The servant led the three of them into a spacious and bright main hall, bowing respectfully.
“Distinguished guests, please sit for a moment. The Noble Master will arrive shortly after he finishes relieving himself.”
Lu Qiancha nodded slightly and sat at the head of the guest seats, his gaze calm as he surveyed the hall’s furnishings. He remained silent.
Beside him, Shangguan Yunzhu did not take a seat. She leaned against a red-lacquered pillar at the side of the hall, her head tilted back slightly with her eyes half-closed.
Gantang, on the other hand, appeared quite curious. She sat in the chair next to Lu Qiancha, her lively eyes darting around as she examined the hall’s decorations.
She whispered under her breath, “Is this the residence of a city lord? It doesn’t seem even as grand as our Tianyuan Sect’s outer hall… Ouch.”
Before she could finish, a moderately firm flick landed precisely on her smooth forehead.
“Mind your manners,” Lu Qiancha said, retracting his hand without looking at her. “How can you recklessly judge the affairs of the host’s household?”
“Senior brother, I know I was wrong…” Gantang pouted as she held her forehead, her voice tinged with grievance.
Leaning against the wall, Shangguan Yunzhu took in the entire scene. Deep within those half-closed eyes, a fleeting trace of envy flashed, nearly imperceptible.
‘When will he ever be so close and casual with me?’ Shangguan Yunzhu could not help but wonder.
Just then, the carved wooden doors of the main hall creaked open. A man about thirty-four or thirty-five years old walked in.
He had a lean, sturdy build, and his brow carried a hint of both fatigue and competence. This was the City Lord, Xiang Hai.
“I am Xiang Hai, the humble lord of this city.” A warm yet measured smile appeared on his face as he cupped his hands in greeting.
“My servants were negligent earlier, forcing the three Masters to wait outside for so long. It was truly rude of us, and I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive us.”
“City Lord Xiang, you overstate the matter,” Lu Qiancha said, rising to return the gesture with a composed expression. “In fact, I am the one who should apologize.”
“Oh?” Xiang Hai paused, a look of confusion flashing in his eyes. “Why would you say that, Master?”
Lu Qiancha’s face showed a hint of apology. “When I entered the manor just now, I saw an old woman dressed in plain clothing with no servants attending her.”
“I mistook her for a gardener and spoke somewhat abruptly. Please convey my apologies to the old madam. I was blind and judged her based on her attire.”
“Haha, Master, you worry too much.” Xiang Hai waved his hand quickly, his smile filled with relief and a touch of helplessness.
“I do not blame you for failing to recognize her; unless one is a long-time resident of this manor, no one would ever take my mother for the mistress of the house. Ever since my late father passed away, her temperament has changed drastically.”
“Sometimes she won’t say a word for ten or more days. These past few years, she has only found some peace by tending to flowers and plants.”
He sighed and continued, “She has become increasingly frugal and insists on not keeping any wealth. She spends her days chanting sutras and burning incense, saying she is praying and seeking atonement for my father and me.”
“She claims our lives have been filled with too much slaughter and fears we will not meet a good end…”
Lu Qiancha nodded slightly in understanding. Then, his expression turned serious as he moved to the main topic.
“City Lord Xiang, we have come here on orders from our Sect because we observed demonic energy congregating over Wanghai City. There are signs that a Da Mo is about to emerge. I wonder if you have noticed anything unusual in the city or the manor lately?”
“Demonic energy? A Da Mo?” Xiang Hai’s face paled slightly.
He pondered for a moment before saying in a heavy voice, “We mortals cannot see such things with our naked eyes. But if we are talking about anomalies, there is indeed one thing that has been weighing on my heart, making it difficult to eat or sleep.”
“Oh?” Lu Qiancha’s interest was piqued. Was there really a lead? Could this mission actually be completed so smoothly? He looked at Xiang Hai with a sharp gaze. “What kind of anomaly? Please, describe it in detail.”
Xiang Hai nodded and recounted his physical exhaustion over the past few days and the nightmare he had last night—a sensation of “ghost pressing,” as if a thousand pounds were weighing down on him.
“Physical weakness, ghost pressing…” Lu Qiancha repeated softly, his brow furrowing. These signs did not seem like the handiwork of a Da Mo; they felt more like the mischief of a petty, malevolent spirit.
He looked at Xiang Hai and asked, “City Lord, would you allow us to inspect your bedroom? I suspect some foul, hidden thing might be lurking there and disturbing your peace.”
“Of course, of course! Masters, please follow me.” Xiang Hai felt as if he had found his savior. He nodded repeatedly and stood up to lead the way.
As Lu Qiancha and the other two followed Xiang Hai out of the main hall toward the bedroom—
The old madam in the coarse, old cloth garments quietly appeared at the corner of the corridor. She called out to the servant who had just been leading the way.
“Are those three friends of Hai’er?” Her voice was low and slow, her clouded eyes fixed on the servant. “What did they say to you?”
The servant did not dare hide anything and bowed as he replied, “To answer the old madam, those three are Masters from the Tianyuan Sect who have descended to the mortal realm.”
“Because they saw you dressed so simply earlier, they mistook you for a servant. They are currently seeking the Noble Master to apologize.”
“Apologize to Hai’er?” A look of clear displeasure crossed the old madam’s wrinkled face, and her eyes became as sharp as knives.
“If they felt they offended me, the apology should be made to me. Why seek Hai’er? They are likely nothing more than vain people who only recognize official robes.”
She let out a cold snort, her tone dripping with deep disdain. “Those hypocrites who are covered in the blood of their kills and crave vanity are not worth seeing.”
Before she could finish her sentence, the old madam caught sight of Xiang Hai leading the three of them straight toward the courtyard where his bedroom was located.
Her brow furrowed tightly, the clouds of suspicion growing thicker in her eyes. She waved her hand at the servant without changing her expression. “Very well, you may leave.”
“Yes.” The servant acted as if he had been granted a reprieve and hurriedly bowed before retreating.
The old madam pretended as if nothing were wrong, continuing to slowly tend to a few pots of flowers beside her.
Once the servant was far away, her withered hand quietly tightened around the handle of her small, notched garden hoe. With steps that appeared unsteady, she shuffled toward the courtyard of the master bedroom.
When she reached the window of the bedroom, she used the dense flower branches for cover. Holding her breath, she carefully pressed her face against a gap in the cold window lattice to peer inside—
A scene that made her soul scatter instantly met her eyes.
Inside the room, the girl in the bright red dao robe now had a face as cold as frost. She was forming a profoundly mysterious hand seal with one hand.
A red small sword, about one inch long and radiating a chilling light, shot out from her sleeve like a living thing.
“Go!”
Shangguan Yunzhu gave a sharp cry.
The small sword slashed fiercely through the air toward a shadow in the corner of the bedroom that appeared to be empty.
“Aaagh—”
A piercing shriek, sounding neither human nor animal and filled with endless resentment and agony, suddenly stabbed through the window like a steel needle, burrowing into the old madam’s eardrums. The sound instantly shattered all the courage she had gathered.
“Heh… heh…” The old madam’s withered body shook violently as if all the bones had been removed.
She clamped her hand over her mouth, forcefully stifling the scream that had nearly burst out.
She could no longer support herself and, like a pile of mud that had completely lost its shape, she stumbled backward and collapsed heavily onto the cold, damp ground.
It was unknown how much time had passed before the old madam managed to find a shred of strength.
Trembling, she used every ounce of energy she had to crawl up on all fours. She practically rolled and scrambled as she fled back to her familiar flower garden.
“Truly… they are truly Immortals…”