"O Shinan, what a coincidence running into you here. I never got the chance to thank you for the Dragon Kui pills you gave me last time." Yue Ruling smiled as she spoke.
O Shinan lifted a slender finger and lightly pressed it to her lips, a quiet signal for her to lower her voice.
Caught off guard by his sudden closeness, Yue Ruling froze for a heartbeat. Heat rose to her cheeks, and she nodded faintly in understanding.
Nearby, the celestial soldiers exchanged whispers, amused to see their usually composed commander flushing like a maiden in spring.
Yue Ruling cleared her throat. "Ahem. You—go patrol over there. I'll join you shortly." With a dismissive wave, she sent them away. Only when the steps and murmurs retreated did she turn back, fingers idly worrying the hilt at her side. "O Shinan… did you come looking for me?"
"Those little pills aren't worth mentioning, Commander Yue." O Shinan's gaze lingered on her for a moment, calm and unreadable. "But I've been curious since last time—what did you need Dragon Kui pills for?"
"It's nothing." Yue Ruling tried to sound casual. "Just something for my junior brother to keep on hand. I can't keep asking the Medicine King for something as precious as the Zihan Shuo pearls, so I had to find another option for him."
O Shinan's lashes lowered slightly, as if in thought. "You take very good care of Yun Wan Nian."
Yue Ruling didn't deny it. "He suits my temperament. And… I worry he'll get bumps and bruises whenever he drinks. It wouldn't be good for his master to know, so I keep a few pills on the side for him."
"Oh?" O Shinan's tone remained gentle, but the question landed with precision. "Do you often drink with Yun Wan Nian?"
"Not often." Yue Ruling waved it off, then smiled with a spark of friendliness. "Sometimes at Starlight Pavilion. If you don't mind, you could join us next time—have a relaxing drink."
"Thank you for the invitation, Commander, but I truly can't hold my liquor." O Shinan opened his dark wooden fan with an elegant flick. "Still, I heard you completed your mortal tribulation and returned safely. That should be a joyful thing—yet you seem worried today. Why?"
Yue Ruling's smile faltered. She hesitated, then admitted softly, "It's just… after going down to the human realm with my master to raise my cultivation, everything feels strange since I came back."
"Strange?" O Shinan tilted his head. "What could trouble a commander like you? If I can help, I will."
Yue Ruling's brow tightened. "Other people remember something from their days in the human realm. I remember nothing at all. I wanted to ask my master, but he went into seclusion the moment we returned. He didn't even tell me why."
O Shinan's expression warmed with practiced reassurance. "It seems you're unaware of what happened. Going to the human realm and returning only to enter seclusion is common. I've heard it's also a habit of your master's—perhaps he simply forgot to inform you this time."
"Oh… I see." Relief eased Yue Ruling's shoulders, though a faint sting remained. It unsettled her that O Shinan seemed to know what she did not. "Still… he should have told me."
"Don't worry too much." O Shinan's fan moved in a slow, steady rhythm. "Returning from a tribulation often drains the spirit. My foster father recently refined some pills for restoring cultivation. If you don't mind, please take them."
A small vial appeared in his hand.
"How could I accept that?" Yue Ruling protested—and yet her fingers were already reaching out, as though her hand had decided before her pride could catch up. The vial felt cool against her palm.
"Helping others is the duty of those who practice medicine," O Shinan said mildly. "There's no need to be shy. Take them."
Yue Ruling tightened her grip around the vial. "Then… thank you, O Shinan. I owe you another favor. I'll repay it someday."
"I have matters to attend to today." He folded his fan shut. "I won't linger."
"Thank you," Yue Ruling answered again, quieter this time.
O Shinan didn't look back. His tall figure drifted away, the morning breeze stirring the edge of his robe. He lifted one hand in a lazy farewell as he disappeared into the distance.
Yue Ruling stood in place for a moment, the vial still warm from her grasp. He's not only good-looking, he's kind-hearted too—always offering medicine as though it costs him nothing. Her thoughts slipped further than she meant them to. That face… prettier than most women's. I wonder who could ever match him—
She caught herself and huffed under her breath. "What am I thinking? It's none of my business." With a shake of her head, she turned toward Lianzhan Pavilion.
Back on Wuming Demon Mountain, Hua Ruoying sat brooding over the problem of zither strings.
"Ice silkworms live deep in the Ice Bamboo Forest," she muttered, tapping her fingers against the table, chin resting in her palm. "But they only spin silk on Immortal Spirit Grass… and that isn't something you can just stumble upon."
She exhaled sharply.
"If only I could get my hands on ready-made ice silkworm silk."
Her thoughts shifted, and her eyes narrowed. "And where has Qingping gone?" Ever since she'd brought him back, he'd clung to her shadow, pestering her to take him everywhere—yet for several days he'd vanished without a trace.
Annoyed and uneasy in equal measure, she stepped outside and caught a passing demon soldier by the sleeve.
"Have you seen the boy I brought back a few days ago?"
The soldier blinked. "Young Master Qingping? I heard he went down the mountain a few days ago."
Hua Ruoying's eyes widened. "Went down the mountain? For what?"
Before the thought could settle, a familiar voice called out from ahead.
"Sister Ruoying!"
She looked up.
Qingping came running toward her—dirty from head to toe, hair full of dried grass, small scratches on his arms and face, bruising along his cheekbone. And yet he was grinning as if he'd brought home the sun itself.
Hua Ruoying seized him by the collar. "Where have you been? I've been looking for you."
Qingping thrust out a box with both hands, proud enough to tremble. "Sister Ruoying—this is for you."
Hua Ruoying opened it—and froze.
Inside lay pale, glossy strands that shimmered faintly like frost in moonlight.
"Ice silkworm silk?" Her breath caught. "Where did you get this?"
Qingping puffed up. "I stole it. There's a temple at the foot of the mountain—the abbot has a precious robe woven with ice silkworm silk. I snuck in and stole a few strands."
The color drained from Hua Ruoying's face.
"Are you insane?" Her grip tightened. "You're a demon. A temple could burn you at best—shatter your soul at worst. What were you thinking?"
She dragged him closer, scanning him with a healer's eyes—and her heart sank. His hands were badly burned. Wounds crossed his arms and ribs in angry lines, as if the light inside that place had bitten him.
Qingping laughed weakly, trying to sound carefree. "Ouch—haha. Sister Ruoying, I'm fine. I asked a young monk for help. I told him what I needed. He hid me under his robe and took me inside. These are just… little injuries."
Hua Ruoying's gaze sharpened. "A temple monk helped a demon? Since when?"
"It's true!" Qingping insisted, then mimicked the monk's solemn cadence with exaggerated sincerity. "He said it was fate—that helping me was part of his destined good deeds."
Hua Ruoying didn't laugh. She didn't believe a word of it.
"Enough." She yanked him inside. "No more of your stories. Next time you do something like this without telling me, you'll answer to me. Sit down. I'm putting medicine on you."
Deep in the Extending Land, within a shadowed estate tucked under trees that never seemed to see daylight, a cold voice spoke from behind a mask.
"Is it handled?"
A black-armored soldier knelt. "Reporting, my lord—it's done. The little shadow demon went to the temple as you directed. We ensured he obtained the ice silkworm silk and returned safely to Wuming Demon Mountain."
Nan Ze lifted a hand. "Go."
The soldier vanished.
Nan Ze remained where he was, gaze drifting to the hibiscus beads around his wrist. His fingers brushed them once, slow, as memory slid back into his mind—Hua Ruoying's voice, her sharpness, her fearless step out of the crowd.
His lips curved, almost imperceptibly.
"She really is something ...interesting."
With a flick of his wrist, the beads disappeared beneath his sleeve.
Back on Wuming Demon Mountain, Hua Ruoying worked ointment into Qingping's burns, her hands unusually gentle.
"Ow—don't move," she warned, steadying his wrist.
A knock sounded at the door.
A demon soldier called, "Miss Ruoying—the Lord requests your presence."
Hua Ruoying's hand stilled. For a fraction of a breath, her fingers trembled.
"Understood. I'll be there shortly."
Qingping, watching her face, frowned in worry. "Sister Ruoying… what's wrong?"
Hua Ruoying forced her voice to stay even. "Nothing. Stay here and wait for me."
She gathered her things and left at once.
Inside the Demon Lord's palace, Li Minghan's voice drifted down with lazy indifference.
"What was the gu you used last time called?"
Hua Ruoying dropped to one knee, head bowed. "Reporting, Lord—it's called Qi Kuo."
Li Minghan's lips curved beneath his mask. "Qi Kuo… 'a pact of life and death, a promise made.' Good. I like it."
A box appeared in his hand.
"You serve me because you seek the cure for the poison in your brother." His tone was mild, almost conversational—yet every word pressed like a blade. "This pill will suppress the toxin for six months. Continue to obey, and more will follow."
Hua Ruoying accepted the box with both hands. "Thank you,My Lord."
Relief and bitterness twisted together in her chest. Six months. Another leash. Another breath bought at a price.
Li Minghan waved a hand. "You may go."
Hua Ruoying rose—and then, as if gambling on a cliff's edge, she spoke.
"My Lord… a few days ago in the Extending Land, I encountered someone you may be interested in."
Li Minghan paused. "Oh?"
Hua Ruoying kept her head lowered, choosing each word carefully. "Mi Xingzhe."
The air shifted.
Li Minghan's attention sharpened like drawn steel. "And how are you certain it was him?"
"He said his name himself," Hua Ruoying answered. "And he called Yun Qingyi his senior brother."
Li Minghan's voice dropped. "Did you capture him?"
Hua Ruoying's throat tightened. "He carries a jade pendant at his waist. It contains an extremely powerful protective barrier. The moment I tried to touch him, I was injured by the rebound."
For a heartbeat, Li Minghan said nothing.
Then, unexpectedly, his tone turned almost amused. "So you failed."
Hua Ruoying didn't dare lift her eyes. "I sensed the barrier's signal. I feared exposing myself, so I withdrew."
Li Minghan stepped closer. Even through the mask, the weight of his gaze felt suffocating.
"Hua Ruoying," he said softly, as if offering mercy. "Bring Mi Xingzhe back alive, and I will grant Hua Qiuyuan three years' worth of antidote."
Hua Ruoying's breath caught. Three years was not a reward—it was salvation.
"I will do my utmost," she said at once, voice tight with resolve.
Li Minghan's fingers lifted her chin, cold against her skin. The gesture was light. The meaning wasn't.
"This time," he murmured, "do it differently."
Hua Ruoying held herself perfectly still.
Li Minghan's eyes gleamed through the mask, cold and pleased. "I don't want him dragged back in chains."
His voice lowered further, intimate as poison.
"I want Mi Xingzhe to stay on Wuming Demon Mountain willingly."
Hua Ruoying's stomach sank—yet she forced her voice steady.
"I understand, My Lord."