The night of July first, on the eve of Celebration Day.
Fireworks bloomed in the night sky, making even the stars pale in comparison.
The sound of firecrackers rose and fell, never pausing for even a single moment.
After practicing *Huitian* for a while, Wang Sandong sat by the window under the moonlight, staring blankly at the night sky in boredom.
In a daze, a thought suddenly surfaced: there seemed to be someone who loved staring blankly at the moon.
‘Who was it?’
After a moment of reflection, Wang Sandong realized.
It was Spring-Returning Hand.
Decades ago, when Mr. Yi followed Spring-Returning Hand to learn medicine in the mountains, he would often see his master, Spring-Returning Hand, staring at the moon alone.
That memory had now become Wang Sandong’s memory.
And Mr. Yi’s master seemed to have become Wang Sandong’s master—at least in Wang Sandong’s memories.
Miss Zheng, Cui San’er, Mr. Yi…
These people’s memories were mixed together in a chaotic mess.
*Sigh…*
Wang Sandong sighed melancholically.
‘If I kill more people in the future,’ he thought, ‘won’t my memory turn into a bowl of mush?’
One consequence of memory confusion was that it occasionally left Wang Sandong “at a loss.”
For example, at noon, when he happened to meet the young physician who had come to check his father Wang Zhongyi’s pulse, Wang Sandong had blurted out, “Dear nephew.”
In the evening, when he saw a beautiful maid in the back garden, he couldn’t help but reach out and slap her backside.
Just now, while urinating, he stood by the nightstool and actually forgot whether he should stand or sit…
Fortunately, the young physician thought he had misheard and didn’t pay it any mind.
Fortunately, the maid didn’t dare to get angry or scream “Assault!”
Fortunately, he didn’t have much urine held up, so he didn’t wet his pants before he snapped out of it…
‘It seems that unless it’s absolutely necessary, I cannot kill anyone else.’
It wasn’t out of feminine mercy, nor did it have anything to do with a guilty conscience.
‘I’m mainly afraid of developing a split personality in the future.’
After feeling melancholy for a while, he felt bored again.
Going out for fun was out of the question.
He didn’t want to move.
Better to…
“Wang Tong.”
“Yes, Young Master. What are your orders?”
“Go to Fengyue Tower and find Yueniang. Tell her…”
Wang Sandong smiled thinly.
“Tell her that this Young Master wants to hear some music.”
Wang Tong responded and left.
Wang Sandong was left alone in Anzhi Courtyard.
A strange sense of desolation washed over him.
He remembered that in past years on Celebration Day, “he” would gather with his sisters from the same clan to chat about everything under the sun, or find a few favored women to enjoy himself with, or sit with his master watching the moon over a few plates of vegetarian dishes and clear wine…
No, in reality, on past Celebration Days, Wang Sandong liked to stay alone in Anzhi Courtyard, enjoying the tranquility amidst the firecrackers and fireworks, feeling like a recluse far from the noise of the world.
*Thud—*
A strange sound startled Wang Sandong.
Looking at the dart and envelope pinned to the table, Wang Sandong’s eyebrows twitched.
“Are you out of your mind?”
His voice was neither high nor low, his tone filled with disdain.
“This is a premium blackwood table! If it’s ruined, are you going to pay for it?”
With that, he pulled out the dart and opened the envelope.
“Yuan Di is not of a kind sort; her heart is treacherous and venomous. She passed the technique of *Huitian* to you because she harbors other designs… She intends to seize the spirits of others to strengthen her own soul, and you will eventually be reduced to mere material, refined into a weapon spirit…”
At the end of the letter was the signature: A Kind Person.
Staring at the few lines on the paper, Wang Sandong’s expression grew increasingly grim.
He had never truly trusted Yuan Di.
That she had a treacherous heart did not surprise him.
However, Yuan Di’s intentions were actually similar to those of “Ghost Axe” Chen Youde.
Chen Youde wanted to use his body for refinement, while Yuan Di wanted to use his primordial soul to refine a weapon spirit…
Truly…
‘None of them are any damn good.’
He looked down again at the signature of the letter.
‘A Kind Person?’
Wang Sandong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The person who wrote this letter was not necessarily a kind person, but they were certainly at odds with Yuan Di.
Recently, there was indeed someone in the Old Capital who was at odds with Yuan Di—the Disciple of the Demon Emperor, who was being searched for and hunted by all the Spiritual Cultivators in the city yet remained traceless.
‘Could it be him?’
Wang Sandong pondered for a moment and closed the window.
He then pulled out a drawer and cut the letter with scissors, leaving only one sentence.
The rest he burned to ash.
Yuan Di couldn’t be trusted, and this “Kind Person” couldn’t be trusted either.
Oftentimes, those who did good deeds were not necessarily good people.
‘Was what that “Kind Person” said true or false?’
There was no way to know.
‘Unless…’
‘Unless I can kill him and seize his memories.’
‘Or kill Yuan Di…’
Wang Sandong reopened the window and stared blankly at the sky, seemingly admiring the stars and brilliant fireworks.
After a moment, he closed his eyes and gently pressed his temples with both hands.
‘Living is truly exhausting.’
‘I finally managed to learn *Huitian* and thought I could survive, but instead, I’ve become a “prized morsel.” My family treats me as disposable material, my betrothed wants to use me, and Chen Youde and Yuan Di want to refine me…’
*Tsk…*
‘I wonder how many times I can “borrow” the blade named Zheng Xiao?’
‘Can I borrow her to kill Yuan Di after killing Chen Youde?’
‘If the Nine Surnamed Kings face off against the Five Emperors…’
‘The chances of winning are definitely not high.’
‘However, it’s very likely that Yuan Di is not at her peak…’
‘I’m just afraid of being too clever for my own good.’
‘If Yuan Di gets desperate and reveals that I’m a Demonic Cultivator…’
‘Furthermore, there’s the troublesome existence of the Disciple of the Demon Emperor.’
‘If that “Kind Person” isn’t the Disciple of the Demon Emperor, that’s also a problem.’
‘I can’t go to Zheng Xiao to “borrow a blade” every single time, right?’
‘If I borrow it too many times, I’ll definitely be exposed.’
‘What a headache.’
Wang Sandong sighed melancholically.
The chaotic noise of firecrackers, near and far, made Wang Sandong feel irritable.
Suddenly, he thought of his elder brother, Wang Jinghong.
Last year’s Celebration Day, his elder brother was at home and had even led him in setting off many fireworks.
His elder brother had said one thing: “Where my ambition lies, I shall slay every last Demonic Cultivator!”
At the time, Wang Sandong felt his elder brother possessed magnificent pride and was a true hero.
They say a soft, gentle land is the grave of heroes.
That saying didn’t apply to his elder brother.
Though the “gentle land” of women was good, his elder brother’s “ambition did not lie there,” despite many women being in love with him—something Wang Sandong was very envious of.
He was the exact opposite of his elder brother; he very much wanted to die in a gentle land of women, but he didn’t dare to.
Because if he did, he really would die in that gentle land.
When Wang Tong appeared outside the window with Yuan Di, Wang Sandong felt like he was going to die.
He stared blankly at the woman in the courtyard illuminated by fireworks, holding a harp in her arms, feeling as if the whole world had brightened up.
The firecrackers that had been making him irritable seemed to have suddenly turned into a divine melody.
The woman had a cold expression.
She entered the room, looked around, and asked in a low voice, “Do you really want to hear a tune?”
Wang Sandong snapped out of it and countered, “Why else?”
“You…”
The woman glared at Wang Sandong and questioned, “There is a fairy tale circulating in the Old Capital called *The Wolf Cried*. Have you heard it?”
Wang Sandong smiled and said, “I made up that story.”
As he spoke, he circled around the woman.
“I say, Yuan Yuan, wearing women’s clothing, you are truly… truly… incredible.”
He couldn’t think of a more suitable word for the moment.
The newcomer was indeed Yuan Di.
Yuan Di sat down on a brocade stool and said in a slightly cold voice, “The next time you look for me, it better not be because you actually want to hear a tune!”
Wang Sandong realized that Yuan Di was truly angry.
The lesson of *The Wolf Cried* was something he had to take seriously.
“Cough, I’m just joking. I’m not a child. I invited you here specifically, so of course it wasn’t just to hear some tune.”
Wang Sandong looked out the window and then cautiously closed it.
He picked up the dart and the remaining scrap of the note from the table, handed them to Yuan Di, and said, “I received this. The city is in chaos tonight, and I am physically weak, so it is inconvenient for me to go out. That is why I specifically sent Wang Tong to invite you.”
He had an indifferent expression, showing no sign of his nonsense.
Yuan Di took the dart and the scrap, looking at the note first.
“Yuan Di is not of a kind sort; her heart is treacherous and venomous. She passed the technique of *Huitian* to you because she harbors other designs.”
Just this one sentence.
Yuan Di’s expression was very calm.
After a moment, she sneered, “Childish!”
After saying that, she looked at Wang Sandong and asked, “Did you believe such a low-level provocation?”
Wang Sandong countered with a half-smile, “If I said I didn’t believe it, would you believe me?”
Yuan Di shook her head, narrowing her eyes at Wang Sandong, and said, “Though you are young, you are as cunning as a fox. If you easily said you didn’t believe it, it would instead be unbelievable.”
“Cunning? I call it wisdom.”
Wang Sandong was very dissatisfied.
He glanced at the harp in Yuan Di’s arms and said, “Play a song?”
Seeing Yuan Di’s face turn cold, he quickly added, “Since you’re already here, if there’s no sound of a harp, it will instead arouse suspicion.”
Yuan Di was speechless.
She looked at Wang Sandong coldly.
Even though what this fellow said made sense, seeing that smug look on his face was truly annoying.
‘Forget it.’
‘At my age, there’s no need to bicker with a brat over these trifles.’
Yuan Di set her posture and plucked the strings.
“The person who left you the note should be the Disciple of the Demon Emperor.”
As the harp music wafted melodiously, Yuan Di spoke in a low voice: “The Demon Sovereign is cruel and bloodthirsty; it’s known to the whole world. As the saying goes, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked. I shouldn’t need to elaborate on the poor character and brutal actions of the Demon Sovereign’s disciple.”
Wang Sandong slumped lazily in a soft chair, admiring Yuan Di’s beauty in women’s clothing while listening to the pleasant harp music.
Even Yuan Di’s whispered words seemed like the harmony of the harp strings, sounding like a celestial melody.
‘To have Yuan Di, one of the Five Emperors, play a tune for me, and even have her wear women’s clothing…’
‘I wonder how many people in this world could achieve this?’
In a daze, it felt as if he had reached the peak of his life.
“I haven’t asked yet, what did you… put in here?”
Wang Sandong vulgarly gestured at his own chest.
“It’s quite round.”
Yuan Di’s mouth twitched.
Even though she had excellent self-restraint, she was still annoyed by Wang Sandong’s words.
She shot a cold glance and asked, “Do you want to learn from the experience?”
Even though she looked like she wanted to kill someone, perhaps because she was wearing women’s clothing, it didn’t make Wang Sandong afraid.
Instead, it made him feel an exotic charm.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
Wang Sandong clicked his tongue.
Thinking of his own future, he sighed, “I probably don’t need that kind of experience.”
“Indeed.”
If the modified *Huitian* worked, Wang Sandong would eventually turn into a woman, so naturally, he wouldn’t need that kind of experience.
Thinking this, Yuan Di continued to play the harp.
Seeing Wang Sandong’s clearly suggestive gaze, Yuan Di was somewhat resentful and was about to speak when she saw Wang Sandong let out another sigh.
“Thank you.”
Wang Sandong spoke with sincere earnestness.
Yuan Di frowned.
“Though I don’t know what kind of plot you have, I know you truly care for me.”
Wang Sandong acted moved and sighed again.
“With so many experts in the Old Capital lately, you must have been worried about your whereabouts being exposed, which is why you didn’t infiltrate directly but instead endured the humiliation of disguising yourself like this, right?”
Yuan Di looked at Wang Sandong.
After a moment, the corners of her mouth curled up into a mock smile, and she said, “It would be more realistic if your eyes were a bit red and watery.”
Wang Sandong gave a dry laugh, his gaze falling on Yuan Di’s chest.
“Yeah, it’s quite realistic.”
Before Yuan Di could respond, he immediately pretended to look at the harp.
“The harp is not bad; it doesn’t seem like an ordinary object.”
Yuan Di replied crossly, “Speaking of the harp… the Harp Emperor is currently at your betrothed’s house.”
Her fingertips continued to pluck the strings, and the melody became much more cheerful.
“Tonight, there will probably be some excitement to watch.”
Wang Sandong asked curiously, “What excitement?”
He guessed, “Does the Harp Emperor have a grudge against the Zheng Clan?”
Yuan Di gave a disdainful smile.
“The meat-eaters plan it; why should the common man interfere?”
After saying that, she remembered something and explained, “It means ants shouldn’t worry about the concerns of elephants.”
It wasn’t the first time Yuan Di had spoken such mocking words.
The difference was that this time, Wang Sandong felt insulted—especially after Yuan Di explained it.
However, looking at the cross-dresser in front of him, Wang Sandong found that amidst that feeling of insult, a strange trace of excitement was mixed in, giving the “insult” a slight hint of flirtation.
His gaze fell on her rosy lips, which carried a bit of defiance and a mocking smile, and he felt a sudden urge to bite them hard.
He hummed and, after pondering for a moment, said, “Since you’re already here, help me kill someone before you leave.”
“Do it yourself.”
“Chen Youde wants to kill me.”
Yuan Di’s fingers paused slightly on the harp strings.
She raised her eyes and took a deep look into Wang Sandong’s eyes, which seemed to hide hooks.
Ultimately, she remained silent.