Li Xun stepped into the imperial palace like a man walking to his execution.
But the moment he crossed into the Lanxie Courtyard, something strange happened. All the fear, tension, and resentment that had been boiling inside him just… vanished. What replaced them was a feeling—hard to describe, yet delicate, clear, and oddly serene.
He didn't yet understand the wonder of this feeling. He only knew that his mind suddenly felt sharp, his control over his muscles unusually precise. His facial expressions were like clay; he could mold them however he liked.
With just a thought, his face contorted into a mask of anxious fear, and with that, he pushed open the door and walked straight into the main hall.
The moment he laid eyes on Yin Wanderer, he let out a desperate wail: "Master Aunt, save me!"
As expected, before the echo of his plea faded, a cold snort rang out from the other side. He instinctively turned his head and let a look of mingled fear and surprise flash across his face. "Master?!"
Hearing him blurt out that title, even if Blood Wanderer didn't take the boy seriously, he couldn't help but feel a flicker of approval. His expression softened just a bit, then he let out a cold sneered, "Good-for-nothing!"
Li Xun gave an embarrassed laugh and quickly stepped forward to offer greetings. "Master, when did you return?" he asked.
Blood Wanderer snorted again but didn't reply. Li Xun looked even more awkward, until Yin Wanderer gave a teasing laugh and said, "The matter with the Heavenly Vigorous Sect was only just settled a few days ago, and you're already in trouble again? Wei Bufan, you sure raised a fine disciple!"
She was clearly joking, but Li Xun didn't dare take it lightly. He forced a bitter smile and turned to Yin Wanderer. "Master Aunt, I swear I didn't stir up trouble on purpose. This disaster... it just dropped out of the sky. What could I do?"
He quickly explained the incident with Lin Wuyou. He didn't need to go into too much detail. Just the name Heavenly Demon Phoenix was enough to make both Wanderers' expressions shift slightly.
"The demon phoenix's daughter?" Yin Sanren's gaze lingered on Li Xun's face with a look he couldn't quite decipher; there was even some mockery. "Technically, that makes her your senior apprentice sister. She shouldn't be giving you trouble, should she?"
All Li Xun could do was smile bitterly. Blood Wanderer, meanwhile, grunted. "Gu Zhixuan really knows how to keep things under wraps. Took the demon phoenix as his exclusive plaything. Of course, her constant companion, Qingluan, wouldn't be far off.
"Two of the Seven Demons in his pocket. Add in that weird niece of his, and even someone like Zhong Yin would have to tread carefully! And yet we're only now seeing the first cracks in his cover... Damn, what a clever bastard!"
The meaning behind his words was plain as day. Li Xun almost laughed, but something else struck him, and his smile froze.
The two Wanderers, sharp as they were, instantly caught the change in his expression. Both their eyes locked onto him.
Li Xun flinched and took a step back, his face now full of unease. "Disciple just remembered something…" he said after a moment of hesitation. "That day, I heard Lin Wuyou call someone 'Aunt Qing'…"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the room shifted. After a moment of surprise, the two Wanderers exchanged glances, then turned their eyes back on him. The look they gave was so strange, it made his blood run cold.
"Qing Luan's here too?" Yin Wanderer asked mildly. She was the first to look away, with not a trace of emotion left on her face.
And that made it worse. The more she acted like this, the more terrified Li Xun became.
Yin Wanderer might enjoy putting on an act, but Blood Wanderer had no patience for games. To Li Xun, the way Blood Wanderer looked at him now was no different from how one might stare at a dead fish on a chopping block.
He almost ran for it right then and there. But the tiny scrap of reason he had left kept his feet rooted to the floor. The contradiction tore at him. It was maddening. Worst of all, he had to keep cycling through facial expressions to fool these two monsters.
Forcing himself to stay calm, he said, "Disciple has no way of confirming that for certain. I await your instructions, Master… Master Aunt."
"Instructions?" Yin Wanderer suddenly smiled. "If we have to decide everything for you, then what's the point of keeping you around?"
Li Xun's heart skipped a beat. He quickly corrected himself, "Understood. I'll go investigate right away!"
He turned to leave, hoping to escape while he had the chance. But just as he lifted a foot, Blood Wanderer growled, "Hold it!"
Li Xun froze mid-step and looked back.
Blood Wanderer pulled out a thin booklet and waved it at him. "Take this… Your Master Aunt tells me you mastered the Heart of No Emotion in half a month. Not bad. Let's see how long it takes you to cultivate a Blood Nightmare."
He tossed the booklet over, and Li Xun hurried to catch it. This time, his joy was real. No acting required. Beaming, he bowed in thanks and finally took his leave.
Once he passed through the gates of Lanxie Courtyard, he opened the booklet to take a closer look.
Just as he'd guessed, it was the next stage of Blood God Child, a more advanced set of techniques, deeply profound and incredibly complex. This wasn't something he could breeze through in ten or twenty days.Even if his progress stayed as miraculous as before, it would take him seven or eight years to fully master it.
Could this mean that, for at least the next seven or eight years, the two Wanderers wouldn't do anything to him?
That thought brought a flicker of relief. But then he remembered how the two Wanderers had toyed with him earlier. Their cryptic looks, their casual commands. And the chill returned. Whether it was seven or eight days or seven or eight years... what difference did it make if every moment felt like walking a tightrope?
That fleeting joy he'd felt just moments ago vanished into nothing. In the end, he let out a dry chuckle and strode straight out of the palace.
Yin Wanderer had told him to "investigate," but what she really meant was: go get close to Lin Wuyou.
Li Xun didn't know where she was staying, but in a city like this, full of spies and informants, it wasn't hard to find out. By sunset, he was standing outside a guesthouse in the northern part of the capital, holding a box of desserts carefully prepared by the imperial kitchens.
Li Xun had never known a cultivator who preferred to stay inside the city. But thinking of Lin Wuyou's quirks and temperament, he had to admit. It actually made perfect sense.
The innkeeper told him Lin Wuyou's party had seven or eight people and had rented out the entire guesthouse. But they came and went at odd hours, and most of the time, nobody even saw them around.
Their behavior was downright strange.
At the moment, the entire inn was empty. No one around, and no telling where they'd all gone.
Still, that mischievous little girl and the so-called "Aunt Qing" she always mentioned showed up every night without fail. So Li Xun decided to stay put and wait.
He chatted idly with the innkeeper, making casual conversation that, unsurprisingly, kept circling back to Lin Wuyou and her group. From the way the old man spoke, it was clear Lin Wuyou, and especially that silent, icily arrogant beauty at her side, had left quite the impression.
Once the topic turned to those two, the innkeeper became unstoppable, saving Li Xun the trouble of coaxing anything out of him. Even when the lamps were lit and the sky dimmed, the old man was still going strong, somehow growing more animated by the minute. But Li Xun couldn't take it anymore. More accurately, he dared not take it anymore.
He stood up, gave the old man a friendly little nudge with his foot, then turned with a smile and called out, "Senior Sister Wuyou, you're back!"
The innkeeper promptly scrambled behind the counter like he'd seen a ghost. Li Xun, keeping his best smile on, now had to face Lin Wuyou, who didn't look particularly thrilled to see him.
That was also when he saw her…."Aunt Qing."
In that instant, Li Xun finally understood what the old man meant by "icily arrogant." The tall, slender woman in the plain green robes behind Lin Wuyou was icily arrogant personified.
Funny enough, Li Xun had met plenty of stunning women over the years, and many of them liked to wear green. But they each had their own flavor.
Immortal Master Qingyin carried herself with distant aloofness, cold and solitary. Mingji, by contrast, was sharp and cold as ice, her presence bristling with an almost cutting edge. But this woman? One glance and she was like a lone pine clinging to a snowy cliff. It was majestic, unapproachable. It made people instinctively avert their gaze.
Her clothes were simple and practical, neither robe nor skirt, light and neat, untouched by even a speck of dust. Her skin was pale as snow, flawless, and her hands—those translucent hands—seemed like they could glow in the dark.
As for her beauty. Yes, she possessed that peerless jade-and-bloom loveliness, but there was more. Her features were as sharply defined as Mingji's, if not more so, and the air she gave off practically screamed stay away. It was like even your breathing might offend her.
Her eyes swept past Li Xun like he was nothing more than a chair in the corner. Not even a flicker of acknowledgement. Still, just that glance felt like a blade of ice stabbing straight through him. His smile froze on his face.
"You again?" Lin Wuyou waved lazily, not bothering to hide her annoyance. "Didn't I tell you to stop following me? What is—?"
Her eyes suddenly lit up. Li Xun followed her gaze and grinned inwardly. He quickly lifted the food box at his feet and said with a chuckle, "Senior Sister Wuyou, I was out of line this morning and made you mad. So I asked one of the imperial chefs to make some pastries as an apology. Figured after a day out and about, you'd be tired; something sweet might help."
Lin Wuyou squealed with delight and started to rush over, then abruptly halted, looking a little suspicious. "Are they any good?"
He cleared his throat and forced a confident face. "Imperial kitchen delicacies… easily the best thing you can find in the mortal world."
The implied meaning was clear: if it didn't measure up to what he'd had in the Tongxuan Realm, well, that wasn't his fault! A rather sly answer, but Lin Wuyou didn't seem to care. With a pleased "Ooh!", she reached out and popped the box open.
The craftsmanship of the imperial chefs was certainly commendable. Just looking at the pastries' appearance, Li Xun breathed a sigh of relief. And Lin Wuyou's hearty, satisfied chewing only confirmed that this gift was the right choice.
But that brought up a new problem: was this innocent, naive act her true face? Or was it just another layer over the sharp, calculated persona he'd seen that morning?
Either way, she looked genuinely happy now, which was good enough for Li Xun—at least for the moment.
As for "Aunt Qing," she didn't even slow down, didn't say a word. She just went straight to the courtyard out back. Li Xun didn't even have the courage to call after her; he just watched her disappear.
His original plan tonight had been to get some information from "Aunt Qing," but that was clearly off the table now. He sighed inwardly and turned his focus to Lin Wuyou instead. After a bit of thought, he decided to try the direct approach.
He lowered his voice, leaning in like he was sharing a secret. "Senior Sister Wuyou… that lady just now, is she one of the Seven Demons of the Realm?"
"Mmhmm!" Lin Wuyou's mouth was full, so she nodded and quickly made a "shh!" gesture.
After she swallowed, she lowered her voice and said cautiously, "If you like living, don't go around saying Aunt Qing's name out loud. Her hearing's scary sharp! And someone like you, a 'trash'.... don't look at me, that's her word, not mine! If she hears you call her by name… "
She dragged a finger across her neck and made a cute, exaggerated grimace.
Li Xun didn't find it cute at all. He gave a stiff nod, then glanced warily toward the courtyard. Yeah…. never saying her name again. Nicknames only from now on.
"You're not half dumb, though," Lin Wuyou said offhandedly, nudging the last piece of pastry with her chopsticks. "Didn't think you'd guess Aunt Qing's identity."
Li Xun gave a dry chuckle, unsure how to respond. He noticed her hesitating over that last bite and quickly said, "If you liked them, I'll bring another batch tomorrow."
"Perfect!" Lin Wuyou clapped, beaming. "You're so sweet, though not just because you're terrified of my mother, right?"
Li Xun could only scratch his head and play dumb, pretending not to hear.
She didn't seem to mind. She quickly popped the last pastry into her mouth, enjoying it beautifully, while making a series of weird, elaborate hand signs at him, leaving Li Xun completely baffled.
"Ugh, you're so dense!" she huffed after swallowing. "I was telling you to bring more tomorrow! And if they're as good as today's batch, I'll let you pick a treasure from my collection as a welcome gift!"
Her collection? That piqued Li Xun's interest. She was the daughter of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix, after all. Everyone around her was a powerful figure in the Tongxuan Realm; how bad could her collection be?
A few boxes of pastries in exchange for a treasure? That was an insane deal. Even if it didn't pan out, getting in her good graces wouldn't hurt. At that thought, he nodded eagerly.
But desserts alone wouldn't be enough. He still needed to figure out what Lin Wuyou and her crew were really doing in Songjing. By now, he'd started to get a feel for her personality, so he dropped the subtle tricks and went straight to the point.
"Oh right, Senior Sister Wuyou, what brings you to Songjing anyway?"