Chapter 163 I Hope Bai Xiuming Didn’t Go Out Today…

Chapter 163: Let’s Hope Bai Xiuming Didn’t Go Out Today...

By now, the sky had completely darkened, and the wind howled outside like ghosts wailing.

Distant farmhouses had already lit their oil lamps, yet no one approached this place—this small world had long been cut off.

Shang Yin stood before the wooden frame where the Consort of the Northern Wilderness King hung, watching her corpse sway in the wind.

The once-mighty Consort of the Northern Wilderness King had died so easily before his eyes. Without the prestige that once shielded her, she was just an ordinary person after all.

"How long are you going to stand there staring?" A Chan's voice came from behind.

Shang Yin turned around and looked at A Chan, who was wrapped tightly in a cloak. He managed a smile. "You're awake."

Earlier, A Chan had gotten tired of sitting and had gone inside to nap for a while.

"Mhm." A Chan walked over, stopping a few steps away from Shang Yin, not forgetting to remind him, "The Consort must feel she died unjustly, so make sure to deal with her soul. Even if you only know the basics of the Shang family’s Ghost Control, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?"

"It’s fine." Shang Yin raised his hand, and a green mist seeped from his palm, sinking downward and spreading over the corpses of the Consort, Zhao Xun, and his son.

Soon, three faint silhouettes materialized in the air, dissolving into the green mist until they disappeared.

Now, no one would be able to investigate what happened before their deaths through their ghosts.

"Your family’s Ghost Control is something else," A Chan praised.

Shang Yin gave her a strange look, then seemed to remember something. "I almost forgot—Huang Wu also hunted you before."

Huang Wu, another Fourth Realm expert from the Northern Wilderness King’s residence, had learned the Shang family's Ghost Control and later broke through to the Fourth Realm.

"Right, the ghost she commanded was ruthless," A Chan remarked objectively before asking, "Does she have any weaknesses? Did your mother really teach them Ghost Control without holding anything back?"

"Even if you knew, you couldn’t hurt her."

"Wait, there actually is?" A Chan sounded surprised. She had only asked casually.

"There is. When Ghost Control reaches the third stage, a ghost eye forms on the body. Huang Wu’s ghost eye is on her right shoulder. Destroy it, and she loses control of the ghost, causing the ghost to turn on her." Shang Yin explained in detail.

In a fight, a Fourth Realm ghost rebelling would be like facing another near-Fourth Realm foe—a fatal blow.

He had always known this secret, but it was useless. He couldn’t even get close to Huang Wu, and even if he did, what then?

A Chan nodded in satisfaction. "I’ll give it a shot if I can."

Shang Yin watched A Chan’s eager expression and chuckled. "The Northern Wilderness King must know the Consort’s dead by now. Aren’t you worried?"

When the Consort died, the Golden Page that Chen Hui had taken suddenly burst into flames. It was clearly tied to the Consort’s life, and Shang Yin suspected that the King of Northern Wilderness, who possessed the Earth Spirit Book, would notice the anomaly immediately.

"Worried about what?"

"The Consort died in the capital. The King of Northern Wilderness won’t let this go—he’ll come after you." He didn’t understand why A Chan seemed so calm. Was it because of Bai Xiuming?

A Chan turned to Shang Yin and flashed him a smile. "Why should I be the one worrying? Right now, he’s the one who should be worried."

"What do you mean?"

Instead of answering directly, A Chan asked in return, "Now that the Consort’s dead, do you feel better?"

Shang Yin fell silent before finally shaking his head.

At first, he had felt satisfaction. But seeing her dead, all he felt was hollow. Because the ones who had turned him into what he was now, the ones responsible for the Shang family’s massacre—it wasn’t just the Consort. She led it, but others were involved.

A Chan spoke leisurely. "The Consort’s death will shake the court. Even if you hide the bodies and run far away, you’ll be caught soon. You can’t escape."

"I know." That was why he hadn’t planned to run. He only wanted to clean up the scene so that A Chan wouldn’t be implicated.

He’d known how this would end from the beginning. He had never expected to survive after killing the Consort.

His plan had been to return to the Zhao family before they discovered the Consort’s death—perhaps take the chance to eliminate Zhao Qi. Then, once discovered, he would be killed. His fate was sealed.

A Chan saw the murderous intent in his eyes and immediately knew what he was thinking.

She shook her head disapprovingly. "Stop thinking about fighting and killing. Throwing your life away is pointless."

Shang Yin’s lips twitched involuntarily. Wasn’t she the one who’d pushed him to kill the Consort in the first place?

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Why not think outside the box? Why do you think the King of Northern Wilderness needed the Shang family’s wealth?"

"Such a massive fortune—who wouldn’t want that kind of money?" Shang Yin didn’t see anything unusual about it. Besides, it had happened so long ago. Without proof, the truth would inevitably be buried under the power of the Zhao family and the King of Northern Wilderness.

A Chan wagged a finger. "No. If he needed that much money, he must’ve been plotting treason, right?"

Shang Yin’s eyes widened. The Northern Wilderness King’s power had been growing, but surely not to the point of treason. He thought both generations of the King of Northern Wilderness had been rational—they wouldn’t be that reckless.

Before he could dwell on it, A Chan continued, "And the Zhao family? Conspiring with a regional prince, harboring ill intentions—did they have a hand in the late emperor’s death?"

"Did... did they?" Shang Yin’s head spun. Something felt off, but A Chan’s reasoning seemed logical.

"Of course they did."

"What does that prove?" Shang Yin was confused.

"It proves that you’re not the villain—you’re a victim of the Northern Wilderness King’s schemes and the Zhao family. You were backed into a corner and had no choice but to kill the Consort. You’re giving your life to expose this plot to the world."

"Am I really that kind of person?" Shang Yin began to doubt himself.

"Of course you are. The Consort abused you all your life, forced to watch your birth mother die at their hands. You didn’t mean to kill them."

After saying this, A Chan asked him, "Did you do it on purpose?"

Shang Yin stared at A Chan and, unconsciously, shook his head. Echoing her, he muttered, "I didn’t do it on purpose."

"Exactly. You had no choice but to kill them. You weren’t just acting for yourself—you were doing it to expose the truth to His Majesty."

"Then what should we do next?" Shang Yin now regarded A Chan with near-awe. A year ago, A Chan couldn’t care less about human scheming and intricacies—she hadn’t cared at all.

Now, she was like this. What had she experienced in the capital?

"Next, we wait for the authorities to come to us. If the Consort stays missing too long, the Zhao family will report it—that’s our chance."

"With the Zhao family’s connections, even if officials come, they won’t listen to me." Shang Yin was certain that if the Zhao family learned he had killed the Consort, they’d silence him immediately.

"Someone will listen."

Perhaps because A Chan sounded so confident, Shang Yin hesitated only briefly before abandoning his plan to return to the Zhao family for revenge. He chose to stay.

It was long past curfew. At this hour, the masters of the Zhao household would have already finished their evening meals and retired to their quarters.

However, the Northern Wilderness King's Consort had gone out during the day and had yet to return, leaving the Zhao family patriarch deeply worried. Naturally, his two sons couldn't ignore the situation.

They figured the Consort might have gotten caught up in her outing and decided to stay outside for the night, not understanding why he was so worried.

Yet Zhao Qi felt increasingly uneasy, like something bad was coming.

"Father, the curfew's in effect. Why don’t you rest first? If there’s still no word from the Consort by morning, we can send servants to search for her. How does that sound?"

Zhao Qi stared into the pitch-black night and finally gave up on sending search parties tonight.

After being comforted by both sons, he nodded at last. "Very well."

Early the next morning, the Zhao family sent servants to look for the Consort’s whereabouts. Yet by midday there was still no sign of her.

By then, not only the Zhao family but even the Consort’s maids who'd stayed behind began to feel uneasy.

The three maids were brought to Zhao Qi’s courtyard. Before he could even question them, one of the senior maids poured out everything she knew: "Old Master, the Consort only went out this time to contact His Highness the King. If nothing unexpected happened, she should have returned yesterday."

Zhao Qi narrowed his eyes. "Is that true?"

"I wouldn't dare lie."

"If she hasn’t returned by now… could she really be in trouble?" Zhao Qi murmured.

"Old Master, what should we do next?" With their mistress missing, the maids could only rely on the Zhao family to find her.

"Eldest." Zhao Qi turned to his eldest son, Zhao Hongliang, who had taken the day off from his post due to the Consort’s disappearance.

"Father, your orders?" Zhao Hongliang also knew how serious his younger sister’s safety was. Since the Zhao family’s servants had failed to locate her, she was probably in real trouble, and he dared not delay further.

"Head to the Military Command and find Commander Liang Yan. Tell him the Consort went outside the city and hasn’t returned overnight. Have him bring capable subordinates to search for her outside the city."

Zhao Hongliang’s pulse quickened. On the surface, Liang Yan had no dealings with their family, but he knew this man was his father's secret asset planted years ago.

Liang Yan’s rise to his current position was thanks to his father pulling strings.

He hesitated. "Father, bringing Liang into this might tip someone off."

Zhao Qi closed his eyes. "Your sister’s life is at stake. Go."

"Yes."

Zhao Hongliang didn't waste a second. Mounting his horse with household guards, he rode straight to the Military Command.

Little did he know, someone followed at a distance, watching as he entered the Military Command and witnessed Commander Liang Yan muster a group of men out with Zhao Hongliang.

Once they were gone, Chen Hui turned and walked in another direction. Next, she had to file a report at the Bright Mirror Bureau—her girl A Chan had been snatched by bandits, and only Lord Bai could save her now.

Arriving at the Bright Mirror Bureau’s gates, Chen Hui sighed. A Chan’s scheme had no flaws when dealing with others, but it fell apart against Bai Xiuming.

Two days ago, she'd walked away from a Fourth Realm assassin, yet today some Third Realm nobody had kidnapped her? Would Bai Xiuming believe such a tale?

But A Chan had insisted she say exactly that, so Chen Hui had no choice but to hope Bai Xiuming wasn't firing on all cylinders today.

Chen Hui gave A Chan’s name and insisted on seeing the Commander. The Bright Mirror Bureau Guard at the gate didn’t keep her waiting and quickly relayed the message inside.

Before long, Chen Hui was brought before Bai Xiuming.

At that moment, apart from Bai Xiuming, several Bright Mirror Bureau Qianhu in official robes stood in the hall, standing at attention, silent and unobtrusive.

"You said Miss Ji is looking for me. Where is she?" Bai Xiuming’s gaze fell on Chen Hui's disheveled state.

Her hair was loose, her clothes torn—as if she had been through a brawl.

Chen Hui lowered her eyes, not daring to meet his gaze. "Forgive me, my lord. I borrowed A Chan’s name to request an audience. A Chan has been taken hostage by someone way out of my league. I was no match for them and had no choice but to seek your help."

Bai Xiuming’s eyebrow arched. "Taken hostage?"

Feng Yang and Jiang Kai, standing among their colleagues: Did they hear that right? Shouldn’t it be Miss Ji taking someone hostage?

They had seen with their own eyes—she wore their lord’s ring, which concealed a dragon soul!

Who would dare risk their life to kidnap her?

Chen Hui forced a nod. "Yes."

"Where did this kidnapper take her?" Bai Xiuming pressed.

"At the estate."

"Why were you at the estate?"

Chen Hui fibbed. "A Chan had been frightened these past few days and wanted to go out to relax."

Bai Xiuming’s lips quirked. "Frightened…"

Chen Hui bowed her head.

Bai Xiuming curled his lip slightly and glanced at Jiang Kai.

Jiang Kai immediately understood his lord’s intent. He cupped his hands in salute and swiftly left.

The room went tomb-silent. Chen Hui remembered the last time—that tiger demon incident, when she had rushed to Bai Xiuming for help. Back then, he'd moved heaven and earth to save her, and they'd barely known each other.

Now, despite Bai Xiuming and A Chan’s close ties, he remained utterly composed upon hearing her words, showing no trace of worry. Clearly, her hopes were dashed—Lord Bai’s mind was still firmly in place.

Soon, Jiang Kai returned. He glanced at Chen Hui before stepping close to Bai Xiuming and lowering his voice. "My lord, Liang Yan from the Military Command just led troops out of the city. Word is, they’re searching for the missing Northern Wilderness King's Consort."

His eyes darkened. The Northern Wilderness King's Consort…

His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest of his chair. First, a failed Fourth Realm assassination attempt ending in capture, then the Consort failing to return after leaving the city overnight, and now A Chan being "kidnapped," with Chen Hui deliberately reporting it.

This was all connecting too neatly, setting the stage and waiting for him to step onto it.

He really couldn’t underestimate A Chan’s ability to stir trouble. Before, she at least tried to avoid him—now, she wasn't even trying to be subtle.

"My lord, should we wade into this mess?"

Jiang Kai wasn’t a fool. If the Consort’s disappearance was involved, it would be fine if nothing had happened to her—but if something had, the aftermath would be messy.

That was the Northern Wilderness King’s mother. If anything went wrong, every yamen involved might face his wrath. Though their lord might not fear it, it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Bai Xiuming cast a sidelong glance at the worried Jiang Kai and said coolly, "Round up the men."

"Yes." Jiang Kai responded without hesitation and turned to leave.

Then Bai Xiuming stood and said to Chen Hui, "Lead the way."