Before Liu Shuang could ask Yan Chaosheng about returning to Cyan Blue Lake, trouble erupted outside the Ghost Domain.

One of the demon envoys who had come to celebrate Yan Chaosheng’s birthday had died, apparently killed by a ghost cultivator.

Upon receiving the news, Yan Chaosheng immediately left with Fu Hang and Su Lun.

Chang Huan snorted: “This servant guesses it might be the work of that Heavenly Lord. He can’t defeat our Demon Lord now, but he still enjoys causing trouble behind the scenes. The relationship between the Demon Realm and Ghost Domain hasn’t been harmonious these years, and stirring up conflict between the two realms sounds like something he would do.”

Liu Shuang nodded, also suspecting Feng Fuming the most. This Heavenly Lord maintained an appearance of gentleness and humility, but his methods were far from honorable.

However, in the art of warfare, one could hardly speak of right or wrong. When it came to viciousness, Yan Chaosheng was equally formidable.

Liu Shuang couldn’t help with such matters. With Yan Chaosheng occupied, she might have to return to Cyan Blue Lake alone. So she wrote her letter in advance, leaving only the final line unwritten.

She still harbored hope—what if Yan Chaosheng returned in the next few days?

Taking Yan Chaosheng to Cyan Blue Lake had always been Liu Shuang’s wish. She opened a drawer and took out a brocade box. Inside were various old but exquisite and thoughtfully crafted ornaments.

These were all mortal possessions—the dowry left to her by the mortal mother who had taken her in.

Those years in the mortal realm were the purest and joyful boudoir days of Liu Shuang’s life.

Her mortal mother often said that according to human customs, when a daughter married, she should return home with her husband. This would ensure long-lasting love and respect between them. When the time came for her to marry, she must return home with her husband.

But before she could find a husband of good character and appearance for Liu Shuang, one day, a passing Daoist priest declared that Liu Shuang was an evil spirit who would bring disaster to the entire Qi state. The priest was highly respected, a disciple of the previous imperial advisor. After his pronouncement, everyone began listing Liu Shuang’s peculiarities.

They said she had the bewitching beauty of a femme fatale, could go two days without food and not feel hungry, and when pricked with a needle, she didn’t bleed. Panic spread, and eventually, her parents drove her from home.

Later, when her foster mortal mother was near death, Liu Shuang went to see her. Liu Shuang still appeared as a young maiden, while her mother’s face showed the ravages of time, her temples gray with age.

Liu Shuang passed through the mortal walls, crouched by her bedside, and held her hand. With tears in her eyes, her mother traced Liu Shuang’s features with her fingers, asking if she resented her.

Liu Shuang shook her head, gently arranging the lady’s hair.

Perhaps this was the way of the world. The bond between parents and children meant neither would easily abandon the other. They had taken her home when she was ignorant and naive, taught her goodness and purity, literacy, and provided her with warmth and care. Liu Shuang understood their fear of her. Walking through the mortal realm with her friend Shao You, she had learned many things and forgotten their momentary cruelty, while remembering their enduring kindness.

The lady wept uncontrollably. Apart from Liu Shuang, she had never had another child. It was said she had been unwilling to bear more.

That was Liu Shuang’s first experience of separation through death.

The little immortal herb arranged her mortal mother’s funeral and knelt in vigil. When she had been driven from home, she had been confused and bewildered. Now, though everything had changed, she could stand on her own and handle everything properly.

Her aged father entered, no longer the handsome scholar he once was. He stroked Liu Shuang’s head and gave her a casket.

Inside were the savings of most of their lives, a dowry for their daughter. Though knowing Liu Shuang was not a mortal, her father still told her, “Finding a good man is not easy, but being yourself is not difficult. If your future husband treats you well, you will have a lifetime of happiness. If he doesn’t and breaks your heart, be yourself, leave him, and seek new happiness and joy. Don’t lose yourself for anyone.”

Shao You said that when they had driven her from home, perhaps it wasn’t out of fear but to protect her. A few years later, this gentle father from her memories also passed away. Liu Shuang then erected memorial tablets for them at Cyan Blue Lake.

Liu Shuang realized that all beings in the world were different. What was but a fleeting moment in her life, a brief journey outside, was her mortal parents’ entire lifetime.

Yet Liu Shuang had treasured this dowry casket for a hundred years, taking it to the Demon Realm and now keeping it in the Ghost Domain. The ornaments were old but hadn’t lost their luster, like the warm love Liu Shuang had once received.

Liu Shuang wanted to take Yan Chaosheng to Cyan Blue Lake, to see everything that belonged to her.

To tell her parents that she hadn’t lived poorly, but had always been happy. That her husband was a ruler who spanned heaven and earth, who maintained peace in two realms and protected countless beings.

In fact, shortly after meeting Yan Chaosheng, Liu Shuang had mentioned Cyan Blue Lake to him. Yan Chaosheng had replied indifferently: “Oh? What place is that?”

“Don’t you remember? You’ve been there before!”

Two hundred years ago, Yan Chaosheng had been severely wounded in a great battle with the Immortal Realm and had accidentally fallen into the Cyan Blue Lake immortal domain, his blood dyeing a patch of earth red.

At that time, Liu Shuang’s consciousness had just awakened, and she thought she was facing imminent disaster. Startled, she tried to seek help from the old tree nearby.

Yan Chaosheng’s blood had domineeringly merged with her stem veins, the abundant spiritual energy instantly nourishing her. Before Liu Shuang could react, the immortal herb’s instinct had consumed his spiritual energy.

Liu Shuang hurriedly tried to return some spiritual power to him, but before the little immortal herb could finish, Yan Chaosheng stood up, supported by one hand, carelessly wiping blood from the corner of his mouth before disappearing in a dark stream of light.

Afterward, she had been able to take human form and was later found by her mortal parents.

All her vivid memories began with Yan Chaosheng, though he knew nothing of it.

Since then, every ten years when the Karmic Fire came to Cyan Blue Lake, Yan Chaosheng would send a group of demon generals to accompany Liu Shuang back, to subdue the Karmic Fire and protect her kin.

Liu Shuang went out carrying her half-finished letter, intending to ask Qing Luan to deliver it. With Qing Luan’s speed, it wouldn’t take long to make the round trip. Just as she stepped outside, she saw Chang Huan with a troubled expression.

“Chang Huan, what’s wrong?”

“My Lady, Qing Luan is missing!”

“What?!” Liu Shuang was shocked.

“Today, when this servant called for Qing Luan, it didn’t appear for a long time. I sent ghost cultivators to search, but no one has seen it. Qing Luan is a loyal demon beast—if it doesn’t respond to a summons, something must have happened.”

Liu Shuang immediately understood Chang Huan’s unspoken words. If Qing Luan couldn’t be summoned, there were only two possibilities: either it was too severely injured to fly, or it had perished completely.

Neither possibility brought comfort.

“Has the Demon Lord returned?”

“Not yet.”

Liu Shuang tried to remain calm: “Is Chi Yuan here? Did the Demon Lord take Chi Yuan when he left the Ghost Domain?”

“Chi Yuan also went with the Demon Lord.”

This made things difficult, as both Yan Chaosheng and Chi Yuan, who could easily sense Qing Luan’s location, were absent. Fearing for Qing Luan, Liu Shuang decisively ordered: “Qing Luan wouldn’t have left the Ghost Domain on its own. In my bedchamber is the Demon Lord’s decree. Mobilize any available ghost cultivators to search for Qing Luan!”

“Yes!”

Shortly after, dozens of ghost generals were deployed, their shadows flitting through the Ghost Domain, searching for Qing Luan.

Chang Huan tried to comfort her: “My Lady, don’t worry. Qing Luan is powerful and won’t easily come to harm.”

Liu Shuang nodded but didn’t stop to talk with Chang Huan, personally going to search in places Qing Luan frequented.

Qing Luan had followed Liu Shuang for a hundred years. It had a proud and capricious nature. She had personally groomed its feathers, made its nest, and often prepared small treats to feed it, which was why Qing Luan gradually accepted her as its master.

After acknowledging her, I became extremely attached to her. Once, when Liu Shuang nearly faced danger, Qing Luan had shielded her with its body.

In her time at the Ghost Domain, besides Chang Huan, Qing Luan had been Liu Shuang’s most constant companion.

Now Liu Shuang felt an inexplicable unease, deeply worried that something had happened to Qing Luan. She climbed into the pine sandalwood rock where Qing Luan and Chi Yuan rested. Inside, apart from a few fallen feathers, there was nothing.

Liu Shuang was very disappointed. With Lord Su Lun also absent, she had no way to search other areas of the Ghost Domain for Qing Luan.

Later, the ghost generals returned, none having seen Qing Luan.

Outside, the ghost crows cawed twice. Liu Shuang sat in her bedchamber. With Qing Luan missing, she couldn’t possibly sleep. She kept the glazed lamp lit and listed on paper all the places Qing Luan might have flown to, planning to have the ghost generals continue their search.

When the ghost crow cawed a third time, Liu Shuang suddenly heard a plaintive, long cry.

It was Qing Luan’s call for help!

Liu Shuang didn’t even take time to fasten a cloak against the cold, grabbing the glazed lamp and hurrying out: “Chang Huan!”

Chang Huan was nowhere to be seen, and the ghost generals who had gone to search for Qing Luan were also absent. They were probably still diligently searching for Qing Luan at this hour.

Another long, mournful cry echoed through the air. Liu Shuang could wait no longer. She lifted her skirts and ran toward the sound.

After experiencing the ghost rain incident, she knew her spiritual power was weak. She told herself that if Qing Luan was outside the Ghost Domain palace, she shouldn’t recklessly go out alone. Otherwise, she might not only fail to rescue Qing Luan but also endanger herself.

But after running just a short distance, she discovered that Qing Luan was actually within the palace.

Strange, Liu Shuang thought, if it was in the palace, how could they not find Qing Luan?

This area was spacious, with a pool of blood. In the center of the blood pool was a pavilion.

At midnight, this normally elegant place seemed eerie.

Liu Shuang cautiously crouched behind a rock formation, looking toward the pavilion.

An old man with a white beard, his back to her, was using a huge cauldron to refine something. Qing Luan’s cries were coming from inside the cauldron.

Liu Shuang’s pupils contracted. The old man was using Qing Luan to make pills! Qing Luan was an ancient demon beast—using it to refine pills would indeed cause one’s cultivation to surge.

Who would be so bold as to target Qing Luan?

Liu Shuang secretly gripped the dagger she carried for self-defense, staring at the old man’s back. She abandoned the glazed lamp and approached him.

Shao You had once said that when refining pills, one entered a meditative state. Until the pill furnace opened, the refiner couldn’t awaken.

Indeed, even when she stood behind the old man, he remained oblivious. In the cauldron, Qing Luan seemed to sense her approach, its cries becoming more plaintive.

Seeing that Qing Luan was about to be refined, Liu Shuang could delay no longer. With a fierce gleam in her eyes, she stabbed toward the old man’s heart.

The dagger, imbued with Yan Chaosheng’s spiritual power, easily pierced the old man’s body. He spat out a mouthful of blood and slowly collapsed.

Liu Shuang hurriedly went to the cauldron to release Qing Luan.

But just as she touched the cauldron, a strange laugh came from behind. Liu Shuang turned to see the old man, who had fallen, inexplicably standing up again, laughing oddly at her.

She knew something was wrong. Just as she was about to release Qing Luan to face the enemy together, she realized the cauldron beneath her hands had vanished.

In the pavilion, the old man’s appearance gradually changed.

From a white-haired elder, he slowly transformed into a peerlessly beautiful young woman.

Ghost crows cawed in unison. The woman no longer smiled at Liu Shuang but weakly slid to the ground, clutching a wound in her abdomen, her face deathly pale.

When Liu Shuang saw the woman’s face clearly, it was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. It was a face she knew all too well.

Almost every day, when she looked in the mirror to arrange her hair, she saw a face eight parts similar to this one. She and Liu Shuang looked remarkably alike!

The woman also emanated immortal spiritual energy. If not for Liu Shuang wearing blue and the woman wearing white, under the shroud of the Ghost Domain’s blood mist, it would have been almost impossible to tell them apart.

The woman clutched her wound—somehow, the injury that should have been at her heart had moved to her abdomen. As she staggered forward, a dark figure arrived instantly, supporting her: “Mi Chu, are you all right?”

Mi Chu’s lips leaked blood as she leaned against Yan Chaosheng’s chest, suppressing her pain and shaking her head: “I’m fine.”

Mi Chu looked toward Liu Shuang, her tone sorrowful: “My Lady, I know you don’t like me. It’s my fault for coming to the Ghost Domain and intruding.”

Mi Chu’s words made Liu Shuang understand—everything had been a plot. The strange pavilion, the old man she had seen, and the cauldron refining Qing Luan were all traps set by this Heavenly Consort.

Liu Shuang looked toward Yan Chaosheng.

Yan Chaosheng coldly sneered: “Why did you hurt her?”

Liu Shuang had never seen such an unfamiliar, cold look in his eyes, as if he were looking at a stranger. At this moment, it was clear who he believed.

Looking at that face, eight parts similar to her own, Liu Shuang felt her entire body grow cold.

Mi Chu, the Heavenly Consort. So this was Mi Chu, the Heavenly Consort.

Her heart, recently repeatedly tempered, began to ache slightly. She pressed her lips together, watching them from a distance. The shadowy figure in her mind was now fully connected, making her teeth chatter.

Liu Shuang curved her lips in a smile, but it was utterly pale: “Yan Chaosheng, did you marry me because of her?”

After a hundred years together, was it all because she and Mi Chu had similar faces?