The Circulating Qi incantations that killed Zhou Cai’cai came from a shadow on the palace wall—Yao Chao, the branch leader of the Martial Supervision Alliance in the southern part of the capital.

He was a subordinate of the Fifth Prince, Chang Hanhe.

The reason Chu Xiao hadn’t brought her maid along was that she had sent the maid to tell Yao Chao to come to the black well to kill someone.

Recently, Chang Hanhe had ordered Chu Xiao to approach the Crown Prince and specifically assigned Yao Chao to protect her.

As a Life and Death realm cultivator, Yao Chao could discern the strength difference between Zhou Cai’cai and her maid Xue Yin after activating his Heavy Eyes Meridian. Xue Yin was merely at the Three Meridians Full Realm, hardly worth noticing before him. One killing incantation was enough to deal with Xue Yin, with the rest all directed at Zhou Cai’cai.

He neither underestimated his opponent nor was careless. His deadly attacks against Zhou Cai’cai were precise and merciless, leaving her no room to resist. Although he hadn’t anticipated Zhou Cai’cai’s Miracle Ability, both unfortunately and fortunately, Chu Xiao herself was the natural counter to Zhou Cai’cai’s Miracle Ability.

With these killing incantations, Zhou Cai’cai was certain to die.

Zhou Cai’cai hadn’t expected Chu Xiao to be so ruthless, or perhaps it was her contempt for someone weaker, since Chu Xiao hadn’t even reached One Meridian Full Realm and was no match for her at all. What she didn’t anticipate was that a Life and Death realm cultivator would be waiting to set up this deadly trap.

Dong Yun had saved Chu Xiao several times. Zhou Cai’cai could never have imagined that Chu Xiao would harm someone who had come to rescue Dong Yun.

Moreover, Chu Xiao had told her everything, truly appearing as if she wanted to save Dong Yun but could not simply do so.

After Chu Xiao pushed Zhou Cai’cai into the black well, Yao Chao nodded—the task was complete. Just as he was about to leave, from the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw the fallen maid Xue Yin move.

How was that possible?

While Yao Chao stood dumbfounded, Xue Yin had already used Shadow Flash to retreat into the forest behind them.

Chu Xiao looked at this scene in disbelief. How was it possible? Wasn’t she dead?

Yao Chao’s face darkened as he used Shadow Flash to pursue in the direction Xue Yin had fled.

The snow and wind blew against Chu Xiao’s face, and she inexplicably felt a chill. She raised her hand again to wipe the blood on her face, forcing herself not to turn back to look at the black well.

She knew Dong Yun was imprisoned inside.

But just as she had told Zhou Cai’cai, she had no way to help—she couldn’t save Dong Yun.

Scenes of being escorted back to the capital from the west by Dong Yun flashed through Chu Xiao’s mind. Her promise to forget Chang Hanhe had been genuine, but she had underestimated herself—underestimated her ambition and desires.

Following Dong Yun meant letting go of hatred, giving up the splendor of the capital, abandoning power, and continuing to be a weakling.

Dong Yun was just a traveler. Besides his powerful cultivation, what else did he have?

Chu Xiao liked Dong Yun’s gentleness toward her, who wouldn’t appreciate such thorough care and tenderness, especially when she was covered in wounds? But she wanted more than that.

She wanted to stand in place while Life and Death realm cultivators killed for her.

She wanted people to bow and scrape before her.

That year, when she returned to the capital from the west, Dong Yun was her guardian angel, but he couldn’t give her everything that Chang Hanhe could.

Chu Xiao once again suppressed the hesitation in her heart and left without looking back.

*

Martial Supervision Alliance Headquarters.

The formation in the dilapidated building had been broken, and a set of white bones had fallen out of it, causing Shu Sheng to meet Ming Li twice in one day.

He stood in the room, watching Ming Li approach, and smiled: “We seem to have never met twice in one day before.”

Ming Li had no interest in remembering such things.

This time, only Shu Sheng was in the room; Fang Hui wasn’t present. Ming Li got straight to the point: “You’ve seen my brother.”

Shu Sheng answered directly: “Yes, I have.”

Liang Pingshan’s bones had been placed in the room, while Chen Zhou and the people from the Martial Supervision Alliance waited outside.

Ming Li stood beside Liang Pingshan, quietly looking at Shu Sheng: “Where is he?”

Shu Sheng looked toward Liang Pingshan and said calmly, “A formation for transferring living beings is rare in this world. Even I couldn’t decipher this formation, yet you could break it. Surely you know it was set up by your brother.”

Ming Li did not explain.

Shu Sheng asked: “Do you know who he was?”

Ming Li: “You tell me.”

Shu Sheng laughed at her response.

But his attitude toward Ming Li was very gentle, with the indulgence of an elder toward a younger generation: “He was His Majesty’s child, a prince who was secretly taken from the palace and hidden away.”

“His mother’s family committed a great crime punishable by the extermination of the entire clan. He wouldn’t have survived from birth, but His Majesty, being merciful and mindful of the father-son relationship, sent someone to take him away from the palace to be raised in the streets outside.”

Ming Li’s brow twitched as she listened.

Emperor Wenxiu was merciful?

Mindful of the father-son relationship?

“What do you think?” Shu Sheng smiled and asked. “Hard to believe?”

Faced with Ming Li’s calm demeanor, Shu Sheng sighed: “You always harbor hostility toward me, misunderstanding me greatly, believing that everything is orchestrated by me.”

Ming Li said, “I also find it hard to believe you haven’t done anything.”

“What I’ve done was only to help His Majesty keep secrets, following his orders to have people raise Liang Pingshan and send him to the Martial Academy to learn cultivation,” Shu Sheng said. “His Majesty would occasionally come outside the palace to see him and care for this child.”

When Liang Pingshan entered the Martial Academy to study, he didn’t yet know that the man who came to see him once a month was Emperor Wenxiu, but he regarded him as someone close and would tell him about trivial matters in his life.

Until he got into trouble in the capital, angering the Martial Supervision Alliance and nearly getting expelled from the Martial Academy. When he was brought to the Martial Supervision Alliance, he saw that man giving orders to the capital’s strongest Eight Meridians Full Realm Pilgrim.

“On that day, His Majesty told Liang Pingshan about his background, apologized to the child, and explained that the court situation was unstable. He told him that the incident involving his mother’s family was a joint frame-up by several powerful noble families at court, who were still in power, so his identity couldn’t be restored yet. He asked him to wait patiently.”

Thus, the seed of hatred was planted in Liang Pingshan’s heart.

As Emperor Wenxiu showed obvious favoritism toward this child compared to other princes, Liang Pingshan trusted him more and more.

Ming Li, however, only sensed Emperor Wenxiu’s complete malice toward this child.

This feeling was familiar.

Pretending to be kind while using one’s child as a plaything to torment body and mind, weaving lie after lie to make the target fall into the trap.

Liang Pingshan trained hard to become stronger for revenge, to become more powerful, for his mother who died unjustly, for his imperial father who deeply loved him.

Emperor Wenxiu told him, “You are my most beloved child. I will pave the way for you to become my successor.”

Liang Pingshan wasn’t after the power and throne promised to him. In his life of over ten years yearning for parental love, Emperor Wenxiu’s appearance made his dream come true, so he treasured this family bond immensely.

“Until one day, His Majesty seemed to grow tired of it,” Shu Sheng said. “He let the child discover certain truths, truths completely contrary to his understanding, which angered the child.”

Ming Li asked: “What truths?”

Shu Sheng: “For instance, that His Majesty’s most beloved child wasn’t him.”

Liang Pingshan saw through that loving gaze to the coldness and mockery behind it.

Behind countless moments he thought were a father’s doting love was the amusement of watching a clown perform.

“The reason his mother died was because of His Majesty’s deliberate actions.”

The seed of hatred that Emperor Wenxiu had planted in Liang Pingshan’s heart made his entire life extremely miserable.

“From the beginning, he was just a plaything for His Majesty to pass the time.”

Liang Pingshan returned to the capital to kill Emperor Wenxiu.

When he first saw Pilgrim Ming Li, he wondered if he needed to become someone like her to accomplish what he wanted.

Now he had turned to bones, ending his disgusting life full of regret, unable to achieve his goal.

“This child was too angry, lost his reason, and committed the unforgivable crime of attempting to assassinate His Majesty,” Shu Sheng sighed softly. “Your brother Dong Yeyun sheltered this child, and as his accomplice, shares the same guilt.”

Ming Li laughed at this.

“You mean my brother was imprisoned in the capital for years because His Majesty cruelly tormented his child, causing a fatal disaster, and my brother was convicted for this?”

Shu Sheng seemed to kindly remind her: “It’s because your brother sheltered the assassin who tried to kill His Majesty and refused to reveal Liang Pingshan’s whereabouts, which angered both the Fifth Prince and His Majesty.”

That foolish Fifth Prince Chang Hanhe was exactly the target of Emperor Wenxiu’s recent years of amusement and mockery.

Ming Li asked: “Where is he imprisoned?”

Shu Sheng spread his hands toward her and said: “If you go to rescue him without His Majesty’s permission, that would be breaking into prison, defying His Majesty’s orders. I would have to stop you, which might also be something His Majesty would enjoy seeing.”

Ming Li raised her eyes to look at him, her eyes like bright mirrors, luminous yet cold.

“You seem angry,” Shu Sheng smiled and said. “Well? As the Pilgrim of the North, haven’t you always been merciful to the Ground Ghosts?”

Before dying, Liang Pingshan had told Dong Yeyun that his father was cunning, cruel, and inhuman, just like a Ground Ghost.

From the information provided by Shu Sheng, Ming Li could also sense Emperor Wenxiu’s Ground Ghost-like manner.

“The Ground Ghosts you released in the north, the ones that came out of the pit in the west—each of them could do terrible things just like His Majesty. Your mercy will lead more people to end up like this child, like your brother.”

“At this point, do you still insist that Ground Ghosts don’t need to be exterminated?”

Faced with Shu Sheng’s question, Ming Li didn’t hesitate or think too much, directly answering: “They don’t need to be.”

The room fell into an eerie silence.

In the adjoining room behind, Fang Hui glanced at Qian Li, who was quietly listening to the conversation from outside.

Qian Li’s gaze was fixed on the blurry figure outside the room.

*

Chen Zhou and the others outside couldn’t hear the conversation in the room. During the silence, they suddenly heard the door open. Ming Li came out and left the Martial Supervision Alliance without looking back.

Outside, snow was falling heavily. The Chief Inspector and others had already withdrawn. The door wasn’t closed, and as Ming Li and Chen Zhou walked away, a black shadow appeared before the door.

Snowflakes and lamplight penetrated the black shadow, making it indistinct in the night.

Zhou Zixi cast a contemptuous glance into the room.

Under the white mask, his gaze fell on the position where the black shadow lingered. Shu Sheng said to Zhou Zixi: “She is too stubborn.”

Zhou Zixi said coldly: “It’s not your place to criticize her.”

“You too,” Shu Sheng smiled and said. “This sort of thing—you shouldn’t learn from your senior sister.”

Shu Sheng raised his hand, pointing his finger at the black shadow in front of the door, and said: “Hurry and escape while you can. If you’re caught and brought back this time, I’ll remember to imprison your shadow as well.”

Zhou Zixi let out a scornful laugh, and his figure dispersed.

Far away in East Yang, under the eaves during a heavy rain, Cheng Jingbai, who was sharing a steamed bun with Zhou Xiang, suddenly saw a black shadow appear in the downpour. He bit into his bun and said, “Why are you standing out there getting soaked?”

Zhou Xiang was also biting into her steamed bun, blinking at Zhou Zixi in the rainy night.

Zhou Zixi glanced at Zhou Xiang and said to Cheng Jingbai, “Have her change her surname.”

Change that cursed surname.

*

Ming Li had gotten the answer from Shu Sheng. After briefly explaining to Chen Zhou, he finally understood the murderous intent in her furrowed brow.

Dong Yeyun was imprisoned in the Earth Star Death Prison, and what’s more, he was put there by that psychopathic Emperor Wenxiu. It was predictable how terrible his days inside must be.

The two used Shadow Flash to hurry toward the Earth Star Death Prison inside the palace. Only street lamps were still lit along the silent streets. Ming Li suddenly stopped and extended her hand, dispersing Star Force from her palm.

“What is it?” Chen Zhou turned to ask her.

Just after asking, he raised an eyebrow as he looked at the night sky. He could sense that the protective formation of the capital was activating.

But Ming Li spoke of another matter: “Earlier, I released a wind-stealing bird from the Sinking Prison. I discovered that the person had returned to the Crown Prince’s Eastern Palace, but I didn’t recall the bird. Now it’s outside the western wall, at the location of the Earth Star Death Prison.”

She had wanted to hear what the wind-stealing bird had heard there, but realized the bird had suddenly disappeared.

The falling snowflakes suddenly burst into countless water spheres. The familiar attack from incorporeal entities made Ming Li turn around. Chen Zhou swept his gaze over them, immediately seeing through the true forms among the many water spheres. With a wave of his hand, snow particles shot forward like sharp swords, piercing through the water spheres.

In the instant he broke through the incorporeal attacks, the previously silent and empty street was now filled with Northern Border tribesmen wearing cloaks.

A You You Tribe warrior held up a jar of wine in one hand, waving it tauntingly at the two: “Yo.”

Ming Li let out a light tsk, and Chen Zhou heard her impatience. He said to her, “You go find Dog Yun first.”

Chen Zhou looked toward the You You Tribe warrior in front. The dim yellow light from the street lamp fell on him, illuminating his eyes as they flickered: “I didn’t get to experience the strength of the Northern Border tribes a few years ago. Now is a good time to make up for that.”

*

Since Ming Li’s departure, Princess Chang Xi had been trying to modify the star lines of the protective formation to reverse the flow and view the scenes within the formation, but she failed each time.

She wasn’t discouraged, but grew increasingly hesitant.

Hesitant about whether she should agree to Ming Li’s proposal.

Fang Hui hadn’t come to see her today either.

As darkness fell, lights came on in thousands of households in the distance. Princess Chang Xi stared vacantly at the distant lights, once again thinking of the Empress and the face in the coffin.

After a long silence, she finally seemed to compromise, trying to find Ming Li in the capital to agree to her proposal.

Princess Chang Xi activated Heavy Eyes: Celestial Eye and Thunderous Roar: Bell Tongue again, but heard someone say “Chu Xiao” and then “Miss Chu.”

She saw two women coming out of the Eastern Palace banquet.

They were walking toward the outside of the western wall.

She also saw a Life and Death realm cultivator hiding on the palace wall.

Princess Chang Xi suddenly opened her eyes and rose, using Shadow Flash to hurry outside.

Outside the high palace wall, the black well remained silent in the night. The footprints in the snow were chaotic, and the bloodstains had not yet been completely covered, but as long as the heavy snow continued through the night, those traces would eventually disappear.

Chu Xiao held a night lantern and walked toward the inner palace wall, but was suddenly stopped by the overwhelming pressure of Star Force descending from all around. Her knees trembled as she looked up in shock.

Two figures simultaneously landed on top of the high palace wall.

Ming Li and Princess Chang Xi looked down at Chu Xiao, whose face was stained with blood, both frowning.