Outside, it had just turned dark. Qian Li arrived right on time to pick her up. Knowing Ming Li had been starving in the meditation room for three days, he specially brought food.

Ming Li sat in the meditation room, eating buns while listening to Qian Li talk about what happened outside.

“Fortunately, the Seven Halls tribunal didn’t give a harsh sentence. The hall masters still have conscience,” Qian Li sighed. “That night, the Young Master came to find Master, and who knows what they discussed, but it angered Master so much that she activated a killing technique to kill someone. The Young Master risked his life to stop her.”

After taking a bite of her bun, Ming Li asked, “Kill whom?”

Qian Li shook his head and said, “I don’t know. At first, I thought it was Jiang Ying, since who else would the Young Master risk his life to protect other than his fiancée? But I heard him say something like ‘don’t let her die.'”

Ming Li paused upon hearing this.

“It doesn’t sound like he was talking about Jiang Ying,” Qian Li asserted. “The Young Master was badly injured and hasn’t come out these past few days, but Jiang Ying recovered quickly.”

If not Jiang Ying, then who could it be?

Cui Yaocen disliked someone enough to use a killing technique, yet Cui Yuanxi risked his life to stop her. If not Jiang Ying, could it be…

Ming Li recalled how Cui Yuanxi had once bewitched Qing Ying to like him, and considering that Qing Ying looked identical to Jiang Ying, the speculation in her heart couldn’t be suppressed. Though it seemed absurd and impossible, she secretly hoped.

If Qing Ying wasn’t dead but just imprisoned in Nan Que, Cui Yaocen would naturally despise her.

While Ming Li was deep in thought, she heard Qian Li say, “By the way, Master left on a long journey today and said she would return in a day or two.”

He winked at Ming Li, as if to say, “I did well, didn’t I?”

At this moment, Ming Li made a decision and nodded in appreciation to Qian Li: “Thank you.”

Qian Li scratched his head and laughed: “Haha, no need to be so formal between us! Do you want to go out and eat some more?”

But Ming Li asked, “Has she been teaching you cultivation?”

“Master? Yes, she has. Every day, she watches me battle with spirit doppelgangers, supervising my proficiency with spirit techniques. Sometimes she’s quite strict,” Qian Li’s words carried gratitude. “It’s different from when I used to study alone at Ji Dan. When I have doubts, Master resolves them with just a few words.”

His admiration for Cui Yaocen had grown day by day.

Ming Li said while eating her bun, “You were always clever, with a solid foundation. Just a few hints and you can figure things out yourself.”

Qian Li, embarrassed by the praise, chuckled and looked at her with bright eyes: “I’m grateful that you let me come to Nan Que alive.”

“You’re welcome,” Ming Li said. “If you hadn’t met me, did you have a backup plan?”

Qian Li squatted at the doorway, stroking his chin: “I would have probably just taken things one step at a time. Even if the Jiang Clan captured me, they would still take me back to Zhu Que State. Sometimes being in Zhu Que State offers more opportunities.”

Ming Li asked, “With Fang Hui? If you were captured, what would happen to Fang Hui?”

But Qian Li smiled and said, “He would be fine.”

Seeing Ming Li’s silence, Qian Li continued explaining, “Fang Hui only has weak body techniques and a frail constitution, not suited for physical combat, but that doesn’t mean he lacks survival skills.”

“Come to think of it, he’s similar to Cheng Jingbai. Both have poor constitutions, but they compensate in other areas.”

Ming Li listened to his rambling as she finished her bun, then stood up and said, “Let’s go.”

Qian Li looked down and noticed that Ming Li had unusually finished all the sweet food he brought. He had never seen her eat sweets before, so she must have been truly hungry after being confined for three days.

Outside, the sky was completely dark, with moonlight intertwining with clouds and mist. Snow continued to fall relentlessly in Yi Xiu Hall. Li Yansi had been busy with other matters lately and had no time to manage Yi Xiu’s seasonal formation, so Yi Xiu’s spring season passed in snowy colors.

Ming Li told Qian Li she was tired and wanted to go back to the new quarters to rest. Qian Li didn’t think much of it and just reminded her to rest well and not worry about other things.

Just as she arrived at the new quarters, she encountered Qiu Hong, who was leaving. Qiu Hong asked her, “Are you alright?”

Ming Li shook her head, and Qiu Hong said it was good that she was fine, then hurriedly walked away.

It was rest time now, and there was no one outside the new quarters, nor any noisy sounds; it was completely quiet.

Ming Li didn’t go in. She turned and left, hurrying toward Three Saints Peak in the darkness.

*

During her battle with Jiang Ying, Ming Li discovered that new star meridians could bypass the Pilgrimage Fire to connect with past star meridians, instantly elevating the new meridians to a peak state.

During her three days in the meditation room, she hadn’t been idle. When Zhou Zixi wasn’t present, she experimented with bypassing the Pilgrimage Fire to connect new and old star meridians.

This cheat-like method could currently only connect single meridians; it wasn’t possible to elevate all eight meridians to their peak state simultaneously.

But for Ming Li’s current situation, this was enough.

After hearing Qian Li’s words, Ming Li decided to check Cui Yuanxi’s main residence. If Qing Ying wasn’t dead but hidden by him, there should be some clues at Cui Yuanxi’s place.

Cui Yuanxi lived on Ba Li Peak near the base of Three Saints Peak. Although the two peaks were close, they were separate mountains with distinct features.

Ming Li used her Heavy Eyes meridian high-level spirit technique, “Submerged Impurity,” to blend into the darkness and become invisible to others, moving as just a black shadow.

While hiding in the tree shadows of Ba Li Peak, she saw Jiang Ying walking out of the palace ahead. Jiang Ying asked the maid standing at the door in a low voice, “Has the Young Master returned yet?”

The maid bowed her head and answered, “Not yet. The Young Master only instructed that the lady should rest well.”

Jiang Ying didn’t look well. She tightened the cloak on her shoulders and walked out. When the maid tried to follow, Jiang Ying stopped her.

Learning that Cui Yuanxi wasn’t at Ba Li Peak and seeing Jiang Ying, Ming Li changed her mind and followed Jiang Ying for a while. She slipped into Jiang Ying’s shadow, following her silently.

Jiang Ying knew that Cui Yuanxi must have gone to see Qing Ying, but she didn’t know where Qing Ying was hidden, which greatly displeased her. Thinking carefully, this time she was injured, yet Cui Yuanxi wasn’t constantly by her side as usual, but rather had disappeared. This couldn’t be good.

Could it be that this coward finally dared to face his true feelings?

That absolutely couldn’t happen now.

Jiang Ying’s face darkened as she thought more about how disadvantageous this was for her. She turned and headed toward Cang Xiu Pavilion on Ba Li Peak.

The pavilion was tall, with layered floors inside and spiral staircases that seemed endless.

Jiang Ying carried a lamp upward. Small compartments in the pavilion walls held ancient books, scrolls, or small boxes containing precious treasures.

She reached the top level of the pavilion and searched around, focusing on the small boxes in the compartments, seemingly certain that what she sought was in one of the boxes, though unsure which one.

Ming Li waited patiently in the darkness.

Finally, Jiang Ying paused when opening another box, carefully taking out a black jade tablet from it. The tablet was small and light, with a subtle gleam, and faintly inscribed with the three characters “Seven Star Command.”

Ming Li remained silent as she observed.

Jiang Ying put away the Seven Star Command and was about to turn with her lamp when she saw the guard of Cang Xiu Pavilion standing at the stairway entrance, watching her.

The Cang Xiu Pavilion guard calmly said, “Lady Jiang cannot take this item out of Cang Xiu Pavilion.”

Jiang Ying replied unhurriedly, “Since when do I need your permission to take things from Cang Xiu Pavilion?”

The guard wasn’t anxious either and said, “Lady Jiang may take any other items freely, as the Young Master has permitted it, but this jade tablet specifically cannot be taken. The Young Master said so.”

Jiang Ying tightened her grip on the lamp, looking displeased: “What if I insist on taking it?”

“If Lady Jiang insists, then we must ask the Young Master for permission,” the guard stepped aside and said, “The Young Master is at the Tidal Grounds below Cang Xiu Pavilion.”

Jiang Ying’s eyelid twitched upon hearing this: “When did he return?”

The guard said, “He’s been back for a while.”

Jiang Ying followed him downstairs with a grim face, her sense of foreboding growing stronger.

Since Cui Yuanxi had returned to Ba Li Peak but hadn’t come to see her, instead choosing to stay at the Tidal Grounds, it wasn’t just a matter of being busy with affairs that kept him from seeing her.

This coward must have discovered his true feelings and was therefore afraid to face her for the time being.

Jiang Ying inwardly sneered, following the guard with a cold expression. As they descended, the light grew dimmer, creating an environment very favorable for Ming Li, making it extremely difficult to detect her presence.

The underground area of Ba Li Peak’s Cang Xiu Pavilion was known as the Tidal Grounds, where Nan Que’s most precious treasures were stored.

For instance, the sect’s guardian treasure, the Boundless Mirror, though there were others as well.

Beyond Cang Xiu Pavilion’s sliding doors were more spiral staircases, but these extended downward. Floating candles were spaced along the handrails, stretching the shadows of those passing by.

Light emanated from the end of the staircase. Entering was like walking into a cave with a high dome. The rock walls featured strange stones and green vines. In the center flowed a clear and rather wide river, beneath which was a miniature forest where colorful small fish occasionally frolicked.

The guard walked along the river deeper inside. The underground temperature was rather low, the rock walls were blackish, and the overall atmosphere was solemn and dignified.

Walking forward, one could see square black wells on the opposite bank of the river at regular intervals. Precious treasures were placed in these wells. The Tidal Grounds were vast, with towering trees along the riverbank providing shade for the wells.

Cui Yuanxi stood at the end of the river, before the last well, which was twice the size of the others. He stood at the well’s mouth, head bowed in contemplation. Hearing movement, he turned his head, his gaze darkening when he saw Jiang Ying behind the guard.

“Young Master,” the guard stopped on the opposite bank, meeting his displeased gaze. “Lady Jiang wants to take away the jade tablet from the top floor of Cang Xiu Pavilion and needs your permission.”

There was only one tablet on the top floor.

Cui Yuanxi looked at Jiang Ying. His wounds hadn’t healed, and with his great sorrow, he appeared utterly exhausted, his face pale. Now he asked hoarsely, “What do you want it for?”

Jiang Ying said, “If I don’t take it, will I never see you again?”

Cui Yuanxi tiredly replied, “What nonsense. You already angered Elder Sister once by acting rashly against her advice. Do you want to anger her a second time?”

But Jiang Ying looked at him with tears in her eyes, wearing a tragic smile: “Cui Yuanxi, tell me, with what thoughts did you keep this thing? Since you knew it would cause trouble, could it be that our decade-long relationship would lose to the same face?”

This was her first direct test of Cui Yuanxi.

However, Cui Yuanxi didn’t show the pain and hesitation she had imagined. Instead, he calmly explained why he kept the Seven Star Command: “If it were shattered, it would trigger a summons revealing the location, so it can’t be thrown away or broken, only hidden.”

Jiang Ying was momentarily speechless, not knowing what to say.

She had only been cultivating for less than two years, and while her understanding of Nan Que had grown daily, she remained ignorant about knowledge from other sects.

As Jiang Ying awkwardly stood there, angry and at a loss for words, Cui Yuanxi turned to look at her, giving her a way out: “Put it back, and I’ll come to see you later.”

Jiang Ying said with soft mockery: “You mean to see another me, don’t you?”

Ming Li finally heard what she wanted to know.

Cui Yuanxi frowned silently. Just as he was about to signal the guard to escort Jiang Ying back, his gaze suddenly turned cold. A shrill sound came from the well, and streams of powerful star force flew out from within.

Behind Jiang Ying, a black shadow fell from the towering tree as the star force pursued it. Though discovered, it maintained its shadow form. In the reflected light, one could make out a wolf’s head.

The wolf-headed shadow had a strong, explosive body and wielded a horizontal blade to slash at the pursuing star force. The collision swept across the river, causing the water surface to surge and sending the residual star force underwater. Black shadows hidden underwater were forced to surface, creating splashes as they landed. In the light, one shadow appeared faintly red, explaining how it had hidden among the red flowers underwater.

After being forced out of the water, the red shadow cursed at the wolf-headed shadow: “You son of a bitch, did you do that on purpose?!”

The voice was neither male nor female. The splash from the red shadow struck the black shadow hiding under the wall vines, forcing it out too. The shadow beneath the vines was circular and very fast. When it stood upright from the ground, it remained spherical, like a ball, but contained dense star force protection that neutralized the attacks from the Boundless Mirror that flew out of the well.

The circular shadow faced the red shadow, silently cursing.

Still hiding in Jiang Ying’s shadow, Ming Li thought: “…”

So it was quite lively down here.

With three shadows suddenly revealed, Jiang Ying retreated in shock. The Cang Xiu Pavilion guard assumed a defensive posture. Across from them, Cui Yuanxi looked at the three shadows with a gloomy face and laughed coldly: “Elder Sister just left, and you couldn’t wait.”

“If Young Master Cui hadn’t made this trip, we would have already finished our work and left,” the circular shadow said mechanically.

Cui Yuanxi said, “I came here tonight to see what kind of rats had snuck into Nan Que.”

He mocked: “I just didn’t expect so many at once.”

The wolf-headed shadow’s voice was hoarse and deep, like that of a man in his fifties or sixties: “Don’t lump me in with these two rats. I’m a lone wolf.”

The red shadow said in a strange tone: “I was bored at night, so I came to hear some Nan Que gossip. What’s wrong with that? What about the Bei Dou Seven Star Command that the girl is holding? Let’s hear more about that.”

Jiang Ying’s expression changed slightly, and she instinctively clutched the box containing the Seven Star Command tightly.

The circular shadow looked at Jiang Ying: “Oh, so that thing is the Bei Dou Seven Star Command. I didn’t expect Nan Que’s Tidal Grounds to have treasures from other sects.”

The red shadow added, “And that stuff about a decade-long relationship losing to the same face—tell us more about that love and hatred drama!”

Cui Yuanxi’s expression grew increasingly unpleasant as he listened. His killing intent spread with the wind. His star force resonated with the Boundless Mirror in the well, and several powerful star force streams burst forth again toward the three shadows.

The wall vines also moved accordingly, like sturdy swords slashing toward the three shadows.

Yet amid such an onslaught, the wolf-headed shadow fixed its gaze on Jiang Ying by the riverside. Its horizontal blade slashed toward her, the blade light transforming into countless fireflies, each a deadly blade. Jiang Ying hurriedly dodged, but Cui Yuanxi instantly appeared before her, raising his hand to block the scattered deadly firefly blades.

This move, however, forced Ming Li out of Jiang Ying’s shadow.

She appeared silently behind Jiang Ying, one hand gripping Jiang Ying’s throat to seal her star force, while her other hand grabbed the box containing the Seven Star Command.

Cui Yuanxi reacted quickly. As soon as Jiang Ying cried out in pain, he sensed something amiss behind her. The killing technique he was about to execute paused when he saw Jiang Ying held hostage by the black shadow.

The other shadows in the Tidal Grounds were all startled by Ming Li’s sudden appearance. They had thought they were the only intruders, not expecting yet another!

The red shadow knocked on the wall and said, “Young Master Cui, exactly how many people came to your Tidal Grounds tonight?”

Cui Yuanxi ignored the mockery, his gaze ice-cold as he stared at Ming Li holding Jiang Ying.

Ming Li gripped Jiang Ying’s throat, sealing her voice, and said with a half-smile: “Young Master Cui, the Seven Star Command or your fiancée—you can only choose one.”