Lin Chengyou?!

Teng Yuyi’s heart nearly leaped out of her throat. The light was too dim to make out his features clearly, but being so close, she could detect that faint, distinctive fragrance on his clothes – the same scent of bath beans she had noticed that night at Le Dao Manor. It must have been made from precious spices and tribute from countries like Brahman. Besides Lin Chengyou, she hadn’t seen anyone else use it.

The voice matched, the scent matched – it was him. She let out a huge sigh of relief. She had been so tense earlier that she’d forgotten to breathe. Now that Lin Chengyou was here, she could finally catch her breath again. She tried to move, only to realize that Lin Chengyou’s hand was still covering her mouth.

Nai Zhong was still pacing in the outer corridor. Lin Chengyou likely hadn’t removed his hand for fear she would cry out. She breathed carefully, staying perfectly still against his chest. Suddenly she noticed the Xuanyin Bell on her wrist had stopped its chaotic ringing. She secretly guessed that Lin Chengyou must have done something behind this wall.

Lin Chengyou was also paying close attention to Teng Yuyi’s reactions. After walking through the secret passage for a while, his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Teng Yuyi was born with an exceptionally beautiful pair of eyes – even in such dim conditions, they held a rippling gleam. He saw the terror in those eyes.

He patiently waited for her to lower her guard. Soon, he noticed her body was no longer so rigid, knowing she had recognized him. He too relaxed slightly. However, as he shifted, he realized his back was drenched in sweat. He had rushed here in such haste that he hadn’t brought many magical tools. In his urgency, he had only hastily set up a simple barrier within the wall. With this barrier’s obstruction, the Xuanyin Bell couldn’t sense the evil qi on Nai Zhong’s body, and Nai Zhong wouldn’t be able to discover them for the time being – but only if they didn’t make too much noise.

He couldn’t handle Nai Zhong alone. Better to get Teng Yuyi to safety first.

After holding her breath for a while, Teng Yuyi suddenly felt an unbearable itch in her throat. Terrified she might accidentally cough, she bit down hard on her lip.

Lin Chengyou was concentrating on listening to Nai Zhong’s footsteps when he felt an unexpected soft tickle against his palm – a warm, moist breath from Teng Yuyi’s lips as she seemingly tried to speak against his hand.

His spine tingled sharply at the unfamiliar sensation. The feeling in his palm was so strange – a ticklish numbness that traveled up his arm straight into his heart.

He abruptly removed his hand, then remembering Nai Zhong was still pacing outside, quickly covered her mouth again. But his heart was galloping like a wild horse, his throat tight with a parched feeling like after an intense game of polo on a summer’s day.

By now Teng Yuyi had also adjusted to the darkness. Catching Lin Chengyou’s peculiar expression, she was momentarily stunned.

Lin Chengyou’s expression seemed to say: What’s the rush? Couldn’t you wait for me to remove my hand before speaking?

Teng Yuyi froze, realizing she had only wanted to cough but had somehow provoked such a strong reaction from him. Guessing he had misunderstood her intention to speak, she quickly nodded to show she understood and wouldn’t make a sound without permission.

This movement made Lin Chengyou’s hand bob up and down with her head, sending another tingle through his heart. After some thought, deciding there was nothing more that needed to be said, it seemed inappropriate to keep covering her mouth. He swiftly removed his hand and took out the flint from his belt to make a light.

As soon as he released her, that strange feeling in his heart eased considerably.

The flame danced silently, suddenly illuminating their surroundings.

He steadied himself and focused on listening for movement outside.

Teng Yuyi turned her head to examine their surroundings, finally realizing that the “inside the wall” was a narrow stone passage, barely wider than the outer corridor. Even with just two people walking side by side, they would inevitably brush against the stone walls. However, it was much longer than the corridor outside the partition wall, stretching deep into darkness with no visible end.

She turned to look at Lin Chengyou. He was listening intently to Nai Zhong’s footsteps, his expression unprecedentedly focused. In all the times she had seen Lin Chengyou deal with demons and monsters before, he had always fought or captured them at will. How unlike now, where every move showed such caution.

She couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat – this Nai Zhong must truly be a formidable entity.

Outside, Nai Zhong continued pacing, then seemingly having failed to find Teng Yuyi, headed left. His footsteps grew increasingly distant until they completely disappeared from the outer corridor.

Lin Chengyou waited a while longer, confirming Nai Zhong wouldn’t return for now. He took out a silver chain from his robes and handed it to Teng Yuyi, saying, “Take this and follow me.”

Teng Yuyi quickly took it. From seeing Lin Chengyou use this silver chain before with its jingling sound, she had assumed it was made of cold, hard metal. To her surprise, when she touched it, it was warm and soft like flesh.

The sensation reminded her of a snake – no, a giant caterpillar. Her skin crawled, leaving her unsure whether to hold or drop it. Then she remembered that as a “Zhi” beast, it naturally would be a fleshy worm. She had just been startled because of her lifelong fear of snakes; she had nearly offended this precious item.

“Did you think the Soul-Binding Zhi was an inanimate object?” Lin Chengyou glanced at her and took the lead forward. “It’s alive. When fighting evil, it transforms into a weapon. When not fighting, it’s just a fleshy worm. That monster outside has too many tricks. With ordinary rope as a guide, we could easily be separated by the mechanisms. With this, we needn’t worry – it can ward off evil. Hold onto it and stay close behind me, not a step apart.”

Teng Yuyi understood and quickly said, “Alright.” She clutched the Soul-Binding Zhi tightly in her palm. Still worried, fearing it might slip from her grasp, she quietly said “Excuse me” to the Zhi and began wrapping it around her arm as they walked. If not for the Zhi suddenly letting out a strange cry, she would have tied its tail in a dead knot for good measure.

After leading Teng Yuyi forward for a while, Lin Chengyou heard the Zhi’s cry and had to stop, asking curiously, “Teng Yuyi, why must you bully even a worm?”

Teng Yuyi hurried over: “How dare I bully Your Highness’s treasure? I just wanted to wrap it around my arm, but didn’t expect it to be so slippery. That Nai Zhong has supernatural strength – if I don’t tie it tight enough, I’ll be thrown off with just one hit.”

She values her life. The Soul-Binding Zhi would naturally wrap around a person; it wasn’t so easy to break free. But to put her mind at ease, he said, “Then wrap it around your waist instead.”

Teng Yuyi hesitated but agreed this would indeed be more secure than having it on her arm. After she finished wrapping it, Lin Chengyou muttered a few incantations. The worm lazily circled her waist a few times, then became motionless.

Teng Yuyi tried pulling at it – completely immobile. Secretly delighted, she resumed following Lin Chengyou forward.

As Lin Chengyou led Teng Yuyi along, he could barely feel any weight in his palm. Concerned, he looked back to check several times.

Indeed, the Soul-Binding Zhi was securely wrapped around Teng Yuyi’s waist – it was only her light frame that gave him this floating sensation. After confirming this, he wondered if paranoia was contagious. He knew the Soul-Binding Zhi was extremely reliable, yet because of Teng Yuyi’s excessive worrying, he had started to worry too.

Thinking back, the Soul-Binding Zhi had always been used to restrain demons and monsters. When those evil beings struggled, each had the strength of a thousand jun. Used to capture evil spirits, this was his first time using the silver chain to bind a young lady. It felt strange, especially since that person was Teng Yuyi – it made him feel particularly odd.

“By the way, where did you encounter Nai Zhong?” Earlier when entering the temple, he had been too focused on the rescue to listen to what the court ladies were saying. However, he did remember one thing – if not for Teng Yuyi breaking Nai Zhong’s formation, these people would never have escaped. But according to the demon classics, Nai Zhong’s illusions weren’t easily broken. He was very curious about what had happened.

Teng Yuyi recounted everything that had occurred in the peach grove.

Lin Chengyou remained silent, knowing she was clever and quick-witted. But he hadn’t expected her to see through the peach grove’s hidden mechanism so quickly. The peach grove concealed the entrance to the underground palace. On the surface it showed the Daguo hexagram, but the number of peach trees in each row varied, arranged to correspond with the twelve monthly hexagrams. Most people would think they had found the answer upon seeing the surface Daguo hexagram and wouldn’t bother counting the number of trees.

“Have you been to the Yuzhen Daoist Nunnery before?”

Teng Yuyi shook her head: “Never. This morning I heard rumors about this temple. While playing, I started paying attention to the surrounding layout. I even discussed the hexagrams in the grove with my sister. That’s why when the monk questioned us, we weren’t slow to answer. Your Highness, do you also know about the mechanisms in the Yuzhen Daoist Nunnery?”

“I played here as a child.”

Though after solving all the temple’s puzzles at age ten, he had lost interest in returning.

Teng Yuyi gazed at the back of Lin Chengyou’s head. She had rarely admired anyone since childhood, but she genuinely respected Lin Chengyou’s abilities. If not for his timely arrival earlier, she would likely have become Nai Zhong’s snack.

She turned her head to examine their surroundings: “Are we in the underground palace?”

Lin Chengyou made an affirmative sound.

“Oh right, Your Highness, did you see Duan Fu earlier?”

“Duan Fu? No, I didn’t.”

Teng Yuyi was puzzled: “How strange. Duan Fu had entered the temple before the incident, yet was coincidentally absent when it happened. Where could Duan Fu have gone for such a long time?”

Lin Chengyou paused.

Teng Yuyi wondered silently if someone had anticipated trouble at the temple and led Duan Fu away beforehand. But this thought seemed too far-fetched. After pondering, she added: “Your Highness, did you see the Peng sisters? They’re Peng Zhen’s twin daughters.”

Lin Chengyou only remembered not seeing Teng Yuyi and her servants in the crowd; he hadn’t noticed others.

“What about them?”

“They disappeared suddenly before the incident. Later when Nai Zhong trapped us, the Peng sisters never appeared.”

Lin Chengyou’s heart skipped a beat: “Did they say goodbye before leaving? They just vanished suddenly?”

“Exactly. Wu Qi had people search for them everywhere, but before they could be found, Nai Zhong appeared.”

Lin Chengyou’s expression grew complex. As they spoke, they turned a corner and reached a staircase at the end of the path, its steps leading straight up – the exit.

Teng Yuyi was puzzled: “There isn’t another level of the underground palace up there, is there?”

Lin Chengyou explained: “There are two levels total. When the mechanisms aren’t activated, the top level forms a ‘concave’ shape, and the bottom level a ‘convex’ shape. Between the two levels is a rotating millstone. Once the mechanism is activated, the two levels shift to create an offset, simultaneously generating countless corridors of varying lengths, trapping people within.”

Teng Yuyi nodded silently.

Lin Chengyou continued: “Once we pass the stairs, there will be no barrier. Nai Zhong will quickly sense our presence. After we go up, don’t speak. With luck, we can get out quickly. If we encounter Nai Zhong, we’ll have to improvise.”

Teng Yuyi’s heart tightened as she quietly followed Lin Chengyou up the stairs. At the top, Lin Chengyou didn’t rush to look out. Instead, he took out a talisman from his robes, crumpled it into a ball, lit it, and threw it out.

The fireball rolled down the long corridor, its flame only extinguishing after rolling quite far.

It seemed Nai Zhong wasn’t nearby.

Lin Chengyou emerged first from the passage, then led Teng Yuyi along the corridor after she climbed out. This level was much broader than below, and the air less damp.

They stopped talking as Lin Chengyou guided Teng Yuyi through countless turns, passing through one corridor when suddenly the view opened up. Ahead was an arched bridge leading to a grand hall lit with oil lamps. Weapons lined both sides, and footsteps could be heard faintly overhead.

Teng Yuyi’s heart rate increased – the exit must be ahead. But before they could cross the bridge, the bells on her wrist suddenly began ringing violently. Footsteps approached from behind, and a voice sighed softly: “The Buddha told Subhuti: ‘All appearances are illusory.'”

“Run!”

Lin Chengyou had no interest in dealing with Nai Zhong.

Teng Yuyi took off running, cursing her skirts and inferior martial arts skills. Despite using all her strength, she still couldn’t keep up with Lin Chengyou’s pace.

Hearing the footsteps getting closer behind them, she was gasping for breath, seeing stars. Suddenly she felt weightless – Lin Chengyou had pulled her in front of him with the silver chain, then held her against his chest as he sprinted forward.

Teng Yuyi’s heart raced even faster, but escaping was the priority now. She had no time to dwell on these strange feelings. She just squeezed her eyes shut, silently praying for Lin Chengyou to run faster. Suddenly there was a “pa” sound – something seemed to have fallen from her head.

Lin Chengyou had heard it too: “What fell?”

“My buyao hairpin. Don’t worry about it, Your Highness – escaping is more important!”

Though she said this, her heart ached terribly. Among her collection of ornaments, this pair of pearl buyao wasn’t particularly precious, but her mother had given them to her as part of her dowry when she was still alive. She remembered her mother holding her before the mirror, smiling and saying, “When our Yuyi grows up, she can wear these little things in her hair.” She would never forget that gentle expression. After her mother passed away, she had treasured this pair of pearl buyao in her jewelry box, never bearing to wear them.

Today she had finally worn them on a whim, only to lose them like this.

This cursed Nai Zhong!

Though Lin Chengyou had asked, he couldn’t spare the time to look back and retrieve it. Using his lightness skill, he sprinted forward for a while. The exit was in sight when that resonant, gentle voice came from ahead: “Fellow pilgrim, have you fetched that water for this humble monk?”

Lin Chengyou halted abruptly. A fair-faced monk slowly strolled over from the end of the great hall, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.

Lin Chengyou’s expression changed several times. After a moment of silence, he suddenly smiled and said: “This venerable monk looks unfamiliar. Where might you be from?”