At the Liu residence, by the time Rong Chen Zi and his party arrived, Zhuang Shaoqin was going around scattering realgar powder everywhere. He Bang wore a rose-red dress of fine gauze — the fabric thin as a cicada’s wing — against which she moved as lightly as a swallow in flight.

With everyone now gathered, they assembled together to discuss their strategy. After hearing the full account of events, Chunyu Lin furrowed his brow for a long while: “By this account, the Three-Eyed Snake has now impersonated three people — Rong Zhiguan, State Preceptor Zhuang, and the eldest daughter of the Liu family. And the only thing all three have in common is that they have all been down into the cliff at Changgang Mountain.”

At this, the others were struck with sudden understanding. Even Xingzhi Zhenren, who had encountered the strange snake posing as Liu Qinfang and still felt a lingering chill from the memory, said: “Can it be that this snake is capable of mimicking both a person’s voice and appearance?”

He Bang was not quite convinced: “Not just voice and appearance — even personality, and perhaps even memories to some degree. I don’t think it’s simple imitation at all.”

Chunyu Lin settled her beside him. Zhuang Shaoqin lightly tapped the tabletop with his fingertip: “So there is even one impersonating me, the State Preceptor. We will definitely need to think of a way to identify each other.”

He Bang tilted her head and thought for a moment: “That’s easy enough. We can set a code phrase — when we meet from now on we say the phrase first, and the snake will certainly not know it.”

Everyone agreed with this. When it came to deciding the actual phrase, He Bang was rather pleased with herself: “How about ‘Red-Braised Pork Cutlet’?”

Several of the group were people of distinction and refined taste, and naturally none of them would choose such a phrase. Zhuang Shaoqin spoke up: “As for the code phrase, something simple — how about responding to ‘The sky floats above the vast and distant sea’ with ‘Far the dharma boat departs from worldly care’?”

Everyone nodded in agreement — everyone except He Bang, who was disgruntled: “I hate memorizing poetry!”

Chunyu Lin murmured in her ear: “If you can’t remember, ask me.”

That night, Zhuang Shaoqin mobilized the soldiers and officers of Lingxia Town to search everywhere for the whereabouts of the Three-Eyed Snake that had been impersonating Liu Qinfang. Xingzhi Zhenren led the Daozong members to protect the infants of Lingxia Town. Rong Chen Zi was carrying an injury and could not afford the strain of moving about, so he remained at the Liu residence. Chunyu Lin was leading people in a thorough search of every corner of the Liu residence. The place had already been searched many times by Zhuang Shaoqin, but in the interest of being thorough, he had nearly all the trees and shrubs cut back.

Areas difficult to access by ordinary means — such as ponds and water features — were naturally left to He Bang. Fortunately, He Bang did not know there had been a body soaking in the lake, and she inspected every area with water with meticulous care.

Qingxuan and Qingsu were both helping with the search. Grand Secretary Liu’s entire family had been gathered together in one courtyard for safety, with Yuyang Zhenren and his attendants standing guard over them.

Rong Chen Zi, carrying his wound, was low on stamina, and was now resting with his eyes closed in one of the side rooms of Chunhui Garden. Suddenly a faint sound came from within the room. Rong Chen Zi opened his eyes slightly — and saw Ye Tian walking in from outside. His heart leapt with joy, and he had just called out “Xiao Ye” when a sudden shadow of doubt crossed his mind — the Three-Eyed Snake had already reduced everyone to a state of hair-trigger alarm, with every unfamiliar sound a cause for fear.

Ye Tian walked in with a smile, sat down at the head of the bed, her voice gentle: “Senior Brother!”

Rong Chen Zi’s right hand quietly closed around the sword hilt beneath the pillow, keeping nothing on his face: “Where have you been all these days? Shaoqin has all but torn Lingxia Town apart looking for you.”

Ye Tian sat down beside his bed, smiling with ease: “I was captured by that creature. I just escaped and came straight to you.” She leaned in toward Rong Chen Zi and looked over the medicinal gauze on his chest. “How is Senior Brother’s wound?”

Rong Chen Zi was not accustomed to anyone staring so directly at his chest. He cleared his throat: “It is already fine. It is good that you are back.” His heart, however, was racing — he did not know whether this Ye Tian was real or an impostor. If she were the Three-Eyed Snake, his only fighting chance in the entire Liu residence right now was He Bang. But with Chunyu Lin absent, He Bang would likely not risk herself alone. How could he stall long enough to alert the others?

His thoughts raced through several possibilities. The Ye Tian before him was drawing closer and closer, and then — suddenly — she reached out a slender hand and directly touched Rong Chen Zi’s wound. Rong Chen Zi, ever mindful of proper conduct between men and women, instantly recoiled: “Xiao Ye!”

The Ye Tian before his eyes had a smile that was growing stranger and stranger, her voice a murmur: “So Senior Brother truly is injured.”

A sharp ring rang out — Rong Chen Zi’s sword was unsheathed in his right hand, and he thrust it straight toward her chest. She twisted to avoid it and drove a palm directly at Rong Chen Zi’s chest. Rong Chen Zi’s sword form was not yet exhausted, and he brought the blade back to deflect. “Ye Tian” bent the fingers of her left hand and flicked at the blade’s edge, while her right hand shot out in a rapid strike toward Rong Chen Zi’s throat. Rong Chen Zi was already gravely injured, and this sudden burst of movement caused fresh blood to seep from his chest wound.

The fragrance of immortal flesh lashed at “Ye Tian’s” senses, making her mouth water uncontrollably, yet her eyes glittered as brilliantly as gemstones: “A rare opportunity — Heaven has delivered this to me!”

She pinched the edge of Rong Chen Zi’s blade between two fingers, her body coiling around his waist like a snake. Rong Chen Zi concentrated his strength for a moment — and blood immediately poured from his chest. His breathing became increasingly labored, while “Ye Tian” was already pressing her mouth against the blood-soaked medicinal gauze at his wound, her expression ravenous: “If I obtain your immortal essence, why would I ever need to harvest from newborn infants again? You can consider yourself dying for a worthy cause.”

Rong Chen Zi’s strength drained away with each pulse of blood. The figure of “Ye Tian” coiled around his waist grew tighter and tighter. His complexion turned ashen white. The Three-Eyed Snake sucked at the blood, lost in the pleasure of that immortal flesh and unable to extricate itself. But it had made a grave mistake in underestimating this eminent figure of Daozong. Though Rong Chen Zi’s sword in his right hand was held fast, his left hand was braced against “Ye Tian’s” waist. He spread all five fingers, then suddenly clenched them, and drove his fist forward with full force.

The Three-Eyed Snake let out a muffled groan and toppled from him, spitting up a mouthful of blood — Rong Chen Zi’s fist force had passed clean through the outer form, nearly shattering her serpent body within. She writhed on the ground like a snake, struggling for quite some time before finally managing to recover. Rong Chen Zi, having spent everything in that one blow, was utterly unable to move, and could only watch helplessly as she regained herself.

The Three-Eyed Snake convulsed and twisted for the span of about a quarter of an hour before finally managing to stand. The pain had stripped away her composure, revealing her true vicious face. She bit down on Rong Chen Zi’s right hand and drank greedily of his blood. When she finally raised her head, she had restored her smile: “With a cultivation like yours, your body going to waste after your death would be a pity. Better to let me be the beneficiary — that too would be a kind of merit.”

She suddenly reached out and began to undo Rong Chen Zi’s white inner robe. Rong Chen Zi’s expression changed at once: “Don’t touch me!”

She giggled: “Before you die, let me give you some pleasure.”

With that, she carefully and attentively undid Rong Chen Zi’s garments — the way a wife tends to her own husband. Rong Chen Zi broke out in goosebumps all over, and in furious shame and rage, his face flushed crimson: “Stop!”

“Ye Tian” bent over and fussed and fidgeted for a while, then gave a sudden puzzled sound: “How is it that it won’t harden?” She frowned. “Could it be that you don’t like your junior sister?”

The veins at Rong Chen Zi’s temples bulged. The fury in his eyes blazed like a raging fire. Had he not been utterly drained and unable to move, he would have already torn this foul snake to pieces. The snake deliberated: “Then whom do you like?” And then, in a flash of self-satisfied cleverness: “Could it be that you like the woman who came this afternoon?”

She twisted and turned — and had already taken on He Bang’s appearance. This creature was rather pleased with itself: “A new transformation technique I just learned — what do you think?”

Under ordinary circumstances, such crude shapeshifting would not have fooled Rong Chen Zi for an instant. But at this moment he had entirely lost the ability to compose his mind and stabilize his will. The “He Bang” before him was not clothed in a single thread, and yet every measurement and proportion was perfect to the last fraction. “She” slowly pressed against Rong Chen Zi’s ear, mimicking He Bang’s manner as she rubbed and nestled against his strong arm, her voice sweet and soft: “Zhiguan.”

Rong Chen Zi turned his face away, disgust evident in his eyes — yet his body began, against all conscious intent, to respond.

The foul snake was overjoyed: “It’s hardening, it’s hardening! Humans truly are a peculiar species.”

It played and teased, stroke by tantalizing stroke. Rong Chen Zi’s breathing grew more and more ragged. She pressed a hand lightly against Rong Chen Zi’s lower abdomen, eyes curving with glee: “There’s so much inside — it’s all mine, all mine!!”

Rong Chen Zi bit through the tip of his tongue, summoning the last of himself for one final effort — when suddenly the Three-Eyed Snake’s laughter faltered and died. She looked down at her own chest. There, silently, three ice spikes protruded. She turned her head a full one hundred and eighty degrees — and saw He Bang standing lightly in the doorway. He Bang dusted off her hands, still musing aloud: “Zhiguan, saving your life this time makes us even for last time.”

Rong Chen Zi could not speak. The Three-Eyed Snake tumbled from the bed. Just as it was about to dart toward He Bang, the ice spikes within it suddenly detonated. A muffled crack — and with the utmost reluctance, it twisted on the ground a few times, then went still.

The illusion dissolved. On the ground, only a blood-smeared, mangled mass of flesh remained. He Bang, afraid it might not be fully dead, stepped forward and severed its head. From the neck fell a Three-Eyed Snake’s head — dark green with white markings. The sinister eye at the center had not yet opened.

He Bang used her Ice Sealing technique to freeze it solid, and then, without any visible technique, the ice suddenly shattered. On the ground, not a trace of blood remained — only a pool of clear water. She finally breathed a sigh of relief: “There! Foul Three-Eyed Snake — how dare you try to snatch food from this seat? You got exactly what you deserved!”

On the bed, Rong Chen Zi’s chest wound was still seeping blood. He Bang knelt beside him. She found the snake thoroughly repulsive, so she performed a small working of her power, and a cloud of white mist like billowing cotton appeared in her right hand — in her hands, the water vapor was as substantial as something solid. She bent over and began to cleanse him, the mist moving through Rong Chen Zi’s body as though it had a life of its own, gently drawing away every trace of dust and impurity.

Her clothing was already quite spare, and bent over as she was, Rong Chen Zi — lying on the bed — had a perfect view of the breathtaking sight between those two peaks. A man of integrity and principle as he was, he had never endured such a provocative sight before, compounded by his inability to circulate his inner energy — and so that part of him that had hardened in its previous indignation stubbornly refused to soften.

He Bang cleansed her way all down to a critical area, and could not help but reach out and give it a feel: “So this is what a human man’s most precious part looks like!” With the earnest curiosity of a student conducting research, she examined it for quite some time, until Rong Chen Zi’s veins were near to bursting with mortification. He let out a sound of protest, and He Bang was seized by mischief: “Zhiguan~”

She rose and pressed herself against Rong Chen Zi’s chest, licking at the wound there while reaching into her sleeve and producing the Muscle-Regenerating Bone-Knitting Balm: “You promised, remember. One Three-Eyed Snake, three liang of flesh. There’s the one that impersonated you at Qingxu Temple — here there’s one that impersonated Ye Tian — and one that impersonated Liu Qinfang…” She ticked them off on her fingers. “That makes four already known!”

The medicine on the wound brought a cool, soothing sensation and eased the pain noticeably. Rong Chen Zi made a labored effort to speak: “So?”

He Bang licked away the blood that had spilled to the corner of his lips. Rong Chen Zi turned his face aside to avoid her. “Four snakes — give me one little gift to go with it, Zhiguan,” she said, smacking her lips. “Let me be nourished by your vital essence once more — won’t you? Pretty please?”

Rong Chen Zi’s expression contorted: “Between men and women there should be no—” this He Bang is still, after all, the Sea Emperor personally ordained by the Dragon King —” he got so far before running out of breath and falling short.

He Bang paid no attention. She pressed her hand over Rong Chen Zi’s mouth, then whispered in his ear: “Yes or no? If you don’t answer, I’ll take that as a yes!”

Rong Chen Zi could not say a word. She beamed with such delight that her eyes curved into crescents: “1, 2, 3 — you agreed, you did!”

Rong Chen Zi burned with shame and indignation. He had genuinely not wished to have any further entanglement with this He Bang — yet just moments ago, the Three-Eyed Snake’s endless antics had undone his self-possession after all.

He was still mired in conflict and self-reproach when He Bang had already settled herself down over that upright instrument. Rong Chen Zi let out a low sound, his face instantly flushing crimson all the way to his neck.

He Bang, however, was in considerable discomfort. She had been nourished by Rong Chen Zi’s vital essence a few times before, and had not thought much of it at first — but over time she had noticed a marked improvement in her constitution.

By nature she cultivated internally, and the body’s fatal weakness — combined with her disinclination toward exercise — meant that even running a few steps left her gasping for breath. Now that there was such an effortless way to benefit, she was loath to abandon it. And then she had gone and fallen out with Rong Chen Zi.

That was why she had quietly stayed by the door without alarming anyone else, with a secondary motive of helping herself to what she had been denied.

As for whether Rong Chen Zi consented or not — she didn’t particularly concern herself with that.

But that hard instrument was lodged rigidly within her body, and the discomfort was extreme — like a stone spike embedded inside her. Her delicate body could not withstand such friction, and it was painful. She tried several times and could not manage — the hedgehog had proved impossible to bite into.

Rong Chen Zi was caught in his own particular agony — his neck was flushing as though it might start bleeding, and he managed to force out a word: “Don’t—”

He Bang used water to ease things, and this time it became somewhat more manageable. She let out a soft, low sound, and her body — pressing against Rong Chen Zi’s neck — was soft and tender, her breath sweet. For the first time, Rong Chen Zi experienced this sensation while fully conscious — it felt as though his entire body was trembling, his blood rushing and roiling within him. His breathing became labored, and in his chest and lungs it was as though a flame was burning.

But this He Bang was all appearance and little endurance. Within three to five hundred strokes, she was soaked in fine perspiration. She collapsed against Rong Chen Zi’s side, breathless and gasping: “Wuu wuu — why isn’t it done yet?”

Rong Chen Zi was suspended in an unsatisfied agony, his consciousness beginning to blur at the edges. He could not tell whether, somewhere deep in his unconscious, he hoped she would continue or wanted her to stop.

The two were still entangled when the door suddenly swung open. Rong Chen Zi yanked down the bed curtain, then with every last ounce of strength seized the heavy quilt and wrapped He Bang tightly within it, pulling her firmly against himself.

From outside, Qingxuan came in carrying medicine: “Master, the Sea Clan’s High Priest found Liu Qinfang inside the walls of this very room. Liu Qinfang is still alive — Martial Aunt should be alright as well, and he is already in the process of breaking through all the walls to search further. Please drink your medicine first.”

He Bang’s slippery smooth body was pressed tightly against him, and Rong Chen Zi was still lodged inside her. His breathing was heavy and labored, his heart awash in shame — the Three-Eyed Snake had been harming living beings and his junior sister’s fate was still unknown, and he had been reduced to this… this state of debauchery. If his disciple were to see it, how would he ever hold his head up again?

He Bang, to her credit, behaved herself — she nestled against the hollow of his neck without moving, and even had the presence of mind not to press down on his chest wound. Rong Chen Zi worked to regulate his breathing, keeping any irregularity from reaching Qingxuan’s ears: “Set the medicine down. Go out first.”

Qingxuan acknowledged and placed the medicine on the low cabinet. He Bang, in a moment of mischief, shifted her body ever so slightly — she was so tight within that Rong Chen Zi could not suppress a muffled groan. Qingxuan immediately turned around: “Master — has the wound flared up again?”

He stepped forward and made to lift the bed curtain. Rong Chen Zi used every scrap of remaining strength to pin He Bang firmly in place, acutely aware of his own deep, complete presence within her body. He was nearly biting through his teeth as he forced out the words: “Your Master is fine. Go out.”

Though Qingxuan was anxious, he did not dare defy him, and left the bedchamber with three backward glances. The moment the door closed, Rong Chen Zi could no longer contain himself — it felt as though his chest were about to burst open. He bit his own lips until they bled: “Don’t think I wouldn’t dare kill you!”

He had harbored a desire to kill for the first time. His right hand closed in a death grip around He Bang’s throat.

He Bang’s eyes were brimming with tears. The fit inside her grew tighter and more slick. Rong Chen Zi’s jaw was locked tight, his right hand gradually increasing its pressure. She struggled hard — under normal circumstances, that force would have meant nothing whatsoever to Rong Chen Zi. But as things stood now, she managed to wrench herself free.

He Bang’s clothes were in disarray, and a jarring bruise was already rising on her neck. She clambered off the bed in a wretched state and retreated far from Rong Chen Zi, her right hand covering her throat as she coughed continuously. She maintained a wariness toward everyone and rarely allowed anyone to come close to her. Somehow, with Rong Chen Zi, it had always been different.

Today, after that desperate struggle on the edge of life and death, she finally woke up to the truth — he was, after all, a man who drove out ghosts and slew demons. He was no different from any other Daoist.

Her eyes were filled with a sheen of water like autumn pooling, as though it might overflow at any moment. Rong Chen Zi looked away, utterly unmoved by her tears. Men of the righteous path despised evil and held it in contempt — once they had categorized someone as belonging to the side of evil, they became hard as iron in heart and mind, every last one of them. Never mind tears — not even blood would win a single glance.

He Bang straightened her clothes and left with quiet sobs, going to find Chunyu Lin. The door closed. Rong Chen Zi shut his eyes. It was a long while before he laboriously cleaned himself. He put on his inner robe, forced himself upright, took hold of the medicine on the low cabinet by the bed, and drank it down in one swallow — whether it was scalding hot or bitterly cold, he did not know.