The days continued as usual.
Liu the peddler still opened his shop every day, greeting customers with a smile, exactly as he always had. Whether villagers came for needles and thread or everyday goods, he remained warm and attentive.
He had no idea that several pairs of eyes were watching him day and night.
Bai Heng crouched on the hillside, gazing at the small shop, simply watching.
She did not move.
Granny Jiang did not move.
And some others did not move either.
They were all waiting.
Waiting for the right moment.
This day was the day Liu the peddler usually went into town to restock his goods.
He carried an empty shoulder pole, humming a little tune, in a good mood. As he left the village, he even greeted a few villagers with friendly chatter, everything perfectly ordinary.
Bai Heng crouched on a rock, watching his figure gradually disappear into the distance.
She stood up, shook out her fur, and followed silently.
She told no one.
Some things she had to handle herself.
Liu the peddler walked at an unhurried pace, humming as he went, feeling quite pleased.
After walking about five or six li from the village, the mountain path grew more remote. Dense woods rose on both sides, with no one in sight ahead or behind.
As he walked, a white shadow suddenly flashed across his vision.
It moved so fast it was almost impossible to see clearly.
Liu the peddler stopped short and looked around warily.
Nothing.
He breathed a sigh of relief and continued on his way.
But after only two more steps, an odd sensation shot through his leg.
First came cold.
Bone-piercing cold, as if his leg had been plunged into an ice cellar.
Then came heat.
Scorching heat, burning outward from deep inside his bones.
Liu the peddler let out a miserable cry and collapsed to the ground, clutching his leg and rolling in agony.
He looked down. There was nothing on his leg, yet the alternating waves of freezing cold and searing heat kept drilling into his bones and spreading through his blood vessels.
“Who! Who is it!”
He shouted in terror, eyes darting everywhere.
The woods were silent. Only the rustle of wind through the leaves could be heard.
Liu the peddler had no time to think. With trembling hands he pulled a talisman from his robes.
It was a Foundation Establishment talisman he had saved for years, exchanging countless spirit stones for it, and he had never been willing to use it.
He could not afford to hesitate now.
He activated the talisman. A glow enveloped his leg, carrying a gentle warmth that clashed against the freezing-and-burning torment, slowly canceling it out.
After a moment, the excruciating sensation finally faded.
Liu the peddler slumped on the ground, gasping for air, his entire body drenched in sweat.
He looked down at his leg.
He could still move it, but walking would definitely be difficult.
Gritting his teeth, he climbed to his feet and limped back the way he had come.
He would not go to town. He would return to the village, back to the safety of his shop. Other cultivators were still there. That was safer.
But after only a few steps, a figure suddenly stepped out from the woods, blocking his path.
Liu the peddler looked up and froze.
It was Lu Mingshuang.
The maidservant who had come with Xu Cheng.
Lu Mingshuang stood in the middle of the path with her arms crossed, looking at him. Her expression was nothing like her usual smiling face.
It was cold, as if she were looking at an insect.
Liu the peddler’s heart jumped. He forced a smile onto his face.
“Miss Lu, what are you doing out here? Heading into town?”
Lu Mingshuang said nothing.
She simply raised her hand and casually sent out a streak of spiritual light.
The light struck Liu the peddler. It was far gentler than the earlier freezing-and-burning torment, but it still made him double over in pain.
“Ah—!”
He cried out, then forced himself to hold it in.
Lu Mingshuang looked down at him and said coldly, “That one was for the girl Qin Yu.”
Liu the peddler’s face turned deathly pale.
“Miss Lu, what… what are you talking about? I don’t understand…”
Lu Mingshuang cut him off.
“Stop pretending.”
She took two steps closer, looking down at him.
“Have you heard of the Lu family of Wu Province?”
Liu the peddler’s pupils shrank sharply.
The Lu family of Wu Province.
One of the strongest noble clans beneath the three great families.
He was just a rogue cultivator. How could he afford to offend such a giant?
“Miss Lu, I… I really don’t know…”
Lu Mingshuang waved a hand, too lazy to listen to his excuses.
“Get out of this village. Don’t ever come back.”
She paused.
“If I see you again, it won’t end as nicely as today.”
With that, she turned and left without looking back.
Liu the peddler stood there, his face cycling through shades of green and white.
After a moment, he gritted his teeth and limped away in the direction opposite the village.
He was not going back.
He would never dare return to this village.
After walking more than a li, Liu the peddler suddenly stopped.
A person was standing on the path ahead.
It was a woman.
She wore a simple green dress and had delicate features. She stood there quietly, watching him.
Liu the peddler paused, then forced another smile.
“Miss Lin Lan? Are you also heading to town for the market?”
Lin Lan said nothing.
She simply stood there, looking at him.
Her eyes were completely different from their usual gentle expression.
They were empty, as if nothing in the world could enter them.
Liu the peddler’s heart went cold. He took a step back.
“Miss Lin Lan, you…”
Before he could finish, he suddenly realized he could not move.
His entire body had gone rigid, as if held in place by an invisible force. He tried to shout, but his mouth would not open.
Lin Lan walked over slowly.
Her steps were calm and unhurried, as if she really had just come back from the market.
When she reached Liu the peddler, she paused for a moment.
Then she continued forward.
She walked right past him.
The last trace of light in Liu the peddler’s eyes slowly faded.
They became hollow. Blank. Empty of everything.
Lin Lan did not look back. She kept walking.
At the end of the path, Granny Jiang stood beneath an old tree, watching the scene.
She saw Lin Lan walk over from the distance. She saw Liu the peddler standing frozen in place. She saw Lin Lan pass him by and continue on her way.
Granny Jiang remained silent.
After a long time, she finally spoke.
“Why stop pretending?”
Lin Lan stopped.
She turned her head and looked at Granny Jiang.
Those eyes no longer belonged to Lin Lan.
They were deep, calm, and carried an indescribable meaning.
Granny Jiang looked at her and suddenly understood everything.
She had thought that by keeping Lin Lan close, she could guard against every possibility. She had never imagined that this so-called daughter of a convicted official carried such a secret.
She took a deep breath.
“Who exactly are you?”
Lin Lan—or rather, the person who should now be called Feng Lingyu—looked at her for a moment before softly speaking three words.
“Feng Lingyu.”
Granny Jiang’s eyes widened.
Feng Lingyu.
The Feng Clan’s current genius, the youngest Nascent Soul cultivator in Li Kingdom. Fifty years ago, when she stepped into Nascent Soul, she had not even reached a hundred years of age.
How could she be Lin Lan?
How could she be that daughter of a convicted official?
“Impossible.”
Granny Jiang said in a low voice.
“I investigated Lin Lan’s identity. She truly was born into the Lin family, raised in the Lin family.”
Lin Lan—or Feng Lingyu—nodded slightly.
“Lin Lan is a soul fragment.”
She paused.
“A fairly complete one. She really was born into the Lin family and raised there. This body carries the Lin family’s blood.”
Granny Jiang was stunned.
A soul fragment.
A technique only Nascent Soul cultivators could practice—separating part of one’s soul to create an independent being.
“So Lin Lan is you, and Feng Lingyu is also you?”
Feng Lingyu nodded.
“Yes.”
Granny Jiang was silent for a long time.
She stared at the person before her, countless thoughts surging through her mind.
Feng Lingyu.
The Feng Clan’s Nascent Soul genius.
An existence who had stepped into Nascent Soul fifty years ago.
Why had she come to this village?
Because of Yun Zhuo?
Granny Jiang asked in a heavy voice.
“You came here because of the matter with Yun Zhuo?”
She paused.
“I heard that Feng Changzhen is your younger brother.”
Feng Lingyu shook her head slightly, then nodded.
“Coming to this village was a coincidence. I knew nothing of the karmic ties between the Lin family and you, Granny Jiang. A soul fragment has its own destiny. I do not interfere.”
She looked at Granny Jiang.
“Feng Changzhen is indeed my younger brother. But we are more than a hundred years apart in age. I have barely seen him.”
Her voice was calm, showing no emotion.
“He obtained Yun Zhuo’s spiritual root. That is his own karma. I have no interest in helping him eliminate the hidden dangers.”
Granny Jiang’s heart stirred slightly.
“Then why did you act today?”
Feng Lingyu was silent for a moment.
“Lin Lan asked me to.”
She paused.
“That girl has feelings for Qin Yun and Qin Yu. When Qin Yu nearly died, she was very upset. And very angry.”
“She begged me to come out and teach that peddler a lesson.”
Granny Jiang looked at her with complicated eyes.
“So you came just for something that simple?”
Feng Lingyu nodded.
“I came.”
She turned and looked at the frozen figure in the distance.
“I only erased his soul. The body is still alive. It will make excellent material for a puppet.”
She looked back at Granny Jiang.
“I know you are skilled with puppets, so I left it for you.”
Granny Jiang said nothing.
Feng Lingyu continued.
“Don’t worry about Lin Lan. Once I return to the village, I will go back inside. She is reluctant to leave you all. She is reluctant to leave Qin Yun and Qin Yu. And she is reluctant to leave that little fox.”
The corners of her mouth curved up in a faint smile.
“Lin Lan is the most intelligent and perceptive of all my soul fragments. She sensed my presence and knew how to negotiate with me for help.”
She paused.
“I am not angry. On the contrary, I am very pleased.”
“It proves she has grown the most complete, the closest to my true nature.”
She looked at Granny Jiang, her gaze serious.
“So I do not mind giving a little extra care to her and the people around her.”
Granny Jiang remained silent.
She stared at the person before her, her mind swirling with countless thoughts.
Feng Lingyu did not wait for her to speak. She turned and continued walking.
After a few steps, she stopped.
“Granny Jiang.”
Granny Jiang looked up.
Feng Lingyu did not turn around.
“Lin Lan likes you very much. She says you are the best person she has ever met.”
With that, she kept walking, her figure gradually disappearing into the woods.
Granny Jiang stood where she was, staring in that direction for a long time without moving.
The wind blew past, lifting the hem of her robe.
After a long while, she finally withdrew her gaze and looked at the frozen figure in the distance.
She walked over and examined it.
It really was excellent material.
She raised her hand and stored the body in a specially made storage bag.
Then she turned and slowly walked back toward the village.
After a few steps, she suddenly remembered something and looked up toward the distant hillside.
There, a white fox crouched on a rock, watching her.
Granny Jiang waved.
The white fox gently swished her tail.
Granny Jiang smiled and continued on her way.
Sunlight spilled across the mountain forest, growing a little blinding.
Talk about poking a hornets nest