Mei Man stared at the letter in her hand.
Shen Shushi had left early that morning for the spiritual herb class at the outer sect compound. The handwriting on the letter was unmistakably his, and so was the seal stamped on it—the exact same mark she had seen on the title page of every single one of his collection of books.
But he always contacted her through communication jade slips, when had he ever written her a letter before?
Mei Man rubbed the sheet of paper between her fingers, running the pads of her fingers over the inked characters again and again.
The paper was unusually smooth, with a tight, fine texture. If it had been written with a brush dipped in ink, there would at least be a slight raised trace left by the ink on the surface.
Yet the page was perfectly flat, not even the tiniest raised ridge of ink to be found anywhere.
Mei Man fetched a little water next and dabbed a drop onto one of the ink characters.
The ink did not smudge or spread at all.
She was certain then: this letter had not been written by hand. It had been conjured into existence directly by some sort of spiritual art.
It might very well be a forged letter left by someone with ill intentions.
Mei Man stared at the letter deep in thought.
It was at that moment that Yu Guiya arrived.
"Little junior sister, I've come to borrow a book—eh? What is that you're holding?" he said.
"A letter," Mei Man replied. "It's from the Immortal Master."
"The Immortal Master?" Yu Guiya's brows shot together in a frown all at once, and he stepped forward. "Little junior sister, can I take a look at this sheet of paper? I won't peek at the contents inside, you can fold it up as you like. I only need to examine the paper itself."
Mei Man said, "Look at the paper? Why? Is there something wrong with this paper?"
Yu Guiya lowered his gaze, his eyes landing on the girl before him.
On ordinary days, her face carried a cool, distant coldness that kept people at arm's length. Now, a hint of tense unease softened that edge, making her look far more vivid and human.
When anyone looked at her, the first thing that caught their attention was her eyes.
The irises were a shade close to amber, overlaid with a faint layer of smoky gray that gave her a naturally subdued, somber air. But her gaze never wandered, always fixed steadily on whoever she was speaking to, and that unyielding steadiness spoke of a stubborn resolve that refused to compromise.
The moment you locked eyes with her, all the emotions hidden deep in those eyes would wash over you, like a cold, dark mire that could pull you under and swallow you whole in an instant.
It was slightly unsettling, enough to make most people want to tear their gaze away as fast as possible.
Yet at the same time, it stoked a burning urge to dig deeper, to uncover what lay beneath that surface.
Yu Guiya's eyelid twitched almost imperceptibly. All at once, a tingling, shuddering sensation ran up his spine and shot straight to the top of his head.
By pure instinct, he sensed danger.
But in the next blink, that strange, uncanny reaction faded away completely. He chided himself for being overly suspicious, and said, "If this was something that belonged to the Master, there would be no trace of spiritual breath on it. He always hides his presence perfectly. But this letter you're holding reeks of lingering spiritual breath."
Mei Man had already guessed at the origin of the letter, but she still wasn't sure of Yu Guiya's true intentions.
So she put on a show of flustered, helpless confusion, and said in a trembling, timid voice, "But I... I can't sense any spiritual breath at all. And Senior Brother Yu, this really is the Immortal Master's handwriting, and his seal too. If this isn't his letter, who else could it have come from?"
As she spoke, she held the letter out to him. She didn't fold it up, but laid it fully open so he could get a clear view of the handwriting.
Yu Guiya caught the blank, bewildered look in her eyes, the traces of genuine panic.
She stared at him with such complete, unwavering focus, looking as if she trusted him entirely.
His heart skipped a beat. He took the letter from her hand and said, "Don't panic. Let me take a good look first—you say this is the Master's handwriting? Can I read the contents of the letter?"
Mei Man nodded. "Go ahead, Senior Brother Yu. But please hurry. The time the Immortal Master mentioned is almost here."
Yu Guiya skimmed over the letter's contents, then rubbed the sheet of paper between his fingers.
The next instant, the whole page dissolved into pale white wispy currents of air and vanished without a trace.
Mei Man froze. "Senior Brother Yu, you..."
"This is a fake object conjured by spirit arts." Yu Guiya brushed the last speck of dust from his fingertips. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Who delivered that letter?"
Mei Man feigned total ignorance. "A white crane did — but Senior Brother Yu, how could it possibly be fake? It was clearly the Immortal Master's handwriting and seal. Besides, who would go out of their way to impersonate the Immortal Master just to send me a letter, ordering me to travel all the way to the beast forest?"
Yu Guiya chuckled. "Little Junior Sister, you are a mortal, so it is only natural that you cannot sense the spirit breath clinging to it. Come, I will take you to see with your own eyes who is playing these strange tricks behind the scenes."
He led her to the back mountain's beast forest.
Nearly all the spirit beasts of the entire immortal sect estate were kept in this forest, and few disciples ever came here.
Yu Guiya brought Mei Man to a cliffside with a high vantage point. Looking straight ahead, they could see a large boulder marked with cinnabar-red characters that read "Endless Cave."
Right next to that boulder was a pitch-black opening, which was surely the "Endless Cave" they had been referring to.
Mei Man spotted the boulder at once and said urgently, "Senior Brother Yu, the Immortal Master told me to go straight inside that very Endless Cave."
"No rush." Yu Guiya pulled out an arrow, nocked it to his bowstring, and released it in one smooth, fluid motion.
The arrow shot straight toward the cave, but just a split second before it would have flown into the opening, it suddenly shattered into fine powder.
The glowing silver dust exploded outward, then converged again, taking the shape of a person.
Yu Guiya lowered his bow, raised an eyebrow at Mei Man and smiled. "Little Junior Sister, we will soon find out exactly what the person who sent that letter is planning."
Mei Man stared at the blurry figure.
From the outline, it was a young male cultivator. He moved his legs stiffly like a puppet, then stepped forward into the cave.
At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
But the moment he crossed the cave's threshold, a massive beastly shadow suddenly lunged out from the darkness inside.
That creature was twice the size of two full-grown tigers, and its exact form was impossible to make out — nothing but a dark, hulking mass.
It let out a deafening howl. Even from where they stood far away, Mei Man felt her ears ring sharply.
She clapped her hands over her ears instinctively, and the next thing she saw was the ferocious beast biting clean through the male cultivator's upper body, leaving nothing but a bloodied lower torso behind.
The scene was so gory that she was terrified out of her wits, and nearly jumped out of her skin.
Yu Guiya beside her, however, had clearly anticipated this would happen. He kindly stepped in front of her, blocking the gruesome sight from view.
He looked down at her, the feather pendant dangling from his ear swaying gently.
"Little Junior Sister," he said, "it seems someone was deliberately trying to harm you."
With him standing in her way, Mei Man could only see half of the cave. She caught a faint glimpse of the ferocious beast crushing the remaining half of the broken body before retreating back into the cave.
"What... what was that thing?" she asked, still pale with lingering fright.
Yu Guiya said, "It is a ferocious beast our Immortal Master sealed away in the Endless Cave, and what we just saw was only a wisp of its demonic aura manifested as a shadow. Rest assured, its true body is deep inside, and it cannot come out."
"A ferocious beast? But this beast forest is only supposed to have spirit beasts. I've never heard there was a ferocious beast here before."
"The area around the Endless Cave is a restricted zone, forbidden to all disciples. Naturally, we could not spread the word to everyone, or it would cause unnecessary panic and trouble." Yu Guiya took a token out from his sleeve.
Unlike the wooden token Shen Shushi had given Mei Man, the one in his hand was carved from jade, etched with golden patterns that looked like the two characters "Exorcise Evil."
Mei Man instantly forgot all the tension and fear she had felt just now, and could not help but keep staring at that token that looked extremely valuable.
Yu Guiya tossed the token up into the air, caught it again, and said, "Normally, only the members of the Evil Subduing Enforcers are allowed to come here. Little junior sister, if you had really made your way here today, not to mention the possibility of getting severely injured by that fierce evil beast, if you were spotted by the Evil Subduing Enforcers on patrol, you would face severe punishment, and might even be expelled from the Inner Sect Compound entirely."
Mei Man caught wind of an unfamiliar name, "What is the Evil Subduing Enforcers?"
"It's an organization set up by our master, a small squad under the Management Hall. Let me think... The Evil Subduing Enforcers usually assist with some of the Management Hall's duties, and also go out to eliminate evil in the name of Tianyan Immortal Estate."
Shen Shushi, a demon cultivator himself, actually created an organization dedicated to catching demons?
Mei Man was brimming with surprise, but of course she could not say that out loud, so she only said, "I never heard of any of this when I was in the Outer Sect Compound. Is the Evil Subduing Enforcers very well-known out there?"
"Pretty much. A lot of cultivators in the sect are dying to get in, and many people come to Tianyan Immortal Estate specifically for the reputation of the Evil Subduing Enforcers. Most of the seniors who used to be in the Evil Subduing Enforcers went on to join the Immortal Alliance after leaving the sect. But our master's requirements are extremely strict, and ordinary cultivators cannot pass the assessment." Yu Guiya said, "The senior brother eldest in rank — you haven't met him, he went down the mountain to catch demons, and he is one of the current leaders of the Evil Subduing Enforcers. I'm the deputy, helping him manage some affairs for the time being. Oh, Zilang is also in the team, that senior brother Fan Zilang who bumped into you at the entrance of the cave abode the other day."
Hearing those words, Mei Man's mouth uncontrollably tugged downwards, but then she realized Yu Guiya was still watching her, so she quickly forced out a stiff small smile.
Fan Zilang is also part of it? Seriously, how strict are Shen Shushi's requirements even supposed to be? Has he ever actually properly vetted a single person he took in?
She asked, "Is Senior Brother Qiu in it too? He never mentioned any of this to me."
Yu Guiya did not notice the subtle change in her expression, and upon hearing her question, he looked even more smug, laughing as he said, "Which Senior Brother Qiu are you talking about? Qiu Heyang, or Qiu Yingling? Oh, it doesn't really matter, neither of them are in it. Senior Brother Qiu Yingling is the Sect Master's personal disciple, he's swamped with work all the time and definitely doesn't have time for this. As for Qiu Heyang... I don't know the exact reason. Maybe he failed the assessment, but I can't say for sure — it's also possible that he just wasn't interested."
Mei Man held back the urge to snort, thinking to herself that this guy could at least try to be less obvious, his whole intention to show off was practically spilling out of his eyes.
But for all her disdain, she was far more than a little tempted.
Tianyan Immortal Estate seemed to run on a very strict set of rules, yet someone like Fan Zilang, who was just an Inner Sect disciple, could come to the main peak, and Yu Guiya, who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, never even addressed Qiu Heyang as senior brother — that must all be related to them being part of the Evil Subduing Enforcers.
It was clear that the Evil Subduing Enforcers had a remarkably high status.
Mei Man was getting eager to join, but this was hardly the time to dwell on that. She put on a perfectly frightened act, hanging her head low, her eyes darting nervously off to the side, and even making her voice shake, "Then who could have sent that letter? What if they wanted to hurt me? I barely know anyone here, I've never wronged anybody."
Yu Guiya had not expected her to be so terrified. A sudden surge of protective welling up in his chest urged him to step closer to her, and he even lifted his hand a little.
Right before his hand could brush against her, he suddenly snapped back to his senses, lowered his arm, and said, "I think you might have accidentally offended someone somewhere. For instance, Zilang did hold some misunderstanding toward you earlier, but I don't believe he's the one. He has a bad temper, yes, but he's also straightforward and outspoken, and would never harm anyone behind their back. Don't worry, I'm right here with you. Little junior sister, trust me, I will definitely root that person out."
Mei Man twisted her hands, lifted her eyes sideways, and stared at him through the stray strands of hair falling over her forehead.
She said, "Senior brother Yu Guiya, why don't we tell the Immortal Master? He will surely be able to find out who did this."
"Fair enough." Yu Guiya paused for a moment, then suddenly wore a look of chagrin. "Ah! If only I hadn't broken the spirit spell on that letter. Now there's not a single piece of physical evidence left. Even if we go to the Immortal Master, we have nothing we can show him to look into."
Mei Man stared at him. His face was filled with chagrin, along with a faint, barely noticeable trace of resentment, and there were no other emotions to be seen at all.
He did look every bit like someone who was genuinely worried about her.
She thought for a moment and said, "Then what do we do? The Immortal Master is so busy every day, it wouldn't be right to bother him without solid proof."
Yu Guiya looked at her earnestly and said, "Little junior sister, don't be afraid. If you trust me, I will help you. Just as you said, we need to find some solid evidence first, so that we can properly hand it over to the Immortal Master. If that person tries to pull any other tricks on you again, you must tell me immediately. The two of us can work out a solution together, and we will definitely be able to trace their tracks."
His gaze was sincere. Those deep-set eyes, when fixed on someone intently, looked as if he had laid bare his entire heart and soul, placing his uttermost honesty right out in the open as if it could stand up to any and all scrutiny.
If it were anyone else in her position, they would surely be so grateful that tears would stream down their face.
But Mei Man had seen far too many people who were masters at putting on a false front. Take Qiu Heyang for example—everyone thought he was a smiling, easygoing fellow, no one would ever guess that beneath that facade he was so full of pent-up malice that he would gladly kill every last person around him.
Thus she kept a hint of caution in her heart, and tested him by saying, "This is such a hassle for you, senior brother. It wouldn't be right to trouble you any further. If anything like this happens again, I can ask senior brother Qiu Heyang for help, or hand the matter straight over to the Immortal Master."
Yu Guiya thought for a moment and said, "I don't mind the trouble at all. It's fine if you want to find Qiu Heyang, but that person dared to summon you to the Endless Cave and harm you right under the very noses of the Demon Subduing Enforcers. That means this matter falls under the Demon Subduing Enforcers' jurisdiction, and eventually it will end up in my hands anyway. It's all up to you to decide what you think is the best way to handle this. If you ever need my help, you can come find me any time."
Mei Man could not spot a single thing amiss.
But all this overzealous, unasked kindness of his only made her feel ill at ease.
It was just like staying cooped up in a dark, lightless room for hours on end, only to be suddenly dragged out to face the blazing sun directly. His smile, his overly unmasked candor, and his over-the-top, well-meaning enthusiasm all felt like sharp arrows shooting straight at her, pricking at her skin until every inch of her body ached.
She was seconds away from losing control of her expression, and even more so from blurting out a question asking what benefit he could possibly get from going out of his way to help her.
Luckily, she had not lost her wits. She only said, "Thank you so much, senior brother Yu Guiya. I have no idea how I can repay you for what you did for me today."
"It's nothing. Fellow disciples should look out for each other. Actually, the very first time I saw you—back at the archery range—I already felt that you were very familiar to me. If Qiu Heyang hadn't shown up that day, we could have become friends much earlier."
Mei Man froze, wondering if she had heard him wrong. "Familiar?"
She could not be further from being the kind of person that word described.
"Right, that's exactly..." Yu Guiya said thoughtfully, "She seems very quiet, not so sharp and overbearing. To be honest, there are more than a few arrogant cultivators in the inner sect courtyard who rely on their talents to act high and mighty. Dealing with one or two of them once in a while is manageable, but when there are too many, it wears you out. Even... it's quite annoying, to the point that I wish I could shut all their mouths for good."
The more he spoke, the more uneasy Mei Man felt, to the point that she had no idea how to respond.
In fact, she had received compliments before, but most of them felt like condescending handouts from others, while what he said struck a deep chord in her.
It was as if someone had blurted out the exact thoughts she had hidden in her heart— the exhaustion of dealing with other cultivators, the disgust towards their arrogant words and deeds, and even those slightly dark little thoughts she had never voiced.
Me Man held back for a long time, and only managed to squeeze out one line: "I thought you got along really well with them."
"They're just people I see all the time. At the very least, we can't fall out with each other," Yu Guiya said in a relaxed tone. "Little junior sister, you can also try to smile more."
Mei Man kept a solemn face, her brows slightly furrowed. "What is there to smile about?"
"Something funny?" he froze for a moment, then said, "Nothing, actually. You don't necessarily have to have something funny to smile."
"Then that would be rather tiring," Mei Man said.
Even talking to him was a little draining. His mood was far too upbeat, and it made her feel worn out.
But Yu Guiya was full of enthusiasm. He took out his bow and arrow again, saying he wanted to teach her how to draw the bow and shoot.
Mei Man had no idea what he was really planning.
He seemed to be on good terms with Fan Zilang, but according to what he had just said, some people were only fair-weather friends on the surface. She was not sure if Fan Zilang fell into that category.
But if he was putting on an act, then they would just see who could keep the facade up longer.
She barely managed to hold on until it was time for him to go cultivate talismans, and Mei Man finally got away.
Yu Guiya insisted on walking her back. The two of them had just reached the entrance of Shen Shushi's cave dwelling when they ran right into Qiu Yingling.
As soon as Qiu Yingling saw the two of them, he smiled and said, "Manman, it seems you've adapted very well, and you've already made a friend."
Mei Man did not expect him to be here, and she replied in a muffled voice: "Yes."
Yu Guiya said, "Senior brother Qiu, are you here looking for Heyang? The Immortal Master said earlier that he has been rather distracted lately, so he ordered him to draw talismans and he's currently in closed-door cultivation. He probably won't be out for a few more days."
Mei Man glanced at him.
No wonder she hadn't seen Qiu Heyang these past few days. It turned out he was basically under house arrest in disguise.
Qiu Yingling smiled and said, "No. Junior brother, you may go back now."
He looked perfectly proper and amiable, but he had no intention of explaining why he was there.
Yu Guiya's smile stiffened slightly, and he added, "I'll see the little junior sister back first before I leave."
Qiu Yingling, who had narrowed his eyes a little earlier, opened them slightly. "Junior brother Yu, that's very kind of you, but Manman and I have something to talk about. There's no need for you to see her any further."
"...Alright then." Yu Guiya glanced at Mei Man, his tone still as cheerful as ever. "Little junior sister, let's chat again next time."
Mei Man thought to herself that talking to this man once would take her at least three full days of rest to recover.
She stepped forward reluctantly, not even lifting her head, her tone as flat as a pool of still water. "Eldest Young Master, what did you come to find me for?"
Right after she finished speaking, an object hung down right in front of her.
It was a small bell made entirely of gold, exquisitely crafted and beautiful. When the wind blew, it gave off a crisp, tinkling sound, extremely eye-catching.
This thing was truly a miracle cure. Mei Man instantly felt no more tiredness at all. Her hand lifted up before she even realized it, and as she did, she said, "Eldest Young Master, let me hold it and cover it for you. Otherwise, my eyes might be blinded by the glare in a moment."
Qiu Yingling tucked the golden bell back, eyes crinkling with a smile. "We're not inside the estate right now, why do you keep calling me Eldest Young Master over and over, yet you never address Heyang that way?"
Mei Man said, "It just slipped into habit."
It was hardly her fault.
Back when he first returned to the Qiu estate as a child, he'd been full of suspicion toward her, even going so far as to devise schemes to test her. Furious, she'd cursed him behind his back as a fox spirit. Once, when he came back badly injured from hunting a demon, she'd been so delighted that she'd rushed straight to the wutong tree in the courtyard, kowtowing as she babbled, "Amitabha, Fu Sheng Wu Tai Tian Zun, please, please make sure this fox spirit gets taken away by the King of Hell soon."
And that was exactly when the steward caught her red-handed.
The old man asked her who she was cursing, and she stayed perfectly calm, saying, "A fox spirit."
He asked, "Who is this fox spirit?"
She said, "A spirit monster that transformed from a fox."
He asked, "Where is there a spirit monster transformed from a fox?"
She said, "Right over where the fox spirit is."
He fell silent for a moment, then said, "...Even so, that's not proper. You should know better than that, and call him Eldest Young Master."
She scowled and shot back, "You old man, you curse the Qiu fellow as a fox spirit behind his back too, aren't you scared he'll take revenge on you?"
The steward was so enraged that his beard bristled, and he insisted on correcting her. But Mei Man had a stubborn streak, and refused to change her way of speaking no matter what. At his wits' end, he finally said he would give her a spirit stone every time she called him the right title.
She sneered, "You old thing, why didn't you pull that trick out earlier? I have always respected Eldest Young Master the most."
That was how the habit had stuck ever since.
Now, Qiu Yingling said, "Even if it's a habit, if you hold back for a while, you'll break it sooner or later. Manman, I call you so intimately like this. If you keep calling me Eldest Young Master, it'll only mess up the dynamic between us."
"Then what should I call you..." Mei Man frowned, then suddenly had a bright idea. She mimicked his tone and called out, "Lingling? ...Ugh, that's so cringey, so gross!"
Mei Man made a gagging face, and Qiu Yingling laughed so hard his eyes curved like crescent moons, nearly doubling over. It took him ages to calm down, and his voice still held traces of suppressed amusement. "Manman, you really are something else..."
His rising lilt at the end of the sentence was brimming with unmistakeable delight.
He didn't press the matter of what she should call him any further, and said, "There's something I need your help with. Do you have time right now?"
"What kind of help?"
"You're the only one who can pull this off." Qiu Yingling took out the golden bell again, letting it hang loose and sway back and forth in the air. "If it goes well, this golden bell is all yours."
Mei Man's eyes followed the bell's every movement, nearly glued to it.
Now even if she had been busy, she would have made herself free. She followed him to his cave abode.
Unlike Shen Shushi's icy, cold cave abode, Qiu Yingling's place was lively and bustling.
Everywhere you looked, there were puppet performers putting on variety acts: spitting fire, breaking stones against their chests, sword dancing, juggling jars, lion dancing... On top of the variety acts, there was even a stage set up for opera, the droning arias mixing in with the other performances in a delightfully mismatched way.
Mei Man was hardly surprised. Back at the Qiu estate, he had always been like this, his living quarters always the most lively spot around.
Even back then, though she'd found him annoying, she would sneak over and climb the perimeter wall to peek at the fun.
But it had never felt strange back then, because there were plenty of other people around the Qiu estate. Now, with only the two of them in the cave abode, seeing all these lively scenes somehow gave her the creeps.
Qiu Yingling led her to the study.
"I need to go prepare a few things," he said. "Wait here for me for a little while."
Mei Man nodded right in front of him, but as soon as he left, she started wandering around the study, poking at everything.
The reason was simple. He was one of the top cultivators in the Immortal Estate, and a universally recognized genius. She had to see what kinds of books he read in private, maybe she could even find something useful.
To her frustration, his bookshelf was filled entirely with picture albums and casual collections of supernatural tales. As her gaze swept across the shelf, it suddenly locked onto one particular book.
That book was placed on the far right, with its title peeking out from the cover, but the characters were so strange that she could not make heads or tails of them.
Mei Man stepped forward to get a better look at what the book was, but the second her fingers brushed the cover, she jolted all over as if burned.
Why is this book scalding hot like fire?
She shook her hand vigorously from the pain, glowering at the book in annoyance.
The book's oddity only stoked her determination. She started looking around for a stick to flip its cover open, determined to figure out what strange secret it held.
While she was searching, Mei Man caught sight of some of Qiu Yingling's notes.
She had not intended to read them at first, but her eyes accidentally landed on a big, bold cross mark.
Human eyes always drift unconsciously to the most out-of-place things, just like right now. Her gaze automatically locked onto that symbol, as well as the few words on either side of it —
Nine-tailed bone, cannot refine its inner core.
?
Inner core?
Didn't he already break through to the Golden Core stage long ago? What was he doing researching this? Or were these notes from a very long time ago?
Mei Man was full of doubts and could not help but stare a little longer, when the sound of footsteps came from outside the door.
She quickly lifted her head, pretending to be completely unoccupied and stood far off to one side.
Qiu Yingling walked into the study and closed the door behind him.
In his hand was another golden bell, almost identical to the one he had given her, just a little smaller in size.
She was already daydreaming that this might be some extra compensation, when he set the bell down on the table and started untying his robes.
Mei Man's eyelids began to twitch wildly.
What on earth does he think he's doing!
