Before Lin Zhaoli’s consciousness reached him, Xi Ping had already come to a decision. He gave Xi Yue his mustard seed and left himself a small bag of spiritual stones. 

Xi Yue immediately realized what he was planning and abruptly took a step back. But before his foot could land, the dragon-taming chain held him in place. 

Xi Ping said, Hide in the water-repelling pearl, jump into the sea. 

Xi Yue said urgently, No! Young master, I won’t…

But the dragon-taming chain had stripped him of the right to say “no.” All Xi Yue could do was watch as he was forced into the ocean like a real puppet. He resisted with all his might, but with the dragon-taming chain around his neck, he couldn’t even look back. 

For a moment, Xi Yue hated himself, hated the dragon-taming chain that he had personally taken back, even hated Xi Ping. 

The water-repelling pearl gently wrapped around the half-puppet’s body and continued to sink into the water. It stuck to the bottom of the ship and disguised itself as a big swath of barnacles, hidden among all the others. 

At the moment, Xi Ping could only protect the half-puppet’s life. He had no time to attend to the little devil’s feelings. When the water-repelling pearl entered the water, Lin Zhaoli’s belligerent consciousness had already reached him. Next, Xi Ping was firmly nailed in place by a talisman. 

The talisman wasn’t very polite. Xi Ping felt like a fly caught in a spider’s web. Even his internal organs were wrapped up. He paid no attention to it. He closed his eyes and ignored Xi Yue’s enraged babbling. Through the dragon-taming chain, Xi Ping sensed a water dragon swimming past the bottom of the ship. The dragon’s beard nearly brushed the water-repelling pearl. 

The water dragon seemed slightly suspicious and circled Xi Yue’s hiding place a few times. The dragon’s huge eyes fixed on the water-repelling pearl. 

Xi Ping’s hands and feet were stuck fast by the talisman and wouldn’t move, but he could still move his fingers. He already had the ascended spirit sword aura on the string. 

The next moment, the voices of the people coming to arrest him sounded. The water dragon turned its head and swam away without interest—it was a foulness clearing water dragon, and Xi Yue wasn’t foul. This wasn’t the person it had been ordered to find; there was no match—it took Xi Yue inside the water-repelling pearl for seafood on the bottom of the ship. 

Xi Ping’s fingers abruptly relaxed. He set half of his worries at rest. 

It was fortunate that Xi Yue was extremely reserved and cautious. He normally had little contact with outsiders. Everyone on board thought that the mute half-puppet wasn’t all there. Apart from his face, which looked human, he seemed about the same as the straw children in the Latent Cultivation Temple. No one took him seriously. 

Xi Ping took a glance at the talisman on him. It wasn’t that he couldn’t use the sword energy to destroy the talisman and escape. It was just that if he did so, Lin Zhaoli would certainly split off his attention to hunt him down. The Shu allies and the Exonerators were still waiting nearby. It would be very unprofitable for them to have an internal conflict. Anyway, one person’s head was only so big. If Xi Ping was devoting attention to dealing with pursuers, he wouldn’t have time to attend to Wei Chengxiang—she was in more danger. 

Lin Zhaoli wouldn’t dare to kill him, anyway. His ultimate defensive move had to be used only at the critical moment. 

While making arrangements for Xi Yue, Xi Ping had kept his attention on Lü Chengyi from start to finish. Just then, he glimpsed the private exchange between Wuchang One and Old Nine. 

His worries, eased due to Xi Yue’s temporary safety, were renewed. 

This was bad. That old fox Lü Chengyi had caught on faster than he had anticipated! 

Before he could think about it carefully, through the reincarnation wood, he had already seen Old Nine return to the room with a strange expression. 

Though Old Nine was still as respectful as before towards the holy woman, his hands were hidden in his sleeves. 

In fact, as soon as Old Nine had exited, Wei Chengxiang had known things had gone wrong—not because her spiritual sense was good and her instincts were accurate, but because the senior in the reincarnation wood had just called her “A-Xiang.” 

When this senior spoke to her, it was “you” this and “you” that. Occasionally he would bring out her full name and call her “Wei Chengxiang.” Every time he called her “A-Xiang,” it meant something was wrong. 

But she didn’t panic. 

When she was little, her grandpa had said that a person’s temperament determined their manner, and their manner would also in turn influence their temperament, so he hadn’t let her fight and curse like the country children, saying it would “change her temperament.” She didn’t believe it. She hadn’t dared to do anything in front of her grandpa, but behind his back she had made quite a lot of trouble. Only now did she suddenly find that while the old man’s words had been pedantic, there was some sense in them. It turned out that manner really could influence temperament. Before, she had acted like a child and had a child’s temperament; now she had a mouthful of blood and was putting on the act of holy woman, cold as ice. After long enough putting on that act, it seemed as if it had grown on her, steadying her soul. 

A hundred zhang under the sea, encircled and watched by demons, Wei Chengxiang wasn’t uneasy. She had calmed her mind and read the contents of the spiritual covenant just now. She determined that this must have been drafted by the Exonerators. 

The Exonerators were afraid that they would be used and then dumped. Their primary point of concern was after the fact—how they would divide up the spiritual stones, that neither side would betray the other, and other such terms were precisely stipulated. But as for how the operation was to be accomplished, the spiritual covenant skimmed over it. It only said “both sides will exert all their efforts to cooperate from within and without” and so on and so on—robbing Great Wan’s shipment convoy couldn’t be done without exerting all their efforts. The Exonerators took it for granted that in this section, everyone’s interests were aligned, and they would all naturally pull together. 

Old Nine walked in, beaming, and said, “Holy woman, have you finished reading the spiritual covenant?” 

Before Wei Chengxiang could answer, the senior in the reincarnation wood urgently warned her: Wuchang One just sent a private message to Old Nine, telling him to force you to sign the spiritual covenant. 

Wei Chengxiang’s pupils contracted slightly. She inwardly asked Xi Ping, “What does Wuchang One suspect me of?” 

Xi Ping said, “He suspects that though you’ve been possessed, because Tai Sui can’t snatch your body, you’re exploiting that advantage right under his nose to sell him out to Heaven’s Design Pavilion—I’ve let you down this time. I messed up.” 

Just then, the cultivators pursuing Xi Ping charged in but didn’t dare to approach. They first overcautiously tossed a dozen immortal tools to suppress spiritual energy at him—there were enough to tie up a gold-armored zheng! 

Xi Ping’s hands were bound behind his back, and every finger was strapped down by thin threads like silk. If he only moved a finger slightly, these sharp threads would cut into his bones. 

Wei Chengxiang: “…” 

There’s no need for you to admit it so openly. 

An evil cultivator who could crush her with one finger was watching her menacingly, but oddly, Wei Chengxiang wasn’t nervous at all. Instead, she rather wanted to laugh. 

She thought it was miraculous. The senior in the reincarnation wood certainly wasn’t any sort of good person who treated others with sincerity. Every time he instructed her in swindling people, it was as if he had brought those skills out of his mother’s womb; when he chatted, his mouth ran like a Cloud Soaring Flood Dragon. But for some reason, on critical matters, he had never put on an act with her. For example, the first time he had spoken to her, he had simply unmasked Tai Sui’s shrine, having no intention of tricking her into worshipping him as a god; now that she had been exposed out of nowhere, as soon as she felt a bit of suspicion and before she’d had a chance to think of blaming him, he had already neatly carried off the blame. 

Why? Did he think there was nothing worthwhile about tricking an inexperienced country girl? 

Perhaps it was because of this that she had dared to go on the road alone with a reincarnation wood amulet. She was a wanderer with no roots at her feet. For her, the human world was a never-ending tempest. Fate always pointed in the direction of “sudden events.” 

Only this piece of reincarnation wood was real. 

It was the only fixed point in her unsettled exile. 

“Since you’ve finished reading it, why haven’t you signed it yet, holy woman?” Old Nine said, smiling, his hands hidden. “Each and every term was negotiated by you according to Tai Sui’s own instructions. What, does he have some other misgivings?” 

The atmosphere suddenly became a little dangerous. 

The smile at the corners of Old Nine’s eyes disappeared. He lowered his voice and said, “Don’t make our brothers the Exonerators wait too long. The sea is vast, and we’re relying entirely on their immortal tool…for our survival.” 

Wei Chengxiang met his eyes without dodging, saying to Xi Ping, “If there’s no way around it, I can sign.” 

In the spiritual covenant, there were very few stipulations in the part about stealing the spiritual stones. There were many loopholes to take advantage of. It wouldn’t impact her ability to lure the evil cultivators onto the wrong path. As for later, when she killed White Amaranth and received the backlash from the spiritual covenant… Never mind. 

She was willing to walk this road of revenge: the ill-intentioned evil cultivators, the lackeys who bullied men and tyrannized women, the water transport office that kept everyone in the dark, the heavens pressing down on the heads of all living things… She would go as far as she could. If she exerted all her strength and could only get this far, then she would acknowledge it. If she could really drag these demons to their deaths, that would also be good. 

“Nonsense.” Xi Ping had read the clauses of the spiritual covenant even faster than she had. As soon as he heard her, he knew what she was thinking. He scolded, “Sign your ass. Put that knife down!” 

Old Nine smiled. “The holy woman does indeed still obey Tai Sui.” 

Xi Ping was pushed out onto the deck with brute force. He staggered and nearly went to his knees. He said angrily, “What’s wrong with all you women? Don’t you understand ‘while the green hills last, there’ll be wood to burn’¹? Why do you all love walking the road to ruin so much?” 

Wei Chengxiang’s gaze fell on the flashing spiritual covenant. “While I don’t know who you’re talking about, my guess is…it may be because we never had ‘green hills’ to begin with?” 

Xi Ping froze. 

Just then, Zhao Zhenwei came down flying his sword and landed precisely in front of Xi Ping. This coward who had been so scared he couldn’t straighten his knees after the earlier incident saw Xi Ping, and his cowardice instantly fermented into violent rage. If he hadn’t had scruples on account of Lin Zhaoli, Xi Ping sensed that he might have come over and stabbed him without any hesitation. 

Through the reincarnation wood, Wei Chengxiang calmly explained to him, “A woman always has fewer roads. It’s possible that with just one accident, all she’ll have left is the road to ruin. It’s no wonder my grandpa always dressed me as a boy.” 

She had always been angry at him for making her look so plain. She hadn’t really understood. 

For some reason, Wei Chengxiang’s voice for a moment didn’t seem like that of a sixteen-year-old girl. It sounded a little deep, like a weary singer who had once again spent all night singing beside the Lingyang River. 

Many thoughts swirled in Xi Ping’s mind like a windstorm. In the moment his eyes met Zhao Zhenwei’s, he had a sudden thought and silently mouthed to Zhao Zhenwei: Traitor to the nation. The evidence is undeniable. You’re done for.

The inside of Zhao Zhenwei’s mind roared. The already strained string snapped, and his reason collapsed. 

He stepped forward and pulled on the immortal-binding cords holding Xi Ping. The cultivators around them were caught unawares.

Xi Ping nearly folded back at his attack. Bloody light appeared around Zhao Zhenwei’s hands as they were carried along by his momentum. He grasped Xi Ping’s neck and at the same time fiercely kicked Xi Ping’s knee—his kneecap broke at once! 

Meanwhile, Wei Chengxiang lowered her hand towards the blade—

In an instant, Xi Ping’s left and right hands curled at the same time. The left hand played a “silent string,” the right hand’s bone qin let out a sharp note, and the silk threads pressed close to his hands cut into the joints of his fingers like a sharp knife slicing through grease. Wei Chengxiang felt her mind shaken by a huge noise. For a time, her whole body was paralyzed. Her hand, pressed to the knife, wouldn’t move down one bit. 

At the same time, the sound of the qin also disturbed the others. Lin Zhaoli flicked Zhao Zhenwei aside with a wave of his sleeve. Xi Ping went to one knee. There was a new red mark on his neck. 

From the cracks between his eyelashes, which were full of cold sweat, Xi Ping looked at Zhao Zhenwei. Perhaps because he was too anxious, he didn’t notice the pain at first. He only smiled at Zhao Zhenwei, who was full of incompetent rage, succeeding in turning Zhao Zhenwei’s face ghastly pale. 

“Jiang…Wei Chengxiang, I’m not dead yet. How did you accidentally end up with only a road to ruin?” Xi Ping said with distinctly. “Do what I say.” 

Old Nine watched the holy woman pick up the knife, then suddenly go rigid—she wasn’t voluntarily not moving. All the muscles in her body were being locked at once by an external force, so she couldn’t move. Next, Wei Chengxiang began to tremble, her jaw extremely tense. She seemed to be struggling to throw something off, her whole body a contest of strength. There were two forces fighting to the death in that one body, one side trying to put down the knife, the other trying to press her hand to the blade. The girl’s originally not very evident veins all stood out. 

The sight petrified Old Nine. “Holy woman?” 

Clank. The knife fell to the ground. Wei Chengxiang stepped on it. 

In the space of a moment, she seemed to have been scooped out of the water. Her whole body was covered in sweat. 

Wei Chengxiang raised her head. The look in her eyes had changed, as if she had removed a mask. She smiled at Old Nine. “I’m sorry, your Tai Sui’s orders…don’t have much sway with me right now.” 

Receiving the news, Lü Chengyi was startled—Tai Sui was so weak that he couldn’t even fully control a mortal! 

No wonder that little bitch could contact Heaven’s Design Pavilion under his nose. This was a perfect explanation! 

It seemed that the destruction of his true body had done far more harm to Tai Sui than Lü Chengyi had imagined. Those damned blue-clothed dogs! What the hell had they done to him?! 

Now, they not only couldn’t kill that little bitch, they also had to protect her body, or else Tai Sui’s frail hidden bones might not be able to withstand another upheaval. 

Old Nine looked down at the girl he had squeezed unconscious. He was caught in a dilemma—he hadn’t dared to squeeze with too much strength, afraid that that fragile neck would snap if he squeezed too hard. There was nothing to be done about the spiritual covenant. It had to be signed by her personally in order to be imprinted on her spirit. With the girl unconscious, even if he bled her dry and smeared the blood on the contract, it still wouldn’t take effect.

“Senior One, what do we do?” 

“Don’t panic, I’m thinking.” Lü Chengyi had also broken out in sweat all over. “Don’t alert the Exonerators. Wake her up in a little while and fill her up with spiritual stone powder and elixirs. Give her as much as you have. Force her to open her spiritual eyes and make way for Tai Sui!” 

After passing on these instructions, Lü Chengyi silently cursed that good-for-nothing Zhao for ruining things and hurried off in pursuit of Lin Zhaoli. 

Xi Ping let out a sigh of relief—his second weak spot was also temporarily safe. 

At last he could devote all of his attention to dealing with the people in front of him. 

You want to think about it? Xi Ping glanced at Lü Chengyi rushing over and thought, It’s a no-go.

Lin Zhaoli took one look at Xi Ping’s wretched state and frowned, glaring fiercely at Zhao Zhenwei. 

But now was no time to settle accounts with his useless colleague. He strode forward, slapped seven or eight talismans towards Xi Ping, and didn’t detect anything out of the ordinary. 

Lin Zhaoli’s expression involuntarily became grave. He examined Xi Ping and coldly said, “Do you want me to perform a soul-searching, or will you tell the truth?” 

One of Xi Ping’s kneecaps was broken. He leaned rudely on the cultivators dragging him, acting very familiar. Emboldened by their support, he smiled at Lin Zhaoli. “I’ve heard that if a half-immortal is soul-searched, he won’t end up an imbecile, but it’ll damage his spirit. If his spirit is damaged, he won’t be able to take another half-step forward in cultivation… Tsk, that’s so scary. I’m my shifu’s only direct disciple, and he’s just passed his Way of the Heart on to me. His lineage will be broken—Lin-shixiong, can you take responsibility for that?” 

Lin Zhaoli: “…” 

Lü Chengyi: “…” 

Lü Chengyi had been prepared to block all kinds of self-justification from him and couldn’t react at first. The song they’d arranged for him to sing was “an accusation that’s hard to explain away,” so how had it turned at the last moment into “bullying others with his position”? 

Lü Chengyi’s background as a low-level roaming cultivator had limited his imagination—were all inner sect disciples this overbearing? 

“Hey, don’t be mad.” Xi Ping adjusted the position of his rapidly healing kneecap and, cool under pressure, said, smiling, “You’ve already established a foundation, and you certainly have a great future ahead of you in the inner sect. You should maintain self-restraint in front of your fellow sect members.” 

The corner of Lin Zhaoli’s eye twitched. No matter how upright he was, he could still hear the threat in these words. He immediately said with a cold smile, “What, are you telling me that with your conduct, if I went to report to the inner sect, General Zhi and the Dignitary of Fate High Elder would still be able to shield you?” 

“What have I done?” Like a scoundrel, not waiting for Lin Zhaoli to accuse him, Xi Ping simply laid it out: “Did you sense something on the first guard ship, Lin-shixiong? Wow, that remaining spiritual energy is so familiar, where did you see it before…? What place was it now?” 

Lin Zhaoli: “…” 

Right, it also wasn’t so easy to explain why he had privately impersonated an evil cultivator and gone to Southern Shu’s encampment. 

Xi Ping continued: “Or are you saying I stole something? May I ask where the spoils are? At any rate you have to catch the criminal with the spoils, no?” 

“You…you’ve sold out to the…evil cultivators.” Lin Zhaoli was nearly stuttering. “You ruined the spiritual stone convoy’s great water dragon array with unlawful intent. What punishment does that merit?” 

Xi Ping didn’t so much as blink. “Who saw it?” 

Lü Chengyi instinctively felt that things were going badly and took a step back. Xi Ping glanced at him, and a trace of a cold smile appeared at the corner of his eye: Don’t be scared. I’m not after you, you old fox. 

Then his gaze fell directly onto Zhao Zhenwei. 

“Your witness is Zhao-shixiong?” Xi Ping licked the blood that had spilled in his mouth when he had taken a hit in his fall earlier. “Right… When did Zhao-shixiong see it?” 

Zhao Zhenwei had a guilty conscience. Under Lin Zhaoli’s gaze, his calf muscles cramped. In a panic, he could only say what Lü Chengyi had told him to say: “I-it wasn’t me who saw it, it was Lin-shixiong himself who found out…” 

Xi Ping stared directly at him. “Then why are you shaking?” 

Lin Zhaoli froze. 

Xi Ping lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on his injured leg. He said meaningfully, smiling, “Here I was thinking Zhao-shixiong wanted to kill me so I couldn’t reveal that we were working together.” 

Zhao Zhenwei said, “Malicious slander!” 

Lin Zhaoli frowned, his suspicious gaze falling on Zhao Zhenwei. 

True, that crowd of traitors in the mines had everyone deceived. He couldn’t be sure that none of their people were aboard the convoy ships. This Zhao Zhenwei…was in fact acting very strangely. 

Xi Ping laughed softly. “Lin-shixiong, you can’t take responsibility for performing a soul-searching on me, but performing a soul-searching on this…Supervisor Zhao of the Mining Office outer sect shouldn’t be a problem for you, right?” 

Who didn’t have weak spots? 

Only his weak spots were all dear to him, whereas Mr. Wuchang One’s weak spots…