Her divine sense caught a faint ripple of spiritual energy hidden between the folded layers of the paper. It was so subtle that if her senses weren't far sharper than an ordinary cultivator's, there's no way she would've noticed such a delicate arrangement.
The corners of her lips curved. A wisp of black qi gathered at her fingertips and seeped silently into the paper folds. As the black qi coiled around it, a talisman thin as cicada wings slowly surfaced. Intricate runes glowed faintly across its surface.
"A Guiding Talisman?" Xie Zhaolin's brows arched slightly, a flicker of intrigue flashing through her eyes.
Now that was unexpected.
She'd assumed it would be some kind of tracking talisman, yet it turned out to be a Guiding Talisman. It wouldn't monitor her movements, but it would quietly steer her toward a predetermined destination. No matter where she wanted to go, in the end, she'd be walking the path Zhou Zhilán had laid out for her.
"Not to defend against me, but to lead me…" Xie Zhaolin's gaze darkened.
But after thinking it over, she quickly understood. Zhou Zhilán didn't care whether she left the Chu family. What mattered was making sure this unpredictable variable called Zhang Xiuxiu landed firmly within her grasp. It wasn't about driving her out, but placing a precise piece on the board.
"Heh…"
Her low laugh rang sharply in the silence of the room.
That Zhou girl's methods were even more seasoned than she'd expected. Every line exchanged earlier had been a probe, every movement a calculation. What looked like a show of strength was really a setup. And in the end, Zhou Zhilán had still left a hidden trap behind.
Zhou Zhilán didn't need to know what plans the Chu family had for Zhang Xiuxiu. She only needed to make sure this sudden variable fell within her control. The position of the Chu family's young madam didn't allow for even the slightest disruption.
Such ruthless scheming… Xie Zhaolin smiled faintly. The Chu family might've underestimated this Zhou girl. She might look spoiled on the outside, but her hands were probably stained with no less blood than theirs.
A strand of black flame flared at her fingertip, and the Guiding Talisman turned to ash. As the flakes drifted down, she turned her head toward the window.
Yuzhu was standing under the crabapple tree in the courtyard, staring blankly this way. That maid, sent by the Chu family to watch her, had ironically become the perfect messenger.
"Go tell Madam Chu," Xie Zhaolin said softly. "The Zhou family's young lady paid a visit today."
She deliberately folded the land deed so Yuzhu could clearly see Zhou Zhilán's private seal. If Madam Chu learned that Zhou Zhilán had secretly approached a female guest in the estate, she'd never let it slide.
Yuzhu took the deed and left.
Watching her back disappear, Xie Zhaolin's lips curved again. A rivalry between Madam Chu and Zhou Zhilán was exactly what she wanted. Sure enough, Zhou Zhilán didn't show up the next day. Whether Madam Chu had blocked her path or she had other plans, who knew.
Instead, Chu Huaizhou rushed over. The moment he saw her looking calm and composed, he visibly relaxed.
When he entered the room, Xie Zhaolin was leaning against the window, embroidering a handkerchief. Sunlight filtered through the gauze curtains, sprinkling mottled light across her face. As soon as she looked up and saw him, her hand trembled. The needle pricked her finger, and a drop of blood bloomed on the white silk.
"Brother Huaizhou…" She stood quickly, then staggered weakly as if her frail body couldn't keep up.
Chu Huaizhou hurried forward to steady her, his eyes scanning her face. "Have you been feeling better these last few days?"
She lowered her head, pale neck exposed. "Much better already…"
Neither of them mentioned Zhou Zhilán.
He wouldn't bring up his fiancée's overstep, and she had no reason to waste words tattling.
But Xie Zhaolin did notice one thing: the old talisman that used to hang at his waist had been replaced with a jade pendant, dark green with faint golden veins. It was clearly something Zhou Zhilán had given him.
"This is for you." Chu Huaizhou pulled out a white jade pendant from his robes. "Wear it close, it'll calm your mind and spirit."
She accepted it. A sweep of her divine sense told her immediately it was a calming artifact. Obviously Zhou Zhilán had already soothed her fiancé, and this little gift was likely meant as a "compensation" passed along to her.
"Thank you, Brother Huaizhou." She let joy show on her face, though when she lowered her gaze, her eyes carried a trace of thought.
The trinket could pacify mortals. Worn long enough, it would gradually wear away someone's sharp edges, taming them into a harmless caged bird. Zhou Zhilán clearly intended to smooth Zhang Xiuxiu down bit by bit. But to her, it was just a meaningless accessory. Once Chu Huaizhou left, she tossed it onto the vanity table and turned her gaze toward the darkening sky outside.
"The seventh day…"
She silently counted the days in her heart.
There were less than ten days until the black-robed man's arrival, yet her cultivation was only at the fifth layer of Qi Refining. If she followed the usual pace of training, reaching a self-preserving level by the seventh day was impossible.
Her eyes shifted toward the medicine chest beside the bed.
A wisp of black qi slid from her sleeve, wrapping around the pills inside. As the black qi corroded them, the pills slowly dissolved. Finally, several strands of dark-gold liquid essence condensed in her palm—the spiritual essence of the pills, forcefully refined by her.
Xie Zhaolin inhaled sharply. The essence rushed into her meridians, surging like fire.
"Over ten pills, and this is all I get…"
She frowned slightly, then smoothed it away.
The amount was small, but it was pure. For her current body, it worked even better than swallowing the pills whole.
In the following days, she kept up the act of being "sickly" in her room, but in truth, she was devouring baleful qi in secret. Each cycle made her cultivation a little more solid. At last, she reached the peak of the sixth layer of Qi Refining. Just one more step, and she'd break into the seventh.
She exhaled a breath of turbid qi. Forming a hand seal, she released a wisp of black qi onto the copper mirror at her bedside. Ripples spread across its surface, reflecting her pale yet razor-sharp face.
"Almost…" she whispered.
Tomorrow she'd break through to the seventh layer. That would be the day she left the Chu family. Even though there were still four days until the seventh, she'd never wait until the last moment. She always made sure she had an escape route.
Xie Zhaolin knew clearly: anyone who could forcibly boost Chu Huaizhou's cultivation had to be at least Foundation Establishment, maybe even higher.
With her current strength, facing them head-on would be suicide. And if she made too much noise, she risked attracting the ears of the Hehuan Sect. What she needed was to disappear without a trace. Her gaze fell on the land deed lying on the table.
The residence Zhou Zhilán had gifted her was in the remote southern part of the city, far from crowds. It was the perfect place to vanish.
"I'll go tomorrow."
Her fingers tapped lightly on the table. A full plan had already taken shape in her mind. She'd use Zhou Zhilán's own arrangement to leave the Chu family, then set up formations in that southern residence. After that, Zhang Xiuxiu would cease to exist.
As for the Chu family and Zhou family's little power struggle, she had no interest in playing along anymore.
And Chu Huaizhou…
The man who'd indirectly pushed Zhang Xiuxiu toward death—if the chance came…
A flash of icy light crossed her eyes.
She wouldn't mind sending him to the grave herself.