Prince Wenren’s residence.
The man seated at the center of the formation suddenly opened his eyes and spat out a mouthful of blood.
“Senior Brother!” Zhou Ran hurried forward to support him. “Are you all right?”
Cen Shuang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and shook his head, patting Zhou Ran’s arm. “I’m fine. Junior Brother, don’t worry.”
Zhou Ran still looked anxious. “Did you lose the magical contest?”
Cen Shuang laughed at himself. “It is already a blessing from Heaven that this ruined body of mine is still alive. I only hope that while I live, I can still be of some help to His Majesty. Then at least I will not have failed the sovereign’s grace.”
“Senior Brother!” Zhou Ran’s expression darkened. “Don’t say that. You only became like this because of me… Whatever it takes, I will save you.”
Cen Shuang shook his head, then looked up at him and could not help smiling. “Back on Cangyang Mountain, you were still a sickly little child. Now that you’ve grown, you truly do look somewhat like a prince.”
“The fighting in the palace was vicious then. Mother Consort and Imperial Brother sent me to the mountain to protect me. Only after Master examined me did we learn I had been poisoned. If Senior Brother hadn’t looked after me, I probably would have died long ago.” Zhou Ran helped him from the formation to the bed. “I’ll make sure those demonic Daoists are dealt with for you.”
Cen Shuang closed his eyes tiredly. “I hear His Majesty values Yue Jingming greatly. Xiang Zhao returned to the capital after Yue crippled his cultivation, yet His Majesty said nothing… Forget it. Don’t fight him. If he enters Shangyun Pavilion one day, he may come looking for trouble with you.”
“I’m not afraid of him!” Zhou Ran said angrily. “The Number One Daoist Under Heaven? He only stirs up trouble because Imperial Brother gave him that title. Greedy for money, lustful, slaughtering the innocent—I’ve heard all about the outrageous things he’s done even here in Zhongzhou! He destroyed the Zheng family in Dengling and wiped out Xingyang Daoist Temple. Senior Brother stepped in to stop him, and that was why he targeted you. He’s despicable!”
Cen Shuang lay on the bed and began coughing painfully.
“Someone! Where is the medicine?” Zhou Ran shouted toward the door.
A servant quickly brought in a medicinal decoction. Zhou Ran took it and personally fed it to him. “Senior Brother, stop worrying about these things. If he dares come here, I will make certain he never leaves.”
Cen Shuang’s pale-green eyes rested on him, his voice hoarse. “And the refugees outside the city…”
“Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I followed your instructions and cleared out the hunting ground. There are plenty of animals raised there for them to eat. I have also sent an urgent memorial to Imperial Brother. They will be properly settled.”
“That’s good.” Cen Shuang tugged faintly at the corner of his mouth.
Zhou Ran helped him lie down. “Senior Brother, stop concerning yourself with any of this. Leave the rest to me.”
Only then did Cen Shuang close his eyes in apparent relief.
Zhou Ran stood by the bed watching him for a moment before turning and leaving the room.
Outside the covered corridor, a shadow guard landed without a sound. “Your Highness, everything at the hunting ground has been handled. You may go whenever you wish.”
Zhou Ran glanced at him. “Don’t let Senior Brother find out. You know what to do.”
“Yes.” The shadow guard vanished.
Another servant hurried over to report, “Your Highness, Young Heir Liang Yun of the Liang family in Lintu is outside requesting an audience.”
Zhou Ran looked puzzled. “What is he doing here?”
“The young heir says bandits attacked him on the road while he was traveling to present a treasure to His Majesty. With nowhere else to turn, he came to seek refuge with Your Highness.” The servant carefully watched his expression.
“Is that so?” Zhou Ran immediately looked interested. “Come. Let’s go have a look.”
Outside the princely residence.
Liang Yun glared bitterly at the massive gates before him. “Why do we have to call on him in person? If you ask me, the four of us should just charge in with real blades and kill Cen Shuang outright. Then I could beat Zhou Ran up while we’re at it and finally vent some anger!”
Yue Jingming, Xiao Chunhe, and Ye Shijiu had all disguised their faces and now stood quietly behind him pretending to be attendants. Xiao Chunhe said, “With all the formations inside this estate, if the four of us charge in, we’ll be delivering ourselves to their dinner table. Even a mighty dragon can’t overpower a snake on its own turf. Please, use your heads.”
Liang Yun protested, “Brother Yue is this strong. What is there to fear?”
“Because the enemy knows he’s strong too.” Xiao Chunhe lifted his fan to smack him on the head, only for Yue Jingming to stop him.
“Brother Liang, do you have a grudge against Zhou Ran?” Yue Jingming changed the subject.
“Sort of.” Liang Yun grimaced. “When I was little, I went into the palace with my father several times. Zhou Ran and I are around the same age, and we fought more than once. Whenever he couldn’t beat me, he loved playing dirty. He was incredibly annoying. Later, his health worsened and he was sent to Cangyang Mountain. He didn’t come back until he was fifteen. We’ve never gotten along at all…”
“Cen Shuang is also a disciple of Cangyang Mountain. No wonder.” Xiao Chunhe tapped his chin with his fan. “Rongxi, do I look better with this fake face or my real one?”
The change of subject was so abrupt that Yue Jingming looked at him. “Appearance is only superficial. There is no need to care so much about it.”
Xiao Chunhe looked surprised. “Then if I truly turned into a fox, would you still like me the way you do now?”
Yue Jingming said, “…”
“Hah. I knew it.” Xiao Chunhe turned away from him with an injured expression.
Ye Shijiu looked from one to the other, baffled.
“No matter what form you take, I will treat you exactly as I always have.” Yue Jingming paused, then added, “You will always be my friend.”
Xiao Chunhe’s eyes lit up. He automatically ignored the final sentence, turned back, and resumed his breezy expression. “That’s more like it. Don’t worry, I’ll always like you too.”
Liang Yun could not resist. “What is all this about foxes? That was only an illusion in the formation. If you and Brother Yue both turned into foxes, I’d build a huge garden for you—”
Creak.
The great door opened, and everyone immediately fell silent. A young man in his early twenties stepped out in magnificent robes. His features were deep-set, his brows and eyes sharp, and he carried an imposing air. His gaze swept over the group before settling on Liang Yun, as though confirming his identity.
Liang Yun drew a deep breath and called loudly, “Zhou Yunhuan!”
Zhou Ran’s face brightened as he strode forward. “Well, if it isn’t Liang Xiuheng!”
The two rushed forward and embraced with great enthusiasm, seemingly delighted old friends reunited. Anyone watching would have seen a touching display of brotherly affection, but in reality Liang Yun was pounding Zhou Ran’s back with all his strength. “My, my! I heard you fell ill again. This elder brother was beside himself with worry. You look rather healthy now, don’t you?”
“Hahaha! I heard bandits attacked you on the road. I didn’t expect you to be blessed with such a long life!” Zhou Ran refused to yield. He shoved Liang Yun away, clamped both hands onto his shoulders, and smiled through gritted teeth. “I thought some bastard might be impersonating you, so I came out personally to have a look. You’re fine, wonderful, wonderful.”
Liang Yun’s face twisted. “Hahahahaha!”
Zhou Ran’s features contorted. “Hahahahaha!”
“Survive a great disaster and good fortune must follow, Liang Xiuheng.” Zhou Ran gripped his forearm. “Come, come.”
“Strong and healthy men naturally live long lives, Zhou Yunhuan.” Liang Yun pinched the back of his hand. “Let’s go, let’s go.”
The two tugged and dragged each other through the gates as though locked in a contest of strength. The steward looked at the people still outside. “And these gentlemen are?”
“Oh, these are my three personal attendants. Don’t stand on ceremony, come in. This is my brother’s home, so treat it like your own.” Liang Yun waved them over.
Zhou Ran smiled without warmth. “These attendants of yours are remarkably useless if they can’t even handle a few bandits. If it were up to me, they’d be beaten to death with clubs. My residence is full of experts. I can assign you several better ones.”
“No need. They were the ones who defeated the bandits. They’re my lifesaving benefactors.” Liang Yun shot the three a look telling them to hurry up.
Yue Jingming and the others immediately followed and entered the residence behind Liang Yun without obstruction.
Prince Wenren was Zhou Lie’s biological younger brother. He had been granted the title as soon as he came of age, along with Zhongzhou, one of the richest territories in the realm. His residence was extravagantly luxurious. Even at midnight, the estate blazed with lantern light. Pavilions, towers, and winding covered corridors looked almost like an immortal paradise, to say nothing of the rare flowers, exotic plants, and treasures everywhere.
Xiao Chunhe’s eyes barely knew where to look. He lowered his voice to Yue Jingming. “Now this is how rich people live. I want to be a prince too.”
Yue Jingming warned quietly, “Do not take anything.”
Xiao Chunhe smiled. “Do I look like that kind of person? I’d only make him hand it over willingly, and thank me afterward.”
“Even if you obtain it, ill-gotten wealth remains ill-gotten wealth,” Yue Jingming said.
“Ill-gotten wealth is exactly the kind that doesn’t hurt to spend.” Xiao Chunhe kept looking around. “If the silver came from you, I wouldn’t bear to spend a single coin.”
Yue Jingming caught his arm and pulled him closer. “Watch where you are going.”
Naturally, Xiao Chunhe pressed close with great affection and whispered, “I’m hungry. Do you still have anything to eat?”
“Endure it a little longer,” Yue Jingming said.
Shielded by the darkness and their wide sleeves, Xiao Chunhe took the opportunity to catch Yue Jingming’s hand. Yue Jingming instinctively tried to pull away, but Xiao Chunhe held even tighter. “I really am about to faint from hunger. Help support me.”
People were all around them. Yue Jingming could neither rebuke him nor throw him off without drawing attention, so he had no choice but to let him hold on.
Lantern shadows swayed. Their two shadows on the ground leaned intimately together, while two hands hidden in darkness remained clasped. Yet the owners of those hands had both turned their faces in opposite directions, absentmindedly pretending to admire the splendor around them.
On a whim, Zhou Ran insisted on holding a banquet for his old friend despite the late hour. Liang Yun found an excuse to send Yue Jingming and the other two away to rest, and the steward led the three to a secluded little courtyard.
“You three may rest here. No matter what you hear tonight, do not come outside.” The steward was around sixty, with a hooked nose and narrow triangular eyes. With his master absent, his manner became exceedingly arrogant, and his tone was no better.
“Why is that?” Xiao Chunhe asked.
“It is the rule of this residence. If one of you comes to harm and accidentally dies, don’t say I failed to warn you,” the steward snapped. “Especially during the third watch. Just remember that.”
After the steward left, Ye Shijiu pushed open the door. A cloud of dust immediately blasted him in the face, and he ran aside, frantically brushing off his clothes.
“With all these fine rooms, they give us a place like this!” Xiao Chunhe fumed. “They really don’t take us seriously at all!”
“Being secluded is convenient.” Yue Jingming pulled his hand free, took out a sheet of talisman paper, and quickly folded a little paper figure. He dotted its face twice with blood, then infused it with true qi. The yellow paper figure instantly swelled to human size. Apart from its body being made of yellow paper, its build and movements were almost identical to Yue Jingming’s.
“Not bad.” Xiao Chunhe curiously poked the paper figure’s cheek. The talisman paper felt faintly rough beneath his finger.
The paper figure turned its head and stared directly at him. Suddenly it grabbed his hand, pressed it against its own cheek, rubbed lightly against his palm, and narrowed its eyes in contentment.
“What’s wrong with it?” Xiao Chunhe asked, puzzled.
“…Nothing.” Yue Jingming pulled the paper figure’s hand away, tossed it into the dust-filled room, and said, “It has no mind. Ignore it.”
Ye Shijiu held out an identical paper figure. He had already dotted it with blood, but clearly did not know the mental formula and had no idea how to make it grow.
Yue Jingming’s expression became complicated, but he still taught him. “Blood draws forth the living soul; true spirit grants it life. This disciple humbly petitions: paper figure, take form.”
Ye Shijiu watched the shape of his lips carefully. His own mouth moved, and with a poof, the paper figure in his hand transformed into a lifelike human. Yue Jingming’s still obviously looked like paper, but Ye Shijiu’s was almost indistinguishable from a real person. Its skin was warm and soft, convincing enough to pass for flesh.
Ye Shijiu curiously circled the paper person he had made, then cupped his hands and bowed to it.
The Ye paper figure copied him, cupping its hands and bowing right back.
Ye Shijiu was having great fun when Yue Jingming turned a grave look on Xiao Chunhe. “What did you teach him?”
Xiao Chunhe was still struggling to fold his own paper figure. “What do you mean, what did I teach him?”
“His meridians were blocked before, and true qi could not enter his body at all,” Yue Jingming said. “Now his body is full of true qi, comparable to yours or mine.”
Xiao Chunhe looked up, utterly confused. “I traded him a string of copper coins for the phantom stone and felt guilty about it, so I casually helped open one of his meridians.”
Yue Jingming looked at Ye Shijiu. The boy was already sitting on his paper figure’s shoulders and directing it around the courtyard like a horse.
“He made that paper figure?” Xiao Chunhe stared. “Why won’t mine work?”
The sheet in his hands had managed to form only the faint outline of a head.
Yue Jingming took it, finished folding and animating it for him, then threw it into the room as well. The instant the Xiao paper figure entered, it opened its arms and hugged the Yue figure. The other did not push it away. The two happily held hands and rubbed their faces together, looking every bit like the closest of friends.
Yue Jingming had only just relaxed when the two paper figures kissed each other full on the mouth.
“Hey? Hey! No, no, absolutely not!” Xiao Chunhe shouted, running over to pry them apart. “What are you two paper figures doing? Th-this, this is completely improper! Completely improper!”
Ye Shijiu ran over happily, his hands moving so fast before Yue Jingming that they blurred. This time the Ye paper figure was riding on his shoulders and copied his signs in perfect imitation.
Inside the room, the two paper figures clung to each other and struggled desperately to stay close while Xiao Chunhe tried frantically to separate them. “The two of us only kissed once! What gives you the right to keep kissing?”
Yue Jingming silently sighed, raised a hand, and struck three talismans into the brows of the paper figures. The courtyard instantly fell quiet.
There was one thing Master had said that truly was correct: the mortal world below the mountain was indeed capable of throwing a person’s heart into chaos.