The bold and unrestrained female ghost, who spoke in a chaotic stew of dialect, surprisingly had a rather delicate name—Tian Xin.
Shu Fu glanced at the "Sweetheart" before her, then stole a look at the "White Sweet" beside her, inexplicably feeling her throat clogged with an overwhelming sweetness.
This name was just too saccharine!
Miss Tian Xin, having her storytelling mood ruined by the tactless Young Master Fang, surveyed the group of clueless misfits before her and suddenly lost interest. She couldn’t be bothered to continue her tale and simply nodded at Shu Fu. "Little sister, come with me. We’ll talk as we walk. Some things are better seen with your own eyes."
"Me?" Shu Fu was a little flattered. "Thank you, Miss Tian. But may I ask why…?"
"Why? ‘Cause I’m in a good mood and I like your face, that’s why."
Tian Xin spoke with bravado, but her expression was inscrutable, and she swiftly changed the subject. "By the way, do you know where this place is?"
"Well…"
How the hell would I know?
But the ghost did know: "This place is located thirty li northwest of Qingcheng. It’s a private estate belonging to Third Master Qi."
"Third Master Qi?!"
Before Shu Fu could even react in shock, the other youths had already cried out in alarm. "How could this be Qi family territory? What would the Qi family want with a teleportation array in the Hidden Wood Forest?"
Tian Xin curled her lips mockingly and repeated, "Yeah. What would the Qi family want with a teleportation array in the Hidden Wood Forest?"
"…"
Shu Fu had already pieced things together in her mind, so she naturally understood what the destination of this teleportation array implied.
The Qiongqi had once been spotted near the Hidden Wood Forest, yet no traces of it remained there. And now, a hidden teleportation array leading straight to the Qi family…
The answer was practically staring them in the face.
Even Young Master Bai had caught on, his face turning ashen. "Are you saying… the Qi family—Third Master Qi—has been raising the Qiongqi? Eight years ago, when the Qiongqi mysteriously vanished, was it because the Qi family used the teleportation array to move it? They’re in league with it?"
"Wrong."
However, this "practically obvious" answer was refuted by a voice as light and gentle as a breeze.
Shu Fu turned in surprise to see Jiang Xuesheng walking unhurriedly beside her. The eerie blue glow of the wall lanterns cast a cold, almost sorrowful light on his face.
He spoke softly, "The Qi family’s main lineage has some skill in swordsmanship, but the rest—Third this, Fourth that—are nothing but worthless mediocrities. Raising a Qiongqi? They don’t have the ability."
Shu Fu: "…"
His sharp tongue never failed to astound her.
The others were equally stunned by his audacity, gaping at him in silence before finally snapping out of it.
Bai Tian, who had been forced into an unwanted marriage arrangement by his parents and thus held no reverence for any "Third Master Qi," chimed in, "Then who do you think is behind this? Why would a teleportation array in the Hidden Wood Forest lead to the Qi family?"
Jiang Xuesheng tilted his head slightly, giving him a sidelong glance as if sizing him up.
Under the dim lantern light, his usual facade of "mediocrity" and "refinement" had completely faded. A thin, almost perfunctory smile floated on his lips, like a wisp of mist on a morning river—utterly insincere.
He looked less like a devil and more like a demon lord.
Liu Ruyi, ever observant, noticed his reluctance to explain and stepped in on behalf of the lofty demon lord. "Third Master Qi is ambitious, so of course he’d want a piece of the action. But he’s mediocre at best—no skill in formations, no talent for beast-taming. The reason the Qiongqi could wreak havoc in Qingcheng is because someone else was pulling the strings."
His explanation was clear and logical. Bai Tian’s eyes sparkled with admiration, and he was about to clap in agreement when a hoarse male voice cut in:
"You, this neither-man-nor-woman freak, who gave you the right to speak here? How dare you slander Miss Qi’s father!"
Shu Fu stiffened, thinking for a moment that Young Master Fang had crawled back out of the water to cause trouble again. But when she turned, she saw a different face—not entirely unfamiliar, as it belonged to the youth who had earlier mocked them for being "outsiders who shouldn’t meddle" before falling for Liu Ruyi’s beauty.
Now, it seemed his infatuation extended beyond just one person.
Unlike Bai Tian, who had embraced his newfound appreciation for male beauty without hesitation, this young man felt deceived. His anger was tinged with disgust. "A grown man, dressing in women’s robes, wearing makeup, acting all coy—disgusting!"
"Disgusting how?"
Shu Fu rested a hand on her sword, her smile icy as she cut him off. "Go on. What about hairpins, silk skirts, or rouge insults your precious masculinity?"
Liu Ruyi, who had initially brushed off the insult, was now pleasantly surprised by her defense. He chuckled, "Girls really do know how to take care of people."
Bai Tian’s expression darkened further. "Miss Liu—no, Young Master Liu… he really does like women after all…"
Shu Fu: Hey, hey, wake up.
Liu Ruyi, unbothered, dismissed the interjecting youth as nothing more than background noise. Gathering his raven-black hair, he continued, "Miss Shu, Young Master Bai, do you know which sects in this world excel in formations and beast-taming?"
"Uh…"
Shu Fu racked her brain, recalling the notes she had copied. "For formations, the Tianyan Sect is the best. The Yuheng Peak of the Jiuhua Sect and Elder Kongtong of Lingxiao City are also renowned. As for beast-taming, the ‘White Deer Mountain’ specializes in it, but Lingxiao City raids them every so often, taking plenty of their manuals."
"Exactly." Liu Ruyi’s voice was soft. "In that case, you should already have your answer."
Shu Fu froze for a second before it clicked—the only faction skilled in both esoteric formations and beast-taming was Lingxiao City. Liu Ruyi’s question had been leading her to the conclusion all along.
She murmured, "Lingxiao City was behind this?"
Tong Yao’s fatal injuries, the Tong family’s sudden downfall—had it all been part of a meticulously crafted scheme, not just some tragic backstory?
In the original novel, the protagonists faced countless trials, encountering vicious female rivals, domineering male antagonists, and shadowy organizations at every turn. Shu Fu had been too busy cursing the male lead to remember if this particular grudge was among them.
Now that Liu Ruyi had laid it out, she felt no rage—just a detached resignation. Typical of an old-school tragedy. The whole world’s out to get the female lead. What rotten luck.
One of the youths still refused to accept it. "It doesn’t have to be Lingxiao City. A simple teleportation array isn’t that hard to set up. You don’t need to be a formation master for that."
"Who’s talking about the teleportation array?"
Tian Xin’s almond eyes widened. "Good heavens, don’t tell me you didn’t notice? That forest wasn’t just full of miasma and beasts—someone had set up a massive illusion formation there!"
Her chest was filled with years of pent-up grievances, like a pufferfish swollen with unspoken rage. Finally finding an outlet, she began venting without preamble: "Damn it all! To figure out how to solve this maze and bring outsiders to the lake, who knows how many years I, a lonely wandering ghost, had to spend studying! I even dismantled my own skeleton!"
The crowd: "That was your skeleton?!"
Tian Xin: "Oops, slipped my tongue. Just pretend you didn’t hear that."
"..."
Shu Fu raised a hand to her forehead.
Fortunately, the female ghost was still reliable. Even while complaining, she didn’t forget the task at hand, leading them through a narrow underground passage as she briefly explained, "Don’t bother guessing anymore. This handsome gege is right—Third Master Qi is indeed up to no good, and he has some powerful helpers. Not sure if that ‘Lin Xiaocheng’ is among them."
"I’ve never amounted to much—not when I was alive, and even less now that I’m dead—so I couldn’t tell how strong they were."
Her tone was casual, but her words were chilling: "Anyway, they were terrifying. With just a tap on my forehead, my whole head exploded. Brains and blood everywhere, only my skull left intact—like a damn smashed watermelon."
Tian Xin described her own death with the same careless, crude language, as if it were just some trivial joke.
But she had died so brutally, her remains left unburied—could she really not care at all?
Shu Fu stole a glance at her and saw that her gaze was clear, devoid of the violent resentment typical of vengeful spirits.
In the endless darkness, the white-clad girl stared calmly ahead, as though nothing in the world existed beyond the path beneath her feet.
Suddenly, she changed the subject: "Eight years ago, I came to Qingcheng for the first time."
Shu Fu recognized this as the story that had been interrupted earlier and stayed silent, holding her breath for what came next.
"I wasn’t alone."
Tian Xin spoke in uncharacteristically proper Mandarin, her tone tinged with vague nostalgia. "At the time, I was gravely ill, beyond saving, and had already prepared for the end. He… refused to accept it. He sought out immortals to cure me, searching everywhere for miracle cures, and that’s how we ended up at the Qi family’s doorstep."
"Back then, the Qi family’s patriarch and eldest young master were in seclusion, so Third Young Master took us in. He gave me a pill that barely kept me alive."
"That pill wasn’t free. Third Young Master told him that if he wanted me to live a long life, he’d have to do something for the Qi family."
—Who was "he"? Qiongqi? Tian Xin’s boyfriend?
Shu Fu was suspicious but resisted interrupting.
By the timeline, the Qi family’s leader at the time was Qi Yuxuan’s grandfather, and the "eldest young master" was likely Qi Yuxuan’s father. This "Third Young Master," now known as Third Master Qi, was Qi Yuxuan’s uncle—the same man backing Qi Xinlei and her sister.
The main branch of the Qi family was obsessed with swordsmanship, indifferent to worldly affairs, spending 360 days a year in seclusion. The vast Qi estate had probably long since fallen under Third Master Qi’s control.
"What happened next?"
Bai Tian asked hoarsely, already guessing the truth. "Did he… did Qiongqi kill for Third Master Qi to save you?"
"Not killing—capturing."
Tian Xin corrected him. "Third Master Qi needed living people but didn’t want anyone to notice, so he made it look like ‘monsters eating humans.’ Later, their deal fell apart, and they killed me."
Here, she suddenly grinned brightly: "Hey, lucky I died! When I was alive, I was always half-dead, just a burden, useless to anyone. Third Master Qi used me as a hostage, and I was desperate but couldn’t even speak. Now? I can talk, laugh, and float around!"
"—This time, it’s my turn to save him."
Bai Tian: "..."
Young Master Bai had been coddled by his parents since childhood, a delicate flower sheltered from all storms—naive, innocent, and sweet, with no malice in his heart and no suspicion that others might harm him.
Now, the flawless protection of the Bai family had cracked, and he was abruptly exposed to the harsh, ugly world outside his greenhouse. The shock left him trembling slightly.
The gears in his mind, rusted from disuse, miraculously turned once, granting him a sliver of caution.
He thought: I’ve been set up.
The Tong family had fallen, while the Qi and Jiang families were in league, their influence untouchable. Even the most blatant injustice would evaporate like morning dew.
Tian Xin had no one to rely on. Her only hope was to gather these small, self-interested families—like unleashing a pack of rabid dogs to take down tigers and wolves.
Shu Fu also understood this and silently admired Tian Xin’s strategy.
A lone ghost, she had somehow spread the rumor that "Qiongqi is in the Hidden Wood Forest," luring in these ambitious young nobles eager to make a name for themselves—forcing them to witness the truth firsthand.
This way, even if she died, someone would expose the scheme for her.
The only flaw in her plan? These small families were pathetically weak.
Rabid dogs, yes—but more like a pack of teacup poodles.
The one silver lining was that Tian Xin hadn’t accounted for Jiang Xuesheng and Liu Ruyi either.
Shu Fu knew nothing about these two, yet she inexplicably trusted that they could handle those "terrifying helpers."
Of course, given that this involved Jiang Ruoshui’s vengeance for her mother’s death, even if she couldn’t fight them head-on, she could always sneak in for a kill.
But…
—What did "this time, it’s my turn to save him" mean?
—Hadn’t Qiongqi, who was exploited back then, already died?
Unless… during the Tong family battle, Qiongqi hadn’t actually died but was recaptured by Third Master Qi, still wreaking havoc to this day?
That would be too cruel.
The person he’d wanted to protect was long gone, yet Qiongqi didn’t even know—just mindlessly repeating atrocities, piling up sins.
No wonder Tian Xin couldn’t rest in peace…
As Shu Fu pondered, Tian Xin suddenly spoke:
"We’re here. These are the people ‘Qiongqi’ kidnapped—every last one of them. See for yourselves."
"This…"
Bai Tian sucked in a sharp breath.
At the end of the long passage lay a square, spacious stone chamber. It was empty—devoid of objects, only people. Men, women, old and young, all emaciated and vacant-eyed, slumped against the walls like lifeless statues. At first glance, they hardly seemed human.
But they were alive.
Their chests still rose and fell, their eyelids still fluttered. Even caged like livestock, they were undeniably living people.
A few still retained some awareness. Hearing voices, their dull eyes suddenly blazed with terrifying intensity—like fireworks bursting in the night.
"Help us! Heroes, immortals, please save—"
Before the words had fully left her lips, Jiang Xuesheng, walking beside Shu Fu, suddenly darkened his expression and lowered his voice: "Quiet."
His hands moved faster than his mouth. With a swift motion, he formed a hand seal, and the overjoyed prisoners instantly collapsed as if struck by an invisible force.
Jiang Xuesheng’s expression remained unchanged as he continued without pause, flicking a talisman toward the stone chamber’s entrance and tracing a faint line in the air with his fingertip.
In an instant, Shu Fu felt the atmosphere around them shift—as though an invisible glass wall had separated the passage they stood in from the chamber beyond.
Only after everything was secured did Jiang Xuesheng calmly speak again: "Someone’s coming."
The group of young men exchanged uneasy glances, cold sweat breaking out on their backs. Shu Fu fared slightly better, only half as terrified, and mustered the courage to step forward for a closer look.
At the opposite end of the stone chamber, a heavy stone door slowly creaked open, and two slender young women entered in single file.
One, dressed in peach-red robes, had a shrill voice: "What a wretched day! First, I bought a pile of fakes, then ran into some freak who couldn’t decide if they were a man or a woman, and some nasty little shrew. Just wait—one day, I’ll make them all beg for my forgiveness on their knees! Oh, Xiaowei, what is this place? Why did you bring me here?"
The other, clad in emerald-green silk, spoke in a gentle tone: "Sister, this is a wonderful place. These are all the wicked people Father captured—kept here for testing medicines. If you’re upset, you can take it out on them."
The red-clad girl frowned. "Testing medicines? I’ve never heard of Father having such a place in his villa." Then her tone shifted. "Well, if they’ve offended Father, they must be scum anyway. They deserve to die. But they’re not even shackled—won’t they fight back?"
The green-robed girl’s eyes curved into crescents, her smile growing even sweeter. "Don’t worry, sister. They’ve been locked up for years, fed worse than our cats and dogs. They’re weak as reeds—you could handle them with a single finger."
The red-clad girl clapped her hands in delight. "Perfect! Xiaowei, you always know just what I need!"
"..."
Shu Fu’s pupils constricted, her fingers itching uncontrollably.
These two girls were none other than Qi Xinlei and Qi Yuwei—whom they had just encountered earlier that day!
