Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Ren Fengjue carried Xia Ximo all the way out of Yuji Hall, intending to find a eunuch to summon an Imperial Physician.

Worried that what had happened last time might happen again, he unconsciously tightened his hold on her.

But not long after they stepped outside, the person in his arms slowly woke.

Seeing that her once-pale face was gradually regaining its color, he finally felt relieved.

“Miss Xia, how do you feel?”

Faced with the concern in his eyes, Xia Ximo felt something strange flicker through her heart.

Though her “body” was greedily clinging to the warmth of his embrace, her reason would not allow it.

“I’m fine. Put me down.”

Ren Fengjue did as she said and set her down beside a nearby railing.

Xia Ximo suddenly frowned.

Her forehead hurt a little, so she raised a hand to touch it.

It felt as if she had knocked it against something. The skin had actually broken…

“What happened to my forehead?”

This kind of pain was unfamiliar to her.

At the very least, since her Return to Yang World, this was the first time.

Seeing the inexplicable patch of bruised red and blue on her once-smooth, fair forehead, Ren Fengjue explained, “It was probably when Meng Zhiyuan possessed you just now. You knocked your head against the floor…”

“…”

Xia Ximo’s face instantly darkened.

Kowtowing?

That was even more unfamiliar to her than “pain.”

She still remembered when her soul had been escorted to the Underworld Administration years ago. Even before the Lord of the Netherworld, she had never knelt…

Ren Fengjue assumed she was worried about her appearance and immediately gave a faint smile. “There’s no need to be afraid. I’ll make a trip to the Imperial Medical Office later and get a bottle of Frost Jade Ointment.”

Xia Ximo was too lazy to explain. Seeing the black ink staining her hand, she understood and only asked, “The drawing Meng Zhiyuan made has already been delivered?”

“Yes. It has been handed to the Emperor.”

“Mm.”

Ren Fengjue glanced at her, still seeming a little uneasy. He asked again, “Are you feeling any discomfort now?”

“No.”

Xia Ximo looked at him as well. For some reason, she added an explanation. “When a Yin Soul possesses someone, their soul consciousness is temporarily sealed. They may fall into a brief coma. Once they wake, they’ll be fine.”

“That’s good.”

Then, remembering that they had left in such haste and that he still needed to give the Emperor an explanation, Ren Fengjue said, “We left too quickly just now. I didn’t have time to explain things to the Emperor.”

“Wait here for me first. I’ll return to Yuji Hall.”

Xia Ximo nodded.

Only after Ren Fengjue left did Wuyou dare to show himself.

“That high official’s three souls have returned to their proper places. He can be sent on his way now.”

“Mm.”

Meng Zhiyuan’s remains had already been burned to ash, so there was no need to perform any further rites of deliverance.

As long as the deceased’s wish was fulfilled and his three souls had returned, she only needed to choose a place with yin energy and use the Soul-Ferrying Lantern to guide him toward the Netherworld.

Xia Ximo remembered that on the way to Yuji Hall, there had been a lakeside area with willows planted along the bank.

Willow wood belonged to yin, and it stood near water. For a dead soul who had burned to death, it was perfect.

Relying on her memory, she soon found the lakeside and placed the Soul-Ferrying Lantern beneath a tree.

“Your obsession from life has been resolved, and your three souls have returned to their places. It is time for you to go to the Underworld Administration.”

Meng Zhiyuan’s soul appeared faintly. From the way he hesitated, it seemed he still had some concern.

Xia Ximo said, “Though your death was strange, it was not caused by human hands. I cannot help you repay blood with blood.”

“All I can do is ferry you to the Netherworld. The Earth Lord of the Underworld Administration will naturally see justice done for you.”

Hearing this, Meng Zhiyuan merely shook his head. A trace of a smile even appeared on his face. “I knew my broken body had little time left to begin with. To die in such a way could even be considered a blessing.”

“I do not care about my own death. It is just that there is one more matter I wish to trouble you with, miss.”

At these words, Xia Ximo was clearly moved, if only slightly.

“What is it?”

He said softly, “My only sorrow is that my death came so suddenly, I never had the chance to bid farewell to my wife and daughter at home…”
“I have only one wish. I hope you can pass a message to my lawful wife on my behalf.”

“I can.”

The smile on Meng Zhiyuan’s face deepened, and he said gently, “Tell her for me that I failed her in this life, and in the next, I will surely repay-”

“You may not meet again in the next life.”

Xia Ximo’s tone was icy. From the look of her, she had no intention of sparing his feelings.

But then she added, “However, I will deliver the message for you.”

Meng Zhiyuan bowed deeply to her. “Thank you, miss.”

The ghost turned into a speck of glowing light, circled once around the black lotus petals, then slowly dissolved into the lamp wick.

A warm, gentle breeze suddenly swept across the windless lake, sending ripples scattering over the clear water.

Xia Ximo stood where she was for a while, gazing at the shimmering surface of the lake as emotions stirred faintly in her heart.

She mocked herself. It had been barely half a month since her Return to Yang World, yet she had already picked up the “vices” of the living.

A soft heart made it easy to form attachments.

And for her, all attachments were disadvantageous.

Just then, voices came from behind a nearby artificial hill.

“Princess, slow down! Be careful not to fall.”

Hearing the sound, Xia Ximo turned her head and saw Princess Ding’an, dressed in pink, stumbling as she ran over, with several palace maids following behind her.

“Do you know where Brother Feng is? I have something to ask him!”

Princess Ding’an naturally spotted Xia Ximo at once. She recognized “him” as Ren Fengjue’s personal manservant, but she did not know why “he” was standing alone by the lake.

Xia Ximo fixed her gaze on the princess, her brows drawing together slightly.

Wuyou, who was drifting beside her, could not help saying, “The Baleful Qi on her is so heavy!”

It was as if Princess Ding’an had been entangled by something sinister and evil; dense Baleful Qi clung to her entire body.

And because of that Baleful Qi’s interference, her originally innocent and lively face now looked somewhat vicious.

Seeing that “he” did not answer, the princess grew even more furious.

“This princess is speaking to you! Why aren’t you answering?”

A trace of red surfaced in her eyes, caused by the invasion of evil energy. She suddenly raised her right hand, and it looked as if her slap was about to come down.

Xia Ximo immediately reached out and seized her wrist one step faster.

The princess’s hand hung in the air, unable to fall, and her face looked even more ferocious.

“How dare you! How dare you!”

Xia Ximo was utterly unafraid. As the strength in her grip increased, that wisp of Baleful Qi seemed to sense a formidable enemy and very tactfully sprang out of the princess’s body.

At the same time, a bright pearl rolled onto the ground.

The palace maids who had hurried over all widened their eyes at the sight. The leading maid pointed at Xia Ximo and angrily rebuked her, “Impudent! How dare you disrespect the princess!”

Only after Xia Ximo saw Princess Ding’an’s eyes gradually regain clarity did she slowly release her hand.

She ignored the palace maid’s words completely and merely bent down to pick up the pearl from the ground.

Strangely, however, there seemed to be nothing wrong with the pearl itself.

Then what was with that Baleful Qi?

“Who gave you this pearl?”

At those words, Princess Ding’an came back to herself as if waking from a dream. She staggered back several steps, her expression blank.

“I…”

Earlier at the banquet, her Third Brother, Prince Yu, had told her that rumors in the capital claimed Ren Fengjue was hiding a woman in his residence.

The moment she heard it, jealousy had suddenly blazed up inside her. She wanted nothing more than to cut “that woman” to pieces.

Once that thought arose, she had grown even more irritable and restless, to the point that she had left the Imperial Garden on the spot, completely out of control. Even Consort Qi had not been able to call her back.

But in that very instant just now, the agitation and jealousy in her heart had suddenly vanished.

As Princess Ding’an thought of this, the world spun around her, and her consciousness began to blur.

Amid a chorus of startled cries, her legs abruptly gave way, and she fainted straight to the ground.