Crack!
The teacup shattered against the bluestone floor, steaming tea splashing across Xie Zhaolin's skirt. She shrank into the corner of the bed, clutching the blanket so tightly her knuckles turned white.
"Brother Huaizhou…" Her voice trembled as her eyes, rimmed with a sickly red, filled with fear. "I…I dreamed of those people again. They said they're going to drain all my blood…"
Chu Huaizhou's fingers jolted violently, and the teapot nearly slipped from his grasp. He forced himself to calm down as he set the cup aside, but when he turned, his sleeve knocked over a medicine bottle on the table. With a clatter, the porcelain rolled to the ground and a few blood-red pills scattered across the floor.
"It's just a nightmare." His voice was tight. As he bent to pick up the pills, the veins on his neck bulged with startling clarity.
She caught every detail.
Her "illness" had gotten worse over these past days, so bad that she could barely stand. Only then did Chu Huaizhou finally bring out what she had been waiting for—
—the Blood Soul Pills.
These pills, used by low-level cultivators to cling to life, could make a mortal appear vigorous after swallowing one. But after a month, the backlash would strike and they'd die on the spot. To her, however, they were perfect for cultivation.
Naturally, Chu Huaizhou wouldn't let her take them immediately. He handed the bottle to Yuzhu to keep safe, warning her to only use it in absolute desperation.
Unfortunately for him, he'd never discover that Yuzhu, whom he trusted completely, was already her puppet.
"I want to learn a defensive spell…" Xie Zhaolin tugged at his sleeve, eyes showing unease. "That way I won't be scared of the bad people in my nightmares…"
Chu Huaizhou hesitated, his expression troubled. "You don't have spiritual roots…"
"Then maybe some talismans mortals can use?" She wouldn't let it go, her voice soft and plaintive. "Or…anything that can help me feel safe…"
She knew the Chu Family would never let her touch real cultivation methods, but asking for talismans or artifacts was possible—after all, once she "died," they could reclaim them.
Sure enough, after a moment's hesitation, Chu Huaizhou unclasped a jade pendant from his waist. "This is a Heart-Guarding Jade, it wards off evil."
She accepted it with a smile, though her heart was full of scorn. It was just a low-grade artifact that couldn't even block a single strike from a Foundation cultivator. Still, she feigned delight. "Thank you, Brother Huaizhou!"
As soon as he left, she erased the restrictions on the jade and refined it herself. Bit by bit, she was gathering fragments of resources. One day, they'd save her life.
Five or six days passed like this.
Her condition fluctuated. Whenever she mentioned nightmares or the black-robed men, Chu Huaizhou would bring her another pill or small artifact. They weren't top-tier treasures, but for someone at the Qi Refining stage, they were more than enough.
Even the meeting with Madam Chu, which had been decided long ago, was postponed by Xie Zhaolin under the excuse of her fragile health. Though Madam Chu was displeased, Chu Huaizhou persuaded her with the argument that "the sacrifice must remain mentally stable."
Life slipped by quietly for another ten days.
Until today.
She was refining the medicinal effects of a Blood Soul Pill when—
Bang!
The door slammed open. She looked up and saw a young woman in a goose-yellow silk dress storm inside, eyes blazing with fury.
Seventeen, maybe eighteen, with almond-shaped eyes and lips like cherry blossoms, her skin as flawless as jade. At her waist hung a green jade pendant shimmering faintly with spiritual energy—she was a cultivator, but her level wasn't high, only third stage of Qi Refining.
Xie Zhaolin instantly guessed her identity—the Zhou Family's young lady, Zhou Zhilán, the one engaged to Chu Huaizhou.
"Out! All of you, out!" Zhou Zhilán barked the moment she entered, her gaze sweeping over the servants who had tried to stop her. "I have words with her!"
The servants froze like cicadas in winter, terrified to disobey. One by one, they bowed their heads and slipped away, not daring to even breathe loudly.
Yuzhu stood still until Xie Zhaolin gave the faintest nod. Only then did she turn and leave, closing the door behind her.
The sight didn't escape Zhou Zhilán's eyes.
Now, only the two of them remained.
With no one else present, Zhou Zhilán's arrogance melted away, replaced by icy coldness. "So, you're Zhang Xiuxiu?"
Xie Zhaolin flinched. "I…I am. And you are, miss…?"
The young woman didn't answer right away. She walked closer, each step graceful, her skirt never stirring, not even the sound of fabric brushing. She stopped exactly three feet from the bed—close enough to suffocate, far enough not to compromise her pride.
"Zhou Zhilán." She inclined her head slightly, like she was reciting a trivial fact. "The Chu Family's future Young Madam."
She paused, then added, "Of course, that has nothing to do with you."
Xie Zhaolin's pupils contracted, her lips trembling. "The Chu Family's…Young Madam?"
Zhou Zhilán's lips curved faintly, though her eyes stayed cold. "Didn't Chu Huaizhou tell you?"
Her fingertips brushed the rim of the medicine bowl at the bedside, her nail tapping the porcelain with a crisp ding.
"Looks like," she said while pulling out a white silk handkerchief and slowly wiping her fingers, "you don't matter that much to him after all."
She tossed the handkerchief into the brazier. Flames leapt high with a hiss, casting her face in even sharper coldness.
"Now you know."
Suddenly, she bent down, pressing a finger to Xie Zhaolin's throat. The force wasn't heavy, but it was placed precisely on her lifeline. "I don't care about your so-called romance. I don't care how deep your love is, or if you'd die for him."
Her finger pressed harder. "Just don't get in my way."
Xie Zhaolin lifted her eyes, letting just the right amount of fear shine through. "Miss Zhou…what do you mean by this?"
"The literal meaning."
Zhou Zhilán withdrew her hand and laid a deed on the table in front of her. "There's a residence in the south of the city. You'll move there tomorrow."
She looked down. The deed bore her name, but the seller's field was blank.
"This is…?"
"The Chu Family isn't where you belong." Zhou Zhilán's voice was calm, like she was discussing tomorrow's weather. "The house is ready. You'll get ten taels of silver every month."
Xie Zhaolin chuckled softly. "So Miss Zhou wants to buy me off?"
"No." Zhou Zhilán tapped the empty field with her fingertip. "I want you to recognize your place."
Her eyes swept over Xie Zhaolin like she was appraising merchandise. "The Chu Family doesn't need some woman of unknown origin stirring up trouble. The longer you stay here, the more unstable things become."
Xie Zhaolin stroked the storage ring on her finger. "And if I refuse?"
"Zhang Xiuxiu." Zhou Zhilán leaned closer, every word laced with threat. "Do you actually believe his sweet lies, or—" her voice turned sharp and frigid, "—are you scheming for something else?"
Before her words finished, she flicked her wide sleeve. A burst of sharp spiritual force shot out, blasting a bowl-sized hole in the wall behind Xie Zhaolin with a deafening boom. Dust and rubble scattered as Zhou Zhilán casually adjusted her sleeve.
"I don't care what you're plotting." Her tone was terrifyingly calm. "This isn't a negotiation. It's a warning. If you're still here tomorrow at this time—
I'll throw you out myself." She turned toward the door. Just as her fingers touched the frame, she paused. Sunlight spilled in, stretching her shadow long.
"Oh, and one more thing," she said without looking back. "Don't bother whining to Chu Huaizhou." Her fingertip tapped the frame lightly. "He's in seclusion. He won't come out for three days."
With that, her figure vanished into the light, leaving behind only the faint trace of her fragrance.
Xie Zhaolin lowered her gaze to the deed, running her fingers slowly over the paper.
Sunlight filtered through the lattice window, scattering across the deed.
Her fingers suddenly stilled—