“You… know me?” Yinli seemed uneasy.

“Of course, I know you,” Zanxing replied. “If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have ended up here. However…” She leaned forward, examining Yinli carefully: “You’re a bit different from what I imagined.”

In Li’er Kingdom’s legends, the demon shark was ugly and cruel, with a violent temperament, like a bloodthirsty monster. The merfolk Zanxing had heard about since childhood were lively, cute, kind, and charming spirits. But Yinli, before her, looked like an ordinary, beautiful young man. He wore the guard uniform of Li’er Kingdom’s imperial palace, so beautiful that one would instinctively want to protect him. He also seemed very fragile, with a shy and timid nature. When Zanxing got close to talk to him, his face gradually reddened, like a layer of rouge floating on white jade, strikingly beautiful.

Seeing Yinli becoming increasingly uncomfortable, Zanxing withdrew her gaze and pondered: “But you’re a primordial spirit, and there’s another person outside who looks exactly like you. He’s also a merfolk, but he has scales on his face and should be a true demon race, not a primordial spirit. Why is this?”

Yinli was stunned upon hearing this, his brows furrowing tightly. After a while, he spoke in a low voice: “The person you mentioned should be my twin brother, Yinying.”

“Brother?” Zanxing thought for a moment: “Could it be that he’s here to help you get revenge?”

Yinli’s expression changed, as if he wanted to say something, but ultimately said nothing.

Zanxing stood up: “Never mind, I need to get out first. I don’t know what’s happening outside. Your brother is very powerful – my master uncle can barely hold his own against him. I need to go help.” However, as soon as she stood up, she felt dizzy and nearly fell headfirst to the ground.

Yinli quickly supported her, saying, “This place connects to the heart of the demon-exterminating formation. Although it won’t directly shred your soul, you’re a living person with demon qi on you. The longer you stay here, the more severely your spiritual power will drain. In the end, you’ll die here.” He looked into the distance: “I know of another exit. I’ll take you out.”

……

By the Star Constellation Platform, in front of the White Jade Hall, everything was in chaos.

The cultivators lay scattered everywhere, blood stains covering the ground. Some had splattered onto the jade stone steps, slowly flowing down along the steps as if to dye them completely red. Even the silver moon in the sky now seemed to have turned the crimson red of blood.

Yet in the deep night, the spear tip was like silver flowing clouds, brutally tearing open a gash in the night sky. Ten thousand points of snowflakes like a silver sea entangled with a mass of black mist. Snow-colored layers fell to the ground, yet failed to turn the field white. A tremendous sound came from the night sky, and everyone looked up to see the beautiful merfolk in long robes landing on the rooftop, pressing their bloodied arm.

He laughed coldly: “Young Immortal Master Gu is indeed more capable than I thought.”

The young man facing the merfolk was also wounded considerably, fresh blood staining his pearl-colored brocade robes with layers of red, like crimson flowers embroidered on his garments, making them even more vivid. Gu Baiying’s expression was cold and indifferent. Without a word, he charged forward again with his spear.

“You don’t even want to speak to me,” Rong Yu mocked: “It seems your dao companion’s death has made you very sad.”

At these words, Gu Baiying’s spear-wielding movement froze for a moment. That face like frost suddenly showed anger as he rebuked: “What dao companion? What nonsense are you spouting?”

Rong Yu dodged to the side, striking the opponent’s silver spear with his palm while not forgetting to ridicule his opponent: “Hmph, two people embracing in Tianlu Pavilion, even sharing a room at night, calling each other master uncle and martial nephew – who knows what shameful deeds you’re doing. The cultivation world claims to be a righteous sect, but in private, you’re this debauched. Disgusting!”

He deliberately spoke loudly, not avoiding others. For a moment, everyone’s strange gazes turned toward Gu Baiying.

Tian Fangfang was stunned: “I knew about sharing a room at night, but what’s this about embracing in Tianlu Pavilion?”

“Sharing a room?” Meng Ying, beside her, spoke in surprise: “When did Master Uncle share a room with Junior Sister Yang at night?”

Mendong, hiding behind a pillar, held his head and said quietly: “It’s over, it’s over, it’s over…”

The cultivators from various sects were fighting intensely when they suddenly learned of such romantic secrets. Their gazes toward the Taiyan Sect people carried some mischievous intent. Mu Cengxiao frowned: “At a time like this, these people are still thinking about such nonsense.”

Looking at the rooftop again, Gu Baiying was so angry that his face turned iron-blue. His movements became even more fierce as he fought and cursed: “Bastard! Demon! Nothing but lies – truly, a dog’s mouth can’t spit out ivory. Today I will kill you, chop you into pieces, and throw you into the West Sea to feed the fish!”

“That depends on whether you have the ability,” Rong Yu sneered coldly.

While they were entangled in combat, suddenly there was a sound of something breaking through the air. An arrow pierced through the black mist and struck Rong Yu’s right ventricle.

On the Star Constellation Platform, Princess Lizhu nocked another arrow and said: “One inch to the left of the heart.”

“Princess!” A maid tried to pull her away: “It’s too dangerous here!”

“Don’t worry about me.” Princess Lizhu’s face showed no emotion.

This woman, who was no longer young, picked up the bow and arrows left behind by the retreating guards. Her grand red ceremonial robe was too long, so she simply cut it short with a knife and rolled up her long sleeves. She looked like a hunter in the mountains wearing riding clothes, and the bow in her hands was taut and powerful.

She used her full strength for this arrow, accurately shooting toward one inch to the left of Rong Yu’s heart.

However, the arrow couldn’t penetrate the black mist.

The merfolk grasped the arrow aimed at him, applied slight force, and the long arrow broke in half from the middle. He casually pulled out the arrow from his right ventricle without even leaving a trace of a wound. Rong Yu looked at Princess Lizhu and spoke mockingly: “How could an incompetent mortal hurt me?”

“Oh, I almost forgot. Forty years ago, you did the same thing – used an arrow to nail that merfolk’s tail to the ground. However, I’m not that merfolk from back then.” He suddenly exerted force, and the black mist quickly climbed toward Princess Lizhu’s side. Princess Lizhu felt as if a hand had gripped her throat, bringing a suffocating sensation.

She struggled and said: “You’re not the merfolk from forty years ago, then who are you? Aren’t you here for revenge?”

“Revenge?” Rong Yu seemed to have heard a joke and laughed genuinely. While laughing, he said, “Why would I seek revenge? That foolish merfolk from back then fell in love with a woman and was willing to sacrifice his demon core to become mortal, only to die at the hands of the one he loved. Such a foolish person would only become a laughingstock for all demon races. Why would he be worth anyone’s revenge?”

Princess Lizhu felt her mind buzz, as if many sounds were gradually moving away from her. She looked at Rong Yu and spoke with difficulty: “What do you mean by that?”

“Don’t you understand?” Rong Yu appreciated her appearance and spoke unhurriedly: “Back then, it was your husband who killed those women, but in the end, all the blood debt fell on the demon shark. Princess, aren’t you the least bit curious why that merfolk appeared in the royal palace back then?”

“…Why?”

“Because of you, of course.” Rong Yu looked at her kindly: “My foolish brother was determined to help you escape the fate of becoming a sacrifice. So even without his demon core, he forced his way through the demon-exterminating formation to save you from danger. Who could have known it would end like this?”

Princess Lizhu’s fingers trembled slightly.

“He was trapped by the demon-exterminating formation before he even reached your bedchamber. And you, Your Highness, you killed him with the arrow in your hand.”

……

In the corridor, Yinli supported Zanxing as they walked.

This corridor was longer than imagined, seeming endless for the moment. According to Yinli, this was a tomb passage in the imperial mausoleum, somehow connected by Zanxing through the demon-exterminating formation.

Yinli hadn’t lied. The Yuanli in Zanxing’s body was slowly draining away. Even this short stretch of road was particularly exhausting to walk. She said, “Yinli, your brother is quite talented, actually planting demon qi in my body. I almost died in the demon-exterminating formation today.”

“I’m sorry,” Yinli apologized. He thought for a moment, then seemed puzzled: “But anyone who has even a trace of demon qi, even mortals, will have their souls scattered once they fall into a demon-exterminating formation, with absolutely no chance of survival. But Miss Yang, how were you able to pass through the demon-exterminating formation and connect to another corridor here?”

Zanxing thought it might be because of the Xiaoyuan Pearl. Although this Xiaoyuan Pearl was sometimes effective and sometimes not, each time it dutifully saved her life.

But she couldn’t tell Yinli this.

“I am, after all, the direct disciple of Taiyan Sect’s Xuan Lingzi,” Zanxing said casually. “The sect has various life-saving secret techniques. You demon races wouldn’t understand.”

Yinli nodded in confusion: “I see.”

Zanxing looked at him. This young man seemed very innocent. Dressed in a guard uniform, he looked just like a young guard. How could Emperor Shengning and his people bear to be so cruel to him back then?

And they carved him so ugly, probably out of jealousy.

Seeing Zanxing staring at him constantly, Yinli’s face reddened again. He asked quietly: “Why does Miss Yang keep looking at me?”

While walking forward, Zanxing said, “I’m just very curious. Yinli, the one who harmed those young women back then, was Emperor Shengning. Emperor Shengning practiced such evil arts to extend his lifespan and achieve immortality. But the reason it could be pinned on you in the end was because you did indeed appear in the royal palace.”

“Yinli, how did you come to appear in Li’er Kingdom’s royal palace?” she asked. “Or rather, were you captured by them outside and brought there just to take the blame?”

In the corridor, no one answered for a long while.

Zanxing turned her head. The young man’s profile was bathed in the torch’s glow, covered with a layer of warm light. His features were so beautiful they were flawless, like a magnificent dream from the depths of the West Sea. And in those azure blue eyes, for the first time, surged an emotion of sorrow.

“I entered the palace voluntarily.”

He pressed his lips together, his gaze somewhat melancholy.

“…I wanted to save someone.”