Ming Li was certain that Cui Yaocen had already returned and was even waiting for Jing Xiu.

Because she knew the Pilgrims’ way of doing things, Cui Yaocen cared the most about face. If people merely sneaked into Nan Que, trespassed into forbidden areas, and killed disciples, she would be angry but not enraged to the point of losing control.

But when someone preserved the gossip about her brother with a listening stone and broadcast it to everyone in Zhu Que State, Cui Yaocen would certainly be furious, and by now would be filled with murderous intent.

If Dou Lanmin went into Jing Xiu tonight, he would certainly die.

Since he was one of their own, she had to stop him.

Dou Lanmin was startled by the voice and looked at the figure in the tree in bewilderment: “It’s you?”

How could Zhou Li be here?

His mind raced with thoughts while Ming Li looked back at the guards coming their way, signaling Dou Lanmin to leave first. The two silently slipped away under the cover of night. The guards who came to investigate found nothing unusual and departed.

Under the bright moonlight, two figures moved swiftly through the night, not stopping until they reached a small path outside the forest.

Looking down from the path’s edge revealed a river channel connected to the waterway of Ghost Academy. At night, the sound of flowing water occasionally masked the sound of the wind.

After landing, Dou Lanmin looked at Ming Li standing behind him, pretending nothing had happened with an innocent expression, but remained alert to her every move.

Compared to him, Ming Li was much more relaxed. She looked at Dou Lanmin with a friendly gaze: “I saw you using the Jade Execution Sword to kill the Jiang family members, so you must be a Jade Pivot Academy disciple?”

Dou Lanmin’s expression changed slightly, but he reacted quickly, immediately understanding she was referring to the day he responded to the Seven Star Command to rescue people.

At that time, disciples who had passed the mountain challenge at Ghost Academy got into a fight and set fire to the new dormitory. They were punished by the Ghost Academy Principal to go outside the mountain. He had taken the opportunity to scout the mountain and dig up some medicinal herbs to make money.

He hadn’t expected a Seven Star Command summons. Since his position was very close, and it was the summons from the Seven Star Command of the Dipper Academy senior brother, often mentioned by Black Fox Mask, he feared Black Fox Mask and the others wouldn’t arrive in time, so he went first.

Who would have thought that when he arrived, it wasn’t the Zhou senior brother from Dipper Academy, but rather Qian Li, the newly recruited disciple that he was spying on in Nan Que?

Dou Lanmin was friendly to Ming Li only because he wanted to turn this eight-meridian awakened genius from Nan Que, but it seemed that she didn’t need to be turned by him at all.

“You were there that night, too?” Dou Lanmin asked probing.

Ming Li said, “I arrived at about the same time as Cui Yaocen, so I didn’t come out.”

Dou Lanmin’s heart skipped a beat when he heard this. She knew Cui Yaocen was there too; she wasn’t lying.

Could there be other disciples undercover in Nan Que besides himself?

Dou Lanmin mentally screamed in anger at Black Fox Mask for not telling him, but then he realized that was wrong—Black Fox Mask wouldn’t have kept it from him.

When he had mentioned there was a Single Meridian Boundary Master genius who passed the mountain challenge, everyone else was quite surprised, and Fu Yuan had asked him to turn this person.

Dou Lanmin hesitantly asked, “Why did you go?”

“Because of the Seven Star Command summons,” Ming Li said. “You probably haven’t been at Jade Pivot Academy for even five years, right?”

Dou Lanmin was shocked: “How do you know?”

He had joined the sect during Bei Dou’s miserable period when the Jade Pivot Academy Principal was already dead, and Heavenly Pivot Academy Principal Qu Zhuyue was managing it. Only in the past two years had it been handed over to Jade Pivot Academy’s senior disciple Liang Junxia.

Ming Li sighed, “Otherwise, seeing my face wouldn’t have caused this reaction, and I would have recognized you.”

Dou Lanmin’s vigilance toward Ming Li relaxed a bit. He scratched his head and asked, “May I ask which academy senior sister is from?”

Ming Li replied, “Dipper Academy.”

Dou Lanmin was stunned: “But I’ve met all the senior brothers and sisters from Dipper Academy!”

Ming Li said, “If you had met me, you wouldn’t have failed to recognize me, nor would you have failed to recognize Jiang Ying’s face.”

Dou Lanmin reflexively said, “My senior brother said there were only two Dipper Academy senior sisters I haven’t met, both died in the Northern Border Ghost Plains, and one of them was the famous…”

Huh?

What was the name of that famous Pilgrim again?

Seeing Dou Lanmin frozen in place, his eyes looking at her in disbelief, Ming Li didn’t try to scare the young man. She only said, “Cui Yaocen will conduct a strict investigation in Nan Que now that she’s back. Contacting Senior Brother Fu Yuan and the others during this time would be detected, so be extremely careful. It’s best not to take any rash actions before she leaves again.”

She even knew Senior Brother Fu Yuan!

“Dipper Academy disciple Qing Ying isn’t dead either, she’s just been imprisoned by Cui Yuanxi at the peak of Boundary Peak. There’s a barrier formation there that prevents entry, and I’m still figuring out a way.”

Ming Li shared the intelligence about Qing Ying. Seeing Dou Lanmin standing petrified as if turned to stone, she was very patient, feeling compassion and affection for this disciple who had chosen to join Bei Dou during its darkest period.

Dou Lanmin couldn’t believe a certain fact, so he suddenly had a realization: “I got it, your surname is Zhou, you must be the sister of that missing Dipper Academy Senior Brother Zhou!”

Ming Li: “…”

Is it so difficult to believe I’m not dead?

It seems it is indeed a bit difficult.

Ming Li smiled and said, “To be precise, I took my father’s surname, Dong Ye, but I don’t like it, so I go by Ming Li.”

The connection in Dou Lanmin’s brain snapped, and his mind was left with only two words: Holy. Shit.

*

Cui Yaocen waited all night at Jing Xiu, but nothing happened. By dawn, her expression was grim as she rose.

Yumei, who had just awakened, sat up, supporting herself on the edge of the bed. Shan Siyuan immediately came forward to drape a fox fur coat over her shoulders to keep her warm.

The death of more than ten Jing Xiu disciples was devastating news for the Jing Xiu Academy Principal. Yumei, who already harbored resentment in her heart, looked unwell with her brows tightly furrowed without relaxing once.

Cui Yaocen asked, “Do you have any thoughts?”

Yumei said softly, “It seems that those who broke into the Tidal Grounds and Tai Wei Forest are different people.”

Cui Yaocen replied, “Yuanxi said there were four different people in the Tidal Grounds, two of them from Bei Dou, the other two unknown.”

Yumei’s eyes flickered slightly. She covered her mouth and coughed lightly. When Shan Siyuan was about to approach, she shook her head gently, indicating for him to withdraw first. After he left, she said, “Bei Dou is still in recovery, with only Dong Yeshou holding it together. If he were to fall, conquering Bei Dou would only be a matter of time. So even if Bei Dou harbors resentment, they wouldn’t take any action now.”

“Bei Dou’s people are still waiting in Zhu Que State,” Cui Yaocen said. “But you’re right. Given Dong Yeshou’s personality, if he knew his disciple was in my hands, he would have come from Bei Dou by now. Yet there’s been no movement until today. Either his injury hasn’t healed, or Bei Dou can’t spare him, which suggests the others haven’t recovered either.”

She let out a cold snort, her anger gradually subsiding as she calmed down.

Bei Dou couldn’t compare to Nan Que now, with only a group of old, weak, sick, and disabled members left. Dong Yeshou wouldn’t last much longer either. The outside world thought Bei Dou was recovering, but she knew clearly that Bei Dou was slowly collapsing from within.

It wouldn’t last much longer.

“Bei Dou’s target is the Infinite Mirror. They lost their supreme-grade divine warrior Shi Fei, which is detrimental to Bei Dou in the long run, so they want us to lose the Infinite Mirror as well,” Yumei analyzed in a soft voice. “But this group that went to Tai Wei Forest doesn’t match Bei Dou’s style. Even if Bei Dou harbors killing intent now, they would restrain themselves because they can’t bear the consequences. But the five people in Tai Wei Forest that night were reckless, killing indiscriminately…”

Yumei’s gaze focused slightly: “This style is more like the Earth Ghosts. Sui Qiusan knows his son has become your disciple, so he definitely wouldn’t remain indifferent. The southern Earth Ghosts have also been quite active in these two years.”

“Earth Ghosts, Sui Qiusan.” Cui Yaocen didn’t seem to take this seriously, speaking with a slightly casual tone. “His son with Zhao Tingyi is quite impressive—intelligent, articulate, with good cultivation talent, and has mastered the true Zhao Clan divine miracle ability Heavenly Net Myriad Phenomena.”

Divine miracle abilities were divided into two types: one awakened through star meridians, the other inherited through bloodlines.

The Zhao Clan was the latter, but Sui Qiusan could decode the bloodline-inherited divine miracle ability and teach it to others, eventually allowing everyone to learn a superficial version, crushing the Zhao Clan’s pride and confidence into dust.

“Although he cannot sense star power, his intellect is deep, different from other Earth Ghosts. He can even gather the scattered southern Earth Ghosts together,” unlike Cui Yaocen’s casual attitude, Yumei sensed some danger. “Earth Ghosts are brutal and prone to evil. They just lack the empathy of ordinary people, but they’re not stupid. On the contrary, they’re all quite cunning. If the Earth Ghosts begin to act collectively, it would be a disaster for the entire continent.”

Cui Yaocen narrowed her eyes slightly and said, “This Pilgrim gathering is precisely for dealing with the Earth Ghosts. We’re already preparing to take action and won’t let such a thing happen.”

After hearing this, Yumei felt somewhat relieved: “If the Pilgrims are united in preventing it, then there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Cui Yaocen said, “Bei Dou doesn’t matter for now, but we need to find the Earth Ghosts hiding in Nan Que first.”

After pondering for a moment, Yumei’s expression became increasingly grave: “The sooner the better, because they might have discovered Shi Fei hidden in Tai Wei Forest.”

Upon hearing this, the cold intent returned to Cui Yaocen’s eyes. But then she heard Yumei’s coughing grow louder. She walked to the bedside and extended a finger to touch her, calming Yumei’s turbulent star meridians. The veins on Yumei’s neck became faintly visible. After the turbulent star meridians gradually quieted, she gasped for breath, and in just a few moments, her forehead was covered in sweat.

“Has the frequency of your star meridian disorder increased recently?”

Yumei shook her head, her voice barely audible: “I can still hold on. Just one more month, and I’ll be able to dispel this curse.”

She lowered her gaze to look at the faintly visible black markings on her wrist and clenched her teeth. Thinking of Bei Dou’s current miserable state, Yumei took another deep breath to forcibly regain her composure, a slight smile appearing at the corners of her mouth.

Dong Yeshou…

See, in the end, I won.

*

Dou Lanmin went to Boundary Peak as Ming Li had mentioned, and indeed discovered a barrier formation. He patiently kept watch until dawn, when he saw Cui Yuanxi personally going up the mountain. This convinced him that Ming Li’s words were true.

But how to pass on this information was another problem.

Now that Cui Yaocen had returned, as Ming Li said, it would be best for him not to take any action for the time being, or he would bring disaster upon himself.

He could only hope that this senior sister would hold on a little longer and wait until the Four Directions Examination, when the academy principals would come to discuss this matter.

Besides, the principals and senior brothers would certainly be overjoyed to know Ming Li wasn’t dead. Just thinking about it made him excited. This information must be properly conveyed.

Dou Lanmin quietly returned to the new dormitory and ran straight to Ming Li’s door, only to find someone had arrived earlier than him.

“What are you doing here?” Dou Lanmin asked Qian Li, who was at the door.

Qian Li said, “Asking what you all want for breakfast.”

Thinking of him as Cui Yaocen’s disciple, alarm bells rang in Dou Lanmin’s head. He was about to drive him away to prevent him from turning their comrade, but just as he reached out his hand, he remembered Qian Li saying at the dining hall yesterday that his information was the fastest. The hand that was about to drive him away made a turn and lightly patted Qian Li’s shoulder. With a bright smile revealing two little tiger teeth, he said, “I’ll have sweet buns.”

Qian Li also smiled brightly and said, “I’m asking Zhou Li, not you.”

Dou Lanmin: “…”

He truly wants to turn our Pilgrim; his intentions are malicious!

Ming Li heard the voices outside but didn’t respond. She touched her small braids that had become somewhat disheveled from sleep and looked melancholic, saying in a very soft voice, “Zixi, the braids have come undone.”

Zhou Zixi stood by the door, turning his head to look at the two figures outside before walking leisurely to Ming Li’s side. He took the small braid Ming Li was holding and looked at it, then bent down close to her and said, “Senior Sister, if you want me to braid your hair again, kill that boy outside.”

Ming Li: “…Which one?”

Zhou Zixi smiled slightly and said, “I won’t have you kill Bei Dou’s people for the time being.”

Ming Li asked again, “Why kill him?”

Zhou Zixi replied, “Because you want me to braid your hair.”

Ming Li raised her head slightly to look at him without speaking. Seeing she didn’t agree, Zhou Zixi was about to leave, but Ming Li reached out and grabbed him, saying, “You try asking me nicely.”

A familiar scene.

Zhou Zixi lowered his gaze to look at her hand holding his, then slowly looked into Ming Li’s serious eyes. He smiled and lowered his head to place a kiss on her lips.

In a lazy tone, he said next to Ming Li’s ear, “So this is how I learned to ask someone for a favor from you, Senior Sister.”