He was actually wearing Pinru's clothes
After rescuing the last trapped child, Little Treasure, Shu Fu did not dare to dally any longer. She used her spiritual power to protect the child's vital meridians while rushing nonstop back to Wei City with him in tow, and handed him over to a cultivation healer for treatment.
Fortunately, even though the child was on the brink of death, he ultimately survived. If they had been even a moment later, not even the most potent medicine would have been able to save him.
Little Treasure's mother was endlessly grateful, as could well be imagined.
Shu Fu thought with relief that at the very least, this woman would never end up like Xianglin's Wife.
Once all the commotion died down, Shu Fu, Si Fei, Wu Yao, and Jiang Xuesheng went to the Wei City City Lord's Manor once more, to report their gains and what they had witnessed to Wei Tianjiao.
……
"Inside the Flower Child Temple in Yao City, there are spirit barriers set on both the inner and outer sides of the deity statue, ensuring no sound or movement from within leaks out. Earlier, when cultivators from Wei City came to investigate several times, they found nothing out of the ordinary. For one thing, they showed up at an inopportune time, when there were no children hidden inside the statue. For another, the spirit barriers blocked all divine sense, so they could not detect even the residual thoughts left behind by the children."
"Besides, there is a certain resonance between the Flower Child statues in Yao City and Wei City."
As the most knowledgeable senior among the group, Jiang Xuesheng naturally took on the role of explaining the full situation to Wei Tianjiao.
"That's how the spirit of the Wei City statue was able to enter Fu'er's dream, and let her experience the scenes of Yao City. It was also thanks to that that we learned where the mechanism in the Flower Child Temple was hidden."
At this point, he glanced at Shu Fu with a hint of reproach. "That was extremely reckless. Don't ever do something like that again."
"It's nothing, it's just dying once in a dream, right?" Shu Fu shrugged it off, taking a small sip of the tea that Miss Wei had personally served her. The tea smelled wonderful, and the beauty serving it was even more so, making it a treat for both her nose and her eyes. "Compared to those children who lost their lives, that little bit of hardship I went through is nothing. If I hadn't experienced it firsthand, I would never have cracked the secret so easily."
Jiang Xuesheng said in a serious tone, "Experiencing death in a dream is still death. My disciple 'died' right under my nose, and I couldn't do a single thing to save you. Do you have any idea how much that troubled me?"
Shu Fu: "……"
Well, this was probably the peculiar pride of Teacher Jiang.
"I owe the two of you my deepest gratitude this time." Wei Tianjiao, the City Lord of Wei City, and her daughter Wei Zhi were seated on the other side. The mother was bright and bold, while the daughter was poised and elegant, both of them rare beauties in the world.
Since their last meeting, Wei Tianjiao had cast off her previous icy, unapproachable demeanor, and thanked Shu Fu and Jiang Xuesheng over and over with complete sincerity. Wei Zhi had just returned from the Xuanyu Palace, and had specifically come out to serve tea, to thank them for uncovering the mechanism in time and saving the people of Wei City.
"You are far too kind. The people of the world save the people of the world. There's no need to draw such clear lines between different sects and factions," Shu Fu said, returning the gesture with a cupped hand, while sneaking a glance at Wei Tianjiao's expression. "Don't you agree, City Lord Wei?"
Wei Tianjiao said openly, "You're absolutely right. I was too fixated on formalities before, not nearly as clear-sighted as a junior like you. Little Friend Shu Fu, I'll toast you with tea in place of wine."
Shu Fu was just about to reply, when she heard her heave a soft, regretful sigh. "Alas, if only you were a man. You would be the perfect match for my daughter. All the young masters from prominent clans who come to ask for her hand in marriage may have a bit of skill, but every last one of them is full of self-importance. I can't approve of a single one of them when it comes to the most basic standard of moral character."
"Cough! Cough!"
Shu Fu nearly spat out her mouthful of tea, quickly rising to bow in salute. "City Lord Wei, you are far too kind. This junior does not deserve such praise..."
Before she could finish her words, Wei Zhi, who had been smiling quietly this whole time, spoke up. "Mother, you're getting too caught up in formalities again. What does it matter that Shu Fu is a woman? Just with her sharp wits, bright spirit, and chivalrous heart, she outshines so many men. If she were to come ask for my hand in marriage, I would gladly agree."
She turned to give Shu Fu a soft, intimate smile, her tone half playful yet holding a hint of complete sincerity.
Wei Tianjiao's fine eyebrows knit slightly. "That won't do. Our Wei City follows the tradition of taking in a son-in-law to carry on the family name. Immortal Jiang, what do you say—why don't we let this child..."
Jiang Xuesheng cut in: "City Lord Wei, don't even think about it."
Wu Yao huffed: "What about me? Why is no one thanking me?"
Si Fei replied plainly: "I remember, when Master and Shimei found the clues, you had just been tossed out of the hall by Master and were struggling to crawl back inside."
Wu Yao: "...That was hardly my fault!!!"
"Ugh, you—"
Before Jiang Xuesheng could get in a sharp retort, Wei Zhi spoke quickly ahead of him. "Senior Wu, we are naturally endlessly grateful for your righteous help. I just came back from the Xuanyu Palace, and my master told me that when I'm out in the world, I should listen to you more, respect you, treat you with care, and never talk back to you. She said that even though you seem prickly on the surface, you have a very kind heart underneath."
Wu Yao blinked, then nodded. "Ah? Oh, oh... As expected of Lingbo's apprentice, you know proper etiquette. Lingbo really, though—why go telling kids all that, making me sound like such a hard person to get along with."
After that, he curled himself up into a tight ball and didn't say another word.
...
After the initial greetings were done, Jiang Xuesheng dropped his playful, nonchalant smile and launched right into his "Teacher Jiang's Mini Lecture" for everyone, breaking down the current situation and walking them through his deductions.
He went straight to the point, stating his conclusion first thing. "City Lord Wei, Ling Fengqing is raising a ghost."
"Raising a ghost?" Wei Tianjiao's expression turned stern. "Immortal Jiang, where did you hear such a thing..."
Jiang Xuesheng flipped his sleeve, pointing one by one at the items laid out on the table. "Look, City Lord. These are the things Wu Yao and I found in the Flower Child Temple, the 'offerings' Ling Fengqing left for the flower spirit child. Apart from spirit stones, there are merman scales, yellow spring flowers, nine-colored deer antlers—all items brimming with either dense spiritual energy or dense ghost energy, perfect for nourishing a disembodied soul."
"Tell me, City Lord—who, or rather what, could possibly have any use for these things?"
"Master, I know." Si Fei raised his hand earnestly, just like he used to back at Yaoguang Peak. "Merman scales and nine-colored deer antlers are both packed with spiritual energy. They can be used for living cultivators to advance their practice, but they can also be used to raise ferocious ghosts."
"Exactly. And as for the yellow spring flower..." Wei Tianjiao's eyes fell in thought, and a layer of cold frost slowly spread across her beautiful face. "Its petals and leaves carry a potent poison that serves no benefit to the living. But for ghosts, it is an incredibly powerful tonic."
Shu Fu glanced over quietly, and in her head she cursed—isn't this just the red spider lily I was totally obsessed with back in my edgy middle school phase?
Jiang Xuesheng continued, "Up until today, the culprit who has been murdering young children—that ferocious ghost—has been hiding in the Flower Child Temple of Yao City. What kind of deep grudge this ghost carries, why it hid itself in the Flower Child Temple, and why it has committed such heinous acts are all still unknown. I hope City Lord Wei will keep a close eye on these matters."
"As for Ling Fengqing, he has made repeated trips to pay his respects at the shrine, all under the guise of making 'offerings' to slip spiritual nourishment to the feral ghost without a soul noticing. Cunning and devious as he is, Ling Fengqing knew full well he was being watched long ago, so he deliberately adopted this roundabout method to keep City Lord Wei from catching on."
"Once the feral ghost gets all that nourishment, its power will surge, and it will be able to run rampant and wreak havoc across Wei City."
"Things will play out just like this: Lingxiao City — the Yuanchu bird will never strike Wei City directly, so there is no risk of facing the backlash of the imperial dragon's aura. Meanwhile, Wei City will be tormented day and night by the feral ghost, with countless young children meeting a cruel end. The whole city will soon be gripped by paranoia, no household will know a moment of peace. At that point, Ling Fengqing will spread sensational, fear-mongering rumors to throw the entire city into chaos. With the people on edge, how could City Lord Wei possibly refuse to surrender?"
There was a line he did not say out loud, but he was confident that with Wei Tianjiao's sharp wit, she would be able to piece together the missing part herself.
Back then, the reason the Lord of Yao City surrendered to Lingxiao City, leading to the breakdown of relations between Yao and Wei, and Yao Huang leaving in a fury, almost certainly stemmed from this exact scheme.
Poor man, he never even realized to this day that the feral ghost had been hiding right in the Flower Child Temple.
If not for Shu Fu, an outsider who came from nowhere, who else across Yao and Wei Cities would have ever suspected the Flower Child?
Now that this feral ghost has grown strong enough to meddle in Wei City's affairs, Ling Fengqing's schemes have naturally extended their reach here too.
"…………"
Even Wei Tianjiao, who was always shrewd, capable, and decisive in executing punishment, could not help but feel a jolt of horror the second she heard how vile this plot was. She fell into a short silence, as if trying to figure out where to even start lashing out.
Then she spoke, every word heavy with rage: "F*ck his mother, that f*cking worthless piece of trash."
Wei Zhi gave a soft, light cough. "Mother, we have guests here. Please watch your words."
"Even if the whole world were watching, I'd still curse at him the same way," Wei Tianjiao huffed, letting the foul anger in her chest dissipate, waving her hand dismissively. "Ling Fengqing pulled off this utterly unforgivable, dirty stunt that would curse his own descendants. Compared to what he did, a few choice words from me are nothing at all. I'd love to keep my mouth clean, but does that bastard even deserve that courtesy?"
Wei Zhi could not do a thing about her mother's temperament, so she turned to Jiang Xuesheng and Shu Fu with an apologetic smile. "My mother has always been bold and unconstrained. When her temper flares up, she tends to speak like that. I do hope you all will excuse her."
Shu Fu quickly replied, "Not at all, not at all."
She had seen the so-called "grand quality public squares" online before, and compared to those chaotic spaces, Wei Tianjiao could practically be called a paragon of civility.
"City Lord Wei, let's continue our discussion. Now that the mechanism in the Flower Child Temple has been exposed, Ling Fengqing will most likely look for another way to carry out his plan..."
Jiang Xuesheng had long grown accustomed to Wei Tianjiao's uninhibited manner of speech, and never paid any mind to her crude outbursts. The only thing that ever caught her off guard was that old proposal to recruit Shu Fu as a son-in-law; everything else Wei Tianjiao said was of no consequence.
Wei Tianjiao took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, then said with a solemn look, "The people of Wei City stand united, and we will never surrender. I must ask, Immortal Jiang, what do you think Ling Fengqing's next move will be?"
Jiang Xuesheng lowered her eyes slightly, thinking carefully before she spoke. "The feral ghost has not been destroyed yet, so it is bound to show up again. But the Flower Child Temple in Yao City has been razed to the ground, and Wei City is on high alert at all times, so the feral ghost's power has definitely weakened. It will not be nearly as easy for Ling Fengqing to secretly raise and feed that ghost without drawing attention anymore."
Wei Tianjiao said firmly, "Wei City will tighten our defenses to the utmost, and we will never let that feral ghost succeed again. What comes next?"
Jiang Xuesheng: "Next time, Ling Fengqing will most likely split his forces into two prongs to attack from both sides. On one hand, he will keep feeding the feral ghost that has been terrorizing Wei City, waiting for a chance to strike. On the other hand, he will take advantage of the Flower Worship Festival, when crowds are thick and easy to get lost in, to bring in other forces to throw Wei City into chaos, and leave the City Lord's forces badly battered."
"Other forces?"
Wei Tianjiao paused for a brief moment, then let out a short, cold laugh. "Could it be that 'Ghost-Faced Demon Lord' He Xiuwen, the good-for-nothing from the black market who only knows how to mess around with money and pick on the weak, the elderly, and women and children?"
Shu Fu cut in, "It's not just him. There's also Demon Lord Ninglu and her little lover. Maybe we can take care of that pair first, to cut off Ling Fengqing's wings."
Wei Tianjiao looked puzzled. "I know Ninglu. Her admirers are spread all across the Five States, and some of my people have fallen for her tricks before. But that... 'little lover'?"
Shu Fu thought for a moment, then corrected himself. "Or maybe it's an old lover. After all, the Lich King is over a thousand years old by now. That pretty boy who stole his wife must be no spring chicken himself."
Wu Yao snapped angrily, "Shut up! Don't you dare mention him in front of me!"
That said —
With Shu Fu coaxing and cajoling him every which way, Wu Yao still ended up sharing his own bitter, painful experiences as a reference for dealing with that flirty, middle-aged fox Xiao Hanyi.
Of course, "middle-aged" is only relative to humans.
Xiao Hanyi is only roughly six hundred years old in total, which is not particularly old among the demon clans, nor is he a naive, inexperienced young fool. He's right in the prime of his youth, and compared to the thousand-year-old flood dragon Lich King, he really can be considered a fresh, tender pretty boy.
Legend has it that this person — no, this beast — is extremely obsessed with his looks. After going through all the handsome men under the sky, he shaped himself a stunningly beautiful appearance when he took human form, one that's not a single bit inferior to Wu Yao's, and earned himself the nickname "Jade-Faced Fox".
If Shu Fu had never known him and only heard that name, he'd probably think Xiao Hanyi was the Bull Demon King's little lover.
Jade-Faced Fox is not only handsome, but also extremely meticulous about dressing up. Unlike Wu Yao, who lives a plain and simple life and can wear the same outfit for a whole year, Xiao Hanyi collects silk, satin, jewelry, and face powders. In terms of variety and taste, his collection is no worse than Liu Ruyi's, and he practically carries a "Hla Jeans, the wardrobe for men" with him everywhere he goes.
Or rather, it's Pinru's wardrobe.
On top of his good looks and polished lifestyle, Xiao Hanyi was also born with a silver tongue. No matter where he goes or who he's in front of, he always has a bellyful of free, flowery sweet words. He speaks the language of humans to humans, and the language of ghosts to ghosts. He has piles of love tokens on hand, and his grand romantic confessions are served by the pound. He could hype up even Zhong Wuyan into a Xia Yingchun, and with a little more effort, he could even turn her into a Yang Yuhuan.
A young girl just starting to have romantic feelings would fall for him within three sentences, and by the fourth, they'd already be discussing which inn to check into.
And after checking into the inn?
In Xiao Hanyi's own words — we've already done everything there is to do, so why keep her around?
The women who could stick around him for a while are either extremely charming, extremely beautiful, or extremely gentle and virtuous. Even so, that flirty fox would never stay faithful to anyone. He's got his eyes on the food in his bowl, the food in his pot, and the food in the fields beyond. His splits are so flexible he could stretch straight from one end of the Great Wall to the other.
Shu Fu: "Ahem ahem. Lich King, let's keep things modest in front of Miss Wei, no need to use words like 'flirty'."
Wu Yao said indignantly, "He was being flirty right at my bedside! Can't I even say that?!"
Shu Fu: "And that's why, in front of Miss Wei, we also shouldn't mention anything about 'bedside'..."
Si Fei: "Senior sister, what does 'flirty' mean, and why can't we say it? You keep saying our master is flirty all the time. What's the difference between the two?"
Jiang Xuesheng said, "Si Fei, be good. Turn around, cover your ears, and don't listen to any of this stuff. If you do, you'll get tainted."
Si Fei asked, "But what about Junior Sister..."
Jiang Xuesheng replied, "She was already tainted to begin with, it's fine."
Shu Fu let out a dry chuckle. "Right, I've been tainted long ago, hahaha."
Si Fei then said, "Then... what about Miss Wei?"
Wei Zhi pressed her lips together in a poised, gentle smile. "Actually, I have quite a collection of storybooks in my room. The folk customs in Wei City are very open, Senior Wu, don't hold back on your account, speak your mind freely."
Wu Yao: "…………"
It suddenly dawned on him that out of every single person present, the only ones who were still completely innocent were probably himself and a fish.
