Wen Shuangbai looked at Xie Ziyin’s utterly bewildered expression and couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
So that’s how it was! She had wondered how, despite both being unlucky souls, this man had suddenly gotten so fortunate in Star Moon Valley—snagging the only star worth sixty million spirit stones.
Now it all made sense.
Wen Shuangbai felt much better instantly, and even Xie Ziyin seemed slightly more tolerable now.
Yes, she was precisely the kind of "model youth" who, when miserable herself, wished for others to share in her misery.
"Hahahaha…" Shen Hefeng was also beside himself with amusement, immediately seizing the chance to kick Xie Ziyin while he was down. "Are we sure this ‘Poison Doctor’ is only filthy on the outside? This old man thinks even his heart is rotten—utterly incurable!"
Xie Ziyin’s gaze swept over the grinning woman and the baby-faced Taoist: "…"
What kind of people had he ended up with?
He directed his counterattack solely at Shen Hefeng: "Why didn’t the heavenly lightning just strike you dead?"
"If the lightning didn’t kill you two, it certainly wouldn’t kill me," Shen Hefeng retorted smugly. "Speaking of which, if not for this old man’s heroic act of saving you from the lightning, you’d be dust by now. Shouldn’t you be bowing in gratitude? Forget the rest—just return the hundred spirit stones you owe me!"
Xie Ziyin glanced at Wen Shuangbai, his expression clearly saying, Your call.
Wen Shuangbai kicked the shameless Taoist away. "Keep dreaming. Scram."
Lu Jiayao ignored the trio.
Flattered by the star’s acknowledgment, he eagerly approached it, beaming. "Thank you! I like you too!"
Amid the chaos in the room, only the tiny figure clad in silken robes—Four Hundred Blocks—continued diligently writing:
[Alright, the star isn’t crying anymore.]
[The star wants to answer Lu Jiayao first. It says the Star-Moon Taoist is actually the Star-Moon Divine Tree. But he never stays in his tree hole, always running off to play outside, letting weeds grow all over it.]
[Because of this pen’s influence, the star also likes Shuangbai, so it’ll answer her next. The Star-Moon Taoist brought back eight people in total, but it can’t quite remember all their names. It recalls a kind elder sister named Ye Qingrong, a fierce sword-carrying brother named Li Hanshan, and a bald monk… The others it rarely interacted with, so it doesn’t remember well.]
Wen Shuangbai read each word carefully, instinctively guessing, "Could it be the Seven Sages of the past, plus Senior Qingrong?"
That would make exactly eight.
"Most likely," Xie Ziyin murmured, frowning slightly as he leaned closer to Wen Shuangbai. "They seem to have been planning something significant in Star Moon Valley."
[Also, the star refuses to answer any of Shen Hefeng’s questions.]
Enraged, Shen Hefeng whacked the star with his lightning-forged turtle shell, showing no mercy. "Stupid rock! Know why they took the moon and left you behind? It’s definitely because—OW!"
He yelped, clutching a leaf-shaped blade, and glared at Wen Shuangbai. "You venomous witch! Attacking your savior? I’ll report you to Pavilion Master Xu!"
"Go ahead." Wen Shuangbai stood, shoving the foul-mouthed Taoist aside with a warning to shut up, then approached the star. Since her next question was sensitive, she had Lu Jiayao ask it instead.
Lu Jiayao coaxed the star like a chick. "Dear star, do you know what they discussed with the moon or where they took it? It’s fine if you don’t want to answer."
Four Hundred Blocks:
[The star says it doesn’t know. Those people were so mean, only sharing secrets with the moon. The moon wouldn’t tell it either.]
[The star only knows that before leaving, the Star-Moon Taoist had Qingrong make many fake stars. Everyone placed items inside, calling it a ‘backup plan’ for future generations.]
The starstone knew little else. Finally, as Four Hundred Blocks wrote that the star was tired and wanted to sleep, Wen Shuangbai pointed to the paper scraps she’d collected and asked one last question:
"Sweet star, do you know how to assemble these?"
Four Hundred Blocks:
[The star says it doesn’t know—it can’t read. But it remembers Qingrong tore two sheets of paper and hid them separately.]
Wen Shuangbai: "???"
Wait—two sheets?
So the pieces were from two different puzzles mixed together? No wonder she couldn’t make sense of them!
Suddenly enlightened, Wen Shuangbai felt a surge of excitement. The problem that had plagued her for days now had a solution. Overjoyed, she kissed the starstone. "You’ve been such a help today! Rest well, darling."
With that, she tossed the star back to Xie Ziyin and began shooing everyone out. "Alright, scram. I’ve got puzzles to solve."
Xie Ziyin caught the reluctantly chosen starstone, his expression unreadable. "Using me and tossing me aside?"
"Don’t state the obvious." Wen Shuangbai herded the three out, waving dismissively before slamming the door.
Outside, Shen Hefeng smirked at Xie Ziyin’s sour face. "Xie the Poison, she didn’t even use you."
Xie Ziyin: "…"
Lu Jiayao, watching the starstone dangling precariously from Xie Ziyin’s grip, felt a pang of sympathy. "Brother Xie, be gentle with it—"
Before he could finish, Xie Ziyin swung the starstone at Shen Hefeng’s head with lightning speed.
THUNK.
The impact echoed so loudly even Wen Shuangbai heard it from inside.
Shen Hefeng went berserk. Unfazed, Xie Ziyin stood his ground as Lu Jiayao rushed to mediate—soon, all three men were tangled in a brawl.
Yin Xuan, yawning as he floated out for dinner, paused nearby. Bleary-eyed, he watched the scuffle with amusement before gracefully hopping over the tangle of limbs. After three steps, he turned back sweetly.
"Excuse me, would anyone like me to bring back food?"
---
Four Hundred Blocks had written so much it exhausted itself.
Huff. Time to clock out and nap.
The tiny pen scurried up the bed on its wooden legs, snuggled into a corner, tugged a blanket over itself, and dozed off.
Outside, the ruckus continued. Wen Shuangbai shook her head, refocused, and eagerly began piecing the scraps together.
From the star, she’d learned these were left by Senior Ye Qingrong.
She also remembered Qi Yaoling mentioning during the last trial that the Yaoling Method had a third layer—likely deduced by Qingrong, waiting to be uncovered.
Now, it was up to her to find it.
Wen Shuangbai had a feeling that these two pieces of paper might be related to the Qi Yaoling Heart Technique.
First, after realizing that these were two separate fragments mixed together, her immediate task was to sort them apart.
Each scrap was covered in black ink lines, all bearing the same handwriting, confirming that both pieces had been written by the same person—Senior Ye Qingrong.
This made the task of separating them particularly difficult.
However, thanks to her relentless efforts over the past ten days, Wen Shuangbai had begun to discern a pattern.
Just as before, she could distinctly sense that certain fragments felt jarring when placed next to others.
Over the next few days, she meticulously studied the black lines on each tiny scrap, sorting the two thousand fragments into two separate piles—like separating green beans from yellow beans.
While she was busy day and night, her neighbor Xie Ziyin was also occupied.
After setting up ten experimental groups, he noticed that in the flowerpot mixed with soil dug from the Star Moon Divine Tree’s pit, the carnivorous plant he had planted had sprouted a tiny green shoot.
A faint smile touched Xie Ziyin’s lips as he crossed his arms, admiring his experimental results for a moment. He picked up the Mystic Heaven Mirror, intending to share the news with Wen Shuangbai.
But as soon as he opened it, he saw a message from Elder Cao Xing.
[Too Lazy to Care: Where’s Wen Shuangbai? I tried reaching her, but she ignored me.]
[Truly Prosperous: What do you need her for?]
[Too Lazy to Care: …When did you change your Mystic Heaven name?]
Wasn’t it “Broke” before?
[Truly Prosperous: After paying off my debts.]
[Too Lazy to Care: …………]
[Truly Prosperous: What’s the matter? I’ll call her for you.]
---
In Wen Shuangbai’s room.
The disheveled woman in green robes, who hadn’t bothered with her appearance in days, sat cross-legged on a chair. Her left hand cradled a box of paper scraps while her right pinched a single fragment, her gaze fixed on the wooden frame on the table as she pondered where to place it.
Suddenly, a knock sounded at the door.
Wen Shuangbai snapped irritably, “Go away.”
These days, everyone had left her alone, knowing she was absorbed in her puzzle—except for that insufferable Taoist Shen Hefeng. Every time he passed by, whether he had business or not, he would knock a few times and shout at her to stop before she fried her brain.
The moment her sharp dismissal left her lips, the knocking ceased.
A moment later, a cool, detached voice sounded from outside. “It’s me.”
Xie Ziyin?
What did he want?
Wen Shuangbai was about to say “Come in,” but the words died in her throat.
She immediately straightened, snatched up the Mystic Heaven Mirror to check her reflection, and without hesitation cast a quick cleansing spell on herself. Then she grabbed the hairpin she’d tossed aside earlier, hastily tidied her hair, and leaned back into her chair, pretending she hadn’t just frantically fixed herself up. With forced nonchalance, she called, “Come in.”
Xie Ziyin pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Wen Shuangbai turned to look at him.
Ever since they’d left the Star Moon Valley, the demonic influence of the Nine Infants Cursed Technique had been completely purged from him. Now, he seemed even more striking—like ripe fruit hanging temptingly from a branch.
She blinked. “What’s up?”
“Mn.” Xie Ziyin’s gaze flickered imperceptibly over her hair, his fingers twitching slightly in his sleeves before he walked over and looked down at her. “Your father is here.”
Wen Shuangbai: “……?”
Her first thought was—Is this bastard insulting me?
But his expression suggested he wasn’t joking.
“…My father?” she repeated blankly, baffled. “Wait, I have a father?”
Xie Ziyin’s lips twitched. He reached out to adjust the slightly crooked hairpin in her hair and reminded her, “Unless I’m mistaken, you do. His name is Wen Feng. Think harder.”
