Chapter 95

Liuyu called for Chao Yuan and whispered a few words to her.

As Chao Yuan left, she brushed past Nangong Yao and several generals from the Yinshan family who were returning. Upon entering, they saw Nangong Jing slowly waking up, wrapped in a thin blanket. He pressed his forehead and asked:

“Has everything been handled?”

Nangong Yao casually took a seat, grabbed a teapot, and took a few sips of tea to quench his thirst. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he answered:

“Good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?”

Nangong Jing looked up: “Bad news.”

“Nangong, the imperial court sent the palace attendant Pu Xie to take away Zhongli Lingzhao, as per the emperor’s order.”

Liuyu showed a slight surprise.

This decree may not have been personally issued by the Young Emperor Murong Chi, but it certainly represented the stance of the Murong family’s imperial clan.

The Murong family actually intended to protect Zhongli Lingzhao, who no longer brought them direct benefits as the former ruler?

Liuyu bit her lip, thinking of something.

Nangong Jing pushed off the blanket and got up.

“The operation was as quick as possible, but I didn’t expect them to arrive so soon. How did Pu Xie get here so fast?”

“I’m afraid when he was sent to Yujing to prepare for the Emperor’s wedding, the imperial clan must have caught wind of something. They gave him a blank decree sealed with the imperial jade seal, just in case.”

Yinshan Ze folded the blanket and smiled lightly.

“The Zhongli family originally arranged this marriage to use Zhongli Lingzhao to control the Young Emperor and the imperial capital. Now the situation has reversed, and he has become a puppet of the Murong family.”

Mo Lin, leaning against the window, crossed his arms and listened to their conversation.

Although the current Da Chao was dominated by noble families, it seemed the Emperor’s decree still held some weight.

Not too much, but just enough to save Zhongli Lingzhao.

Nangong Jing asked, “What about the good news?”

“Well…” Nangong Yao scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed. “I haven’t finished the bad news yet.”

At this, everyone in the room turned their attention to him.

“The Zhongli family mansion has been searched inside and out, and it’s confirmed that the matriarch of the Zhongli family, Zhongli Xuansu, is missing. That’s it—no other bad news.”

“Yes, that’s right,” several generals from the Yinshan family added.

“The good news is that last night, we caught Zhongli family off guard, and their main branch has been completely captured. According to the Madam’s orders, Yin Xuefeng has already taken people to temporarily imprison them at another estate.”

“Also, the Imperial Refining Bureau of the imperial capital, Tan Wen and Chen Shisan reported that two supervisors and ten junior supervisors from the bureau were executed on the spot. All secret documents and scrolls related to the bureau’s refining techniques have been sealed in mustard bags and sent back. The remaining two hundred seventy-nine workers, including those responsible for the refining and supervising of artifacts, will have their files checked with the Tribunal after they are sent back.”

Those who once served the Zhongli family’s Imperial Refining Bureau were no doubt high-ranking and influential.

Some were more restrained, merely focusing on amassing wealth and seizing property, while others rose to prominence, with their entire families benefiting from their connection to the Zhongli family, bullying the locals and trampling on the common folk. The cases piled up in the Court of Judicial Review, but no one dared to intervene.

Nangong Jing had tolerated them for a long time.

“Well, thank you for your hard work,” he said.

The military commanders bowed respectfully in return.

However, Nangong Jing’s tone changed as he coldly addressed Nangong Yao: “But your actions this time have been sloppy. You didn’t mention Zhongli Lingzhao, and an almost 500-year-old elderly woman, bedridden and frail, managed to disappear right under your nose?”

Nangong Yao gave a dry laugh.

“Is that funny, A Yao?” Nangong Jing asked sharply.

Nangong Yao quickly composed himself.

Nangong Jing turned his gaze towards Mo Lin, who was leaning by the window, his eyes deepening slightly: “Yue Niang, how was the elderly woman’s health when you last saw her?”

Suddenly called upon, Yue Niang met several gazes and nervously recalled: “She… she looked quite lively. Though she couldn’t walk, when I heard her giving lectures in her courtyard, the scent of water pipes was so strong it even overpowered the incense. Moreover, the old woman didn’t drink water, only alcohol, and her curses were still quite powerful.”

Liu Yu raised an eyebrow: “She cursed you too?”

Yue Niang shook her head. “No, she was cursing those from the Zhongli family.”

More precisely, even the dogs passing by her courtyard were likely to be cursed by her.

During her months in the Zhongli family, Yue Niang had spent most of her time listening to lectures in a haze of smoke.

Behind the heavy curtains, the old woman sat with one hand holding a water pipe and the other holding a wine cup. Without needing to consult any books, she could easily recall every technique and artifact from the “Immortal Engineer’s Treatise.”

This old woman, bedridden as she was, seemed highly respected within the family, with people regularly coming to her for advice on various matters.

She answered their queries, though not always gently.

For instance, when asked, “If the Shentu family’s furnace workshop is gone, should we build our own? If you don’t know how, just shove the fire spirit into Zhongli Yi’s throat and use his corpse to negotiate with the Shentu family for peace.”

Or when someone suggested marrying her obedient granddaughter to a fourteen-year-old boy, she retorted, “Why don’t you clean yourself up and offer yourself as a concubine to the Empress Dowager? An alliance? More like a bastard’s scheme.”

Yue Niang often felt that this old woman’s illness was at least partly due to her smoking, drinking, and constantly cursing.

“But her illness seems real,” Yue Niang thought for a moment and added, “I once saw a maid washing her feet. The old woman’s legs were as thin as my arms, like skeletons.”

Liu Yu sneered coldly, her gaze darkening. “Maybe it’s just retribution for all the bad deeds she’s done.”

Despite her frailty, she could still force Kunwu iron into a puppet’s flesh. If she were in good health, who knows what evil things she might have done?

After a brief silence, Nangong Jing slowly spoke again: “The worst case scenario is that someone from the Jiufang family secretly rescued the old woman—”

Jiufang Qian wouldn’t do something without a gain. If he saved her, it could only be for one purpose.

Nangong Jing locked eyes with Mo Lin.

A puppet general with the soul of a grand master and the body of an extraterrestrial demon, impervious to pain, relentless, and with a powerful black flame that only Mo Lin could barely resist.

Last time, the Zhongli family couldn’t control it.

What about next time?

As long as there’s a chance, everything that the Yinshan family has carefully prepared will crumble before that possibility.

Footsteps hurriedly approached the door.

“My Lord, Madam, there’s trouble,” a servant reported.

Liu Yu’s breath hitched, and the atmosphere in the room tightened like a drawn bowstring.

The servant handed Yinshan Ze a scroll, saying, “Just now, we received news from the East Extremity Yang Valley. A massive fire broke out in the Zhongli family’s side branch at the third watch last night. All 483 members of the branch perished, and three local noble families were also affected, with over a hundred casualties. The most critical news is… that the fire is said to have been caused by Mo Lin’s Wuliang Ghost Fire. Now the whole of East Extremity is in uproar, with calls to expel the demons growing louder.”

Mo Lin’s eyes gleamed with a cold light as a hint of mockery appeared in his gaze. “This trick really never gets old.”

Nangong Ze’s expression darkened as he coldly muttered, “Yesterday, when the Zhongli family slaughtered innocent citizens, there wasn’t such an uproar. But today, they pin an unfounded crime on the Nine Nether Demons, and suddenly the whole city is in a frenzy, calling for their extermination.”

Just as Nangong Ze furrowed his brows and unfolded the secret report, a black-clad ghost attendant knocked on the door.

“Lord.”

The ghost attendant stood with his head bowed, speaking solemnly: “The Ghost Butterfly reports that the Jiufang family’s forces, under the Emperor’s orders, are sealing all the bookstores in the Immortal Capital. Any texts related to the Nine Nether Demons are being confiscated, and this isn’t just happening in the Southern Lands—there have been actions in the Western and Eastern Extremities as well.”

The report handed over by the attendant had golden characters on a black background, concisely stating: “Burning books in the marketplace, Jiufang family scholars spreading rhetoric claiming, ‘Expelling demons, cleansing traitorous ministers, and ending the chaotic times—that task belongs to the Jiufang family.'”

Fang Fuchang, who was nearby, watched as Yue Niang silently continued her work on the puppet arts scroll, with the phrase “one hair triggers a chain reaction” written on it. Given the current situation, this really was a case where one action could trigger a full-scale response.

Suddenly, Nangong Yao slapped the armrest and said in a deep voice: “That Jiufang Qian is truly a crafty old fox. If it were up to me, I’d say we should strike now, while our victory over the Zhongli family has boosted our morale, and attack the Jiufang family in one go!”

“Absolutely not.”

A calm, elderly voice suddenly rang out from outside the door. Everyone turned to see the grey-haired, blue-robed Mu Cangshui standing by the door. He slowly spoke:

“Do you all know who built the Jiufang family’s mansion?”

Looking at the confused faces of the crowd, Mu Cangshui lowered his gaze and scanned the scroll in front of Yue Niang.

It was designed and built by the ancestor of the Zhongli family who perfected the “Xian Gong Kai Wu” technique. On the surface, it looks no different from an ordinary residence, but beneath its foundation, it is connected to the Yishui River. It uses the power of the hidden currents of the Yishui to keep thousands of intricate gears running. Once activated, the entire Jiufang family residence becomes a massive fortress, filled with countless clever traps. If elite forces were to attack, they would likely fall right into the hands of Jiufang Qian, who had planned this from the beginning.

The inner room was quiet, clearly, no one had heard of such a thing.

Only two people knew about it and had seen it with their own eyes.

Liuyu recalled that in her past life, after her death, Mo Lin had single-handedly entered the Jiufang family residence to retrieve her body. Jiufang Qian never showed himself but controlled the mechanical fortress from the shadows. With the help of the Jiufang family cultivators, Mo Lin was forced to exhaust his cultivation, leaving him in a position where both sides would perish.

But even then, Mo Lin only killed all the Jiufang family members, recovered her body, and failed to harm Jiufang Qian in the slightest.

What a cold-blooded, ruthless schemer.

He could watch his own family perish while maintaining extreme rationality—perhaps, it was just his despicable and cowardly nature.

If it weren’t for the external demons activating the Zhen Array to reset everything, all who had affection in this world would have died, leaving such a ruthless, immoral person to win in the end!

Why?

Why was this the case?

“…What if we attack from the inside?”

The clear voice, like pearls falling on a plate, suddenly sounded. Liuyu met Mu Cangshui’s gaze.

“I’ve seen the full activation of the Jiufang family’s mechanisms before. I remember where every formation and trap is. If I destroy them before they are fully activated and then attack from the outside, would there be hope for success?”

Mo Lin suddenly stood up straight.

Mu Cangshui’s eyes, calm like a lake, showed a ripple of waves. She seemed to pause for a moment before understanding Liuyu’s words.

“How did you see this, Your Excellency?”

The morning sun broke through the clouds, falling on a snow-covered mountain cherry branch by the window.

The thin snow melted, and the spring ice turned to water. Liuyu’s pupils, clear like jade beads in the sunlight, revealed a faint, lonely smile.

“Because someone once traversed this Shura killing formation without hesitation, just to retrieve my decayed corpse.”

So this time, it was her turn to walk this road.

In the teahouse outside the Yangguang Gate.

Tan Ning had just sent off the tenth customer she had seen that morning. The tea in front of her had cooled, and the sleeve of her moon-white robe brushed across the table, bringing with it the unique fragrance of the Jiufang family’s Lingxu Xiangzhen.

“Do you believe what I said now?”

Tan Ning slowly lifted her gaze and examined the young man sitting before her.

He still had the same solitary, towering outline, with eyes covered by deep snow, containing a distant, faint smile—a sort of ambiguous tenderness.

Tan Ning said, “What if all these people have been bought by you?”

“Ning Ning, money is not everything.”

Jiufang Zhanghua re-brewed the tea for her.

“Moreover, after these people decided to leave the Tan family, the Yinshan family gave them a large sum of money. They don’t lack money. If they wanted power, they wouldn’t have left the Yinshan family. How could I buy them?”

Tan Ning pressed her lips together, her misty pupils reflecting his image, and grief and anger nearly burst from her.

This was normal.

Anyone who learned that the person who had raised them was their father’s killer would react this way.

Jiufang Zhanghua refilled her cup with hot tea, his gaze filled with pity as if observing a trapped beast in a cage.

“…What should I do? Zhanghua… I really… I really don’t know what to do… How could it be like this? I don’t understand why Father did this…”

Her fingers moved on her knees, and his voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, though his eyes held a cold, beautiful gleam.

“Ning Ning, come here.”

The table was suddenly pushed aside, and the tea cup rolled onto the bamboo mat. Her mist-pink robe swirled like a ray of sunset, and she threw herself into his embrace.

The hot tears soaked into his cold satin, and Jiufang Zhanghua gently held her, patting her back.

“Don’t be afraid.”

“I know, even so, you still can’t bring yourself to blame your master, right? Your master had his reasons, and we have ours. Now the Jiufang family and the Yinshan family are like fire and water, but as long as I swallow the Yinshan family, take control of the Jiufang family, and remove Jiufang Qian—”

“We will stand above everyone else. No one will deceive or manipulate us anymore. Whether it’s Yinshan Ze, Nan Gongjing, or Liuyu, even the demon Mo Lin, they are all ants beneath our feet. Life or death, family or enemy, we decide.”

The two of them were very close now, and for a moment, Tan Ning almost felt he would kiss her with clear eyes, his expression calm.

Tears clouded Tan Ning’s eyes, and she suddenly sat up straighter, creating some distance between them.

“…Do you know that Liuyu is Ji Mo Gui?”

Jiufang Zhanghua stared at her for a while, then answered:

“I know.”

“If we can capture Liuyu, would it help your… our plan?”

His dark eyes reflected the clear, bright gaze of the girl, as if he was trying to find something deeper in her expression.

But she only looked at him with admiration and reliance, just like she had for many years, with every gaze.

“Of course.”

If anything, this was part of his plan all along.

Tan Ning pressed her lips together, lowering her gaze:

“I can try, but my cultivation is far inferior to Liuyu’s, and ordinary medicine will likely be seen through by her… Do you have a countermeasure?”

…It went so smoothly, it was almost unbelievable.

Jiufang Zhanghua paused for a moment, wary, before he didn’t rush to take out the pill he had prepared in his sleeve.

Tan Ning and Liuyu had indeed been at odds since childhood.

It was Yinshan Ze who had killed Tan Ning’s biological father, something Yinshan Ze himself had once spoken of, not something Jiufang Zhanghua had invented.

No one knows his feelings for Tan Ning better than he does.

Everything is reasonable and justifiable.

In the end, he still handed the pill from his sleeve to Tan Ning.

After the girl left, the private room became quiet. The last trace of a smile faded from Jiufang Zhanghua’s lips. He opened the window and looked down at the famous scholars outside the Yangguang Gate, who were preparing to give a lecture.

Unlike the people Jiufang’s family had sent to stir up the common folk in the western and eastern extremes, these were truly scholarly and virtuous individuals.

They stood on a high platform and spoke to the common people below:

“Yesterday, the Zhongli family, for their own selfish interests, slaughtered over ten thousand innocent people under the Qingyun Terrace. The whole world condemned them. But the world knows this is the Zhongli family’s wrongdoing, not humanity’s!”

“Yesterday, in the East Extreme Yang Valley, a fire was set by the Zhongli family. Some say this was the work of the demons, but I don’t know the truth. What I do know is that in the past, the demon Mo Lin conquered three border cities without killing the surrendering or looting the cities. He killed those who caused chaos, set up porridge kitchens after the siege, and cared for the common folk. Though a demon, his actions have shamed all the noble families in the world!”

“Throughout history, the world has had deep prejudices against demons. But let’s trace it back—where did these demons come from? During the Qianguang years, in order to quell the demonic plague, first, common women, then noble ladies, and even imperial palace concubines and princesses had to be offered to the evil gods. There is no greater shame than this!”

“The imperial family and noble families exterminated demons everywhere, forcing the women who gave birth to demons to sacrifice their lives for their chastity. Was this for the well-being of the world? No, it was for their own face!”

Among the crowd were hardworking common folk, young heirs of noble families, and students from the Immortal Dao Academy.

The Twelve Generals of the Immortal City had already split into factions and couldn’t control the increasing conflicts in Yujing. The troops sent by Jiufang’s family also dared not openly declare their hostility to these scholars.

After much effort, they finally managed to politely remove the people from the platform. Yet, one passionate scholar, quick on his feet, climbed onto the shoulder of a Jiufang family cultivator, causing the crowd to erupt in applause.

These people were not new; since the first year of the Zhaoye Era, many had opposed the massacre of demons.

However, these people were weak. Even if they briefly rose in defiance, they were quickly suppressed.

Not many had the luck of Yinshan Ze, who with the help of Nangong Jing and her husband, managed to secretly save millions of demons from the murderous noble families.

They saved the demon Mo Lin.

Just like they had once saved Jiufang Zhanghua, who had been punished in the Jiufang family’s courtyard.

Jiufang Zhanghua silently clenched his fingers.

The situation was like water boiling in a cauldron, about to boil over.

To stop this boiling, one must remove the fuel from the fire.

Tan Ning’s feelings for him were clear to no one more than Jiufang Zhanghua himself.

Everything was logical and justified.

He had eventually given the pill in his sleeve to Tan Ning.

After she left, the private room fell silent, and the smile that had lingered on Jiufang Zhanghua’s lips faded. He opened the window and looked outside at the famous scholars standing in the light.

They were different from the ones Jiufang’s family had sent to incite the masses in the western and eastern regions. These were real scholars, with a clear conscience.

They stood on the platform, speaking to the common folk below:

“Yesterday, the Zhongli family, for their own selfish purposes, slaughtered more than ten thousand innocent people under the Qingyun Terrace. The whole world condemns them. But the world knows this was the Zhongli family’s wrongdoings, not humanity’s!”

“Yesterday, a fire in the East Extreme Yang Valley, which some say was caused by demons. I don’t know if it’s true, but I do know that the demon Mo Lin took three cities at the border, killing only those who caused chaos, setting up soup kitchens for the people, and taking care of them. Though a demon, he shamed all the noble families.”

“Throughout history, there has been a deep prejudice against demons, but let us trace this back. Where did demons come from? In the Qianguang era, in order to suppress the demonic calamity, common women, noble ladies, even concubines and princesses were offered up to evil spirits. There is no greater shame than this!”

“The imperial family and noble families eradicated demons, forcing women who gave birth to demons to sacrifice their lives for their chastity. Was it for the people? No, it was for their own face!”

Among the crowd were common people, noble heirs, and students from the Immortal Dao Academy.

The Twelve Generals of the Immortal City had already fractured, unable to control the increasingly fierce conflicts in Yujing. The Jiufang family’s men also dared not openly fight these scholars.

It was difficult, but they eventually managed to politely escort the people off the platform. However, one passionate scholar swiftly jumped onto a Jiufang family cultivator’s shoulders, drawing applause from the audience.

These people hadn’t just appeared today. Since the first year of Zhaoye, many had opposed the massacre of demons.

However, these people were weak. Even when they rose briefly in defiance, they were quickly suppressed.

Not everyone had Yinshan Ze’s luck, where he was able to secretly save millions of demons, with the help of Nangong Jing, from the clutches of the murderous noble families.

They had saved Mo Lin.

Just like when they had saved Jiufang Zhanghua, who had once knelt to accept punishment in the Jiufang family courtyard.

Jiufang Zhanghua quietly clenched his fingers.

The situation was boiling, close to overflowing.

To stop the boiling, one must remove the fuel.

The familiar yet unfamiliar scent filled her nose. Liu Yu slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the strange canopy above.

It was the scent of Lingxu’s descending fragrance.

Her eyes flickered, and her gaze landed on the figure beside her bed. After a long time, the corners of her lips twitched, and a cold, sarcastic smile appeared on her face:

“What did Tan Ning add to my tea?”

“You actually teamed up to betray me?”

Jiufang Zhanghua had been sitting beside the bed, watching her for quite a while.

Before she woke up, he had almost felt like he was dreaming. Only when she spoke and looked at him with such hatred did it start to feel real.

Two hours ago, Tan Ning had taken Liu Yu to a tavern on the west side of the city.

The tavern had been around for years. Liu Yu had occasionally visited before her marriage, but she hadn’t known it was one of the Jiufang family’s strongholds in Yujing. It had hidden passages and secret rooms, connecting all the way to the Jiufang family’s private estate in the east of the city.

Tan Ning had used the excuse of talking privately with Liu Yu, sending away the two attendants, Chaoyuan and Chaoming. After that, she had led Liu Yu, who had been drugged, out of the secret room and into the Jiufang family’s estate via a white-feathered peacock carriage waiting outside.

To get through the Jiufang family’s inspection, Jiufang Zhanghua had put in quite a bit of effort.

Thankfully, everything had settled now.

There was no place safer or harder to breach than the Jiufang family estate.

“We people like us, the things we bring in from outside are always thoroughly checked. I had planned to deal with it, but I didn’t expect you to just take the tea Tan Ning prepared for you. You trust her a little too much.”

“Don’t try to use Qi. You should have prepared for this. Besides that Qi dispersing pill, there’s also a soul-binding curse sealing your Qi…”

Slap!

A crisp slap made Jiufang Zhanghua turn his head.

Even without using Qi, the slap had an unusual force. Jiufang Zhanghua didn’t dodge, and his cheek quickly filled with the sharp scent of iron.

Liu Yu raised her hand to slap again, but this time he caught her wrist.

Her eyes, filled with cold disdain, were so beautiful they were hard to look away from. If it were before, being looked at this way would have made him heartbroken, but now, as he easily controlled her, the pain felt almost negligible.

He thought back to the white rabbit he had raised as a child.

It had run out of the kitchen by accident, and he had found it. Its fur was pure white, as beautiful as a snowball. He had washed it, fed it grass, and made it a soft nest out of old clothes.

The eldest son of Jiufang’s family was not favored, and this white rabbit was one of the few things that truly belonged to him, something he could control.

Until that rabbit was skinned, its bones removed, and served on his meal table.

Those without power could never hold on to what they cherished.

Now, he had finally regained something that completely belonged to him, a treasure that shone brightly with beauty.

“Where is Tan Ning?”

Jiufang Zhanghua’s eyes were full of brilliance, and he spoke softly:

“After all the worry and fear she had for today, she insisted on accompanying you into the estate. She’s resting in the guest room now.”

Liu Yu narrowed her eyes: “You’re keeping her under house arrest? You don’t trust her?”

“I just don’t want you to misunderstand.”

He took her soft hand, his expression gentle.

“I remember before, when I tried to speak up for Tan Ning, it made you angry. I won’t do that again.”

It was clearly the same face, the same smile.

But at this moment, the Jiufang Zhanghua reflected in Liu Yu’s eyes seemed like a sinister ghost wearing a human skin, something strange stirring beneath the smooth, jade-like exterior, as if it were ready to tear off the mask at any moment.

Liu Yu had already anticipated the worst outcome, and there was not a trace of fear in her eyes.

Her gaze shifted to the space behind him.

This was not Jiufang Zhanghua’s residence. Though she had never been here before, she could tell just by looking at the scene outside the gauze window that there were no bamboo trees, so this couldn’t be a courtyard where he would live.

If Jiufang Qian had captured her, he would have locked her in a water prison in his mansion, heavily guarded, not placed her in such a golden and extravagant room.

“You didn’t tell Jiufang Qian about capturing me, did you?”

Liu Yu watched him with interest.

“Do you have your own influence in this mansion? Do you have intentions of betraying Jiufang Qian?”

Recalling Jiufang Zhanghua’s previous position, second only to Jiufang Qian in the Jiufang family, Liu Yu felt there were traces to follow.

Since this was the case, he might also know the whereabouts of Tianjia Thirty-One.

“Jiufang Qian rarely leaves the mansion. Even though he has great abilities, it’s impossible for him to tightly control the entire Jiufang family. If it were me, I would start from the most peripheral positions and slowly infiltrate the core—no wonder you used to bring in those unconnected poor families and commoners into the Jiufang family, you were cultivating your own influence?”

The smile on Jiufang Zhanghua’s face gradually faded as he silently stared at Liu Yu’s face.

Liu Yu chuckled softly.

“You want Jiufang Qian dead, that’s not surprising. Since we have the same goal, why not temporarily join forces? That Tianjia Thirty-One that you stole from us—someone here knows how to control it. If it falls into Jiufang Qian’s hands, it will be bad for both of us. Don’t you fear that?”

Her other hand grasped Jiufang Zhanghua’s wrist, breaking free from his grip, and she slowly surrounded him with her words and gaze.

Jiufang Zhanghua studied her for a while, the corners of his lips curling slightly.

“Alright.”

He took a thin piece of paper from his bag and placed it in front of Liu Yu.

“Use your qi to leave a seal on this. I will send this book to the demon ghost Mo Lin’s desk. How about it, shall we join forces?”

Liu Yu lowered her eyes and glanced at the thin paper.

【Two hearts cannot be one.】

【Part ways, each walking their own path.】

—He actually wrote a divorce letter for her and Mo Lin in advance!

Liu Yu couldn’t help but laugh at his delusion.

She tore the paper into pieces and casually tossed it at his face.

“Do you really think you can challenge Jiufang Qian with your strength? A single misstep, and you’ll fall into an endless abyss with no one to pull you out—Zhanghua, with how soft-hearted my father is, if you turn back now, he will forgive you. You know that well.”

Jiufang Zhanghua appeared somewhat lost in thought, muttering softly as he repeated:

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Fake.”

Liu Yu lied without flinching.

“But I…” He lowered his head in his hands, then slowly lifted it, “Why should I turn back?”

He covered his lips and laughed lowly, a vicious gleam appearing in his eyes, one that Liu Yu had only seen in Jiufang Shao Geng’s eyes before. It was then that she realized how similar the two brothers were.

He grabbed Liu Yu’s hand and placed it on his arm.

“Do you feel it? These whip scars left in the water prison. This is the punishment I received for revealing the Jade-Faced Spider’s secret to you.”

“And this scar, Yin Shan Qi was ambushed in Taiping City. I also tried to investigate when they would strike, but I was a step too late.”

He recounted the past, some of which Liu Yu knew, and some of which she didn’t.

“…I was caught between the two families, gathering intelligence for the Yinshan family. What did I get in return? Countless whip marks and my master telling me, ‘Forget those idle words from the past and find a new wife.'”

His grip was so strong it nearly crushed Liu Yu’s bones, and his eyes became bloodshot.

“And that demon ghost Mo Lin, what did he do? Did his sacrifices even amount to a thousandth of mine? Why did he easily get what should have belonged to me? Even you—when you proposed to Mo Lin in the Hall of Heavenly Thrones, I was the last one to know. And yet, my master still wanted me to beg you to stay—Liu Yu, you abandoned me without even a word of explanation. You, you were the one who betrayed me first.”

Liu Yu looked at him with a hint of sadness in her eyes.

“So you want me and my family to be destroyed to avenge this?”

Jiufang Zhanghua’s gaze shifted slightly, his grip on Liu Yu loosening.

He said, “I won’t kill anyone from the Yinshan family, but I won’t let you all dominate over me.”

“Liar.”

Liu Yu sneered without hesitation, staring at Jiufang Zhanghua’s pale face.

“People often use words to justify themselves. When you said this, was it truly what you thought at the time? Did you really, as you claimed, disregard your own life and sacrifice for the interests of the Yinshan family? You have selfish motives, and there’s no shame in that. But for you to condemn me and my parents, pretending to be righteous, is too ridiculous!”

“Let me tell you, the only truthful part of your words just now is that you want to dominate over everyone. For that, you would kill my parents with your own hands, watch the Yinshan family fall, and allow people you despise to humiliate me. After I die, you’ll hypocritically keep my corpse and ‘mourn’ me. The ‘you’ you speak of is a figment of your imagination. Do you know who truly carried out these actions?”

Jiufang Zhanghua’s eyes reflected her aggressive stance.

It was Liu Yu who had no ability to resist, yet he felt as though someone had a grip on his throat, almost suffocating him.

She spoke each word deliberately, as if using a blunt knife to stab into his chest, slowly twisting it.

“—It’s Mo Lin, a demon ghost you look down upon, yet he is the one you truly want to become. Jiufang Zhanghua, your life is a joke.”