Dong Yeyun didn’t know if the formation had finally completed. He could still see the star lines connecting to the formation, yet when Chang Hanhe and the others entered the attic, they couldn’t find Liang Pingshan.

So he assumed the formation had worked, that Liang Pingshan had been transported away.

Chang Hanhe and his people wanted to extract Liang Pingshan’s whereabouts from him, but unfortunately, Dong Yeyun didn’t know either.

In this world, there existed no Eight Meridian Formation capable of teleportation.

So Zhou Zixi had created one himself. He was truly a genius at Eight Meridian Formations, capable of achieving what others could not.

But when he taught it to Dong Yeyun, he had warned that the formation was still unstable.

Therefore, Dong Yeyun wasn’t certain where Liang Pingshan had been transported to. His condition had been dire—leaving him unattended would surely lead to death, and doing nothing while letting outsiders enter would still result in Liang Pingshan’s death.

It was better to take a chance.

Dong Yeyun hoped Liang Pingshan would survive.

Those who sought to find Liang Pingshan would all live in the anxiety and fear that he might still be alive.

“Little mute, based on experience, people would have come to interrogate you by now, but lately, fewer and fewer people come to see you, with longer intervals between visits,” the blind old man cackled. “Haven’t you thought about why?”

Dong Yeyun sat up, slowly raising his head to look across.

In the darkness, a small burning flame illuminated the tiny, red, swollen pustules on his face. They densely covered his entire face, with many extending below his neck. Some of the small pustules had burst, turning into ugly scars, making his entire face appear grotesque and repulsive.

Dong Yeyun reached out and knocked on the iron bars of the cell door.

Meaning, he didn’t want to think about it.

Though he couldn’t speak, at some point—perhaps from the day he found the old man across from him too talkative and noisy—he had started knocking on the iron bars to make sounds. The blind old man seemed able to hear his inner voice and would converse with it.

“If you don’t think about it, do you intend to stay here for the rest of your life and become like me?”

The blind old man said, “While you’re still young, hurry and leave this cursed place.”

Dong Yeyun thought to himself: Is it that I don’t want to leave? I can’t leave, alright?

He knocked with his fingers.

The blind old man sighed, “That’s true, it’s not that you don’t want to leave, but that you can’t.”

After just a few seconds of silence, the blind old man spoke again: “Do you not know where the person they’re looking for is?”

Dong Yeyun looked up at him.

The blind old man’s grin in the darkness was eerie: “Rather than being locked up here for life, wouldn’t it be better to just tell them?”

Dong Yeyun knocked on the iron bars: [Then why don’t you tell them yourself?]

The blind old man gazed in his direction. Despite having only two empty sockets, he could always locate the little mute’s position with uncanny accuracy.

“I’m different from you,” the blind old man’s voice was raspy, each word like the flick of a serpent’s tongue. “Think carefully. There’s no teleportation Eight Meridian Formation in this world, yet you emerged, but the person inside was gone. No one saw him leave. The only explanation is that the formation teleported him away or hid him.”

Dong Yeyun’s grotesque, ugly face revealed no expression.

“If your teleportation formation succeeded and that person was transported out of the Imperial Capital and survived, yet hasn’t come to save you, is that fair?” the blind old man said eerily. “You saved him, suffering here, had your tongue cut out, your face ruined, your star meridians crippled. No matter what, you refuse to reveal his whereabouts. Yet he’s out there living freely and recklessly. Can you accept that?”

Dong Yeyun listened impassively, knowing Liang Pingshan wasn’t that kind of person.

More than this, he worried about another possibility.

The blind old man could also think of it: “There’s another possibility—that your teleportation formation failed.”

“The person you wanted to protect ultimately died anyway.”

Dong Yeyun lowered his gaze, not moving.

“Whether you speak or not, you can’t leave this place alive,” the blind old man said. “Whether that person is alive or not doesn’t matter. But for a young man like you to create a teleportation formation is truly remarkable. The younger generation is indeed formidable.”

Dong Yeyun found this boring and lay back down on the ground.

This old man had probably eaten a rat tonight, which was why he was so talkative.

The blind old man continued reminiscing, saying with some admiration: “In my life, I’ve seen many genius youths, each one astounding me. Thinking back to that youth who came from Yan Tower to the Imperial Capital—merely seventeen years old, yet able to withstand my Eight Meridian strike and take the object from my hands.”

“Compared to that youth, your ability to create a teleportation formation is equally surprising.”

Dong Yeyun opened his just-closed eyes and sat up again, looking strangely at the old man across from him.

Most of the time, they remained silent with each other, unable to see each other in the darkness, with minimal interaction.

Now, Dong Yeyun found his words oddly familiar—a youth from Yan Tower who came to the Imperial Capital… wasn’t that his father?

The story of young Dong Yeshou entering the Imperial Capital to challenge the Pilgrims had once been sensational.

His father had told them about this, but it differed from what the world knew.

People thought the youth had specifically gone to the Imperial Capital to challenge the Pilgrims, but in truth, Dong Yeshou had initially gone there only to find the young girl who had captivated him at first sight.

But if what this blind old man said was true, then wasn’t he… a former Pilgrim of the Imperial Capital?

Dong Yeyun knocked on the iron bars, asking: [What was the name of that youth from Yan Tower?]

“His name… heh, you young people should have heard of him too—Yan Tower’s Dong Ye, with a single character ‘Shou’ as his given name,” the blind old man sighed. “By now, he should also be a Pilgrim in some region.”

He didn’t know—Dong Yeyun continued knocking on the iron bars: [You don’t know Dong Yeshou’s current situation?]

“Little mute, I’ve been locked up here for nearly thirty years,” the blind old man said. “When I was imprisoned, I had already heard he reached the Life and Death Realm. With his talent, crossing that final step to become a Pilgrim would certainly be achievable.”

Hearing his confident tone about his father, Dong Yeyun found it both amusing and regretful.

Dong Yeyun knocked on the iron bars, telling the blind old man: [He didn’t break through to become a Pilgrim.]

The blind old man paused slightly, then denied: “Impossible.”

Dong Yeyun looked at him silently.

The blind old man then asked: “Have you truly not heard of Dong Yeshou?”

Dong Yeyun knocked on the iron bars with his fingers: [I have heard of him. He’s the Headmaster of Bei Dou’s Yao Guang, but he’s not a Pilgrim.]

“Not… he didn’t break through? Still at the Life and Death Realm?” The blind old man seemed to sink into contemplation, muttering to himself, “Why didn’t he break through? Is it because he doesn’t want to? But the temptation of having all eight meridians at the boundary… how many in this world can resist that… Once on the path of cultivation, no one can resist.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to; it was that he couldn’t.

Dong Yeyun hesitated for a moment. The fact that his father would die if he broke through wasn’t known to many, but wasn’t exactly a secret either. Since his strength was comparable to a Pilgrim’s, those who could challenge him wouldn’t easily cause him trouble.

[He was cursed with Yin-Yang Dual Meridian sorcery. Breaking through would come at a price.]

In the end, Dong Yeyun told the blind old man.

The blind old man remained silent for a long while after hearing this.

As the flame in this space suddenly extinguished, Dong Yeyun heard the blind old man chuckle softly, a strange sound tinged with gloom.

“One less… that’s good… all eight meridians at the boundary… nothing special…”

Before Dong Yeyun could ask what this meant, he saw in the darkness the only glowing star line being ignited. The star line connecting to the teleportation formation burned before his eyes, turning to ash and completely disappearing.

His hand, which was about to knock on the iron bars, was tightly gripped instead.

Dong Yeyun stared intensely at where the star line had vanished.

The blind old man across from him said, “Little mute, your formation has been broken.”

*

Chen Zhou searched throughout the Imperial Capital from morning till evening. The sky was overcast, and night fell early. Once darkness descended, snow began to fall.

Liang Junxia had gone to stake out the Fifth Prince’s residence, with no news yet.

Ming Li, however, left the Martial Alliance and found Chen Zhou, showing him the map given by the Calligraphy Saint.

Chen Zhou memorized the location after looking at it and asked her, “Shall we go check?”

“No,” Ming Li refused. “Let’s find my brother first.”

If the Ghost Wanderer Clan wanted to see her, they could find her themselves.

While searching, Ming Li told Chen Zhou about Fang Hui and the Calligraphy Saint: “I thought they were father and son.”

Chen Zhou wondered aloud: “Would the Calligraphy Saint be the type to marry and have children?”

“Thinking about it now, you’re right, he wouldn’t,” Ming Li said, narrowing her eyes. “But from Fang Hui… I could sense that he once considered the Calligraphy Saint as his father.”

“If they were father and son, then that would be a weakness for him,” Chen Zhou noticed a vendor selling roasted sweet potatoes on the street and went to buy two. After thinking, he bought a third one.

Ming Li stood behind him, watching her senior martial brother return with three roasted sweet potatoes, and asked: “Who’s the third one for?”

“For Zixi, of course,” Chen Zhou raised his eyebrows. “He accompanied me for a while when you went to the Martial Alliance. Now he’s appearing and disappearing mysteriously—one moment of inattention and he’s gone.”

Ming Li took two sweet potatoes, surprised by Chen Zhou’s words.

Previously, Zhou Zixi could only operate within a range centered around her. At some point, this range had expanded—she was no longer the fixed point for Zhou Zixi’s shadow state activities in the outside world.

“But… Zixi’s eyes…” Before Chen Zhou could finish, Zhou Zixi suddenly appeared in front of him, calling out, “Senior Sister.”

Ming Li’s attention was drawn to Zhou Zixi. She turned to look at her junior martial brother, waving the paper bag with the roasted sweet potato at him. “Senior Brother bought this for you. Want to eat?”

Zhou Zixi reached out toward Ming Li, his gaze passing over her to Chen Zhou behind.

Chen Zhou narrowed his eyes slightly. Neither spoke, and Ming Li seemed not to notice the subtle exchange of glances between the two. She continued, “I also went to see Princess Chang Xi. She’s the current controller of the Imperial Capital’s Protective Formation. I lied to her that my brother was searching for northern border foreigners, so she opened the Heaven’s Eye in the Protective Formation, but couldn’t find him.”

“Even the Protective Formation couldn’t find him?” Chen Zhou was somewhat surprised.

Zhou Zixi peeled sweet potato pieces for Ming Li, then handed them back to her.

“It’s strange, which is why I suggested reviewing and rewinding the scenes within the Protective Formation, but she refused,” Ming Li took a small bite of the sweet potato, and finding it quite good, took another bite, continuing slowly, “But I could see she was wavering at my suggestion. So when I left, I planted Heart Meridian Technique: Subtle Incitement on Chang Xi, which will amplify her inner desires. Later tonight, she should seek me out again.”

Provided the Calligraphy Saint didn’t discover it first.

But if they could use the Protective Formation to directly rewind and review past scenes, this would indeed be the fastest way to find Dong Yeyun.

The two discussed the Protective Formation as they walked, with Zhou Zixi following a step behind. Both were occasionally checked to ensure he was keeping up.

As lanterns lit up in the surrounding market streets, Zhou Zixi suddenly stopped, looking up at a distant tall building several streets away.

Ming Li turned to look at him.

Chen Zhou asked: “What do you see?”

Zhou Zixi stretched out his hand, and a strand of star line floated past.

He said, “There’s an active Eight Meridian Formation over there.”

“There are too many active Eight Meridian Formations in the Imperial Capital,” Chen Zhou said. “What’s special about that one?”

Zhou Zixi slightly narrowed his eyes and said, “It’s the teleportation formation I taught him.”

In that instant, Chen Zhou’s first reaction was: You even know this technique?

But quickly recovering, Chen Zhou rushed toward the location Zhou Zixi had indicated.

This area seemed to have experienced intense fighting. Half of the tall building had collapsed and appeared on the verge of toppling completely. Ming Li and Chen Zhou arrived in an instant shadow, their speed so fast that they completely missed the guards in this area, neither party discovering the other.

After landing, Ming Li looked up at where Zhou Zixi had stopped, then shadow-stepped up to the high part of the pavilion, treading on accumulated snow in the half-collapsed room as she turned to gaze outward.

“Teleportation formation… could he have transported himself?” Chen Zhou pondered, watching the continuously materializing star lines in the room.

“He’s not proficient with it, and this formation is unstable. Unless necessary, he wouldn’t place his hopes on a teleportation formation,” Zhou Zixi explained emotionlessly while simultaneously dismantling the Eight Meridian Formation that remained hidden in place.

This was the Eight Meridian Formation he had created—only he could see through all the star lines’ trajectories and positions at a glance, completely familiar with them.

As he undid the first star line, Zhou Zixi already knew—the teleportation had failed.

His teleportation formation could only transport living things, not dead objects, because it required the life force of living beings as anchors.

The failure of the teleportation meant either that Dong Yeyun had made a mistake in setting up the formation or that the target he wanted to transport was already dead.

The entire pavilion was wrapped in dense star lines. When Zhou Zixi completely dismantled the Eight Meridian Formation, the anchor point appeared—a skeleton in blood-stained clothes lying in the accumulated snow.