby. Just as she reached Minister Wang, a crowd suddenly poured in through the gate.

Qin Yao straightened up and turned to look—it was Yuan Jue leading a group of disciples in, followed by a number of disheveled commoners.

Among them was one woman whose striking beauty made her stand out in the crowd. Qin Yao, recognizing her, was startled and exclaimed in surprise, “Consort Kang?”

Consort Kang and her companions had indeed been rescued by Yuan Jue and his disciples while passing by Prince Wu’s residence. By Yuan Jue’s own inclination, he naturally had no wish to concern himself with the women of Prince Wu’s household, but seeing a group of defenseless women being chased and screaming in terror, he couldn’t bring himself to ignore it. He stopped the carriage and scooped them all up.

Along the way, they had also rescued quite a few commoners being pursued by corpse-fiends.

After settling as many as possible in the front courtyard—though they could only fit a little more than half—the rest were brought to the back courtyard.

Looking at Consort Kang, completely unharmed, Qin Yao suddenly and inappropriately thought of Xia Yuan. Though Xia Yuan had no shortage of schemes, she seemed far less adaptable than Consort Kang. With disaster looming, who knew whether she was even still alive. Perhaps because of her hasty flight, Consort Kang’s hair was somewhat disheveled, but her face showed not the slightest trace of distress. Clutching a small bundle, she looked vibrant and full of spirit—more like she’d come out for a stroll than fled for her life. The moment she entered the courtyard, her gaze swept the scene, landing first on the bound Prince Wu, and she froze for a moment before her eyes moved on to Qin Yao.

After a moment’s thought, she seemed to quickly grasp Qin Yao’s standing within the courtyard. She walked up to Qin Yao, gave her a grateful smile, and said in a low voice, “Young Lord’s Consort, thank you again for saving me.”

Though Qin Yao had had little interaction with her, she had never felt any ill will toward her, and returned the smile with a faint one of her own.

Knowing her own status differed greatly from Qin Yao’s, Consort Kang did not presume to linger or chat. She gave a curtsy and headed toward Prince Wu instead.

Prince Wu had spotted Consort Kang the moment she entered the courtyard. Pride kept him from struggling in an undignified manner; he merely fixed his eyes steadily on her.

Consort Kang crouched in front of Prince Wu, seemingly wanting to say a few words to him, but his mouth was still stuffed with cloth. She paused, then looked up and said something quietly to the guard watching over him. The guard’s face reddened, his expression showing a flicker of struggle, and after a moment he silently removed the cloth from Prince Wu’s mouth, saying stiffly, “Only two sentences allowed.”

Qin Yao was curious to see how Consort Kang and Prince Wu would interact, but her master and Yuan Jue were already urging her from the other side. “A’Yao, quickly hand out the Spirit-Stabilizing Talismans to everyone, then come help set up the formation.”

Qin Yao agreed and hurried over to the emperor, asking him quietly to take the talisman.

Although she had no small amount of complaint about this emperor’s conduct over the years, business was business—not only could she not afford to be willful given his status, she also needed to handle things as gracefully as possible.

After distributing the talismans, Qin Yao also summoned the Soul-Devourer to help the emperor purge the corpse poison.

After scorching the wound on his leg for a while, she managed to clear most of the residual poison from the surface, but the portion that had already seeped into his blood and bone could not be drawn out without the proper antidote powder—that part would have to depend on the emperor’s own fate. If rescued early, his heart-vessels might not be damaged; but the longer he remained afflicted, his lifespan would inevitably be shortened.

When the emperor first saw the Soul-Devourer’s flame approaching, he had been somewhat alarmed, but once the fire touched his flesh, instead of pain, the unbearable itch he’d felt before eased considerably. Marveling at this, he finally looked upon the Soul-Devourer with newfound respect, and looking gratefully at Qin Yao, said gently, “Good child, thank you.”

Qin Yao looked up at the emperor. Now that she was closer, she noticed his brows and eyes bore some four or five parts resemblance to Senior Brother’s. She supposed that was why, the first time she’d seen the emperor at Jade Spring Mountain, he had seemed somewhat familiar. And clearly her master had also noticed Senior Brother’s resemblance to his birth father, which was why he refused to take him anywhere crowded with imperial family members, to avoid drawing suspicion.

Once the talismans were all distributed, Qin Yao hurried to her master’s side and heard that he and Yuan Jue had already worked out a rough plan.

Yuan Jue would lead the disciples in laying down a Golden Gong Net around the perimeter of the garden, just as they had against the jade corpse at Jade Spring Mountain, using the net to pin Nüxiu in place within the formation.

But because Nüxiu, unlike the jade corpse, did not fear water or earth, and this place was no body of water either, they had no certainty how long they could contain her.

But since Nüxiu was able to nourish her killing aura in such an extremely yin place as the shadowed mountains, she must possess an extremely yin constitution—the only way to counter her would be with methods of overwhelming yang energy. With this settled, the two had decided that Lin Xiao would first use Chixiao to lure Nüxiu into the formation, after which Qing Xuzi and Qin Yao would set up the Twin Soul Formation, using the Boundless Mirror to counter her killing aura.

As for Qin Yao’s Soul-Devourer, it would be entrusted to A’Han—since when Qing Xuzi first taught the two of them about artifact spirits, the Soul-Devourer had once recognized both A’Han and Qin Yao as masters. It was not the most loyal of spirits, meaning Qin Yao could command it, but so could A’Han.

Second, A’Han was a rare pure-yang body, and with his extraordinary talent, his inner power was practically inexhaustible. Though the Soul-Devourer’s flame alone might not be enough to overcome Nüxiu, with the Golden Gong Net limiting her movement above and the Boundless Mirror weakening her yin energy beside her, combined with the Soul-Devourer’s continuous burning, she would likely soon be subdued.

Once the plan was settled, Yuan Jue led the disciples to spread out around the courtyard, while Qin Yao, without a moment’s rest, worked with her master to bury talismans throughout the courtyard, preparing for the Twin Soul Formation later.

Meanwhile outside, Lin Xiao had already led his soldiers into a clash with Consort Yi and the Crown Prince’s forces. Strangely, though the Crown Prince commanded no small force, he seemed hesitant about something, fighting while retreating, and before long had pulled back several dozen feet.

“He seems to be waiting for someone,” Lin Xiao said quietly to Jiang Sanlang, watching the Garrison Commandant’s soldiers scatter across the wide street like a receding tide. “Unfortunately he can afford to wait, but we can’t. We have to capture him and Consort Yi before Nüxiu arrives, to spare the innocent soldiers below.”

Jiang Sanlang gave a scornful laugh. “I can see he’s just dithering—wants to win, but doesn’t dare to risk his life for it, always wanting to have it both ways. You didn’t see Consort Yi—though she’s sitting in her carriage, she keeps leaning out to glare at the Crown Prince, and her expression isn’t pretty. I think if the Garrison Commandant’s troops didn’t answer only to the Crown Prince, Consort Yi would have charged into battle herself. I’m honestly puzzled how such a ruthless, cunning woman managed to raise such a spineless son.”

Hearing this, Lin Xiao suddenly thought of someone, his expression darkening. He waved his hand, ordering the soldiers behind him not to relent for a moment, and spurred his horse forward, thinking to himself that if the Crown Prince was waiting for Xia Di to join him, that would explain his reluctance to engage. He’d probably long grown accustomed to relying on others, having no confidence in his own military command, and unwilling to take charge himself even when his life was on the line, as long as someone else could strategize for him.

With this thought, he grew even more impatient to act quickly, determined to settle things before the enemy forces could grow larger. Suddenly, a scout who had gone ahead to investigate came galloping back, riding up to Lin Xiao. “Young Lord, another army has arrived from the western part of the city. By their appearance, they seem to be the Garrison Commandant’s troops that General Xia led earlier to fight at Yumen Pass, and they’re heading this way. They’ll soon join up with the Crown Prince’s forces.”

Jiang Sanlang’s expression tightened, and he glanced at Lin Xiao. “Hmph, so that fellow has indeed come back at this exact moment. He probably already knew Chang’an was in chaos and timed his return for this. But after Duke Wei’s household was exiled to Shu for over a decade due to its involvement in the succession struggle, and only just returned this year—does he dare gamble with the hundred-some lives of the entire Wei household?”

Lin Xiao said coldly, “Whether he’s man or ghost, we fight him too if it comes to it.” He gave the order in a deep voice: “Engage.”

The newcomer was indeed Xia Di. As he marched his troops to Green Bamboo Lane in front of the road leading to Yunyin Academy, he ordered a halt and stood gazing ahead, brows furrowed.

Behind him on a carriage sat a dozen or so Daoist priests from the Sanqing Temple, whom he had pressed into service. They had been forced to accompany him the whole way—from the moment they entered the city, they had been exterminating no fewer than a hundred vengeful spirits and corpse-fiends, and were now utterly exhausted.

Just when the ghostly disturbances had finally thinned out somewhat, they saw ahead an armed force standing at the ready, the atmosphere on the verge of erupting—a great battle seemed unavoidable.

The group of Daoist priests, overcome with grief and indignation, couldn’t help clutching their heads and weeping. “We had foreseen the heavenly omens and managed to flee Chang’an in time, only to be seized halfway by this young general. We came back thinking the whole city was just full of minor ghosts, never expecting a great calamity—it seems this is simply our fate, impossible to escape.”

Xia Di paid their complaints no mind, holding the reins, his eyes fixed steadily ahead.

Consort Yi had already sent someone over with a message: “General Xia, the traitors who seized the emperor are just ahead—the Young Lord of Prince Lan and Duke Lu’s son. Her Highness Consort Yi and the Crown Prince are waiting only for you to join forces. Once you advance, you’ll capture them in one stroke. Her Highness says that for your meritorious service in protecting your sovereign, General, you’ll be the first to be rewarded. From then on, anything in this world you desire or fancy will be yours for the asking—Her Highness will see to it personally.”

Behind Xia Di, his strategist, hearing this, found his clothes already drenched in sweat. On the way here, they had pieced together roughly what was happening today: it now seemed the emperor was in the hands of the Young Lord of Prince Lan, while Consort Yi and the Crown Prince formed one faction.

Three armies, with the Crown Prince’s forces in the middle.

If the young lord joined the Crown Prince, the two forces combined would overwhelm the Young Lord of Prince Lan’s outnumbered troops, dooming his cause to fail. But if the young lord instead turned to aid the Young Lord of Prince Lan, the Crown Prince and Consort Yi would be caught between two fronts and soon find themselves in a hopeless trap.

The strategist, not daring to breathe loudly, stared fixedly at the young lord, watching him gaze intently toward the academy, his chest heaving, his face shifting unpredictably, clearly torn with indecision. Watching this, the strategist swallowed hard with nerves, wanting to speak, but his throat was so dry not a single word would come out.