Pang Jian had originally planned to operate covertly. He hadn’t wanted to alert the Mine Governor as soon as they arrived at the southern mines—he had been worried that the evil cultivators planning to loot the convoy wouldn’t dare to act if he alerted them. 

But now it was clear that what he had to investigate wasn’t the small matter of the evil cultivators. 

“Don’t babble,” Pang Jian exhorted Xi Ping ahead of time. “You’re a junior who’s just joined the sect. Mind your mouth, just act like you don’t know anything no matter what they ask you. No one is going to go after you making inquiries. When we see the Mine Governor, just say that because of evil cultivators running wild and brewing calamity in the southern outskirts, Heaven’s Design Pavilion received orders to go south to investigate the snow wine trade and verify the identities of the miners in order to prevent evil cultivators from infiltrating the valuable spiritual stone mines.” 

On the surface, Xi Ping said “fine,” putting on an obedient “whatever shixiong says” expression, but he was thinking: The evil cultivators know what we’ve come here to do—I revealed it to them. 

This Wuchang One was very interesting. First of all, he wasn’t really a “Tai Sui believer,” because he not only knew Liang Chen’s true identity, he also knew that Liang Chen had the hidden bones and could possess other people’s bodies. If he knew so much about “Tai Sui”’s background and could still remain a believer, Xi Ping would salute him for being quite the fellow—he seemed more like Liang Chen’s partner. 

At the same time, Wuchang One also obviously knew about the traitors who were colluding with a foreign nation and stealing spiritual stones from the mines. 

In other words, in Great Wan’s southern mines, there were three groups of people with ulterior motives: first, the “thieves inside the house” who were creating mine collapses and colluding with Southern Shu. These were well-established thieves who had long-standing power in the mines, deep-rooted. 

Second were the people who had realized something was wrong and were furtively investigating the thieves inside the house; in other words, those “fake evil cultivators” who had been scouting out Southern Shu’s encampment by night. While these people had an established foundation cultivator among them, they had been forced into doing an unseemly thing like that; it was clear their foundations were shallow. 

The third group consisted of Tai Sui Liang Chen and his remaining followers. There was no knowing about the others, but Liang Chen and Wuchang One evidently also belonged to the “thieves inside the house” faction; at the same time, they had certainly drawn no profit from this. Never mind going around buying things on credit, they had also become disloyal and begun to have dealings with bumpkins like the Exonerators. 

Xi Ping had gotten mixed up in this, planted Wei Chengxiang among the evil cultivators, and, at the same time, had given Wuchang One two pieces of information: one was that Tai Sui Liang Chen’s identity had been exposed within Heaven’s Design Pavilion, and Pang Jian had come with ill intent; the other was that the “fake evil cultivators” had already grasped the outlines of the situation and had begun to secretly investigate the “thieves inside the house.” 

Would Wuchang One reveal the latter piece of information to the “thieves inside the house”?

Xi Ping believed that he was certain to: if he had been Wuchang One, he wouldn’t know that Pang Jian had found the transport array by a mysterious coincidence; he would only know that Heaven’s Design Pavilion had come looking for him. So he would certainly reframe Pang Jian’s purpose in coming as “Heaven’s Design Pavilion has come to investigate the theft of spiritual stones,” then let the “thieves inside the house” treat this as an existential threat and deal with Heaven’s Design Pavilion, concealing himself. 

Right now, the most ignorant people in the game were the “fake evil cultivators.” The “thieves inside the house” were facing an existential threat. The “real evil cultivators” thought they had everything under control and were prepared to sit tight and watch the other two go at it. 

Also, beneath the Bell of Tribulation, Liang Chen had said that there was a “criminal brand” on his spiritual image. Shifu had later explained to him what a “criminal brand” was; could this be connected with the thieves inside the house who were stealing spiritual stones?
 

The Mine Governor commanded all of the southern mines. Did they belong to the “thieves inside the house,” or to the helpless “fake evil cultivators”? 

And what party did Zhao Zhenwei, who was getting ready to escort the spiritual stones north, belong to? 

As Xi Ping circled the game board in his mind, he followed Pang Jian, asking about everything left and right like a pampered young man who had never been out in the world and thought everything he saw was fresh and new. 

The Mine Governor’s manor had a rather “southern” flavor. It didn’t have courtyards as deep as those of Jinping. As soon as they walked through the gate, there was an unrestrained sea of wisteria, growing unusually rampant in the warmth of the south. A narrow path passed through, and inside were gardens within gardens, the butterflies so busy they didn’t know where to land. Xi Ping was keeping count: since they had come in through the gate, Pang-shixiong had sneezed three times. 

He thought to himself, Is this Mine Governor obsessed with flowers?

Then, when he saw the Mine Governor in a garden of peonies, Xi Ping thought, Bah, the flowers don’t deserve it. 

The Mine Governor was a female cultivator. Her lightly made-up face made the whole hall of flowers look dismal… Anyway, Xi Ping, who cursed young ladies and turned down famed courtesans, who made the Marquis so mad he chased him through the streets, suddenly turned polite. 

Even the bandit-like Pang Jian became somewhat more reserved. He lowered his voice three notches and respectfully greeted her, “Your Highness Anyang.” 

Xi Ping had a moment of realization: Oh, she’s from the Zhou family. 

As expected—there was an eight or nine out of ten chance that any shijie he met in the outer sects would be a princess. 

Great Wan had many restrictions on women. Though recently female workers and merchants had begun to appear, they were all taken by renowned scholars as signs of “the decline of public morals” and “the decay of society,” and all of them had to struggle against rumors and slander. It was as if after a woman grew up, the only two types of work she could do were being a wife and being a prostitute, and anything else was only a shoddy coverup for being a prostitute. 

This was also why any walkers in the mortal world who couldn’t stand the loneliness had to hide their names and make do with mortals in a mirage. It was practically impossible to find a cultivation partner among their colleagues—selection cards were so hard to come by that there weren’t even enough to go around for the sons of the wealthy; how could there be a share for the wealthy young mistresses? They had to stay behind to make brilliant matches. Xuanyin’s female disciples were very rare. If they weren’t so extraordinarily talented that they immediately went into the inner sect, then they were of extremely lofty birth; how could anyone be a suitable match for them? 

Actually, Xi Ping had a vague feeling that the title “Anyang” sounded familiar… 

“Lord Pang, you have traveled a long way and gone to many pains,” Princess Anyang said politely. Then she looked at Xi Ping. “And who is this?” 

Xi Ping put on his most proper-looking smile and gravely stepped forward to salute her. “Hello, shijie, I am…” 

Before he could finish, Princess Anyang saw the sword he was wearing and said, “Your surname is Xi. Are you Shiyong?”

Xi Ping’s brows moved. He thought, Has my good name spread so far? 

So he put on an even more active show of propriety. “Shijie has heard of me? Ah, to be spoken of to such venerable ears, whether the speech was good or bad, is a blessing upon me for three lifetimes.” 

Where no one was looking, Pang Jian glared at him: Mind your manners! 

Then Princess Anyang suddenly smiled. The whole peony garden faded. She said, “Wow, it really is you. You’ve gotten so big! Is Jinjin well?” 

Xi Ping: “…” 

“Jinjin” was his mother Madam Cui’s given name. This beauty wasn’t just making conversation. He had an ominous premonition. 

Princess Anyang said, smiling, “When I was young, I went out incognito to visit Cui Ji. I took a liking to a hairpin. When I asked, it turned out that it was a coming of age gift Cui Ji had made for the family’s young mistress. I was arrogant and willful in my youth and insisted on buying it. Jinjin came to collect it just then, and we became instant friends. She let me have the hairpin along with the whole set of hair ornaments. She’s an exceptional talent, with a very good disposition. We got along very well when I was young.” 

Xi Ping suddenly remembered: “Anyang” was a princess of the first rank—she was the present emperor’s full blood older sister! 

The princess smiled kindly and said, “So you can stop calling me ‘shijie.’ Just call me Auntie Qing.” 

Before the smile Xi Ping considered “elegant and unrestrained” could fade, he was hit in the face with this “Auntie Qing.” 

Pang Jian bent his head; his shoulders began to shake. 

After a moment, Xi Ping, having nothing left to live for, accepted the princess’s presents on the occasion of their first meeting: a small bag of spiritual stones and a lock of longevity¹. 

Was there anything in the world that was a better antidote to lust than a lock of longevity? 

In fact, there was. The princess wrapped the damn thing up in a red packet and said it was a New Year’s gift. 

Xi Ping followed Pang Jian, contemplating the illusory nature of the sensual world, listening to these two “elders” discuss the explosion and the evil cultivators in the south and sighing about the hardships to the common people caused by the evil cultivators running rampant. 

“Forget about the rest,” Pang Jian said calmly. “If there are traitors among the miners and the crew members of the convoy ships, then there’s a problem.” 

“Ah, you’ve said it. What a headache.” A person’s mind and manner would often change along with the age of their appearance. Zhou Qing had the face of a girl, and when she grumbled, there was an indescribable air of naïve coquetry about her. There was no way anyone could have imagined that she had a brother whose hair had all gone grey. 

Pang Jian said, “Are you in some difficulty, Your Highness?” 

Zhou Qing said with a bitter smile, “I won’t conceal it from you, shixiong. Since I was transferred to the southern mines twenty years ago, I’ve always been in difficulty. They all said my natural endowments were insufficient and I couldn’t enter the inner sect, and I only got made Mine Governor because my surname is Zhou. My natural endowments are weak, and I’m a woman. On the surface, the ten senior mine supervisors are polite to me, but when something really comes up, never mind obeying my orders, they don’t even consult me.” 

Pang Jian and Xi Ping exchanged a veiled look. 

This oppressed Mine Governor who had come here only twenty years ago didn’t sound like she belonged with the deep-rooted “thieves inside the house.” 

“I’ve always said that while snow wine is a good thing, rock snow causes hallucinations, and the mines ought to strictly control it, but they said I didn’t understand the plight of the common people and wasn’t making allowances for the hardships of the miners,” Zhou Qing said, sighing. “Since Liang-shixiong left office, there have been frequent incidents with the convoy ships. They tell me I’m incompetent, and then they block me from stopping shipments and performing a thorough investigation. They say, ‘The spiritual stone shipments must be made at the right time, and they may not be delayed.’ The next shipment is about to go north… Ah, perhaps I really am incompetent. I should go back to the Latent Cultivation Temple to repair straw children.” 

Pang Jian considered, then said, “In fact, there’s no need to delay the shipment. Let Shiyong go with the escort, and I’ll stay in the mines to help Your Highness investigate the traitors.” 

“Very well.” Zhou Qing had no objections to the latter part of this sentence. She only glanced hesitantly at Xi Ping. “Sending Shiyong on his own… Can he handle it?” 

Xi Ping gave a dry cough and automatically sat up straight. 

Zhou Qing bit her lip and took out a talisman. She snapped her fingers to light it up and said, “Commander Zhao Zhenwei of the escort team, Head of the Guard Lü Chengyi-shixiong…and Mine Supervisor Lin Zhaoli-shixiong, please come and see me.

“Lin-shixiong is the only one of the mine supervisors willing to help me,” Zhou Qing said. “But he’s advanced in years, and recently he showed signs of reaching the end of his lifespan due to injury, so he had no choice but to establish a foundation by force in the mines. Now the inner sect has sent a reception order after the fact, and he ought to be leaving the southern mines. I’ll ask him for one last thing—to go with the shipment. In troubled times, no matter what, it will be safer to have an established foundation master to oversee matters. He can also take care of my old friend’s son for me.” 

Xi Ping: “…” 

Anyway, the princess thought he was unreliable. 

But an established foundation cultivator surnamed Lin… Wasn’t that the head of those black-clothed people who had drawn fire beside the spiritual beast pool that day? 

So it would seem that Princess Anyang was part of the “fake evil cultivator” group. 

“Matters must not be delayed,” Pang Jian said to Princess Anyang. “I want to go to the mines and have a look. A little later, can Your Highness lend me a register of miners…including those already dead, a log of the supervisors’ comings and goings from the mines, and a full log of the quantities and other properties of spiritual stones leaving the mines?” 

As a mine supervisor, Zhou Qing was truly hopeless. Hearing this, she frowned. “I’ll do my best to ask all the mine supervisors. If they decline and give me excuses…” 

Pang Jian said, “Just say Heaven’s Design Pavilion is investigating a case and anyone who obstructs us will be judged to be an accomplice of the evil cultivators.” 

Zhou Qing’s eyes lit up, like a little girl who had been given the imperial sword. “Then I’ll rely on shixiong for everything!” 

“You flatter me.” Pang Jian cupped his hand. “Also, Your Highness, please permit the karma beasts to follow the southern mines’ great array to search out evil energy.” 

Zhou Qing agreed at once: “No problem.” 

Heaven’s Design Pavilion and the Mine Governor who found herself elbowed out of her own territory came to a ready agreement; everything was going unbelievably smoothly. 

But Xi Ping secretly frowned: he was afraid it wouldn’t be that easy. The princess was in the dark, but the “thieves inside the house” must already have received Wuchang One’s warning; they would certainly have cleaned up their tracks by now. 

Then, as Zhou Qing led them to the southern mines, she said, “When I first heard what had happened in Jinping’s southern outskirts, I sent someone to investigate the snow wine merchants. I didn’t expect that I would be a step too late. The evil cultivator who tampered with the snow wine had already run off. He had counterfeit identity documents from the start… Evil cultivators have endless tricks for disguise and concealment. There’s really nowhere to start investigating once they’ve snuck in.” 

“It’ll be easy to identify them,” Pang Jian said. Before Xi Ping could stop him, he pulled out the “unseen glasses.” “These glasses can observe the name on a person’s spiritual image. We’ll know at once when we check that name against the one on their identity documents.” 

Xi Ping: “…” 

Dear shixiong! “Unseen glasses” can’t be seen. If you reveal them to the light of day, how am I going to secretly investigate the evil cultivators’ true names?! 

But this was his greatest secret right now. He couldn’t say it. So there was no way Xi Ping could stop Pang Jian. 

Just then, Wei Chengxiang’s voice suddenly came through Xi Ping’s spirit: “Uncle, can you control the reincarnation wood?” 

Xi Ping’s eyes flashed. 

There was a middle-aged man sitting in front of Wei Chengxiang. He was an Indignant Cicada who had received orders from Wuchang One to get her settled in. 

This man called himself Old Nine. He looked like a leavened bun. He wasn’t necessarily using his true face. There was an evil light flashing in his little eyes. He said respectfully and politely to Wei Chengxiang, “Since Tai Sui ceased manifesting, we have also been unable to use the reincarnation wood to send messages amongst ourselves. Even to contact you, the holy woman, we had to rely on outsiders.” 

Xi Ping immediately said, “I don’t know how to make it work, drop the subject—just say…can they contact the holy woman as they like? They are unworthy.” 

Wei Chengxiang was already used to his tyrannical attitude of marching in and taking over. She put a chilly expression on her small face and didn’t respond, haughtily scrutinizing the pasty-faced man in front of her. 

Old Nine’s eyes moved. He said ingratiatingly, smiling, “We are naturally unworthy of speaking to the holy woman without being summoned. But Senior One is in the mines and can’t come and go easily, and he often has urgent matters to report to Tai Sui and the holy woman. Could we ask Tai Sui to give him a special pardon to allow him to use the reincarnation wood to communicate with the holy woman?” 

This couldn’t be refused with “you are unworthy.” 

Wei Chengxiang clenched her teeth in secret, racking her brain to think of how she should answer. 

Then she heard Old Nine say, “Senior One said that Tai Sui knows him and is certain to agree.” 

Wei Chengxiang: “…” 

Xi Ping: “…” 

Tests always came without warning. 

Wei Chengxiang’s throat went dry. She involuntarily avoided the pasty-faced man’s eyes. “Tai Sui says…” 

Just then, Xi Ping’s left palm warmed slightly, and he called Wei Chengxiang to a stop: “Wait.” 

He raised his head and looked around. He saw three men coming their way. 

At the same time, through the unseen glasses, Pang Jian saw that the name of the man in the lead was a blurry “Lin.” This was the established foundation cultivator from that day at the spiritual beast pool. 

Of the other two, one was very young—not only his face. He was impressive, giving off an air of luxurious living. Loyal to their post, the unseen glasses revealed his name: Zhao Zhenwei. 

The last one was dressed like a scholar and showed signs of nearing the end of his lifespan. His skin was slack, and he appeared middle-aged. 

For a time, Xi Ping had no attention to spare to examine Zhao Zhenwei. He met the middle-aged man’s eyes directly. The man smiled easily at him, and the feeling in Xi Ping’s left palm became more evident. 

What did this mean? 

Xi Ping’s thoughts moved rapidly. He said to Wei Chengxiang through the reincarnation wood, “Tell this Old Nine that when Wuchang One has finished dealing with Heaven’s Design Pavilion’s people, I’ll make my own arrangements.” 

Wei Chengxiang composed herself and passed this on. Old Nine was surprised, and the doubt in his eyes instantly faded. He asked almost humbly, “Holy woman, how do you know that…Mr. One has gone to scout out Heaven’s Design Pavilion?” 

Wei Chengxiang learned by analogy. This time, not waiting for Xi Ping’s instructions, she put on the “you are unworthy of knowing” expression on her own. 

At the other end, Xi Ping only managed to keep from showing anything unusual in his expression by pressing the tip of his tongue to the roof of his mouth—got you, Wuchang One. 

“Lin-shixiong!” Zhou Qing quickly stood up to introduce everyone. 

When she came to Zhao Zhenwei, Xi Ping smiled as brilliantly as if he were reuniting with his own brother after being separated for many years. When she came to the middle-aged man, Xi Ping was like an orphan who had roamed the world for half his life finding his father. 

“This is Lü-shixiong,” Zhou Qing said, “one of the old hands here at the mines. He has always accompanied the shipments.” 

“You flatter me. I am Lü Chengyi. Greetings to you two representatives from Jinping.” 

Xi Ping gently curled his left hand and thought: “Lü Chengyi.” 

The next moment, a peculiar point of view appeared in the center of his brow—Xi Ping as “Tai Sui” seemed to become a pair of eyes behind Lü Chengyi’s back, loftily observing the clueless “believer” from another angle.