Mu Hanyang spoke with great self-satisfaction, yet Feng Qingyun did not take a single word to heart. His mind buzzed loudly, as though filled with static, and only after a long while did he barely recover his senses. Turning his head, he let out a cold laugh.
“Is that so? If that’s truly the case, then I’ll wait and see.”
With that, he flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.
Mu Hanyang smiled. Seeing that Feng Qingyun didn’t believe him, he said no more, as though he intended to prove his claims with strength alone. But just as Feng Qingyun was about to go, Mu Hanyang added, “Qingyun… Ruolin, Ah Ying, Ah Wu, and the others all miss you very much. In another month, it will be the Heavenly Gate Ceremony. As the Second Palace Master of the Xiān Gōng Sect, you ought to sit in the seat of honor.”
Feng Qingyun sneered inwardly. Carrying his sword, he left without even turning his head, leaving Mu Hanyang standing alone in place, watching him unblinkingly. Only after Feng Qingyun’s figure had completely vanished did Mu Hanyang turn and leave, without sparing even a glance for the corpse on the ground.
Not long after he departed, the immortal corpse rotted, dissipating into heaven and earth and nourishing the power of the Heavenly Dao.
…………..
After leaving the Imperial Advisor’s residence, Feng Qingyun walked through the night in silence, sword in hand. The hesitation in his heart had reached its peak, so he wished only to wander outside a little longer before returning to the marquis’ residence.
Yet no matter how long one lingered outside, home eventually had to be returned to.
In the end, Feng Qingyun took a deep breath and stepped toward the marquis’ residence. Along the street, bustling beyond compare during the day, he had not yet reached the gates when he saw, from afar, the figure waiting at the entrance.
Under the lantern light, that person looked like nothing more than an ordinary husband waiting for his wife to come home.
Feng Qingyun froze.
The lingering fear in his heart suddenly eased by several degrees, and in that moment, he finally understood why Long Yin had never mentioned the full extent of his power. However, before that feeling could fully bloom in his chest, Long Yin sensed his presence and immediately turned to look at him. In that instant, the atmosphere around him seemed to soften.
Feng Qingyun’s heart wavered. As he drew closer, he saw that Long Yin was immaculate from head to toe, with not the slightest sign of having gone through a fierce battle. Judging by the timing of retrieving Qinglong’s heart, it seemed he had completed the task without expending much effort at all.
Feng Qingyun let out a sigh of relief, yet immediately afterward, he keenly caught the scent of blood around Long Yin’s body. That air of effortless ease made Feng Qingyun recall, without warning, Mu Hanyang’s earlier boast…
“Those crippled immortals will draw their swords and willingly sever their own heads, without even feeling pain. That is the power of the Heavenly Dao.”
Feng Qingyun’s heart trembled, but he knew clearly it wasn’t from fear, just an indescribable shudder. Seeing him silent, Long Yin frowned slightly, a hint of tension in his voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“…I saw Mu Hanyang, and the corpse of that crippled immortal,” Feng Qingyun said, pressing his lips together. “Mu Hanyang’s cultivation has already recovered to the Golden Core stage. He was the one who killed the immortal. I didn’t see the Imperial Advisor at his residence, so he may have been killed by Mu Hanyang as well, or he may be hiding somewhere.”
His expression was serious and composed, yet in his heart, Mu Hanyang’s earlier confident proclamations kept resurfacing. Feng Qingyun’s mind was in chaos. He tried to force himself to calm down, because he knew Long Yin could hear his thoughts, but in the end, he failed…
…because he clearly saw that, in the darkness of the night, Long Yin paused almost imperceptibly, then lightly curved his lips.
It was over.He had definitely heard it.
Feng Qingyun stiffly shifted his gaze away as an intimate, tacit atmosphere spread between the two of them. Yet Long Yin didn’t expose it. Instead, he said matter-of-factly, “The Imperial Advisor is in the Imperial Palace. He’s not dead, though not far from it.”
Feng Qingyun was startled. “What is he doing in the palace?”
“Since the one surnamed Mu has already left…” Long Yin deliberately left him hanging, as he said, “There’s nothing urgent at the moment. Let’s go back inside and talk.”
It was a perfectly ordinary sentence, but it made Feng Qingyun’s pupils constrict sharply. He hadn’t mentioned Mu Hanyang leaving at all… His man had absolutely heard his thoughts!
Feng Qingyun stood stiffly in place. Seeing that, Long Yin didn’t even bother pretending. With a slight smile, he stuffed the still-warm Qinglong’s heart into Feng Qingyun’s hand, then clasped his slightly cool fingers and turned toward the marquis’ residence.
It wasn’t very late yet, and many people in the residence were still awake.
Just as the two reached the corner of the courtyard, a figure suddenly lunged out from nowhere. A little fox, with a piece of cooked chicken clamped in its mouth, nearly crashed straight into Feng Qingyun’s arms.
“Ranran!”
Qiu Ying hurried after him in a panic. When she saw them, she was so frightened she nearly fainted. The little fox, however, clueless and unafraid, was nonetheless surprisingly polite. He slammed on the brakes just before he hit Feng Qingyun, hurriedly swallowed the chicken, and bowed deeply, saying, “I’m sorry, big brother!”
He spoke unclearly, but the way his little ears twitched as he bowed was exceptionally adorable, and Feng Qingyun’s heart softened at once. “It’s all right. Just be careful.”
Qiu Ying rushed up and raised a hand to smack the child’s behind lightly, saying, “Hurry up and apologize to Senior…!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Ranran already apologized,” Feng Qingyun said quickly. “He didn’t mean it. No need to be so strict with him.”
Seeing that Feng Qingyun truly wasn’t angry, and that Long Yin also seemed unbothered, Qiu Ying finally relaxed a little. Still, she pinched the child’s ear and said, “Don’t run around anymore, understand?”
While Qiu Ying had just been carefully observing the expressions of Feng Qingyun and Long Yin, Feng Qingyun had also been observing her. In just two days, the once ragged fox woman had transformed into an honored guest of the marquis’ residence.
She was now dressed in splendid robes, adorned with pearls and jade, clearly the result of Yue Jinshu personally arranging her appearance. Yet beneath that hasty radiance, there was still her original beauty shaped by time, so she did not appear frivolous at all. Instead, she beamed with a calm grace, born of no longer needing to scramble merely to survive.
Seeing her like that, Feng Qingyun’s heart dropped in his chest, and he couldn’t help recalling what the male courtesan had said earlier that day. The Imperial Advisor was extremely likely to be her child’s biological father. He had clearly been saved by the fox woman, owing her his life, yet after abandoning his wife and child, he still personally severed her tail.
Judging from what Long Yin had said just now, that Imperial Advisor was likely not going to live for long… but on whether to tell the fox woman the truth or not, Feng Qingyun found himself caught in a dilemma. After a long silence, he asked, “…Have there been any news about this child’s father these past two days?”
Qiu Ying shook her head. “No…” she answered. “Humans are fragile by nature, so he may already be dead.”
Her tone was calm, nothing like the desperation she’d shown two days prior. Feng Qingyun was startled, but he still followed her words, asking, “If he truly can’t be found, what do you plan to do?”
“If he can’t be found, then so be it. Senior Yue talked with me for two days, and I’ve thought through many things.” She tidied the messy fur on her son’s ear and lowered her gaze. “Back then, all I wanted was an explanation for my child and me. But thinking about it now, faithless men don’t have a change of heart just because we cling to them.”
“I’m at least a demonic cultivator. By your kindness, I survived by sheer luck, and after encountering such fortune, how could I continue wallowing in self-pity?”
On her wrist was a brand-new jade bracelet, likely a storage bracelet given to her by Yue Jinshu, and she gently touched it as she spoke. “Once the Seniors leave, I plan to take Ranran back to the mountains to cultivate. You are all our benefactors. When this child grows up, the two of us, mother and son, will surely repay you with our blood and bones.”
“It was nothing more than a small effort,” Feng Qingyun quickly said. “There’s no need to be so courteous.”
Qiu Ying was just about to say something more when she noticed Long Yin narrowing his eyes slightly at her, as though displeased. Though he said nothing, her fox-blooded instincts made her hair stand on end. Taking one look at the night sky, she immediately realized something.
“Are the two Seniors… going back inside to rest?”
Before Feng Qingyun could respond, Long Yin answered without the slightest hesitation.
Feng Qingyun: “……”
Hearing that, Qiu Ying hurriedly pulled her little fox cub to the side and bowed. “Then we won’t disturb you any longer! Good night to you both!”
She was already being considerate to that extent; even if Feng Qingyun wanted to say anything more, there was no room left to do so. He could only take a deep breath, stiffly turn his head, and follow Long Yin back into their room without another word. Warm yellow candlelight shone through the papered window. The space was not narrow to begin with, yet now that only the two of them remained inside, Feng Qingyun’s breathing instantly tightened.
Long Yin reached back and closed the door, the subtle creak it made sending a tingling shiver across Feng Qingyun’s scalp. And when Long Yin lifted his foot to walk toward him, that sense of tremor reached its peak.
Feng Qingyun’s brow twitched. In a flash of inspiration born of pure haste, he immediately forced himself to appear calm and seized the initiative, quickly asking, “…So now you can say it, right? What exactly did you see in the Imperial Palace? Why did you come back so fast?”
Long Yin led him to sit by the bed, still holding his hand. He did not expose Feng Qingyun’s panic and instead answered directly, “Qinglong’s heart was indeed delivered into the emperor’s hands. But when this Lord arrived, I didn’t sense any sword Qi like Yue Jinshu mentioned. This Lord found it strange, and when I went further in, I saw the Imperial Advisor holding a sword to the emperor’s neck, forcing him to hand over Qinglong’s heart.”
As Long Yin continued, Feng Qingyun gradually pieced together the full truth. The Imperial Advisor had been scattering his seeds outside the palace when, halfway through, he suddenly received news that the hidden immortal had died violently in his residence.
The shock he felt upon hearing that was likely even greater than Feng Qingyun’s.
After all, the previous night, he had just finished conspiring with that crippled immortal to assassinate Feng Qingyun, only for the man to die abruptly in his own residence the very next day! It was plainly a display meant to kill one as a warning to a hundred.
Thinking it through carefully, there was only one possibility. The matter of conspiring with the immortals to murder Feng Qingyun had been exposed, and the death in his residence was Feng Qingyun’s revenge. And if even an immortal was no match, who could say whether the seeds he himself had planted would still work? Thus, the Imperial Advisor immediately abandoned what he was doing and rushed to seize Qinglong’s heart as leverage to bargain for his life.
And Long Yin’s next words confirmed his speculation. “The Imperial Advisor ran into the palace precisely to coerce the emperor into handing over Qinglong’s heart, using it as his bargaining chip to survive. Originally, there were sword talismans all over the palace, but the emperor trusted him completely and lifted all restrictions for him.”
“But as the saying goes, arriving early is no match for arriving at the right time. When this Lord entered, I happened to catch him placing his sword at the emperor’s neck and taking Qinglong’s heart right from his hands.” Reaching this point, Long Yin paused, then let out a faint scoff. “He even tried to threaten this Lord with Qinglong’s heart, demanding that I swear on my demonic Qi that after he handed it over, neither you nor I would take his life.”
“You agreed?” Feng Qingyun’s heart skipped.
“This Lord did,” Long Yin replied matter-of-factly. “But I only agreed that you and Iwouldn’t take his life. I never agreed that others wouldn’t.”
“After taking Qinglong’s heart, I directly crippled his pitiful cultivation and confiscated the immortal treasures in his possession. Right now, he’s no different from an ordinary man. The emperor, who just had a sword held to his throat, would hardly let him off. After all, treason is a capital crime, so tomorrow should be the day he’s beheaded for all to see.”
Feng Qingyun understood at once. The restrictions outside the palace never even had time to come into play before the Imperial Advisor dismantled them himself. No wonder Long Yin had acted so swiftly.
And if the two of them hadn’t swapped the seeds, they likely wouldn’t have stumbled upon such a perfectly timed moment. One could say it was link after link in a chain… seemingly opportunistic, yet in truth, completely inevitable.
After finishing his account, Long Yin held Feng Qingyun’s hand and pulled him into his arms. Lowering his gaze, he asked knowingly, “And you?”
Feng Qingyun pressed his lips together and lowered his eyes, recounting Mu Hanyang’s earlier unrestrained arrogance. After hearing how that counterfeit had wrapped himself in borrowed authority, Long Yin sneered.
“A fool playing with a tiger’s skin, stupidity written all over his face.”
Feng Qingyun thought the same, but he didn’t follow up or smile. Instead, he pursed his lips and said, “…Before he left, he told me something.”
Long Yin drew him closer by the waist, asking, “What was it?”
However, Feng Qingyun didn’t answer right away. He simply lifted his gaze and stared at Long Yin without blinking, his voice as light as a feather.
“Is it true?”
Long Yin leaned closer, hooked a finger under his chin, and tilted his face upward.
“What is the Little Palace Master asking? This Lord doesn’t quite understand.”
Knowing he was being deliberately teased, Feng Qingyun’s ears immediately reddened. In the candlelight, they looked especially beautiful.
“…That absolute submission in front of the Heavenly Dao… does it really exist?”
Long Yin smiled without answering. He pressed lightly against Feng Qingyun’s lower lip, watching him sit obediently like a startled quail. Only after a long moment did he ask in return, “What do you think, my Little Rose?”
When Mu Hanyang had addressed him that way earlier, Feng Qingyun had felt nothing but disgust. But hearing Long Yin say it now, beneath the candlelight, his lashes trembled, and he softly lowered his gaze.
“All right, look how frightened our Little Rose is.” Long Yin chuckled, clearly amused, releasing his chin and drawing him into his embrace.
“Those immortals were simply scared half to death by this Lord, so they deliberately exaggerated the truth. If it were really that miraculous, I’d have slaughtered in all directions long ago. How could I have gone through everything that followed?”
His tone was relaxed and casual, and what he said sounded entirely believable, but Feng Qingyun still eyed him suspiciously for three breaths. However, just as he was beginning to believe it and before his nerves could relax for even a moment, a voice suddenly exploded in his mind.
[Qingyun]
That voice was different from every sentence Long Yin had previously spoken in his heart. Caught completely off guard, Feng Qingyun froze in place. He could clearly feel his mind being emptied in an instant, as though whatever was poured in next would simply take its place.
Long Yin smiled and kissed him gently, yet did not take advantage of the moment. Instead, holding his waist, he said within Feng Qingyun’s mind:
[I hope you’re always happy.]
The instant those words fell, it was like color being splashed onto a snow-white canvas, and Feng Qingyun immediately felt his heart brim over with joy. All the gloom buried deep within him over many days was swept away completely, leaving behind only pure happiness and delight.
That overly radiant emotion overwhelmed Feng Qingyun’s reason. The sensation of floating among clouds made him take a long while to realize what Mu Hanyang had meant by “different from that inferior blood deed.”
The Heavenly Dao’s authority did not force obedience while one remained unconscious of the effects, as the blood deed did. Instead, it made the person accept the change from the depths of their heart, a change so thorough that even the fundamental color of one’s soul would shift with it.
Feng Qingyun lingered for a long time in that soul-deep, trembling pleasure before finally regaining his senses. However, the intensity of the emotion still left his mind momentarily dazed.
Long Yin raised a hand and drew him into his arms, lowering his head to gently kiss his lips. “Are you happy?” he asked.
Feng Qingyun buried his face against Long Yin’s chest and didn’t respond, as though he still hadn’t fully recovered from the lingering aftertaste. Holding him, Long Yin smiled and explained, “This Lord didn’t lie to you. This ability really only works when someone is unguarded, and it doesn’t last very long, so the command has to be brief. You can’t give overly complex instructions, and it’s hardly some profound authority.”
“The one surnamed Mu knows nothing at all, yet he’s smug about it,” Long Yin added, not forgetting to trample on someone’s head once more. “What those immortals were actually hinting at was that this trick no longer works on them. Unfortunately, that fool didn’t catch on.”
Feng Qingyun finally came back to himself and lifted his gaze to look at him, asking, “…Since this power of yours recovered long ago, why didn’t you use it earlier?”
“Because this Lord is an upright gentleman,” Long Yin laughed. “How could I do something so despicable?”
A dignified Demon Emperor, calling himself an upright gentleman… In the past, Feng Qingyun would have scoffed and mocked him without hesitation. Yet now, upon hearing it, he froze, suddenly unsure what to say.
Some merely pretend to possess authority, yet already attempt to force him and reshape every thought he ever had. Others truly held supreme authority, yet willingly locked it away in a cage.
Even after Feng Qingyun had seen through it all, Long Yin clearly could have taken advantage of the moment, but all he sought was Feng Qingyun’s happiness.
How could that not move one’s heart?
According to Mu Hanyang, Bai Ruolin had already obtained Zhuque’s heart. Now that Qinglong’s heart was also secured, the return of the Heavenly Dao was only a matter of time.
A sour ache welled up in Feng Qingyun’s heart. Without a word, he wrapped his arms around the shoulders of the person before him, lowered his head, and buried his face in Long Yin’s chest.
But unfortunately, Feng Qingyun’s moment of being moved did not last long as Long Yin seemed born to counter his sentimental tendencies. Seeing his reaction, he lowered his head and rubbed the tip of his nose against Feng Qingyun’s, speaking softly at a breath’s distance: “Besides, if this method is used too often, it’s bound to raise your tolerance. Later on, the Little Palace Master might even find using this Lord dull, so how could I possibly overuse it?”
At first, Feng Qingyun didn’t understand what he meant, asking, “…What tolerance?”
Long Yin smiled at that, pinched his chin, and spoke close to his ear: “Still don’t understand? Then this Lord will reluctantly demonstrate it for the Little Palace Master… though I’ll probably need to borrow a hawthorn in advance.”
The moment the word hawthorn was spoken, Feng Qingyun reacted as if someone had stepped on his tail. He instantly sensed something was wrong and pressed a hand to Long Yin’s shoulder, asking, “Wait, what are you trying to…”
Before he could finish, his voice abruptly cut off. His entire body seemed to freeze in place, stiffening all at once.
That familiar voice sounded again in his mind.
[You will experience pleasure of the highest grade, just like on the day you bloomed.]
Feng Qingyun’s pupils shrank sharply, and his mind exploded with a roar. After barely regaining his senses, he let out a muffled whimper and grabbed at Long Yin’s lapels, trying to struggle free. But his body simply could not withstand the sudden onslaught of pleasure, and his waist went limp as he collapsed straight into the other’s arms.
Long Yin held him and feigned innocence, asking, “Why is my Little Rose suddenly throwing himself into this Lord’s arms? Could it be that you’re asking something of me?”
Hearing that, Feng Qingyun bit down hard on his arm in retaliation, yet tears slipped down his face uncontrollably.
“Mmm…”
Watching the beauty in his arms flush deeply, breathing so rapidly it seemed he might faint at any moment, Long Yin’s heart itched unbearably. But just as he was about to say something else, Feng Qingyun suddenly began to tremble violently as his primordial body was released, utterly beyond restraint. Even Long Yin was momentarily stunned by the sight before him.
Under the candlelight filling the room, the once raw green vines had, with the passage of time, turned a deep, ink-like colour. The vines were indeed heavy with fruit, yet there were scarcely any rose blossoms left.
And now, even those remaining few flowers slowly fell away in response to Feng Qingyun’s violently surging emotions. Brilliant petals drifted down onto Feng Qingyun’s shoulders. Paired with his thoroughly flushed complexion, he looked irresistibly alluring.
Not only that, but the fruits hanging from the vines also trembled under wave after wave of stimulation, falling onto the bed in sticky, slick splashes that soaked the bedding. Some even landed upon the two of them.
Leaning in Long Yin’s arms, Feng Qingyun glimpsed the scene through the gap of his arm, his heart shuddering.
…So ugly.
So few flowers left, and now even the fruits…
Feng Qingyun immediately withdrew his gaze, gritting his teeth as he buried his face in Long Yin’s chest, tears welling in his eyes. The shame and indignation he felt were unprecedented, and he didn’t even want to lift his head. But Long Yin found him so adorable that his heart nearly melted. With ill intent, he reached out and lightly patted Feng Qingyun’s back.
His already fragile nerves trembled violently under that touch. Feng Qingyun weakly clutched Long Yin’s robes, whimpering as he tried to make him stop, but when he opened his mouth, no words came out.
Just as Long Yin had said, however, the second time lasted far less than the first. Feng Qingyun trembled numbly for only a short while before calming down from that soul-stealing stimulation. Even so, he still clutched Long Yin’s clothing, burying himself in his arms and refusing to look up.
“…Angry?” Long Yin asked softly, holding him when he didn’t move for a long time. He quickly probed Feng Qingyun’s thoughts, realized what he was upset about, and immediately coaxed him in a low voice, “What’s ugly about it? It’s beautiful, beautiful to the extreme.”
As if to prove his words, he lowered his head and kissed Feng Qingyun’s lips, which had grown vividly red from the earlier stimulation. Yet with that movement, Feng Qingyun suddenly felt something. His expression stiffened, and he looked up at Long Yin in shock.
“You!”
Long Yin raised a brow. “What about this Lord?”
Feng Qingyun’s lips trembled. “It’s just a few fruits falling off… what’s there to look at? And you actually…”
He didn’t say the rest aloud, but Long Yin clearly heard what he muttered in his heart.
[You’re simply a pervert!]
Long Yin immediately laughed, pressing his nose against Feng Qingyun’s.
“Scolding this Lord as a pervert in your heart?” he asked.
Feng Qingyun shuddered and instantly looked away.
“But my Little Rose, you still owe this Lord four hawthorns,” Long Yin said intimately, brushing a kiss against the tip of his nose. “Every insult you hurl at me within the next month, I’ll remember them all… even the ones you only think about.”
Unfortunately, neither of them realized that they no longer had enough time to wait for another month. But at the present, faced with such shameless threats, Feng Qingyun’s lashes trembled. He simply gave up entirely and cursed, “…Pervert!”
Long Yin curled his lips under the candlelight, deliberately provoking him.
“What? This Lord didn’t hear clearly. Please trouble the Little Palace Master to curse me once more.”
Feng Qingyun glared at him with watery eyes.
“Pervert!”
Long Yin pressed on relentlessly.
“Again.”
“…No.” Feng Qingyun refused to cooperate any longer, raising a hand to push him away. “I’ll save the rest for tomorrow as a reward for you… Get up. I want to bathe.”
“All right, all right.” Long Yin immediately ignored his protests, scooping him up in one smooth motion. “This Lord will attend to the Little Palace Master’s bath.”
Feng Qingyun was already soft all over. When Long Yin deliberately pinched his waist and lifted him, he flushed with shame and anger. But in the end, struggling was useless, as he was still pressed into the wooden tub.
And that little round bell Feng Qingyun had hidden away so carefully did not survive to see the next day before being unsealed. Before long, the sound of water mixed with the clear ringing of bells and trembling, muffled curses that echoed through the room.
A little fox cub, sneaking out to forage after his mother had fallen asleep, passed by and perked up his ears. Faintly, he heard a few words:
“Mm… can’t eat it, take it out!”
“It’s only the size of a candied hawthorn. What’s there you can’t eat?”
“You bastard, don’t you dare mention candied hawthorns to me!”
After that, louder splashing sounds drowned everything else out.
The little fox tilted his head, gnawing on the tip of his tail. His mind was filled entirely with the words “candied hawthorn”, and for a moment, even meat didn’t sound appealing anymore.
What is candied hawthorn? It sounds so delicious…
After lingering by the window for a short while, he bit his tail and trotted off to find his mama.
………………….
Early the next morning, news of the Imperial Advisor’s rebellion spread throughout the Kingdom of Jinlin. Before the common folk could finish being shocked, further news followed: the several consecutive murders within the Imperial City had all been perpetrated by the Imperial Advisor himself!
The world was thrown into an uproar. And the emperor, terrified out of his wits after almost being forced into abdication at sword point, seemed fearful that the Imperial Advisor might regain his strength. Therefore, he didn’t even order death by a thousand cuts, instead issuing an immediate execution decree.
By noon that very day, the Imperial Advisor was pushed onto the execution ground.
Hearing that the enemy who had once hacked off her tail at the city gates had fallen to such an end, Qiu Ying, whose son had been clinging to her all morning, asking for candied hawthorns, paused briefly. With little hesitation, she took her cub by the hand and went to the execution site. As a fox demon, she felt nothing amiss about bringing a half-demon child of only a few years to watch a beheading.
When the Imperial Advisor was pressed onto the execution platform, the fear in his heart left him barely able to kneel. However, what he feared was not merely death, but the humiliation of dying like a commoner.
Then, in the corner of his vision, he suddenly caught sight of something. He froze for a moment before snapping his head up. Not far away, a woman dressed in an embroidered gauze skirt stood quietly, with moon-bright earrings at her ears, strikingly beautiful and radiant. Beside her, she held the hand of a child wearing a bamboo hat.
After a brief, stunned pause, he was overjoyed.
YingYing! His wife has come to save him!
He struggled to call out her name, but in the next instant, he saw in the crowd a woman standing behind his wife and child, smiling at him. An invisible black shadow, heavy with pressure, abruptly engulfed the entire scene.
The Imperial Advisor froze, eyes widening in disbelief.
A demonic cultivator?!
Though he had lost his cultivation, he had not lost his sensitivity to demonic Qi!
And indeed, because he had lost his cultivation, the difference in realms, which had already been like an abyss, was now pulled to its absolute extreme. The pressure coming from that woman forced him to kneel stiffly in place, not daring to move at all.
In the next moment, blade light flashed and blood sprayed as something struck the ground with a dull thud.
“Mama,” the half-demon little fox withdrew his gaze in boredom, chewing on the tip of his tail. “I’m hungry. I want to eat candied hawthorns.”
Qiu Ying’s head ached from his nagging, so she bent down and tugged his ear, asking, “What’s wrong with you?! You’ve been going on about it since dawn. I told you I’d buy some after lunch. Do I look like a candied hawthorn to you?!”
The little fox answered solemnly, “Last night, I heard that pretty brother say in the bathing room that he wanted to eat candied hawthorns, and that he couldn’t eat anymore…”
Who knew whether it was the feng shui of the marquis’ residence or something else? The half-demon child who had been a little fool just days ago could now speak such a long sentence… But Qiu Ying, who had long hoped for her son to grow up quickly, froze for a moment before realizing who the “pretty brother” was. Her expression instantly changed as she clapped a hand over his mouth, saying, “Shut up, you little fool!”
With that, she hurriedly dragged the unfortunate child away, not sparing a single glance at the headless corpse bleeding behind her. Nor did she see the beard that had rolled to within less than two feet of her, slick from soaking in blood.
Beneath that false beard was a face she knew all too well.
…………….
The news that the Jinlin Kingdom’s Imperial Advisor had been demoted to a commoner and executed caused no small stir in the cultivation world. The reason was simple. The Kingdom of Jinlin lay within the territory of the Xiān Gōng Sect and had long been under Mu Hanyang’s protection. Now that the Imperial Advisor had died so inexplicably, anyone would be forced to ponder the implications.
Yet the Xiān Gōng Sect issued no statement on the matter at all. Instead, it released another, seemingly unrelated announcement…
Because Lord Mu could not bear to see all under heaven suffer from the closed path to ascension, the Heavenly Gate Ceremony would be moved up by half a month. The moment the news emerged, the affair of the Jinlin Kingdom’s Imperial Advisor was instantly forgotten.
Countless high-ranking cultivators, upon hearing it, could not help but lift their eyes to the heavens. For reasons unknown, every one of them felt an indescribable shiver.
The heavens were about to change.
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