「Two hours later.」

Feng Bei and the [Evil Child] stood in the East Wing Courtyard.

Feng Bei deliberately kept a distance of several feet from "Zheng Shan’s child," his eyes closed as he waited quietly.

On the wall, Qing Shisan squatted without a care for his image, puffing away on a long-stemmed pipe without a word.

Nearby, Ji Hong’ou rubbed her sore knee. Her smooth, delicate skin was scraped and raw. She complained under her breath. ’If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have tried to be fashionable and worn this new high-slit skirt from Zheng’s Cloth Shop. The slit is plenty high, but other than making the fall hurt more, it’s completely useless.’

In the awkward silence, Qing Shisan couldn’t take it anymore and let out a few whistles.

The whistle, translated into words, meant: ’Why would the Young Master trust Ye Weiyang so much? And that Feng Bei?’

Ji Hong’ou stifled a laugh and whistled back: ’You’re still calling him Young Master?’

Qing Shisan, refusing to back down, continued with a rapid series of sharp whistles, but the meaning came through clearly.

Qing Shisan’s whistle: ’Are you stupid? Can’t you see? It’s just a temporary measure for the Young Master. A momentary concession, calling another man his father?’

Ji Hong’ou puffed out her cheeks and whistled a long, defiant phrase in reply: ’Oh, really? I find it hard to believe a mere ten-year-old has the cunning to fool Ye Weiyang’s Twelfth Moon, let alone that Evil Star, Feng Bei.’

Qing Shisan faltered for a moment, then whistled back another sharp trill: ’Have you ever heard of Master Zheng having an uncle named Zheng Shan?’

Ji Hong’ou whistled back irritably: ’Everything’s been strange tonight. How do you know he doesn’t? What if he does? Men are all trash. What if the Zheng Family really does have another bloodline out there somewhere?’

Qing Shisan shot to his feet, whistling with narrowed eyes: ’And women are any better? Hah! Even if it’s true, even if he’s from a branch of the family, he’d still be Master Zheng’s own cousin! Blood is thicker than water!’

Ji Hong’ou and Qing Shisan continued their back-and-forth whistling from the top of the wall for a while, their notes rising and falling like a song.

’I can’t take this anymore,’ Zheng Xiu thought. ’I’m the one who taught them this code in the first place. Did they really whistle all that time thinking I wouldn’t understand?’

"Shut up, both of you! Stop with the whistling!"

Zheng Xiu roared, gnashing his teeth.

Qing Shisan and Ji Hong’ou instantly fell silent, not daring to make another peep.

A beautiful, curvaceous woman wearing a veil pushed open Second Lady’s door and gracefully stepped out. She wore a tight-fitting black outfit with cloud patterns on the sleeves, stars hidden within the clouds, accentuating her magnificent figure. No one could tell she was actually nearing forty, an age known for its voraciousness.

Feng Bei opened his eyes at the sound of the door.

Zheng Xiu had already hurried over. "Sister, how is Second Lady’s condition?" he asked immediately.

The woman paused at his words, then couldn’t resist pinching the boy’s handsome and endearing little face. "Such a sweet talker. No wonder Lord Upper Three summoned me in the middle of the night. I thought a major case had broken out within Ye Weiyang."

As his cheeks were squished from every direction, Zheng Xiu suddenly remembered his current identity and forced a smile, not daring to lash out.

"So handsome." The woman licked her dry lips under her veil, reluctantly pulling her hand back from the boy’s smooth, delicate face. "Don’t you worry. Your aunt is fine for now."

Zheng Xiu did a quick mental calculation before correcting her. "According to the ’current’ family hierarchy, she’s my older cousin. But that’s not important. Sister Bi Shui, what do you mean by ’for now’?"

In front of Feng Bei, Zheng Xiu was currently claiming to be the biological son of Zheng Shan.

The [Evil Child] was supposedly the son Zheng Shan had in his old age. By seniority, he was supposed to call Zheng Haoran "Grand-uncle" and Zheng Xiu "Older Cousin."

Zheng Erniang was Zheng Haoran’s adopted daughter, so by seniority, she would be considered Zheng Er’s older cousin.

’In other words, not only have I become my own uncle, I’m now also my own son and my own younger cousin,’ Zheng Xiu thought.

’The family hierarchy is already a complete mess. Rest in peace, Dad. I, Zheng Xiu, will make the Zheng Clan prosper.’

’Making the Zheng Clan bigger and stronger.’

The one Feng Bei had urgently summoned overnight was one of the Twenty-Eight Constellations of Ye Weiyang, stationed in the Imperial City: Bi Shui.

Bi Shui came from an ancient family—the Spirit Binders.

Spirit Binders, colloquially known as "Village Guards."

There used to be local legends that said, "No village is complete without its fool."

The stories claimed these fools who grew up in the villages were terribly wicked in their past lives and had given up their intelligence in this life to atone for their sins. Villages with a Village Guard tended to be peaceful and long-lived, their inhabitants well-fed and carefree. Over time, some village heads, seeking to ensure their village’s survival, would pay a hefty sum for a local girl to marry a Village Guard and continue his bloodline.

Weirdly enough, most Village Guards were boys, born as if constitutionally lacking in wits.

Zheng Xiu had heard these folktales before, but they were obviously unscientific. He used to scoff at them, never taking them seriously, dismissing them as mere superstitious customs.

But now, the Spirit Binder’s Path truly existed.

Bi Shui, who had glimpsed the Spirit Binder’s Path, came from an ancient bloodline. As a child, she had been muddle-headed and foolish.

At seventeen, she suddenly had an awakening, her mind clearing, and ran barefoot from her village.

She eventually joined Ye Weiyang, becoming the formidable, tiger-and-wolf Bi Shui of today.

We won’t dwell on Aunt Bi Shui’s past for now.

’Zheng Xiu was already numb to the changes in the world. Fortunately, his own Prisoner’s Path wasn’t bad—it not only allowed him to travel to the past and future but also to change the present. No need to panic. All he wanted now was for Zheng Erniang to be safe.’

Aunt Bi Shui withdrew her mischievous hands, but just as she was about to speak, her gaze remained fixed on his fair, handsome face. The aunt couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch it again, as if the face held some strange attraction for her.

This time, she used both hands, attacking from the left and right with ambidextrous skill.

Zheng Xiu endured it.

While pinching, Aunt Bi Shui explained, "The opposing Miracle Master cast a Magic on your older cousin. The ’medium’ for this long-distance Casting was the hair inside the Peace Blessing Pouch, but the ’rules’ of the Magic are unclear for now. This Magic is clearly using the hair attached to your older cousin to continuously drain her vital essence and slowly consume her Human Soul. If left undiscovered, a normal person would be dead in a year or so at most, or in as little as three to seven days."

"An unlucky person afflicted by this kind of Miracle Technique who is eventually found dead would only be thought to have died from a nasty illness or from depletion." Seeing the displeasure on the young master’s face, Bi Shui finally let go and continued, "However, under my ’Miracle Technique’, the other party’s technique can be delayed for about seven more days."

Zheng Xiu frowned.

Nearby, Feng Bei, with his hands behind his back, asked coolly, "Bi Shui, tell me, can this Magic be broken?"

"Hmm..." Bi Shui cupped her chin in thought for a moment, then shook her head. "If Zheng Erniang were also a Miracle Master, I’d have an eighty percent chance of removing the opponent’s Magic. But they are obviously Casting from a distance. If they sense another Miracle Master trying to forcibly Crack it, or if someone tries to yank out that lock of hair, they’ll surely have a countermeasure. In that case, my chances drop to forty percent."

Bi Shui looked up and saw the expressions change on Zheng Xiu, on Ji Hong’ou and Qing Shisan squatting on the wall, and on Zizi, Bobo, Pingping, and Lily standing not far off. She had a realization. "It seems you’ve already tried."

Feng Bei asked again, "Are you sure about seven days?"

Bi Shui snuck a glance at the Zheng Family’s young master’s face and said with certainty, "Seven days. As long as you don’t do anything rash within those seven days, I guarantee her safety." With that, Bi Shui held out her palm toward the little young master. "According to the ’rules’, one silver ingot."

"Qing Shisan, go bring a thousand taels. Consider it a bonus for the sister’s hard work," Zheng Xiu said with a wave at Qing Shisan.

But Bi Shui shook her head. "No more, no less. It seems you don’t understand the ’rules’. So you’re an outsider. Never mind. Lord Upper Three, you know me. You know my ’rules’."

Feng Bei nodded, took out a silver ingot, and tossed it to Bi Shui.

Bi Shui seemed to know there was something strange about Feng Bei’s hands. When he took out the silver ingot, her whole body tensed, and though it was subtle, she grew nervous. But when Feng Bei tossed the ingot from a distance, she relaxed again, letting out a soft sigh of relief.

She weighed it in her hand. The moment she pocketed the money, a flash of light glinted in the depths of her eyes, and she left the Zheng Family estate, thoroughly satisfied.

After Bi Shui left, Feng Bei watched Zheng Xiu quietly.

A moment of silence.

Behind the rockery, Pei Gaoya scratched his head, feeling a headache coming on.

’Whose kid is he, anyway?’

"Ngh..."

A sound came from the room. Zheng Erniang was whimpering softly. She was waking up.

Zheng Xiu immediately went inside but didn’t dare get too close. He called out from a distance, "Second Lady?"

The weak Zheng Erniang sat up in bed. She clearly had no idea what had happened to her. Her pale face was wan and dull, devoid of its former radiance.

She opened her eyes and looked at the boy before her.

For a split second, she almost thought she had gone back in time and was seeing a young Zheng Xiu.

"You... you... who are you?"

A crowd of people squeezed into the doorway.

The [Evil Child] had once again become the center of everyone’s attention.

It seemed everyone was waiting for a reasonable explanation.