Chapter 13

A late spring cold front delayed the blooming of the mountain cherries outside the Lingyong Academy this year.

Today was the day the results of the spring exams were posted, and the students of the academy arrived early, crowding around the notice board.

Some were full of pride and satisfaction, some hung their heads in disappointment, and others, noticing a white-feathered peacock carriage with a suspended glass lantern parked outside, nudged their companions beside them.

“The people of the Jiu Fang family have arrived.”

The jade capital’s celestial noble family, with their unique banners and carriage livery, all bore unmistakable marks of prestige. The carriage itself was a testament to elegance.

The white-feathered peacock pulling the carriage had magnificent, unblemished wings that shone like a celestial mount under the sun, fluttering gracefully, embodying a sense of noble sophistication.

By comparison, the steeds in her own household appeared to be nothing more than common sparrows.

“Young Master Zhang Hua!” Someone, recognizing the figure stepping out of the carriage, said enthusiastically, “Today, in the public exam, the top fifty included eight from the Jiu Fang family, and Young Master ranked fifth. Congratulations!”

The young man, holding a Mengzong bamboo umbrella, raised its edge slightly to reveal his pale, distant gaze like that of a far-off mountain.

His moon-white robes billowed in the wind, and he gave a slight nod toward the person speaking, his posture resembling a crane bowing its head in modesty, a gesture that was elegant yet carried an air of aloofness that made him seem unattainable.

Several pairs of eyes from the crowd observed with a hint of sarcasm:

“I heard that Yinshan Liuyu got married recently, yet Jiu Fang Zhang Hua still performed so well?”

“The eldest son of the Jiu Fang family is naturally calm in all circumstances, even when facing a collapsing mountain, his expression doesn’t change.”

“This doesn’t make sense—how could there be a collapsing mountain when the flowers are blooming and the moon is full? The joy of the bridal feast should be full of excitement, not gloomy…”

Jiu Fang Zhang Hua halted at the palace gates.

The bamboo forest swirled, and a gust of energy stirred the air. For a moment, he was lost in thought, unaware that the silk umbrella in his hand had been swept away by the gust beyond the palace’s dark tiles.

The crowd’s attention turned to the three women approaching the long stairs.

“I wondered why the air smelled so foul, turns out it’s the Third Young Master of the Zong family speaking,” said a young girl in red, her phoenix eyes slightly narrowed as she looked on with a trace of disdain.

“Being from the culinary Zong family and trying to force their way into the Lingyong Academy—such a commoner’s taste,” she added sharply.

The Zong family hailed from the royal kitchen and had risen in prestige thanks to two of their members attaining the eighth level of cultivation. It was only recently that they had joined the ranks of noble families and changed their surname to Zongzheng, gaining a brief period of prominence.

The third son of the Zong family’s face turned pale with anger, but he dared not respond.

It wasn’t fear of her; it was fear of the young lady standing next to her in purple robes—a noblewoman from the Zhongli family.

That was the Fourth Miss of the Zhongli family, Zhongli Lingzhao.

Someone in the crowd glanced at the list displayed further back.

Zhongli Lingzhao had taken first place in the spring examination.

“I just heard someone mention the name Yinshan Liuyu?” The young girl’s voice, as soft as falling snow, froze the entire area.

The several scholars who had been talking behind her just moments ago turned pale and began sweating profusely.

In the Lingyong Academy, everyone knew that Zhongli Lingzhao and Yinshan Liuyu were sworn rivals.

Zhongli Lingzhao had entered the academy three years before Liuyu.

Back then, she was the favorite student of the academy’s headmaster, winning first place in every major exam—spring, summer, autumn, and winter. She was even the most sought-after figure by noble families.

However, all that changed the year Yinshan Liuyu joined the academy.

Since then, no matter what she did, Zhongli Lingzhao was always relegated to second place.

Zhongli Lingzhao stopped at the spring examination board.

Her eyes, cold like frost, stared at the first-place position for a long time, until the layer of coldness in her gaze seemed to slowly dissipate, easing the chill in her demeanor.

“Zhang Hua,” her eyes settled on his tall, slender figure. “I heard that Jiu Fang Xinglan is absent from this exam because he’s going to the Nine Nether Jade Mountain on a business trip—might you be attending the wedding and meeting Yinshan Liuyu’s husband?”

The crowd exchanged glances.

“Jiu Fang Xinglan went to the Nine Nether?”

“No wonder he was so fortunate to skip the spring exam!”

“Hiss—could it be that Zhang Hua sent him there…”

Amidst the murmurs, Jiu Fang Zhang Hua furrowed his brows slightly.

The news of Jiu Fang Xinglan going to the Nine Nether was not confidential, but it was highly guarded. No young person would know of it unless—

Zhongli Lingzhao had recently been added to the list of candidates to become the next family head, making her qualified to compete with her older sisters.

She was here to flaunt that fact.

“Zhang Hua believes that, with the Zhongli family’s cultivation, Miss Lingzhao would never strike someone when they’re down,” Jiu Fang Zhang Hua remarked smoothly.

Zhongli Lingzhao gazed at his narrow, beautiful eyes.

The long, dense lashes cast a faint shadow beneath his eyes. His usually gentle and polite demeanor toward fellow students seemed cold and detached in this moment.

She gave a faint smile:

“Not to others, but to Yinshan Liuyu, I can’t say the same.”

Her pale purple skirt swirled as she walked down the long steps, the beads on her skirt reflecting a subtle dark shimmer as she moved.

She passed Jiu Fang Zhang Hua without a word, heading toward the nearby flower garden, her gaze dropping to the budding golden thread jade flowers.

“However, you’re right—marrying a slave-born demon and living among a group of monstrous creatures, even if she returns to the immortal capital, Jade Capital, those noble families who once treated Yinshan Liuyu with respect will no longer see her as the same person.”

“Falling so low, it truly makes one hesitate to kick her further.”

Zhongli Lingzhao let go of the jade flower she had been holding and turned to look back at the distant figure standing by the long stairs.

“And you?” she asked.

A layer of spiritual energy surrounded them, isolating their conversation from the outside world.

Her voice lowered, but it felt as sharp as a blade, cutting through his soft, polite façade.

“The things you’ve been doing behind the scenes, every move has pushed Yinshan Liuyu to the edge. You’re forcing her to die, and yet you still remind me not to add insult to injury? Jiu Fang Zhang Hua, what are you thinking?”

Jiu Fang Zhang Hua abruptly lifted his gaze.

Beneath the shattered mask of his composure, emotions—dark and complex—began to swirl.

“…In everything, family interests come first. Since you know Jiu Fang Xinglan’s whereabouts, didn’t your elders tell you this?”

Zhong Li Lingzhao fixed her gaze on him.

She didn’t say anything further, withdrawing the aura around her body. As she left, she glanced at the golden-threaded jade that had been carefully nurtured day and night in the flowerbed by Jiu Fang Zhang Hua.

Dewdrops clung to the tender branches, and the buds hid in the deep green, waiting to bloom in a few months at their peak beauty.

But what about the person who used to be compared to a flower?

Zhong Li Lingzhao pulled at the corner of her lips.

It was almost ironic.

Liuyu found herself trapped in a nightmare once again.

She dreamt that she stood on the edge of a cliff where mountains and seas met. A waterfall cascaded from the steep cliffs, swept up by the strong winds from the sea, causing the waterfall to flow upwards. The water splashed like swirling mist.

At the end of the mountains and sea, the sky was torn open with a massive crack, and black-red lava stirred behind the gate to the heavens, as if it could pour into the human world at any moment, swallowing everything.

— This was the Battle of the Heavenly Gate.

The great gate of the heavens cracked open, and evil demons sought to descend upon the human world, bringing back the darkness of the years before Zhaoye Yuan.

The celestial clans gathered at Yashan, working together. Though they encountered many setbacks, they ultimately sealed the Heavenly Gate again, preventing a disaster that could destroy the world.

And the disturbance that nearly caused the battle to fail was the betrayal of Yinshan Ze.

The waterfall reversed, and the mist-like splashes flowed.

Liuyu saw a blood-red figure pulling out a blade and cutting off the water, then striking a sword through the formation’s heart. The entire Yashan trembled.

She also saw, just as the Heavenly Gate was about to fully open, and the formation was about to collapse, a figure in moon-white robes emerging from the chaos like a cold blade unsheathed. The sword energy scattered like rain, and in an instant, it subdued the source of all chaos—

Elegant Sword Technique, Ninth Style, Jade Attack.

Jiu Fang Zhang Hua used the sword gifted to him by Yinshan Ze when he was young, and personally pierced his master’s heart.

Perhaps because she had imagined this scene in her mind too many times, Liuyu, though not present at the scene, felt that everything was vividly real.

The sound of the sword piercing flesh.

The expression of the person when the blood splashed on his face.

What went wrong? Liuyu couldn’t understand.

But her parents lay in a pool of blood, and those old, talkative, and stubborn elders from the Yinshan family had all died in the celestial clan’s siege.

No one explained to her.

No one told her what path to take next.

She had made one mistake, and lost Tan Ning. She had caused the death of Liu Niang.

How could she make it right? How could she save Tan Ning?

Liuyu stood in the mist of the nightmare, unable to see any direction, only feeling the breath of death closing in.

— She couldn’t die.

Her father could not have conspired with the demons.

She would not allow the Yinshan family to die unjustly, and she would not allow herself to die before her enemies.

Liuyu’s breathing became erratic, struggling like someone drowning.

“Liuyu.”

A deep voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

“Liuyu, wake up.”

The floating figure in the mist seemed to press against a solid stone wall, giving her soul the feeling of stability.

Liuyu slowly opened her eyes, realizing that it was already dawn outside.

But the light wasn’t blinding, because it seemed she was being held by someone, and all she could see was the scarred, thin skin under her forehead, pressed against it, soft yet firm.

Liuyu’s consciousness returned, slowly raising her head and meeting a cold, slightly flushed face.

“Your face… who did this?”

“What do you think?”

Mo Lin, woken by a slap, looked a little drowsy. As he lowered his gaze, he noticed the tear-streaked face of the girl in his arms, her eyes slightly red, no longer showing her usual arrogance and pride. Instead, she reminded him of the stubborn look she had on their wedding night, when she had endured the pain but insisted on taking the initiative.

The dissatisfaction from being woken up quickly dissipated.

He glanced at the wet clothing on her, then asked:

“What did you dream of? Why were you slapping… and crying?”

Liuyu looked down and realized, for some reason, that she had once again ended up in Mo Li’s arms. Not only was she holding onto him tightly with her hands and feet, but she was also crying on his chest, soaking his clothes.

… This was just bizarre.

She never used to act like this.

Let alone sleep in his arms, she was usually the kind to want him to go back to his room after he was done with her.

Liuyu composed herself and stood up, quickly covering up her slight panic and turning the situation around:

“I dreamt of being tangled by a snake, it scared me. You should reflect on it.”

Mo Lin: “…”

It was an excuse she casually made up, but after saying it, Liuyu noticed his dark gaze, as if he had actually taken her words seriously. She then leaned closer, tilting her head to look at him.

“I was just kidding, did you really believe that?”

“It has nothing to do with you. I just had a bad dream.”

Mo Lin lifted his eyelids, staring deeply into her eyes.

If she really hated herself to the point of having nightmares, then perhaps… splitting up wouldn’t be…

The words got stuck in his throat, and no matter what, he couldn’t bring himself to say them.

Fortunately, Liuyu didn’t give him the chance to speak. She quickly got out of bed and called the maid to come in and help her with grooming.

Breakfast was quickly brought in.

“This is today’s jade cicada soup, lotus fish dumplings, honey-fried kumquats, and mountain-sea wraps…”

Chao Ming reported the dishes while handing over the documents.

“This is from Liu Niang. She sent what you wanted.”

Calculating the time, it had been less than three days.

Liu Niang was indeed trained by her mother. Her efficiency was impressive.

Mo Lin glanced at the documents: “The roster?”

“It’s the list of Yinshan family’s outposts near the Demon and Ghost Great Wall.”

It was a confidential piece of information, laid out on the table. From Mo Lin’s position, he could easily read it with just a glance.

She seemed to really trust him.

Realizing this, Mo Lin tightened his grip on the chopsticks, a sense of unease rising within him.

…Why?

Yinshan Liuyu was confident and proud, never someone who would easily give her trust.

Yet, she was unguarded around him.

Even in their cooperation, based on her usual way of doing things, she would speak seventy percent and act fifty percent, always leaving room for herself.

Mo Lin watched as the girl focused on flipping through the roster, his emotions rising, turning into an unspoken, deep, and greedy desire.

If she had never looked him in the eye, that would have been one thing.

But now, bit by bit, she kept indulging him. Eventually, his ambitions would grow larger and larger.

Liuyu didn’t notice his scrutiny. Her gaze wandered, scanning the detailed information on each stronghold.

If Dazhao wanted to infiltrate the Nine Netherworlds, they would have to go through the Demon Wall. The Yinshan family’s business spread across Dazhao, and no matter which family took action near the Demon Wall, the surrounding strongholds would sense any movements.

By contacting the strongholds and cutting off these external infiltrating forces, she could ensure her control over the Nine Netherworlds and, in turn, infiltrate Dazhao.

Suddenly.

Liuyu’s gaze landed on a familiar name.

Yan Wushu.

Liuyu picked up a piece of pig’s hoof from Mo Lin’s soup, raising her brow as she suddenly remembered where she had heard that name before.

…Wasn’t this the unlucky person from her past life, who had come to kill her, only to be bitten to death by her?