They had been ferried by the Riverward from the bank of the Wangchuan River, so upon seeing that familiar figure, like something from another lifetime, both Xu Rucheng and Xi Ping were almost simultaneously dazed. 

“Mr. Bai!” 

“Bai Ling-da-ge…” 

Even though Xi Ping had already known that the “Mr. Bai” behind the Luwu was Bai Ling from Prince Zhuang Manor, the moment he saw him in person, he couldn’t avoid feeling a surge of emotions. 

Unfortunately, he couldn’t speak, couldn’t say hello. 

Once over the Wan-Chu border, Xi Ping had felt the invisible shackles on him tighten further. In Chu, it had only been that others couldn’t hear it when he spoke to Xu Rucheng, but here, so long as a third party was present, Xu-da-bao’s voice speaking to him would disappear, and the words he said wouldn’t reach Xu Rucheng’s ears. 

Reincarnation wood also couldn’t act as a medium—however deep a karmic connection there was, only an item he had used to bear his consciousness could establish a connection. And as soon as Tao County had returned to the human world, Xi Ping had lost his freedom to move through reincarnation wood. There were only a few places his consciousness could reside. 

Before, when Xi Ping had been misleading the idiot for fun, he had deliberately not told Xu Rucheng that his consciousness was on the knotted bag he carried. Now, however, he found that he actually couldn’t say it even if he wanted to. Never mind directly telling Xu Rucheng, even if he wanted to obliquely hint to Xu Rucheng that there was something the matter with the knotted bag, or have Xu Rucheng take someone else’s blood and try it on the bag, Xu Rucheng “couldn’t hear” anything related to it. 

The demon seal had his mouth tightly sealed indeed. It hadn’t left him any room to maneuver. 

Xi Ping scrutinized Bai Ling. Bai Ling-da-ge was no longer the paper secret guard who couldn’t show himself in public. His aura had become far more restrained. At a glance, there was hardly any difference between him and a mortal. But Xi Ping could see at once that he had already established a foundation…that was good. 

But for some reason, there was a crease between Bai Ling’s brows now. He looked a little unsettled. 

Xu Rucheng stepped forward to kneel, but before his knees could bend, Bai Ling held him up. “You’ve worked hard, brother.” 

Xu Rucheng nearly burst into tears, but thinking that he still had something important to say, he forced himself to hold back. After a simple greeting, he said, “The reason I was so bold as to ask you to ferry me back across the border is that I wanted…” 

But before he could finish, he saw that Bai Ling, who had been listening patiently to him, suddenly looked alarmed. He abruptly stood up. 

Xi Ping thought, Huh? How come after five years, Bai Ling-da-ge was less steady than he had been as a secret guard?

“There’s…there’s no rush.” Bai Ling glanced fretfully towards the courtyard and forced himself to say to Xu Rucheng, “There’s chaos in Tao County. From observing the atmospheric conditions there, Dongheng’s Sanyue has left at least four or five ascended spirits to patrol, so for the next few days, don’t be in a hurry to return. It’s already past zi hour tonight. I’ll have someone prepare a place for you to rest. We can talk tomorrow.” 

At you hour on the seventh, by the river, for some reason unknown to Bai Ling, his prince had seemed to go mad, firmly convinced that the Viscount was in Tao County. He had wanted to fly his sword across the border on the spot, right in the face of the Silver Moon. No one knew what those with a paramount spiritual sense could see; no one could know whether they had seized on a true sign or only their own deranged obsession. In sum, Bai Ling couldn’t stand by and watch him go to his death, so, taking advantage of the fact that Zhou Ying wasn’t on his guard against him, he had used a paperman to seal his heart meridian, temporarily restraining him. 

But when the Silver Moon had swept over Tao County, Zhou Ying, with no thought for his heart meridian, had tried to shatter the paperman sealing him by force. Bai Ling had been scared out of his wits. All he could do was knock him unconscious. 

And just now, he had felt His Highness dispel his paperman! 

Within Great Wan’s borders, Xi Ping’s consciousness was limited. He couldn’t probe outwards. He thought there was something strange—with such a big commotion taking place in Tao County, reasonably speaking, Bai Ling ought to have been only too anxious to question Xu Rucheng about what had happened, and it wasn’t as though cultivators absolutely needed to sleep… What could be more important than the great divine tool of Dongheng’s Sanyue? 

Xu Rucheng was also at a complete loss. “I see, but…” 

But before Xu Rucheng could finish, Bai Ling’s expression abruptly changed. 

His Highness had just destroyed all the protective papermen on him! 

This meant he didn’t want him to follow. Where was His Highness going? Across the river? But he was a prince of the first rank of Great Wan…and Sanyue’s ascended spirits had yet to leave! 

Looking at his expression, Xi Ping suddenly realized something. 

No, it couldn’t be…

He shouted at Xu Rucheng: “Stop him! Hurry!” 

Xu Rucheng didn’t hear—with someone else present, the two of them couldn’t communicate. 

Xi Ping: “…” 

Death by a thousand swords to Xuanyin Mountain! 

Bai Ling had no more attention to spare for Xu Rucheng. He only had time for a brief word before flying off in pursuit. 

If he didn’t hurry, he would be too late. 

Once an open-eyed cultivator’s spiritual bones were complete, they would be in the consummate open-eyed stage and obtain a vital weapon and a magic power. But perhaps because his innate spiritual bones had steeped among the demon host, or for some other reason, Zhou Ying was very special. He seemed not to have a vital weapon, and the magic power of his spiritual bones was also unusual: he could vanish into thin air anywhere, easily obscuring others’s senses. Cultivators of the same grade, established foundations…even some ascended spirits whose spiritual senses weren’t especially sharp were susceptible to being fooled by him. 

If Xi Ping had had a heart right now, it probably would have leapt out of his throat—who in the world could make Bai Ling lose his head like this? Well, who else could there be? 

But…but it was already the eighth. How could san-ge still be here? 

How would he have time to return to Jinping by the tenth? 

Great Wan didn’t have a custom of juniors coming travel-stained to the door. That was for hurrying home for a funeral. He would at any rate need to leave a day or two to bathe and rest… Could it be that he wasn’t planning to go back?

Xi Ping suddenly went cold all over: how many more full decade birthdays could the old lady have left to her? Was she already so senile that she wouldn’t be hurt, or…

He unconsciously cried out, “Bai Ling!” 

Wait, tell me…

“Hm?” As soon as Bai Ling left, the prohibition on speech lifted, and Xu Rucheng “heard” his cry. “Senior, do you know Mr. Bai?” 

Before, it had seemed that he had never even heard of the Kaiming Cultivators and didn’t know who His Highness Prince Zhuang was. 

“Of course I do. I’m about to lose my temper with you. Hurry and chase after…” 

Halfway through, Xi Ping’s words were suddenly cut off. 

Xu Rucheng went blank, then suddenly realized: there was someone nearby! 

And with his half-immortal’s spiritual sense and hearing, he hadn’t noticed anything. 

Xu Rucheng abruptly stood up and looked all around. “Who’s there?” 

“Oh?” A voice came from behind him. “And who are you? How did you know I was passing by?” 

Xu Rucheng was taken by surprise. He jumped. 

But for Xi Ping, it was as if he had been struck by lightning. 

His agitated heart stopped with a crash. As Xu Rucheng turned, he met a pair of strange yet familiar eyes. 

For a half-immortal, five years were as light as a breeze. Zhou Ying’s appearance hadn’t changed one bit. He seemed merely to be striking up a casual conversation in passing. His expression was relaxed and cheerful. But the look in his eyes was extremely unfamiliar. As soon as he looked their way, he made Xi Ping recall the heart demon at the bottom of the Impassable Sea, saying “How could I be qualified to be a demon if I wasn’t joyful?”

Xi Ping was stunned. 

What had happened? With his spiritual bones restored, shouldn’t he be all better? Why was there less living energy about him than when he had been a sickly mortal? 

“San-ge,” he called out from the knotted bag where his consciousness was trapped, “what…” 

Then he noticed how far his voice travelled, making no echoes. 

In all the vast universe, no one could hear him. 

San-ge was close enough to touch, but he was only using that cold, fed up, lofty look to examine Xu Rucheng…to examine him. 

Xi Ping, at a loss, shut his mouth. 

At Xu Rucheng’s rank, he wouldn’t have seen Prince Zhuang before. All he saw was that the young man who had landed in front of him was dressed as a scholar, smiling brilliantly and looking very amiable. But for some reason, Xu Rucheng instinctively feared him. He kept thinking that if he said a word out of place, his life would be in danger. 

“I…” Xu Rucheng opened his mouth, but the words he was about to say automatically became voiceless. 

Damn it. He couldn’t say it. 

Zhou Ying clearly looked pleasant and kindly, but Xu Rucheng felt like a fledgling caught in a cobra’s gaze. Cold sweat poured off him. Just then, a white figure flashed by. A paperman landed in a flurry and separated the two of them. “My lord!” 

Xu Rucheng: “…” 

Who? My lord? 

His Highness Prince Zhuang?! 

Oh, mother! Xu Rucheng’s legs went weak. 

Bai Ling quickly said, “This is the Luwu Xiao Xu who wrote the date on his letter before. I called him back to report on matters in Wild Fox Country. Please listen, my lord…” 

“Oh, one of your people. Then there’s no need for this.” Zhou Ying restrained his smile that hid a knife and waved a hand expressionlessly. Paying no further attention to Xu Rucheng, he said dully, “I’ll go myself. I ought to be the one to collect the corpse of the one I killed.” 

The wheels of Xi Ping’s consciousness, which seemed to have rusted, at last began to revolve a hundred years late: who was he talking about? 

His mind roared: Wait….wait a moment, this couldn’t be because of that letter? 

In Wild Fox Country, when Xi Ping had sent A-Xiang out at the end, exhausting all the “human resources” he could figure into his plans, all that had remained was to obey the will of heaven. He had picked up Xu Rucheng’s communication device and scribbled a sentence. This way, if Tao County didn’t return, he would perhaps have a chance to leave a few words for Bai Ling, to warn him that the Riverward had been used up and that he should beware of Qiu Sha. 

With Bai Ling’s sense of propriety, even if he had realized that the letter came from Xi Ping, even if he knew…he still ought to have handled it appropriately. 

Had that letter really ended up in san-ge’s hands? 

But afterwards, Tao County had returned… Once the Law Breaker was broken, shouldn’t that letter have been erased? 

What did he know? What misunderstanding was he laboring under? 

But, no… Were those three old geezers from Xuanyin Mountain completely useless? They couldn’t even handle this trifle properly—they’d left it so that even an open-eyed cultivator could catch a trace! 

Before Xi Ping could sort out his many disordered thoughts, he saw Bai Ling go to one knee and say in a low voice, almost imploring, “I have been disrespectful to my superior. A thousand deaths will not atone for my crime. I request your punishment, my lord. Even if you want to go to Tao County in person, at least wait half a month…” 

Xu Rucheng was bewildered. Hearing this, he began to quake with terror: Mr. Bai had committed a crime? 

Every cultivator who had started out in the Kaiming Department was grateful to Prince Zhuang. While out and about, they usually claimed to be His Highness Prince Zhuang’s loyal followers. But if you wanted them to say they weren’t afraid of him, that would be impossible—the deepest impression Prince Zhuang had always given them was that he would be especially quick to kill. 

This wouldn’t do. He had a debt of gratitude to Mr. Bai. 

Having thought this far, Xu Rucheng clenched his fist. A small transparent stone like colored glaze jumped out of his palm. There was thin smoke billowing inside the stone; its form seemed to be constantly changing. 

“My lord,” Xu Rucheng said, taking a deep breath and gathering his courage, “Mr. Bai brought me back so I could present the item you wanted.” 

In his youth, he had been accustomed to shouting across villages and fields. When he opened his mouth, his voice came out as a bellow. Bai Ling shuddered at the sound. 

Zhou Ying raised his eyelids indifferently and glanced at him, but his gaze suddenly froze on that stone. 

The next moment, he floated over like a ghost and reached out to take the Riverward stone. He saw something in the smoke inside the stone. Zhou Ying’s pupils contracted sharply. 

Bai Ling said, “Xiao Xu, what…what is that?” 

“Oh, I was told it’s called the ‘Riverward’.” In fact, Xu Rucheng had no idea what the Riverward was. He responded ignorantly and fearlessly. “It’s the thing Qiu Sha mentioned in her letter to my lord.” 

Bai Ling: “…” 

Brother, is your head broken, or are my ears broken?

A shed skin elder from Sanyue descended to the mortal world, bringing with him the Silver Moon; a dozen ascended spirits from the four great sects were present—and the Riverward, held by the foremost evildoer under heaven, was carried off without anyone knowing by a mere half-immortal like you? Who are you? The Way of Heaven’s sugar daddy? 

Then he heard Zhou Ying ask with some urgency, “Who said that? Who told you this was the Riverward?” 

Xu Rucheng opened his mouth, but it was as if his tongue had stuck. After a moment, he let out a breath. “My lord, I cannot say.” 

Bai Ling felt suffocated. “You…” 

“Cannot say, cannot say…” Zhou Ying quietly repeated these words a few times, the tips of his brows moving. A fearsome light suddenly appeared in his pitch-black eyes. “The person who told you to bring this back, did he tell you what to do when you could not say?” 

Xu Rucheng responded, “Say whatever I can say and let Mr. Bai figure out the rest.” 

Hearing this familiar diction, Bai Ling swiftly turned his head, realizing something. He saw the corners of Zhou Ying’s mouth tremble uncontrollably. 

In that moment, he was no longer joyful, no longer qualified to be a demon. 

Watching Xu Rucheng, Zhou Ying asked softly, as if afraid of startling something, “Are you still in contact with him? Is he well?” 

Xu Rucheng opened his mouth, then closed it helplessly. 

Xi Ping’s consciousness was in the knotted bag, quietly looking back. 

Zhou Ying squeezed the Riverward in the palm of his hand. He was silent a moment, then said hoarsely, “I understand. When you have the chance, tell him that everyone at home is doing well and there’s no need to worry.” 

“Then why haven’t you gone back?” said Xi Ping. 

Zhou Ying couldn’t hear him. He only said almost inaudibly, “I’ll get him out soon.” 

Xi Ping suddenly realized what he wanted the Riverward for. Before he could recover, Zhou Ying had disappeared right before his eyes like the wind. 

Wait, san-ge! It’s been five years, I’m already used to it, a few more days won’t hurt, but Grandmother can’t wait for you any longer! 

Go and see her first. I haven’t written for five years, and if you don’t come home either, the old lady will know. She isn’t that senile… I’m begging you, ge! 

But his words couldn’t stop anyone. 

Autumn came early to Jinping. At the start of the seventh month, there were already chill breezes morning and night. 

The old lady of the Yongning Marquis Manor was celebrating her eightieth birthday. On account of Prince Zhuang, who was the master of the Kaiming Cultivators, and the Viscount, who was reputed to have become a disciple of Flying Jade Peak, the Marquis Manor was as bustling as a marketplace, the commotion going on until the sun sank into the west. 

The married ladies and young mistresses who had joined the old lady in listening to opera had all gone. The singers had sighed, the tune had ended, and the audience had dispersed; the fan in the old lady’s hand fell to the ground. She had just woken up in a muddle. 

She was too old. When she was listening to opera, she would fall asleep several times. Madam Cui, seeing the old lady open her eyes, quickly stepped forward and said, “Mother, why don’t you go back to your room to rest?” 

The old lady shook her head. “Tell them to sing it again. I’m not sleepy. Let me see, what should I order…” 

“Mother…” said Madam Cui. 

“It’s not dark yet. It’s still early.” The old lady’s eyes were dim-sighted from age and took the light of the gas lamps for daylight. Chattering on, she instructed, “Bao’er and Ying haven’t come home yet… Ying’s… His Highness’s appetite is poor. Heat up the thickened rice soup. Xiaobao… Ha, there’s no need to worry about him, he’ll eat anything…” 

The opera singers in the rear court of the Marquis Manor sang through the night, until the gas lamps of Dangui Lane dimmed. 

At the bottom of the Impassable Sea, beneath the demon seal, in the place no one could reach, the Wangchuan cut a small rift. 

Zhou Ying at last came in person to the place where he had been imprisoned for over twenty years. For a time, the familiar pain seemed to surge up from the cracks in his bones once more. 

As far as the eye could see lay a forest of reincarnation wood. As if they knew who the newcomer was, the trees sympathetically cleared a path. 

Zhou Ying saw at a glance what was in the depths of the thicket. It was as if his feet had been glued to the ground.