Chapter 3

Yu Zhengzheng discovered for the first time that when a person is frightened, their hair can truly stand on end.  

Her heart skipped a beat, and a bead of cold sweat trickled down her forehead. It took her a moment to find her voice again. “S-Senior Brother…”  

Rong Shang’s lips curved slightly, his voice warm yet chillingly eerie, sending shivers down her spine. “Why are you sweating, Junior Sister?”  

His voice was pleasant, laced with a languid indifference. It was like soaking in a misty hot spring with a cup of tea after the first snowfall, so soothing that every pore in one’s body seemed to relax.  

In the past, Yu Zhengzheng had loved hearing him call her “Junior Sister,” but at this moment, she felt a sinister wind blowing around her. The white-robed young man before her seemed to morph into a beast with gleaming fangs, ready to snap her neck at any moment.  

“Senior Brother, I was just talking about myself earlier. Look at me—I’m so thin, like a stick. One glance, and it’s clear I have kidney deficiency,” she blurted, trying to defuse the situation.  

Yu Zhengzheng’s sixth sense told her that he must have overheard her insult him earlier. Instinctively, she took a few steps back, attempting to create a safe distance, her face plastered with an awkward smile as she tried to smooth things over.  

Rong Shang raised an eyebrow and let out a casual “Oh,” then said, “And who gives birth without any sense?”  

Yu Zhengzheng froze. He *had* heard her.  

Taking a deep breath, she reluctantly forced the words out through gritted teeth, “That was about me. I give birth without any sense.”  

On the beam above, two people looked on, utterly stunned. They had never seen anyone with such remarkable resilience and adaptability.  

Yu Zhengzheng’s expression remained composed, but inwardly, she cursed the pharmacist’s ancestors for eighteen generations. One piece of top-grade spiritual stone could be exchanged for a hundred high-quality ones, yet two packs of medicine had cost her thirty high-quality spiritual stones.  

If the pharmacist hadn’t sworn on his life that this medicine could even knock out immortals, she would never have spent so much on it!  

And now? She had lost everything—her plan, the warm jade walnuts—and was still out thirty high-quality spiritual stones. She was completely screwed.  

“Senior Brother, about those warm jade walnuts in your hand—could you leave them with me as a souvenir?”  

Desperate, Yu Zhengzheng had no choice but to shamelessly play the pity card. “I’m about to go serve as a cauldron for the Ghost King. You must have heard he’s a heartless bastard. This time, it’s a one-way trip for me. I’d like something to remember you by…”  

Regaining her memory had brought her clarity. She knew this was her path to the pinnacle of life, complete with a golden finger and a handsome, wealthy husband.  

In the original story, Senior Brother was the son of the Dragon Prince of the Eastern Emperor, born to his wet nurse. The entire Dragon Clan had been massacred by the Ghost King, with only the wet nurse managing to escape with the prince’s family.  

The wet nurse had hidden for centuries, and only when the Ghost King had seemingly disappeared did she dare to start anew. She married a mortal and gave birth to Senior Brother.  

As the protagonist, his life was destined to be tragic. At eleven years old, his parents were brutally murdered. Upon learning the wet nurse’s true identity, Senior Brother was convinced the Ghost King was the culprit. To avenge his parents, he concealed his identity and joined Penglai Mountain to learn martial arts.  

Since Senior Brother had a vendetta against the Ghost King, Yu Zhengzheng figured that aligning with him against their common enemy might soften his heart enough to give her the warm jade walnuts.  

Rong Shang’s thin lips curled into a spring-like smile, tinged with amusement. “Heartless bastard?”  

Thinking he wasn’t satisfied with her words, Yu Zhengzheng’s mind raced, flipping through her mental dictionary of insults. “He’s the worst of beasts, the fighter jet of scum! Others bind their feet, he binds his head. He practices everything but swordsmanship…”  

With every word she spoke, the air in the chamber grew colder. On the beam above, the two spectators wished they could dig a hole and bury themselves to avoid being implicated when the Ghost King inevitably killed her.  

After rattling off a stream of insults, Yu Zhengzheng’s mouth felt dry, and irritation crept into her heart. This man was so finicky! She was venting on his behalf, yet he still wasn’t satisfied.  

Hadn’t she cooked and cleaned for him for seven years? Even if she didn’t have merits, she had put in effort. It was just two jade walnuts—did he have to drag things out this much?  

Fixating on the warm jade walnuts in his palm, she snapped, her voice tinged with impatience, “Can you just give me a straightforward answer? Yes or no—are you giving me the walnuts?”  

Rong Shang’s smile was as gentle as the spring breeze. Slowly lifting his pale, slender hand, he nudged the warm jade walnuts forward and said, “Alright, I’ll give you a straightforward answer.”  

He’s actually going to return the walnut to her?

Yu Zhengzheng looked at him skeptically. After a brief hesitation, she cautiously moved in his direction. 

Just as her fingertips were about to touch his palm, hurried footsteps echoed from outside the hall. The chaotic sound suggested a group of people was approaching. 

Torchlight illuminated the dark courtyard, shadows casting against the door. A knock came twice, followed by a rough male voice, “What’s wrong with you? He’s already defiled Lin Cui, and you’re still knocking? Waiting for him to escape or something?” 

Without waiting for a response, the man kicked the door open and led a crowd barging in.

According to sect rules, outer disciples weren’t allowed into the inner city after curfew. But this was a serious matter: Senior Brother had violated Lin Cui, a clear breach of sect law. Afraid he might flee overnight, they stormed the inner city. 

It wasn’t entirely out of justice for Lin Cui, though. In Penglai Mountain, anyone who exposed an inner-city disciple’s grave wrongdoing would be rewarded with a supreme-grade pill. That pill could instantly propel one beyond the twelfth level of Qi Refinement, making entry into the inner sect only a matter of time. 

The crowd surged into the chamber, their numbers overwhelming.

Yu Zhengzheng, caught off guard, immediately gave up on the walnut. Covering her face, she dashed to a corner and discreetly blended into the group as they barged inside, stealthily edging her way toward the door. 

She hadn’t expected these outer disciples to be so reckless. Couldn’t they at least wait until Lin Cui regained consciousness before making accusations? 

What fools! At the very least, they should’ve waited until dawn to appeal to the sect leader for justice. What were they planning now, a fistfight with Senior Brother? 

Even if they wanted to fight, they’d need the ability to win. These outer disciples were all Qi Refinement novices. Combined, they weren’t even enough to be a warm-up for Senior Brother.

If he found out she’d been the one to spread the news, wouldn’t he crush her into dust on the spot?

“You call yourself Senior Brother, yet you commit such a disgraceful act against an outer disciple! Lin Cui is thirty-five years old! How desperate could you possibly be?” a burly man with a face full of flesh barked, pointing a silver sword at Rong Shang. 

“Exactly! If Yu Zhengzheng hadn’t told us in time, you would’ve gotten away with it! Your behavior is worse than a beast’s!” another chimed in.

Rong Shang remained indifferent. Lazily squinting his dark, piercing eyes, his gaze locked onto Yu Zhengzheng, who was skillfully weaving through the crowd.

His slender fingers closed slightly, and the two warm jade walnuts in his palm were instantly crushed into fine powder, spilling from between his fingers.

Oh, Little Junior Sister?

Yu Zhengzheng finally squeezed her way out of the room. She was just about to make a quick escape when she spotted a black dog at the door. 

Her eyes landed on the food box in front of the dog, and her eyelids twitched. That box looked eerily familiar. 

After a closer look, Yu Zhengzheng clenched the box tightly, resisting the urge to charge back into the hall and smash it into Senior Brother’s face.

She knew something was off. He had long since stopped eating solid food, so how was it that every meal she brought him was devoured completely? It turned out he had been feeding her cooking to the dog! 

Her movement startled the black dog. It bared its teeth, letting out a low, threatening growl as if ready to bite. 

She slapped the dog’s head without hesitation, making it flinch. “You’ve been eating my food for seven years, and you still dare to scare me?”

The black dog seemed cowed, retreating pitifully. Only then did she notice a piece of white clothing under its body. 

With a scowl, Yu Zhengzheng pulled out the garment and held it to her nose, taking a cautious sniff. As expected, it was the set she frequently hand-washed, still faintly scented with soap. 

Grinding her teeth, she tore the white robe into strips. She had always wondered why it was covered in black fur whenever she washed it. Naively, she had thought Senior Brother was shedding hair. 

Just as she was debating whether to confront Senior Brother, screams rang out from inside the chamber, followed by loud banging against the door. It reminded her of zombies pounding on doors during the apocalypse. 

Whatever courage she had mustered evaporated with those chilling sounds. If her guess was correct, the outer disciples had started a fight with Senior Brother—or rather, were being thoroughly beaten by him. 

Stuffing the torn robes back at the black dog, Yu Zhengzheng bolted out of the sect leader’s hall. She needed to find her scumbag father and lay low for a while. 

When she rushed into the main hall of Zhanlu Palace, she found the sect leader and Lady Lu accompanying Yu Jiangjiang in painting. The three of them seemed perfectly harmonious, the picture of familial bliss. 

Yu Jiangjiang jumped in fright at the sight of her. “What are you doing here?!”

Yu Zhengzheng couldn’t help but laugh. Zhanlu Palace was her home too. She had moved to the outer city after coming of age to avoid their nonsense. Did she now need permission to return to her own house?

Oh, right. She nearly forgot—Yu Jiangjiang had conspired with Lin Cui to drug her. By all rights, she shouldn’t even be here. 

Realizing her tone was inappropriate, Yu Jiangjiang quickly amended, “Sister, you’re still injured. You shouldn’t be walking around.”

Lady Lu smiled and stepped forward, gently patting Yu Zhengzheng’s hand. “Jiang’er means well. Don’t take it the wrong way.”

Before Yu Zhengzheng could say a word, Lady Lu had already painted her as someone overly suspicious.

The sect leader scowled. “You’ve learned nothing worthwhile, yet you’ve mastered your mother’s scheming ways!”

Yu Zhengzheng had been reborn into this body, her original mother killed by the sect leader to legitimize his mistress. Without her biological mother to shield her, she had endured everything this body’s original owner had suffered. Her scumbag father had always been easily swayed, often taking Lady Lu’s side to bully her. 

Lady Lu, meanwhile, maintained her façade of kindness. “Zhengzheng, your father didn’t mean it that way.”

Tears welled in Yu Zhengzheng’s eyes as she clutched Lady Lu’s hand. “Mother, don’t be upset with Father. How could you have any scheming thoughts? Father must’ve misspoken…”

Lady Lu froze, and even the sect leader frowned.

His criticism had been aimed at her resemblance to her biological mother. But Yu Zhengzheng’s response implied she already regarded Lady Lu as her mother, misunderstanding his words as a rebuke against Lady Lu’s character.

This simple exchange cracked Lady Lu’s carefully maintained façade, revealing she had never treated Yu Zhengzheng as her daughter. Moreover, it made clear she agreed with his accusation about the first wife’s cunning nature.

The sect leader shot Lady Lu a displeased glance, though he said nothing outwardly. Still, his mood soured; he decided against visiting her chamber that night.

Yu Zhengzheng didn’t expect her father to outright reprimand Lady Lu. These things required subtle, prolonged effort. She had no time to waste trying to drive a wedge between the two scumbags. Better they stay together and spare others from their harm. 

The sect leader’s tone softened slightly. “What brings you here? Are you short on spirit stones?”

Yu Zhengzheng rolled her eyes. Outer disciples received 100 low-grade spirit stones per month, while her allowance was a mere 80. Did he have no self-awareness?

She got straight to the point. “I’ll go to Ghost Sect in Jiangjiang’s place, but I want 100 top-grade spirit stones.”

One hundred top-grade spirit stones was no small sum, but to her father, it was a drop in the ocean. Surely, Yu Jiangjiang was worth that much. 

The sect leader hadn’t expected her to volunteer for this and was momentarily stunned. Lady Lu and Yu Jiangjiang also stared at her in shock.

Yu Zhengzheng hadn’t received the Ghost Sect’s invitation, which meant she wasn’t obligated to go. He had considered sending her in Jiangjiang’s place, as they shared some resemblance. With her wood-based spiritual root, she could pass as someone with yang energy. The Ghost Sect likely wouldn’t scrutinize too closely. 

Still, he ultimately decided against it. If she refused and exposed the plan, the entire Penglai Sect would face disaster. 

But if she volunteered, it was a different story. 

After a moment of hesitation, the sect leader gritted his teeth and agreed. “Fine.”

As soon as he spoke, a blood-soaked man staggered into the hall. “Is Yu Zhengzheng here? I’m here to deliver an invitation.”

Shanshui supported Xiang Feng, his face pale as he added, “The Ghost King invites Miss Zhengzheng to Ghost Sect to compete for a maidservant position.”

Yu Zhengzheng stared at the gilded invitation in disbelief, as though watching a hundred shiny top-grade spirit stones sprout wings and fly away.