Born in the hour of Pure Yin — this was indeed the constitution of Pure Yin. And with the ability to commune with Yin and Yang, if only there were someone to guide her, it would not be impossible to enter the path of cultivation. Only the road would be a harder one to walk, for a constitution such as this drew malevolent spirits close, and those with ill intent would covet her in equal measure.

And so Lang Jiuchuan was quite genuinely curious — with these birth characters, even if her aptitude for the Dao were poor, had she entered the path of cultivation, any practitioner versed in physiognomy and divination would have calculated this upon reading her chart.

In the face of Lang Jiuchuan’s inquiry, Ou Luozhong jolted, and said, “You are not wrong — she was indeed born beside water. That year, my wife and I were recuperating at a hot spring estate. The entire place was fed by hot springs, and even in the room adjoining the birthing chamber, there was a natural spring vent. A pool had been specially constructed there to allow bathing within the room.”

His heart settled considerably. It seemed they had truly found the right person this time, and he no longer concealed anything. “In truth, my daughter’s true birth date and hour have never been disclosed to anyone outside the family. This comes from the words spoken by the wandering monk who gave my daughter the prayer beads.”

“Oh?”

“When the wandering monk gave her the prayer beads, he said that my daughter’s birth characters were extremely weak and light, making her prone to attracting malevolent and inauspicious energies — which was unfavorable to her longevity, particularly before the age of twelve. Her true birth characters must not be spoken to others, especially not to those who cultivate the Dao, lest they invite a threat upon her life. And so we have never spoken of them to anyone — we would always add an extra hour’s shift to the time to obscure the truth.” Ou Luozhong said. “In truth, had Tongtian Pavilion not pointed the way, and had Old Xue not served as guarantor and made the introduction, I would not have dared tell you plainly.”

What he trusted was his friend of many years — trusting that he would not lead his daughter into harm.

Xue Shi gave him a firm pat on the shoulder and nodded.

“I see.” Lang Jiuchuan nodded and said, “That wandering monk was a man of true compassion — he showed her a path to life, and you as parents have been her guardians all along, which is why she has survived to see one full cycle of years. Had you not taken those words to heart and spoken them carelessly to others, she very likely would not be here anymore.”

Ou Luozhong trembled, his voice shaking as he asked, “What do you mean by this?”

“The constitution of Pure Yin — born carrying Yin energy, drawing malevolent and inauspicious forces — that much aside, she is also an exceptionally sacred vessel for the cultivation of the Dao.” Lang Jiuchuan paused briefly, then said, “Put plainly — there are those who walk wicked and crooked paths who deliberately seek out such people for dual cultivation, to absorb and harvest their Yin energy as a means of breaking through their own bottlenecks and advancing their cultivation. Or they may kill such a person and refine them into a Pure Yin ghost weapon for their own command. Those with slightly better intentions might exploit her constitution to attract malevolent entities, making it easier to draw them out and purge them.”

Whichever of these it was, none of it was anything good.

Ou Luozhong and Xue Shi felt a chill seep through their entire bodies. They did not understand these esoteric arts and techniques, but neither were they dim-witted men who could not comprehend plain speech. On the contrary — Lang Jiuchuan’s words were entirely clear to them.

The imagery was far too vivid. Both were equally shocked and frightened.

Ou Luozhong said in a trembling voice, “My daughter is only twelve. If we had spoken of it… she would not even have reached twelve — could it be that even at such a young age, someone would still…”

“And what of it?” Lang Jiuchuan’s voice was cold. “Those with intent do not calculate age. Her constitution alone is enough to capture their attention.”

Ou Luozhong’s vision swam before him. He gripped the small side table with force. “Then what is to be done? Is my daughter condemned to live in fear and dread because of this constitution for the rest of her life?”

“This is precisely why her true birth date and hour must be kept utterly concealed and never spoken to anyone.” Lang Jiuchuan paused, then added: “Furthermore, a fate and constitution such as this is ill-suited to marriage.”

Ou Luozhong drained his cup of tea in one gulp. “Ill-suited to marriage — that matters little. She and her mother and I settled long ago that we would keep her at home for the rest of her life.”

Lang Jiuchuan fell silent.

“Only, my daughter has now reached the point where the constant sight of ghosts and malevolent spirits has left her too terrified to take a single step outside her room. She lies bedridden and ill.” Ou Luozhong’s eyes filled with a raw and aching grief. “She is only twelve, and already she is withering away. Is this not like carving out mine and her mother’s hearts?”

Lang Jiuchuan tapped the rim of her teacup lightly with her fingertip. “Even if it required paying every possible price — all you wish is for her to live?”

“But of course!” Ou Luozhong said without a moment’s hesitation.

Lang Jiuchuan glanced at the light outside the window and said, “Tomorrow at the second quarter of the chen hour, you may send someone to come to this residence to fetch me. I will see the person first before saying more.”

Ou Luozhong heard this and immediately said, “Does this mean there is hope?”

“The arts of the mysterious are vast and ever-changing — there is always one technique suited to any given constitution. It depends only on how resolute you can bring yourselves to be.” Lang Jiuchuan’s words were deliberately ambiguous.

Xue Shi’s heart lurched — he wanted to speak, yet held back. But seeing the look on his old friend’s face, so overjoyed that he could hardly contain himself, he swallowed the words back down.

After Ou Luozhong received Lang Jiuchuan’s definitive word, he asked a few more questions, then said, “Then I shall take my leave for now. Tomorrow I will have my daughter-in-law come personally to receive you?”

“That is fine.”

Xue Shi still had a few things to say to Lang Jiuchuan, so Ou Luozhong bid them farewell first and departed. Once he was gone, Xue Shi could no longer hold back and asked, “From what you said just now, is the technique for saving the child very difficult?”

“Difficult is not quite the word — but it means either death or permanent injury.”

Xue Shi froze. “What do you mean by that?”

“Her ability to see those shadowy entities and malevolent spirits stems from two things: first, her constitution; and second, the fact that her eyes have opened a channel between Yin and Yang — in other words, she has developed Yin-Yang sight.” Lang Jiuchuan said evenly. “If she does not wish to see these things, all that is needed is to seal the Yin-Yang sight. But once it is sealed, she will no longer be able to perceive her surroundings normally — she will be unable to see.”

A sharp hiss escaped Xue Shi.

He drew in a sharp breath. “You mean she will be blind?”

Lang Jiuchuan gave a nod. “I will take her eyes. That is the price I require for stepping in to save her.”

A pair of Yin-Yang eyes — she could graft them onto her own body.

“Take them?” Xue Shi was so startled his own eyes went wide, and the look he gave her was not unlike the way one might look at an executioner.

Lang Jiuchuan was rendered speechless. “When I say ‘take them,’ I do not mean what you are imagining — I am not going to gouge them out of her head. If simply removing the eyeballs could seal the sight, she would have done it herself long ago.”

True Yin-Yang perception was not limited to the eyes alone — it extended through all five senses. Even if the eyes could not see, the ears could still hear. For a child, that would be an equally unbearable torment.

It remained to be seen what the Ou Family would choose.

Xue Shi looked a little sheepish. “I thought removing them would do the job.”

Lang Jiuchuan lifted her tea. She had said enough — he ought to take his leave.

Xue Shi, however, said, “Incidentally — the matter of the life-swapping has been investigated. It was indeed carried out by my younger brother, with my stepmother’s assistance in retrieving the birth hair from the ancestral shrine. The laughable part is that they believed they were swapping for their own benefit, but in truth, they had been manipulated by someone else.”

Xue Shihang had encountered some opportunity and learned of this life-swapping method. Coveting Xue Shi’s own fate and destiny, and consumed by ambition, he had acted from a surge of vicious intent, taking the risky and underhanded path, and done this dark and ruinous deed. Yet neither of them knew that they were merely instruments in another man’s hands — a fifth-rank Bureau Director of Rites named Deng Xianming, who had studied under the same master as Xue Shi yet followed a vastly different fate, and whose frustration and stagnation had festered into this scheme. He had plotted and laid his trap for a full six months.

“My stepmother and stepbrother — blind to their own foolishness, not knowing the extent of their own incompetence. I have already demanded that the clan open the ancestral shrine and expel their branch of the family from the Xue lineage…” Xue Shi said, slapping the table in indignation. Seeing Lang Jiuchuan utterly unmoved, he asked, “Will you not share in my righteous outrage?”

Lang Jiuchuan gave a solemn, earnest nod. “Indeed — how terribly unfortunate for you.”

Xue Shi: “!”

And just what was I hoping for? That she would share in my feelings and curse that villain alongside this old man?

This old man has truly misjudged!