Chapter 187
Chapter 187
Before leaving the secret chamber, “Ren Yao” had used a Soul-Gathering Spell to collect Bai Qingyan’s soul from his corpse.
Now he drove the soul into Taoxi’s body, then taught Yan Zhengchu the incantation for the Curse-Transfer Art.
Afterward, the two sat cross-legged, one casting the curse and the other protecting him during the ritual.
The process naturally consumed a great deal of magical power. Before long, sweat beaded faintly at both their temples.
Yu Lang had nothing to do as he stood nearby. Remembering the two-hour limit, he went outside the cave from time to time to check the sky.
Just before dawn, Yan Zhengchu finally opened his eyes.
Inside the Soul-Ferrying Lantern, Taoxi had barely managed to preserve her Three Hun.
Bai Qingyan’s soul, meanwhile, was completely dispersed by the Soul-Seizing Curse before his consciousness even awakened.
“Martial Uncle, I did it…”
Yan Zhengchu was rejoicing, but when he turned around, “Ren Yao” sat behind him with his eyes closed and gave no answer.
Realizing something was wrong, he stepped forward and called twice more.
The next instant, the other man collapsed directly to the ground.
Only then did Yan Zhengchu realize what had happened.
The words “Martial Uncle” lodged in his throat. Tears were about to spill from his eyes, but he ruthlessly forced them back.
By the time daylight filled the sky, Ren Fengjue slowly awoke in a guest room on Mount Yunhe.
Opening his eyes, he discovered a figure seated beside the bed. A closer look revealed Xia Ximo.
He was mildly startled and tried to sit up, only to find that his arms and legs lacked strength.
“Miss Xia?”
After they returned from Yunxi Rock, Yan Zhengchu, Yu Lang, and the others had to deal with the aftermath, so they asked Xia Ximo to watch over Ren Fengjue until he woke.
Now their gazes met, and the atmosphere grew awkward for a moment.
Xia Ximo rose to her feet.
Ren Fengjue looked at the sky and had no choice but to find something to say. “How long… was I asleep?”
Xia Ximo answered, “Less than two hours.”
He nodded lightly, then searched his memory before asking in confusion, “I remember going to the secret chamber with Master Tianji last night. What… happened afterward?”
Once Ren Yao’s soul occupied Ren Fengjue’s body, Ren Fengjue’s consciousness was temporarily sealed.
He could sense nothing that occurred in the outside world.
Yan Zhengchu had known the Young Marquis would ask upon waking, so he had explained the entire sequence of events beforehand and asked Xia Ximo to relay it.
She was concise, summarizing everything in only a few sentences.
Ren Fengjue was not only shocked by what he heard, but also unable to calm his heart for a long time.
So all these years, his Little Uncle had never truly left him.
Instead, Ren Yao had used his lifetime of cultivation to transform his soul and Jade Sword into a Soul Essence, protecting Ren Fengjue in another way.
He instinctively asked, “Then my Little Uncle…”
“Daoist Yan said Master Tianji’s array awakened his soul. Now that the matter has been resolved, he should have returned to sleep.”
Ren Fengjue could not name what he felt.
As he sat lost in emotion, Yu Lang suddenly pushed open the door, dispelling the awkward atmosphere.
He carried a medicinal broth specially prepared by Daoist Yan and approached with a grin. “Young Marquis, now it is your turn to drink talisman water.”
“Here. Daoist Yan said this broth will restore your strength as soon as you drink it.”
A bowl of pitch-black talisman water was held before him.
Ren Fengjue frowned slightly. He knew without tasting it that it would be difficult to swallow.
Yu Lang was shrewd. He handed the bowl straight to Xia Ximo, looking troubled. “Perhaps Miss Xia should persuade him.”
But Xia Ximo had only glanced at the bowl and not yet spoken when Ren Fengjue took it and drained it in one breath.
When he finished, he coughed, the bitter taste coating his mouth.
Yu Lang, standing nearby, wore a smile. Clearly, his sense of fairness had been restored.
“You two take your time talking. Axia and I still have to make a trip down the mountain later to purchase a few things.”
Vice Minister Yu hurried away, even closing the door behind him.
Silence filled the room for a moment. As Xia Ximo looked at Ren Fengjue, Ren Yao’s words surfaced in her mind again.
Though the claim had no basis whatsoever, it had shaken her deeply.
And Ren Fengjue truly did stir certain blurred memories within her.
What exactly was the reason?
Ren Fengjue, meanwhile, felt increasingly ill at ease.
Xia Ximo rarely studied him with such a gaze.
In the silence, they both spoke at once.
“Has your strength returned?”
“They went down the mountain…”
Ren Fengjue stopped himself in time and nodded. “Some of it has indeed returned.”
Xia Ximo came straight to the point. “Write a letter for me.”
“Hm?”
The letter was intended for Taoxi’s parents.
After Bai Qingyan received his due punishment, the resentment surrounding Taoxi had dissipated.
But a lingering attachment still prevented her from entering the Underworld Administration.
That attachment was to her parents and younger brother, far away in Kaiming County.
Xia Ximo relayed to Ren Fengjue everything Taoxi wished to tell her parents.
Lord Ren was, after all, a gifted writer. In moments, he had composed a letter home.
Since Yu Lang and the others were heading down the mountain, Xia Ximo hurried after them and gave him the finished letter to mail from below.
Only then did she use the Soul-Ferrying Lantern to send Taoxi’s soul on its way.
By evening, the doors and windows of Mount Yunhe’s main hall had barely been repaired, and snow had begun drifting down outside.
Yu Lang entered the hall carrying two jars of wine. Behind him, Axia and the young Daoists filed inside, bearing platter after platter of exquisite food.
Yan Zhengchu stared in surprise. “Why is dinner so lavish tonight? This does not look like my junior brother’s cooking.”
Yu Lang smiled. “Tonight is a special occasion. So This Young Master spent a great deal of money to hire a cook from the largest restaurant in Yunxia Town and improve everyone’s fare.”
After setting down the wine, he immediately took a seat on Ren Fengjue’s right.
Then he glanced at Xia Ximo, who sat on Ren Fengjue’s left.
“Miss Xia…”
Xia Ximo gave him an indifferent look.
Yu Lang’s smile turned meaningful. “Can you guess what makes today special? It has something to do with the Young Marquis.”
Xia Ximo looked at Ren Fengjue.
He seemed puzzled as well. “What does it have to do with me? Stop keeping us in suspense.”
“Young Marquis, how could you forget such an important day? Today is your birthday.”
“…”
Ren Fengjue had clearly realized it only belatedly.
He was about to speak when Yu Lang winked at Xia Ximo.
“We are away from the Capital, so we will dispense with birthday gifts. Tonight we will fill Lord Ren with wine and make him open his heart.”
“What do you think, Miss Xia?”
Before Xia Ximo could answer, Yan Zhengchu had already leaned over. “So it is the Young Marquis’s birthday. Of course we should!”
Then he recognized the wine jars on the table as coming from Ling Family Village and exclaimed, “Young Master Yu truly is resourceful. You even managed to bring up wine from Ling Family Village.”
Yu Lang looked rather pleased with himself. “Before leaving Ling Family Village, I spoke to Miss Ling Yue. That is why she sent someone to deliver the wine to Yunxia Town early this morning.”