"You know about dormancy, don't you? Many living creatures sink into a deep slumber when their external environment undergoes drastic changes, to reduce the wear and tear on their bodies. Throughout the entire Middle Ancient Era, Zhu Erniang likely slept the whole way through. Beijia also has quite a few great demons in long slumbers, waking only once in a great while."
"Another ability of hers is molting," Helian Chen said with a smile. "Haven't you seen her molted carapaces?"
"Yes, there were six." *Now only four remain.*
"This should be her innate divine ability. In my view, every molt is equivalent to being reborn anew, similar to an immortal's body seizure." Helian Chen stroked his beard. "It means starting everything over. She may look like the very same Zhu Erniang, but in truth, she has already been reborn several times. Such a method cannot be flawless. I expect it comes with side effects."
He Lingchuan nodded. "Indeed. She said herself that having molted so many times, she has lost quite a few of her past memories."
"Right, exactly!" Helian Chen tapped the table gently. "The mystery of the womb! This is proof!"
For a cultivator to seize a body and reincarnate went against the natural order of Heaven. Plunging into a womb meant braving a barrier of delusion. Break through, and you might still be yourself; fail, and all your past memories would be washed away, leaving you a blank, ignorant soul reborn.
Yet the price of braving that barrier was immense. No matter how resilient the divine soul, damage and loss were inevitable. It was impossible to 'rebirth' again and again through body seizure, for each subsequent mystery of the womb would grow only stronger. Try it another two or three times, and one's original memories would be wiped out entirely.
To lose all memory was hardly different from dying.
That Zhu Erniang lost memories each time she underwent a major molt proved her method was not all that different from body seizure.
Having learned what he needed, He Lingchuan stood up and bowed to Helian Chen. "Speaking with Grandmaster has been immensely enlightening."
Helian Chen stroked his beard and smiled. "You are a fine lad. If you ever need anything in the future, just come find me with A'luo."
Coming from a Grand Alchemist of his stature, this showed great regard for He Lingchuan. He Lingchuan thanked him at once.
***
North of the Twilight Plains, at a border pass of Chiyan Kingdom.
At the inn where He Lingchuan and Li Qingge had once stayed, a certain group of guests had also been lodging for several days now.
A man in green sat beneath the corridor on the second floor, gazing at the distant mountains.
They had bought out the entire second floor, leaving not a single stranger in sight—just right for sitting and listening to the rain beat against the thatched eaves.
Here at the border between Chiyan Kingdom and the Twilight Plains, the hills were still half-bare, the trees listless, and the vegetation sparse and scattered, looking desolate even in the height of summer.
Without lush foliage to drape over the land, the immediate view was bleak and dreary, while the distant mountains appeared all the more vast and unbounded.
Someone came up behind him to report:
"Emissary Bai, the locals say an anomaly appeared once more in the ruins of Thousand Stars City twenty days ago," his subordinate said. "A sandstorm swept across the plains that day, followed by torrential rain, and several merchant caravans wandered into the ruins by mistake. In the latter half of the night, the rain cleared, the clouds parted, moonlight blazed down, and an illusion manifested."
"I have heard that illusions occasionally appear in those ruins, harmless to people, showing only faint flickers of the past," Emissary Bai said. "What was special about this one?"
"Witnesses say two illusions appeared on the spot. Everyone had only ever seen the first—the fall of Yuan Kingdom and the death of the traitor king. But who would have thought that over an hour later, a second illusion appeared? That was something no one had ever seen."
"Oh?" Emissary Bai's interest was piqued. "What was in the second one?"
"It was Thousand Stars City untouched by war. The buildings were intact, perfectly peaceful beneath the moonlit night, with hardly anyone around. It seemed like a slice of an ordinary night in the city."
"Ordinary?" Emissary Bai chuckled. "If it were truly so ordinary, how could it have triggered a disturbance in the Tianluo?"
"Does Your Excellency believe this was the cause of the Tianluo's disturbance?"
"Twenty days ago matches the timing, so it's worth looking into thoroughly. Besides, the ruins of Thousand Stars City have a very unique history; whatever anomalies occur there, it would not be out of the question," Emissary Bai said. "Furthermore, Duyun Emissary drew a wide perimeter—two hundred li north from the border pass. This entire region must be investigated thoroughly."
"Your subordinate also learned that several demons and bailiffs recently vanished within the Chiyan pass, also on a rainy night."
"When was that?"
"About seventeen or eighteen days ago. The local authorities combed the scene twice, found no clues, and dropped the matter."
"Mm, this place seems rather chaotic." Emissary Bai waved a hand. "Go on, find a way to gather more leads."
***
Capital of Chiyan Kingdom.
Fu Shan'yue was reviewing military dispatches from the front lines.
On the fifth day after his return to the capital from the Twilight Plains, the ruler had proclaimed him crown prince.
With Fu Shanji no longer around to compete, Chiyan could only comply with the divine will. Thus, from here on, Fu Shan'yue had to carry out the duties of the crown prince, shouldering burdens and sharing worries for the monarch.
The situation on the eastern battlefield was still somewhat unexpected.
While he was lost in thought, a voice called out from outside:
"An oral decree from His Majesty!"
Hm? Fu Shan'yue glanced outside; it was already late. His old man had something to say at this hour?
Since returning to the capital, he had received several decrees from the ruler, but every time he sought an audience in the palace, his biological father's reply was the same two words:
"Refused audience!"
The Ruler of Chiyan had made him crown prince purely out of necessity, but the resentment in his heart hadn't subsided in the slightest.
Fu Shan'yue knew better than to push his luck after coming out ahead. He had been exerting himself to make a good impression these past days. Aside from submitting regular progress reports on the eastern imperial eagle courier case, he constantly showered his royal father with rare treasures and beautiful women, catering to whatever struck the monarch's fancy.
With only one son left, what could the old man do to him? His attitude was bound to soften sooner or later.
The palace envoy entered and delivered the oral decree.
It turned out the Inspector from Lingxu City had written a letter of complaint to the Ruler of Chiyan, claiming that the special envoy sent by the crown prince was crude in speech, acted with reckless abandon, and had even threatened the exalted envoy.
The Ruler of Chiyan had sent this decree to reprimand his son for recklessly appointing an outsider, acting insolently, and offending the exalted envoy.
"Tell the man you dispatched to show some courtesy to the exalted envoy, and not disgrace our Fu Shan family!"
After the palace envoy departed, Fu Shan'yue looked out at the bright moon and could not help bursting into raucous laughter.
The guard beside him: "...Your Highness?"
"Zhongsun Mou thought running to my old man to complain would do any good? Ah ha ha ha!" Fu Shan'yue laughed with boundless delight. Grabbing the eastern front dispatch, he slammed it down onto the table. "Naive! Does he think it's this crown prince who wants to mess with him?
"It is our Chiyan that wants to mess with him!"
Otherwise, why would the Ruler of Chiyan merely scold him with a mild, verbal rebuke that carried no real sting?
Nor had he ordered him to drop the case.
If the ruler hadn't forbidden it, that meant tacit approval.
Fu Shan'yue felt completely at ease. He had indeed played this move correctly.
***
Zhongsun Mou had already been busy in Baishaqu for three days.
Many clues from the ledgers left behind by Mr. Mai pointed directly here. Unraveling the threads, he had gradually begun to make headway.
He had even found Mr. Mai's lodgings in Baishaqu—
East City Inn.
The inn catered to comfort, and Mr. Mai had rented a room here on a long-term basis, this being his third year. The innkeeper had a deep impression of this patron, as he was a generous spender who paid a full year's lodging in advance and tipped handsomely on ordinary days.
Yet Mr. Mai himself remained nowhere to be found.
The inn said he hadn't returned in over ten days.
On his third day in Baishaqu, as Zhongsun Mou was about to head out, he glanced down idly while changing clothes and caught a glimpse of a tiny shadow flitting past.
*Huh, what's that?*
As a jiaoren, Zhongsun Mou actually had two sets of eyelids: an outer pair indistinguishable from a normal person's, and an inner transparent pair specialized for keeping out water. This inner membrane also gathered light remarkably well, allowing him to see clearly even in murky depths.
Though the light in the room was dim, Zhongsun Mou could still make out that it was a tiny spider!
As he changed, the spider hopped from his old garments onto the bottom hem of his new clothes.
How long had this thing been following him?
Zhongsun Mou reached out to grab it, but the spider sprang away with a sudden leap, vanishing beneath the bed.
Outrageously nimble—this was a demon!
"This spider is a spy!" Zhongsun Mou shouted. "Flush it out!"
The guards surged forward and flipped the bed over in one heave, while a sharper one dashed ahead to slam the doors and windows shut.
"There's a crack in the wall by the bed!"
"Chisel it open!"
A guard turned his saber around and slammed the pommel into the wall several times, sending plaster raining down.
Even when the bricks underneath were exposed, there was no sign of the spider.
Prying away a few more bricks revealed hollow cavities inside; the spider had likely fled through them into the neighboring room.
"Forget it." It was gone. Zhongsun Mou signaled them to stop, his expression dark as stone.
Who could have planted it?
Beijia was a kingdom of demons, where methods of espionage were a dime a dozen.
Was it that brat working for Fu Shan'yue?
Yet such tiny creatures usually remained close to their masters.
Could it be that he had been targeted the moment he arrived in Baishaqu?
All their bed-flipping and wall-bashing had made quite a racket, so naturally the innkeeper was alerted and rushed over to inquire.
The guards had only just sent him packing, and Zhongsun Mou was once again preparing to leave, when someone else arrived looking for him.
Who was so lacking in sense?
Supposedly, an old acquaintance from Lingxu City.
The man who stepped inside was in his early thirties, with a round face and thick eyebrows, but Zhongsun Mou didn't recognize him at all.
An old acquaintance? What a lie. Frowning, he was about to have the man thrown out when the visitor bowed deeply to the floor. "This humble one greets the Inspector! My master's surname is Cen."
"Chen?" It was a common surname; Lingxu City had countless officials named Chen. "Who is it, exactly?" Where did this nobody get off being coy with him?
"Lord Cen Boqing, the eldest son-in-law of our Beijia Kingdom's Minister of Agriculture."
The Minister of Agriculture managed the revenue and grain supplies of the entire sprawling empire, effectively serving as Beijia's head steward, an office of immense authority.
"Why is Cen Boqing here?" Zhongsun Mou was thoroughly surprised. He had indeed crossed paths with the man a few times. "He's not a Chiyan native."
"Lord Cen keeps a retreat in Baishaqu, and comes here each year with his family for rest and recuperation."
Zhongsun Mou let out a cold snort. "I've only been here three days. How did you track me down so fast? Has someone at my side been tipping you off?"
The moment the words left his mouth, the guards behind him dropped to their knees in unison. "Your humble subordinates would never dare!"
"No, no, it has nothing to do with the men at your side."
"Then who?" This was Chiyan Kingdom; how many people here could possibly recognize him?
"One of Lord Cen's attendants," the man replied with a smile. "Lord Cen and Your Excellency are old acquaintances from Lingxu City, and his attendant has seen you many times. When you were having tea at Wang Village this morning, he recognized you right away."
He continued, "Lord Cen would like to invite you to Tianxiang Pavilion to catch up on old times, and hopes Your Excellency will grace him with your presence."
Chapter 474