Chapter 84

Setting off from the Northern Wastelands and Nine Netherworlds, the journey followed the Redwater River through the western territories, crossing the snow-covered Sui Mountain. The biting cold was finally dispelled by the moist, gentle air from the south. There were still three days until New Year’s Eve, but the breeze already carried the scent of grass growing, orioles flying, and spring ice melting.

From the hillside, Chaoming, who was seated cross-legged on the top of the carriage, faintly saw the city of Xiandu Yujing in the sunset.

“—Third Master’s Guo Huo bird has been raised really well, we haven’t even rested much along the way, yet it’s flying so fast. At this rate, we’ll be able to enter the city by tomorrow morning.”

Chaoyuan leaned on the window, her braids swaying in the wind from her homeland.

The ghostly woman gazed into the distance, her eyes slightly widening.

“Wow—such a large city, you can’t even see the end of it! What are those sparkling things? Are they the tiles on the palaces?”

“Just the fire jade and cold-resistant rhinoceros,” Yinshan Qi said, covering his lips with a fan as he yawned, “During the winter’s cold, both the nobles and common people use these items embedded in the rooftops, so that their interiors remain warm.”

Hua Lian from the Xiangli family, who had never traveled this far, immediately put down her pestle and peered outside after hearing this.

“Truly worthy of the Xiandu Yujing, even the common people’s homes are so luxurious.”

“It’s not the common people’s luxury,” Mu Cangshui, who was focused on embroidering a shoe, said without raising his head. “The truly poor can’t even enter this prosperous city. If you look carefully at the city’s corners, those too are part of Yujing.”

The mountain demon and Lan Zhu carefully examined and indeed spotted some low, old houses at the edge of the city, beneath the dazzling palaces and towers.

These houses were hidden under the grand structures, like a small, insignificant stain.

“I wonder how Yue Niang is doing with the Zhongli family,” Yin Lanruo said with a slight sigh, worry in her voice.

“She’s so young, alone in the enemy camp—she must be terrified,” she added.

“You’re overthinking it,” Fang Fucang moved closer to Yin Lanruo without any change in expression. “When Yue Niang could chase all the way from Taiping City to Extreme Night Palace alone, with such courage, I think you should worry less about her being afraid and more about whether she might defect…”

Yin Lanruo tilted her head and smiled slightly at him.

“To be so indifferent towards a disciple you raised yourself, no wonder you haven’t cared for Manman all these years.”

Manman was the nickname of their daughter.

Fang Fucang’s hand was almost resting on Yin Lanruo’s shoulder. Hearing this, he froze for a moment.

“Don’t wrongly accuse me, I send back most of my salary every month and even bought gifts for Manman, but you don’t accept any of it, how can I care for you…”

The carriage ahead stopped, and Chaoming’s voice could be heard calling out to the maidservants and ghost attendants to set up camp for the night.

Yin Lanruo couldn’t be bothered with him and elegantly stepped down from the carriage.

The dark golden sun sank in the west, and the moon climbed the branches.

With only half a day’s journey left to Xiandu Yujing, after having a light supper, everyone gathered by the campfire to chat.

Whether it was the maidservants around Liuyu or the ghost attendants and the Twelve Masks of Nine Nether in the guard team, everyone appeared relaxed and cheerful after the long journey, knowing they were almost at their destination.

Liuyu watched as Chaoming brought out a large box.

“What’s that?”

“It’s new clothes for the ghost attendants and the Twelve Masks of Nine Nether that I had the embroiderers prepare for tomorrow’s entry into the city,” Chaoming said, waving her hand for the maidservants to unfurl the clothes for everyone to see.

“These are all designs I personally worked on, and I picked the materials myself. They maintain the vibrant red and green, gold and silver style that’s popular in Nine Nether, but without being too tacky. Even the rain cloaks on these ghost attendants, although they seem simple, are carefully selected from nine types of rain grass. The red threads used to sew the copper coins on them are top-quality silk—”

“I have just one question,” Liuyu squinted, “Where did you get the money for this?”

Chaoming nervously glanced toward Mo Lin’s direction.

Meeting Liuyu’s displeased look, Mo Lin shifted his gaze.

“First respect the clothing, then respect the person. Isn’t this something you Xiandu Yujing people like?” he said.

“And this is the first time the Empress has returned home. We can’t let the brothers of Nine Nether be dressed in ragged clothes and embarrass the Empress. We have to let the people of Xiandu Yujing know that the Empress did not suffer after marrying into Nine Nether—right, Your Excellency?”

Lan Zhu turned around and saw Mo Lin staring at him expressionlessly.

“Got a big mouth now, huh?”

After a brief pause, Liuyu chuckled lightly, about to say something, when she suddenly sensed a subtle shift in the winter night’s cold wind.

Both Liuyu and Mo Lin’s expressions changed simultaneously.

Behind them, the sound of Fang Fucang and Chaoyuan unsheathing their blades could be heard.

Fang Fucang’s deep voice rang out, “Everyone, be on alert—”

“It’s a group of refugees,” Yinshan Qi, who had leapt to a nearby tall tree, said, furrowing his brow.

“I estimate at least a thousand people, with a leader, and they’re armed—but this place is only a hundred miles from Wuying Mountain. Beyond Wuying Mountain is Xiandu Yujing. So close, how could there be so many refugees?”

The maidservants and ghost attendants, who had been relaxed around the campfire, immediately arranged themselves into formation, preparing for a possible confrontation.

Liuyu scanned the surroundings.

They had chosen to strike now, when they were most relaxed and just about to reach Yujing. The opponents must have come prepared.

But… refugees?

Liuyu had seen countless refugees during her past wanderings and knew that many displaced by the aristocratic families would rise up and form their own power, independent of the aristocracies and demons.

This power, as far as Liuyu knows, is secretly loyal to someone in the central plains royal capital, the young emperor—Murong Chi.

In her past life, after the deaths of Liu Niang and the generals Chaoyuan and Chaoming, Liuyu had once sought the young emperor’s help. She was able to escape several times from the combined attacks of the aristocratic families thanks to the covert assistance of the refugee army.

This secret faction loyal to the young emperor, unknown to most of the aristocracy, had another little-known name—Xuanwu Chan.

“Wait a minute.”

Liuyu glanced at Mo Lin.

He had seen Xuanwu Chan’s figure in her memories, and understood her hesitation.

“Perhaps they’re not here to ambush us, but to help…”

The sound of crossbow strings snapping cut through the night snow, and the cold light sliced through the heavy darkness. The figures of Fang Fuchang and Chaoyuan emerged swiftly. Their powerful dual blades and fluid, decisive swordsmanship formed a solid shield, instantly blocking the first wave of arrows.

A wounded soul bird cried as it landed on the young man’s shoulder, as if cheering for him.

Yin Shanqi looked at Liuyu and asked, “Help? Help who?”

Liuyu swallowed the words she hadn’t finished saying.

She had misjudged.

But these refugee troops couldn’t have appeared here by chance, randomly choosing them.

Was it the Jiufang family? Or the Zhongli family?

Considering the letters sent to the various aristocratic families in Xian Du Yujing, they should have reacted to her return by now.

The pure killing intent from the enemy was too obvious, and Liuyu no longer hesitated. She prepared to be fully alert for the incoming attack.

Over a thousand men.

Their side had only about five hundred people. They weren’t sure about the enemy’s top fighters, but if they were indeed well-prepared, it would likely be a tough battle.

But the ghost flames in Mo Lin’s palm flickered for a moment and suddenly extinguished.

The cold wind on the mountain peak was fierce. He looked toward Xian Du Yujing, released his senses, and carefully probed the aura of the newcomers.

“Another group of people is coming,” he said, his emerald eyes fixed on that direction. “But they have no hostile intent.”

Not just no hostile intent.

Liuyu quickly realized that this group of people was actually fighting with the refugee army!

The twelve divine masks, who had been preparing for battle, now watched the situation unfold with interest.

“Wait a minute,” Liuyu narrowed her eyes and carefully distinguished in the night, “This looks like… two groups of people?”

The Qi flow below the mountain collided, sending ripples through the air.

One group was fighting head-on with the refugee army, while the other group was clearly arranged in formation, not like ordinary aristocratic soldiers, but more like—

“Shentu Xiang?”

Mo Lin nodded. “It should be them.”

Chaoming asked, “Does the head of the Shentu family still not know that Miss Liuyu and Ji Mo Gui are the same person?”

“That’s right.”

Mo Lin looked at the chaotic battle below and said, “Shentu Xiang only knows that the person supplying food to his people is Ji Mo Gui. He insisted on meeting with you in person to confirm your stance and decide how much to rely on you.”

Liuyu twirled her finger around the sword pin, saying:

“Anything that enters my pocket, is it up to him to hold back?”

All of the world’s magical tools, the finest tricks, come from the Shentu family’s workshop.

Even if one day the Zhongli family and the Shentu family break their alliance and stop supplying key magical secrets, the large stock of magical tools in his workshop will still be a support for the cultivators on Liuyu’s side.

The battle below the mountain ended after two hours.

Liuyu, calm and collected, watched as familiar soldiers from a distant past approached her.

The young woman leading the troops wore a mismatched fog-pink dress, with a snow-white fox fur draped over her shoulders, making her delicate skin and refined beauty even more striking.

It was Tan Ning, who had been apart from her for over a hundred years.

The generals of Tan’s family bowed respectfully to Liuyu and briefly explained the situation.

“Madam Jing said that someone may try to assassinate Miss Liuyu tonight, so she sent us to assist. We happened to encounter the head of the Shentu family on the way, and he kindly offered help and even gave us a batch of magical tools. Fortunately, we had no casualties, and he really helped a lot.”

After he finished speaking, the slight smugness in Tan Ning’s expression became more obvious. She sized up Liuyu and said proudly:

“I didn’t expect that one day, you would be saved by me.”

Liuyu’s cultivation was far superior to hers, and those aristocratic young men who admired her wouldn’t even get a chance to be heroes rescuing beautiful women.

But today, Tan Ning had saved her with her borrowed power, and now she would brag about it for the next ten years.

The wind, carrying a few snowflakes, howled past the mountain peak.

Liuyu, bathed in moonlight, felt as though her gaze, swept along with the wind and snow, saw the girl from her past life who had exhausted her life force early in the mountain-protection formation just to wait for her arrival.

With a soft smile in her eyes, Liuyu said:

“Yes, if it weren’t for you saving me, I wouldn’t know what I would have done.”

Tan Ning: “…”

Here we go again.

Why does she keep acting out of character like this?

The breath Tan Ning had been holding up didn’t come out smoothly. It got stuck in Liuyu’s gentle and friendly gaze, making her feel uncomfortable all over.

“…You’re really malicious,” Tan Ning said with a serious look, “I ran to save you with good intentions, and you’re mocking me?”

Mo Lin slightly furrowed his brow.

He didn’t have a good impression of Liuyu, this troublesome younger sister.

He had once seen her at the Yinshan family’s estate, where she picked up several strands of Liuyu’s hair that had been cut by accident during sword practice and had the maids sew them into her shoe insoles, believing that it would bring Liuyu bad luck.

Who’s really malicious here?

Mo Lin sneered coldly:

“Such a pointless action.”

Even without her bringing the troops, with Shentu Xiang’s support, this battle wouldn’t have been that difficult.

The young girl, who had originally been focused entirely on Liuyu, suddenly noticed a young man standing next to her.

There were many unfamiliar faces around Liuyu, but this one stood out in particular.

Tan Ning did not immediately associate Mo Lin with the leader of the demon-ghosts. Liuyu liked beautiful people, and this was no secret within the Yinshan clan; she even selected the most beautiful among her personal guards.

But when she saw Mo Lin’s attire, the distinct clothes of the Nine Netherworld, she quickly realized that, given how close he was to Liuyu and his rude attitude, he must be one of the demon-ghosts sent by the demon-ghost leader to keep an eye on her.

She had known that the demon-ghosts wouldn’t easily allow Liuyu to return!

Tan Ning coldly remarked:

“The demon-ghosts from Nine Netherworld really are rude.”

The ghostly woman and the other twelve gods of the masks all turned to look at Mo Lin.

Wasn’t the plan to redeem the demon-ghosts’ image by helping their leader?

“Master, don’t drag everyone down!”

At this moment, it wasn’t the time to argue with Tan Ning. Liuyu turned her gaze to the corpse of the leader of the refugee army, discarded by Shen Tu Xiang.

“How did he die?”

“They were all poisoned death soldiers; those we could capture are all dead.”

Shen Tu Xiang answered, though his eyes lingered on Liuyu for a moment.

The jewel of Yujing, truly dazzling.

How could the demon-ghost leader, with such a beautiful wife, still be so indecisive and start liking the head of the Jimo family?

Such moral corruption, the world is really getting worse.

Liuyu, unaware of Shen Tu Xiang’s disdain for Mo Lin, simply looked at the corpses on the ground, pondering for a moment, then suddenly smiled coldly and said:

“It seems that quite a few people here in Yujing really hope that we return.”

Too bad, she had just the right amount of rebelliousness.

They didn’t want her alive, but she would not only return, but she would also make a grand entrance.

—-

Snow fell thickly over the courtyard.

The sound of pine branches breaking under the weight of snow caught the attention of the head of the Nine Fang family, Zhuang Hua, sitting at the far end of the courtyard. It seemed uncomfortably jarring.

“—Someone secretly took the Tianjia 31, and it’s still hidden. Now that the demon-ghost Mo Lin has escaped control, it reminds us of the Zhongli family. Nine Fang family head, don’t you think this was handled badly?”

The Nine Fang family head, Qian, smiled faintly in his plain robes, unhurriedly making tea.

Through the mist of steam, Zhongli Yi heard his calm voice.

“How things appear doesn’t matter; what matters is that neither of our families can fall apart in such a disgraceful way.”

Zhongli Yi’s expression hardened slightly.

“You should have heard that Yinshan Liuyu and the demon-ghost Mo Lin are expected to arrive in Yujing today.”

“Who in Yujing doesn’t know now?” Zhongli Yi sneered, “You should be asking if anyone heard about the group of refugees who attempted to ambush them last night.”

After a pause, Qian smiled.

“Really? I had no idea.”

Zhongli Yi responded, “I only heard about it this morning. I thought the Nine Fang family was better informed.”

The two exchanged looks, and for a moment, only the sound of boiling tea and the soft scratching of Nine Fang Shao Geng, who had been sitting with his legs numb, could be heard.

Zhongli Lingzhao glanced at him in silence.

“Our Nine Fang family can’t compare to the Zhongli family, which is at its peak. Our news is naturally slower. I’ve been occupied these past few days analyzing the battle reports from the border. I wonder where the demon-ghost Mo Lin managed to obtain those supplies.”

Qian poured tea for Zhongli Yi.

“The world’s grain reserves are all controlled by the Xiangli family. Now, we could also say that they are in the hands of the Jimo family. Yi, this wouldn’t have anything to do with you, would it?”

Zhongli Yi’s eyelid twitched, thinking that this old man was really good at deflecting blame.

“Why would the Nine Fang family say such things? I thought the Jimo family was officially with us, but in reality, you’ve infiltrated them as spies.”

Otherwise, why would the Jimo family have gone to support the Shen Tu family?

Wasn’t this an opportunity to use Mo Lin’s sudden attack on Shen Tu to send the Jimo family to assist, thereby sowing discord between the Zhongli and Shen Tu families?

The key thing was, it worked.

When the news reached Yujing, Zhongli Yi gritted his teeth.

This old fox.

Such a black-hearted villain.

Forming an alliance with someone like him required constant vigilance.

Qian’s expression suddenly turned serious.

Zhongli Yi’s eyes narrowed, not sure if the Jimo family supporting the Shen Tu family had been ordered by him.

“…That was just a joke.”

Qian smiled.

“Yinshan Liuyu and the demon-ghost Mo Lin are returning to Yujing, though they don’t bring an army and use the excuse of returning through the back door, but they are not ordinary spouses. There must be more to their return than meets the eye. Yi, we must put aside past grudges and join forces to face this.”

Zhongli Yi lightly touched the edge of his teacup and casually replied:

“If the enemy is truly great, teaming up would certainly increase our chances of victory. But I fear that this enemy is just a distraction, and the real enemy is the one asking me to join forces.”

The meeting ended without harmony.

When everyone had left, Nine Fang Shao Geng stood up and stretched his numb legs.

“Last night’s ambush of Liuyu and the others must have been the Zhongli family’s doing. The supplies were definitely their orders. And they still pretend they don’t know anything! Father, why not just tear up the alliance with the Zhongli family? Such allies are not to be trusted!”

Qian did not reply.

“Father,” the young man in the white robes, after some thought, spoke up, “Maybe Mo Lin and the Zhongli family have been secretly in contact. Now that Mo Lin has arrived in Yujing, we should send someone to monitor him…”

“You want to go and see Liuyu, don’t you?”

Qian casually tossed the lid of his teacup aside.

“Go ahead. If you do, just make sure to give up early.”

Nine Fang Zhuang Hua frowned slightly in confusion, and it suddenly occurred to him—

He had forgotten to tell his eldest brother what the demon-ghost Mo Lin actually looked like.

Outside the Nine Fang mansion, the carriage remained still.

Zhong Li Yi glanced at the plaque at the entrance of the gate and sneered:

“That ambush last night must have been the work of Jiu Fang Qian. Who else could have quietly assembled a band of refugee soldiers? This person hides in his mansion, yet his mind is filled with conspiracies and schemes. It’s truly detestable.”

Zhong Li Ling Zhao calmly replied:

“I’ve already said that the Ji Mo family should not be trusted. Since Father insisted on it, who can we blame for this loss?”

“…Return to the mansion!”

“No, I’m not going back,” Zhong Li Ling Zhao pursed her lips and said, “I’m going to the north gate of the city.”

Zhong Li Yi paused for a moment, then closed his eyes, muttering with frustration:

“What, is Yin Shan Liu Yu returning to the capital, and our Fourth Miss Zhong Li still has to personally welcome her?”

Zhong Li Ling Zhao suddenly shot her father a glare and coldly denied:

“Welcome her? I’m going to watch her make a fool of herself! Do you believe that today, everyone in Yu Jing will be at the north gate, waiting to watch Yin Shan Liu Yu’s humiliation?”

Zhong Li Ling Zhao was not wrong.

At this very moment, the northern part of Yu Jing was crowded with people, the streets bustling with carriages and horses, with people elbowing each other in the throng.

Curious onlookers filled both sides of the streets, while wealthy aristocratic youths had rented out taverns and pavilions on both sides. Some had even sent servants ahead to secure spots long before dawn, all to be the first to see Yin Shan Liu Yu and her husband, eager to gossip and share their opinions with others.

It could be said that if anyone in Yu Jing didn’t come to witness this spectacle, they would be left out of all conversations for the next three days.

Of course, most of the onlookers had ill intentions.

Idle aristocratic youths weren’t concerned with the situation in Da Chao; they just wanted to see how the once arrogant Yin Shan Liu Yu had fared after all these years, how she had fallen from grace.

Perhaps, by the time she returned to Yu Jing, she would even be divorced from her strange, ghostly husband.

If that were the case, though no one would say it out loud, many would be secretly plotting to take over the once-glorious gold-threaded jade of Yu Jing from her.

However, to their surprise, as the day wore on, the people of Yu Jing waited from dawn until dusk.

“…Did Yin Shan Liu Yu die on the way?”

Zhong Li Ling Zhao felt like she had been played for a fool.

She was so frustrated that she almost turned back, but she was afraid that if she left now, Yin Shan Liu Yu’s people would enter the city, making her day of waiting seem all the more ridiculous.

Alongside her were seven or eight sisters from Ling Yong Academy, all of whom had grown tired from waiting. However, one of them, holding a book, had been reading all day, her expression rapt and focused, which caught Zhong Li Ling Zhao’s attention.

Just as her gaze shifted, someone took the book from the girl’s hands.

“What’s this?”

The girl blinked and hesitantly replied, “Just a collection of poems…”

Zhong Li Ling Zhao, feeling bored, casually flipped through it.

To her surprise, after only a few glances, her cold expression softened, and she sat up straighter.

The poems in this collection were gorgeous and strange, unlike anything from Da Chao, but in their eerie atmosphere, they still carried an elegant literary quality. While many wealthy families wrote about grand and polished pieces, such poetry was rare even in the literary circles of Yu Jing, the capital of immortal cities.

It was good poetry.

But… it was poetry about ghosts and the underworld.

“How long has this collection been circulating in Yu Jing?”

The girl, intimidated by Zhong Li Ling Zhao’s question, shrank back. Before she could answer, a voice from outside the building echoed:

“The Nine Underworld’s entourage has arrived!”

As dusk settled, the mournful calls of the Soul Birds echoed above the immortal city of Yu Jing.

The glass lanterns hanging in the city swayed in the wind, and with a glance, the candle flames inside them appeared to turn into ghostly green fire.

The girl who had been reading ghostly poems moved closer to the window. She saw a red soul-calling banner swaying at the end of the street, and dark-clad, hooded ghost attendants leading the way.

It seemed as though the ghostly poems from the book had come to life.

But it wasn’t scary.

To the aristocratic youths who were immersed in beautiful language, such a scene instead carried an odd, eerie charm.

The cold wind blew, causing the curtain to sway, and the people along the streets glimpsed the face of a noble within the carriage.

She was extraordinarily beautiful, with an appearance unparalleled in the world.

And—

A gloomy young man, not a terrifying monster with green skin and fangs, but a quiet figure in black.