She could no longer see Ye Tan’s figure, but she spotted another round floating plank drifting up.
“Let’s go down too.” Ni Yueying took Shen Mingjin’s hand in one of hers and Ye Xi’s in the other, leading them onto the floating plank. “This leads directly to the General Bureau’s prison cells. Shao Li is there.”
Ni Yueying must have been considerate of Ye Xi and Shen Mingjin, as their plank descended at a very slow speed—so slow that Ye Xi felt compelled to say something to her, since she couldn’t count on the reticent Shen Mingjin, who disliked talking to strangers, to break the ice.
Truth be told, her relationship with Ni Yueying was a delicate one. It lacked the warmth of a normal mother-daughter bond and wasn’t twisted into something pathological either. They simply weren’t that familiar with each other.
Ye Xi’s palm pressed against the fabric of her pants, rubbing awkwardly twice. “Bureau Chief Ni, how much power did you allocate to me? Why does it feel endless—and it’s only increasing?”
As Ye Xi understood it, the power Ni Yueying had shared with her shouldn’t be permanent. Otherwise, dividing so much of it would have depleted Ni Yueying greatly, even as the Wanling Tree.
Ni Yueying’s position meant she couldn’t afford to lose power, especially since she was a wounded demon still recovering.
Ye Xi felt a sense of unfamiliarity toward Ni Yueying, but Ni Yueying harbored no such distance toward her. Her gaze calmly fixed on Ye Xi as she murmured softly, “Ye Xi, all my power will belong to you from now on.”
“Why?”
“Because I can only give it to you.”
“Bureau Chief Ni, I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
Ni Yueying’s left palm pressed lightly against her chest. A mass of dark red light mist surged forth from beneath her clothes and skin, centered on her heart. Upon closer inspection, the mist consisted of thousands of translucent, blood-red tiny insects.
The dense swarm of minuscule bugs covered nearly her entire heart.
Ye Xi and Shen Mingjin exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other’s eyes, yet Ni Yueying remained utterly calm. “This is the reason.”
She calmly withdrew her hand, and the insect shadows vanished along with her retracted power. Ni Yueying’s lips paled slightly. “Ye Xi, I’ve been infected with demon poison too.”
Ye Xi’s thoughts froze. She tremblingly reached out a hand.
She wanted to touch Ni Yueying but yanked it back abruptly, managing only a stammered, “Why would this happen? Those people can extract the demon poison and use it—can’t we do the same?”
“Parasitic demon poison reproduces. Even if part of it is removed, without eradicating the root, it will multiply again—often even more than before. That’s different from the experimental demon poison, which is extracted first, refined into a tool, injected back into a demon’s body, and then used to erase traces of destruction.”
Ye Xi: “So if we eradicate all the demon poison at the root, it won’t reproduce anymore?”
“Ordinary demons might manage it, but not me. Once demon poison enters the body, it’s everywhere, fusing into every part. The only way to root it out is to completely abandon the demon body and rebirth. But my life and demon power don’t belong to me alone—I can’t abandon my demon body.”
Ni Yueying smiled faintly. “Don’t worry too much about me. As the Wanling Tree, I possess the most powerful vitality. Evil thoughts can’t easily invade my body, so it won’t be a big problem for now.”
Shen Mingjin was also shocked that Ni Yueying had demon poison in her body, but after a moment of silence, she fell into profound quietude.
Her Spirit-Devouring Snake Clan was the prime example of a clan that withered rapidly under demon poison. If it were that easy to resolve, her clan wouldn’t have been nearly wiped out.
The most terrifying aspect of extradimensional demon poison was its long latency and its ability to stimulate evil thoughts, parasitizing silently until it was too late to detect.
Evil thoughts weren’t exclusive to wicked demons; anything tied to desires could evolve into them—even a fleeting moment of greed.
Ni Yueying was unfortunate; the demon poison had invaded her deeply.
Yet she was fortunate too, being the most unique demon type—akin to the legendary immortal Earth Mother, the Wanling Tree with the most abundant vitality.
Ni Yueying wouldn’t be easily destroyed, nor could she easily shake off the demon poison.
Compared to Ye Xi and Shen Mingjin’s mounting anxiety, Ni Yueying was serene. She had discovered the hidden poison in her body many years ago, long past the phase of unease. Her calm, gentle voice continued stating facts.
“Ye Xi, my situation is special. Retaining too much power is a burden. Don’t feel too guilty about it. Over these years, I’ve been sharing power with the Ye family women, but it wasn’t as compatible with them. They could only absorb a limited amount—nothing like with A-Tan. Ye Lan and Ye Jing absorbed quite a bit, but…”
Mentioning her children’s deaths brought a flicker of pain to Ni Yueying’s eyes.
But she adjusted her emotions quickly. When she looked at Ye Xi again, only gentleness remained. “You’re my daughter. It’s only right that you inherit my power.”
No wonder Ni Yueying had been recuperating for so many years without fully recovering—it wasn’t that she couldn’t heal, but that she couldn’t retain it.
She couldn’t lose all her power completely, yet she couldn’t hold too much either. She had to rest and divert the excess simultaneously.
Now Ye Xi understood why Ye Tan was so formidable.
From Ni Yueying’s words, it was clear that before Ye Xi, Ye Tan had absorbed the most power from her.
After Ye Tan came Ye Lan and Ye Jing. The reason Ye Lan, Ye Xi, and Ye Jing could absorb so much was that they were Ni Yueying’s children. But what about Ye Tan?
Ye Xi: “Bureau Chief Ni, you said you love me.”
“Yes, I love you very much.” Ni Yueying smiled tenderly. “You’re my daughter.”
Ye Xi shook her head. “No, you don’t love me. You love my grandma, don’t you?”
She had always felt there was something off about the backstory Ni Yueying had told her. If everything was as Ni Yueying claimed—that both Ye Lan and she were children Ye Tan had wheedled into existence through shameless persistence—then Ni Yueying wouldn’t treat them this well.
As the Earth Mother, Ni Yueying couldn’t possibly be so indulgent as to be coerced into something she didn’t want, no matter how tolerant. She was clearly spoiling Ye Tan.
Only deep love for Ye Tan would lead her to bestow life upon these children born of Ye Tan’s desires—so much love.
She couldn’t retain excess power, but there were many ways to handle it; it didn’t have to go to the Ye family.
An Adjudicator had to be impartial and solitary, yet she had shared her secrets and power with the Ye Clan, showing clear favoritism and trust long ago.
Such devotion couldn’t be explained by mere guilt. Ye Xi was willing to believe it stemmed from Ni Yueying’s love for Ye Tan.
When Ni Yueying had revealed Ye Xi’s origins, it was half-hidden. Now that it was all laid bare, she didn’t deny it, and her smile didn’t fade. “You’ve guessed that I love her, yet she refuses to believe I love her.”
She had guessed right?
Ye Xi was surprised that her conclusion was affirmed. Now it seemed that Ni Yueying’s half-true, half-false account of her origins in Wanghe Village wasn’t an attempt to deny it, but rather Ye Tan’s refusal to acknowledge any connection with Ni Yueying.
Recalling carefully, Ye Tan had indeed repeatedly told Ni Yueying to shut up that day.
“Why? Did you two have a misunderstanding?”
“Want to hear some elder gossip?” Ni Yueying saw Ye Xi nod, and the curve of her lips deepened. “That’s not proper.”
Ni Yueying said it wasn’t proper on her lips, but before Ye Xi could feel disappointed, her voice rang out again. “A-Tan has always thought she’s a stand-in.”
…
Ni Yueying’s words and actions never matched.
Ye Xi pouted slightly but wisely didn’t press her, instead following up naturally. “A stand-in? For whom?”
Ni Yueying seemed lost in distant memories, taking a long time to reply. “Ye Clan Witch Doctors’ twenty-first generation clan leader—the healer who agreed to lead the Ye Family Witch Doctors into the General Bureau at the time—Ye Muli.”
A stranger’s name entered her ears, piquing Ye Xi’s curiosity even more. “Does Grandma resemble that ancestor?”
Ni Yueying shook her head first, then paused and nodded. She answered honestly, “Their faces are about eighty percent alike, but their temperaments differ greatly. Muli was kind to everyone, always willing to smile. A-Tan… is always angry.”
Ye Xi didn’t like hearing Ni Yueying criticize Ye Tan and muttered, “No wonder Grandma’s mad if you treat her like a stand-in.”
“Ye Xi, she’s not a stand-in.” Ni Yueying’s smile faded, her expression turning serious as she earnestly corrected her. “Muli and I were merely friends with shared ideals. Back then, we were a group striving side by side for the same dream. To me, Muli was no different from the other companions.”
“Ye Xi, Muli and I were never in love. How could A-Tan possibly be a stand-in?”
Ye Xi eyed Ni Yueying suspiciously, unsure whether to fully believe her.
Though blood-wise she was closer to Ni Yueying, she had lived with Ye Tan for so many years and naturally sided with her.
“Muli had a lover before she died. Even if someone were using A-Tan as a stand-in, it wouldn’t be me.” Ni Yueying sounded somewhat helpless. “Ye Xi, in a far more ancient era, my love wasn’t placed on any single person.”
Ni Yueying was declaring that as the Wanling Tree, she loved the world broadly.
Romantic love only emerged after the demon poison invasion.
If Ye Xi hadn’t known the Wanling Tree was also called the Earth Mother, she might have found it absurd. But understanding the Earth Mother’s nature, she actually started to believe Ni Yueying.
What did this mean?
Her mother and grandmother were lovers? Or some melodramatic tale of mistaken stand-in love?
She no longer doubted Ni Yueying and shifted the awkward tension to another topic. “Who was the clan leader’s lover? Are they still alive?”
As soon as Ye Xi asked, the floating plank reached the bottom. They saw Ye Tan, who had been waiting.
Ni Yueying said no more. Ye Tan eyed the three of them suspiciously, finally directing her questioning gaze at Ni Yueying. “Ni Yueying, what did you just tell them?”
“To be careful. The enemy is in the shadows while we’re exposed—it’s very dangerous.”
No wonder Ni Yueying was suspected of insincerity; she lied effortlessly, without so much as a blush or a hitch in her tone.
Ye Xi thought Ni Yueying’s knack for lying was even better than hers.
It made sense why Ni Yueying would lie—Ye Xi’s origins were already something to be concealed, so she must have been warned countless times by Ye Tan not to mention their relationship.
Ye Tan didn’t suspect Ni Yueying. Fury surged at the mention of the hidden enemy. “Being careful is useless! We need to catch the mastermind behind this. If I find out who’s targeting the Ye Clan, I’ll…”
She grew angrier as she spoke, shooting Ni Yueying a disdainful glare. “Ni Yueying, what good are you as Bureau Chief? You can’t investigate anything!”
Ni Yueying didn’t argue, quietly waiting for Ye Tan to vent.
The fire in Ye Tan’s chest didn’t burn long. Over the years, she had grown accustomed to leads vanishing forever. She was angry at Ni Yueying’s powerlessness and her own helplessness.
This resentment had been built by generations of Ye ancestors with their lives. She couldn’t control her emotions, and Ni Yueying was her most direct outlet.
Fortunately, Ni Yueying had a good temper.
After her outburst, Ye Tan led Ye Xi and Shen Mingjin forward. Not far along, she noticed Ni Yueying hadn’t moved a step. She turned back, glaring. “Are you coming or not?”
Ni Yueying still didn’t budge. She extended a hand toward Ye Tan. “I’m old now, my legs aren’t what they used to be. Hold my hand?”
“You’ve got too many issues!” Ye Tan cursed at Ni Yueying, irritably turning back to call to Ye Xi. “Xiao Xi, you hold her hand.”
Ye Xi touched one ear with one hand while holding Shen Mingjin’s with the other.
Pretending not to hear Ye Tan, she focused intently on the sounds around them while asking Shen Mingjin beside her, “Sister, can you sense where Shao Li is?”
Ye Tan reluctantly took Ni Yueying’s hand and led her forward, muttering curses under her breath as they went.
Ye Xi didn’t catch what she said, but she heard Ni Yueying reply, “A-Tan. If I really died, would you be a little less angry?”
“Shut up!” Ye Tan’s curse rang out a bit too loudly. Her voice quickly lowered, but probably due to her anxiety, she couldn’t fully suppress it. This allowed Ye Xi to hear her explanatory words: “What I just said about letting you die together with that bunch of your old friends—I was just dizzy with anger. Don’t fixate on that one sentence. I’ve said so many things, yet you never pay attention to any of the others!”
“A Tan, I remember everything you’ve said quite clearly. For example, yesterday you cursed me for being petty and unworthy of the Wanling Tree’s status.”
“……”
Ye Xi shifted her foot back a little. Before she could fully retreat, however, she took two large steps forward. Ye Tan’s multiple faces in relationships and her natural poise when lying didn’t seem like some kind of innate gift.
Hmm… she seemed a bit like her mom.
