Rong Chen Zi stepped out of the room. For this National Offering, he planned to bring Qingxuan and Qingsu with him, while the affairs of Qingxu Temple would remain in Ye Tian’s hands as always. He trusted Ye Tian completely, and only reminded her to activate the mountain-protection formation. Ye Tian was a thoughtful person, and having lived in the palace with Zhuang Shaoqin on ordinary days, she had gained a fair understanding of this Emperor who harboured a devoted heart for the Dao — and so she took the trouble to detail all of the Emperor’s preferences one by one.

Rong Chen Zi was indifferent to it: “Elder Brother’s purpose in going is not to curry favour with His Majesty. Such trivial details need not be remembered.”

Qingxu Temple was flourishing with incense and devotion. No sooner had the mountain gate opened than worshippers began arriving in a steady stream. Ye Tian was busy receiving them, and He Bang also woke up. Upon waking, she immediately discovered that Rong Chen Zi was nowhere to be seen.

The little Daoists of the temple, terrified that she might cry and make a fuss, had made all manner of food for her, and on top of that there was the extra spread Jade Bone had prepared — Rong Chen Zi’s room was full of good things to eat on all sides. He Bang looked left and right, then finally began gnawing on some plain dried duck neck, thinking as she chewed that this old Daoist had certainly gone into the palace and would not be back for some time, so she might as well eat first and cry afterward. = =

She read the Investiture of the Gods while eating, though since she could not read many characters, she went half by reading and half by guessing. She kept on eating this way until noon, and then she was drowsy again. She rubbed her eyes; Jade Bone hurried over and fed her a cup of sweetened water made with monk fruit and lotus root, then wiped her face and hands with a towel wrung nearly dry, and cleared away the bones and fruit pits from the basket at the bedside.

The height of summer was sweltering, and even though the mountain temperature was much lower, He Bang was by nature unable to bear the heat. The little Daoists had specially purchased a porcelain pillow for her; lying on it was cool and refreshing, and so she was untroubled by the blazing summer heat.

That afternoon, Ye Tian came by to look in on her. Seeing she was sleeping soundly, she did not disturb her, and only instructed Jade Bone to look after her carefully. By now Ye Tian had nothing but goodwill toward this river clam — in truth, was she not simply an innocent little demoness? In her eyes there were only three kinds of people: enemies, who must be killed; friends, who must be well protected; and strangers, who could simply be ignored.

Such a life — simple, uncomplicated, free from worry — was far happier than that of most people in the world.

Ye Tian had barely stepped out of the room when He Bang rose. Jade Bone rushed forward to attend to her, but He Bang only waved a hand: “Stand guard outside. Do not let anyone disturb me.”

Jade Bone assented with a bow, pulled the door shut from outside, and stood watch at the entrance. He Bang formed the proper hand seals and before long had separated her soul, heading in the direction of Changgang Mountain. The midsummer afternoon sun blazed down fierce as fire. A spirit-body does not sweat, but He Bang truly could not stand the heat. Shortly afterward, she stopped before that water well at the Li Family Village. The ordinary mortals around her could not see her spirit form — she gave a great leap and dove into the water.

The well water was cool and pleasant, but she had no time to savour it and pressed straight downward. Beneath the well was an entirely different scene. A carpet of red, star-shaped water plants stretched out before her, leading to a crystal palace at their end — somewhat smaller in scale than the Lingxia Sea Emperor’s palace, but delicate and exquisitely charming.

He Bang walked slowly inside. Fish demons who had just taken human form bowed respectfully to her as she passed.

The furnishings within the crystal palace were much the same as those of the Sea Emperor’s palace. A person was setting dishes on the table — dish after glittering dish: steamed swimming crab, spicy shark throat cartilage, chilled jellyfish skin, and more. He Bang’s footsteps were light, yet the person at the table did not look back: “So the Emperor has come.”

That red robe, that black hair — even the voice and manner of speaking — were all intimately familiar to her. He Bang was momentarily confused: “Who exactly are you?”

“The green onion-braised sea cucumber is almost ready — come, sit down.” He pulled He Bang to a seat at the table and placed a jade snail on her plate. Just imagining that slippery, tender snail flesh, that fresh flavour that seemed to melt on the tongue, made He Bang begin to regret why she had ever bothered to separate her soul and come here at all.

Seeing how much she liked it, the eyes of the person across from her brimmed with smiles: “Let me prepare a food box, and the Emperor may take it back.”

It was as though nothing had changed — he was still Chunyu Lin of the Lingxia Sea. He Bang said quietly: “Now that you have escaped, you ought to find a tranquil place and cultivate in peace. Why must you continue causing harm in the mortal world?”

Chunyu Lin did not answer. Before long he returned with the green onion-braised sea cucumber. He carefully packed each dish into the food box. He Bang pushed him forcefully: “Answer me!”

He stepped back half a pace, and it was a long while before he raised his eyes and smiled faintly: “I am unwilling to be far from the Emperor.”

He Bang reached out and gently touched his face. He stood perfectly still, his beauty a thing that could shake the world. At long last, He Bang made up her mind: “Go. Whether you are the Crying Snake or Chunyu Lin, leave this place and keep far from human settlements. For a thousand years, I do not wish to hear any news of you whatsoever.”

She strode out, but in no time at all came back — and swept all the food boxes together, taking them with her as she slipped away through the water, returning directly to Qingxu Temple. = =

By the hour of You, word came from Yuyan Zhenren’s side: the creature on Sui Mountain had been destroyed. Everyone was relieved, and they began to make preparations for the National Offering. No one understood the Emperor’s temperament better than Zhuang Shaoqin — though the Presiding Ceremonial Master’s invitation had been extended to Rong Chen Zi, he was still the National Preceptor, and not a single junction could be arranged without consulting him.

Sui Mountain was not the place for such discussions. Since it was not very far from Qingxu Temple, the Daoists made their way there instead, and all the necessary ceremonial implements were purchased with the assistance of the temple’s junior Daoists.

Qingxu Temple took on an even more lively air. Seeing the temple’s affairs in perfect order, Yuyan Zhenren naturally praised Ye Tian as well. Since the passing of Daoist Zixin, he had been like a mentor to these three young people — as the saying goes, a teacher for even a single day is a father for life. This particular father was very strict with Rong Chen Zi and Zhuang Shaoqin, yet singularly gentle with Ye Tian.

Ye Tian was a person who knew propriety and never presumed upon favour to become arrogant, always conducting herself with dignity and poise in his presence. As he sat with her drinking tea and discussing the Dao, watching her every gesture — composed and gracious — he could not help but think of that flighty, decorum-less He Bang. This venerable and esteemed Daoist master could not help but feel perplexed — given Rong Chen Zi’s upright and principled character, how could he, with Ye Tian right before his eyes, have gone and fallen for a woman of such shameless immodesty?

Zhuang Shaoqin finished discussing the progress of the National Offering with the various Daoists, and finding no trace of He Bang, went directly to Rong Chen Zi’s quarters. The blazing sun of high noon hung overhead; Jade Bone stood watch at the courtyard gate, not daring to relax her vigilance for a single moment. Zhuang Shaoqin nodded to her, intending for her to go in and announce him — but she simply opened the courtyard gate, her face, red from being baked in the sun, breaking into a small smile: “Mistress has instructed that no one from Daozong is to intrude freely — but you are surely not one she would object to.”

Seeing her drenched in perspiration, Zhuang Shaoqin could not help but feel some of his distaste dissipate: “I have already told the brethren that no one is to come and bother her here. You may stand down.”

Jade Bone kept her head lowered as she assented, but still did not dare leave. Zhuang Shaoqin gave a slight shake of his head and strode into the courtyard.

The first thing that met his eyes was that pond, in which lotus flowers, completely oblivious to the blazing summer sun, bloomed in vigorous abundance — clearly no ordinary worldly things, at a single glance. He Bang was seated in the shade of the lotus flowers, playing in the water. Her feet were still bare, both little feet soaking in the water as they kicked back and forth without cease, sending up splashes that scattered the fish in the pond fleeing in all directions.

Zhuang Shaoqin sat down beside her, and his gaze fell involuntarily upon those delicate jade feet. Those small feet were truly a masterwork of exquisite beauty; now washed clean by clear water and touched by the blazing sunlight, they seemed to outshine frost and surpass snow in their whiteness. Though he had no particular fetish for feet, he possessed an appreciation for beauty — and for a good half moment found himself quite unable to look away.

He Bang did not turn her head, but suddenly asked: “Are they pretty?”

Zhuang Shaoqin answered without thinking: “They are!”

He Bang was visibly displeased, and said in a muffled tone: “Everyone who’s seen them says they’re pretty. Only Zhiguan has never said so.”

Zhuang Shaoqin could not help but chuckle: “Those are words he simply cannot say.”

He Bang pouted, her voice carrying a note of grievance: “It’s been so many days already, and he hasn’t come back even once!”

“So you’re missing Elder Brother.” Zhuang Shaoqin sat cross-legged, and being most thoroughly familiar with Daoist ritual protocol, he now explained it to He Bang: “His Majesty invited him to serve as the Presiding Ceremonial Master of the National Offering. The scale of this offering is immense and will take seven-times-seven, forty-nine days in total. For the time being he is still in the palace, and once the National Offering begins next month he will move to the ceremonial temple — there is simply no way for him to find time to come back, no matter what.”

He Bang was alarmed: “Then can I go and find him?”

Zhuang Shaoqin could only shake his head: “A National Offering is not child’s play. If word were to get out that the Presiding Ceremonial Master was bringing a woman along, not only Elder Brother but the entire Qingxu Temple would be implicated.”

He Bang turned back to look at the lotus flowers, wearing an expression of deep sullenness: “Hmph — Jade Bone told me the palace is full of beautiful palace maidens. He must not want to come back anymore!” Zhuang Shaoqin was both amused and exasperated: “Elder Brother follows the Daoist path. No matter how many palace maidens there are, the ones attending to him will certainly be eunuchs. No need to worry about that.”

He Bang finally got to the bottom of things and cried out loudly: “Then he must have fallen for some eunuch!”

Zhuang Shaoqin burst out laughing, and could only coax her: “That is truly… too much. Stop making things up. Elder Brother really does have important affairs to attend to. Two months — it’ll pass quickly. If you’re bored, spend more time with Qingyun and Haotian.”

In the middle of the seventh month, the National Offering officially began. As National Preceptor, Zhuang Shaoqin naturally returned to court. To mark the solemnity of the occasion, every Daoist of standing was expected to attend, and Ye Tian also wanted to go — after all, a National Offering was a great occasion, and it was rare to encounter such a thing.

What no one expected was that Yuyan Zhenren pleaded illness and did not attend. Everyone in Daozong understood — this was his way of truly placing the weight of Daozong’s responsibilities onto Rong Chen Zi’s shoulders.

At Qingxu Temple, Yuyan Zhenren and Ye Tian sat across from each other drinking tea. After testing her on various classical texts and Daoist arts — all of which she answered fluently — he stroked his goatee with great satisfaction: “My old friend Zixin was truly fortunate in life. All three of his disciples have achieved something. In the underworld, he must at last be able to rest easy.”

Ye Tian offered a modest response. Yuyan Zhenren then said further: “A National Offering of this scale is rare. You should go as well — broaden your horizons.”

Ye Tian had her own difficulties. Yuyan Zhenren, with eyes sharp as could be, saw through them at once: “You need not worry about the affairs of Qingxu Temple. Once Rong Chen Zi has presided over this National Offering, all of Daozong’s people will come to Qingxu Temple to offer their congratulations. In recent days this humble Daoist has nothing pressing either, and shall remain at Qingxu Temple — you may go with an easy mind.”

With him here, there was truly nothing to worry about. Ye Tian felt relieved: “Then… this junior will go to the ceremonial temple! I will trouble Zhenren with the affairs of Qingxu Temple.”

Yuyan Zhenren smiled faintly and waved her off: “Go on.”

That afternoon, Ye Tian packed her things and prepared to descend the mountain. Before leaving she went to look in on He Bang one last time, and finding her napping, did not disturb her — she only urged Qingyun again and again to look after He Bang carefully and not to let down her guard.

And after Ye Tian’s departure, the bitter days began for He Bang.

(Note: The chapter header “第三十三章” appearing in the source text appears to be a formatting error in the original.)

For the first several days, Yuyan Zhenren paid no attention to where this river clam was. Under Rong Chen Zi’s careful oversight in the ordinary course of things, the junior Daoists of Qingxu Temple were already well accustomed to each attending to their own duties. Even with him absent for many days now, the temple’s affairs remained properly ordered.

Yuyan Zhenren made a thorough inspection of every part of the temple, and found nothing untoward — but what truly enraged him was a small matter: someone in the temple was privately preparing meat dishes, and doing so several times a day. He immediately caught Jade Bone in the act of cooking in the kitchen: “A Daoist temple is a place of pure cultivation — how can meat and fish be recklessly prepared here?”

Jade Bone naturally recognized Yuyan Zhenren, but had no idea what was happening — normally, the little extra meat dishes prepared for He Bang in the temple were common knowledge, and no one had ever objected. She could only force a smile: “This humble woman pays her respects to Zhenren. You may not be aware, Zhenren — my mistress dislikes vegetarian food, so a few meat dishes are prepared for her each day. When Zhiguan was here, he was fully aware of this as well.”

She made one mistake above all others: she should never have brought Rong Chen Zi’s name into it. Sure enough, the moment Rong Chen Zi was mentioned, Yuyan Zhenren flew into a towering rage: “Outrageous! He, as Zhiguan, openly disregards the rules of the Daoist tradition and throws all propriety and principle to the wind!” He turned to the row of junior Daoists standing with heads bowed at one side and said furiously: “From this day forward, the food and drink of every single person in this temple will be standardized without exception — no one shall receive special accommodation. Furthermore, henceforth the dining hall will be open for half an hour in the morning, one hour at noon, and one hour in the evening. After those hours, it will not open for anyone, without exception.”

In fact, there was an unwritten rule among Daoist practitioners regarding furnace vessels: aside from the quarters of the person who kept them, they were not permitted to move freely about the temple, so as to avoid giving rise to gossip and improper rumours. In whatever age, a furnace vessel was a deeply awkward and uncomfortable existence. They were invariably daughters of poor families who had sold themselves to Daoist practitioners in exchange for a full meal. In the ordinary course of things, though they were not harshly treated, their status was one that could be counted as negligible.

No wonder Yuyan Zhenren had been so greatly displeased to see Rong Chen Zi travelling around with He Bang at his side.

But He Bang was an exception — she stayed in the courtyard of Rong Chen Zi’s quarters not because she was forbidden to move freely about, but because she was too lazy to bother. Of course, that was when there was enough food. Within a couple of days she discovered that every last one of her favourite foods had vanished without a trace. She had only three meals a day, and all of them were vegetarian dishes and steamed buns — and even when there were buns, they were filled with plain cabbage!

What was more, her sleeping hours never coincided with mealtimes, so every time she woke up the dishes were cold, and by then the dining hall was already closed, with nowhere to warm them up. After it happened enough times, she inevitably tilted her little head and fixed a look on Jade Bone when she came to deliver a meal. Jade Bone was too frightened to provoke her wrath, and hastily told her every detail of the situation in the temple from beginning to end.

And so, on this gloriously sunny afternoon, He Bang finally stepped out of Rong Chen Zi’s courtyard. At that hour, worshippers were coming and going in a constant stream, and the junior Daoists were busily moving in and out. She was wearing a thin silk dress in a delicate shade of pale yellow, with no shoulder shawl — only two silk ribbons crossing over her jade neck and tied in a lazy butterfly knot at the back.

The hem of the thin silk dress was extremely wide, and the fabric was soft and feather-light — as she walked, the skirt flew up like a flower bursting into full bloom. But the waist was cinched tight, and the front of the bodice was edged in white fine gauze. Now without her shoulder shawl, a great expanse of skin warm and lustrous as jade was bare — her figure was slender, her collarbones gracefully shaped, and her shoulders were skin luminous as snow. Her progress through the temple drew the eyes of more than a few worshippers practically leaping from their heads.

At that moment, Yuyan Zhenren was meditating in his room. When the temple was quiet the junior Daoists dared not disturb him. But He Bang cared nothing for any of that — she kicked open his door with a single foot. Yuyan Zhenren, even more conservative and old-fashioned than Rong Chen Zi, had never in his life seen such shameless attire, and nearly spat blood on the spot. But He Bang paid no mind — she fixed him with her big round eyes, her expression extremely indignant: “Old man! Why are you docking my food?”

Yuyan Zhenren was shaking with rage from head to foot: “You — you — you… do you not know the rule that furnace vessels are not permitted to move freely about?”

He Bang was completely baffled: “I didn’t know. Why aren’t they allowed to move about?” She clambered all over the room — across the bookshelves, across the writing desk, trampling every surface — “Why aren’t they allowed to move about?!”

Qingyun rushed in and tried to coax her out of the room first, but there was no getting her to budge, and no food offered could induce her to leave either. Yuyan Zhenren slapped the table in fury: “This is outrageous — what on earth does this amount to! Qingyun, drive her out of Qingxu Temple this instant — she is never to set foot past the mountain gate again. If your master questions it in future, tell him to come to the Cavern Paradise and hold me accountable!”

Qingyun was also inwardly groaning, and could only speak quietly in an effort to soothe this elder who was, in effect, her master’s master: “Zhenren, in truth she isn’t normally like this, and she rarely even comes out of our master’s courtyard. This time she only came because she was hungry — why not return her special meals to her…”

Before she could finish, He Bang had already launched into a tirade: “What kind of fool are you, old man! Do I need your permission to go out? I’m not yours to keep! I’ll go out if I want to, and I’ll go wherever I want! Who do you think you are? You have a perfectly good cavern of your own and instead you come storming in here throwing your weight around, thinking you’re really something, don’t you? My grandmother! If you dare slap that table one more time, I’ll chop off your hand!”

Yuyan Zhenren was so furious his beard stood on end. Qingyun desperately grabbed He Bang’s arm: “Please, Mistress, say no more — let’s go back to the room, all right? I promise, food will be made right away — no, immediately. Please go back first.”

He Bang glowered fiercely: “I won’t go back! I refuse to go back!!”

Yuyan Zhenren felt like hitting her but also felt it was beneath his dignity. His hands and feet were trembling: “Remove her from the mountain, remove her from the mountain!!”

The junior Daoists all looked as though they had been bereaved — their Master was so fond of her, who would dare actually drag her off the mountain? But they couldn’t just ignore what Yuyan Zhenren said either…

Seeing the junior Daoists hesitating and irresolute, Yuyan Zhenren’s fury grew even greater. He moved to deal with her himself, but there was He Bang in her scant attire. He pulled out a yellow talisman paper, intending to strike her back to her original form first. The moment she saw him make a move, He Bang was not going to be polite about it!

In an instant, a wild wind rose through the room. The junior Daoists outside could only watch as the stone-built temple started gushing water from every direction like a fountain, the water columns rising over ten feet high. The worshippers, taking it for a divine miracle, formed a crowd that refused to disperse.

The junior Daoists had absolutely no idea what to do. After roughly the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, He Bang came running out of the room, wailing and crying as she ran back into Rong Chen Zi’s quarters. Jade Bone hurried after her to attend to her, only to find her packing up all her favourite clothes, toys, and jewellery into bundles.

Jade Bone had no idea what had happened, only that Yuyan Zhenren had bullied her, and could do nothing but help her pack her things.

The junior Daoists also rushed frantically to find Yuyan Zhenren, intending to plead for their mistress once more. But when they pushed open the door, they stood there stunned — Yuyan Zhenren looked like a drenched chicken. The jade hairpin that had secured his topknot had been torn out, his hair had been blown into a wild explosion in all directions, his goatee had been yanked so it hung in scattered wisps, and there was a scratch across his face.

His neat Daoist robe had been torn into a body covered in shredded rags, and his cheeks had been beaten swollen — even his tongue could barely move when he tried to speak. That wretched state of his — it looked as though he had been thoroughly and repeatedly ravaged by seven-times-seven, forty-nine burly men, seven-times-seven, forty-nine times over…

The junior Daoists saw the sight and nearly spat blood themselves — Mistress, you…

Seeing Yuyan Zhenren in this state, the junior Daoists wanted to leave but dared not, yet going in seemed equally inappropriate — they were crying bitterly over their predicament when He Bang had already finished packing her things and was heading down the mountain with Jade Bone.

Jade Bone was still trying to console her: “Yuyan Zhenren is a Daoist after all, Mistress — it’s perfectly normal that you couldn’t beat him. Only, now we can’t stay at Qingxu Temple anymore. Where are we going to go?”

He Bang still had teardrops not yet dry on her face, but her mind had already moved on to other things: “Jade Bone, what is a furnace vessel? Why did the old man say you aren’t allowed to move about freely?”

Jade Bone was still a little shy: “A furnace vessel — it’s women that Daoist practitioners buy and keep in private rooms to practice dual cultivation with whenever they need to, in order to harmonize yin and yang and… advance their abilities.”

He Bang still did not quite understand: “Then why aren’t you allowed to move about freely?”

Jade Bone, her new body being no ordinary woman’s in terms of strength, walked the descent without any difficulty and could still hold He Bang’s arm as they went: “Well… because a furnace vessel is not something that can be seen openly in public — the master doesn’t want people to know about it, so he doesn’t let her out to walk around.”

He Bang seemed somewhat disappointed, and after a long pause finally replied: “Oh.”

He Bang had no idea where the ceremonial temple for the National Offering was, but Jade Bone, having lived in the mortal world for over a decade, at least knew how to ask for directions even if she didn’t know the way. So the two of them walked along asking, making their way forward — counting the time He Bang stopped to eat and drink along the way, and adding the time Jade Bone asked for directions and He Bang shot through the water, the whole journey took six days.

Six days later, Jade Bone asked for directions again and discovered He Bang had overshot the destination by a wide margin — and so the two of them walked back again for three days. = =

Nine days later, they arrived at the destination. The area was packed with people on all sides — armoured soldiers bearing swords, men of distinction who had received invitations to attend the National Offering, and ordinary citizens who had come just to join in the spectacle.

He Bang wandered around the area for a bit and, unusually for her, did not go looking for food. The weather was sweltering, and Jade Bone held up a parasol for her and bought her cold water. Because the Emperor himself had graced the occasion with his presence, the guards around the ceremonial temple were extremely tight, and even those who had come to watch the ceremony could only observe from a great distance.

He Bang plunged into the crowd with Jade Bone and, without making a sound, attracted a great many eyes — along with more than a few unsavoury characters eager to take advantage. Jade Bone still understood a thing or two about that sort of scoundrel: “Mis—” Considering that this form of address might sound a little odd in public, she promptly switched: “Miss, be careful not to let them brush against you!”

He Bang was still breezy and unconcerned: “Why?”

As she spoke, someone gave her arm a vigorous rub. He Bang had never had anyone take advantage of her before, and was still puzzled — when suddenly another hand reached out, preparing to grope her! She openly activated her water-wave protective barrier. Only then did Jade Bone manage to get in an explanation: “It’s when a man sees a beautiful woman and wants to XXXXX…”

He Bang heard this, and simply let her water-wave barrier drop, then pushed straight through the crowd. Jade Bone could not pull her back, and before long the two of them had squeezed their way to the front. Both were dripping with perspiration. He Bang took a sip of cold water and looked up — and there was Rong Chen Zi, wearing the Nine-Jade Cloud Crown, clad in a fish-scale celestial robe, girded with the Drifting-Wind Precious Sash, his feet in the Cloud-Treading Immortal Shoes, his bearing cold and imposing, inspiring awe in all who looked upon him.

But He Bang dared to look!

She gave a joyful cry and flung both arms wide, rushing straight for him: “Zhiguan!!”

It was at that moment the time for presenting the memorial tablet — Rong Chen Zi was holding his ritual tablet and forming the hand seals in preparation to open the altar when he suddenly turned his head and looked toward the crowd. Zhuang Shaoqin and Ye Tian also sensed trouble at once. Though the crowd was dense, He Bang’s pale yellow outfit was far too eye-catching, and all three spotted her almost simultaneously.

Ye Tian was visibly shocked: “She… she was still safely in the temple when I left. How did she end up here?”

He Bang was shoving her way forward with all her might — without her shell she was extremely slippery, and in no time at all had squeezed out from the crowd. A commotion arose in the crowd, and immediately soldiers stepped forward to block her. But seeing her extraordinary beauty, they did not resort to force — only shouted: “Step back. No disturbances!”

The moment He Bang caught sight of Rong Chen Zi, she was overcome with grievance: “Zhiguan! Wuwuwu, the old man wouldn’t give me food and even yelled at me… wuwuwuwu…”

The weather was sweltering, and she was already drenched with sweat from pushing through the crowd — now that she was crying on top of it, she looked truly pitiful. Rong Chen Zi’s composure instantly crumbled. Even the Emperor on his throne noticed something amiss: “What is happening?”

Zhuang Shaoqin at his side quickly replied: “Nothing, a commoner woman is making a disturbance. This humble Daoist will go to look into it.”

He strode quickly down from the imperial dais, all the while signalling urgently to Rong Chen Zi to open the altar.

Rong Chen Zi’s gaze found He Bang in the crowd — she was still weeping and making a fuss, with soldiers pressing in around her, swords in hand, driving her back. He was terrified those blades might hurt her, but fortunately Zhuang Shaoqin had already moved quickly to her side. Rong Chen Zi calmed himself and opened the altar. The great river clam, seeing him not come over to hold her, only cried harder.

With the Emperor watching from nearby, Zhuang Shaoqin dared not say much to her, and only whispered quickly to Jade Bone: “To the south of the city, there is a hostel called Tongyuan Guest Lodge. Take her there first, give them my name, and someone will see to you both properly. We will come to speak with you this evening about everything else.”

“Zhiguan!” He Bang sobbed out, calling his name. On the altar, Rong Chen Zi continued paying reverence to the five directions, without turning his head, as though he and she were strangers.

Jade Bone tugged at He Bang’s sleeve and said quietly: “Miss, let’s go first. It’s hot, and there are too many people here.”

He Bang’s large eyes were brimming with tears. Zhuang Shaoqin instructed the soldiers at his side: “Before the sacred altar, no impropriety is permitted — escort them out, that is all.”

The soldiers bowed respectfully, and without jostling them, led them out through the crowd. Rong Chen Zi continued the ritual. Only when Zhuang Shaoqin returned did he look up at him — Zhuang Shaoqin gave a slight nod, signalling that all was well.

But in truth, Rong Chen Zi spent the entire afternoon unable to set his mind at ease. He forced himself through to the end of the ritual at dusk, only for the Emperor to want to discuss the Daoist arts with him. His mind was in complete turmoil — he had absolutely no heart for discussing the Dao.

Zhuang Shaoqin had naturally noticed as much, but his concerns at this point were also different. Taking advantage of the moment when they were helping Rong Chen Zi change his vestments, he was able to get close enough to speak: “Elder Brother, you cannot go right now, and neither can I. The only option is to have Younger Sister go over tonight. Whatever happened, she got herself here safe and sound — you need not worry about that. Right now the court’s situation is changing by the moment. This is an excellent opportunity to bring glory to Qingxu Temple, but once word of you slipping out to meet privately with her reaches the Emperor’s ears through interested parties, it would be entirely counterproductive.”

How could Rong Chen Zi not understand the reasoning — it was simply that he truly could not be at ease. Zhuang Shaoqin could only continue to persuade: “She is a great demon who has attained the Dao, Elder Brother — you need not worry yourself overmuch. The Tongyuan Guest Lodge has my people, who will take good care of her. And besides, once Younger Sister goes tonight, you truly need not worry anymore.”

Rong Chen Zi sighed: “She must be sent quickly. Her nature is to love play — she will not obediently go to the guest lodge.”

Zhuang Shaoqin naturally agreed: “Elder Brother, please go see His Majesty first. I will go find Younger Sister right away.”

Rong Chen Zi was in conversation with the Emperor until well into the night, and Zhuang Shaoqin naturally had to remain in attendance — but Ye Tian, who had gone, had not come back. Rong Chen Zi was tormented as though his heart were being fried in oil, and it was fortunate that Zhuang Shaoqin was there to hold things together, so he managed not to let his distracted state show.

Past the middle of the night, Ye Tian came rushing back and went first to find Zhuang Shaoqin: “She never went to Tongyuan Guest Lodge at all.”

Zhuang Shaoqin immediately drew on his connections and searched the entire city in a thorough sweep — and the last person to have seen that river clam turned out to be a grilled mutton skewer vendor. = =

Neither of them dared tell Rong Chen Zi. Ye Tian urged Zhuang Shaoqin to keep looking, but Zhuang Shaoqin felt utterly helpless: “She can shoot through the water and cover a thousand miles in an instant. Even if I mobilised every person I had to search, we’d have little hope of finding her. The most important thing right now is that this must not reach Elder Brother’s ears — letting him concentrate on presiding over the National Offering is what matters.”

The next day, something happened in the capital city as well — several men’s hands had first broken out in blisters, and within about two quarter-hours the hands had begun to swell. Not long after, entire hands were swollen completely translucent. Among the afflicted were men of wealth who had summoned every famous physician in the capital, but not a single one could prescribe a remedy.

Upon hearing the news, Zhuang Shaoqin suspected an epidemic. But when he gathered over a dozen of the patients together, he found that every single one who had fallen ill was a man, and every afflicted area was a hand — though some right, some left. Strange as the illness was, there was no sign of contagion or spread. Zhuang Shaoqin tested the afflicted with talisman water, and there was no reaction. Only by that afternoon had the skin on the hands of all dozen or so patients begun to peel away, with clear fluid seeping out from beneath — the flesh inside was soaked white and clearly visible.

After extensive and repeated questioning, one of them finally mumbled and admitted, with squirming reluctance, to what had actually happened: “…At this point, I dare not deceive the National Preceptor any longer. Yesterday during the National Offering, I saw a girl in yellow and found her extremely beautiful — I couldn’t help myself in a moment of madness and gave her a grope… at the time my hand only felt itchy, and by the time I got home I’d come down with this…”

Once he said this, all the others confessed to the same thing. Zhuang Shaoqin was simultaneously outraged and greatly amused, and had no desire to deal with any of them further — he simply wrote two characters and submitted them to the Emperor as his report: Divine Retribution.