The people waiting by the river to monitor Ming Li finally saw the boat emerge from the impenetrable barrier. Ming Li stood at the bow, allowing them to observe her.

Those guarding outside knew that Yuan Lu had gone in, and many speculated that he had gone to find Ming Li, but his purpose was intriguing.

Seeing the obvious signs of battle on Ming Li at the bow, they already understood.

Since she could emerge alive from Yuan Lu’s hands, those waiting outside didn’t dare to act at this moment and could only continue observing.

Ming Li flexed her wrist, which was still somewhat numb and painful. After making a show of strength to intimidate those outside so they wouldn’t rashly attack, she turned and went back into the boat cabin.

Though Yuan Lu had killing intent, he hadn’t used lethal moves—it was still at the probing stage. But after this test, he was very clear: even if Ming Li wasn’t a pilgrim now, killing her wouldn’t be easy.

Even without Xiang An’ge by her side, with only Ming Li alone, if he didn’t use his full power, there would be variables.

These people followed Ming Li all the way, speculating whether she would return to Beidou, but they lost track of her near the western region.

*

On her first day arriving in the west, Ming Li encountered a caravan from the Zhou Clan Merchant Guild.

The guild’s emblem was very prominent, appearing frequently on the carriages and accompanying servants.

She stood to the side with her horse, making way. Many pedestrians around her were also waiting patiently. When Ming Li looked back, she saw Zhou Zixi standing among the crowd, staring expressionlessly at one of the carriages.

The caravan’s attendants unanimously protected the person in that carriage, cautiously observing the surrounding situation.

Not everyone in this group was from the Zhou Clan caravan. Two people riding horses guarding the left side of the convoy were from the imperial capital.

Zhou Caicai had finally persuaded her father to let her go to the imperial capital.

She lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside with a good mood. The sun was shining brightly—perfect weather for travel.

There was another person in the carriage.

He wore brocade clothes, his eyes smiling, always looking at young people with a loving gaze.

*

After the caravan had passed, Zhou Zixi’s gaze moved from the convoy to Ming Li. Seeing her walking toward him, he smiled slightly and said, “Senior Sister.”

Ming Li had called for him for a long time last night, but hadn’t seen him. Even when she tried to enter his dream using the Yin meridian, she was blocked outside. Somehow, the dream-entering technique had become ineffective.

Now seeing Zhou Zixi appear, she couldn’t help asking, “Has the power constraining you been strengthened?”

Otherwise, how could even her dream entry be blocked?

Zhou Zixi raised his eyebrow casually and said, “No.”

Ming Li asked, “Then why couldn’t I see you when I entered your dream?”

Zhou Zixi said, “Because I didn’t want to see you in my dream.”

Ming Li stopped to look at him, but Zhou Zixi walked ahead, not noticing she had stopped. After walking for a while, he felt something was wrong, looked back, and saw his senior sister standing far behind.

Zhou Zixi seemed to be pondering why his senior sister had stopped there.

Seeing that he couldn’t figure it out, Ming Li had to ask directly, “Why didn’t you want to see me in your dream?”

Zhou Zixi didn’t understand why his clever senior sister would ask such a stupid question.

He frowned and said, “That place is filthy, nothing but flesh and bones. Senior Sister, you’re so clean—why would you go to such a dirty place?”

Ming Li laughed upon hearing this: “I was going to see you. The rest doesn’t matter.”

Zhou Zixi: “No.”

Ming Li: “Next time, if you can’t get out, don’t block me from entering your dream.”

Zhou Zixi: “No.”

Ming Li: “…”

She walked behind Zhou Zixi, muttering continuously, but no matter what, she only received a “no” from him.

*

Ye Fengming had been searching for Zhou Yi for five days. He couldn’t find him but learned that his sister was heading to the imperial capital. After thinking about it, he understood the Zhou family’s decision.

He began to suspect that Zhou Yi might have been confined by the Zhou clan patriarch, which was why he had disappeared. This was because Zhou Yi liked Ye Yiyi, but the Zhou family had refused to cooperate with Tai Yi and now wanted to end Zhou Yi’s affection.

Ye Fengming was walking down the street, deep in thought. He had originally planned to go to the restaurant for some enjoyment, but before entering, he glimpsed a familiar figure flashing by, which surprised him.

Why would Zhong Anqi appear here?

Without thinking much, he followed. He silenced anyone who tried to greet him along the way with a finger gesture and concealed his presence as he followed Zhong Anqi toward the depths of the restaurant.

Zhong Anqi had always maintained a clean image and never entered such places of pleasure. So, encountering him here made Ye Fengming feel something was very wrong.

Ye Fengming followed from the bustling front hall to the back hall, then to a quiet path. He knew this led to the restaurant’s private courtyards, usually prepared for those who paid generously for solitary accommodation.

Zhong Anqi moved quickly and urgently, with a clear destination and no hesitation, but after crossing the stone bridge at the corner, he vanished.

Ye Fengming stood on the bridge, looking left and right. Just as he sensed something ominous, he suddenly turned back to see Zhong Anqi standing behind him with a somewhat helpless expression.

“Fengming,” Zhong Anqi said, “you should spend less time in such places. Go back and help Yiyi manage the guild’s affairs more.”

He was still like a big brother, thinking of others.

Ye Fengming calmly said, “I’m exactly the type of person who should be hanging around such places. But why are you here?”

For some reason, at that moment, he had an absurd thought—could it be that Zhou Yi had been locked up by Zhong Anqi?

But Zhong Anqi avoided the topic, “It’s something Master instructed. By the way, weren’t you looking for Zhou Yi? When I left, I saw him with Master at Tai Yi.”

“…Zhou Yi is at Tai Yi?” Ye Fengming was stunned.

Zhong Anqi nodded: “You might as well go back and see.”

Ye Fengming turned and left immediately.

Zhong Anqi watched his departing figure, his gaze gradually becoming complex. Finally, he lowered his head and turned to walk toward the depths of the restaurant.

As dusk approached, the street became even more lively.

Pinxiang House was across from the restaurant. On the second floor, by the window, Fu Yuan stood with his sword in both hands, narrowing his eyes when he saw Ye Fengming hurriedly leaving the restaurant.

Black Fox Mask said, “He just went in not long ago.”

“He followed someone in, yet came out alone,” Fu Yuan pondered, turning to look at Dou Lanmin, who was still dressing up. “You’re still dawdling, and the person has already left.”

“I’m going to negotiate business, while you’re the ones monitoring that Ye family’s eldest young master,” Dou Lanmin lifted his chin, spreading his arms. “Look, do I look like a businessman?”

Fu Yuan turned away, unable to look directly at him: “You’ve written ‘I’m here to rob money’ all over your face. Tone it down a bit.”

Dou Lanmin narrowed his eyes with a smile: “That’s even more authentic, isn’t it?”

Black Fox Mask said, “It’s too obvious. People don’t like dealing with unscrupulous merchants.”

Dou Lanmin walked out with grand strides, waving his hand with his back to them: “I’m different. You’ll see—before dark, I’ll buy you the restaurant across the street.”

The West wasn’t like the South. Beidou still had outposts here, and while the merchant guild forces were complex, Beidou had a share.

Dou Lanmin relied on his newcomer status to easily fool the westerners, unlike Fu Yuan and Black Fox Mask, who were already familiar faces to Tai Yi.

His confidence came from the batch of premium divine weapons they had seized from Nan Que earlier, which were selling very well in the west. Currently, he has earned enough to live worry-free for three generations.

*

When Zhou Yi awoke again, he didn’t know where he was. Seeing a tent canopy rather than the dark dome of the skypit, he was startled and sat up abruptly. The pain in his chest made him frown, his expression anxious as he hurriedly examined his surroundings.

He immediately saw someone standing at the door with their back to him.

Zhou Yi felt a moment of suffocation.

“…Ye Sheng?” he struggled to utter these two words, his nerves tense, unable to discern whether he was still in the skypit or had reached the outside.

“I won’t kill you. You should know why,” Ye Yuanqing said calmly with his back turned. “Or rather, your attitude from now on will determine whether I kill you or not.”

Zhou Yi breathed rapidly: “I won’t tell anyone what I heard!”

Ye Yuanqing: “Ming Li is at the foot of the mountain. When you see her, can you still say the same?”

Zhou Yi’s expression froze.

The hand covering his chest couldn’t help but tremble. The sensation beneath his hand startled him. His hand, clutching his clothes, loosened and tightened again, as if confirming whether it was real.

Zhou Yi didn’t answer the question. He felt his exhaled breath gradually growing cold. After a long while, he asked softly, “How many days was I in there?”

Ye Yuanqing said, “Five days.”

Five days.

Just five short days.

Zhou Yi couldn’t help but want to laugh, yet his hand gripping his clothes tightened, veins bulging on the back of his hand. The scabbed wounds and pain from certain parts of his body reminded him that this was not a dream.

If Wen Su hadn’t helped him, he would have stayed in there much longer.

Perhaps fifty days, five months, five years.

Wasn’t there someone in there who had already stayed for a full five years?

Thinking of this, Zhou Yi felt engulfed by fear, finding it hard to breathe. Not everyone who has seen darkness will find the courage to face it; more people will desperately flee.

Rescue? Change? Destroy?

Such thoughts wouldn’t exist.

Those who escape would only strengthen their resolve: never to return in this lifetime.

Zhou Yi’s mind echoed with Wen Su’s words when she helped him, and the light in his eyes gradually dimmed.

He had neither the courage nor the strength to confront Ye Yuanqing. At this moment, if he harbored any disloyal thoughts, he would never walk out of this room alive.

When he had used Floating Life Exchange and fled swiftly through the forest, his heart had pounded rapidly with excitement, exhilaration, and hope, his eyes trembling with emotion.

Until Ye Yuanqing’s star power struck him back to the ground, Zhou Yi felt only overwhelming despair.

At that moment, he understood: so this is what impending death feels like, time and again, each time different.

Zhou Yi took a deep breath, no longer thinking of Wen Su’s voice, and lowered his head to say, “I won’t say a single word to her.”

A moment later, he heard the sound of the door opening. Ye Yuanqing walked out, saying, “You must always remember your choice right now.”

Zhou Yi closed his eyes and buried his face in the bedding.

After a while, someone came to say, “Senior Brother Zhou… hot water is ready. Would you like help washing?”

The person inside said, “No need.”

The young disciple outside added, “Ye Sheng just said that after not seeing you for several days, your family must be very worried. He wants you to go home for a visit once you’re rested.”

“…I understand.”

Zhou Yi got out of bed alone to wash up, silently putting on his everyday clothes. When tying his belt, he suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity. His hands froze, and he bit his lower lip tightly.

*

Ming Li led her horse through the reeds by the river, with vast burning clouds behind her, tinting the tips of the reeds with a golden-red hue.

The Tai Yi mountain was majestic and imposing. She stood at the foot of the long stairway at the mountain gate, looking up. Someone came flashing from behind, glanced at her as they passed, was surprised, and stopped on the stone steps of the mountain gate to look back.

Ye Fengming couldn’t believe his eyes as he looked at Ming Li standing below.

The pilgrim from Beidou…

Ming Li only glanced at him before turning her direction, her gaze stopping on the person walking out from the mountain gate.

Zhou Yi, dressed in clean clothes, walked forward with his head lowered, ignoring others’ glances and calls. He made his way to the mountain gate. He had already noticed the two people standing below but could only remain silent, descending step by step.

“Zhou Yi!”

Ye Fengming didn’t have time to wonder why Ming Li was here; he called out to Zhou Yi as he came down, looking curiously at the wounds on his face.

Zhou Yi kept his head lowered, but Ming Li saw his appearance and was momentarily stunned.

For an instant, she thought…

“Senior Sister,” a gloomy voice sounded beside her. Zhou Zixi said, “That’s not me.”

Ming Li turned to look at him. Zhou Zixi was watching Zhou Yi, who was drawing closer, with similar eyebrows and eyes, yet completely different expressions.

“What happened to you?” Ye Fengming blocked Zhou Yi and demanded, “Disappearing mysteriously for so many days—who did you get into a fight with?”

“Had some business,” Zhou Yi walked around him and continued forward, not daring to look in Ming Li’s direction.

With each step he took, Wen Su’s voice echoed in his mind:

If you can get out… You must promise me one thing: tell the people of Beidou where Chen Zhou is.

Zhou Yi’s hands clenched inside his sleeves. Just as he was about to suffocate, he heard a young woman’s angry shout from behind: “Zhou Yi! Stop right there!”

He stopped in his tracks, his back rigid and straight.

Ye Yuanqing stood at the mountain gate, calmly watching as Ye Yiyi ran toward Zhou Yi, then shifted his gaze to Ming Li below.