Chapter 11

Shen Ling held a talisman all to herself. Seeing Zhao Ranyan’s hands empty, she took the initiative and said, “Lady Zhao, why don’t we share a talisman?”
Remembering the humiliating scene from earlier, Zhao Ranyan didn’t much want to get close to her. She politely declined, “Thank you for your kindness, Lady Shen, but this is enough.” She lifted the Buddhist bone bracelet hanging from her wrist.
Shen Ling could only force a smile. “Then that’s best.” She carefully pulled back her own talisman.
Just then, the barrier shattered with a crack. Over a dozen ghost burst through like floodwater, shrill screams splitting the air one after another.
Even though the ghosts could only pass uselessly through the ladies’ bodies, turning into clouds of black smoke and reforming without managing to possess anyone, their horrorshow faces still scared everyone witless. Screams rang out again and again.
Startled out of her wits, Shen Ling shoved backward without thinking and accidentally pushed Zhao Ranyan right into the path of a ghost.
Zhao Ranyan’s face went chalk white. The ghost spotted her at once and lunged with its tongue lolling.
Even with the Buddhist beads to shield her, Zhao Ranyan couldn’t help the fear that surged up. At the very last moment, a flash of icy white light streaked past, and the ghost was blasted to dust.
A young man in blue robes landed from the air, sword in hand.
The moment his boots touched the ground, Gu Yun blurted anxiously, “Are you all right?”
Still shaken, Zhao Ranyan looked up at the youth who’d appeared out of nowhere, and something inside her settled. “I, I’m fine. But there are still so many evil spirits behind me, please hurry and save them!”
Once he confirmed his beloved was truly unhurt, Gu Yun forced himself to steady. Sword raised, he plunged into the mass of ghosts, scattering them like hewing melons, one stroke, one ghost.
Li Daoxuan didn’t see the figure he was looking for within the women’s section. Seeing that Gu Yun alone was more than enough to handle things here, he slung his bow over his shoulder, arrow case on his back, and headed elsewhere.
In no time, every ghost in sight had been wiped out. Only then did Gu Yun realize Li Daoxuan had vanished. Before he could think too deeply about it, the commander of the imperial guard hurried over to ask what orders to follow.
Gu Yun felt a headache coming on. But seeing the yin energy still hanging heavy in the sky, he worried that if these delicate young ladies stayed steeped in it much longer, they’d suffer for it later. He immediately ordered the nobles escorted to Springview Terrace to rest, promising to lay a barrier there to isolate the yin energy.
The imperial guards shepherded the shaken survivors toward Springview Terrace. On the way, they had to pass through a stretch of forest.
With the yin energy blotting out the sky, the woods had gone pitch-dark, the light dim and murky. The noblewomen walking at the rear felt cold prickles down their backs and wished with all their hearts that they could hurry through.
Servants quickly fetched horn lanterns and lit them. The flickering warm glow pushed back the darkness and finally settled a sliver of calm in everyone’s hearts.
Soon they reached Springview Terrace. Once everyone had filed inside, Gu Yun ordered the doors shut and raised a barrier to block the leaking yin energy.
Just as he thought the dust had finally settled, someone cried, “Lady Zhao is missing!”
Gu Yun’s heart jolted. He whirled toward the voice, snapping, “Who did you say is missing?”
The noble girl who’d spoken shrank under his glare, trembling as she forced herself to answer, “The daughter of the Capital Prefect Zhao, Lady Zhao Ranyan. She was just beside me as we came in, but after the doors closed, I glanced around and realized… she was gone.”
Someone added, “And the Lady Shen the Third Prince brought, she’s missing as well.”
“Who did you say?!” Another voice cut in.
Everyone turned to look.
A delicate girl in a water-blue short jacket and skirt stood beneath the corridor eaves, brows drawn tight. Even with such a severe expression, she was still so beautiful it made one’s breath catch.
Coiled at her waist was a mysterious black snake, resting motionless. On her body it looked almost like an exquisitely carved ornament.
Seeing that all-too-familiar snake, Gu Yun’s eye twitched, a jolt of shock and bafflement shooting through him.
“Lady Zhao and Lady Shen,” someone replied.
At that, Shen Qing’s heart gave a violent lurch. In her previous life, Shen Ling had also disappeared for a short while. When she reappeared, she had miraculously gained the Glass Heart.
The ghost were already gone, so why had Zhao Ranyan vanished along with Shen Ling? Could it be that Zhao Ranyan’s death in the last life had another layer to it?
She couldn’t spare the thought. Shen Qing vaulted down from the corridor and dashed out of Springview Terrace, her skirts kicking up waves at her ankles as she ran.
“Lady Shen, wait! It’s dangerous out there, I’ll come with you!” Gu Yun called.
Shen Qing didn’t look back. “As you please!”
The rest of the people in Springview Terrace exchanged looks.
They too noticed how familiar that black snake at Shen Qing’s waist looked, wasn’t it the very pet the Prince of Cang had brought with him?
The same question rippled through their hearts: Just who is that young lady, and what exactly is her relationship with the Prince of Cang?
Shen Qing retraced her steps into the forest. Since the two had vanished somewhere within, it stood to reason they must have stumbled into some formation or dropped through some hidden gap.
Gu Yun quickly caught up. Not being close acquaintances, they walked in silence for a while.
Because of the snake at Shen Qing’s waist, Gu Yun didn’t dare get too near. But confusion gnawed at him like a fishbone stuck in his throat, he could hardly breathe around it.
At last he mustered his courage and spoke for the first time. “Lady Shen”
“Young Lord Gu,” the girl suddenly turned, cutting him off. Her apricot eyes were clear and bright. “Mount Li’s woods are vast. If you and I search together, we’ll cover less ground. Why don’t we split up? That way we might find them sooner.”
Thinking of Zhao Ranyan’s disappearance, Gu Yun could no longer dwell on his questions. He agreed at once.
Just as he was about to head in the opposite direction, he heard her again: “Might I trouble the Young Lord to lend me his sword?” In her rush to leave earlier, she’d left the fruit knife behind with Li Yu.
Gu Yun blinked. Thinking back on her unclear entanglement with Li Daoxuan, he hesitated, then took the sword wrapped at his back and handed it over.
Shen Qing accepted it with a word of thanks, then strode off to the south without a backward glance.
Only after she’d gone some distance did she unwrap the cloth. By lantern light, the pigeon-blood ruby set in the hilt gleamed vividly.
She sucked in a sharp breath. This is Li Daoxuan’s sword.
The memory of having her heart pierced by a single stroke in her past life felt as close as yesterday: the weight of the blade in her hand when she’d seized it to strike back, the icy chill of the ruby against her palm. It was something she would never forget, not even in death.
She’d always known Li Daoxuan and Gu Yun were close. She’d just never imagined Li Daoxuan would entrust his treasured sword to Gu Yun of all people, much less that this unreliable friend would hand it straight over to an outsider.
Somewhere in the woods, Gu Yun suddenly sneezed. Rubbing his nose, he thought guiltily: His sword is still back at Springview Terrace… But since Qiuren had already acknowledged this lady, lending his good brother’s sword to her probably wasn’t a big deal, right?
Thinking of how Li Daoxuan must have gotten involved with the Shen family’s daughter, Gu Yun had to bite back a laugh. The scene of Li Daoxuan posturing loftily at the tavern that day grew more and more ridiculous in his eyes.
He decided that once they were back at Dongshan Temple, he would absolutely trumpet this to the skies. All his nonsense about “white bone beneath the skin” and “no interest in common mortals”, Li Daoxuan could just wait for his brothers to grind his face into the dirt.
It took Shen Qing quite some time to grudgingly come to terms with the situation. She comforted herself: Li Daoxuan’s sword was light and easy in the hand, unlike her senior brother’s cumbersome sword. She could only make do with what suited her grip.
At least she already knew roughly where Zhao Ranyan and Shen Ling had gone missing, so she headed straight south.
The deeper she went, the easier it became to lose one’s bearings.
Gradually, the trees grew dense and shadowy, waves of heat rolling over her. The clammy chill brought by the yin energy had vanished. The farther she walked, the hotter it got, as if she’d stepped into a huge furnace.
When the heat reached a certain peak, Shen Qing’s foot suddenly hit something. Her body lurched, and then she vanished into thin air.
Zhao Ranyan and Shen Ling came to in a warm pavilion, blinking hazily. When they raised their eyes, they saw moonlight reflecting on a pool outside the window, pavilions and waterwalks winding away in elegant curves.
Inside, layers of gauzy curtains and silk drapes confused the eye. The wooden winter panels had been taken out and replaced with airy green gauze windows.
A woman in white knelt at a low table, long black hair pouring down her back like water. She held a tilted teapot in her hand, pale yellow tea streaming slowly into green porcelain cups, steam spiraling gently from the rims.
Once she’d filled two cups, the woman lifted her gaze and smiled at them. Her face shone like a bright moon. Stepping lightly in her crabapple-wood clogs, she glided over to them. “You two are awake.”
Zhao Ranyan immediately sat up, warily slipping out of the warm couch.
Shen Ling remained still, eyes fixed on the gorgeous woman, her expression unreadable.
The woman in white took it in and smiled faintly. “No need to fear, ladies. This place is safe for the moment.”
Zhao Ranyan pressed her lips together, then glanced at Shen Ling still sitting in the warm couch without moving. Kindness moved her to murmur, “Lady Shen, we got lost in the woods just now, that’s how we lost consciousness.”
The unspoken meaning was clear: if they’d passed out in the forest and woken up here, anyone with half a brain should realize something was wrong.
All the more so with a strange woman behaving like this in front of them.
Shen Ling, however, gave no response.
The white-clad woman looked between them and covered her mouth with a soft laugh. “You’re the first living folk to ever stumble into this place of mine. I just happen to have a few questions I’d like to ask.”
She reached out a slender hand and pressed it lightly to Zhao Ranyan’s shoulder. At that touch, Zhao Ranyan felt her whole body go rigid. She couldn’t move a muscle, and could only be guided like a puppet to kneel on the cushion before the low table.
The woman set a cup of tea before her. “Please, have some tea.”
The corners of the woman’s lips curved as she turned to Shen Ling. “This young lady might as well come over too.”
Without a word, Shen Ling slid off the heated couch and knelt on the other side of the low table. When the woman placed a cup of tea before her, Shen Ling accepted it with proper courtesy. “Many thanks.”
The woman smiled again, clearly pleased. “I do so like obedient people.”
The difference between the two girls couldn’t have been starker. Shen Ling moved freely and could calmly lift her cup to drink, while Zhao Ranyan was unable to so much as twitch, trapped in one corner of the sitting cushion.
Just as Zhao Ranyan’s anxiety crested, the woman in white finally revealed her purpose. She asked, “What year is it now, and what date of the month?”
Zhao Ranyan felt her throat loosen, she could suddenly speak again. But before she could answer, Shen Ling cut in hastily, almost tripping over her own words. “The twentieth year of Yongzhen, the twenty-eighth day of the fifth month.”
The woman’s brows and eyes stilled, a sigh-like sorrow flickering across her face. “So twenty years have passed already.”
She drew something from her sleeve and asked again, “The Shen clan of Huaixi, does Shen Congzhi yet live?”
Zhao Ranyan started. Isn’t that the name of the Duke of Han? Before she could react further, Shen Ling spoke again, “He’s very much alive! He now holds the post of Grand Cavalry General of the from-first rank and has been ennobled as Duke of Han!”
That actually made the woman pause. Then she gave a low chuckle. “And who are you, to answer so smoothly?”
Shen Ling blurted out, “I am Shen Ling of the Huaixi Shen clan.”
The woman’s eyes lit up at once. She suddenly leaned in close, lowering her nose to Shen Ling’s chest to sniff delicately there for a moment, only for her face to darken in an instant. “Liar. You’re not of Shen Congzhi’s line.”
Sweat trickled down Shen Ling’s temple. She seemed utterly terrified of the woman, yet forced herself to hold some semblance of composure. “I am not General Shen Congzhi’s daughter. I am of his elder brother Shen Rong’s line.”
“But Shen Congzhi has one daughter, named…”
“Lady Shen!!” Zhao Ranyan suddenly shouted, cutting Shen Ling off.
The creature before them possessed inhuman strength and clearly wasn’t mortal. Now she was asking after General Shen and Shen Qing by name, it was hard not to suspect she had ill intent toward the Shen family.
But the instant the words left Zhao Ranyan’s mouth, she realized in panic that she’d been robbed of speech again.
Shen Ling, however, picked the thread right back up. “named Shen Qing.” She stressed, “Shen Qing is my elder cousin by three months.”
The woman asked, “And your relationship is good?”
“Of course,” Shen Ling lied without blinking. “We are as close as sister branches from the same root.”
Zhao Ranyan’s heart see-sawed with alarm. At this moment, Shen Ling seemed like a completely different person, gone was the timid, shrinking girl from before. In her place was someone bold, even brazen, calmly conversing with a monster.
The woman’s fingernails were growing longer and longer for no visible reason, razor-sharp tips gleaming coldly when the moonlight caught them. Bowing her fine head, she finally hooked a complete object from her sleeve.
It was a red stone, about the size of a fingernail, hanging from a gilded chain. Under the candlelight, the stone glowed with a blood-like sheen. Seeing it, Shen Ling’s eyes rippled violently. She forced herself to swallow her excitement and wait for the woman’s next words.
“Since that’s the case,” the woman said, “would you be willing to deliver something for me?”
Shen Ling’s voice shook just a little. “I, yes.”
The woman lifted the red stone necklace, hand extending as if to give it to her. Then her gaze flicked sideways to Zhao Ranyan, and she stilled.
Her smile widened, all dimples and cherry lips. “No need to rush. I’ll eat someone first. Useless people have no reason to exist. I’ve been starving for decades, it’s time I had a little something to whet my appetite.”
With that, her mouth suddenly split open to her ears, turning into a gaping maw. She lunged straight for Zhao Ranyan’s head.