Chapter 31

The ghost women responsible for patrolling the Extreme Night Palace were summoned to the Yedu Ghost Dao Academy.

When the ghost woman pushed open the door, the two followers from the Fang family, who had accompanied A Jiang, had already been knocked out by Mo Lin and locked in another room by the mountain spirits. She glanced around, only seeing the respected lord, the respected lady, Yin Shan Qi, and a silver-haired woman kneeling in front of the screen with her wrist wrapped in aqi flows.

The ghost woman couldn’t help but take a few extra glances at A Jiang.

Her hair was silver.

Her skin was snow-white.

Even her long lashes trembled as they were white.

She was truly like a crystal-clear beauty, made of snowflakes.

“She’s very beautiful, isn’t she?”

Standing next to the ghost woman, Liuyu tilted her head and examined A Jiang.

The ghost woman nodded seriously, then looked at Liuyu.

She couldn’t help but smile and think:

How fortunate, seeing so many beauties in a day.

“Beautiful, beautiful—by the way, what does the respected lady want with me?”

Liuyu pointed to the snow-white beauty who was obediently bound, her eyes narrowing in a smile.

“Of course, because of her. She’s a spy sent by the Jade-faced Spider.”

The ghost woman’s smile instantly froze.

…What?

“Among the world’s jade stones, there are three categories: Divine jade, Royal jade, and Common jade.”

Yin Shan Qi twisted the rope of the jade pendant around his fingers, playing with it through the sunlight.

“She claims to have no particular talent and does some miscellaneous work for a living, yet she carries such high-quality divine jade with her. Either she stole it, or this divine jade is nothing special to her. That’s why she carelessly wore it and appeared before us.”

Within the Nine Underworlds, only Yushan produces jade.

And now, the one in control of Yushan is the Jade-faced Spider, Yuantian.

Mo Li’s eyes darkened as he stared at the snow-white figure:

“Or perhaps, this in itself is one of the traps.”

Yin Shan Qi nodded slightly, agreeing that it was possible.

“That’s why the Ghost Lady should conduct the interrogation,” Liuyu circled behind the Ghost Lady and patted her on the shoulder, “I heard that among the Twelve Masks, you’re skilled in criminal law and interrogation. You can handle the task of questioning her.”

The Ghost Lady grimaced as she squatted down, hugging her knees in front of Ajiang.

“Are you really a spy?”

Ajiang pursed her crimson lips and seemed somewhat apologetic as she said:

“Sorry, I’ve caused trouble for everyone.”

The Ghost Lady: “…Lord and Lady! No spy would be this polite!”

This was also why Liuyu didn’t want to conduct the interrogation herself.

When Mo Li exposed her, Ajiang didn’t show much panic, only blanking out for a moment, and then she accepted the revelation of her identity without struggle, lowering her head, waiting for death to come.

This was not a normal reaction.

Even ants have the will to survive, no matter how weak, how could someone accept death so easily without a fight?

In the end, the Ghost Lady chose the mildest method of interrogation.

She used ten ghost worms, as thin as red threads, to pierce Ajiang’s fingertips.

The ghost worms merged with her blood, and under the Ghost Lady’s control, flowed into her heart, while the blood threads extending from them were bound by the Ghost Lady’s fingers, like a doctor feeling for a pulse.

“The next questions I ask, if you answer truthfully, you’ll feel no pain. But if you speak falsehoods, the Heartworm will gnaw at your heart, making you wish you were dead—Little lady, think carefully before you answer.”

Ajiang’s light-colored pupils widened slightly, not out of fear, but simply because of the Ghost Lady’s Heartworm technique.

“Are you a spy sent by the Jade-faced Spider?”

“Yes.”

“What was the plan he sent you with?”

Ajiang’s beautiful eyes landed on Mo Li.

“Lord Yuantian hoped I would gain the favor of the demon Mo Li and sow discord between him and Yin Shan Liuyu.”

After a pause, she looked at Liuyu and said:

“Sorry.”

Liuyu wasn’t angry, instead, she seemed intrigued by the apology.

“You’re trying to seduce my husband, and you think just saying sorry will fix everything?”

Liuyu bent down, folding her arms and tilting her head as she examined Ajiang’s pale, shallow eyes. She couldn’t help but say:

“At least, you should offer a pair of eyes to show sincerity.”

Ajiang’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, but she still lowered her gaze and spoke gently:

“Alright, sorry.”

Liuyu let out a soft laugh.

She turned back to Mo Li, pointing at Ajiang:

“She actually said sorry, truly… “

Before she could finish the word “cute,” she met Mo Li’s cold, dark gaze.

“Cute?”

“You think she’s cute?”

Liuyu’s eyes shifted, and she pretended not to notice the displeasure in his eyes. She turned back and said:

“Aside from that? He should know something about Mo Li, if seduction were effective, he wouldn’t have waited until now. There must be a backup plan, right?”

Ajiang shook her head.

Liuyu pressed:

“You must speak.”

Ajiang answered honestly:

“There is no backup plan.”

The Heartworm showed no reaction. She was telling the truth.

Yin Shan Qi, who had hoped to hear a clever plan, was disappointed, shaking his fan with a sigh:

“So, you were just sent here to die without any other plan?”

Ajiang gently pursed her lips.

“I am lowly, a concubine of Yushan, of no importance to Lord Yuantian.”

Upon hearing this, Yin Shan Qi carefully observed her, and with a hint of meaning, he remarked:

“So, you’re the Jade-faced Spider’s woman.”

Ajiang slowly repeated, her words deliberate:

“I am a concubine of Yushan.”

She said Yushan.

Not just the Jade-faced Spider alone.

Liuyu and the Ghost Lady exchanged looks, the smile on their faces faltering slightly.

“…If I remember correctly, the Nine Underworlds explicitly forbids brothels.”

Liuyu looked towards Mo Li.

Since the establishment of the Nine Underworlds, many laws and regulations had been hastily created, but one rule had left a deep impression on Liuyu since her past life.

—The Nine Underworlds prohibits any form of brothels or covert prostitution.

Even in the self-proclaimed cultured and literate Great Zhao, places of pleasure were plentiful, and Liuyu, raised in a noble family, had seen many so-called scholars and elites who treated brothels as a matter of refined taste.

But the Nine Underworlds had set this law to regulate demons, beings who followed their instincts, and enforcing it was not an easy task.

“Though the decree was made, its execution depends on whether the people below are diligent enough—”

Mo Li lifted his eyelids slightly, his cold, iron-like gaze falling on Ajiang.

“The Twelve Masks have been infiltrated by the Jade-faced Spider, so there must be a thorough cleansing from the top down to break their power.”

“Did you already notice?” Liuyu asked.

Mo Li nodded:

“Eliminating the Jade-faced Spider is easy, but if we don’t cut off the support he has from behind the scenes, it will only be cutting the grass without removing the roots.”

In those few words, Liuyu understood.

The day she had removed the puppet-man-faced spider disguised as Green Pearl, Mo Li had immediately proposed to rearrange the sequence of the Twelve Masks.

So… at that moment, Mo Li had already concluded that the one behind supporting the Jade-faced Spider was not her.

And had decided to begin cleansing the ranks of the Twelve Masks.

Liuyu recalled carefully.

Actually, news of internal changes in the Twelve Masks had reached her in her past life as well.

But Chaoyan had investigated, and found nothing unusual, thinking it was just a normal personnel change.

Liuyu looked at Mo Li, her gaze deepening slightly.

“—To be honest, did you already know that my third uncle is behind the Jade-faced Spider?”

Yinshan Qi’s hand, which was shaking the knife fan, paused.

He widened his eyes, staring in disbelief at his niece who suddenly betrayed him.

“You say this now!”

Even if he didn’t know before, he knew now!

The ghost woman also looked at Yinshan Qi in shock.

—So, this handsome uncle with thick eyebrows and big eyes, turns out to be a spy!

Unexpectedly, Liuyu suddenly brought up this topic. Mo Lin slowly looked at her and reminded her:

“…Now that your third uncle is hiding in the Nine Underworld, there are some things you shouldn’t let me know.”

As expected.

He had always known.

That’s why in his past life, he was so cautious and low-key while clearing the Twelve Nuo Gods.

When he was gradually dismantling the Jade-faced Spider’s influence, he was probably also carefully avoiding her eyes in the Nine Underworld.

What did he think she wanted?

Liuyu considered Mo Lin’s thoughts from his past life, and a small sigh echoed in the cracks of her heart.

On one hand, he thought she wanted his life, guarding against her with extreme caution.

On the other hand, he was willing to expend all his energy to avenge her.

Underneath his silent and reserved exterior, was his mind twisted in knots, right?

Suppressing these stray thoughts, Liuyu raised her eyes and cast a cold, indifferent glance at Yinshan Qi:

“Someone who only betrays his own family like this, should be removed from the protection of the family and beaten up by the harsh world—fortunately, I’ve always felt that the Ghost Dao Academy lacks a teacher to teach the Four Books, Five Classics, and Six Arts. Third Uncle, it’s your job now.”

Because he disliked demons and ghosts, Yinshan Qi had almost never shown his face in Colorless City, and the demons and ghosts did not recognize his identity.

Clang.

The knife fan in Yinshan Qi’s hand dropped in shock.

“I won’t do it!”

Just thinking about those demons with three heads and six arms, Yinshan Qi decisively rejected it.

“Forget your mother, but you’re just a little girl. You want to command your third uncle, you’re too young—”

Liuyu interrupted him with a bright smile, her eyes curved:

“The property you own in Taiping City? General Wuzhi has moved it all to my treasury.”

Yinshan Qi suddenly went silent, as if someone had grabbed his throat.

“And, considering your actions of betraying the family and colluding with external enemies, father said to cut off your monthly allowance and let you figure out how to support yourself.”

Yinshan Qi could no longer maintain his image as a suave young master and exploded in rage:

“Are you kidding me! Since I was born, the family fortune I can inherit would last ten lifetimes. I don’t know what it feels like to be short of money!”

“Then you’ll soon know,” Liuyu said indifferently.

“Um—”

The ghost woman suddenly spoke up, pointing to the silver-haired woman next to her who was watching the scene unfold, and reminded:

“Master, Your Majesty, you haven’t said how you’re going to deal with this young lady.”

Ajiang snapped back to reality from the mention of the “Four Books, Five Classics, and Six Arts.”

Her wandering thoughts were pulled back to the present, and she quickly returned to calm.

She lowered her long lashes, waiting for the two esteemed individuals at the head of the table to announce the end of her life.

“As for disposal…”

Ajiang looked at the beautiful noblewoman squatting before her. With her jade-like fingertips, she tapped Ajiang’s cheek.

Suddenly, Ajiang smiled brilliantly like a sun.

“I haven’t finished teaching you the Nuo dance yet, I can’t let you die just like this.”

---

Liuyu had assigned the task of supervising Ajiang to Chaoming.

“…She broke the Nine Underworld’s taboo, it’s impossible to return her to Jade Mountain, but her crime doesn’t warrant death. After all, she’s really stupid, and she hasn’t even done any harm yet. If we send her away now, and the Jade-faced Spider replaces her with a smarter one, it would be a loss. So, you’ll monitor her every move until the Ghost Drama Immortal Ritual.”

Chaoming’s gaze swept over the silver-haired woman’s docile face.

After a long pause, he suppressed the shock when he heard she was a concubine of Jade Mountain’s king and asked Liuyu:

“Why until after the Ghost Drama Immortal Ritual?”

“Of course, because the Jade-faced Spider won’t survive the Ghost Drama Immortal Ritual,” Liuyu said, flipping the heavy ritual staff in her hand. The dozens of bells wrapped around the ebony staff jingled softly.

“Previously… cough cough, it was because my third uncle, this troublemaker, got in the way, causing the Jade-faced Spider to live so many extra years. He’s done enough now. This time, during the Ghost Drama Immortal Ritual, twelve Nuo Gods will be selected. He will definitely make an appearance. If we don’t deal with him now, how much longer are we supposed to wait?”

Thinking of the Green Pearl who died at the hands of the Jade-faced Spider, Chaoming nodded.

But what did “letting the Jade-faced Spider live for so many more years” mean?

Hadn’t they only been in the Nine Underworld for less than two months?

Chaoming had doubts but didn’t care too much. His gaze instinctively moved toward Ajiang.

When he looked, he realized that the woman who had been teaching Liuyu Nuo dance movements had already left her original spot.

“—What are you doing?”

Hearing the young man’s voice behind her, the woman pressed against the window turned around.

Chaoming had originally meant to warn her not to run around, but upon meeting his stern gaze, Ajiang only made a shushing gesture.

Inside the study, Yinshan Qi’s voice came with a hint of lazy disinterest:

“In the wild, there’s creeping grass, with morning dew glistening. A beautiful person appears, pure and gentle…”

After hearing the poem that Yinshan Qi was reciting, Chaoming silently rolled his eyes.

“Third Master is truly unreliable. When asked to teach demons and ghosts how to read and write, instead of starting with the basics, he’s teaching them to recite these love poems…”

“Really beautiful,” Ajiang sighed sincerely.

The demon with an otherworldly beauty raised her head. Beneath her snowy long lashes, her pale eyes were like jade, clear and translucent.

She gazed at Chaoming earnestly and said, “Your human poetry is really beautiful.”

Chaoming was stunned.

From the study, the sound of demons and ghosts reciting poetry came.

“In the wild, there’s creeping grass, with morning dew glistening… Encountering, it is my wish…”

Zhaoming avoided making eye contact with Ahjiang, clearing his throat before speaking:

“…It’s not ‘you human race,’ as the young lady said, the demons and humans share half of the same bloodline. The poetry of humans is also the poetry of demons.”

Ahjiang looked toward the young lady in the courtyard.

Whether it was the demons from the Extreme Night Palace or the noble ladies from the celestial families… it seemed different from what she had imagined.

Suddenly, a figure dropped from the eaves.

“—Didn’t you say you hate demons?”

Zhaoming was startled by the sudden appearance of Chaoyan.

“I’ve told you, I don’t hate demons!”

“Your face is so red.”

“You’ve been hanging upside down too long, you’re dizzy!”

“Mm-hmm.”

“…No more ‘mm-hmm’! You’re just being dismissive!”

“Oh, oh.”

“So annoying! I’m not talking to you today!”

Ahjiang’s gaze shifted between the two of them.

…They look so alike!

The ritual staff made a soft rustling sound.

By the time they finished practicing the Nuo dance, it was evening.

The maidservants, knowing that Liu Yu had been busy with the affairs of the Ghost Path Academy, brought all the necessary items for bathing, allowing her to relax and soak for half an hour.

After bathing, Liu Yu was stopped on her way back to her room by Yinshan Qi.

“Scholar Yinshan Qi, one lesson from me is worth a thousand gold coins. Pay up.”

Liu Yu curled her lips. “How dare you ask your niece for money, uncle?”

The young man in red raised his chin proudly.

“I don’t need such mundane things — but my little bird can’t eat cheap bird food.”

Liu Yu looked up at the pair of winged birds fluttering gracefully under the moonlight.

Still calling them little birds.

They were almost fed into fat chickens.

“Fine.”

Liu Yu called for the maidservants.

“Since you don’t have any savings, I’ll advance you a month’s allowance — don’t thank me too much. After all, I’m not a bad person, I won’t really let Third Uncle starve.”

Yinshan Qi looked at the gold piece that Liu Yu handed him.

Gold.

But only the size of a pinky nail.

This was supposed to be his allowance for a month!?

Back in her room, Liu Yu couldn’t help but laugh when she remembered the expression on Yinshan Qi’s face just now.

“…Third Uncle really has been living too well. The Ghost Path Academy provides food and lodging, and that money could not only support him and his fat bird but could easily support a family of four generations…”

There was still some residual moisture in her hair. Liuyu lay on the pillow, letting her hair dry.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mo Lin saw her, holding a report in one hand while the other hand gently ran through her hair.

As his fingers threaded through her thick, long hair, warmth radiated through his palm.

…So the Wuliang Ghost Fire has this use as well.

Hopefully, he wouldn’t make a mistake and burn her hair.

But in fact, Liuyu felt drowsy, lulled by the perfect amount of warmth.

Mo Lin didn’t respond but said:

“The woman sent by the Jade-Faced Spider, you shouldn’t keep her around.”

“Did you notice anything strange about her?”

“…No.”

He had checked. Although Ahjiang was a demon, her demonic energy within her Qi Sea was extremely thin, making her one of the weakest of the battle-ready demons, and apart from that, there was nothing particularly special about her.

“But she’s still an enemy. You’re too soft-hearted.”

Liuyu turned over.

She suddenly smiled mysteriously:

“Soft-hearted? You haven’t seen me when my heart is as hard as iron.”

Mo Li slightly lifted his eyelids, not entirely believing her words.

“For example?”

Liuyu propped her chin and said: “For example—if I tore up our binding contract and teamed up with the Jade-Faced Spider to escape back to Yujing from the Nine Netherworld?”

“…………”

The world before him seemed to darken for a moment.

Liuyu was slightly confused, and her trembling lashes brushed against his palm.

For a while, she seemed to hear something squirming in the darkness.

Then, Liuyu felt cold, soft things gradually winding up from her feet, gently pulling her toward the demon’s arms beside her with a soft but firm force.

“…Mo Lin!”

Seeing him becoming more forward, Liuyu couldn’t bear it anymore and called his name.

“I’m here.”

In the pitch-black surroundings, his barely restrained anger and gloom became clearer.

“Weren’t you just saying your heart was as hard as iron?”

“Lying… it’s clearly soft.”