The night was vast and obscure, enveloping the earth.
Lin Yue lounged lazily on a reclining chair in the courtyard, cooling off and looking up at the stars deep in the dark firmament.
Although he could not clearly remember what the starry sky of his previous life on Earth looked like, this densely star-studded night sky seemed more or less the same.
He was a bit insomniac tonight.
It couldn't be helped.
Xia Lie, the Prince whom he could neither kill nor release, had oppressed him for a full three months, during which he lived cautiously every day, racking his brains for ways to deceive others, questioning any possible flaws, and considering how to deal with potential problems...
But he was also aware that no matter how he pondered strategies, it could only temporarily delay the crisis, which would inevitably lead to an eruption one day.
For three months, he saw no hope of breaking the predicament, and had to take sedatives each night to fall asleep.
Otherwise, if his mental state were to deteriorate, right after Xia Lie's disappearance, he might arouse suspicion.
The ordeal of struggling in such a desperate situation was imaginable.
Now, at last, he saw a glimmer of hope, like finding a sliver of light in the darkness, which also eased Lin Yue's mood considerably.
At least he had a direction to move forward.
"Only nine days... no, eight days, and she will undergo a bloodline awakening."
Lin Yue's fingertips gently tapped the armrest of the recliner while his mind silently pondered, "Before her bloodline awakens, I must find a way into that Cave Mansion, but there are two difficulties that need to be resolved."
"First, that cave is located in the wild mountains outside the city, only twenty-odd miles from Qingdu. I must be able to leave Qingdu first."
Lin Yue furrowed his brow, "However, if I rashly leave Qingdu, it might be too obvious."
Though Baili Fengzhi hadn't sought him out again, and he had deliberately tested these past few days, finding no one surveilling him and apparently no longer the object of suspicion.
But having once been a 'suspect,' even if temporarily cleared of suspicion, it was only temporary, and Baili Fengzhi couldn't possibly be completely reassured about him.
If he were to suddenly leave Qingdu, it would naturally draw attention.
If someone were to follow, would he dare to go to that cave, only to increase suspicion?
"If I use the 'Disguise', it would be very easy to leave the city, and the route out wouldn't be difficult to resolve, but 'Disguise' can only be used by one person..."
Lin Yue's eyes narrowed slightly, then he glanced back at the room behind him and immediately abandoned the idea.
He couldn't possibly revert Su Ziqiu back to her original form and then leave her alone in Qingdu.
If she were to be discovered, it would all be over.
Moreover, he always suspected that Baili Fengzhi had a way to trace Xia Lie's aura, but since Xia Lie's aura had been altered, she couldn't find it.
But, if he allowed Su Ziqiu to revert to her original form, wouldn't that be seeking death?
"That's it."
Lin Yue's heart stirred suddenly, a thought flickering through his mind: "In seven days, it will be the Chongyang Festival on September ninth!"
Whether it was a coincidence in this parallel world or not, this cultivation world also had the Chongyang Festival.
After all, even the Mid-Autumn Festival existed, so having the Chongyang Festival was not strange.
Nine is a yang number, and doubly so for ninety-nine, hence called 'Chongyang'.
On the day of Chongyang Festival, whether in the Central Plains or in small frontier cities like Liangzhou, there was always a custom of climbing high for blessings and worshipping ancestors.
At that time, many people from Qingdu would leave the city, sweep graves, sacrifice to ancestors, and climb mountains for blessings.
This was a good opportunity to leave the city.
If he left the city on that day, it would be perfectly normal, and indeed he would need to climb high, which would conveniently allow him to go to the hidden Cave Mansion.
Perhaps Baili Fengzhi wouldn't even bother to track him.
With this thought, Lin Yue's eyes gradually brightened, then he became calm again, "However, it is possible that Baili Fengzhi might send someone to follow, so I need to think about how to deal with that."
In any case, he had decided to leave the city on the Chongyang Festival.
"The second difficulty is to open the secret door of the Cave Mansion inside that mountain."
Lin Yue leaned back in the recliner, slowly closing his eyes, carefully recalling the scene he had seen inside the cave that day.
Although he had brought a Fire Stick, it was still too dim, and he hadn't noticed what the situation was at the end of the cave, only that there was a relatively smooth wall.
"I've been reading a lot lately, and I do know the numbers of the Luo Shu in the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams," Lin Yue opened his eyes, frowning slightly, "but must the Cave Mansion's original owner slap the stone wall with bare hands to open the secret door?"
He wasn't even sure who the Cave Mansion's original owner was.
Deep in the cave, there were two corpses, and on one of them, he found the treasure 'Disguise.'
If the original owner of the Cave Mansion wasn't these two corpses, then did he need to find the real owner of the Cave Mansion?
All of these were unknowns.
"No matter what, it's at least worth a try."
Lin Yue took a deep breath, "These days, try to deduce the details and possibilities... Everything depends on the day of the Chongyang Festival."
...
Time passed day by day, and Lin Yue continued his daily habit of going to the Daoist library to read, trying to cause as little trouble as possible to avoid drawing attention.
Finally, Qingdu welcomed the Chongyang Festival of the fifteenth year of Qing Yuan.
Brilliant chrysanthemums of a thousand years above have dyed the Human World with the yellow of the ninth day.
In this world, chrysanthemums were still considered a noble flower; actions such as sipping tea with chrysanthemums, feasting on chrysanthemums, or placing chrysanthemums did not evoke any undue associations in people's minds.
Located in the northwest of Liangzhou with a rather dry climate, chrysanthemums, which are drought-tolerant, were also cultivated in a variety of species near Qingdu.