A fresh fish head weighing five catties, split lengthwise into two halves and then scored with decorative cuts, carefully marinated with scallions, garlic, and secret-recipe pickled ginger to draw out any fishy odor; a chopped-chili paste stir-fried from five kinds of peppers was smeared over the fish head, steamed through, then drizzled with two spoonfuls of hot oil, and finally sprinkled with a pinch of chopped scallions—red and green, its fresh fragrance assailing the nose.
Li Fei devoured half a fish head all by herself, then tossed two catties of noodles into the sauce, eating with hearty, ravenous gusto.
When the meal was done, she dabbed at her mouth with a handkerchief and praised sincerely:
"This fish is truly delicious."
"If it pleases you, milady, I'll have the cook prepare more."
Squire Wang said with an ingratiating smile.
"No need. Thank you for the hospitality."
Watching the two demon women rise leisurely and head out the door, Squire Wang finally let out a breath of relief.
This white-robed demon woman was of peerless beauty and spoke elegantly—so how could she do such inhuman things?
Though he had already made up his mind to pack up through the night and flee at first light, the sight of that woman—her face stained with blood, sweetly urging the household's witnesses to go pay their respects to Nine Thousand Years—truly set Squire Wang's heart and liver trembling.
At the time, someone had refused to comply and was instantly pounced upon by a snarling, bared-fanged Moonlight Wolf—which made everyone understand one truth: offend the Demon Suppression Bureau, and there was still a chance to flee; disobey her, and you'd lose your life on the spot.
This made the subsequent "conversation" go much more smoothly.
"How's the packing coming along?"
Squire Wang asked in a lowered voice of the confidant behind him.
"The gold, silver, and valuables are packed—it's just that there are still many large items…"
the confidant reported softly.
"Just take the most valuable of the antiques and paintings… Never mind, prepare a chest for me and I'll pack them myself. I've already taken out the deeds to the house and the land and left them in the room—fetch them at once and pawn them all off. Be quick about it."
A pained, penny-pinching look flashed through Squire Wang's eyes, but in the end he steeled himself with the resolve of a warrior severing his own wrist, and instructed in a grave voice: "Remember, keep it discreet, and go to several places! It's fine to sell cheap. If anyone asks, say you're raising funds to honor Lord Lü, that you're temporarily short on cash to keep things running, and that you'll redeem them in a few days."
"Yes, sir."
Having received the order, the confidant hurried away.
Outside the door, the enormous mansion blazed with lights. The maids and servants, wholly ignorant of Lü Zhengchun's death, had no inkling of the calamity looming over them, and toiled busily as they did every other day.
Lilith knitted her brows, wanting to speak but holding back.
She would show no mercy toward enemies, and she fully supported Li Fei's coercion of the witnesses, but seeing these innocent, pitiable people about to meet with disaster left her heart heavy.
Judging by the way the Demon Suppression Bureau conducted itself, once news of Lü Zhengchun's death came to light, apart from those who fled ahead of time, the dozens of people throughout the mansion would likely all be unable to escape imprisonment and torture—and even their families would be implicated.
"When Squire Wang flees, he's bound to leave behind plenty of valuable things."
Li Fei saw through her thoughts at a glance and said understandingly: "If you can't bear it, before we leave we can remind them to get out. They can just haul away some furniture to sell—that should be enough for travel money."
"Mm."
Lilith nodded gently, accepting Li Fei's kindness, yet her brow remained furrowed.
Ordinary commoners—even if they were willing to leave their homeland—how could they possibly escape the Demon Suppression Bureau's pursuit? And once outside the city, how would they protect themselves in the demon-infested wilds? What if there were elderly folk in the household?
She tried hard not to dwell on such things, and lifted her head—a sky full of stars filling her eyes.
"Let's snatch the immortality elixir and bring it back as a gift for Teacher Annie."
said Li Fei, who was likewise gazing up at the stars, out of the blue.
After prying open Lü Zhengchun's mouth, the two had obtained a crucial piece of intelligence—the Demon Suppression Bureau's forces had come to Luyuan County to seek an immortality elixir for the Song Emperor.
Called an immortality elixir, it was in truth a life-extending medicine named the "Longevity Fruit." According to ancient records, the Longevity Fruit "grows in deep forests, mostly white fruits, rarely green ones; eaten, it extends one's life by half a jiazi, preserves youthful splendor forever, and taken long enough, lightens the body to ascend as an immortal. Yet the Longevity Fruit is inherently hard to find; even should one obtain one or two, how could one ever eat one's fill of it?"
In plain speech, that "Longevity Fruit" thing was extraordinarily precious: eat one and you'd live thirty years longer, your looks never aging.
As for that "taken long enough, one can ascend to immortality" nonsense, Li Fei didn't believe a single word of it. Though life-extending medicines were also rare and precious on the Continent of Enlos, the mages had long ago done their research: for medicines of this sort, the first dose worked best, the second dose's efficacy was heavily discounted, and by the third dose you were basically just tasting it for the flavor.
Naturally Li Fei coveted the Longevity Fruit—first, because there'd be Wealth Points credited to her account, and second, because after bringing it back she could study whether it might be mass-produced, taking the first step toward defeating that accursed lifespan theory.
—Even here, where it's just the two of us, the one she longs for is still my… mother?
Lilith didn't know whether to be happy or sad. She glanced back deeply at Miss Stepmother, forced down the tangled thoughts in her heart, and nodded:
"Alright."
"So here's the question."
Li Fei mused, then slowly spoke: "According to the intelligence, the Longevity Fruit first appeared in Nan Commandery. The Thousand-Year Tree Demon and the Corpse King fought over it for three shichen… Now, the Thousand-Year Tree Demon lies dormant near Luyuan County, while the Corpse King still hides in Nan Commandery, and no one knows which of those two demons got their hands on it."
"The Demon Suppression Bureau sent two teams, but we can't do that… So, do we go find the Tree Demon nearby, or head to Nan Commandery? We have the Flying Broom—if we take turns burning mana to travel, we could make a round trip in two or three days."
Lilith fell silent for a moment, then suddenly waved her small hand.
As mana surged, a dim gray mist emerged, gathering into a scythe within which the powers of life and death intertwined.
The scythe swung, silent and still—it didn't even sever the flowers and grass, yet they withered at a visible speed, and when the night breeze blew, the parched, shriveled plants scattered across the ground.
This scene reminded Li Fei of the spell she'd long coveted—[Wither].
Though its burst power was a bit lacking, this kind of damage that directly destroyed or drained an opponent's life force was the most "real"—difficult to defend against with resistances.
So long as one's survivability was strong enough, no matter how powerful the enemy, they could only die in despair.
"Hsss… what sort of inheritance is this of yours?"
From just this one move, Li Fei sensed the reborn, wholly transformed change in Lilith.
Lilith didn't answer, and stared blankly at the sky once more.
She had always avoided the matter of the "Life Reaper" inheritance in front of Miss Stepmother, as if by doing so she could forget the [Forbidden] Ascension Ritual.
But upon realizing that the current situation required her power, she ultimately no longer hid it.
The seed within her heart, as though drawing on the life force of the withered plants, grew as it swayed.
"I'll go to Nan Commandery."
Lilith softly voiced her decision.
Li Fei raised an eyebrow, then broke into a radiant smile:
"Sure—then leave this place to me."
As the saying goes, no one knows a daughter better than her mother. Li Fei had long since noticed that ever since Lilith vanished for half a month and then returned, she'd been hiding something in her heart—
especially after the picture book in her spatial ring, along with her illicit thoughts, had been discovered, she'd grown a good deal more subdued, no longer chattering and bickering with her improper Miss Stepmother as she used to.
But Li Fei believed that, given enough time, Lilith would surely return to her old innocent, stubborn-mouthed self, able to face and accept the feelings in her heart.
All she had to do was wait—after all, tsunderes were adept at winning themselves over, weren't they?
As for safety concerns, with that set of divine gear plus the Flying Broom, not even mid-Sequence foes could hold her back. Lilith had never been a weakling in need of protection, and Li Fei would never constrain someone over feelings—in her eyes, a woman with her own convictions and dreams was all the more alluring.
After holding hands and gazing at the stars for a while, Li "Time-Management Master" Fei took along a tent and some snacks and left the city to visit the sprites.
Snatching a moment of leisure amid her busyness, she spent a full shichen properly replenishing the medicine that held her Witch Sickness in check, and finally pushed open the door into Wang Yutong's boudoir.
An oil lamp lit the antique wooden furniture. Qiao'er had already packed the bundles neatly, while Wang Yutong was curled up at the foot of the bed, trembling with fright the moment she saw the "demon woman."
"When are you leaving?"
Li Fei sat down without the least reserve and asked Qiao'er.
"At dawn tomorrow."
Knowing she couldn't hide it from Li Fei, Qiao'er answered truthfully.
Lü Zhengchun was the sort who liked to loiter about the streets, and whenever he spotted a woman to his liking, he'd trail her home and commit his depraved, conscienceless deeds. Barring any surprises, news of his death wouldn't be discovered for three to five days—his subordinates would simply assume he'd gone off somewhere to enjoy himself again.
But to avoid drawn-out complications, Squire Wang had already decided to pack up overnight and leave at first light—otherwise, should someone from the Demon Suppression Bureau seek him out on urgent business, he'd likely never get away.
"The way I see it, this journey of yours… bodes far more ill than good."
Li Fei smiled and tapped the tabletop lightly with her index finger: "You certainly won't dare take the official road—after all, once Lü Zhengchun's affair is discovered, the entire Wang household will surely be wanted."
"If my guess is right, Squire Wang plans to cut across the wilderness, settle down in some remote little town far among the hills and rivers, change his name, and go on being a wealthy old man—am I right?"
"But in times like these, even making a long journey isn't easy—at the very least you'd want to leave behind a will first, wouldn't you? Oh, I almost forgot—Squire Wang is taking his whole family, young and old, along with him. So even if that will were written, there'd probably be no one left to read it."
At these words, the gentle, delicate little maidservant still appeared calm:
"Though demons run rampant in the world, great demons and monsters aren't found everywhere… With guards accompanying us, so long as we're careful, we're sure to turn misfortune into safety."
"Guards? Heh."
Li Fei let out a scornful laugh: "Sometimes, people are far more terrifying than demons. That's a truth Miss Qiao'er surely understands, no?"
"In this county town, Squire Wang has money and power, so even those guards with True Qi cultivation in them can only obediently play the dog. But once you're fleeing into the desolate wilds, with old Master Wang's household of the old, the young, and the womenfolk, all carrying heavy gold—and, wouldn't you know it, dragging along a bunch of delicate, tender concubines and pampered young misses…"
"Take a guess: those guards, possessed of absolute martial superiority and destined to change their names anyway—out in the desolate wilds where there's no village ahead and no inn behind—would they obediently escort Squire Wang to another city and go on being his dogs, or would they kill for the riches, split the gold in equal shares, and each carry off one of those noble wives and pampered young misses, to live it up in the lap of luxury from then on?"
"As long as they root out the whole family, weed and all—could Squire Wang's household really turn into vengeful ghosts to hunt them down?"
As these heart-piercing words fell on her ears, Qiao'er's expression finally changed.
"You—you're talking nonsense."
Wang Yutong suddenly lifted her tear-streaked face and blustered with false bravado: "If those dog-slaves dare to act out of line, I'll have their skins flayed off…"
In the face of the young Miss Wang's unwitting assist, Li Fei shrugged and put on a "don't-believe-me?-see-for-yourself" expression, while Qiao'er's gaze grew ever more sorrowful.
If Miss Wang kept up this attitude along the road of their flight, then no matter how loyal and devoted the guards were, wouldn't rage rise from their hearts and malice surge to their guts?
Qiao'er closed her eyes and drew several deep breaths before opening them and gazing intently at Li Fei:
"Since milady has come here, you must have some guidance to offer."
"Come with me."
Li Fei curled the corner of her mouth and got straight to the point: "Not only can I keep you all safe, I can give you more… wealth, power, longevity… As long as you perform well enough, you can obtain everything an ordinary person could scarcely imagine. Even…"
The demon woman leaned close to her and bewitched her in a charming, breathy voice:
"…obtain me."
That final phrase at last made this pretty, composed little maidservant blush.
"Give it up! There's no way we'll ever go with you!"
The self-flattering Wang Yutong cut in yet again, the anger and jealousy on her face even overpowering her fear.
What a vile demon woman!
To think she wouldn't seduce me, but instead seduce a lowly servant?! As if the girl could even make such a decision!
Li Fei paid her no mind at all, patiently awaiting Qiao'er's answer.
Wang Yutong clutched the bedsheet and glared viciously at Qiao'er:
"You lowly slave-girl, are you thinking of defecting?"
Qiao'er's body trembled, and she looked sorrowfully at the young mistress who had put her ugly side so fully on display.
Arrogant, foolish, mean-spirited…
Compared to this dangerous, enchanting demon woman before her, the difference was as vast as that between clouds and mud.
But…
No matter how unworthy the young mistress was, she was still the one for whom Qiao'er had first felt love sprout, back in her own ignorant, innocent childhood.
To this day Qiao'er remembered how, in her young years, the still-innocent Wang Yutong had bathed in the sunlight, laughing as she chased butterflies—and in that very moment her humble affection had taken root and budded.
Even when, faced with the Demon Suppression Bureau, Wang Yutong had shoved her toward those ferocious, fiendish people, her heart—shattered into two halves—remained bound by a thousand tangled threads of tender feeling.
And however dazzling the demon woman might be, in the end they'd known each other less than half a day.
Besides, the question Li Fei had posed was one that Master Wang couldn't possibly have failed to consider—he must surely have taken precautions…
Qiao'er lowered her eyes and gave her answer:
"Thank you for your deep affection, milady, but Qiao'er's fortune is too meager to bear such regard from you. Please forgive me."
"If that's how it is, then I wish you all a safe journey."
Li Fei looked somewhat regretful, but didn't press further. She bid farewell without the slightest dawdling, and very politely closed the door behind her.
Once again, only the mistress and her servant remained in the room.
"You…"
The foul-tempered Wang Yutong opened her mouth, about to spit out a few cutting words and vent on Qiao'er.
But Qiao'er quietly turned her eyes back, and that deep, calm gaze made Wang Yutong's heart lurch, so the words at her lips softened:
"You—you… count yourself sensible."
"Miss, rest now—we have to travel come morning."
There was no joy or sorrow to be heard in Qiao'er's voice.
Just as the sky grew faintly light, a long convoy set out from the gate of the Wang residence, drawing sidelong glances from the yawning servants sweeping the courtyard.
Thanks to the connections cultivated over many years, the guards only had to slip some silver to the city-gate sentries to make it smoothly out of the city, soon vanishing into the thin morning mist.
But those anxious-faced guards in the convoy never noticed that a petite, beautiful purple-haired spirit-being, fluttering transparent butterfly wings, trailed far behind, keeping the convoy's route entirely within her sight.
Another half a shichen passed before Li Fei—who had discussed the plan with Lilith and chatted heart-to-heart until dawn—slowly stirred awake from the Moon Pillow.
Without Sister Ling'er's gentle, indescribable good-morning wake-up service, and without her supermodel-figured vampire daughter-in-law to help her dress, the young madam felt a little out of sorts.
Thankfully, a life of being waited on hand and foot hadn't spoiled her into uselessness. Li Fei gently cupped the back of Lilith's head, tucked the Moon Pillow underneath, and left a kiss on the brow of the girl who was pretending to sleep:
"Rest well—I'll call you in half a shichen."
Then Li Fei turned and sat at the edge of the bed, stretching out her long, snow-white legs and unfurling her lotus feet, pulling on silk stockings and embroidered shoes, and finally changing into a white dress—every inch an Eastern beauty brimming with antique charm, languid and alluring.
Yet this classical beauty then went and—crack!—popped open a can, chug-chug-chugged down a whole cola, set an alarm on her phone, and sat at the desk flipping through a textbook… the whole aesthetic taking a turn for the surreal.
Once Lilith had woken up too, the two packed their things and walked out the door together, to enjoy the exquisite tea and refreshments the still-clueless servants had prepared for their honored guests.
"Summon everyone in the mansion."
Li Fei, stuffing osmanthus cake into her mouth, instructed the maidservant at her side: "Remember—everyone."
"?"
Such a strange request left the maidservant at a loss.
"No need to go ask your masters, because they've already fled."
Li Fei tilted up her chin: "Off you go—there's a matter of life and death I need to tell you all."
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the mansion had descended into utter chaos. The servants scurried about like ants on a hot pan, hauling furniture and ornaments outside, while others rummaged everywhere, hoping to find something even more valuable.
Lilith gazed at the panicked, helpless servants and said nothing for a long while.
Most of them would likely meet an unsatisfactory end, but she couldn't waste too much time and energy to help these strangers she'd never known.
A kindness that sacrificed oneself for others—and even dragged down one's teammates—was far too extravagant a luxury. To be able to give them a few words of warning was already the utmost in benevolence.
It wasn't until Miss Stepmother dragged her to the door, biting her handkerchief and bidding a reluctant, clinging farewell—putting on a hypocritical act of trying to squeeze out tears yet failing to—that Lilith's mood finally improved somewhat.
"Do stay safe."
"Such a phony."
The corners of Lilith's mouth lifted, then quickly clamped back into a straight face.
Only after she'd mounted the broom, with her back to Miss Stepmother, did she mumble a few words:
"You too."
"Huh? What did you say?"
Miss Stepmother pretended not to have heard.
"I said, go to hell!"
Lilith shouted as she soared into the heavens, drawing sidelong glances from the townsfolk, who thought an Earthly Immortal had descended upon them and gazed after her in longing awe.
Li Fei, too, walked upon the morning light, bathed in the amazed, fervent gazes of passersby along the way, striding toward the city outskirts as if no one else existed.
"They went that way—Sasha is following them."
Eva, who had waited a long while at the city gate, flew into Li Fei's arms and raised a hand to point northwest.
"Well done."
Li Fei tenderly gathered Eva into her embrace, and after casting [Terrain Awareness] upon herself, vigorous battle qi surged and churned within her body.
"I told you all long ago—people are more terrifying than demons. Why won't you believe me…"
The murmured whisper faded on the wind as Li Fei transformed into a deep-crimson phantom, racing off like lightning along the wheel-ruts left behind by the Wang family's convoy.
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