The clouds scattered, the thunder fell silent, and the Wanshi Shop returned to stillness.

Lang Jiuchuan lifted the swaddled infant and reached out a fingertip to probe inside. The phoenix fate violet qi that had belonged to the girl was completely gone. In its place was a thread of spiritual power that Lang Jiuchuan had channeled into her — with this force protecting her body, it was like having a talisman of safekeeping. She could turn misfortune into fortune; in moments between life and death, it would shelter and shield her from harm. It was a fair exchange between them.

But this was not yet finished. Lang Jiuchuan sent a palm-strike of concentrated lightning into the small ritual array, and the wooden substitute figure caught fire and began to burn.

The infant girl immediately convulsed from head to toe, threw back her head, and screamed — as though enduring tremendous pain and suffering.

Lang Jiuchuan pressed a hand to the child’s spirit-altar, guiding that thread of spiritual power through all her four limbs and hundreds of bones. By the time the wooden figure had burned completely to ash, the infant’s crying gradually subsided and she opened her eyes.

Both small eyes still clung to drops of tears, perfectly clear and lucid. She stared up at Lang Jiuchuan with an expression of grievance and complaint.

Lang Jiuchuan smiled. “You have your own path ahead of you. I hope you know happiness often.”

She withdrew the protective barrier from Lang Caining and the others. “It is done.”

Wen Yue’s body had gone soft and boneless, and she was half-supported by the equally drained and trembling Lang Caining as the two walked over together, looking at the woman and the swaddled child in her arms.

“It worked?”

“Ninth Younger Sister, are you all right?”

Wen Yue’s face was full of shame and hesitation, words caught in her throat.

“Though it diverged somewhat from what I had originally planned, the task has been accomplished. Her birth date remains the same as before, but her fate-pattern is now altogether different. Within her body there is a thread of my spiritual power, which will keep her safe.” Lang Jiuchuan passed the swaddled infant to Wen Yue.

Wen Yue’s entire body was limp — and yet her arms summoned a burst of strength, and she pulled the child close to her chest. She looked down, and there was the child: still the same soft, plump little thing as before — and yet somehow different, though Wen Yue could not say precisely how.

“Do not entangle yourself any further with the Lu Family. For the time being, the child can be kept here at the Wanshi Shop to be looked after. There are protective arrays here that will be beneficial for her body’s recovery.” Lang Jiuchuan said to Wen Yue. “Once your affairs with the child’s father are settled, you may then take her with you. She will be your own child — but if the Lu Family learns she exists before then, they will stop at nothing to take her back.”

Wen Yue’s arms tightened around the child.

“This child will be Lu Ruiting’s only blood.” Lang Jiuchuan added one more sentence.

Wen Yue’s pupils contracted sharply. She understood at once what those words implied, and her lips trembled — yet she could not form a single word.

Lang Caining also caught the meaning and said, “Ninth Younger Sister, are you saying that the rabbit-eared gent… er, that Lu Ruiting… can no longer father children?”

“That day, I saw from his descendants’ palace only that fate decreed him one child.” Lang Jiuchuan said. “Now that you have all come away from him tainted with ill fortune — with that yin-tainted shroud on him — he is likely about to meet with some calamity.”

Setting aside whether he would truly meet his end — even if he only ever had one child, and only a daughter at that, the Lu Family would exhaust every means to take that child back.

A man like Lu Ruiting did not deserve to be her father.

Wen Yue said, “I will return immediately and seek a formal separation. Afterwards, I will take the child and go to live at my maternal grandmother’s. But I cannot bear to part with her — may I stay here with her?”

“You may come. As long as you are not afraid of the Lu Family catching wind of it.” Lang Jiuchuan said in an unhurried tone. “The child is here, and will not be lost — rest easy.”

Wen Yue heard the meaning in those words and said, “I understand.”

She looked at the child, lowered her head, and pressed her cheek gently against the soft little face. The joy of recovering what had been lost filled her chest until it overflowed, and she could not help kneeling once more before Lang Jiuchuan. “I have no way to repay you — but I will make a memorial tablet in your name and offer incense before it every day and night.”

“Please do not kneel any further. Say nothing of today’s events to anyone — even if you know that the National Preceptor has his designs upon this child, do not foolishly go to him and demand answers. Forget about whether you can stand against him — even noble and marquis families combined cannot resist the Tantai imperial clan.” Lang Jiuchuan warned them once more. “Do not dash an egg against a stone.”

“So we are to simply watch while he deceives the world, wearing the face of a divine guardian while committing the deeds of a wicked spirit — and do nothing?” Wen Ze asked. “What does he intend to do with these children?”

“This is a matter for the Daoist world.” Lang Jiuchuan said. “What you can do lies within the scope of your own ability: in times of great disaster and calamity, do what you can to shelter and protect the common people. Hold good intent in your hearts — that is the accumulation of blessings and the doing of good. The imperial family must not be trusted — and cannot be trusted.”

Wen Ze straightened, a chill running through him.

Wen Yue seemed to arrive at a quiet understanding.

Lang Jiuchuan sent them on their way. Though Wen Yue was desperately unwilling, she bit down on her reluctance and left the child behind — not before begging Lang Jiuchuan to give the baby a name.

“Since I hope she grows up full of vitality and carries kindness and gratitude in her heart — let her name be Shanxu. ‘Xu xu ruo sheng’ — vivid and alive, brimming with the fullness of life. That suits her well.” Lang Jiuchuan’s eyes softened with warmth.

Wen Yue left, pausing to glance back at every third step. She needed to hurry back and cut all ties with Lu Ruiting completely — leave that pit of fire cleanly and without a trace. Only then could she bring the child back to her side. As for whether the Lu Family would suspect anything — hmph. That child had been forcibly taken and placed in a small coffin, not even given a grave marker before being buried, hadn’t she? So this child was hers alone. She would be called: Wen Shanxu.

Once Wen Yue and the others left, Fuqi returned — and with him came Shen Qinghe, his face haggard and worn. As it turned out, Gong Qi had returned to his clan these past two days, and nearly all the affairs of the Surveillance Division had been pushed onto Shen Qinghe’s shoulders.

Lang Jiuchuan felt a slight pang of guilt. Gong Qi’s sudden return to his clan was likely because of the matter involving the ancient monster — a great clan like theirs, even while joining forces with her to preserve the world and its people, still needed to keep a flame burning for themselves.

Human selfishness?

No — the preservation of hope.

Shen Qinghe poured down two large gulps of cold tea and said, “Something serious has happened. We can forget about celebrating this New Year in peace.”

“What is it?”

Shen Qinghe’s voice went low. “In Guanjiang Village, within the Yangchun Prefecture — corpse-wraiths have appeared, biting people and draining their blood. Those who are bitten initially present with symptoms resembling a common chill, then their vitality and spirit gradually wither, their flesh and blood progressively stiffens into something corpse-like, dark death-patches spread across their skin, and they become consumed by an insatiable craving for blood — like the living dead. And then they spread it to others. The most critical factor: this person-to-person transmission moves with terrifying speed. Within three days, those infected cannot restrain the blood-frenzy and will bite others. By now, the entire population of Guanjiang Village has been afflicted without exception. The village has been sealed and surrounded. The new Emperor has issued orders to burn and exterminate these living dead. That village borders three other villages and hamlets — some barely ten li apart, some sharing the same mountain. Those too have been surrounded and sealed for fear of spread. And if the living dead appear there as well, the intention is…”

He did not finish, but the meaning was unmistakable: regardless of whether those people had become living dead or not, to prevent further spread, they would all be burned and killed on the spot.

Lang Jiuchuan’s heart sank.

“This matter is known only to the Surveillance Division for now, and has not been made public, for fear of mass panic among the people. The Daoist priests of the Surveillance Division have already gone to track down the original source corpse-wraith. The greatest fear is that it has already bitten many and that the person-to-person chain has already taken hold — if so, this would be an apocalyptic catastrophe for the whole of Da Dan.” Shen Qinghe said. “You had Shopkeeper Fu come and seek out Gong Qi to report something; I sensed something was wrong and came straight to you. My deepest fear is this: if Lu Ruiting has already been infected by the corpse-poison and has become one of the living dead — how did he come into contact with it? Where is the source? Are there others within Wu Jing who are infected? Has it already spread there? If so — Wu Jing is in grave danger!”

“This is bad.” Lang Jiuchuan rose to her feet and turned to Fuqi. “Wen Yue and the others have gone back and will certainly try to find Lu Ruiting to speak of a formal separation. Go and stop her — do not let her get near that man surnamed Lu. I will follow right behind you.”

Fuqi disappeared in a flash.