Tender green shoots swayed gently atop the thatched cottage, and the room was steeped in silence.

The lamplight glowed a warm yellow. Looking at Honglian’s smile, Lu Liangsheng tightened his grip on her hand. Separating the baleful spirit was no easy matter, and he had no idea what dangers might arise in the process.

Yet since Honglian had chosen to trust him, he had to give it a try no matter what. For now, all he could do was offer a few comforting words to give her some confidence.

“The City God, Zhou Yu, should not have deceived me. If nothing goes wrong, once the baleful soul is separated and a temple is erected to receive your worship, there is hope of shaping a Dharma Body. Then, with the aid of a spiritual branch, you may even be able to reconstruct your physical body.”

Feeling the warmth coming from Lu Liangsheng’s palm, Nie Honglian gazed at him without speaking. The hand hanging at her side could not help but reach over as well, but just then, a light cough sounded from the table nearby. Startled, Honglian hurriedly withdrew her hand and turned her face aside.

The toad clasped his webbed hands before his mouth and coughed twice, his bulging eyes darting back and forth between the man and the ghost. He had long since begun cursing inwardly.

‘His mother! Disturbing this old man’s sweet dreams just to have me watch the two of you flaunt your affection?’

With his hands behind his back, he walked to the edge of the table and sat down cross-legged. “Liangsheng, establishing a temple and receiving offerings is indeed a safe method, but it takes far too long. Your master happens to know another method that may be worth trying.”

Lu Liangsheng released the female ghost’s hand and sat upright, looking at his venerable master with a mixture of doubt and hope.

“Really?”

Upon hearing the toad’s words, Honglian also became excited. Rising to her feet, she bowed respectfully to the short figure.

“Master Toad, do you truly have a way for me to regain a mortal body?”

“Hmph, when has this old man ever spoken falsely?”

The Toad Daoist opened one eye and glanced at the female ghost. Rising from the edge of the table, he walked over to the window lattice. The moonlight was cool and clear, bathing the entire little courtyard.

“This method is simple and direct. As it happens, your master understands a little of its mysteries. However, it requires the bodies of eight women, using flesh and blood as the sacrifice.

“At the Gen-earth position, one establishes the Life Gate through Yin-wood. It is now the Beginning of Spring, and in a few days it will be the Awakening of Insects—just the right time to perform the ritual, gua—”

His words abruptly came to a halt as he suddenly thought of the woman lying in the lonely grave within Mount Qi.

If only this old man had obtained this method sooner back then…

The lamplight flickered as Lu Liangsheng fell silent. Suddenly, his hand was grasped by Honglian beside him. She smiled and said: “If my own rebirth were to come at the cost of eight innocent women, then even if I lived again, I would never be happy. Besides, when I became a vengeful ghost in the Chen household, I had already slain several innocent people…”

“When you became a vengeful ghost back then, you were driven by hatred and resentment. It was not your true nature.”

After a moment of silence, Lu Liangsheng patted her hand. “Rest assured, I will never do such a thing.”

The toad on the desk glanced over, snorted, then turned around and picked up his teacup, gulping down a mouthful with a gurgling sound. Stretching out his legs comfortably, he sat back down.

“Then your master is out of ideas. This isn’t so bad either. When there’s nothing to do, you can sing a little tune for this old man. If this little ghost girl weren’t around, then whenever we travel far in the future, it would become rather lonely.”

Honglian covered her mouth and chuckled. “So, Master Toad only keeps Honglian around to sing songs at his leisure?”

At that moment, Lu Liangsheng suddenly rose to his feet and walked out, pushing open the door.

Since his master had no other solution, he could only proceed according to the City God’s suggestion. After all, a wandering soul would eventually disperse. Even if he nourished Honglian with spiritual qi, if too much time passed, the Underworld’s Yin officials would inevitably come knocking at his door.

‘Simply making her like Pudu Cihang would be easy enough. The difficult part lies in separating Honglian’s baleful soul. If I perform the ritual alone, there may be shortcomings. Master is a demon cultivator, so his knowledge in this regard may not be complete. Old Sun might be able to help me, and I should invite Yang Su as well; he may know something about this too.’

After pacing about the courtyard for a while, he unknowingly came to a stop beneath the old pine tree. Looking at the sea of clouds churning in darkness beyond the broken cliff, he turned a jade pendant over and over in his hand—the very one Mingyue had given him before.

Lu Liangsheng’s fingers tightened, and he infused it with his spiritual power. Instantly, the formation covering the surrounding peaks began to circulate, and spiritual qi rushed toward him, causing even his hair to scatter in the wind.

Borrowing the spiritual power of Mount Qixia’s grand formation, transmitting his voice across dozens of li to Fushui County was no difficult matter.

The surging spiritual qi, invisible to ordinary people, drew out a thread of light that raced along the endless mountain ridges and, in the blink of an eye, flew toward the city whose lights glittered like scattered stars in the night.

Bang! Bang-bang!

A thin layer of mist rolled along the ground of the long street deep in the night. A night watchman, with a lantern stuck behind his neck and swaying back and forth, struck his wooden clapper as he walked and called out:

“The night is deep and all is quiet! Beware of fire and candles! Bolt your doors and windows tightly and guard against thieves—and Neighbor Wang’s husband!”

Bang-bang!

As he passed the street corner and his words had just fallen, a gust of wind suddenly swept over his head. It nearly made him stumble and fall to the ground, while the tiles on the houses lining both sides of the street clattered noisily.

In the rear courtyard of the county yamen, warm yellow lamplight cast the shadows of two men onto the window lattice. Yang Su was speaking with Yang Guang, seated opposite him, the conversation being mostly about Lu Liangsheng of Mount Qixia, though they also touched upon matters concerning the southern campaign against Chen.

“After this war, Your Highness must be cautious in your words and actions before His Majesty. You have rendered great merit, but you must not become arrogant because of it.”

“I have no intention of competing with my elder brother for the position of Crown Prince.”

“Your Highness is so clever, so why have you become confused at this moment? The Crown Prince may be benevolent, but in the future, he is to become Emperor.”

Yang Su was rather fond of this Prince Jin, who had been clever and forward-thinking since childhood. Moreover, during this southern expedition, Yang Guang had worked in remarkable harmony with the generals in the army. In the future, he might not be without a chance to ascend the supreme throne.

“When you return, Your Highness must remember to keep some distance from the military generals first.”

At that moment, he suddenly stopped speaking. Under Yang Guang’s puzzled gaze, he rose and pulled open the door, walking outside.

“Clan Uncle, what is it? Is there something amiss in the courtyard?”

Yang Guang followed him out. Standing beneath the eaves, Yang Su stroked the long beard beneath his chin and raised a hand, cutting off the Prince of Jin’s words.

“It is Lu Liangsheng.”

“Mr. Lu?”

Upon hearing that name, Yang Guang hurried to his clan uncle’s side and widened his eyes as he looked up at the night sky above the courtyard. His gaze swept all around, but there was nothing there.

“Where is Mr. Lu?”

Yang Su did not answer him. Instead, he raised his hand and cupped his fist toward the night sky, his long beard trembling slightly.

“Fellow Daoist Lu, I trust you have been well since we last met.”

On Mount Qixia, Lu Liangsheng, holding the round jade in his hand, also wore a smile upon his face. Looking at the sea of clouds beyond the broken cliff, he replied softly: “Last night, I made a trip to the City God of Tianzhi. I only barely managed to return this afternoon, making Duke Qinghe wait for so long.”

From the empty night, Yang Su’s voice returned after a moment.

“Then it was I who came at an inopportune time. Since Fellow Daoist Lu has returned to Mount Qixia, tomorrow during the day, His Highness the Prince Jin and I shall come to pay our respects. Would that be acceptable?”

“Naturally. As it happens, I also have a matter for which I require Duke Qinghe’s assistance.”

“Then, we shall meet at Mount Qixia tomorrow.”

The thread of spiritual qi broke apart in the night sky. Yang Su withdrew his hand and turned around with a smile on his face, looking at the dumbfounded Prince Jin beside him.

“Your Highness, Lu Liangsheng has returned to Mount Qixia and has invited us to pay him a visit tomorrow.”

“Excellent!” Yang Guang clenched his fist, somewhat excited as he pointed toward the night sky. “How did Duke Qinghe just now manage to speak with Mr. Lu?”

At the mention of this, Yang Su slightly nodded and stroked his beard, smiling.

“Your Highness, this is the art of transmitting one’s voice directly into another’s ears through Dharma sound. However, it is not something that a cultivator of shallow cultivation can accomplish. Your Highness should rest early. Tomorrow morning, we shall bring only our guards. Otherwise, the aura of weapons and soldiers will once again disturb the mountain’s grand formation.”

With all the bearing of an accomplished cultivator, he offered his instructions before smiling and turning back toward his own room, leaving Yang Guang alone, still staring at the night sky with his head tilted, wondering how such a thing could be achieved.

Early the next morning, the two men rose at dawn. Bringing only twenty guards and their commander, Yu Juluo, they rode swiftly out of the city toward Mount Qixia. Upon arriving at the mountain path where they had triggered the formation the previous day, no unusual phenomena occurred. However, an old donkey was standing in the middle of the road, lazily swishing its bald tail and wandering about on its own.

Yu Juluo was so irritated that he nearly drew his blade to cleave it in two. Fortunately, Yang Su reacted quickly and pressed down on his hand. In the blink of an eye, the old donkey transformed into an afterimage, trailing a string of blue-white lightning as it dashed up the mountain, so startling Yu Juluo that he could scarcely keep hold of his saber.

Releasing the man’s hand, Yang Su stroked his beard and urged his horse onward.

“In this place, if you see ordinary livestock, do not act rashly. Should any misfortune befall His Highness because of your recklessness, this old man will make you wish you were dead.”