Jing Hengbo walked very quickly, as if her steps weren’t swift enough to escape that crude little courtyard.

The Myriad Phenomena Trade Market was located at the center of this slum district. Gong Yin’s grand nephew played the role of her client, since a streetwalker’s status wasn’t qualified to hold an invitation. So now the grand nephew was dressed respectably, followed by a group of Dragon family disciples disguised as servants.

Following the invitation’s directions, they walked along the route. Many people on the road were heading in the same direction – some whispering secretively, others talking loudly. Most people kept low profiles and remained silent, accompanied by sharp-eyed attendants who clearly indicated their different status.

Those talking loudly were discussing the latest city news without restraint.

“…The Black Mountain Division army has entered the city and is conducting massive searches throughout the city. The city gates still haven’t been completely reopened. Except for some high officials and nobles, ordinary people simply can’t get out. Prices for rice, grain, and oil in the city have skyrocketed – it looks like chaos is coming.”

“Of course there’ll be chaos. Prince Li died in Puyang – what a major incident! The Black Mountain Division army belongs to Prince Li’s command and has direct responsibility for protecting him. If they don’t find the murderer, their days won’t be easy either. This pack of wolf-like soldiers was already fierce, and now they’re like tigers released from their cage. I hear the prefectural prison is overcrowded with suspected murderers. If you ask me, where could there be so many murderers? Who knows how many unlucky wealthy merchants are inside, waiting to be heavily extorted by the Puyang government and the Black Mountain Division army…”

“So everyone’s been keeping a low profile recently. I heard the Zheng family also had trouble – suddenly wanting to break the marriage contract with the Meng family, but that young master from the Meng family who was about to marry refused no matter what. I vaguely heard this matter is related to Prince Li…”

“Speaking of which, now this most chaotic area has become the quietest and safest. The city-wide search hasn’t affected here yet. Black Third Master really has some ability.”

“Hey! You really think this is Black Third Master’s ability? A big hooligan without backing – how could he cover such a large territory?”

“Is his backing the Prefecture Lord?”

“In the current situation, what use is one Prefecture Lord? It’s this person…” The speaker raised his finger upward, then laid it flat, before smiling: “Because of this person, the Black Mountain Division army hasn’t come here until now. Just watch – once Prince Li dies, this person’s world will begin immediately…”

The group discussed as they walked away. Jing Hengbo listened impassively. After connecting the previous events at the prefectural office, she roughly understood what kind of conspiracy it was. Presumably her actions at the Beauty Hall had caught someone’s attention and been used as a raft, inadvertently involving her in significant turmoil. When Prince Li died inexplicably during the hostage exchange, whoever benefited most was behind it all. She was just cannon fodder randomly picked up for use.

Her lips curved slightly – using her as cannon fodder? Really courting death in creative ways.

What did that person mean by laying his finger flat at the end? It was said that the Mongolian king was in poor health but hadn’t established a crown prince. He had two adult princes under his knee, each with their own power and supporters, engaged in fierce secret struggles. Could it be Prince Ping?

Then thinking about Meng Hu and Miss Zheng’s matter, Jing Hengbo sighed quietly. Was she perhaps a disaster star? Bringing calamity wherever she went. Meng Hu’s good marriage arrangement with Miss Zheng had such major complications because of her appearance. Thinking of Miss Zheng’s grief and anger when she wanted to strangle her, Jing Hengbo felt blocked up and uncomfortable, wishing she could pinch herself too – wouldn’t it have been better not to go shopping? Wouldn’t it have been better not to go to the Beauty Hall? That Miss Zheng was truly a kind woman. Her later attempt to kill was just from being too grief-stricken. If she could marry Meng Hu, what a good match they would be…

Perhaps her arrival had triggered changes in worldly affairs. Now it seemed these changes were ominous, sweeping through like a hurricane leaving devastation everywhere. Everyone around her seemed to suffer misfortune. The closer anyone was to her, the more unlucky they became. For example, Gong Yin…

A sharp pain stabbed her heart like needles. She suddenly turned her head, as if this shake could fling away the pain of this moment.

With this head turn, she saw a black and gold plaque with the characters “Hui Zhen” written on it, looking like an ordinary antique shop.

…

In the dark little room, Gong Yin slowly opened his eyes.

After Long Zhai arrived with the disciples, the heavy stone in his heart was slightly lifted. With Dragon family people present, Jing Hengbo’s safety was assured, so he peacefully let Long Zhai do as he pleased and had a good sleep.

This sleep was long and refreshing. In his memory, since she arrived at Imperial Song, he seemed never to have had such thoroughly satisfying sleep. His sleep these past years had been compact and chaotic. Often his body was in deep sleep while his mind was thinking, as if there was still one eye open, waiting to deal with malice and crises from all directions. Even during that year when he couldn’t move and was completely recuperating, his body was trapped in sleep while his heart was still full of anxiety, as if connected by a thread that, when lightly pulled, would turn heaven and earth chaotic, flames inverted, with her running and crying within it all.

But today’s sleep, only at the end upon waking did he seem to feel the heavy atmospheric pressure around him, with slightly cool fingers that had once stroked his hair.

Gong Yin immediately turned his head to check his hair – everything was normal, nothing exposed.

Those slightly cool fingers didn’t seem like hers. Her skin was slightly warm; he clearly remembered her temperature.

The air carried faint smoke – Dragon family special calming and breathing-regulating incense, but burning in this cramped, dark little room, it lost some of its usual pure scent.

Long Zhai stood by the window, gazing ahead. Gong Yin observed him for a while and discovered that this sole surviving elder of the Dragon family had aged considerably recently, bringing a slight sense of guilt to his heart.

Compared to him, perhaps this old man was the one who truly had the Dragon family’s future completely tied to his heart. While he had most of his heart heavily devoted to Jing Hengbo alone.

“Where is she?” Despite the guilt, his first words were still about her.

“There’s a Myriad Phenomena Trade Conference. She went to participate, saying she wanted to find some good medicine for you. She should be back soon.” Long Zhai brought over a bowl of medicine. “Don’t worry, I had the disciples accompany her. There won’t be any safety issues.”

Gong Yin gazed at the medicine without immediately drinking it. Long Zhai’s fingers tightened as he raised his head to meet Gong Yin’s examining gaze, smiling slightly: “What, suspecting I poisoned it?”

Gong Yin’s lips curved slightly as he shook his head and took the medicine, draining it in one gulp.

Long Zhai lowered his eyes, his gaze profound.

After Gong Yin finished the medicine, he was silent for a moment before saying: “I remember Uncle Zhai wasn’t very friendly toward Hengbo.”

“How dare I be unfriendly?” Long Zhai smiled bitterly. “If I were to harm her, you could destroy the entire Dragon family. Rest assured, she truly won’t have any problems.”

“The Dragon family,” Gong Yin said calmly, “will be hers from now on, so Uncle Zhai shouldn’t harbor resentment anymore. Hengbo will take good care of the Dragon family. A hundred years of wandering can end.”

Long Zhai’s face changed dramatically: “What do you mean?”

Gong Yin didn’t answer, slowly closing his eyes.

Long Zhai was stunned for a long while, then laughed coldly: “You gave her the token? But can the Dragon family be commanded by just one dead object? Do you think she alone can make the Dragon family submit?”

Gong Yin only answered him with one concise word: “Yes.”

Long Zhai stamped his feet, quickly stepping out. At the doorway, he heard Gong Yin suddenly say: “The current Dragon family head is actually Jing Hengbo. Everyone in the family has sworn solemn oaths not to disobey the family head’s will in any way, nor to coerce the family head in any manner. Uncle Zhai, remember this well.”

Long Zhai’s silhouette in the twilight seemed slightly hunched at the waist and back. After a long while, he said word by word: “Rest assured.”

Gong Yin watched him stride out the door, then tiredly closed his eyes. Long Zhai had used calming medication, wanting him to first experience complete rest. He currently had undeniable drowsiness.

Long Zhai quickly entered another room.

Inside, Nan Jin sat rigidly straight, having already changed into the clothes Jing Hengbo had previously worn. Even wearing such gaudy clothing, her entire person remained stiff and cold. A box sat beside her hand. Long Zhai sighed upon seeing her expression.

“The family head gave the token to Jing Hengbo – he’s placed himself in a desperate situation,” Long Zhai said bitterly. “When I didn’t know, I could still say some things, but knowing this, from now on, none of us can make any demands of Jing Hengbo. Pearl, tonight must succeed.”

Nan Jin trembled slightly.

Long Zhai stepped forward and opened the box, which surprisingly contained a mask that was a perfect likeness of Jing Hengbo. From the craftsmanship, it was clearly the work of a master disguise artist from Yi Kingdom.

Long Zhai personally helped Nan Jin put on the mask, carefully smoothing all the connection points. Under his hands, the solitary, cold, rigid woman slightly yielded.

Long Zhai stopped his hands and looked steadily at her. Nan Jin turned her head slightly, slowly biting her lips tight.

Long Zhai suddenly said: “Are you planning to do the same as last time – use your life to give him your true energy?”

Nan Jin didn’t answer, remaining motionless.

“Foolish!”

A stern shout startled Chunshui inside to raise her head. Nan Jin still didn’t move.

“Now is different from before – he’s deteriorating!” Long Zhai said sternly. “Previously, if you sacrificed your life to pour your true energy into him, he indeed might have recovered. But now, after he forcibly broke through barriers and suffered severe injuries, he’s lost eight or nine tenths of his true energy. His dantian is empty – how can he withstand the reverse flow of decades of true energy you’ve cultivated with domineering medicines! If you do this again, you’ll be striking his vital points directly with decades of palm force – do you want to watch him die immediately before your eyes!”

Nan Jin suddenly turned her head, her eyes showing alarm for the first time.

…

Jing Hengbo’s group stood before the antique shop.

However, slums shouldn’t have antique shops, nor should antique shop entrances have tattooed burly men as greeters. These people, full of fierce and menacing aura, were all awkwardly dressed in blue clothes and small hats, acting as door attendants – they looked incongruous no matter how you viewed them.

Gong Yin’s distant grand nephew, called Long Wei, had a very easygoing nature. Without any psychological barriers, he held his “aunt’s” arm and presented the invitation. Soon someone led them inside, but only allowed two attendants to follow. Long Wei randomly chose two Dragon family disciples, and the group followed the guiding burly man through the decorative narrow shop front into an alley. Beyond the alley was an octagonal courtyard with a well in the center. The octagonal courtyard had eight entrances, each leading to an alley distinguished by different colors. People constantly emerged from each alley. Jing Hengbo noticed that one golden alley had the fewest people – only two burly men escorting someone in a purple cloak, followed by many attendants, clearly indicating different status, with relaxed requirements for guides, designated alleys, and attendants.

Then there were two silver alleys with somewhat more people than the golden one. Most wore masks and cloaks. The few without disguises either had wooden expressions or unchanging smiles – obviously wearing human skin masks.

Then there were five gray-black alleys like the one Jing Hengbo emerged from, presumably for people without special status. These five alleys had the most people, many just dressed luxuriously with their real faces showing, expressions quite excited – clearly wealthy young masters here to observe, mostly with female companions. Long Wei was playing this role very convincingly.

The guiding man led everyone to the well. The wellhead was very large, almost like a small pond. Pulleys were installed above the well rim with small cars attached – each could accommodate about two people. Many people skillfully entered the cars, and the men by the well activated mechanisms, slowly lowering the cars.

This auction house was actually arranged underground.

Jing Hengbo found this quite incredible. Underground, with the mechanism controls in Black Third Master’s hands – if he had dark intentions and filled the well, wouldn’t this group of wealthy buyers be directly buried below?

But since she was here, she might as well make the best of it. She also got on a car and slid down the well. The well was very deep with turns, impossible to climb by human power. The well walls were smooth without moisture or moss, and there was naturally no water below. She vaguely saw lights glowing on all sides – this was clearly a fake well entrance.

Reaching the bottom, someone came over and stuffed a golden cylindrical object with uneven bumps and ridges into Long Wei’s hand. Jing Hengbo noticed that everyone with invitations received a key-like object.

Below was still a great hall with doors on one side, light faintly seeping through – presumably the auction hall was inside.

Many people had already gathered below, clearly divided. Those from ordinary alleys chatted with each other, those from silver alleys ignored everyone else, and the person from the golden alley stood alone to one side.

Soon everyone was buzzing: “Black Third Master is here.” Jing Hengbo curiously turned and saw a relatively large car sliding down with three people inside. The middle person wore a golden cloak and a pitch-black mask with only a pair of white-outlined eyes painted on it – nothing else.

In the dim underground light, suddenly seeing such a face – the entire face melted into darkness with only those eerie white eyes visible, floating like ghostfire in everyone’s vision. Everyone felt those eyes seemed to be staring at them, yet in the next moment had drifted away. Many people secretly shivered and stepped back, calling out “Black Third Master” in various tones.

Black Third Master’s mask was eerie, but the person wasn’t cold. While nodding to everyone, he stepped out of the car. Guests then crowded forward, inserting their brass cylinders into the car. Someone called to Long Wei, who was still standing aside: “Hurry up, we’re just waiting for you.”

Long Wei reacted quickly, immediately stepping forward. Seeing everyone insert their keys into Black Third Master’s car and turn them with clicking sounds, he hurriedly did the same.

Black Third Master laughed: “Now I’m placing my life in everyone’s hands. Without even one of you, I can’t leave either.”

Everyone laughed and followed Black Third Master into that side door.

“What does that mean?” Long Wei laughed heartily while approaching Jing Hengbo to ask quietly.

“Stupid,” Jing Hengbo rolled her eyes at him. “This car requires keys, and we hold our own keys – we can open them anytime. But Black Third Master’s car is specially made, requiring all your keys to be used simultaneously to open. So without any one of you, he can’t go up. It’s to reassure you.”

Long Wei suddenly understood, nodding repeatedly, then glanced at her strangely: “I thought beautiful people were mostly brainless, but unexpectedly…”

“Unexpectedly what?” Jing Hengbo asked ominously.

“Unexpectedly, you’re really different from rumors and legends – worthy of calling me nephew.” Long Wei laughed heartily and jumped away.

Jing Hengbo’s lips curved in a slight bitter smile.

Proud Dragon family members weren’t easy to win over. But whether they acknowledged her or not, what did it matter? She didn’t care about being anyone’s aunt – she only wanted to be Gong Yin’s wife. Yet from the beginning, fate had never laid a path for her to his side.

She took a breath and followed the crowd into the great hall. Young women came forward to indicate seating. She and Long Wei sat down. For some reason, she felt somewhat distracted, so she focused on examining the surroundings. This was a circular hall with what should be a display platform in the center. The best position was given to the purple-cloaked person from the golden alley, with masked people from silver alleys on both sides, and ordinary seats further out.

Black Third Master accompanied the most distinguished purple-cloaked person in the important seats, with an elderly man also seated nearby. Everyone passing by greeted him, calling him “Old Master Sun” – presumably the local famous doctor.

People of the martial world didn’t waste words. After brief opening remarks without introductions, the trading began directly.

Each person had paper and brush at their seat, plus a wooden plaque representing their position marker. Young women nearby served them, explaining in soft voices that if you liked someone’s item and felt your own item was sufficient for exchange, you could raise your plaque directly and write what you wished to trade.

This trading session was not about money but direct item exchange. When facing competition, sellers had the right to choose what they wanted.

After the opening, Jing Hengbo took a breath, finally understanding why security here was so tight.

…

Nan Jin was applying cosmetics.

These were the cosmetics Jing Hengbo had provided – actually not cosmetics but her usual skincare products, unavailable on the market. Long Zhai didn’t recognize their quality, but Chunshui knew. After opening them and smelling, she nodded.

Long Zhai went out, letting Chunshui help Nan Jin with the remaining touch-up work, including cleverly padding her chest higher.

When the sky turned completely dark, Nan Jin emerged from the room. Long Zhai looked up and was slightly stunned.

Standing at the door was a woman who appeared exactly like Jing Hengbo, except the coldness in her eyes and slight self-abandoning color revealed her true identity.

For any woman, such a role was an insult, especially for the proud Nan Jin.

Long Zhai forcibly ignored the trace of guilt in his heart and nodded stiffly. Fearing Gong Yin inside might hear, he pointed at Nan Jin’s face and mouthed: “Relax, relax.”

Then he pulled Nan Jin to the courtyard gate, with the young woman Chunshui following.

Long Zhai pushed open the door with a creak.

Immediately, footsteps and laughter approached from far to near, as if a large group of people were returning from outside. Among them, Jing Hengbo’s voice said brightly: “I’m back! Today’s harvest was quite good!”

The courtyard was cold and empty, yet the liveliness was truly noisy. The scene at this moment looked rather eerie.

Chunshui’s abdomen rose and fell slightly.

She had a unique secret skill – ventriloquism and voice mimicry. Even Gong Yin didn’t know this. After all, he had been separated from family members for so long, and even after rescuing the family, he had recuperated for a year with little communication.

Chunshui’s ventriloquism was truly masterful. The sounds of so many people entering noisily were clear and distinct without any confusion. She even mimicked Jing Hengbo’s somewhat slow footsteps. Accompanying her mimicry, Long Zhai pushed Nan Jin forward and whispered: “Go! Remember what I told you! After entering, try not to speak anymore. He’s mentally drowsy and certainly won’t pay attention.”

His eyes showed slight anxiety. He knew relying on Nan Jin’s acting wouldn’t work, but fortunately he had prepared tricks beforehand. As long as Chunshui’s mimicry of Jing Hengbo’s voice just now was perfect, given Gong Yin’s current confused state, he would have preconceived notions and find it hard to distinguish.

From courtyard to room was just five steps.

Nan Jin pressed her palm against the cold door panel and slowly pushed open the door.

No lamps were lit inside. Gong Yin turned his head slightly on the bed and said: “You’re back?” His voice was blurred, clearly drowsy.

Yet that phrase was calm and natural, like a husband inquiring about his late-returning wife. Nan Jin’s heart ached as she softly hummed “Mm.”

Gong Yin paused and asked: “Tired?”

Nan Jin nodded, sitting by the bedside with her side facing him first. She secretly hoped he would notice the mask’s seams, yet after just a moment, she turned her face toward Gong Yin.

Long Zhai had said this mask was seamlessly made from the front.

But Gong Yin didn’t look at her, only rarely curving his lips in slight lazy contentment as he suddenly grasped her hand.

…