A new Ghostly Realm!

The Immortal Maiden Temple!

Zheng Xiu’s expression darkened.

He remembered Zheng Erniang saying she was going to the Immortal Maiden Temple in the suburbs to get him a Peace Talisman for protection.

Before Zheng Xiu cleared the Baili Village Ghostly Realm, that protective talisman had already been placed in his hands.

But after the butterfly effect, he became "the suspected murderer of Princess Yu Run." He was moved to a different cell, and with the frequent murders in the city, the Zheng Clan’s businesses were impacted by simultaneous investigations from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Revenue. Zheng Erniang was so busy dealing with everything that she never had the chance to give him that cursed Brocade Bag.

’In other words, Zheng Erniang was cursed and fell victim to a Miracle Technique all because I changed history!’

By the sickbed.

In a corner of the boudoir, a straight column of smoke rising from sandalwood incense twisted and trembled.

After a brief standoff, Zheng Erniang’s eyes, which had been obscured by strands of hair, slowly closed.

Her long hair, which had been dancing bizarrely like tentacles, retracted at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Everyone froze, looking at each other, not daring to make a move.

Before long, the gentleness returned to Zheng Erniang’s face, and she lay back down on the bed.

Zheng Xiu’s expression darkened, and he was about to step forward to investigate.

But Zizi, behind him, tugged on his sleeve. "Young Master, it’s dangerous ahead. Let Zizi go."

Blushing, Zizi stepped forward. She rubbed her pressed-together fingers several times, and a white light began to glow from her palms.

Zheng Xiu noticed Zizi’s strange gesture before the Casting and made a mental note. Worried about the Second Lady’s safety, he didn’t have time to ask questions.

The Second Lady grew quiet, as if the strange phenomenon just now had never occurred.

Zizi reached the Second Lady’s bedside, beads of cold sweat forming on her forehead.

Nothing happened.

Zizi let out a sigh of relief. She tried to pull the blanket back over Zheng Erniang, but it slipped from her grasp.

’It’s too slippery.’

"Let me."

Bobo calmly stepped forward, tidied the Second Lady’s appearance, and pulled the blanket over her.

"FWEE—FWEET-FWEET-FWEET—FWEE-FWEE—FWEE—"

A sequence of long and short whistles sounded from outside.

The expression on everyone’s face inside the room changed.

Zheng Xiu also understood the whistle’s coded message.

Qing Shisan paused in puffing on his long-stemmed pipe and said in a low voice, "It’s Ye Weiyang!"

Ji Hong’ou’s expression turned chilly. "The Master has already been wronged, waiting in prison to have his name cleared. Does that bunch from Ye Weiyang really think the Zheng Brothers Association is a pushover?"

Pei Gaoya chuckled, scratching his bald head. "Perfect timing! I’ve been spoiling for a fight with nowhere to vent!"

"Pah!" Qing Shisan raised his pipe and whacked it against Pei Gaoya’s head. "What the hell are you so excited about? Who told you to make a move? The Master isn’t here, so who’s in charge?"

Pei Gaoya was about to say "Qing Pi."

But Ji Hong’ou turned, poked Qing Pi, and pointed with a strange expression at the composed young master.

"Him."

...

The winter night sky was clear.

There was no snow tonight.

Stars twinkled, and the moonlight was enchanting.

A flock of startled ravens took flight, circling above the Imperial City.

Dark shadows, some with Ravens perched on their shoulders, others with boxes strapped to their backs, rushed from every corner of the Imperial City toward the Zheng Residence.

Not only the on-duty Night Guards, but even the "Constellations" who were sound asleep were startled awake by the commotion from the ravens.

In an instant, the rooftops were filled with figures. They exchanged complex signals with nods, blinks, headshakes, and hand gestures, rapidly responding to one another with secret codes.

The unspoken conversation between the Night Guards and Constellations went something like this:

"You on duty?"

"Nope, got woken up. Overtime."

"What a coincidence. Me too."

"Wanna go together?"

"Together."

The Night Guards and Constellations arrived one after another, occupying the roofs of the houses to the left, right, front, back, across the street, and next door to the Zheng Residence.

If someone were to step into a courtyard and look up at these roofs, they would be astonished to find them packed with people.

Likewise, many shadows could be seen faintly standing on the roof of the Zheng Residence itself.

No one made a rash move.

When Yue Yan arrived at the scene, carrying a Black Box on her back, the surrounding rooftops were already too crowded for her to squeeze in.

"Damn it."

Yue Yan’s heart skipped a beat. ’This is bad,’ she thought.

"Psst! Psst! Psst! Sister Yue Yan!"

The young Dou Xie spotted Yue Yan from a short distance away, calling out softly and waving excitedly at her.

But Yue Yan ignored him. She took out a thin embroidery Silver Needle, stuck out her pink, delicate tongue, and wet the needle with her lips.

The next moment, Yue Yan put the Silver Needle away. With a flick of her hands from within her sleeves, she cast out a web of threads barely visible to the naked eye.

In fact, the act of licking the needle had already drawn the attention of many colleagues, who recognized the legendary "Yue Yan of the Twenty-Eight Constellations."

Yue Yan took a light step, floated up like a fairy, and then sat on the invisible "web," waiting to see what would happen.

The disturbed flock of ravens quickly settled down.

Everyone looked to the sky, seemingly judging the severity of the situation based on the Ravens’ reactions.

At this moment, at the end of the empty street, a lone, proud figure appeared, approaching from the distance.

Black clothes, a moon emblem, bound hair, a blindfold, and black silk gloves.

Feng Bei’s gaze was icy. Standing in the street, she looked up at her colleagues on the rooftops and quickly made a hand signal.

"It’s Lord Upper Three!"

"She’s telling all of us to stand down."

"Hiss! It’s *that* Upper Three!"

"It’s the Mystic, Upper Three, Feng Bei!"

Some recognized Feng Bei’s identity by her attire and moon emblem.

Instantly, the eager-to-act Ye Weiyang Night Guards on the roofs held their breath, not daring to move.

Feng Bei was a terrifying figure who, according to legend, had passed the Middle Celestial Position test before the age of twenty.

Within Ye Weiyang, there were tests to determine the grade of a Miracle Master.

Novice Miracle Masters on the Initial Path were divided into six grades, with First Grade being the highest. But this grading system mostly assessed proficiency with Miracle Techniques and had no direct relationship with how many doors one had opened.

Further up, the ranks were divided into Little Star Position, Middle Star Position, Great Star Position, Little Celestial Position, Middle Celestial Position, and Grand Celestial Position.

Higher still, one could be called a "Grandmaster."

A Grandmaster, legend says, could single-handedly conquer a nation and hold off an army of one hundred thousand elite soldiers.

A Mystic, blessed by Heaven, stands within a Path from the moment of their Birth.

Now, more than a decade later, no one knew how deep Feng Bei had ventured into her Path, or how many doors she had opened.

"She’s making her move. Whatever the outcome, this has nothing to do with us anymore."

A few "Constellations" who were mixed in with the Night Guards on temporary overtime lost interest in watching the show, yawned, and quietly departed.

Only Yue Yan, sitting on her "web" in mid-air, furrowed her delicate brows. ’She really came. But what does she want with the Zheng Family?’

The street in front of the Zheng Residence was dead silent from one end to the other.

Only the sound of shallow breaths rose and fell.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Feng Bei, with a calm expression, walked to the Zheng Clan’s gate, glanced up at the plaque, and slowly extended her black-gloved right hand.

It was that legendary hand.

In a flash, everyone held their breath.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

Feng Bei actually reached out and knocked on the door, treating them with courtesy.

"Excuse me, is anyone from the Zheng Clan home?"

On the rooftops, a few Night Guards with unsteady footing didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. They stumbled, nearly falling off the roof.

A few loose tiles slid down with a RATTLE.

Silence reigned behind the closed doors of the Zheng Residence, as if no one was home.

Feng Bei knocked politely again, her voice gentle. "Ye Weiyang, Twelfth Moon, Upper Three, Feng Bei. I am visiting late at night only to investigate a case. Please forgive any disturbance."

Feng Bei had just finished speaking when the suppressed breathing from inside hitched abruptly.

Clearly, Feng Bei’s name had shaken those within.

Behind the door, Qing Shisan gripped his pipe as if facing a formidable enemy.

He quickly made a few hand signals, gesturing for the others to take the young master and leave at once.

’I never thought the aura from Zheng Erniang’s transformation would disturb the ravens and attract that Evil Star!’

If any other Constellation had come, Qing Shisan would have been somewhat confident in handling the situation.

After all, over the years, even though they had mastered Miracle Techniques, Ye Weiyang had never called them out on it after finding out.

Under Master Zheng’s restraint, they had always behaved themselves and never caused trouble.

Qing Shisan felt he and Zheng Xiu were on the same wavelength.

The Master had never asked them about their cultivation related to the Path, just as they had seen through the Master’s entry into the "Path of the Wealthy Merchant" and pretended not to know.

Master Zheng did his business honestly, and Ye Weiyang investigated its cases diligently.

The Zheng Family, the Brotherhood, and Ye Weiyang had always kept to themselves, like well water not mixing with river water.

But tonight, Feng Bei had come!

That Mystic, that Evil Star, Feng Bei!

A few "brothers" dropped down from the roof of the Zheng Clan residence.

They were all dressed in identical hooded black outfits, their bulging sleeves concealing Sleeve Swords.

The brothers pulled forcefully on the young master.

But unexpectedly, even with their combined strength, they couldn’t budge the young master an inch.

’Feng Bei? Feng Bei? Ye Weiyang, Feng Bei?’

One strange thing after another had happened tonight. Zheng Xiu was being bombarded with new information, with no chance to even ask a question.

Now, hearing the person outside announce herself as Feng Bei, it would be a lie to say Zheng Xiu wasn’t surprised.

What a coincidence.

For Feng Bei, the Baili Village tragedy had happened twenty years ago.

But for Zheng Xiu, the memory was still fresh—it had happened only yesterday.

"This Feng Bei, what’s her story?"

Qing Shisan’s face was grave. "Legend says that Feng Bei is an ill omen, an Innate Mystic, but no one knows which Path she walks. That’s because no one who has seen her make a move has lived to tell the tale. But I have heard that Feng Bei has always been a recluse and is an extremely mysterious figure even within Ye Weiyang. Why would she visit the Zheng Family tonight? It seems we won’t escape this disaster easily! Young Master, if you truly are of the Zheng Clan’s blood, you must quickly—"

CREAK—

Zheng Xiu pushed the door open.

His [Intuition] told him that Feng Bei hadn’t come to cause trouble for the Zheng Family.

’Worst case, I’ll just lay my cards on the table.’

When "Zheng Xiu," a bright smile on his face, pushed open the door and stepped out of the Zheng Residence...

When Feng Bei got a clear look at the child’s face...

The air suddenly fell silent.

After the silence, Feng Bei suddenly hid her hands behind her back. Her expression remained as calm as ever, but her voice held a barely perceptible tremor.

"Who... are you?"

Zheng Xiu puffed out his chest and declared openly, "I am who I am, Zheng Er! The ’Zheng’ from Zheng Haoran, and the ’Er’ from ’abhorring evil’!"

The hands Feng Bei held behind her back suddenly went rigid.

It was as if she saw him again—that Mighty Man from all those years ago, gently introducing himself: "Zheng Shan. The ’Zheng’ from Zheng Haoran, and the ’Shan’ from ’great kindness’."

Zheng Xiu clasped his hands behind his back, his smile now holding a touch of childish innocence, as he played his trump card. "My father is Zheng Shan!"

Hearing this, everyone inside gaped, and the air seemed to freeze.

Qing Pi’s mouth was full of smoke he’d forgotten to exhale. His pipe fell to the ground with a CLATTER.

After a breath of frozen silence...

THUD!

Ji Hong’ou fell from the roof to the ground.