Qingshui County.
A dim stone chamber.
"Has the woman in the purple dress drunk the red tea?"
The faint yellow candlelight flickered, throwing a shifting shadow against the wall.
Only a pair of hollow eyes shone in the dark.
The leader of Qingshui County, An Mingqi, prostrated on the ground. He raised his head with a twisted smile. "Since the moment she entered the Four Seasons Inn, she has not stepped out again. By now, Fat Shopkeeper and the others should have succeeded."
"What cultivation does that woman have?" the shadow asked.
An Mingqi replied respectfully, "Only the tenth level of Qi Refinement. She poses no threat to Master's plan."
"Good. Then she is of no concern." The black-robed figure nodded in satisfaction.
Just as An Mingqi was preparing to withdraw, someone rushed into the stone chamber and whispered into the black-robed man's ear.
An Mingqi hesitated, standing stiffly in place, carefully watching the change in his master's expression.
"An Mingqi!" The black-robed man suddenly stood, his towering frame stirring a gust of fierce wind.
An Mingqi trembled, his legs nearly giving out before he dropped to his knees with a thud. "Master, I await your command!"
With a sweep of his sleeve, the black-robed man glared toward the stone window and gave a cold snort. "Tonight, an uninvited guest has come to Qingshui County. Go prepare to receive him."
An Mingqi shuddered. Who could be important enough to make his master change expression?
"Master, may I ask, who is this uninvited guest…?"
The black-robed man's gaze sharpened, slicing toward the night outside. "The foremost sword of Central Continent, Shen Yuefu!"
Rustle, rustle.
As his words fell, heavy snow began to drift outside the door.
An Mingqi stumbled backward in fright, slipping and falling outside the threshold, his head covered in white snow.
The black-robed man sneered at him. "Idiot. With me here, what is there to fear?"
"His arrival is perfect. If even the elders of Central Continent's foremost sect, the Wuxiang Sect, fall prey to my ultimate poison, then the plan to seize Central Continent will be within reach. Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"
In the candlelight, his crazed laughter twisted into a wild, arrogant grin.
An Mingqi trembled, brushing snow from his shoulders as he stared in dread at his master's tall frame, swallowing hard.
…
The night fog descended without warning, as if conjured in a single breath, blanketing all of Qingshui County.
Inside the Four Seasons Inn, Meng Xiangxiang huddled into himself, his lips trembling as he whispered, "They are about to make their move. It must be a high-level cultivator… someone powerful from outside has come!"
Upstairs.
Yao Ranran crossed her arms, staring at the sudden sea of fog sweeping over the county. Her brows knitted in puzzlement.
"This fog is strange. Just a moment ago the full moon was bright and clear, yet now it has completely vanished, not a single ray of moonlight left."
She peered carefully into the shifting mist outside. Amid its rolling movements, she thought she glimpsed dark figures walking.
"What a peculiar county this Qingshui is…"
Murmuring softly, Yao Ranran turned back and lay on the elegant wooden bed.
"Xiang Yin was right. It is unwise to go out at night."
Her eyelids slowly drifted shut, and she sank into a light sleep.
Downstairs.
A frail boy without a shadow drifted toward the back door, pulling it open.
"I cannot let them kill this person. Perhaps he can help me take my revenge. I will slaughter everyone in Qingshui County, and I will kill the one behind them all!"
Before leaving, Meng Xiangxiang looked up toward the second floor. His black-and-white eyes shimmered with confusion as he gazed at the calm inn.
"That woman upstairs truly fell asleep… is she not afraid of the others in Qingshui County?"
He whispered blankly to himself, then shook his head sharply.
"No. I cannot waste time here. I must go save him. I must rescue that cultivator."
His figure slipped out of the inn, silent and elusive, like a mudfish sliding through water.
Moments later.
A small shadow crept back to the rear door.
Meng Xiangxiang clenched his fists. "I cannot let them keep slaughtering innocents. She treated me well, I cannot let her die here."
Light as a leaf, the shadow floated up to the second floor, slipping inside through a window left slightly ajar.
Yao Ranran shifted unconsciously in her sleep. Meng Xiangxiang placed a note beneath her teacup.
"Noon tomorrow is the best time to leave Qingshui County. Fairy, thank you for your trust. Meng Xiangxiang will never forget you in this life."
A cold breeze stirred. Meng Xiangxiang vanished from the Four Seasons Inn.
Not long after.
Yao Ranran opened her eyes.
Her gaze lingered on the note upon the table, and for a moment she was dazed.
"This little one… perhaps he is not a bad person after all. But Qingshui County lies in Central Continent, under the jurisdiction of the Wuxiang Sect. How could it become a place of murder and robbery?"
She still did not know the true effect of the red tea. She thought Fat Shopkeeper and the others had merely tried to kill her for her belongings.
…
"Qingshui County?"
A man in a stone-blue brocade robe stood with cold expression, lips thin and merciless.
"Why would Yao Ranran be in this place?"
A trace of doubt flickered in Shen Yuefu's eyes as he looked toward the sudden fog, his brow tightening.
"Brother Fu!"
At last catching up after a long chase, Pei Xianqiao ran to his side, smiling sweetly as if Shen Yuefu's earlier warning had never happened.
"Brother Fu, are you heading to Qingshui County?"
Shen Yuefu's face darkened slightly. "Pei Xianqiao, did I not tell you? This place is extremely dangerous. It is not where you should be."
Hearing him address her coldly by full name, the smile on her face stiffened. Yet she knew Brother Fu only spoke so harshly out of concern for her safety.
"Elder Shen, you need not worry. I am no longer the little girl I once was. I have the strength to protect myself."
Confidence glimmered in Pei Xianqiao's eyes. She knew well how many secrets she carried, how many life-saving methods she possessed. This was why she dared to follow Yao Ranran and Shen Yuefu so boldly.
Shen Yuefu, too, knew the girl before him was not ordinary.
Her will was resolute, she carried treasures, and she was a high-level talisman master.
But none of this gave her the right to stalk his path.
"If you can protect yourself, so be it. But I have my own matters to handle. You and I will not walk the same road. After tonight, I do not wish to see you following me again."
Shen Yuefu's tone was cold and dismissive.
To him, no matter how extraordinary the girl was, she was still just a sapling in growth.
She still had a long road ahead.
And he… he needed to find the powerful being who had seized Yao Ranran's body, and face them in battle.
Pei Xianqiao's lashes trembled. Her petite body swayed.
Why would Brother Fu speak to her with such icy words?
Was it because she was still not strong enough?
Or was it because her beauty could not compare with Yao Ranran's?
As her thoughts faltered, Shen Yuefu had already left her behind, stepping into Qingshui County.
Even standing at its gates, with his innate sword bones, he sensed the killing intent hidden within the county's fog.
This Qingshui County… was anything but peaceful.
Shen Yuefu released his divine sense coldly. Through the drifting haze, every shadowed detail of the county came into view.