This translation is by Pocketrobbin at S h a n g h a i f a n t a s y . c o m

On the way back, everyone walked cautiously, and nothing untoward happened.

Gu Chenyan had originally planned to go search for the incense ingredient alone, but considering how slippery the mountain paths were after the rain, she decided it would be too dangerous to go alone and postponed the plan.

Out of curiosity, she followed Yin Yin and the others to meet the legendary Physician Jia.

“Sir Wu.” Yin Yin walked side by side with Sir Wu at the front of the group. “What kind of person is this Physician Jia?”

Sir Wu’s brows twitched slightly, as if in thought. “He’s a recluse. Not good at socializing and doesn’t have a single friend.”

“Oh.” Yin Yin nodded thoughtfully, eyes fixed ahead at the lush trees.

After about an hour of walking, they arrived at an old residence. Behind the house lay a verdant bamboo grove, and beside it was an abandoned well. Croaking frogs could be heard now and then from deep within the well.

Following Sir Wu into the residence, they saw a pond in the courtyard filled with water lilies— though it was the wrong season, and none had bloomed yet.

Crossing the corridor above the pond, they stopped in front of a loft.

Yin Yin looked up at the plaque hanging above. Written in bold calligraphy were two words— Yinyue Pavilion.

“Please wait here for a moment. I’ll go inform Physician Jia.” Sir Wu said expressionlessly, then pushed the door open and entered.

Yin Yin wondered to herself— could Physician Jia cure facial paralysis?

A short while later, the door opened again. Sir Wu stepped out and said, “It seems you’ve come at a bad time. Physician Jia is not in.”

“Not in?” Yin Yin turned to Ling Long, whose expression grew more reserved. “When will Physician Jia return?”

“Unclear.” Sir Wu replied. “Whenever he goes out to gather herbs, it could be ten days to half a month, or as short as two or three days.”

Ling Long lowered his eyes slightly, the corner of his mouth curving into a faint, unreadable smile.

After some thought, Sir Wu suggested, “Why don’t you rest inside for now, and we’ll decide what to do next?”

“Sure.” Yin Yin was the first to agree. “I really can’t walk any farther.”

The others followed her into Yinyue Pavilion. The interior was modestly furnished. Aside from some chairs and tables for guests, there was a large writing desk piled with books.

The room carried a faint medicinal scent. Yin Yin couldn’t tell what kind of herbs they were, but the smell wasn’t harsh. In fact, it was rather pleasant.

Sir Wu sat down at the desk on his own, showing no intention of entertaining the guests.

Yin Yin blinked at the man reading, then called out, “Sir Wu.”

Sir Wu looked up from his book. “Yes?”

Yin Yin smiled. “Earlier, on our way up the mountain, I asked you what kind of person Physician Jia was. You said he was a recluse with no friends. But if he has no friends, then who are you, Sir Wu?”

Sir Wu paused, saying nothing.

Yin Yin’s smile faded as she fixed her gaze on him. “There is no Sir Wu. You are Jia Qing. You already told us from the beginning. ‘Wu^[1]吴’ as in ‘none^[2]无 – wu’— in other words, nonexistent.”

“What? Sir Wu is Physician Jia?!” Gu Chenyan looked stunned, staring dumbfounded at the man sitting at the desk.

Sir Wu remained calm, not the least bit flustered. “Miss Yin, you draw such a conclusion based on just my words? Don’t you think that’s too hasty?”

Yin Yin chuckled. “Then let me ask, how did the reclusive Sir Wu, living on this mountain, learn that Xue’er was going to be burned alive?”

Sir Wu faltered again, a faint frown tightening between his brows.

Yin Yin pressed on, “I imagine it was your master, Jia Renyi, who told you. Of course, you could claim that Jia Renyi told Jia Qing, who then passed the message to you. But later, in Shigu Town, I randomly chose Uncle Zhang’s house to stake out, and yet Jia Renyi showed up there. Isn’t that too much of a coincidence?”

Sir Wu glanced at her, lips curling slightly. “If it wasn’t a coincidence, what do you think it was, Miss Yin?”

“There’s only one possibility.” Yin Yin said. “You told him. But Jia Renyi is a loner. He ignores everyone except his beloved disciple. Why would he pay attention to you?”

“Maybe because I’m Jia Qing’s friend?”

“There we go again.” Yin Yin narrowed her eyes. “But does Jia Qing really have a friend named Sir Wu? Or rather, does Sir Wu even exist?”

Sir Wu lowered his head, and a few low, muffled chuckles rose from his throat. “Miss Yin, you’re quite different from the rumors.”

“Oh?” Yin Yin looked intrigued. “What do the rumors say about me?”

“Unruly and wilful^[3]刁蛮任性. Extremely arrogant^[4]不可一世. Stupid^[5]蠢.”

Yin Yin: “……”

Shouldn’t it have been four-character phrases all the way through? What was that last ‘stupid’ for?!

Ling Long nodded in rare agreement. “That does sound accurate.”

Yin Yin: “……”

Wait a second. Were you the one who started those rumors?!

Sir Wu looked up again, the smile still lingering faintly in his eyes. “You’re right. I’m Jia Qing. When did you start suspecting me?”

“When I realized that so-called ‘ghost’ was actually Jia Renyi.” Yin Yin replied irritably.

Jia Qing turned to Ling Long. “You came to find me for my master, didn’t you?”

Ling Long answered, “Yes.”

“What for?”

“There are a few questions we want to ask the elder.”

Jia Qing fell silent for a while before finally saying, “I can take you to him. But whether he answers or not, I can’t guarantee.”

“We appreciate it.”

Suddenly, a loud boom exploded through the air, tearing across the sky.

A swirl of blue smoke rose outside the house, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.

Jia Qing frowned almost imperceptibly as he stared at the faint trace of blue smoke. Ling Long, however, calmly watched the dissipating mist and said to Jia Qing, “That is the contact signal of our Zhuwang. It seems there’s an urgent matter to report to me.”

“Zhuwang?” Gu Chenyan’s face turned a shade paler. She looked at Ling Long and lightly clenched her fists.

“You don’t need to worry, Miss Gu. I won’t reveal your whereabouts.” Ling Long took a few steps toward the door and pulled out a signal flare from his robe. He ignited it and fired it into the sky.

Another loud bang rang out, followed by a wisp of light purple smoke curling upward. The mountain soon returned to silence.

“You’re the leader of Zhuwang?” Jia Qing’s pitch-black pupils fixed on the faint purple in the sky.

“Yes.” Ling Long replied lightly.

“So your surname was never Ye?”

A twitch appeared at the corner of Ling Long’s eye. “It never was.”

He turned to Jia Qing and said, “May I borrow Yinyue Pavilion for a while?”

Jia Qing shot him a cold glance. “You should’ve asked me before you fired the signal.”

“Pfft!” Yin Yin couldn’t hold back her laughter. Ling Long’s gaze instantly swept toward her, and Yin Yin hurriedly covered her mouth. “That wasn’t me laughing!”

Ling Long: “……”

Everyone else: “……”

Though Jia Qing was reluctant, he still temporarily handed over Yinyue Pavilion to Ling Long.

The person who had sent the signal soon arrived. It was a woman dressed in a tight-fitting black outfit, her hair tied high behind her head. A dark brown spider was tattooed on the left side of her forehead.

Yin Yin’s eyelid twitched instinctively. If she wasn’t mistaken, this was Bai Wenwu, a senior member of Zhuwang, and one of Ling Long’s most fanatical admirers.

Thanks to the other party’s standout performance in 《All Splendor Fades》, Ling Long had been thoroughly annoyed with everyone, prompting him to embark alone on a quest to find Jia Qing.

This ‘everyone’ included Yin Yin, Du Qianqian, and even Bai Wenwu herself.

As Ling Long’s obsessive fan, Bai Wenwu had sharply sensed the subtle sparks between Ling Long and Du Qianqian. So, she staged a dramatic suicide-by-poison act.

That performance had successfully doused any sparks between Ling Long and Du Qianqian— and also left Bai Wenwu soaked from head to toe in her own tragedy.

Naturally, Yin Yin, who had watched from the sidelines and enthusiastically stirred the pot, got caught in the crossfire too.

Thinking of that, Yin Yin’s mouth twitched. She had assumed finding Jia Qing early would mean dodging Bai Wenwu’s plotline, but unexpectedly, the woman had shown up like a ghost haunting the living.

This time, if the other party pulled the suicide stunt again, Yin Yin would make sure it succeeded even if it meant dying herself!

Du Qianqian seemed to recognize Bai Wenwu too. She frowned as she looked at her.

The moment Bai Wenwu saw Ling Long, her eyes lit up. “Leader! I finally found you!”

Gu Chenyan automatically stood and made to leave the room, but as she passed Bai Wenwu, the latter blocked her path.

Bai Wenwu scrutinized Gu Chenyan for a moment, then asked, “Are you Miss Gu Chenyan?”

Gu Chenyan’s brows instinctively furrowed and she was just about to deny it when Yin Yin’s voice rang out from behind, “Nope, she’s Miss Zhao Feiyan^[6]a prominent figure in Chinese history, known for her beauty, dancing skills, and later, her role as an empress during the Han Dynasty.”

Gu Chenyan: “……”

“Zhao Feiyan?” A flicker of doubt passed through Bai Wenwu’s eyes. Then she scoffed at Yin Yin. “I’ve never heard of her.”

Yin Yin raised her eyebrows without backing down, sneering. “There are a lot of people you’ve never heard of. Ever heard of Einstein? Sherlock Holmes? That just means you’re ignorant.”

“I’m ignorant?” Bai Wenwu looked as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. “Miss Yin, what do you think Zhuwang runs on? Are you looking down on us?”

Yin Yin shook her head. “No, I just look down on you.”

Bai Wenwu: “……”

Gu Chenyan gave Yin Yin a grateful look before following Jia Qing out of Yinyue Pavilion.

Du Qianqian glanced sideways at Bai Wenwu, then also walked out.

Yin Yin had originally wanted to stay and listen in on the drama, but seeing everyone else leave, she felt awkward about staying alone. Just as she hesitated, Ling Long said to Bai Wenwu, “What’s so urgent that you had to find me?”

Yin Yin brightened inside. Does this mean I don’t have to leave? Oh yeah!

Bai Wenwu frowned at Yin Yin, who responded with a harmless smile.

Bai Wenwu’s frown deepened. Why was this woman’s face so thick-skinned?

Sang Ze tugged on Yin Yin’s sleeve. “Master, let’s sit down and listen.”

Bai Wenwu: “……”

Apparently, when it came to shamelessness, there was always someone who could take it even further.

Outside Yinyue Pavilion, Du Qianqian, who was the last to walk out, paused after a few steps— then quietly doubled back.

She held her breath and listened carefully to the sounds inside the room, but Jia Qing’s sudden voice startled her so badly that she nearly screamed.

“If you’re going to eavesdrop, come next door and eavesdrop with me.”

Du Qianqian: “……”