Beyond the Divine States

In the early autumn, the big clock in the imperial city struck three times. Meanwhile, it started to drizzle with coldness.

Shortly before dusk, as one side of the gate of the imperial city opened silently, two rows of paper umbrellas and reddish lanterns slowly moved through the gate.

The leading middle-aged man, wearing an official suit and an official hat, walked through the gate and then slightly stopped. With a solemn expression, he gazed at the road veiled by the mist and the rain amidst the walled-in compounds.

"Mr. Ning, please go inside."

Mr. Ning was a Taoist priest named Ning Qinshui, who was more than 70 years old with gray hair, still wearing a Taoist robe and a Taoist topknot decently.

Behind the old Taoist priest were a young man and a young girl dressed in the Taoist suit.

The young man was 15 or 16 years old while the girl was a bit younger, both of whom were slim and pretty. They both lowered their heads and occasionally looked up to peep at the magnificent palace in the imperial city.

In the drizzle, the imperial city seemed particularly quiet.

The middle-aged man walked into a palace with the three people. The palace was not small. The maids holding an umbrella and trimming the flowers and trees bowed slightly when they saw the middle-aged man.

After bypassing the screen wall and crossing the corridor, the man led them forward. The door of the wing room at the end was open. The middle-aged man explained, "The owner of this room is not here for the time being. You can wait here with your disciples for now. Regarding the exorcism, a master will come and discuss with you later."

Ning Qinshui suddenly stopped pinching his fingers in his sleeve and turned around to look at the middle-aged man, saying with a grin, "I'm old. It is okay for me to stay here but my disciples are still too young to resist the evil in this room. They can't live in this residence."

Slightly shocked, the middle-aged man asked with a smile, "What do you mean?"

Ning Qinshui smiled slightly. He knew that the middle-aged man was flying a kite. Instead of crossing the threshold, he took out a copper coin from his sleeve and slightly tossed it. The copper coin happened to land on the threshold but rather than stop, it rolled like a living thing. In the end, the old man opened his palm and the coin just jumped back surprisingly.

Ning Qinshui closed his palm and held the copper coin tightly with his face getting more serious. After a while, he spoke slowly.

"The owner of this residence was killed three days ago. His aura of resentment has lingered for a long time. He was probably bewitched to hang himself to death. Some priests have been asked to conduct a religious rite here but they... died too. All the people in the residence have been somewhat sick. If it were not for our coming, this palace should have been locked, right?"

The middle-aged man took a profound look at him with a lot of admiration and appreciation in his facial expression. He raised his hand, the maid beside him together with the women trimming the plants just left. After all the irrelevant people retreated, he made an obeisance by cupping his hands, saying,

"The legend has just proven itself. Your skills are different from those of the previous ones. I brought you here today originally to test you. Now it seems that I cannot hide the truth from you indeed. Please forgive me."

Ning Qinshui smiled and said, "It's okay, I know that several unskilled wandering Taoist priests have died before. You tried to sound out my skills, which is also for the sake of my safety."

"Of course this yard is not suitable for people to live in. Please follow me to the side yard," the man slightly nodded his head. "I wonder when you can perform the rite."

Ning Qinshui glanced at the dark sky and found that the rain was getting smaller.

"At midnight (23:00–01:00)," the old man said with a slightly hoarse voice. "I hope that His Lordship will not forget his promise by then."

"Of course not," the man smiled. "My name is Song Ce. If you have any questions, just send someone to talk to me."

They talked in a gradually lower voice. A red sparrow at the eave flew away in the rain.

...

...

"As I often tell you, we cultivate with righteous vitality, which is like the candlelight at night. Regardless of the darkness, such dim candlelight can't be buried in oblivion, so you only need to follow me closely and not be afraid. Even if we can't make it, we may as well escape."

Sitting in a wooden armchair, Ning Qinshui looked at the young man and young girl standing beside him and said earnestly, "When I perform the rite later, you two must remember to keep a clear mind and not harbor any evil intention in case the demon takes the opportunity to bewitch you. Otherwise, I can't save you. Changjiu, Xiaoling, understand?"

The young man was Ning Changjiu and the young girl was Ning Xiaoling.

Ning Changjiu lowered his head and listened meticulously. When the old man asked the question, he nodded respectfully, "Yes, Master."

The girl also replied respectfully with her head lowered. Her eyes slightly glittered, in which there seemed to a glint of disdain and resentment.

Ning Qinshui nodded and said, "Then you should sit in mediation. When it is midnight, you two assist me in subduing the demon."

"Yes," the two replied in one voice.

After giving the order, Ning Qinshui got up and walked outside. After getting out of the door, he waved the horsetail whisk in his hand and the door closed in response. The old man looked back with cold eyes as if glancing at a dead person.

The young man and the young girl hadn't really started cultivating, so they certainly didn't notice Ning Qinshui's cold eyes across the door.

Following his master's advice, Ning Changjiu sat down cross-legged, muttering incantations.

Ning Xiaoling glanced at him and said coldly, "Blockhead, do you really believe in that old chap's nonsense?"

Ning Changjiu just ignored her and continued meditating.

Ning Xiaoling was sitting in the wooden armchair as if her petite body curled up directly in it. She crossed her slender legs, folded her hands on her knees but she did not start meditating. Instead, she tapped her knees gently and snapped, "You may be too silly to notice this. The way that old chap looks at us is getting increasingly weird. Sometimes, it feels as if he were looking at his private treasure, and sometimes, it feels like..."

She pursed her lips and did not finish that. Instead, she sighed, "Anyway, maybe we will be sold by him sometime."

Ning Changjiu opened his eyes with dissatisfaction and retorted, "He bought us and besides, he treats us fine. Why do you say that?"

Ning Xiaoling sneered, "What has he taught us over the years?"

Ning Changjiu said stubbornly, "He must have his own plan."

Ning Xiaoling sneered and sighed, "When you buy some chicken or ducklings and raise them, will you teach them martial arts or the worldly principles? What you want to do is only to sell them or eat them when they gain enough weight."

Ning Changjiu was very uncomfortable with her metaphor. He frowned and wanted to refute, but he was too bad with words to say anything.

He just didn't understand why his seemingly pretty and adorable junior fellow disciple always talked in such a mean way.

"Alas..." Ning Xiaoling sighed unhappily. She didn't pretend to meditate anymore. Sitting in the chair, she swayed her legs gently and rested her head on the back of the chair, staring at the roof in a daze.

She also didn't understand why her seemingly smart senior fellow disciple turned out to be so stupid.

"Actually..." Ning Changjiu hesitated for a while before speaking with uncertainty. "Recently, upon approaching the imperial city, I've always thought of something weird."

"Something weird?" Ning Xiaoling was intrigued.

Ning Changjiu nodded his head. "I often see a Taoist temple, which looks very familiar, as if I lived there since I was a child."

Ning Xiaoling said inexplicably, "What kind of Taoist temple?"

Ning Changjiu shook his head. "A very ordinary one. The Taoist temple is always closed, but there seem to be seven... no, eight people inside!"

Ning Xiaoling smiled and said, "Blockhead, you have been bewitched even before the rite starts?"

"I don't know." Ning Changjiu shook his head and laughed at himself, thinking that he was getting more and more muddleheaded.

He silently thought about what his master had taught him and then muttered a few mind-cleansing spells. Gradually, his mind was calmed down, no longer occupied by those illusory things.

The girl fetched some cold and dry wheaten food and slowly chewed it in her mouth. Looking at the darkening night outside the window, she became even more uneasy with the secret and confidence in her heart.

As time passed slowly, Ning Xiaoling smashed the back of the chair with her fists, becoming more and more fretted.

When Ning Qinshui came back, it was almost midnight. "The preparations are almost done. Follow me."

Ning Changjiu and Ning Xiaoling followed out. When they closed the door, Ning Changjiu whispered, "Xiaoling, don't be afraid. I will protect you."

He should be the one who felt afraid... Ning Xiaoling snorted coldly, pretending not to see the sweat on his forehead. She called him as blockhead in her heart and still nodded her head gently.

Ning Qinshui took out two yellow talismans from his sleeve and passed them to his disciples separately, saying with a serious face, "These are protective talismans. You must stick one to your body. If any accident happens, it can keep you safe."

Ning Changjiu and Ning Xiaoling fetched the paper talismans and thanked their master together.

The night mist gradually veiled the imperial city.

At midnight, the bright moon was high in the sky, the gate of Xiongzheng Palace was closed. The floor palace lanterns inside the palace were all lit, illuminating the interior furnishings brightly with the red candlelight.

Ning Qinshui stood at the gate and frowned.

The usher was still the Song Ce whom they met in the daytime. Song Ce explained, "This is General Wang Yangyu's main hall. Since he perished abruptly three days ago, the hall has been locked. However, late every night, the candles in the hall will burn themselves. Meanwhile, an old voice will come from inside vaguely once in a while."

Ning Qinshui frowned and asked, "What voice?"

Song Ce replied, "It was too vague to be clearly heard, but according to the palace maids, it was General Wang's voice."

Ning Qinshui asked again, "Where is General Wang's body?"

Song Ce seemed to recall something. Subconsciously, he clenched his fists and sighed, "Burned."

Ning Qinshui asked in confusion, "So soon? Was he infected with an epidemic?"

Song Ce shook his head with a complicated expression, "His body also burned spontaneously and the fire couldn't be put out anyway."

Ning Qinshui was slightly shocked. He stroked his gray and long beard, flicked his rope away and started counting on his fingers at an extremely fast speed.

Song Ce sighed, "If you shrink back from difficulties, we won't say anything."

Ning Qinshui paid no heed. He placed his hand on the gate and peeled off the seal. Ning Qinshui pushed open the gate and went inside. His face shone red before the glowing candlelight in the hall.

When he crossed the threshold, a copper coin dropped from his sleeve and happened to land on the threshold.

"Huh, what an insignificant trick! It is deliberately mystifying only." Ning Qinshui glanced around. As he flicked his robe, most of the candles in the room were put out. He said with a deep voice, "Changjiu, Xiaoling, come with me to subdue the demon."

The young man and the young girl glanced at the deep and serene hall lit by the twilight candlelight. They were both horrified but they still answered in one voice, "Yes, Master."

Ning Qinshui slowed down his pace as he talked. He put his hand into his sleeve and then seven items that looked like a beast's fang were cast out and then floated around his body, as if the protective weapon for him.

Behind him was the girl in a thin robe holding her arms. She peeked at the old man with a slightly annoyed look.

Yet, the handsome young man next to her, who was almost like a moron, just followed the old man with his head lowered, not daring to look around at all.

The old man did not care about the safety of the young man and the young girl behind him. To him, they were only two gifted children he bought from the market. Precious as they were, they were more of a magical weapon. When it was time to use them, he would use them even if he was reluctant.

Ning Qinshui shook out a sheet of talisman instantly, it was burned for no reason. Instead of dropping on the ground, the ash turned into a real and yet illusory yellow bird. After hovering around the hall for a while, the yellow bird screamed. The old man was slightly surprised and then snorted, "Found you!"

As he strode forward, a strong wind swept through the hall. Surprisingly, he leaped tens of meters away and arrived before a God's statue in the hall as if he shrank the distance of ten thousand miles into one inch.

Ning Qinshui was quite experienced. Without saying anything, he pinched eight yellow talismans with his ten fingers. As he pushed his palms forward, the eight talismans were thrown out. Just like an end-to-end rope, they locked the stone statue firmly. The unextinguished candlelight, just as if feeling something, all flickered. It seemed they were about to shake off the candlewicks and gather together.

"Sir..." A voice suddenly came behind his head.

Ning Qinshui was about to take the opportunity to continue attacking when he suddenly became sluggish and fell into a trance.

"Sir..."

The voice came again, which was cordial. It seemed to be uttered in the face of an old friend in the street.

"Stop messing with my mind!"

Ning Qinshui bit the tip of his tongue lightly, and his eyes were quickly focused again in the soberness caused by the pain.

Somehow, a strapping and armored man stood before him, staring at him with dull eyes in a daze. His face, body and hands were so rotten that even the bones could be seen. The armor was covered with cracks. With his mouth widened, the flesh was seriously eroded. Amidst the bloody flesh, there seemed to be maggots squirming around.

Ning Qinshui did not recognize this man, but his instinct told him that this was the general named Wang Yangyu who died that day!

According to Song Ce's introduction, Wang Yangyu had cultivated for years. In addition to years' experience in battling, his martial arts skill was high beyond description. Generally, ghosts could hardly approach him. What kind of power on earth ate him off and made him end up like his?

Ning Qinshui only hesitated for a moment and shockingly, he found that his body was also beginning to stiffen. His already wrinkled fingers were quickly getting cold and pale. He would end up like Wang Yangyu soon!

"Messing with my mind with the confusing barrier?" He made up his mind and shouted. He was thin but his Taoist robe swelled up like a blast. With his five fingers in the shape of an eagle's claw, he patted forward. "Evil, enough with the trick!"

Dozens of golden lights burst from between the sleeves of his robe, going forward like arrows.

Wang Yangyu's body was cracked, from which a painful scream burst out. Short as the scream was, it was like a bird's warble that appeared abruptly. He fell backward directly.

With a loud bang, Ning Qinshui was startled. Before his eyes were all the broken stones of the statue. There was no General Wang anymore.

He withdrew his hand and believed that he had broken the confusing barrier. However, the young man behind him suddenly screamed.

"Master! Your hands!"

Ning Qinshui glanced at his hands subconsciously. He was severely shocked to find that the thick blood was dripping through the fingers of his hands constantly! He was sure that it was not his blood!

He wanted to take out another magic weapon from his sleeves but he found that his whole body was so stiff that he couldn't move at all. A chill was rising from behind his back as if a centipede was climbing up along his spine.

A black spot suddenly appeared in front of his eyes. The black spot occupied his pupils and spread rapidly. It seemed that a huge ghost crawled out of the cave at a weirdly fast speed.

When his consciousness was about to be swallowed, Ning Qinshui suddenly became stern. He turned his head with difficulty and glanced at the young man and the young girl behind him.

The young man had never seen such a terrifying appearance on their master and subconsciously took a step back while the young girl directly fell to the ground with limp legs.

With the corners of the old man's stiff mouth raised, he shouted, "In the name of Celestial Being, I hereby command a deity to come!"

The clothes on the chests of the young man and the young girl were ripped open. The two yellow talismans dragged their body towards the old man.

They were the so-called protective talismans given to them by the old man but now they turned into fatal hooks!

"Xiaoling!" Ning Changjiu yelled hastily, took a step forward with difficulty, and stopped in front of the girl.

Ning Xiaoling wanted to tear off the talisman on her body, but the yellow talisman seemed to have taken root, which only made her feel like tearing her own flesh and blood off.

She was dragged forward suddenly by the talisman and bumped into Ning Changjiu's back. She subconsciously hugged the young man's body before her but it didn't help at all. They were both dragged forward.

Ning Changjiu arrived before the old man first.

Ning Qinshui patted the top of his head relentlessly.

Before he had time to scream in pain, Ning Changjiu's limbs went limp instantly. He still stood before the young girl and yet, had knelt down feebly. His body was like an opened wine jar, into which amounts of evil Qi flooded.

This was the approach of subduing the demon with human beings adopted by the cultivators in ancient times! It took the old man years to find two suitable "containers". If it were not an urgent moment, he would definitely not use either of them!

The wisps of evil Qi flooded into Ning Changjiu's body. As one was weakened, the other one survived. Ning Qinshui got a chance to breathe. He stared at the young girl who was still struggling and then, he was suddenly taken aback.

Ning Xiaoling raised her hand with difficulty, but she was not going to surrender.

Behind her body, an illusory and snow-white shadow faintly appeared--it was a curled-up snow fox.

Yet, the spirit of the snow fox lost a tail. It grimaced at Ning Qinshui but it still didn't dare to go forward out of fear.

Ning Qinshui asked in surprise, "How dare you! When did you secretly learn the Taoist skill? And you've even grown strong enough to foster an innate spirit?"

She had hidden it from him for so long.

Indeed, she was a rarely-seen gifted cultivator, who was much stronger than her stupid senior fellow disciple.

Unfortunately...

She was not as important as his own life.

Ning Qinshui's hesitation lasted only a blink of an eye. He shouted and urged the yellow talisman. The young girl hummed in pain and bumped away Ning Changjiu's body. He arrived before her and patted her. The snow fox's spirit was dispersed after resisting weakly. The young girl fainted instantly.

The two natural "containers" quickly took in all the evil Qi around.

Then, he put his hands deep into the bottom of his sleeve.

It was a pair of purple gold talismans so precious that even his fingers trembled slightly.

However, he was aware that he would die a few years later. Nothing was more important than being immortal. The noble man's promise to him was a chance for him to become immortal.

Thinking of this, the old man didn't hesitate anymore. The two talismans were stuck onto their foreheads.

The young man and the young girl had been unconscious. Their skin became almost transparently pale. The blood streaks beneath it appeared so clear that they seemed to break out of the skin. They bulged and struggled, as beautiful and queer as the flowers in hell.

Now that the talismans were stuck on them, their body was also gradually soothed.

Things had come to a close.

Ning Qinshui wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long breath. He beckoned to the people outside the door, gesturing for them to come in.

Seeing that everything quieted down in the hall, Song Ce was also relieved. He strode into the hall with the several people at the door. He made an obeisance with cupped hands and wanted to speak when he was suddenly taken aback.

Seeing that they didn't dare to approach him, Ning Qinshui thought that they were frightened by the bodies of the young man and the young girl. He waved his hand with a grin, saying, "It's okay. They are only in a state of suspended animation. They will be revived when I take the evil out of them."

In fact, it was only his perfunctory statement. He knew better than anyone that they had no chance of surviving at all.

"Sir..."

With widened eyes, Song Ce raised his hand and pointed at his body. Even his voice was somewhat trembling.

Ning Qinshui was slightly startled. Meanwhile, the extinguished candles were suddenly lit one by one, which startled Ning Qinshui. He suddenly felt pain in his chest so he put his hand on it.

Only then did he realize that his chest was full of blood. From the mutilated blood and flesh came a bloody hand unwrapped by flesh and skin, just like a worm crawling out. Ning Qinshui had no time to react at all. Instantly, his hand was gripped by the bloody hand and then dragged into the body.

It was like a demon broke out of its nest and intended to swallow this body as its food!

"Help me!" Ning Qinshui screamed in a grimace. He raised his head, but everyone just backed away!

Likewise, his face was also badly mutilated, which was awfully deformed. His face could hardly be recognized anymore.

That was the face of Wang Yangyu!

Here came the sound of bone fracturing. The old Taoist priest's robe was torn off. His body had completely collapsed before he could cry out.

"Sparrow Ghost! It's Sparrow Ghost!"

Someone in the crowd screamed in exclamation. No one hesitated anymore. They just all fled out of the hall.

The deformed old Taoist priest rose like a zombie. Instead of chasing those people, he stared at the unconscious young man and young girl. He seemed to see savory food in the world and then gave a greedy smile.

He slowly crawled over.

He put his fingers on the girl's pale doll-like face and gently stroked the soft curve of her cheek. Then he grabbed her neck and wanted to rip off her Taoist skirt violently.

This was the evil intention drawn from the heart of the old Taoist priest.

With such a young and beautiful little girl by his side, how could he not harbor any ill intention? He just suppressed his intention deep inside his heart and appeared to be a decent Taoist priest for the greater interest.

Now all his evil thoughts just showed themselves.

Ning Xiaoling was too weak to resist now.

It was dark all around and the candles were flickering wildly.

In the hall where light flickered, the young man's body was hidden in the shadow of the old Taoist priest.

Unknowingly, when the sound of the skirt torn off came, the young man who should have been unconscious opened his eyes.

His eyes were crystal and extremely light.

They looked like the mists at both ends of the fall and also the drifting sparks on a midwinter night.

He looked sideways and frowned when he looked at the crazy walking corpse and the unconscious girl.

Then he stretched out his finger and pointed at the fierce walking corpse with uncertainty.

The candlelight gradually faded away, and the hall was silent.

After a while, the young man stood up. Looking at the rotten flesh torn apart on the ground, he made his judgment, "So weak."

Then he looked at the dying girl and frowned. Memories just flashed through his mind. He only felt some pain in his head and seemed to be watching a difficult puzzle. Then he raised his index finger and pointed amidst her eyebrows.

That finger was still a bit bloody and dirty, but it didn't tremble at all.

...

The autumn breeze approached; the moon rose from the east, shedding its light on the mountain, which made the towering palace look as if covered in snow and frost.

When he arrived at the door of the palace, the people outside the door had escaped.

He looked at his hand on which the corpse spots gradually receded. With a slight frown, he muttered with trembling lips in a low voice, "Ning... Changjiu?"

Were there really two people with the same name?

Or... this was just my name?

He picked up the copper coin on the threshold and gently held it. Then he looked through the hole in the coin.

The shadows of the autumn leaves were shaking; the bright moonlight was scattered across the night mist.

Amidst the bright moon, he seemed to see an illusory Taoist temple, and many fragmented memories slowly flooded into his mind, but they could not be put together completely for the time being.

"Who...am I?"

He stood quietly. His robe was blown by the night wind, which made him look like a bird flapping its wings. He just stayed in the night wind and didn't return.

...

Ning Xiaoling woke up three days later.

After the rite, Ning Qinshui died abruptly. Song Ce didn't dare to bring people to collect the corpse until the next early morning. To his astonishment, he found that the old priest had turned into a pile of rotten flesh and bones and that his two disciples seemed to be still alive.

After all, they survived the mishap, so he assigned someone to send them back to the deserted yard.

At this moment, the medicine decoction was being boiled on the small stove, bubbling with the strong smell of medicine and a large amount of white mist.

When Ning Xiaoling opened her eyes, she happened to see Ning Changjiu lifting the lid and staring at the boiling decoction inside with a frown.

Ning Xiaoling looked around and found the vermilion-lacquered wooden bed, the half-hung curtain and the red lanterns hanging between the ancient tables and shelves.

"This is..."

She wanted to sit up, but she felt that she was too limp to exert any strength at all. Worse still, she felt as if thousands of ants were biting her head. As she tried to think, she felt a terrible headache.

Wrapped in a quilt, she curled up more tightly and seemed to recall some scene. As her pupils slightly shrank, she started to shiver. Her cold hands and feet couldn't be warmed regardless.

She raised her head cautiously. Smelling the strong scent of medicine, she felt everything was so not real.

"Where is Master?" She asked gently.

Ning Changjiu answered precisely, "Dead."

Ning Xiaoling closed her eyes, the wailing of the evil spirits stuffed into her body was still ringing in her ears. All of a sudden, she opened her eyes and tried to ask in a calm voice, "Then how did we survive?"

Ning Changjiu said, "Maybe we were just lucky."

Of course, Ning Xiaoling didn't believe this explanation, but she didn't ask further. Somehow she felt something was wrong with her senior fellow disciple.

Ning Changjiu put the cattail fan aside, poured the decoction into the bowl and handed it over, "It is ready. Drink the decoction."

After Ning Xiaoling drank the medicine decoction, she felt slightly warmer and finally gained some strength. She recalled the way Ning Changjiu poured the decoction and felt something was wrong.

"What decoction is this?" She asked casually.

Ning Changjiu said, "It was sent by Song Ce. I've checked it and found no problem with it. It can relieve coldness, warm your body and nurture your Zifu (the core of cultivation)."

Ning Xiaoling replied with a simple "oh". Then she put the empty bowl on the nearby wooden cabinet and placed her hand back into the quilt. She just curled up like a little fox.

"Changjiu... Thank you," she whispered.

Ning Changjiu asked, "For what?"

Ning Xiaoling raised her face and said seriously, "I remember you stood in front of me, trying to protect me at the time. I was mean to you before but you really don't hate me for that."

Ning Changjiu said, "Actually... I seem to have forgotten a lot of things, and meanwhile thought of a lot of things."

Ning Xiaoling was startled and asked, "What do you think of?"

Ning Changjiu sighed softly and replied with a voice as deep as the wind sinking to the bottom of the valley, "I thought of the fact that Master killed me."

Ning Xiaoling's brows frowned slightly. What happened that night just kept her haunted like a nightmare. At that time, it was quite obvious that Ning Qinshui used the so-called "protective talismans" merely to make them die for him. However, something happened afterward and they two just surprisingly survived.

How could Ning Changjiu forget such an unforgettable memory? Could it be that he still couldn't forget the affection between him and his master?"

How could there be such a fool?

Ning Changjiu didn't continue. He shook his head and said, "Have a good rest. I will go out for a walk."

Ning Xiaoling lowered her head and replied, "Emm."

The door of the house was wide open. The cool breeze blew across his eyebrows and eyes. Shortly, an autumn rain came and wetted the courtyard with the continuous patter of raindrops.

Ning Changjiu moved a chair over and sat under the eaves, looking at the autumn rain. In his eyes, those raindrops were like countless silvery-white threads hanging down from the sky.

He suddenly raised his hand, maintained it at a certain height and stayed still.

Time just passed by quietly.

Wearing a single layer of the white garment, Ning Xiaoling rolled up the curtain and went out only to see what he was doing. She was slightly surprised and then snuck quietly back into her room while crouching low.

The following two days were rather peaceful. Song Ce ordered people to deliver medicine and food on a daily basis. When they were well, he would give them a sum of money and then send them out of the imperial city.

It seemed that Ning Changjiu was not injured but Ning Xiaoling had ruptures in all her meridians rather than be injured in the sinews or bones. If it were not for the fact that she secretly cultivated herself and had the aura as protection, she would definitely not be able to walk by now. And the Zifu she relied on for cultivation was also almost directly wrecked that night. It would take her a long time to repair it.

At night, Ning Xiaoling lay in bed on her back as always, and Ning Changjiu carefully applied the plaster to her shoulders and back.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ning Changjiu was putting away the plaster.

Ning Xiaoling suddenly said, "After you get well, let's split the money that Master hid privately. You've made so much effort to take care of me, so you should take more."

Ning Changjiu said, "You can have it all. I don't need it."

Ning Xiaoling pursed her lips and rubbed her temples suddenly. "I feel a bit of headache and can't think of where it is kept."

Ning Changjiu said, "One sum under the compass, one after the stove, one on the fifth beam from left to right, and the last one in the secret drawer under the bed."

The oil lamp was shaking with the flame. The girl lowered her head and the hair before her forehead covered her eyebrows and eyes. Rubbing her arms, she looked poker-faced.

Both of them were silent.

Again, Ning Xiaoling spoke first, "It was my fault. I knew that the old chap harbored evil intention and still acted that carelessly. I should have checked the talisman."

Ning Changjiu nodded and said, "The most difficult thing to parry is always the knife behind your back."

Ning Xiaoling turned her head with watery eyes open and asked, "You will never hurt me, right?"

Ning Changjiu was dazed and then said naturally, "Of course not."

Ning Xiaoling nodded lightly, seemingly comforting herself, "Yeah, you will never blame me or hurt me... but, but..."

Ning Changjiu stared at her calmly, waiting for her to ask the question.

Ning Xiaoling suddenly raised her head. Her originally delicate and lovely face looked thin and pale at the moment. The girl's eyes glittered. Vigilant and frightened, she opened her mouth and finally asked the question stuck in her throat.

"But...who on earth are you?"

With a sound of splatter, a drop of oil burst out suddenly beside the sleeve.