Chapter 60

Shen Qing startled for a split second. Before she could react, Qiuren had already snatched the cooling sachets Gu Yun had given her and scampered straight into Li Daoxuan’s hand.
Li Daoxuan dangled the sachets casually, gave them a cursory glance, and his refined brows sank slightly, betraying no clear emotion.
“Give them back!” Shen Qing reached out to grab them. Li Daoxuan raised his hand just enough that even on tiptoe, she couldn’t reach.
After several failed attempts, Shen Qing gritted her teeth. “Have you lost your mind? Those are the cooling sachets Gu Yun gave me! Are you trying to make me die of heat so you can inherit my Glass Heart?”
“Gu Yun…” Li Daoxuan lifted his gaze and, without the slightest courtesy, tucked the sachets into his robe. “Gu Yun was formally engaged a few days ago through a matchmaker to the Zhao family’s young lady of Jingzhao. You accepting gifts from another man’s betrothed now, doesn’t that seem inappropriate?” In his mind, an engaged Gu Yun was already categorized as someone else’s husband.
Shen Qing was surprised. “He got engaged to Miss Zhao? That’s good news.” Then, recalling that she had accepted his cooling sachets earlier, she did realize it was somewhat improper.
With that in mind, she didn’t argue further. What she hadn’t expected was that Li Daoxuan would go this far for a good brother, it truly caught her off guard.
“Then take them,” she said. She could endure the heat for a few more days and wait for the servants to finish making her own sachets.
Her delicate brows knit together slightly, a fine sheen of sweat dotting the bridge of her nose, she looked unbearably hot.
Li Daoxuan glanced down at her, then suddenly shoved the black sword in his hand into her arms.
Shen Qing was caught off guard and instinctively hugged the sword. The hilt still carried the residual warmth of his hand. She lifted her eyes just in time to see Li Daoxuan move his fingers and tap the red stone embedded in the hilt.
Qiuren flicked its tongue, its snake pupils reflecting the crimson glow of the stone. It slowly crawled along Li Daoxuan’s arm, wrist, and finger bones, inching its way back into the red gem.
Shen Qing watched, wide-eyed, as Qiuren’s body disappeared segment by segment into the sword hilt.
Li Daoxuan said, “Squeeze Qiuren.”
Shen Qing was confused at first, then realized he meant squeezing the sword. She tentatively gripped the guard. Instantly, the red stone flashed, and a surge of coolness rushed from her palm through her limbs and into her bones, pushing the oppressive heat back several paces.
Her eyes lit up as if she were holding an unparalleled treasure, unwilling to let go. “So this sword is Qiuren? Qiuren is your sword spirit?” Across two lifetimes, Shen Qing had never known that the pet snake was actually his sword spirit.
It was also her first time seeing a sword spirit that disliked staying within its original form and preferred roaming freely. Shen Qing found it endlessly fascinating.
Li Daoxuan gave a slight nod and snorted softly. “This sword is cumbersome and gets in my way. If you want to hold it, then hold it, but don’t dirty it.”
Shen Qing adored this heat-dispelling sword and replied with smiling eyes, “Of course, of course.”
By the third day, Madam Liu, her heart heavy with grief to the point of illness, knelt by her daughter’s bedside, carefully wiping her face.
Staring at her daughter’s pale, frail face, Madam Liu felt as though her child might ascend and depart this world in the very next moment, meeting the fate of an untimely death while still so young.
At the thought, her tears spilled freely, and she wept in anguish.
After crying herself weary, she forced herself to calm the panic in her heart and set the face cloth back into the washbasin.
Perhaps from exhaustion brought on by days and nights of unrelenting worry, Madam Liu thought she saw Liu Wanxiu’s brows faintly knit together.
Believing it to be nothing more than her failing eyesight, she rubbed her eyes and leaned closer to look, only for Liu Wanxiu, still unconscious, to suddenly furrow her brow tightly. Her nostrils flared, and blood spilled from her mouth in the next instant.
Terrified, Madam Liu hurriedly turned Liu Wanxiu onto her side to keep her from choking, wiping at the blood with a clean handkerchief as she cried out, “Wanwan, don’t scare me, don’t scare your mother. I’m afraid… I’m really afraid…”
She suppressed her terror and wiped Liu Wanxiu’s lips again and again, but the blood continued to pour forth without end, like water bubbling endlessly from a hot spring. The warm blood flowed onto Madam Liu’s wrist, becoming a soft yet deadly blade, each cut carving deeper into her already shattered heart.
With one soul having left her body for days, Liu Wanxiu’s physical form was already nearing the end of its strength, unable to stop coughing up blood.
Madam Liu’s legs gave way. She screamed madly, “Someone, someone! Call the physician! Quickly!” In the chaos, something fell from her robes and struck the floor with a crisp sound.
It was the jade carp Shen Qing had sent back.
Madam Liu stared at it blankly, then scrambled forward, clutching it to her chest as though grasping at her last lifeline.
Hearing the commotion, the managing matron burst through the door. She saw Madam Liu kneeling on the floor, hair disheveled, drenched in sweat and blood. At the sight of her, Madam Liu cried out hoarsely, eyes red with desperation, “Please invite Lady Shen, please…” She shook her head violently. “No, take me to Yuanchun Pavilion. Quickly, take me to Yuanchun Pavilion. I’ll tell everything. I’ll confess everything!”
She staggered to her feet and seized the matron’s arm. “Call the physician! You come with me to Yuanchun Pavilion, find Lady Shen, find His Highness the Cang Prince!”
“Madam,”
“Go! Now!” Madam Liu roared.
Yuanchun Pavilion was as quiet as ever. Disciples of Dongshan Temple patrolled vigilantly through the building, checking for abnormalities.
In a place no one noticed, an ordinary-looking maid passed through the long corridor, heading toward the rear courtyard, only to be stopped halfway.
Zhang Qingcheng took in her hooked nose, phoenix eyes, and thin lips. Finding her unfamiliar, he asked, “Didn’t we say no one is to wander around these days? Why are you still loitering here?”
The maid lowered her head and replied softly, “Th-this servant’s mother’s keepsake was left in my young mistress’s room. I truly couldn’t put my mind at ease, so I broke the rules and came out. Please forgive me, young lord.”
“Forget it. Go back quickly and don’t wander around anymore,” Zhang Qingcheng waved her off.
The maid bowed to him, then took small, quick steps back toward the servants’ quarters.
Zhang Qingcheng watched her slender back for a long moment before turning away and resuming his patrol.
The maid avoided the others and reached the servants’ rooms in the rear courtyard.
Following her memory, she checked each door in turn, finally stopping before one.
The ordinary maid’s form rippled like water. Her silhouette blurred for a moment, and when it sharpened again, the phoenix eyes became round eyes, the sharp features softened into a delicate, pleasing round face, and a dot of vermilion slowly appeared between her brows.
The Xisangyao tugged at the corner of her stiff mouth, forcing out a smile, and calmly pushed the door open.
The servants’ room was cramped. Inside Old Madam Ah Si’s quarters, there was only a wooden bed and a small table.
At that moment, the hunched old woman stood with her back to the Xisangyao, busy at work. Before her was a pot of lotus seed soup.
Gazing at the familiar silhouette, the Xisangyao said, “Ah Si, I’m here to take you away.”
Old Madam Ah Si seemed not to hear her at all. She continued stirring the soup steadily. Gradually, the distinct fragrance of lotus seeds spread through the air.
She took out two bowls, preparing to portion out the soup when the time was right.
Clearly lacking patience, the Xisangyao stepped forward. “I told you not to waste time making this bland stuff. Come with me now. Once we regain our freedom, you can eat whatever you want.” She reached out as if to grab Ah Si.
Unhurried, Old Madam Ah Si ladled the “lotus seed soup” into the bowls.
The moment the Xisangyao’s hand touched her shoulder, she sensed something was wrong.
Ah Si’s shoulders, hardened by years of labor, should have been broad and strong. Yet this person, though dressed in Ah Si’s clothes, wore a hood that concealed her head. Her hands remained hidden within long sleeves, and even the feel of her shoulder was thin and delicate.
The instant she realized it, the Xisangyao released her grip and spun around to flee, but she was already too late.
Shen Qing flung the “lotus seed soup” from the bowl onto the Xisangyao. The liquid sizzled violently upon contact, white smoke billowing as the demon let out a shrill scream and rolled on the ground in agony.
Casting aside Ah Si’s old garments, Shen Qing pulled a signal flare from her waist and yanked it. A massive golden flower-shaped sigil burst through the roof and exploded in the sky, its form lingering for a long time, alarming the entire city of Chang’an.
Clutching her shoulder, the Xisangyao turned back, murderous intent surging in her eyes.
That single look dragged Shen Qing back to the day her entire family was slaughtered. Ice flooded her limbs in an instant, and the gaze she fixed upon the demon turned bone-chillingly cold.
Shen Qing curled her lips into a frigid smile and drew the Qiuren Sword. “So you’re Ah Chou. No wonder you’re called Ah Chou, you really are ugly.” What Shen Qing saw was a mass of rotting flesh no beautiful skin could conceal, festering and foul.
The Xisangyao flew into a rage. Her fingers elongated into vicious claws, eyes blood-red as she lunged toward Shen Qing.
With a sharp clang, her claws, hard as dark iron, collided with the Qiuren Sword. Sparks flew in all directions. In the clash, the demon was forced back a step by the recoil, clearly at a disadvantage.
She snapped her gaze upward, sharp as blades, landing on the youth behind Shen Qing, the one gripping Shen Qing’s sword hand, lending her force through force.
The youth released Shen Qing’s hand, removed his glove with one hand, drew the sword from her grasp, and stepped forward to stand before her.
With a flick of his wrist, cold light flashed repeatedly. Only when the keen blade pointed straight at the Xisangyao did Li Daoxuan halt. Strands of black hair fell before his eyes, caught by long lashes, while a bewitching red light flickered through his gaze. The red stone set into the sword hilt pulsed faintly, as though thrilled at the prospect of battle.
Shi Ranran felt a pressure no weaker than her own surge toward her. Every hair on her body stood on end, and she bared her fangs warily.
Suddenly, she glimpsed a corner of his robe shifting behind him. Remembering Shen Qing, whom he guarded so closely, she let out a shriek and charged straight for the person behind him.
Sensing her intent, Li Daoxuan gently closed his eyes. “Courting death, ” The next moment, his sword came down in a devastating arc.
Relying on her agility, the Xisangyao narrowly avoided the thunderous strike. Yet her true target never changed, Shen Qing. She meant to use Shen Qing as a breakthrough, forcing Li Daoxuan to hold back at every turn.
As they exchanged blows, Li Daoxuan’s movements were seamless and commanding. Ferocity steamed in his eyes with every clash. Each time the demon came close to touching Shen Qing, he would cut in with a sword stroke from nowhere, forcing her back.
In the span of a single breath, they had already exchanged several hundred moves, locked in a fierce stalemate.
Shen Qing held her breath as she watched them fight, her gaze fixed like a burning brand upon the Xisangyao. She made no attempt to flee, at first glance, she almost looked stunned senseless.
After dodging another strike, the Xisangyao seized the opening and lunged savagely toward Shen Qing.
Shen Qing’s expression remained calm as she waited for the demon’s claw to reach her. Seeing this, Li Daoxuan was about to drive his sword into the demon’s calf when Shen Qing curved her lips and blinked at him. In that instant, Li Daoxuan understood perfectly and barely reined his blade back in time.
The killing intent he had ignited, however, had yet to subside. It churned through his blood, mingled with violent fury.
The Xisangyao swiped at Shen Qing’s face and grabbed nothing. She froze. The person was clearly right before her, yet she could not touch her no matter what.
The smile at Shen Qing’s lips widened, killing intent surging in her eyes. She instead reached out and slapped a talisman directly onto the demon’s hand.
The Xisangyao instantly felt as though her arm had been filled with molten lead, heavy and immovable.
Shen Qing seized the moment, gripping her arm and yanking her forcefully into the space where she stood.
The demon felt a strange suction drag her into a different dimension altogether.
The instigator smiled at her provocatively. “I’m right here. Come kill me.”
The Xisangyao lunged at her in fury, only for Shen Qing to vanish and reappear behind her in the next instant. “I’m over here, idiot.”
“Die!” Another swipe, another miss.
Seeing this, Li Daoxuan forcibly suppressed the boiling killing intent in his body and temporarily sheathed the Qiuren Sword.
He folded his arms around the sword and leisurely watched the Xisangyao spin in circles, shouting threats at empty air, attacking first this direction, then that. The scene was strangely amusing.
“What did you do?” Li Daoxuan asked.
Shen Qing kept her eyes locked on the demon, her heart pounding, afraid that it might all be an illusion. “Just set up a small formation.” In matters of formations, there were few in Chang’an who could rival Shen Qing.