In the dead of night, the sound of falling snow on the main roads of Dark Snow Heaven was ground to bits by all sorts of clamor.
The Kang Family seemed still fixated on finding a substitute for the sick among their household. They were still dressed in white hemp mourning clothes. The one at the front walked holding a Lamp, while the people following behind scrambled into a clumsy cluster trying to steady Zhong Yutian.
Zhong Yutian wailed loudly, but because his mouth was gagged, even his cries became muffled and unclear. His two legs kept kicking forward, and after a short while, he refused to walk, his body desperately sagging toward the ground.
The Lamp Bearer questioned him: “Speak! How exactly did you get out? If you refuse to talk, don’t expect to enter the Altar of the Abandoned later. I’ll just toss you straight into the fire!”
Zhong Yutian struggled in terror, making muffled sounds as he begged for mercy, refusing to admit how he had gotten out.
Seeing he wouldn’t walk, the Kang Family members forcibly dragged him forward. Each wore a white hood, better than nothing, at least blocking some wind and snow. Zhong Yutian’s head, however, only had bird’s-nest-like hair, now turned white by the covering snow.
Zhong Yutian’s arms were hoisted high. Half his body was dragged through the snow. Fortunately, the snow was thick and held no branches, otherwise, his journey would have been far worse.
“Who exactly helped you!” The Lamp Bearer spoke again: “You weren’t this loyal before. What, suddenly seen the error of your ways?”
“Mmph mmph mmph!” Zhong Yutian let out three sounds, which sounded roughly like “Let me go.”
“Take that hemp cloth out of his mouth!” The Lamp Bearer poked at his own ear, truly unable to endure it any longer.
The person behind could only pull the hemp cloth from Zhong Yutian’s mouth, nearly getting his finger bitten in the process. The man hastily snatched his hand back, cursing: “Dammit, I’ll pull all your teeth out later!”
The moment his mouth was freed, Zhong Yutian immediately spat out a string of curses: “Screw your grandfathers! You Kang Family really think you’re the City Lord, strutting around Dark Snow Heaven every day, doing all manner of unconscionable, heaven-defying deeds, always finding some high-sounding excuse to harm people! Kang Ximing, have I ever offended you? I even helped you back then. Truly ungrateful and treacherous!”
“Well, you’re offending me now!” Kang Ximing turned to him, putting on a good-natured tone, but it was like a venomous snake flicking its tongue. “What exactly did you do to be thrown onto the Altar of the Abandoned? Think carefully before you speak!”
“All I did was grab that old woman’s congee! Didn’t I kneel and apologize, kowtow even? You lot just wanted to find an excuse to catch me and feed me to the ghosts!” Zhong Yutian’s face was twisted with ferocity. Despite the bleak, howling cold wind around him, he was burning with anger, his face reddening.
He paused, then his eyes bulged as if he had seized the other’s weakness. Suddenly appearing much more confident, he added: “Ha! I’ve figured it out now, haven’t I? You Kang Family are Raising Ghosts! Under that Altar of the Abandoned, it’s full of Jiangshi!”
Kang Ximing’s face darkened. He jutted his chin, signaling someone to gag Zhong Yutian again.
“Mmph mmph mmph mmph!”
“Carry him to the Altar of the Abandoned and burn him,” the Lamp Bearer said.
Outside the inn, there were no other signs of activity. The ghostly face outside the window earlier might really have been the Innkeeper. Otherwise, he had no other hiding place.
Yinyu stood in the snow, watching with calm composure. She had already saved Zhong Yutian once. It was the other who didn’t cherish his life, deliberately crashing into the Kang Family’s face. She didn’t want to waste effort saving him again, so she tugged Lian Sheng’s sleeve to leave.
Just as the Kang Family was swaggering past, a figure suddenly darted out from the inn. The person who emerged held a sharp, cold gleam in their hand—an unsheathed sword, thin and long.
Seeing the other’s hair coiled up and heavy makeup painted on, they knew it was the younger sister of that sibling pair.
These two siblings truly couldn’t let the Kang Family be. By sheer coincidence, they were here to intercept the Kang Family’s prize again.
When Yinyu saw this figure, she paused in slight surprise, then turned her head to look toward the inn’s main entrance. Only the Innkeeper’s silhouette was visible inside the door. Xie Ling hadn’t followed out at all.
These two siblings truly were strange. One was active at night and rested by day; the other rested at night and was active by day, as if working shifts. They probably rarely even saw each other’s faces.
The female cultivator dashed out with her sword, calmly and unhurriedly blocking the group’s path.
The moment Kang Ximing saw it was her, his temper skyrocketed, his face instantly darkening like charcoal. The others also looked at her, no longer caring about Zhong Yutian.
The female cultivator didn’t speak. She just stood there silently, blocking the way ahead, her silence seeming like a resolute decision to save Zhong Yutian no matter what.
Kang Ximing had lost all interest in finding a substitute; he just wanted to deal with this female cultivator properly. He hurled his lantern to the ground, drew the sword at his waist, and said, “I knew this crazy woman would come again!”
Zhong Yutian’s body tilted as the people behind threw him to the ground. Unfortunately, his hands and feet were all bound, so he could only crawl along by arching his body.
The Kang Family truly acted like the wealthy and powerful. They instantly brought out countless Talisman Papers, summoning Thunderclaps and Astral Winds to sweep in.
Unfortunately, the Thunderclap summoned by a Talisman ultimately couldn’t compare to what Yinyu had seen in her dream. Compared to that, the electricity splitting down from midair was like a tiny wisp of down.
The female cultivator hastily dodged. With a flick of her wrist, she carved out an Astral Wind, forcefully dispersing the incoming snowstorm.
The few of them fought like a duel of magic, exchanging blows back and forth not far from the inn. Although the Kang Family had numbers, the female cultivator didn’t fall behind.
But even if the female cultivator was formidable, she was fighting alone. Yinyu couldn’t help but glance back at the inn’s entrance again. The Innkeeper sat behind the counter, propping his chin, drowsy and half-asleep. No other figure appeared at all.
Before long, the female cultivator’s hem was caught by fire. A large patch of her sleeve was burnt away, her arm scorched red. Still, Xie Ling did not appear.
The Kang Family was vicious. They actually melted the snow covering the ground. The snow water suddenly liquified, and the female cultivator’s feet slipped. With a splash, she fell to the ground.
The melted snow water was then controlled by the Kang Family, transforming into several silvery blades that shot fiercely toward the female cultivator’s face—clearly aiming to kill!
The female cultivator barely managed to pull out a Talisman, shattering the water blades aimed at her face. Water splashed out, soaking her face completely.
All her rouge and powder dissolved, smearing into a mess on her face. Her appearance instantly became more frightening than any Evil Entity.
The Kang Family group burst into loud laughter. Seeing this, they brought out several more Talisman Papers, attempting to capture her.
From afar, Yinyu looked at the female cultivator’s face, her makeup blurred beyond recognition, and found it inexplicably familiar. Since they couldn’t find that ghostly face anywhere else, she simply asked: “Boss Yu, if you don’t save her, I’ll have to step in.”
How to step in? Naturally, just like before, pretending to stumble over to block them.
Yinyu placed her hand on Lian Sheng’s arm, leaning in as she said, “Anyway, with things happening in the heavens, even if you intervene in the fate of mortals, the Heavenly Dao probably has no time to care, right, Boss Yu?”
Lian Sheng pinched her fingers. A Lotus Pattern Arc Light descended from the sky, pressing down on the crowd like Five Finger Mountain, preventing them from straightening up.
Yinyu stared fixedly at her, blurting out: “Breaking the rules again, Boss Yu.”
Lian Sheng glanced sideways at her, silent.
Yinyu tucked in her cold-nipped neck, the corner of her mouth curving up. Drawing out her words, she said, “Doesn’t breaking the rules feel… quite liberating?”
The Kang Family members had all fallen to the ground, but none could cry out. The moment they saw that Golden Light descending upon them, their throats seemed blocked.
Yinyu also found the light blinding. She had to squint slightly to make out the distant situation. Joking, she said, “Does Boss Yu’s light not distinguish friend from foe? It’s hurting my eyes.”
Lian Sheng glanced sideways at her, then pinched her fingers again. The sky-spanning Golden Light vanished without a trace.
Yinyu grasped the umbrella handle, seemingly dragging Lian Sheng along as she stepped through the snow, unhurriedly walking toward that side.
Only then did the Kang Family members seem to have the seal ripped off their mouths. They scrambled to their feet and, unsurprisingly, saw Yinyu and Lian Sheng.
Kang Ximing was truly afraid of Lian Sheng now. He didn’t dare use any more incantations, terrified the Talisman Papers in his hand would all be destroyed again. It dawned on him: “So you two are together!”
The people following him huddled together, shrinking back. Some, while retreating, accidentally stepped on Zhong Yutian and stumbled, sitting down right on top of him.
Zhong Yutian felt the weight on him. His mouth was still gagged, and his eyeballs were practically popping out, yet only muffled “mmph mmph” sounds came out.
“I’ll spare you today. Next month, I’ll surely take your lives! If you’re smart, before next month arrives, pack up quickly and run!” Kang Ximing and his people fled, pissing their pants in terror.
As they left, Yinyu narrowed her eyes slightly, scrutinizing the joints of their hands and feet. The dark, murky qi there seemed to have grown even denser. She didn’t know if it was because the Servitude Nails had been driven deeper.
Faintly, a fiery light flickered across those people’s faces, but it wasn’t an auspicious sign. Rather, it was the visage of impending death, wonderfully similar to the Water-Calamity Mark on that woman’s face earlier.
Yinyu frowned. “Boss Yu, did you see that?”
“If you’re referring to the Fire Marks, I did see them.” Lian Sheng said calmly.
“Those people will meet with a fire calamity. Serves them right, too.” Yinyu snorted lightly.
Zhong Yutian was left behind in place. He arched his body, wriggling toward Yinyu and Lian Sheng, making muffled sounds non-stop.
The female cultivator stood right beside him, still not uttering a single word. Yet she bent down and pulled the ragged cloth from his mouth.
Zhong Yutian lay in the slushy snow water and let out a long breath of relief, quickly saying, “Many thanks, Fairy Maiden!”
The female cultivator didn’t respond at all. Carrying her sword, she instead walked toward Yinyu and Lian Sheng. She stared at them intently for a moment, then brushed past their shoulders back into the inn.
Yinyu had no intention of stopping her. Seeing the other’s disheveled state with her makeup blurred, she wished she could help wipe her face clean.
The moment they approached, Zhong Yutian immediately revealed an ingratiating smile, clearly a different face from the one he showed the Kang Family.
Zhong Yutian chuckled obsequiously, arching his body as he said, “Many thanks to you two Fairy Maidens for saving my life! We truly are fated, to have met again!”
Yinyu laughed lightly. “If you hadn’t run into the Kang Family, you probably wouldn’t have met us again.”
Zhong Yutian tugged at the corner of his mouth, blinking as he said, “Two Fairy Maidens, could you loosen my bindings?”
Yinyu was just about to bend down when she saw a wisp of Golden Light float over. The moment it landed on the rope, the rope untied itself.
“Untied,” Lian Sheng said flatly.
Zhong Yutian was finally able to stand, but his hands and feet had been bound for so long that he couldn’t straighten his legs immediately. Still slightly hunched, he said, “The Kang Family are truly scum. I only went back to see that old woman, and they caught me again!”
This man truly forgot the pain once the wound healed. Yinyu let out a scoff. “What did you seek her out for? Wanted to settle scores?”
