Chapter 46: Crisis Point, A Hair’s Breadth from Death… The Wrong Answer and the Right One…

Chapter 46: Crisis Point, A Hair's Breadth from Death... The Wrong Answer and the Right One...

The moon was silver, cold as frost.

Lord Zhiwei's figure was shrouded in shadow, quietly waiting for his prey to take the bait.

He had already seen that shadow.

Someone had slipped out of the dormitory, skulking along the base of the wall, sneaking closer to the woodshed.

'Is it someone from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance?' Lord Zhiwei's fingers tapped silently on the armrest of the rattan chair. 'Or... a hidden Evil Path spy within our own sect?'

He had just woken up and was thrust into a confrontation with Ghost Lingjun.

He had always felt a vague unease, finding the whole situation utterly bizarre. But when two Dongxuan Cultivators fought, life and death hung by a thread; there was simply no room in his mind for careful thought.

Entering this strange secret realm had given him an opportunity.

Now that he had confirmed through his test that Ghost Lingjun was not an Evil Cultist, the reason for Ghost Lingjun's attack on him no longer held water.

Retrospective Light was an item belonging to the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance.

Jiang Yizhou and the others had all been deceived.

'The Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance spy and the inside agent within our sect colluded, set a trap, incited me and Ghost Lingjun to kill each other... Excellent, excellent, what a fine Evil Cultist!'

He slightly lowered his eyes, concealing the sharp glint within them.

During the day, he had orchestrated a plan for Ghost Lingjun to kill "Lord Zhiwei," and made sure everyone knew about it.

This way, the true Evil Cultist would surely be unable to restrain himself and would come to finish off the barely-alive Ghost Lingjun in the woodshed.

Lord Zhiwei curled the corner of his lips, tilted his head back, and let his gaze leak from the slits of his eyes, fixedly staring at the shadow that had just peeked out from the doorway.

Passing through the crude stone-arched gate under the corridor led to the woodshed where Ghost Lingjun was imprisoned.

The Foxtail Grass Spirit clenched its fists tightly, its heart pounding wildly.

The scenes of Ghost Lingjun attacking its grandfather replayed incessantly in its mind.

Cruel, bloody, torturous... shattered joints, severed meridians, torn soul.

What had Grandpa done wrong?

Grandpa had done nothing wrong!

Grandpa had only done a righteous thing—stopping Venerable Yunshang from committing evil.

The atrocities committed by these people from the Divine Court, who claimed to be "benevolent and loving," were too numerous to record!

If there were heavenly principles and justice in this world,

then the ones who should be punished were clearly the Divine Court!

They were the ones who deserved to die!

The Foxtail Grass Spirit's body trembled uncontrollably, its chest churning with intense emotions.

The chance to kill its enemy with its own hands was right before its eyes, right there...

Its body passed through the stone-arched gate.

The moonlight cast its shadow onto the wall of the woodshed, stretching it into a long, thin line.

The woodshed door was crude; that broken lock might as well not have been there at all.

With just a little bit of force, it could twist open that lock, enter the woodshed, and personally avenge its grandfather.

It knew there would never be a better opportunity than this.

Even if it meant perishing together... dying together with a Dongxuan realm expert seemed like a bargain for it!

It hung its head low, taking one step, then another, slowly moving forward.

Its shadow stretched long and slanted on the wall, moving ahead of it, inch by inch passing the woodshed window, approaching that lock.

Its head buzzed, completely unaware of the hunter hidden in the shadows.

Closer, even closer.

The Foxtail Grass Spirit stopped before that broken lock, head bowed, motionless.

In the darkness, Lord Zhiwei slowly raised his eyes.

He stared intently at this figure, a smile gradually curling at the corner of his lips.

He had locked onto his prey.

At this point, even if the other party turned back, it would be useless—what other reason could there be for coming to the woodshed in the middle of the night, besides kicking someone when they're down and silencing them?

Even if the other party stopped in time, they would still be the prime suspect. Lord Zhiwei would rather kill the wrong person than let them go.

Lord Zhiwei's smile widened. He pushed himself up from the rattan chair armrests and slowly straightened his body.

He took a silent step forward, his black boots stepping out from under the eaves into a vast expanse of silvery moonlight.

The Foxtail Grass Spirit did not sense the killing intent behind it.

It stared down at the broken lock on the woodshed door, its lips pressed into a curved, pale line.

Through the thin, drafty wooden door planks, it could hear Ghost Lingjun's unconscious moans.

Killing him now would be easy, so very easy.

It had no reason to stop.

It slowly raised both hands, its fingertips getting closer and closer to the cold lock.

Up close, it was even clearer; this shabby, broken lock could be yanked off with one pull.

Its hands hovered in front of its abdomen.

It didn't know why it hesitated.

As long as it could avenge Grandpa, even perishing together would allow it to rest in peace with a smile. Besides, Ghost Lingjun at this moment was a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

There was clearly no reason to hesitate!

It was just... just... It was just that it had silently promised its master in its heart: eat when it's time to eat, sleep when it's time to sleep.

It had even made a grand vow in front of its master to "deal the final blow."

If it acted against Ghost Lingjun behind its master's back, that wouldn't be finishing the job at all.

The Foxtail Grass Spirit pressed its lips tighter and tighter.

It felt as if two little figures were fighting in its mind, pulling it back and forth.

One said: Grandpa is your only family! The one who hurt Grandpa is right here! You can't be a coward!

The other said: How has your master treated you? She's been so good to you—how could you betray her like this? Can't you even keep a small promise you made to her?

The first argued again: Kill Ghost Lingjun to avenge Grandpa! Right now, immediately!

But the other countered: Think about what you promised your master!

Lost in this inner turmoil, it completely failed to notice the figure drawing closer and closer behind it.

The shadow fell upon it without any weight, and suddenly, the image of Fu Yu's lazy smile floated before its eyes—carefree and effortlessly in control.

A wave of frustration washed over it: If this really were the best opportunity, its master would have given the order without hesitation!

That person might seem unreliable, but in reality, whenever a fleeting chance arose, she always managed to seize it with ease, making everything turn out perfectly.

It shouldn't disrupt its master's plans.

Clearly not as capable as its master, yet insisting on acting on its own—how foolish!

The Foxtail Grass Spirit's courage began to fail.

Once its mind was made up, just as it was about to turn and leave, the fluffy, nonexistent big dog tail at the back of its head suddenly sensed something wrong—there was someone behind it!

This was... a trap!

If this was a trap, then the one who set it... could only be...

Its pupils contracted sharply, and its hair stood on end.

Oh no!

No, no, no!

Its hands were already raised to its lower abdomen, just an inch away from touching that lock.

Turning to flee now would be admitting guilt without being pressed.

What to do... what to do...

Overwhelming regret surged in its heart. It wanted to burst into tears, to curse itself with the harshest words.

Phrases like "stupid as a pig" and "deserves to die" rushed to its mind, but then it suddenly remembered its master's calm, peaceful eyes.

She had said: Never speak ill of yourself. At all times, remember to be kind to yourself.

The Foxtail Grass Spirit's eyes grew hot, and its shoulders trembled involuntarily.

Wah...

Don't speak ill of yourself—it remembered, remembered it firmly.

'I'm smart, I'm capable, I, I, I—I can definitely figure out a way!'

Don't lose heart, don't give up, don't abandon all hope.

There must be a way, there must be!

There must!

Behind it, Lord Zhiwei's lips curved slightly as he gently raised a hand, lowering it toward its shoulder.

This little eunuch in front of him had made a lifting motion with its hands—what else could it be but to tamper with the lock?

Lord Zhiwei's gaze turned icy, already treating the other as a dead man in his heart.

Of course, before death, he would pry open the other's mouth and make it spill every bit of information he needed.

Suddenly, the little eunuch's shoulders shook, and its hands began to rustle with movement.

Lord Zhiwei raised an eyebrow with interest.

'Let's see you—'

The corner of his eye suddenly twitched violently.

"Splish-splash, splash-splash..."

The little eunuch had undone its belt and was actually taking a piss.

Lord Zhiwei's fingers trembled as he withdrew his hand, covered his nose, and took two steps back.

The little eunuch's body shook again. "Ugh-wah!"

Lord Zhiwei's temple throbbed with veins. "..."

"Hmph!" The little eunuch pulled up its pants and headed back the way it came.

Lord Zhiwei retreated several large steps, hiding back in the shadows.

Before he could recover, he saw another eunuch strolling over leisurely.

Facing the woodshed, it began to relieve itself.

"Splish-splash..."

"Hmph," the eunuch twisted its body left and right. "I'll get you for killing Little Chopsticks!"

Not long after, yet another eunuch arrived.

"Splish... splash... splash..."

Lord Zhiwei could bear it no longer. With a heavy flick of his sleeve, he strode away in retreat.

The Foxtail Grass Spirit crawled back onto the communal bed, staring gloomily at the snoring Wu He for a while before giving his butt a kick.

"Still sleeping, still sleeping!"

It had almost gotten into trouble. If not for a sudden flash of inspiration in a moment of crisis, it might not have made it back.

And this guy just knows how to sleep!

Wu He blinked groggily awake, "...What's with you, weirdo?"

The Foxtail Grass Spirit huffed angrily, looking for trouble, "You just let me go to the latrine by myself?!"

Wu He let out an exasperated laugh, "What else? You want to compete with me to see who can pee farther?"

The Foxtail Grass Spirit: "..."

For once, it didn’t continue hopping mad. It turned around and went to sleep in a sulk.

In the corridor below, two True Eunuchs scurried back to report to Fu Yu.

"Eunuch Yu, as you ordered, we’ve avenged Little Chopsticks!"

The two who had taken turns relieving themselves after the Foxtail Grass Spirit were these two—helping the grass spirit clean up its mess.

Fu Yu waved a hand, "Good, go back to sleep."

Eunuchs A and B: "Mhm, mhm!"

Earlier, the moment the Foxtail Grass Spirit crawled down from the communal bed, Fu Yu had been watching it.

She knew it wanted to make a move on Ghost Lingjun.

She didn’t stop it because, in the past when similar situations arose, Jun Bu Du always held back.

He said it was everyone's own lesson to learn.

Fu Yu then asked him, "But what if, by letting go, they die?"

He said everyone dies.

She was very displeased, "You’ll die too?"

He smiled and gave a confirming 'mm-hmm'.

She grew even more upset, "If you die, what about me?"

He thought seriously for a moment and told her gently, "Remember to eat well and sleep well."

Fu Yu was so angry she ignored him for three months.

Only later, when he really died, did she start following his advice again.

She has always made sure to eat well and sleep well.

And today, she truly let go, allowing the Foxtail Grass Spirit to handle this life-and-death crisis on its own.

She was fairly satisfied with its performance.

‘Jun Bu Du, it could be considered half your disciple too.’

That night, it wasn’t just the Foxtail Grass Spirit who ran into trouble.

Shi Ming—Bao Hai's junior brother from the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance—after escaping the Hall of Peace and Joy in the evening, had been hiding and fleeing through the palace for a long time. In his panic, he took a wrong turn and accidentally slipped from the rear hall into the Late Emperor’s mourning hall.

By the time he realized it, his escape route was already blocked by patrolling guards.

Fortunately, the thick, numerous white drapes hanging in the mourning hall concealed his figure, allowing him to catch his breath.

Soon, Shi Ming realized he had stumbled upon the very core of the mystery by accident.

Wasn’t this secret realm about investigating Li Daoxuan’s cause of death?

Now that he was in the mourning hall, the corpse was not far from him. All he had to do was wait until no one was around, then open the coffin to examine the body.

Shi Ming’s heart pounded wildly. Suppressing his excitement, he quietly moved to a hidden vantage point and waited silently for the right moment.

After who knows how long, a young, piping voice came from outside the hall, "Mother… Mother!"

The Empress kneeling before the spirit slowly rose and asked sternly, "Why has Anning come?"

The little princess grumbled unhappily, "Why is Mother always keeping vigil for Father? You just finished one vigil, and now there’s another…"

Hearing this, Shi Ming couldn’t help but smirk, thought: Children are truly foolish. Her father's dead, yet all she cares about is having her mother with her. It’s only a matter of two or three days—what does she mean, ‘just finished one and now another’?

The Empress indeed grew angry. She didn’t scold the princess, only coldly reprimanded the wet nurse behind her, "How are you looking after the Princess? If I hear another word of such nonsense, you need not serve the Princess any longer!"

The wet nurse trembled into silence, "Yes."

The crying little princess was hurriedly carried away.

The Empress was clearly in a foul mood. For a good while, she didn’t kneel back down but instead paced back and forth before the spirit.

After a long time, she whispered to the chief eunuch beside her, "My heart remains uneasy."

The chief eunuch pondered a moment, "This servant will purge the palace once more. Anyone who might possibly know about that matter shall be buried with the Late Emperor. What does Your Majesty think?"

"Approved."

The chief eunuch thought further, "That Xiao Zhuzi who misused the mourning cloth came from the Hall of Peace and Joy. Who knows if he might have blabbed to others? Perhaps it’s best to send them all to serve the Late Emperor."

"No need to bother me with such trifles."

Shi Ming’s heart skipped a beat.

Thank goodness he had escaped!

Senior Brother Bao Hai was still there… Well, never mind. He could hardly save himself, let alone worry about others.

Shi Ming silently sat back in his spot.

He had roughly formed a guess: Li Daoxuan’s death likely involved the Empress. Otherwise, why would she be purging those in the palace who knew?

He held out until the latter half of the night, when the exhausted Empress finally left the mourning hall.

Paper money still fluttered in the brazier.

Shi Ming cautiously emerged from behind the funeral banners and white drapes, glanced around, then tiptoed, hunched over, and swiftly scurried to the side of the coffin.

A pitch-black, heavy coffin, painted with dark gold patterns of soaring dragons amid auspicious clouds.

Shi Ming’s heart hammered violently. He raised his hands to push open the coffin lid.

"Whoosh…"

A cold, eerie wind swept into the mourning hall, scattering the burning paper money from the brazier.

In the half-light, half-gloom, sparks swirled and danced, whirling chaotically in the air above the mourning hall.

Shi Ming sucked in a sharp breath, muttering "nothing is taboo" to himself while putting ninety percent of his effort into his hands.

"Creak..."

The heavy coffin lid emitted a deep, muffled groan. Sweat beaded on Shi Ming's forehead, but he had only managed to push it open a crack.

He took a deep breath, mustered all his strength, and pressed his entire body weight against it.

"Thump!"

Shi Ming's chest pressed tightly against the thick wooden coffin wall as he felt a distinct tremor emanate from within.

He didn't quite register it at first and kept pushing.

"Creak—"

He levered the coffin lid open a gap about half a handspan wide.

From the gap, a cold wind wafted out, carrying a faint scent of blood.

Shi Ming shivered, his scalp tingling with dread.

Just as he was about to exert more force, an increasingly clear "thump" sound rang directly in his ears!

Extremely clear, extremely distinct!

It was coming from inside the coffin!

"Hiss..."

Shi Ming's pupils dilated in shock. He peered down in terror, seeing only darkness and blurriness.

His body felt as if it were being lifted by a taut thread, at its most sensitive and fragile moment, when he suddenly saw something moving inside!

The thread holding his sanity snapped with a sharp twang.

Shi Ming cried out involuntarily, "The corpse is moving!"

The commotion in the mourning hall alerted the guards.

Moments later, Shi Ming was surrounded by a group of guards with drawn swords.

Not daring to act on their own, they urgently summoned the Empress.

Under the dazzling light of the torches, Shi Ming saw the Empress's face clearly—the epitome of an extremely dignified and noble woman from a great aristocratic family.

"Did he escape from Anle Hall?"

The chief eunuch beside the Empress narrowed his eyes.

The Empress lowered her gaze, her tone unreadable. "Anle Hall again."

Without needing her signal, the chief eunuch shrilly ordered the attendants, "Drag him down and beat him to death immediately!"

Two eunuchs rushed forward and pinned Shi Ming down.

Still in shock, Shi Ming stared fixedly at the coffin, trembling as he cried out, "The corpse is moving! It's moving!"

The Empress's face changed dramatically.

Her guards, momentarily forgetting Shi Ming, gripped their weapons and nervously closed in on the black wooden coffin.

Approaching it, one guard mustered his courage and suddenly pushed open the lid!

"Hiss..."

The sight inside was terrifying.

But it wasn't a moving corpse—it was the Late Emperor's head that had fallen off.

When the Late Emperor took his own life, he had used such force that he had cleanly severed his own head.

Since the Emperor's body could not be stitched, the palace attendants had used a gold clasp to fasten the head to the torso—Shi Ming had dislodged it when he moved the coffin.

The Empress, her face pale as a flower, let out a soft sigh of relief.

Shi Ming finally regained his senses.

Knowing that disaster was imminent, he took advantage of everyone's focus on the coffin, broke free, and bolted out of the mourning hall.

"Help! Help—Senior Brother Bo, save me!"

Life hanging by a thread, he poured all his strength into fleeing down the palace's bluestone paths.

"Help! Help—Murder! Help!"

"Senior Brother Bo, save me!"

One palace courtyard after another was startled, quietly extinguishing their lights and falling silent.

Shi Ming tapped into every last reserve of his body's potential, like a final surge before death, and frantically raced toward Anle Hall—instinctively seeking his companion, even if it meant dragging him down.

Finally, he was surrounded on all sides.

Shi Ming knew there was no escape.

His body trembled uncontrollably, tears streaming down his face.

A cultivator, about to die in such an ignoble, mortal way.

Beaten to death by others.

Shi Ming swung his arms desperately, using some self-defense moves, but it was already too late.

Two fists were no match for four hands, let alone the cold, gleaming blades surrounding him.

He was wounded repeatedly.

In despair, he steeled his heart and decided to go all out, wildly guessing and speculating.

"Paper Boy, where are you! I've already found out!"

"The truth about Li Daoxuan's death is—the Empress killed him!"

"The Empress killed Li Daoxuan... or she had someone kill him! They cut off his head!"

"Yes, and that princess, the princess said they just held a vigil once and now they're holding another!"

"The Empress also wants to kill all the witnesses!"

Shi Ming, in his desperate panic, grasped at straws—his master had once taught him that when unsure of the correct answer, one should use every piece of knowledge he had.

For an instant, time seemed to freeze.

Even the flames of the torches ceased to flicker.

The Paper Effigy Boy wobbled out, his tone regretful as he said, "Wrong answer."

*Snap.*

Shi Ming was ripped to pieces.

The commotion was so loud it carried clearly into the Hall of Peace and Joy, just a wall away.

Fu Yu blinked.

"I believe I've figured out the correct answer."