The moonlight was beautiful tonight.
Bai Heng lay at the entrance of her rock cave, gazing at the gradually full silver disk.
She was not cultivating. She simply stared into space.
After autumn arrived, she had never slackened in her training, yet tonight she had no desire to cultivate.
She simply lay there, watching the moon, thinking of nothing at all.
Moonlight spilled over her, coating her snow-white fur with a silvery sheen.
The mountain breeze blew gently, carrying the fresh scent of grass and trees along with the faint smell of smoke and fire from the distant village.
She half-closed her eyes, listening to the various sounds of the night.
Insect chirps. The whisper of wind. The occasional call of a night bird from afar.
Suddenly, her ears twitched.
From the direction of the woods behind the village came a very faint sound.
It was the soft crunch of someone stepping on fallen leaves, walking slowly.
Bai Heng opened her eyes and looked that way.
So late—who would still be heading into those woods?
She stood up. Her divine sense extended quietly like the gentlest of tendrils, reaching toward the forest.
A moment later, she withdrew it.
It was Granny Jiang.
The hunched figure was walking slowly along the forest path toward the mountain god temple.
Bai Heng crouched at the cave entrance, staring in that direction, lost in thought.
She had grown used to seeing Granny Jiang head into those woods.
The old woman went every few days and usually stayed for about half an hour.
Bai Heng had never approached. She had only watched from afar.
But tonight, she suddenly wanted to see for herself.
Not to spy—just to confirm a few things.
She leaped down from the rock in complete silence and headed toward the woods.
The moonlight was excellent, illuminating the mountain path clearly.
Bai Heng walked along the familiar trail at an unhurried pace.
She kept Heavenly Fox Concealment fully active, suppressing her aura until it was almost nonexistent.
When she reached the edge of the woods, she stopped.
Deep within the forest, the dilapidated mountain god temple stood silently beneath the moonlight. The temple door was ajar, emitting a very faint glow.
Bai Heng did not approach.
She leaped onto an ancient pine with thick foliage, crouched on a sturdy branch, and watched the temple from afar through the gaps in the leaves.
Roughly half an hour later, the temple door opened.
Granny Jiang walked out with her back hunched. Behind her followed another person.
The newcomer wore dark robes.
The figure was tall and slender, features obscured.
The two stood at the temple entrance for a moment and exchanged a few quiet words.
The distance was too great, and some kind of restriction seemed to be in place.
Bai Heng could not make out what they were saying.
A moment later, the stranger turned and vanished into the depths of the woods.
Granny Jiang remained where she was, staring in that direction for a long time without moving.
Then she turned and looked directly toward the ancient pine where Bai Heng was hiding.
Bai Heng stayed motionless on the tree.
Moonlight filtered through the leaves, falling between the two of them.
After watching her for a moment, Granny Jiang suddenly smiled.
In the moonlight, the smile carried a hint of helplessness and understanding.
“Come out.”
Her voice was not loud, yet it reached Bai Heng’s ears clearly.
Bai Heng remained silent for a moment, then leaped down from the tree and walked slowly over to Granny Jiang.
Granny Jiang looked down at her.
There was no reproach in her gaze—only a faint smile.
“You little fox are getting bolder by the day.”
Bai Heng did not respond. She simply asked, “Every time you come here, are you meeting that person?”
She asked directly.
Granny Jiang raised an eyebrow slightly, as if surprised by the question.
After a moment, she nodded.
“Yes.”
Bai Heng looked at her and waited for her to continue.
Granny Jiang did not speak right away. She turned and walked slowly into the mountain god temple.
Bai Heng followed her inside.
The interior of the temple was still dilapidated. Moonlight poured through the broken roof, illuminating the worn statue in the center.
Granny Jiang sat down on the stone steps at the base of the statue and patted the spot beside her.
“Sit.”
Bai Heng did not sit.
She simply crouched in front of Granny Jiang and watched her.
Granny Jiang did not mind. She began speaking on her own.
“You want to ask who that person was, don’t you?”
Bai Heng nodded.
Granny Jiang was silent for a moment, then said slowly, “I’ve spent over four hundred years in the demonic path. I still have a few old acquaintances.”
She looked at Bai Heng with candid eyes.
“Some things I can’t do alone. It’s better to find helpers than to force everything by myself.”
Bai Heng said nothing.
Granny Jiang did not need her to. She continued.
“That blockhead Yun Qing wanted to shoulder everything himself. But could he? No. In the end he couldn’t, and he died.”
Her voice was calm, revealing no emotion.
“I don’t want to follow his example.”
Bai Heng remained silent for a moment.
“Are the people you found reliable?”
Granny Jiang suddenly laughed at the question.
“In the demonic path, what does ‘reliable’ even mean? Today’s ally can be tomorrow’s enemy. It’s the most normal thing in the world.”
She paused.
“But the few I’ve contacted all owe me favors. Debts of gratitude must be repaid.”
Bai Heng looked at her, half believing and half doubting.
Granny Jiang seemed to sense her hesitation and waved a hand dismissively.
“Relax. I’m not about to let a second-tier little fox like you run off to Moon Sea with Yun Zhuo all by yourself.”
There was genuine seriousness in her tone as she spoke.
“When the time comes, someone will be there to meet you.”
Bai Heng stayed silent and did not press further.
Granny Jiang did not elaborate. She simply looked at her with a hint of satisfaction in her eyes.
“You little fox are still so composed. Anyone else would already be bombarding me with questions.”
Bai Heng did not reply. Instead she asked about something else.
“What exactly is the background of that girl Lin Lan?”
Granny Jiang paused, then smiled.
“You really are attentive.”
She paused again and spoke slowly.
“I did save that girl Lin Lan. Her family had some karmic ties with me from the past, so I had no choice but to rescue her.”
Bai Heng nodded.
“But she…”
She stopped, not finishing the thought.
Granny Jiang understood what she meant.
“Are you wondering if she might have been sent by someone else?”
Bai Heng did not deny it.
Granny Jiang sighed.
“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure either.”
She looked at Bai Heng with frank eyes.
“I’ve investigated the girl’s origins. She really is the daughter of a convicted official. She really was forced into the pleasure quarters. And I really did save her. But in this world, there are never that many coincidences.”
“It was that particular family, at that particular time, right after I had found Yun Zhuo, tied to a karmic debt I could not ignore, and the moment I returned, something happened to Yun Zhuo…”
Bai Heng said nothing.
Granny Jiang continued.
“That’s why I kept her by my side.”
She paused.
“If she really is a problem, I’ll notice while she’s right under my nose.”
Bai Heng looked at her, a faint stir in her heart.
Granny Jiang had spoken openly.
She clearly had not fully trusted Lin Lan, yet she had not pushed the girl away because of her suspicions either.
She simply kept her close, watched her, and waited.
It was somewhat similar to the way she treated Bai Heng—and the way Bai Heng regarded her.
Bai Heng was silent for a moment.
“Aren’t you afraid she really is a spy?”
Granny Jiang smiled.
“What is there to fear?”
She looked at Bai Heng, her gaze carrying deeper meaning.
“Some things cannot be rushed. Just watch. Just wait. The answer will come in time.”
Bai Heng nodded and asked no more questions.
Moonlight streamed through the broken roof, falling over both of them.
Granny Jiang looked at her and suddenly asked, “What about you? After observing for so long, have you noticed anything?”
Bai Heng thought for a moment.
“Those few Qi Refining spies are probably sent by rogue cultivators or insignificant sects. As for the scholar surnamed Xu and the widow surnamed Wang, I can’t see through them.”
Granny Jiang nodded.
“I’ve been watching those two as well. They really are unusual.”
She paused.
“But as long as they don’t move, we won’t move either.”
Bai Heng gave a soft hum of agreement.
The two fell silent for a moment.
Granny Jiang suddenly spoke again.
“You didn’t come looking for me tonight just to ask these things, did you?”
Bai Heng looked at her and did not deny it.
“I only wanted to confirm a few matters.”
Granny Jiang smiled.
“Confirm what? Whether I was lying to you?”
Bai Heng said nothing.
Granny Jiang did not mind. She simply stood up and brushed the dust from her clothes.
“Little fox, I already told you—words can lie, but actions cannot.”
She looked at Bai Heng with clear eyes.
“Just keep watching. Watch whether I can actually do what I said I would.”
Bai Heng met her gaze for a moment, then stood up.
“All right.”
She turned and walked toward the temple entrance.
After a few steps she stopped.
“Granny Jiang.”
A voice came from behind her.
“Hm?”
Bai Heng did not turn around.
“Have you known that person for a long time?”
Granny Jiang was silent for a moment.
“A very long time.”
Bai Heng nodded. She asked nothing more and stepped out of the mountain god temple.
Moonlight bathed her once more, coating her snow-white fur with a silvery sheen.
She walked slowly back along the forest path.
When she left the woods, she paused and glanced behind her.
The dilapidated mountain god temple stood quietly beneath the moonlight.
At the temple entrance, a hunched figure still stood there, watching in her direction.
Bai Heng withdrew her gaze and continued forward.
The night breeze blew gently, stirring a soft rustling sound.
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