After a moment’s daze, Teng Yu’yi realized that Lin Chengyou was still wearing the clothes he had borrowed from the Prince of Chun’an before coming to Dayin Temple. That he hadn’t changed meant he had been busy these past few hours.

Earlier, when she had asked Duan Fu to relay her message, she had mentioned wanting to “tell him in person.” Could it be that Lin Chengyou, worried that Juesheng and Qizhi might not convey the message accurately, had specially made time to come?

Her tipsiness instantly diminished by half. She nodded: “Yes, I have urgent matters to discuss with the Young Master.”

Lin Chengyou leaped down from the wall, dusting off his hands: “Then let’s keep it brief.”

Seeing his apparent hurry to leave, Teng Yu’yi dared not waste his time. She turned her head to survey the surroundings, hesitating whether to speak with Lin Chengyou in the courtyard or outside. Inadvertently glimpsing the wine and dishes on the stone table, she was startled, cursing herself for nearly forgetting about them in her tipsy state. She had originally prepared them for Juesheng and Qizhi, but now that Lin Chengyou was here instead, she should be an even better host.

“Has Young Master had dinner?” she quickly asked. “I’ve been waiting for the two young Daoists, and these dishes haven’t been touched. If Young Master doesn’t mind their simplicity, please help yourself. I’ll have them heat some more wine—it won’t take long.”

She hurried to the corridor to call Chun Rong and Bi Luo to heat the wine. The two maids had already heard and come out, both startled to see Lin Chengyou in the courtyard.

Lin Chengyou had planned to just say a few words and leave, but seeing Teng Yu’yi and her servants already busy preparing, he could only turn to look at the stone table under the pear tree. He hadn’t even had a sip of water on his journey, and since Teng Yu’yi had prepared wine, he might as well have some.

He walked to the stone table and sat down, lifting his robe. Though the courtyard was serene, it was unfortunately not spacious enough, only about a quarter the size of Teng Yu’yi’s “Moon Over the Pool” residence, making everything feel cramped.

The dishes on the plates were clean and untouched. He picked up the wine pot to pour himself a drink but suddenly noticed the cup was slightly warm. He paused, realizing this was the cup Teng Yu’yi had held.

He quickly put the wine cup down and lowered his gaze to look at it—it was a small “Dancing Immortal” cup.

The wine in the cup gleamed like silver, reminding him of the crystalline tears on her eyelashes. Why was she sad? Could she be missing her mother? Drinking recklessly when in a melancholy mood would only be more harmful than usual.

Du Tinglan, inside the room, had heard the commotion in the courtyard. Having just changed into her nightclothes, she couldn’t come out and could only quietly ask Teng Yu’yi what was happening. Teng Yu’yi replied: “It’s Lin Chengyou, probably because the two young Daoists delivered my message… He’s in a hurry to leave, so I’ll speak with him in the courtyard for a bit. Sister, you should go to sleep first.”

Du Tinglan nodded, but as she walked back toward her bed, she felt puzzled. Though it wasn’t particularly late, making the trip wasn’t easy. Would he come specially to see A’yu just because the junior disciples said she had something to discuss?

She couldn’t help peering through the window toward the courtyard. Her sister had already sat down opposite Lin Chengyou, who maintained his usual somewhat unrestrained demeanor. Looking at them this way, she couldn’t detect anything unusual.

She recalled the rumors circulating in Chang’an about Lin Chengyou being afflicted by the Heartbreak Poison, and felt she was overthinking things. After all, the message had been delivered by her sister through Duan Fu, and given Lin Chengyou’s dedication to vanquishing evil, it made sense that he would come personally, fearing he might miss important clues about the case.

Chun Rong and Bi Luo quickly returned with heated wine and brought clean cups to Lin Chengyou.

Teng Yu’yi personally poured wine for Lin Chengyou and herself: “Before we discuss important matters, please allow me to offer Young Master a few cups of wine. Last time it was the corpse demon, today it was Naizhong—if not for Young Master’s righteous aid, my life would have long been lost to these evil spirits. This cup is to thank Young Master for saving my life.”

Smiling, she raised her cup to Lin Chengyou and lowered her gaze to drain it completely.

After finishing one cup, she moved to pour herself a second.

Unexpectedly, Lin Chengyou reached out to press down on the wine pot.

Teng Yu’yi was startled.

“Does Young Master not care for Stone Frozen Spring wine? I also have a pot of Emerald Wave—shall I change it for Young Master?”

“The wine is fine,” Lin Chengyou said. “But haven’t you already had quite a bit?”

Teng Yu’yi waved her hand: “It’s no matter, I can hold my liquor well. When offering a toast, how can one stop at just one cup?”

She still reached for the pot.

Lin Chengyou wouldn’t let go, only smiling as he said: “Teng Yu’yi, you being suddenly so formal with me feels rather strange… Alright, I appreciate the sentiment, but drink any more and you’ll be drunk. Don’t forget you still have important matters to discuss with me.”

Teng Yu’yi coughed: “The past is the past, and now is. Young Master is now my great benefactor—it’s only right that I show you proper respect.”

Though she said this, being challenged by Lin Chengyou’s words made it difficult to insist on offering more wine. She could only think to herself that the purple jade saddle would soon be ready. She had urged Uncle Cheng to rush the work mainly because she feared the timing of the gift might coincide with Lin Chengyou’s birthday. She wasn’t particularly close to Lin Chengyou, and eagerly presenting such a birthday gift might invite misunderstanding.

Who knew so much would happen afterward? Looking at it now, after so many interactions with Lin Chengyou, and with him having done her such favors, it would only be right for her to personally offer birthday congratulations… Compared to a carefully prepared gift like the purple jade saddle, offering wine seemed insignificant. Never mind—even if she wanted to express her gratitude, there was no need to rush.

She glanced at Lin Chengyou and took out the Xiaoye sword: “I won’t waste Young Master’s time—let’s discuss the important matter. Young Master, didn’t you ask before why I had people watching Zhuang Mu?”

Lin Chengyou paused with the wine cup at his lips, then set it down: “You knew him from before?”

Teng Yu’yi shook her head: “Xiaoye told me this person would harm me in the future.”

Xiaoye, who had been dozing in the sword body, nearly jumped out at these words—nonsense, he had never said such a thing.

Teng Yu’yi felt the sword’s body grow hot, knowing Xiaoye was displeased. No matter—she had long since established ground rules with Xiaoye. She could make up whatever she wanted, and he wouldn’t dare make a scene with her.

Today’s events struck her as extremely unusual. She wanted to warn Lin Chengyou that Naizhong’s appearance might be connected to the black-robed person, and she also wanted him to guard early against hidden enemies. However, she simultaneously didn’t want to implicate the person who had helped her borrow a life. After much consideration, she could only attribute certain experiences from her previous life to Xiaoye’s prophecies.

“…Xiaoye mentioned a black-robed person, saying that person typically used a silver thread-like weapon when killing… Last time at Cai Feng Tower, I saw Peng Yugui had such a hidden weapon… Under his guidance, I went to the West Market to find Zhuang Mu… And then such things happened… Today when Naizhong appeared, that black-robed person coincidentally showed up…”

As Lin Chengyou listened, the suspicion in his eyes gradually turned to surprise.

Teng Yu’yi knew that Lin Chengyou possessed keen insight. No matter how flawlessly she presented her story, it would be difficult to make him completely believe it. To make him take it seriously, she tapped the sword hilt in front of him: “Xiaoye, come out.”

Xiaoye emerged reluctantly.

Teng Yu’yi glanced at him: “Can you foresee future events?”

Xiaoye secretly rolled his eyes—no matter how unwilling, he had to help his master maintain the lie: “I am the spirit of an ancient divine sword—what’s so strange about being able to foresee future events?”

Lin Chengyou set down his wine cup and smiled: “Since Your Excellency can foresee future events, why not tell me directly who killed the three pregnant women? I can go arrest them immediately, preventing any more pregnant women from being harmed.”

Xiaoye was dumbfounded: “This… I…”

Teng Yu’yi was already difficult enough to deal with, but here was someone even more troublesome.

Teng Yu’yi quickly smiled: “Although Xiaoye can occasionally glimpse heavenly secrets, he doesn’t know everything. He is my sword spirit, and his predictions mostly relate to matters concerning me. He might not be as effective with other matters.”

Lin Chengyou didn’t respond. His curiosity about Teng Yu’yi’s secrets wasn’t new, but he hadn’t expected that after all the circling, she would bring out the sword spirit. When she had sent her message earlier emphasizing the need to “show in person,” it must have been because these circumstances required bringing out Xiaoye to explain.

But he had never heard of any magical weapon’s spirit being able to foresee future events. Moreover, while Teng Yu’yi’s explanation seemed reasonable at first listen, careful consideration revealed inconsistencies. Teng Yu’yi wasn’t an impulsive or frivolous person—no matter how reliable Xiaoye was, these events hadn’t yet occurred. Would she bring a large group of guards to watch Zhuang Mu at the West Market just because a spirit told her a black-robed person would harm her?

Looking at how guarded she was in everything, it seemed as though she had been harmed before, but from what he knew, apart from nearly drowning on her way to Chang’an, she hadn’t encountered any mishaps during this time.

In his view, she still wasn’t telling the truth.

He raised his eyes to study her. Her pupils were dark and bright as she gazed at him quietly. As their eyes met, he felt as though he were looking into two pools of crystal-clear spring water.

It reminded him of the springs at Li Mountain—if one were to dive in during the height of summer… the cool waters would instantly soothe the heart’s restlessness.

He shook himself from his reverie—what nonsense was he thinking? Carefully keeping his expression neutral, he moved his gaze from her face. Never mind, why should he expose her deception?

She had lost her mother at such a young age; perhaps she had her reasons that couldn’t be spoken. If she didn’t wish to tell, let her keep her secrets.

If she didn’t trust him, she could have simply avoided him. Why would she call out her sword spirit to tell him these things? Her willingness to risk his suspicion to share these clues could only mean she wanted to help him.

A warmth spread through his chest, reminiscent of conversations with his parents, except now he sat across from Teng Yu’yi…

Stop—what was wrong with him tonight? He collected himself and looked at Teng Yu’yi seriously: “Have you told anyone else about these things before?”

Teng Yu’yi had been carefully observing Lin Chengyou’s changing expressions. Seeing his demeanor grow solemn, she knew he was finally taking her words seriously and quickly shook her head: “I’ve only told Father before this.”

Lin Chengyou was startled—so he was the second person to know her secrets.

Besides her father, she had only told him…

He lowered his gaze to the wine cup in his hand. Tch, this wine was making him particularly warm tonight.

He set down the cup decisively: “So this black-robed person Xiaoye foresaw appeared at the Yuzhen Daoist Temple today?”

Teng Yu’yi turned to Xiaoye: “Tell Young Master everything you saw.”

Meeting Teng Yu’yi’s threatening gaze, Xiaoye mentally rolled his eyes several more times. He sat cross-legged before Lin Chengyou and haltingly recounted the events he had heard while in the sword.

Lin Chengyou pretended not to notice Xiaoye’s strange expression and listened seriously to his words, falling into deep thought.

As soon as Naizhong appeared, the black-robed person lured Duan Fu away, preventing Teng Yu’yi from being rescued at the crucial moment. If she hadn’t successfully solved the riddle, she and everyone in the peach grove would have been devoured by Naizhong.

Coincidentally, the Peng sisters had been isolated outside the peach grove. Though they encountered four minor ghosts under Naizhong’s command, because the ghosts’ spiritual power was weak, they were quickly driven away by Master Jingchen.

The Peng family…

His brow furrowed slightly. Naizhong was no ordinary ghost. The “Book of Demons” recorded that Naizhong had suddenly appeared during the great chaos two hundred years ago. At that time, a hundred powerful priests from various countries had gathered to exorcise the demon. Although they eventually succeeded, all hundred priests lost their lives from the impact of Naizhong’s yin energy.

If someone wanted to find where Naizhong had been sealed, it wouldn’t be particularly difficult. They would only need to observe the celestial phenomena daily while sending people to various countries to inquire about places of exceptional evil. Within a year or two, they could locate where it had been sealed two hundred years ago.

The same applied to the pair of evil entities at Cai Feng Tower.

To unearth the twin evils, one only needed to break the hundred-year-old formation.

However, awakening Naizhong’s powers was no easy task, which was why someone had specially arranged the Moon Phase Child Lord for feeding.

This could not have been accomplished in just a day or two, nor by just one or two people.

Behind this must be skilled practitioners plotting.

First, the Teng family could be ruled out. Today, Teng Yu’yi had not only been trapped in the peach grove but was later captured by Naizhong. If he had arrived even slightly later, she would have been devoured.

Could it be the Peng family?

With the capabilities of Peng Sishun and Peng Zhen, father, and son, arranging these matters in secret would be effortless.

But suspecting the Peng family solely because the Peng sisters weren’t in the peach grove seemed too far-fetched. Moreover, thinking about it differently, today’s events could also be interpreted as someone deliberately trying to frame the Peng family.

The crucial point was that Naizhong was the King of Ten Thousand Ghosts—even if someone used the Moon Phase Child Lord to feed it, they absolutely could not control Naizhong.

Therefore, Naizhong’s sudden appearance at the Yuzhen Daoist Temple today might not have been under that person’s control.

From the strange thunder in the sky to Naizhong appearing as a large monk, barely a quarter hour had passed, yet that black-robed person had appeared so promptly.

A flash of insight struck Lin Chengyou—could the mastermind be living nearby?

If Naizhong’s appearance was related to this person, then even if the killer of those three pregnant women wasn’t the mastermind, they must be privy to the whole affair. Now only Zhuang Mu had dealt with this person…

He set down his wine cup and stood abruptly.

Teng Yu’yi: “Is Young Master leaving?”

Lin Chengyou glanced at her: “What you’ve told me is very important. Zhuang Mu will certainly talk tonight—I must return immediately to interrogate him.”

Earlier, worried about Juesheng and Qizhi’s message delivery, he had turned back halfway. That decision had been incredibly wise. Xiaoye’s words were too intricate—if left to Juesheng and Qizhi to convey, they would have become completely tangled.

Teng Yu’yi hesitated. Since she needed to warn Lin Chengyou, naturally the sooner the better. She quickly stood and said: “Please wait, Young Master… I have one more important matter to tell you.”

She gave Xiaoye a meaningful look: “Xiaoye, tell Young Master what you saw about the spy in the army.”

Xiaoye had no choice but to relate Lin Chengyou being shot by a poisoned arrow, presenting it as his prophecy.

Lin Chengyou’s expression grew strange—these words were almost identical to what Teng Shao had told him earlier.

Teng Shao had said he dreamed it, yet Xiaoye claimed he could foresee it…

Teng Shao’s expression had been odd enough then, but Xiaoye’s expression now was even stranger, speaking with evident reluctance, clearly as if compelled by Teng Yu’yi.

A thought struck him—could it be that this matter was neither foreseen by Xiaoye nor dreamed by Teng Shao, but dreamed by Teng Yu’yi herself?

After all, only Teng Yu’yi could both manipulate Xiaoye and ask Teng Shao to warn him. This would perfectly explain why she had been so evasive about this matter.

He cast a sideways glance at Teng Yu’yi.

She had dreamed of him?

How could she dream of him…

Did she dream of him?

“This was foreseen by Xiaoye?” He coughed, deciding not to expose her, his expression remaining calm.

Teng Yu’yi nodded, though internally puzzled by Lin Chengyou’s strange expression. Could he be growing suspicious?

This was bad—Father had also come to the temple tonight. Could he have already warned Lin Chengyou once?

She should have confirmed with Father earlier. Well, let it be—Father’s words could also be attributed to Xiaoye’s foresight. The important thing was ensuring Lin Chengyou would take precautions early.

“Yes…” she quickly said, “Last time Xiaoye revealed many things at once, and Father happened to be nearby…”

This startling realization caused all her tipsiness to surge up at once. In just the blink of an eye, her cheeks and neck were tinged with a rosy hue.

Lin Chengyou noticed this and raised his eyebrows—so his guess was correct? In her hurry to cover up, her face had turned so red.

How could a young lady suddenly dream of a young man?

His ears inexplicably grew warm.

When had she dreamed of him?

What had she dreamed about?

It couldn’t have been during the Cai Feng Tower incident—the wound she had inflicted on him there had only recently scabbed over.

So it must have been recently. And tonight she had specially prepared wine and dishes for him…

Tch, could it be that Teng Yu’yi had fallen for him? Didn’t she know he was afflicted by the Heartbreak Poison? Even if she had such feelings, it would be impossible for him to reciprocate.

He furrowed his brow, though his heart beat faster. Unable to sort out these physical inconsistencies, he simply nodded while staring ahead: “Very well, thank you for the warning. I will be more careful in the future.”

Teng Yu’yi sighed in relief. Having said all she needed to say, seeing Lin Chengyou turn to leave without looking back, she remained in place and bowed respectfully: “Safe journey, Young Master.”

Lin Chengyou galloped back to the Court of Judicial Review. As he dismounted, a yamen runner came out and, seeing him, hurried forward: “Director Yan was just about to look for Assessor Lin.”

Noticing Lin Chengyou’s expression, he was puzzled: “Where did Assessor Lin go just now? Why do you look so happy?”

Lin Chengyou was confused: “Happy?”

Though he said this, he had no time to ponder such things and went straight to the prison, where he found Director Yan and four yamen runners waiting inside.

Zhuang Mu sat in the iron cage, staring fixedly at the door.

The runners and Director Yan approached: “He insists on waiting for Assessor Lin, and it seems he’ll only confess with Assessor Lin present…”

Lin Chengyou smirked: “Let’s do as he says.”

Director Yan and the four runners were shocked.

Lin Chengyou said: “I arrested him—I’m not afraid of his tricks. Besides, if he wanted to play tricks, he wouldn’t have waited until now.”

After Director Yan and the others withdrew, Lin Chengyou casually picked up a prison meal from the table, walked to the iron cage, unlocked it, and removed the cloth gag from Zhuang Mu’s mouth. He smiled and said: “Hungry? No rush, have something to eat first.”

Zhuang Mu stared at Lin Chengyou silently, then suddenly said: “After investigating for so long, why haven’t you looked into what those three pregnant women did before?”