The disciple carrying the flower pot walked past. Following their gaze, one could see the swaying flower stems. The petals were ethereally beautiful and fresh, their color so vivid it seemed somewhat unreal.

Zanxing turned her head: “I said that the flower is very pretty. I wonder what kind of flower it is.”

Deadly silence surrounded them.

Gu Baiying stared fixedly at Zanxing, his gaze filled with nothing but shock. After a long time, he finally spoke with difficulty: “You said… You saw a flower?”

“Isn’t that a flower?” Zanxing found it strange: “Could it be a fake flower? Or some spiritual herb or spiritual beast that looks very much like a flower?” The cultivation world had all kinds of spiritual treasures and magical artifacts – perhaps it just had a somewhat special appearance.

The young man’s eyes surged like turbulent tides. He didn’t immediately answer her question. After a long while, he said with difficulty: “That’s not a flower.”

“Then what is it?”

“Nothing.” Gu Baiying suddenly interrupted her words, saying urgently: “Don’t tell anyone you saw that flower just now, and don’t mention flowers to others!”

Zanxing rarely saw him in such a stern moment and unconsciously nodded.

He still wanted to say something when Tian Fangfang’s voice came from the other direction: “Junior Sister!”

He had probably just finished cultivating and returned from Chuhong Terrace, his head covered in sweat as he called to Zanxing: “Come on, let’s go eat together!”

Zanxing responded and looked toward Gu Baiying: “Master Uncle, are you coming?”

Gu Baiying absentmindedly shook his head.

“Then we’ll go first.” Tian Fangfang dragged Zanxing toward the dining hall.

Gu Baiying stood in place for a moment, then instead of returning to Xiaoyao Hall, he strode in another direction.

In Mingjing Hall, disciples were categorizing and placing various magical artifacts they had found. The possible return of the demon race was a major matter for the Taiyan Sect, and disciples in each hall needed to have some magical artifacts, talismans, and formations on hand in case of sudden situations. As they were organizing, a white-robed young man hurriedly stepped through the hall door.

“Seventh Master Uncle.” The two disciples quickly stood up and bowed.

Gu Baiying acknowledged them and immediately spotted a white porcelain flower pot placed at the hall entrance. He walked over and stopped beside the flower pot, his gaze falling into it.

“Master Uncle, this Ghost Head Flower…” one of the disciples said.

Gu Baiying reached out, and the flower pot suddenly fell into his hand. He stored the flower pot in his Qiankun Bag and said to the two: “If Big Senior Brother asks about it later, just say I took it.”

The two disciples replied: “Yes.”

After Gu Baiying left, one disciple asked in confusion: “What exactly was that flower pot Master Uncle just took? It looked quite terrifying.”

The other disciple stopped his dusting motion and thought for a moment: “Years ago, when the Demon Lord Gui Diao Tang wreaked havoc in the mortal realm, some demon spirits would disguise themselves as sect disciples to infiltrate sects to deal with the cultivation world. Later, the cultivation world found a type of flower. In the eyes of the demon race, this flower appears as a beautiful blossom, but in human eyes, it looks just as you and I saw it – like a white bone skull. Sects commonly use this flower to verify whether someone is of a demon race identity. If a disciple says they see a flower, they must be a disguised demon.”

“I see!” The questioning disciple looked completely astonished. “No wonder I was just thinking why they would put a skull in a flower pot – it’s terrifying. But what does Master Uncle want with this thing?”

“Don’t know. This thing has been used throughout the cultivation world since then, and the demon race has long known about it. Even if they saw a flower, they wouldn’t say so. So presumably it’s of no use and he took it to destroy it.”

“Good to destroy it. Having a head sitting there is creepy.” The young disciple touched his head: “By the way, Senior Brother, what’s the name of that flower?”

“Similar to the Ghost Hand Flower from the previous selection competition, this one is called Ghost Head Flower.”

…

Zanxing had no idea that the flower she saw during the day had such a terrifying name. When the wind rose on the mountain that night, she sat by the window looking at her hand.

She didn’t know if it was her imagination, but the begonia mark on her hand seemed to have extended outward a bit more. Now that completely shaped begonia had a slight raised feeling when touched, as if it might grow out from her palm.

But these past days, she hadn’t done anything.

Could it be that even just living was now against the rules?

Zanxing stretched out her hand, carefully examining her palm in the moonlight from the window. Hong Su had grown accustomed to this behavior of hers over these days and only gently reminded her: “Miss, I heard that Immortal Zhao in this sect is very good at divination. Perhaps he can read palms, too.”

“Palm reading…” She sighed inwardly. Forget about Zhao Mayi – even the Serpent Witches couldn’t see clearly into her future with this fate of hers.

As she brooded, Zanxing saw someone walking into the courtyard. The young man had a tall figure, recognizable just from his shadow. He seemed somewhat hesitant, stopping in the middle of the courtyard, lingering under the persimmon tree without continuing in that direction.

“Isn’t that Young Master Gu?” Hong Su was playing with a ball of yarn with Mimi and glanced over during a break: “Why isn’t he coming in? Being so hesitant, could he be here to confess his feelings?”

Zanxing: “…”

She stood up: “I’ll go take a look.”

Zanxing’s courtyard in Miaokong Hall was cleaned daily by Hong Su, who had also planted many flowers and plants, making it look much more lively than Tian Fangfang and Mu Cengxiao’s courtyards. On summer nights on the mountain, the Milky Way hung low, mountain winds swept through the courtyard, grapevines covered the trellises, and the sweet, fresh fragrance of melons and fruits permeated the air.

Cicada calls made this evening seem even more tranquil.

He stood under the tree, his shadow almost merging with the tree’s shadow. His vermilion hair ribbon fluttered, matching his currently chaotic thoughts.

“Why are you standing here without going in?” A clear voice sounded from behind him.

Gu Baiying turned around and looked at Zanxing standing before him.

The woman wore a green gauze dress. Disciples’ clothing styles in the sect were uniform, and regardless of gender, except for a few who always loved beauty, not to mention such young ladies. Usually, there wasn’t much to dress up in their clothes, so they would frequently change hair ornaments and ribbons to vary their mood.

But Zanxing never changed, because she simply didn’t know how. So she always carelessly tied up her long hair and perfunctorily bound it with a matching colored ribbon. But after looking at it for a long time, it seemed bright and refreshing. The black scar on her face from being injured by “Yu” had now faded by seventy percent, her skin gradually showing its original appearance. It seemed one could imagine how lovely and graceful this woman would be when the scars completely left her face and she recovered her original beauty.

She had never been distressed about her appearance, wasn’t angry about the broken engagement, and cheerfully and earnestly did what needed to be done every day. From Li’er Kingdom to Wufan City, then to the treasure land, he had never seen her become discouraged or sorrowful. After staying with her for a long time, one felt that some difficulties in this world were just like that.

Unknowingly, he had already entrusted all his trust to her, so when he glimpsed a corner of the truth, his emotions became so unsettled.

Zanxing waved a hand in front of him: “Master Uncle?”