These words made Teng Yu’yi’s mind buzz with confusion.

These past two months in Chang’an had been nothing short of disastrous. The tree demon had chased her to Purple Cloud Tower, the corpse spirit had pursued her to Prince Cheng’s mansion, Naizhong had kidnapped her to the underground palace, and even Shu Linian’s transformed ghost had drifted to the Teng residence seeking her unborn child.

Adding tonight’s monster to the list, “unlucky” could no longer explain it all.

Now that Lan Chengyou’s suspicions were raised, he would surely investigate everything about her thoroughly.

Should she confess about borrowing a life? Lan Chengyou was half-affiliated with the Dao sect – would tell him count as revealing heaven’s secrets? Would it bring new calamities?

Moreover, the one who helped her borrow a life was most likely one of her relatives, secretly using forbidden arts. They might end up in the Ministry of Justice’s prison because of Lan Chengyou. While she could accept such a fate for herself, how could she bear to implicate her family?

While her thoughts were in chaos, Lan Chengyou spoke again: “Cover your ears first. You can look, but whatever you do, don’t listen.”

Teng Yu’yi felt relief wash over her – thankfully Lan Chengyou was busy dealing with that creature and had no time to pursue his questions.

“Alright.” This time she responded quickly, covering her ears without hesitation.

Suddenly, she caught a whiff of an unbearably foul stench. Unable to resist, she opened her eyes to see the monster cackling as it lunged toward them.

The barrier couldn’t stop this creature, and talismans had no effect. Though Lan Chengyou had already launched several attacks, the thing’s speed showed no signs of slowing.

Up close, that aged, laughing face was unspeakably terrifying.

Just as it was about to catch up, Teng Yu’yi’s whole body shuddered. A silver flash appeared before her as Lan Chengyou raised his arm and threw a long sword. The blade flew swiftly as Starfire, piercing straight through the monster’s throat.

The creature’s laughing face trembled, spraying strange-colored fluid into the air. Lan Chengyou seemed extremely wary of the liquid. Before it could splash near his feet, he leaped into the air, holding Teng Yu’yi as he bounded backward.

The monster instantly transformed into a wisp of black smoke and vanished without a trace. With a clang, the long sword fell to the ground, immediately reverting to the Soul-Locking Beast.

Lan Chengyou stood still for a moment, still holding Teng Yu’yi as he walked toward that direction. Teng Yu’yi peered out from his embrace: “Did we kill it?”

“It fled.” This thing was most skilled at tunneling through the earth – now that it had escaped, there was no hope of catching it tonight.

Lan Chengyou surveyed the surroundings. As he was about to summon the palace guards, he moved and suddenly realized he was still holding Teng Yu’yi. Now that the monster was gone, continuing to hold her seemed inappropriate. After considering for a moment, he had no choice but to set her down. However, when he moved his arms, he found his front robes were being gripped by something. Looking down, he discovered Teng Yu’yi’s fingers were still tightly clutching his clothes.

Lan Chengyou’s face reddened. Teng Yu’yi was acting like a child – she must have been badly frightened to forget herself like this. Though he was willing to let her keep holding on, people would be arriving soon.

He cleared his throat and said softly, “Um – you can let go of my clothes now.”

Teng Yu’yi looked down and finally realized her improper behavior. She quickly withdrew her hand. Even after Lan Chengyou released her from his arms, her face still showed embarrassment.

Lan Chengyou wasn’t faring much better. He glanced at her sideways and was about to find something to say when suddenly he heard strange sounds nearby. Turning to look, he saw the Soul-Locking Beast writhing on the ground, making “urk urk urk” noises.

Teng Yu’yi: “Eh, what’s wrong with this worm?”

Lan Chengyou crouched before the Soul-Locking Beast, saying with some amusement: “It’s thoroughly disgusted. This creature only likes sweet nectar and flower dew. Getting splashed with that foul liquid earlier – it’ll probably be retching for days.”

Teng Yu’yi asked curiously: “Can that stinking liquid be washed off? It looks quite miserable.”

This seemed to remind Lan Chengyou, and he turned to look for dried leaves. Hearing these words, the creature appeared even more aggrieved. While writhing, it started “chi-chi-wa-wa” crying at Lan Chengyou. Its mouth opened and closed like a goldfish waiting to be fed in a pond.

Teng Yu’yi found it increasingly peculiar.

“Alright, I know you’ve suffered. I’ll help you take a nice fragrant bath later.”

The Soul-Locking Beast quieted down immediately upon hearing the words “fragrant bath.”

Teng Yu’yi smiled – this thing enjoyed being pampered too.

Lan Chengyou casually picked up a leaf, letting the Soul-Locking Beast shrink to several inches long before wrapping it in the leaf. Turning to see Teng Yu’yi’s smile, his brow relaxed. Looking at her profile, he thought silently that tonight’s events were truly strange, as was Teng Yu’yi’s reaction. No rush – better to investigate the surrounding area before questioning her. So he said to Teng Yu’yi: “This thing emerged from the east corridor. Before the guards and palace women burst in, let’s go check the east corridor first.”

“Alright.” Teng Yu’yi said, still shaken. “Young Master Lan, what exactly is this Chi Kuo’s background?”

Lan Chengyou explained as they walked: “It can’t be classified as a demon nor as a ghost – it can only be considered a Sha creature, usually born from concentrated resentment energy between heaven and earth. It’s considered the ultimate among Sha beings.”

Resentment energy?

Teng Yu’yi thought of the black-robed figure: “Could this thing have been lured here by someone?”

“That’s impossible.” Lan Chengyou considered seriously. “Chi Kuo is different from the earlier Twin Evil or Naizhong. The corpse spirit was once a princess of a fallen kingdom, the Golden-Robed Young Master was a lecherous avian demon, and Naizhong was trapped in the demon barrier of ‘debate’ due to jealousy in his heart. These three great beings all had desires in their hearts. With desire, there’s room for negotiation – no matter how powerful their magic, they could be tempted. But Chi Kuo is different. This thing has no soul, no spirit, no desires, no wants. Forget controlling it – even getting close is impossible. Besides, it’s not some sealed monster either, so there’s no focal point to look for. However, we still need to carefully examine the traces in the east corridor to determine exactly how it got here.”

Teng Yu’yi grew increasingly uneasy as she listened. If this thing couldn’t be controlled by others, then it was drawn to her borrowed-life constitution. Thinking this, she cast a guilty glance at Lan Chengyou. He must be pondering this matter. What to do? The imperial court seemed to deeply despise practitioners of forbidden arts these years. Her relative-

Suddenly she remembered: Little Ya had said she only needed to slay one or two more demons before accumulating enough merit. Should she try to eliminate this monster with Little Ya’s sword before Lan Chengyou investigates further?

This thing didn’t seem very large, and its powers didn’t appear as terrifying as Naizhong’s, otherwise, it wouldn’t have fled from Lan Chengyou’s single sword strike…

She suddenly felt confident.

“Young Master Lan, how powerful is this thing’s magic?”

“Its power level isn’t clear, but when one appears, it’s never alone.”

“A group?” Teng Yu’yi froze. “Like spiders?”

“More or less.” Lan Chengyou seemed to find it somewhat disgusting too. “Master is also in the mountain. Later we’ll search everywhere with him. The imperial villa is so large – there might be other Chi Kuo lurking nearby.”

Teng Yu’yi rubbed her chilled neck. Looking at it this way, she definitely couldn’t handle it alone. Ah, she’d almost forgotten about the Five Paths of Dongming Temple! Five Paths still owed her a favor from losing their bet at Rainbow Phoenix Tower last time, with a written contract as proof.

At worst, she could ask Five Paths of Dongming Temple to help. Five Paths probably wouldn’t guess she was someone who borrowed life, and even if they did, they couldn’t pursue the matter.

This way, she could eliminate the calamity of borrowing life without alerting the Ministry of Justice and implicating her relative.

Having made up her mind, she followed Lan Chengyou up the steps. They traced the creature’s crawling marks forward until the corridor’s corner. The sticky fluid’s traces remained clear to the turn, but after rounding the corner, the marks vanished.

The hanging palace lanterns weren’t bright enough. Lan Chengyou took out his flint and lit a flame. Using the firelight, they searched the surrounding area but found no talismans or cinnabar markings.

After completing their inspection, Lan Chengyou raised his eyes to look at Teng Yu’yi. Needless to say, this thing had appeared from nowhere. Chi Kuo hadn’t manifested in the mortal realm for many years, yet when it did appear, it was near Teng Yu’yi, cackling directly at her. There could be no explanation other than it being drawn to the aura around her.

Thinking this way, everything about the corpse spirit, Naizhong, and even Shu Linian’s ghost appearing at the Teng residence that night suddenly made sense.

What kind of person would repeatedly attract evil spirits?

Did Teng Yu’yi know about this herself?

She must know – otherwise, why would she keep Little Ya’s sword constantly by her side?

He quietly observed Teng Yu’yi for a moment before suddenly saying: “The investigation is done. This thing came for you.”

Teng Yu’yi’s heart skipped a beat as she raised her eyes to meet Lan Chengyou’s gaze.

The dancing flames reflected in both their dark eyes.

At first, neither spoke.

One thought to herself: He’s finally started investigating her.

The other thought to himself: Her eyes are evasive – she’s feeling guilty.

After a moment, Teng Yu’yi blinked in confusion, breaking the silence first: “Came for me? What do you mean by that, Young Master?”

Lan Chengyou’s gaze followed her shifting eyes. Her concealment wasn’t bad, but he knew her too well – just from the number of times she blinked, he could tell she was flustered.

Why was she flustered? Teng Yu’yi was incredibly clever – if evil spirits were haunting her for some reason, she should be looking for ways to get his help.

Ah, she simply didn’t trust him at all, so she guarded against him like a thief.

He tried to keep himself appearing calm: “Teng Yu’yi, do you think you can hide these things from me?”

Teng Yu’yi lowered her long eyelashes. Once Lan Chengyou became suspicious, this matter would be hard to keep hidden. But in this world, besides family, who would be willing to bear heaven’s punishment to borrow life for her? She was willing to be honest with Lan Chengyou, but what about the consequences?

She still didn’t fully understand what “borrowing life” entailed. If it was just borrowing from demons and evil spirits, that would be one thing, but if other matters were involved, her relative might have to confess and face punishment.

Lan Chengyou always upheld the law strictly. Their relationship wasn’t close enough for her to expect him to make an exception.

Her accumulated merit was almost sufficient. If Five Paths helped her eliminate the Chi Kuo, perhaps no more evil spirits would come looking for her. Then all the previous incidents could be explained away as “coincidences.”

No, she absolutely couldn’t admit to anything now.

Lan Chengyou observed every change in Teng Yu’yi’s expression without blinking. Would he harm her? After all their interactions, they’d been through life and death together. Even if she didn’t want to tell him other things, to be so guarded about these life-threatening matters – he wasn’t asking her to tell him the whole truth, just to acknowledge her situation. He would shoulder any trouble for her, no matter how great.

He held his breath waiting. If she spoke up, it would prove she still trusted him somewhat. If not, it meant she had never considered letting him help her.

But he was ultimately disappointed. After a short while, Teng Yu’yi raised those quiet eyes: “What am I hiding from Young Master?”

Lan Chengyou stared at her for a moment, then nodded without speaking. He straightened up and whistled, and the guards quickly leaped in from the outer wall, looking surprised: “Young Master.”

Lan Chengyou said flatly: “Notify all areas that evil spirits have appeared in the imperial villa. Strengthen defenses secretly, but don’t alarm the guests on the mountain.”

He then picked two guards to help escort Teng Yu’yi, disguised as “Chun Rong,” back to Han Yao Palace. Along the way, Teng Yu’yi occasionally glanced up at Lan Chengyou, but he neither spoke nor looked at her, simply delivering her to Han Yao Palace’s entrance before turning and leaving.

By coincidence, Du Tinglan came out supporting the “drunk” Chun Rong, followed by Bi Luo and Hong Nu.

Du Tinglan was surprised to see Lan Chengyou – wasn’t that Prince Cheng’s heir? Why did he look so displeased?

Teng Yu’yi went forward to support Chun Rong. The five of them walked discreetly toward Xiang Luan Pavilion as laughter drifted from behind – ladies were gradually emerging from Han Yao Palace.

Upon reaching Xiang Luan Pavilion, Du Tinglan, and the others were startled to see a large number of guards stationed at the entrance, more than triple the previous amount.

Only after asking the palace servants did they learn these were all temporarily assigned by Prince Cheng’s heir.

Passing the east corridor, Teng Yu’yi deliberately observed that the demon’s traces had been cleaned away – clearly Lan Chengyou hadn’t wanted to alarm the villa’s guests.

Back in the room, Du Tinglan dismissed the maids, first glanced toward the bedside, then grabbed Teng Yu’yi’s hand and asked: “How did it go? Did you catch that person?”

Teng Yu’yi explained what had happened earlier.

Du Tinglan was shocked: “Another demon?”

Suddenly they heard commotion in the corridor. Opening the door, they learned palace servants had come to distribute talismans.

“Mountain spirits occasionally appear at night in the hills. Stick these up to ensure safety through the night. Don’t forget to use them, ladies – we servants will help check that everyone has put them up properly.”

The young ladies were anxious and hurried out in groups to ask what had happened. Just then, Lan Chengyou and Qing Xu Zi passed by. When they passed Xiang Luan Pavilion, he didn’t even glance inside.

Someone in the crowd whispered: “Oh? Why does Prince Cheng’s heir look so upset?”

“Must be feeling unwell. I heard he didn’t even go to the ball game tonight, and that’s his specialty – he never misses it.”

Mixed in the crowd, Teng Yu’yi rose on tiptoe to look at Lan Chengyou’s back, thinking to herself that it wasn’t her imagination – Lan Chengyou’s face was dark.

Was he going to turn against her now?

Li Huaigu watched Lan Chengyou’s retreating figure with confusion. Inadvertently glancing at Teng Yu’yi and seeing her melancholy expression, she lowered her head in thought. Seeming to guess something, her brows gradually relaxed as she turned to speak gently to the lady beside her: “Since they’ve brought talismans, let’s go back to our rooms to put them up.”

Her tone was light and pleasant, as if in an excellent mood.

***

Ming Chun Hall.

Though the night was deep, the Emperor and Empress were still waiting for news in the outer hall. After who knows how long, a palace servant came to report that Qing Xu Zi and Lan Chengyou had returned. The Emperor immediately sighed in relief and rose to meet them: “How was it?”

Qing Xu Zi placed the compass on the table, shaking out his robes as he said: “Only that one entered the imperial villa. There are no other evil spirits nearby.”

The Emperor personally helped Qing Xu Zi sit on the couch: “This is supposed to be an era of peace and prosperity. Logically, things like Chi Kuo shouldn’t appear in these times.”

Qing Xu Zi stroked his beard without speaking.

Lan Chengyou bowed and sat down by himself to one side.

The Empress ordered servants to bring porridge and refreshments. After sitting, she could see at a glance that Lan Chengyou’s expression was poor. She couldn’t help exchanging a look with her husband – this child wouldn’t be upset just because evil spirits appeared. Such frustration must be due to other matters.

Could he have hit a wall with Miss Teng? She smiled and said: “Did you see Miss Teng tonight? Did you do as your aunt suggested?”

“I did.”

The Empress asked expectantly: “How did it go?”

How did it go? She was unmoved by his “patience,” showed no response to his “accommodation,” and rejected his “concern.”

Moreover, she guarded against him like a thief.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t squeeze out even half a smile.

Hearing this, Qing Xu Zi suddenly turned to look at Lan Chengyou: “Speaking of Miss Teng, today after Master received Miss Teng’s fate reading, he cast a divination for her.”

Everyone in the room froze.

Lan Chengyou didn’t respond, but his ears perked up.

“This child absolutely won’t live past sixteen years of age.”

Lan Chengyou’s hand trembled, nearly spilling tea from his cup onto his robes.

************************************************************

Big A: I act cold toward Little Yu.

Master: Your wife won’t live past sixteen.

Big A: Heart monitor flatlines.