The next day, when Merin steps out of his tent, he feels it immediately.
Eyes.
Everywhere.
Conversation quiets as people glance toward him, some openly, others with restrained curiosity.
The news of his breakthrough has already spread through the camp.
Body-refining cultivation is the path of unlocking and perfecting the human body, and every breakthrough forces out impurities hidden deep within flesh, blood, and bone.
Last night, after breaking through, Merin had gone alone to a nearby water source, washing away dark residue and the metallic scent of blood qi.
Now his presence feels different.
Denser.
More grounded.
Ye Ran sits near the fire with a bowl of food in her hands. She looks up at him and says simply,
"Congratulations."
Merin nods once.
The camp soon breaks, and the group resumes its journey.
Horses climb the steep mountain road, hooves striking stone as the Cangzhou Mountains rise around them.
The air grows cooler, thinner.
Zhao Wenjie rides up beside Merin, matching his pace.
"That Shen Ling," Zhao says, shaking his head, "his luck is unbelievable."
"To make the Yu family girl fall in love with him."
Merin's age spans more than a thousand years, but curiosity has never left him.
He glances sideways.
"What did you learn?"
During the journey, as they passed through towns and small cities, information about the Shen Family had flowed steadily through the kingdom's spy network.
Zhao pulls his horse closer and lowers his voice.
"The story began at the Five Leaf Herb Academy."
Merin's eyes narrow slightly.
"The medical academy in Tongji City."
Zhao nods.
"Yes. That place."
"The Yu family girl was rescued by the Shen family boy."
"And that's how their love story started."
Merin's gaze sharpens.
"He rescued her," Merin says,
"Or he created the situation himself?"
Zhao frowns, confusion flickering—
Then realisation strikes.
"Oh."
"Oh!"
Understanding settles heavily on Zhao's face.
"You mean… the attack was orchestrated by the Shen Family."
Merin nods and continues riding, eyes forward.
Zhao exhales slowly.
"So they planned everything from the beginning."
"We need to be careful with how much support we give them."
Merin answers calmly,
"We give no extra support."
"Only what the envoy instructs us to do."
"Otherwise, we'll walk straight into their trap."
Zhao nods firmly.
"I'll inform Ye Ran."
He pulls on the reins and rides ahead toward the front of the team, leaving Merin riding at the rear, watching the winding mountain road stretch onward.
—
Elsewhere, in Yulan City.
Yu Diexin glances left, then right, her heart pounding softly.
She slips out of her room, careful not to alert the attendants stationed nearby.
According to the customs of the Cangzhou mountain people, husband and wife must live separately for three days after the wedding.
Only after the third day may they reunite.
Tonight marks the last of those three days.
But Yu Diexin has no patience left to wait.
She gathers her skirts and moves quietly through the corridors, intent on seeing her husband before dawn breaks.
The garden atop the mountain peak is hushed, wrapped in thin mist and moonlight.
Stone lamps line the path, their flames low, casting trembling shadows across carved railings and ancient pines.
Yu Diexin climbs a narrow flight of stone steps, each one lifting her higher above Yulan City.
The air grows colder.
The wind is sharper.
At the summit, the garden opens.
A stone path curves forward, bordered by night-blooming flowers and wind-chimes carved from jade and bone.
Beyond it stands a solitary cottage, built near the edge of a cliff where the mountain drops away into darkness.
She moves faster now.
Then she hears voices.
Raised voices.
"…Divine Guard—"
"…planned from the beginning—"
"…slave ring—"
Her breath catches.
That voice—
Father.
Her steps falter, then quicken.
She reaches the stone path before the cottage.
The door stands open.
Inside, she sees everything.
Shen Ling stands before her father.
His palm strikes forward.
A dull impact echoes.
Her father's chest caves inward as crimson qi bursts from Shen Ling's body.
Two guards beside him move too late—crimson light flares again, slicing through them as they collapse without a sound.
"Father!"
Her scream tears through the night.
Shen Ling turns.
Crimson eyes lock onto her.
For a heartbeat, the world freezes.
Then instinct takes over.
Yu Diexin turns to run.
She takes two steps—
And collides with someone.
A woman stands before her, calm, unhurried, blocking the path.
"Princess," the woman says softly,
"Where are you going?"
Behind her, footsteps thunder.
Shen Ling bursts out of the cottage.
Yu Diexin spins around.
The path is blocked.
The garden is sealed.
Behind her—
The cliff.
Wind howls up from the abyss, cold and endless.
She cannot be captured.
She will not be used.
Yu Diexin closes her eyes.
Deep within her dantian, the Nine-Eye Butterfly Gu stirs.
She channels it.
A pale, shimmering mist pours from her body, spreading outward in a sudden bloom—sweet, luminous, deadly.
The woman staggers back half a step.
Yu Diexin turns and runs.
She leaps.
The cliff swallows her.
Qi erupts from her back, forming translucent butterfly wings that unfurl with a sharp cry, slowing her fall as she spirals downward into the night.
"Diexin!"
Shen Ling's voice echoes from above.
Then pain explodes across her back.
A strike lands—precise, merciless.
Her qi shatters.
The butterfly wings flicker and vanish.
Her body twists helplessly as she plunges.
—
Above the cliff, Shen Ling turns on the woman, fury contorting his face.
"Why did you attack her?" he roars.
"She's still useful!"
The woman watches the darkness below, expression unreadable.
"She would never submit to you again," she replies.
"Not after what she saw."
"I need her," Shen Ling snaps.
"With her, I control the city."
The woman tilts her head slightly.
"Did you forget?" she says calmly,
"What demon did I refine?"
Shen Ling's breath catches.
"…Mirage Demon."
The woman smiles.
Her form shifts.
Her face, her body, her aura—
all twist and reform.
In seconds, she becomes Yu Diexin.
Perfect.
—
Three days later, at dawn, the convoy rests at the edge of the Cangzhou Mountains.
Merin steps away from the camp alone.
The morning air is cold and clean, mist clinging low between the trees as pale light filters through the canopy.
He walks through the forest at an unhurried pace, stretching his limbs, letting his blood qi circulate naturally after days on horseback.
Small beasts scatter as he passes.
A pair of mountain rabbits freeze, ears twitching, then vanish into the underbrush.
A horned lizard scuttles across a fallen log, tail flicking nervously.
Above, birds cry softly, wings cutting through the still air.
Merin does not stop.
They are too small.
Not worth the effort.
Not enough to feed the convoy.
He continues until the trees thin and the sound of running water reaches him.
The forest opens.
A stream winds through the rocks ahead, its banks lined with smooth stones worn pale by time.
Mist rises from the surface, catching the dawn light.
Merin walks along the bank—
Then stops.
A bear stands midstream, massive and broad-backed, scooping fish from the water with heavy paws.
Merin's hand moves to his sword.
Steel slides free with a whisper.
He breaks into a run.
The bear lifts its head and roars.
Black demon qi erupts from its body, spreading outward like smoke and solidifying into crude armour along its shoulders and chest.
Its aura surges—comparable to a Blood Seal warrior.
The bear charges.
Merin shifts his footing and dodges, letting a massive claw pass inches from his face.
As he slips by, his sword flashes.
The blade slices cleanly across the bear's side, carving through fur and demon qi.
The beast howls and twists in rage.
Merin steps in.
His sword thrusts upward, piercing beneath the bear's chin—
where the demon qi fails to protect.
The blade drives straight through the skull.
The roar cuts off instantly.
The bear collapses into the stream, blood darkening the water.
Merin withdraws his sword.
Then—
Clap.
Clap.
Clap.
Merin turns.
Two figures stand at the forest's edge.
One is a man, hands coming together in applause, expression relaxed.
The other stands slightly behind him, cloaked, her form unmistakably feminine.
"Well done," the man says lightly.
"Captain Duan. I didn't expect to see you here."
Merin recognises him at once.
Chu Feng.
The man who set the fire in the slave camp.
Merin's gaze sharpens.
"I could ask you the same thing," Merin replies.
Chu Feng smiles.
"The Cangzhou Mountains are famous for body-refining potions."
"I came to buy some."
Merin nods once.
"I'm here on Divine Guard business."
The exchange ends there.
No probing.
No trust.
Merin hefts the bear onto his shoulder and turns back toward the forest, disappearing between the trees.
—
The cloaked woman lifts her hood.
Yu Diexin's face is revealed.
White medicinal paste marks her skin in patches, crude but effective.
Her Nine-Eye Butterfly Gu has reverted to its nascent stage, having formed a cocoon around her body when she fell into the river below.
Chu Feng had found her downstream.
He had saved her.
"Who is he?" Yu Diexin asks quietly.
"Duan Merin," Chu Feng answers.
"A marquis."
"A captain of the Divine Guard."
Yu Diexin nods slowly.
"He's the one," Chu Feng continues,
"who uncovered the slave ring run by the Shen Family."
"What?" Yu Diexin shouts.
She steps forward instinctively, eyes fixed on the direction Merin left.
Chu Feng leans in and grips her arm.
"Where are you going?"
"To ask for help," Yu Diexin says fiercely.
"They must have gone to capture Shen Ling."
Chu Feng exhales.
"Do you think they dare?"
"He's the son-in-law of the Yu Family."
Yu Diexin turns on him, anger blazing.
"Shen Ling is not the son-in-law of the Yu Family."
"For the world," Chu Feng says quietly,
"he is."
"With my accusation," Yu Diexin snaps,
"his status can be stripped away."
Chu Feng's gaze hardens.
"Did you forget what I told you?"
"That day, at noon, when I found you."
Yu Diexin freezes.
"In the morning," Chu Feng continues,
"Someone who looked exactly like you stood beside Shen Ling."
"She addressed the city."
"And announced that your father had fallen into a coma."
Yu Diexin falls silent.
The weight of it crushes her chest.
"Diexin," Chu Feng says softly,
"We need to plan carefully."
"Your Gu has reverted to its nascent form."
"You cannot prove your identity."
"And your father… is already incapacitated."
Her face pales.
"If you go now," Chu Feng finishes,
"You'll only fall into their hands."
Yu Diexin pulls her hood back over her head.
Without another word, she turns and begins walking along the stream, heading down the mountain, her steps slow but determined.