Four slaps crisp and loud—they hit Ji Lin, but also hit everyone present who enjoyed watching the excitement.

After four slaps, Ji Lin fainted, whether truly or falsely. Jing Hengbo didn’t care either way. She chuckled, released her hand, threw Ji Lin to the ground, pointed at Ji Wen to indicate she should handle it herself, then tidied her hair and walked gracefully inside to freshen up and reorganize. Everyone stared at her infinitely charming back, their gazes somewhat dazed, truly unable to connect this moment’s seductively graceful queen with the domineering female tyrannosaurus who had just delivered those slaps. Only Crown Prince Shang Lue’s eyes showed even more interest—the Jade Queen was spicy when spicy, alluring when alluring, full of flavor! She was definitely his!

Ji Wen also looked at Yelu Qi with great interest but didn’t entangle him. She brought her guards and took away Ji Lin and her maid, presumably to deal with her family’s internal affairs first.

Everyone dispersed at this time. Naturally, after returning, they would thoroughly discuss what they’d seen today and reassess the Jade Queen.

When Jing Hengbo finished freshening up and came out, dusk was falling—time to attend the auction.

Shang Lue had been waiting in the courtyard, fantasizing about how this mature beauty would look wearing the gown he’d personally selected. Lost in thought until drool dripped, he casually looked up and was instantly stunned.

Below the steps, before the screen doors, stood a tall beauty in emerald clothes.

Her exquisitely curved silhouette and flowing skirt hem flashing pale gold outlined the most beautiful contour under the blue sky, evoking thoughts of the most ethereal melodies, the most graceful poetry, the most exquisite sculptures, and all the ingeniously crafted, indescribably ultimate beauty in this world.

Shang Lue thought his imagination was sufficient, yet some beauty still transcended his imagination.

With a somewhat mesmerized expression, he approached.

Jing Hengbo smiled at him and gracefully extended her arm. Shang Lue was startled, but being quite clever, he soon reacted and elegantly took her arm.

Jing Hengbo smiled at him. Through the brilliant green crystal silk veil, a pair of wonderful eyes sparkled with flowing light.

Shang Lue was overjoyed, seeming to already see himself marrying this soul-stirring queen, becoming Shang Kingdom’s Great King, merging Shang Kingdom with Jade, becoming the strongest among the fourteen tribes, perhaps even seizing more territory…

He helped Jing Hengbo into the carriage. Being intoxicated and entranced, he forgot that Yelu Qi seemed absent…

…

The carriage rolled through the streets. Jing Hengbo leaned against the window throughout the journey, seemingly leisurely appreciating the street scenery.

No one noticed that wherever she passed, sparks occasionally splashed on roadside walls, leaving various long and short marks.

The carriage stopped at “Bihua Garden.” From afar they could see carriages like dragons and lights bright as day. The estate’s main gate stood open with brocade carpets extending inward from the white jade path, upon which walked men and women in brocade clothes chatting and laughing—a scene of fragrant clothes, beautiful hair, wealth and romance.

When Shang Kingdom Crown Prince’s carriage arrived, announcements came from afar. All guests moved aside to show respect for their host.

The carriage came proudly through the crowd. To show off, Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince had specially crafted a brand new, gorgeously semi-hollow carriage. The carriage had large open windows on both sides with a magnificent canopy above, hanging crystal gauze like curtains. People inside appeared dimly through the shadows, mysterious yet noble.

The Crown Prince boasted to Jing Hengbo that this carriage cost enormous wealth. Except for the legendary Black Water Queen’s phoenix sedan, it ranked first in the northern wilderness. Jing Hengbo just smiled, thinking her sedan had only been used once yet somehow gained fame.

Back during the Qushui Poetry Gathering, two magnificent gifts—a sedan and a boat. Now she could vaguely guess the sedan was Yelu Qi’s gift, the boat was Gong Yin’s present.

Having received such gifts, seeing Shang Kingdom Crown Prince’s style only seemed vulgar.

The carriage passed through the royal nobles. Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince kept lifting curtains, smugly smiling and nodding to both sides in self-satisfaction. But most gazes fell on Jing Hengbo—who was this female companion of the Crown Prince whose very silhouette was so moving?

When Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince personally helped Jing Hengbo from the carriage, everyone’s gazes fell in unison. Many female guests quite interested in the Crown Prince stood far behind, casting various meaningful looks.

Someone whispered, “I heard this is the Jade Queen…”

“Ah, what taste does the Crown Prince have, actually fancying an unmarried mother with a bad reputation!”

“No wonder she covers her face. I heard the Jade Queen’s face is bad. Hehe, no matter how wonderful her figure, if her face can’t be seen, it’s all useless!”

Low murmurs reached them. Jing Hengbo just smiled. She had seen great occasions—no amount of attention could match the sea of people at Di Ge’s Queen’s welcome ceremony; no amount of hostility could equal the entire court threatening suicide outside Yuzhao Palace.

She walked calmly, dragging her phoenix tail feather-like pale gold train. To avoid stepping on her dress, Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince could only walk awkwardly behind her, looking like her servant.

Bearing and elegance could best command a scene. Those low murmurs gradually quieted.

Because of the crowd—guests included not only royal nobles from various countries but also celebrities and scholars from all nations and tribes—indoor arrangements were insufficient, so they held the feast on the estate’s lawn facing a quiet lake. Crystal glass lotus lanterns floated on the water, and a colorful silk platform was erected with countless red lanterns hung by transparent silk threads. From afar it looked like countless red crystal diamonds suspended in the black sky.

Jing Hengbo quite liked this arrangement—somewhat like buffets in that modern world. More importantly, because heaven and earth were spacious, BIUBIUBIU odors would be blown away by wind, so she could finally eat. Poor her—since arriving in Shang Kingdom, surrounded daily by those strange smells, she had no appetite and had lost several pounds in just days.

Other guests seemed to share her thoughts. Before Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince finished his opening speech, people here had already started eating. Jing Hengbo attacked the food from both sides. People kept approaching to chat with her, mostly women offering toasts and probing conversations. Among them, three people tripped in front of her skirt, four tried to splash wine on her dress, and five wanted to suddenly lift her veil.

The three who tripped suddenly found themselves fallen into water, though they’d been far from the riverbank.

The four who splashed wine watched helplessly as their wine suddenly changed direction and splashed on their own faces.

The five who wanted to lift the Queen’s veil to embarrass her saw the Queen’s veil close at hand, then suddenly the Queen vanished. The next instant they fell face-first onto others’ tables with their faces buried in soup bowls.

The Queen smiled unperturbed—women, were your melodramatic tricks always just these?

These were small-scale petty tricks that didn’t alarm any guests, except for some hidden in shadows with burning gazes.

When Jing Hengbo dodged the fifth woman, someone suddenly appeared before her.

Seeing this person at first glance, Jing Hengbo couldn’t help narrowing her eyes.

Sharp—this was her first impression of this person.

The man wasn’t tall, had ordinary looks and ordinary clothes, seeming somewhat out of place among this wealthy crowd. But anyone looking twice would realize this person was the most dangerous among everyone present.

His pair of narrow eyes were like blade edges quenched by blood and fire. When staring at people, you’d feel all your inner secrets were about to be excavated.

“Miss,” he blocked Jing Hengbo’s path, “I’m quite interested in your lightness skills. May I ask who your master was?”

Jing Hengbo narrowed her eyes.

Her teleportation and object control resembled this continent’s lightness skills and internal energy. When displayed, they rarely aroused suspicion—people at most were amazed that someone so young possessed such superb skills, becoming even more cautious. But this person’s tone when saying “lightness skills” was clearly questioning, obviously not believing it was lightness skills.

Jing Hengbo’s expression showed some annoyance and surprise. She’d been disgusted by those women’s petty tricks and used teleportation and object control very carefully. Moreover, this person clearly hadn’t been nearby just now and shouldn’t have been able to discover and question this.

“Who are you, sir?” she smiled. “Looking at you, you’re also a martial artist. Don’t you know that one’s master and background are personal secrets with no obligation to explain to strangers?”

She glanced at Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince. The host was very busy tonight, surrounded by women with no time to attend to her side.

“Miss teaches correctly,” the man smiled without emotional fluctuation. “I just found miss’s techniques quite strange, suddenly recalling an incident in my family last year, so I boldly came to ask.”

“Oh?” Jing Hengbo suddenly smiled very warmly. “What kind of incident? May I ask?”

As they talked, they’d walked to the riverside. This stretch of riverbank was lower with a patch of low woods ahead, sparse lighting, and fewer people.

“Oh, it’s like this,” the man said. “The Huangjin Tribe’s Beixing City, the Yelu family estate massacre. Has miss heard of it?”

He stared intently at Jing Hengbo’s eyes.

Jing Hengbo’s expression didn’t change. She shrugged: “Sounds terrifying, but unfortunately, no.”

“Is that so…” The man suddenly hooked his fingers like claws, grabbing toward Jing Hengbo’s shoulder.

The next instant Jing Hengbo flashed, already outside his finger range, but seemed unsteady and didn’t flash far before stumbling and falling.

She struggled several times without getting up. Her long skirt was turned up, and her feet and ankles were somehow bound by a thin golden rope. Looking more carefully, it wasn’t rope but a slender golden small snake tightly wrapped around her ankles. Jing Hengbo’s hair nearly stood on end.

The middle-aged man looked at the snake and smiled coldly.

“Your abilities are indeed quite peculiar, Your Majesty,” he smiled. “But not the Jade Queen—I should call you Black Water Queen Your Majesty.”

“So you know me,” Jing Hengbo had a small knife in her hand but dared not try to pick off the snake. Those sharp venomous fangs pressed tightly against her skin—she feared moving even slightly would make those fangs take a bite, leaving her crawling for the rest of her life.

“Don’t bother. This is a golden silk snake, extremely venomous,” the middle-aged man said. “If you want immediate reincarnation, feel free to try.”

Jing Hengbo frowned: “I don’t know you. Why are you attacking me out of nowhere?”

“I originally didn’t know you either,” the man said lightly. “But having tracked you people for so long, naturally I recognized you when we actually met.”

Jing Hengbo looked at him coldly.

The middle-aged man said coldly: “They say the Black Water Queen is clever, but how didn’t you notice the fifth person trying to lift your mask quietly released a snake under your skirt?”

“Why? Have I offended you?”

“You offended thirty-three lives of the Yelu family,” the man’s laughter was like an owl’s. “At Huangjin Tribe’s Beixing City, you accompanied Yelu family traitor Yelu Qi, infiltrated our family estate, and killed everyone except Yelu Tan. Even Yelu Tan took a blade from Yelu Qi and nearly died. You did such things yet act as if nothing happened before me?”

“You’re from the Yelu family?”

“Yelu Shengwu,” the man said expressionlessly. “Brother of family Grand Master Yelu Shengwen whom you killed, Yelu family Law Enforcement Elder.”

“I don’t understand a word you’re saying,” Jing Hengbo shrugged. “How could I have the ability to kill so many people?”

“I knew you’d deny it,” the man suddenly raised his hand, grabbed Jing Hengbo’s shoulder, and threw her into the river.

The river water was ice-cold and piercing. Caught off guard, Jing Hengbo felt coldness like swords stabbing her heart, her internal organs seeming to roll with snowy waves. Her teeth immediately began chattering: “You you you you want want want… to to to… do do do… what…”

The nearby woods seemed to rustle, then quieted again.

“Do what? Interrogate!” Yelu Shengwu stood on a riverside stone with one foot, supporting his knee with his arm while grabbing her hair with one hand, his eyes ghostly like will-o’-the-wisps. “Where is Yelu Qi?”

Jing Hengbo shook her head, shaking water all over her face: “Who?”

“Still denying?” Yelu Shengwu sneered. “Black Water Queen, do you know who understands you best in this world? Me! Do you think that after you and Yelu Qi killed thirty-three Yelu family members, everything would be peaceful forever? Don’t forget—dead people can speak! I examined all the corpses. Those who died outside Yelu Xun’s door weren’t killed by masters at all. All wounds showed no opponent’s internal energy. From wound angles and traces, the opponent possessed incredible lightness skills and seemed to have many hands, attacking from different angles… Such abilities were unheard of before. Later I noticed you, heard of your miracles at the Queen’s Welcome Ceremony… Black Water Queen, this was your handiwork, wasn’t it? This isn’t lightness skills and internal energy at all—it’s your special ability, right?”

Water all over her face blurred Jing Hengbo’s eyes. She struggled to open them, frowning: “…Who understands your rambling…”

“Your Majesty Queen, you left Di Ge with Yelu Qi. Later I investigated—Yelu Qi never returned to Yu Kingdom, always staying by your side. The Beixing City Yelu estate incident was your joint work. With such deep hatred, how could the Yelu family not seek revenge?” Yelu Shengwu said fiercely. “Have you inquired? There’s never been a failure when I, Yelu Shengwu, want to force out answers! Now I’ll press you into water once for each question! He suddenly laughed heartily: “Do you know what suffocation feels like? You’ll taste it soon. You’ll feel all your blood rushing upward, your whole body convulsing, your chest about to explode, your brain roaring, wishing you could immediately burst and die. But don’t worry, I won’t let you die so easily. I’ll calculate the timing and pull you out just before you suffocate to death… Over and over like this. If you don’t answer, I don’t mind letting you taste this several more times. Trust me…” He grinned with excited light in his eyes. “Just once like this and you’ll obediently tell me everything.”

“You’re drea…” Before Jing Hengbo could say “ming” (dreaming), Yelu Shengwu’s hand suddenly pressed down. With a splash, she was pressed underwater before she could make a sound.

Yelu Shengwu stared at the black hair spreading underwater, his eyes flickering with light—excitement. He enjoyed torture and interrogation, enjoyed testing human endurance with various cruel and even bizarre methods, enjoyed hearing the moans, cries, and pleas of originally powerful people under his hands until they prostrated in the dust at his feet.

Silently counting time in his heart, calculating that Jing Hengbo was now drowned to within one breath of death, he suddenly pulled.

With a splash, the black head was lifted up, the drenched person weak and powerless in his hands.

His lips curved in a cold smile.

“Speak, where is Yelu Qi…”

Before finishing the sentence, suddenly golden light flashed before his eyes, shooting straight at his mouth!

Greatly alarmed, he instinctively released his grip, his head jerking back violently. The golden light grazed past his lips—cold, with a pungent fishy smell.

It was that golden silk snake!

Lightning flashed through his mind. Greatly shocked, he kicked with both legs, about to shoot away from the riverbank.

But his abdomen suddenly felt cold, then hot. Looking down, he saw a line of blood spurting from his abdomen like a blood rainbow arching over the water.

In the water, that black head slowly lifted. That face was hauntingly beautiful, but it wasn’t Jing Hengbo.

In the shimmering water light, his smile seemed to flicker with the glazed light of this night and moon.

He smiled softly: “I’m here.”

Yelu Shengwu opened his mouth, his expression instantly filled with boundless regret.

Scheming so hard to interrogate, who knew that person was right underwater!

“Splash”—another water sound as Jing Hengbo’s head emerged, but now with short hair. She gasped urgently, shivering, crawled onto the riverbank, and when passing Yelu Shengwu, kicked him over.

“I just said—whoever doesn’t take me seriously, I won’t take their life seriously!”

Yelu Qi walked ashore. He was also soaked but his clothes fluttered, still maintaining elegant posture like a night prince emerging from river water. In comparison, the shivering Jing Hengbo hugging her shoulders looked like a defeated quail.

She truly felt very cold, that coldness seeming to spread from her dantian, piercing her entire body until even her blood felt numb.

She stiffly rubbed her hands, watching Yelu Qi strip off Yelu Shengwu’s cloak, kick the corpse into the river water, then find stones to weigh it down.

This scene was planned by her and Yelu Qi. The Yelu family had reached Shang Kingdom and sought Yu Kingdom’s help to detain Yelu Qi and her—better to strike first.

Tonight at the banquet, the Yelu family would definitely come, so she made a high-profile appearance to attract Yelu Shengwu’s attention and probing. When the two went to the riverside, while Yelu Shengwu was secretly pleased, she was equally secretly proud—Yelu Qi understood Yelu Shengwu’s methods. In such circumstances, only riverside interrogation was most suitable. If discovered, they could claim someone had fallen into water and they were rescuing. So Yelu Qi had hidden underwater early, waiting for Yelu Shengwu to interrogate Jing Hengbo by the river.

The long hair Yelu Shengwu grabbed was fake hair Jing Hengbo had attached to her head beforehand. After entering the water, she removed the fake hair, bit the wheat straw Yelu Qi had prepared, and swam away. Yelu Qi then took her place. Their handoff was extremely fast. Yelu Shengwu, intoxicated by the pleasure of torture and interrogation with his hand underwater, had dulled senses and naturally couldn’t detect the switch.

Jing Hengbo rubbed her hands a few times when suddenly she felt something was wrong. She raised both palms and saw ice and snow falling from her palms.

She stared blankly, finally understanding why she felt particularly cold—when she had absorbed the chaotic cold qi from Gong Yin’s body, it seemed to calm down but actually left hidden problems in her body. When she contacted this winter lake’s icy water, the dormant cold qi in her body erupted.

“How do you feel? We need to leave quickly. The Yelu family has other people here…” Yelu Qi walked to her side, about to drape the cloak over her when he saw her complexion and immediately stopped speaking. He crouched beside her and grasped her hands.

Jing Hengbo wanted to withdraw her hands, but her palms were already stiff and unresponsive. Yelu Qi looked down and saw ice and snow between her fingers and palms, his expression immediately changing.

He scooped her up horizontally and was about to leave. Jing Hengbo struggled in his arms: “No… no…”

“Be obedient,” he said softly in her ear. “I need to find a place to drive out the cold for you. This cold qi is very fierce—once it penetrates your body, it might leave hidden problems.”

“Like this… how can we get out…” Jing Hengbo trembled all over, speaking unclearly. “Besides… I still need… medicine…”

Yelu Qi looked down at her. In just this moment, she was already frozen through, her face pale blue, even her lips completely bloodless.

Yelu Qi felt a pang of pain in his heart, as if suddenly cracked by winter wind.

At this moment he deeply regretted agreeing to Jing Hengbo’s plan, letting her act as bait to lure and kill Yelu Shengwu.

If he had known she couldn’t bear cold, he would rather face Yelu Shengwu in direct combat than risk her health for safety.

“I have my ways to get out,” his tone was slightly hard, but this anger wasn’t directed at her—it was at himself.

He wrapped her body tightly in Yelu Shengwu’s cloak and walked quickly outward. But Jing Hengbo dragged her feet on the ground, constantly pulling backward: “Don’t… don’t.”

Yelu Qi stopped and frowned at her, not understanding what she was insisting on.

“Medicine… medicine…” Jing Hengbo said. “I have use for it.”

Meeting her stubborn, slightly pleading eyes, his heart suddenly shook.

This medicine wasn’t for herself—it was for Gong Yin, wasn’t it?

For the medicine that might appear at tonight’s auction that could help Gong Yin, she would rather let cold qi invade her body than leave.

Her deep affection wasn’t in displays but in stubbornness.

Yelu Qi closed his eyes.

His heart felt sour, bitter, astringent, helpless—all kinds of flavors mixed together, flowing backward and surging in his throat. At this moment, he envied that man who wasn’t here but still occupied all her thoughts.

After a moment he opened his eyes, their depths still quietly profound and calm.

“Fine,” he said. “But…” He suddenly smiled wickedly. “Forgive my presumption.”

Jing Hengbo widened her eyes, watching him put her down, wrap her in the cloak, then reach his hands into the cloak. His fingers moved skillfully, then…

Her complex court gown was suddenly thrown out from under the cloak.

Jing Hengbo thought blankly: This guy is so skilled at undressing…

“This dress isn’t close-fitting enough,” Yelu Qi showed no embarrassment, casually explaining while pulling off his own close-fitting silk undergarment, using internal energy to dry it, then reaching into the cloak again.

Jing Hengbo tried to dodge—she only had homemade undergarments inside!

Yelu Qi held her shoulders, saying lightly, “Either leave or let me drive out the cold now.” Jing Hengbo stopped moving.

Fortunately, Yelu Qi was a gentleman. He wrapped his hands in clean cloth, reached into the cloak, and through the thin undergarment, first dried the water on her body, then vigorously rubbed. Jing Hengbo immediately felt her nearly stiff muscles and bones slowly loosening.

“I should use medicine to assist internal energy in driving out cold for you,” Yelu Qi half-knelt on the ground, vigorously rubbing her while skillfully pressing all her joints and pressure points, explaining as he worked. “But since you won’t leave, and my internal energy isn’t pure yang true fire qi, I can only stimulate your blood circulation first to prevent joint injuries and future ailments.”

“Yelu Qi…” Jing Hengbo said in a daze. “Besides being unable to have children, is there anything you can’t do?”

“Yes,” Yelu Qi’s hands didn’t stop. “Many things.”

“Oh?” Jing Hengbo was actually feeling embarrassed. As her body gradually recovered from its frozen state, she increasingly felt the heat from his palms, felt his hands caressing her body—gentle yet powerful. He was extremely close, the man’s rich yet clear breath washing over her face with a faint orchid-like fragrant aroma. Her gaze involuntarily fell on his thick black eyelashes, then followed the lashes down his finely lined profile where a hint of collarbone showed at his collar. She immediately looked away.

Yelu Qi’s hands paused slightly. He could feel her embarrassment, and he was equally uneasy. As he rubbed, her body grew warmer and naturally softer. Though he avoided vital areas, that softness, those curves, that delicate elasticity still transmitted sensitively through his palms. The feelings from beside the bathtub during the day returned to his heart. His breathing grew slightly rapid, so he also turned his gaze away, looking at a corner of her skirt spreading on the ground.

“There are many things I can’t do,” he smiled and sighed. “For instance, I can’t make my sister obedient, can’t make my sister live a hundred years, can’t know my true background, can’t make you…”

Jing Hengbo raised her eyelashes, looking at him questioningly. Under the starlight her double eyelids were very deep, her pupils black, the slightly upturned corners of her eyes naturally charming.

He felt as if his heart had been struck.

After a long while, he recovered and smiled: “Can’t make you obey me either.”

Jing Hengbo curved her lips in a lazy, smug smile.

Yelu Qi stared almost greedily at her smile, slowly drawing a breath in his heart.

Some words couldn’t be spoken, mustn’t be spoken.

There were many things he couldn’t do.

For instance, he couldn’t make her fall in love with him.

…

After that they remained silent. Though some words weren’t spoken aloud, emotions flowed in the air, making the atmosphere ambiguous. Jing Hengbo didn’t dare speak casually to avoid more embarrassment. Her body gradually recovered warmth, and without her reminding him, Yelu Qi withdrew his hands.

As he slowly unwrapped the cloth from his hands, he faintly smelled a light fragrance on the cloth strips. He knew this fragrance came from deep within her body—the most precious secret belonging to a maiden. Thinking this, his heart couldn’t help stirring slightly. He slowly tucked the cloth into his chest.

Seeing his action, Jing Hengbo could only pretend not to notice. Feeling better, she put the emerald court gown back on inside the cloak. That fabric was very smooth—a shake would shed water, and it hadn’t really gotten soaked. With that color, even if slightly wet, it wouldn’t be clearly visible in the dark.

Lights gradually brightened on the distant lawn. Jing Hengbo looked in that direction: “The auction is about to begin.”

“I can’t go over,” Yelu Qi said. “Other Yelu family members are still there, and they have ways to identify family descendants.”

Jing Hengbo was somewhat worried: “Yelu Shengwu came looking for me—don’t the others know? When they discover Yelu Shengwu is missing, won’t they make a fuss?”

“No,” Yelu Qi’s smile was mocking. “Yelu Shengwu is proud and competitive, looking down on everyone. He likes acting alone and wouldn’t tell others what he was doing.”

Only then did Jing Hengbo feel relieved. She went to attend the auction while Yelu Qi hid in the shadows, preparing to find opportunities before and after the auction to eliminate the remaining Yelu family members in one sweep.

Seating on the lawn had been rearranged. Jing Hengbo casually found a dimly lit corner and had just sat down when a group of women rushed over, sitting around her front, back, left, and right. This way, Shang Kingdom’s Crown Prince could no longer sit beside her.

Jing Hengbo chuckled coldly in her heart, despising these women’s petty tricks. She didn’t care whether Shang Lue sat over or not, but with these women sitting too close, they might easily discover her skirt hem was wet. But she couldn’t stand up and change positions now as that would be more conspicuous, so she could only sit as much in the shadows as possible.

On the high platform in the river, the auction didn’t begin immediately but first featured song and dance performances. A group of dancers performed gracefully on the platform like goddesses of the Luo River. The lead dancer was especially light as a swallow with elegant movements. At the dance’s climax, she actually leaped up, jumped down from the platform, and with bare feet touched down on lotus lanterns floating on the river surface.

At this moment with her robes fluttering in the wind, feet touching red lotuses, hands pressed together, her posture both solemn and enchanting, everyone felt surprised. These lotus lanterns were narrow, thin, and floating on the river surface, bobbing and swaying. To dance on them—the difficulty was imaginable.

Everyone immediately cheered. Jing Hengbo also applauded at first, secretly praising that even a dancer had such lightness skills. Then she realized these lotus river lanterns were drifting, carrying the dancer downstream with the current.

She immediately felt alarmed.

Yelu Shengwu’s corpse was hidden under stones by the shore. Originally no one went there, but these lotus river lanterns were now drifting in that direction. The lights from the platform also turned that way, illuminating that dark area brightly. If the corpse in the water was discovered…

She was secretly anxious, but could do nothing to remedy the situation now. The lights illuminated that riverside and small woods brilliantly—no one could go cover things up at this time.

On the water surface, lotus lanterns drifted quietly. The dancer with excellent lightness skills danced on the one-foot square lantern space, spreading arms, lifting legs, bending waist, turning sleeves, dancing gracefully. Human shadows and flower shadows on the river churned like tides, and cheers were like tides too.

The dancer suddenly bent backward, her long hair hanging straight down, her arched back like a rainbow. Then she leaped up again, leaning diagonally from the lotus lantern with her entire face almost flat against the water surface.

Cheers nearly overturned the water surface. The dancer smiled proudly, then suddenly felt something wrong in the water.

Under the dark water surface, there seemed to be something pale, vaguely like a human face.

The dancer was stunned, instinctively disbelieving—surely she was seeing things. But that thing suddenly floated upward.

She saw a pair of dead fish-like bulging eyes suddenly approaching!

“Ah!” A scream echoed across the river. Everyone stood up in panic to see the previously agile dancer scream once, then topple sideways with a splash into the water.

After falling in, she seemed even more panicked, struggling more violently, constantly screaming “Ghost! There’s a ghost in the water!” kicking and stomping frantically as if trying to escape something in the water.

At this time night was deep. Suddenly a damp breeze rose, the river surface churning violently. Red lotus river lanterns bobbed and swayed, red light flickering dimly on the river like ghostly fire. The woman’s screams were unbearably fearful and shrill. Hearing them, everyone got goosebumps and suddenly felt very cold.

Jing Hengbo had already stood up, wanting to leave, but those women were also frightened and stood up in panic. People in fearful states instinctively seek support—the women on her left and right both unconsciously grabbed her arms tightly, saying in trembling voices, “What happened? What happened?”

Now Jing Hengbo couldn’t teleport. Hearing Crown Prince Shang Lue sternly ordering guards to dive down and investigate, she couldn’t help sighing inwardly.

She definitely hadn’t checked the almanac before going out today—truly an unlucky year.

Guards jumped into the water and soon cried out in alarm: “There’s a corpse underwater!”

This announcement caused more chaos. Then someone shouted loudly: “Calm down! Calm down! This place is sealed—no one has left until now. This person just died, so the killer must still be here. Please, honored guests, remain calm, stay in place, and don’t leave without permission to avoid harm!”

A squad of uniformly armored soldiers jogged over, stationing around the riverbank facing the guests on the lawn, surrounding everyone tightly.

Shang Lue, rushing to the river platform to examine the corpse, called out loudly: “The killer might also have fallen in water. Check for anyone with wet clothes!”

Before he finished speaking, one of the women gripping Jing Hengbo suddenly let go, looked at the moisture on her palm, and cried out in alarm: “Jade Queen, why is your skirt wet!”

…