He was clearly much more reckless than she was, right? Yun Wei realized that she had miscalculated. For some unknown reason, the Chitian Manor had remained silent. The imperial prince's spiritual guards vaguely sensed that the jailer was delaying, fearing potential consequences. In the end, they bypassed the jailer and forcibly took Yun Wei away. Madam Hua stood firmly in front of her niece, refusing to budge no matter what. The spiritual guards, growing impatient, kicked her: "Get out of the way, crazy woman!"
The body of a spiritual master was naturally fragile, and with her spiritual power sealed, Madam Hua took the blow and spat out blood, falling unconscious.
"Mother!" Zhan Xueyin crawled over and hugged her, her voice filled with grief. The noise was so loud that the imprisoned cultivators in the other cell were alarmed. Covered in wounds, they were filled with fury upon seeing the scene: "Madam Hua, Miss! Royal dogs, how dare you...!" But no matter how enraged they were, they were still trapped and unable to escape.
Yun Wei felt a sweet, metallic taste rise in her throat. She was furious and wanted to turn back to check on Madam Hua, but she was roughly dragged away. Unlike the cold and dampness of the prison, the night wind outside was warm with the temperature of mid-summer May. Soon, beads of sweat began to form on Yun Wei's forehead. Her spiritual pill had been damaged, and she was already severely injured. At this moment, she wore a Spirit-Sealing Bracelet, which made her as powerless as an ordinary person.
The spiritual guards waiting outside the prison said, "Be gentle. If anything happens before we get her to the mansion, the Third Prince will be furious!" After all, everyone knew that the Third Prince had been obsessed with this young lady from Changya Mountain for years. Previously, due to her noble status and her fiancé, who had innate swordsmanship, he could only admire her from afar. But now that the Immortal Sect had fallen, the precious jewel of Changya Mountain was tarnished and could only become a prisoner at their mercy.
Yun Wei was shoved into a sedan chair, suppressing the blood rising in her throat, forcing herself to stay calm. The night in the empire was dark, like a giant beast with its mouth wide open, waiting to devour people.
As she thought carefully, she realized where she went wrong. In her previous life, Madam Hua had fought to the death to open the dungeon barrier, giving her a chance to escape the imperial prison. Yun Wei had fled under the empire's night sky for half an hour, only to be captured again by the returning Chitian Manor guards and thrown back into confinement.
But tonight was different. Madam Hua was still alive, and she hadn't been able to leave the prison in time. If she wasn't mistaken, the Chitian Manor had likely not returned yet, still hunting for any remnants of the Immortal Sect. Once she understood this, Yun Wei calmed down and began to think of ways to break free.
Before the sixth year of Shengping, as the daughter of the Changya Mountain master and a natural spiritual master, her life had been smooth sailing. But after that, her life had been full of hardship and struggles. She had grown accustomed to not trusting anyone and relying only on herself. Now, with nothing on her but the last piece of talisman paper used during the mountain defense, she shifted her gaze to the corner of her skirt and used the blood from her fingertip to draw a symbol.
Yun Wei quietly pondered to herself how much of a chance she had of killing the Third Prince before her own death if conflict broke out. Fortunately, the spiritual guards had underestimated her, not binding her hands or feet. It was laughable that in the spiritual domain, everyone revered spiritual masters, almost worshipping them as divine beings. After evil energy entered their bodies, nobles would spend vast sums to seek the help of spiritual masters. Yet, because spiritual masters were so fragile, like ordinary humans, they were easy to defeat by their enemies. This caused some spiritual cultivators to secretly look down on them.
Yun Wei didn't despair. Life was full of adversity, but it was regrettable that her second chance came when the situation was hardest to break. However, her frustration grew. Killing the Third Prince seemed so inadequate; it didn't feel like enough revenge.
These spiritual guards, usually so complacent, didn't even bother to avoid mentioning her: "She's the fiancée of Young Master Pei. Her status is not simple. I'm a bit worried. If the Third Prince keeps acting like this, and Chitian Manor finds out, there might be trouble. You all know what that person is capable of…"
Another guard laughed, "What are you afraid of? The Yue family has long abandoned the Immortal Mountain to side with the empire. That person is just a vicious dog raised by the emperor. How could he dare to fight with our prince for a woman?"
"But I still feel uneasy," one murmured.
"Don't worry," another reassured. "Once we enter the mansion, I'm sure Chitian Manor won't dare to cause trouble here."
The group arrived at the Third Prince's mansion at the third watch of the night. Yun Wei was dragged out of the sedan chair. The steward was half asleep at the door. Though he had seen many beauties in the years he'd served the Third Prince, he was immediately awakened when he saw the woman in front of him.
She was covered in blood, her hair disheveled, and she didn't even have proper clothing. Yet, in the light, her beauty was so striking that it seemed as if she had come down from the heavens. No wonder the Third Prince was willing to risk angering the Emperor to bring her into the mansion tonight.
Yun Wei, meanwhile, observed the layout of the mansion. Every ten steps, there were spiritual arrays placed, and she knew she couldn't fight back; she wouldn't last a breath. However, the shimmering lake under the moonlight was different—it wasn't protected by any formations and stretched all the way to the wall. Beyond the wall, the apricot blossoms were already wilting, their branches curling over the wall.
She focused on the lake for a while, considering her options.
Suddenly, someone shoved her forward, and she was pushed into an extravagantly lit room.
"Report to His Highness, Miss Zhan Yun Wei has been brought in."
Yun Wei glanced around and saw a figure in a dark blue robe standing in the middle of the room. The Third Prince, in the light, had a fair, handsome face, though his eyes were filled with lasciviousness and malice. His gaze wandered over her slender waist as he put down his teacup, smiled, and said, "Miss Zhan, it's been a long time. That fleeting glance at the palace banquet all those years ago… I've missed you terribly."
He smiled, but there was a hint of hatred behind his eyes. He had been humiliated back at the palace banquet when he barely had the chance to speak to her, only to have Pei Shaozhu hold a sword to his throat. It was humiliating, and now, she was finally at his mercy.
He no longer had to fear her noble status or the protection of her family. With her beauty now diminished, the Third Prince felt a sense of satisfaction in finally possessing her.
Yun Wei, however, was repulsed. "After tonight, there will be no need for the Third Prince to miss me anymore."
Before the Third Prince could react, a talisman paper struck him in the chest. His vision went dark, and his body lost all sensation. Before he fainted, he saw Yun Wei lift her hand to wipe away the blood from her lips, her eyes clouded with pain but fiercely suppressed.
Under the radiant glow of the pearl lights, her chestnut-colored eyes gleamed. It was only then that the Third Prince realized: even without Pei Shaozhu, without her father or brothers, she would never let anyone humiliate her. He regretted underestimating the power of a spiritual master.
The butler thought he would finally get a good night's sleep tonight. However, just as he ordered the gates of the mansion to be closed, the crimson doors were kicked open. Furious, the butler shouted, "Who dares to be so bold as to..." But the rest of his words were swallowed back. What caught his eye was a delicate, intricate pattern of the Compassionate Lotus, yet the lotus was stained with fresh, sinister blood. The purple blood, though ominous and terrifying, seemed to scatter like a tragic and beautiful flower at the edge of the intruder's clothing. The butler froze for a moment. The entire kingdom knew that only one person would ever wear the Compassionate Lotus on their attire, but not out of sympathy for all beings—rather, it was to suppress the overwhelming urge to kill. Sure enough, he lifted his gaze and saw an all-too-familiar and fearsome face. Had it not been for the notorious deeds of this person in recent years, no one would have linked such an outstanding figure to the leader of the Chitian Mansion.
The butler felt a twinge of fear, but years of bullying and bad deeds still gave him some confidence. He thought to himself that, no matter how troublesome this person was, he likely wouldn't dare to make a move inside the Prince's mansion. "Yue Zhiheng, you break into the Third Prince's residence in the middle of the night with your people, showing no regard for the royal family. What is your intention? If you leave now, I believe the Third Prince will not pursue the matter with you." He considered this statement to be quite generous, yet the people from Chitian Mansion sneered at his words. The person in front of him, Yue Zhiheng, also looked at him with mocking eyes. In the next moment, there was a scream from within the mansion. The butler's head fell to the ground, his arrogant expression frozen on his face even in death.
Yue Zhiheng retrieved his weapon, which was an ice-blue snake-shaped whip. It wasn't just a whip, but consisted of twenty-three connected segments, each engraved with different runes, creating a bizarre shape. With a casual swipe, he killed the butler and then spoke in a calm voice: "The traitors of the Immortal Mountain have escaped. In order to protect His Highness the Third Prince, I had no choice but to enter the residence for a search. I beg your pardon for the offense." His tone was polite, even carrying a hint of a smile. Yet, the palace guards felt a rising fear and instinctively retreated, parting like the tide, as the people from Chitian Mansion entered without anyone daring to stop them. Crows flew past the treetops, and the bright moon gradually disappeared behind the clouds.
Suddenly, a tremor of red light rose from within the Prince's residence, signaling the activation of a talisman. Who would dare to activate a talisman inside the royal residence? Yue Zhiheng raised his eyes thoughtfully and walked towards the source of the light.
Zhan Yunwei had found the dagger she wanted, hanging at the Third Prince's waist. In this world, extremes existed. The common people in remote counties were barely clothed, living in fear of evil spirits, while the royal family was born into luxury, using daggers inlaid with spirit stones. Outside the window was a lake. If Yunwei killed the Third Prince and jumped into the lake before being caught, there might still be a slim chance of survival. But that was a road from which there was no return. If she didn't escape tonight, the Emperor of the Dynasty would not spare her life, even though she was a spirit master.
As thoughts raced in her mind, Yunwei bit her lip and made her decision. She gripped the dagger and aimed it at the Third Prince's dantian. However, to her surprise, she couldn't pierce his skin. A cold, pale hand reached out and stopped her, preventing any further movement: "Miss Zhan, are you attempting to murder a prince? Don't you value your life?" Yunwei lifted her eyes, never imagining that, after the fateful parting eight years ago, she would once again meet Yue Zhiheng. She couldn't remember his face clearly, but the image of him, tortured until he was a mere skeleton, remained in her mind, still calm and arrogant.
A man who had committed so many atrocities, yet whose elixir burned so fiercely, as if melting the heavy snow. At this moment, the blurred face in her memory began to become clearer, replacing the image of the snowstorm, and slowly regaining its colors. Those things that later deprived him of his life hadn't yet been inflicted on him. The man before her looked even younger, his eyes sharper than she remembered. Yunwei recalled that in that year, Yue Zhiheng was at the peak of his power in the kingdom—unrivaled and feared by all.
Yue Zhiheng, with no room for argument, grabbed her wrist and forced her to release the dagger. Yunwei felt a numbness in her hand as he took the weapon away. He had saved the Third Prince. She couldn't help but look at him, recalling the sins that later led to his execution, including the complete eradication of the Emperor's heirs. Compared to not valuing her life, wasn't he even more reckless?
Later, he wanted to kill the Third Prince, but now he was saving him. A person like him had no sense of loyalty. Yunwei met his gaze and realized that Yue Zhiheng was also examining her. For him, this was probably the first time he had seen her. But unlike the Third Prince, his gaze wasn't one of disdain towards a spirit master. It was merely that of someone observing an unruly, troublesome prisoner who had caused him to come out in the middle of the night. Yue Zhiheng glanced at her and then casually looked away, calling out, "Come in."
Chen Ye led the men from Chitian Mansion into the room. Yue Zhiheng ordered, "Bind her and throw her back into the imperial prison." In the blink of an eye, Yunwei was tightly bound, and the shackles on her body began to hurt faintly. She tried to struggle but realized that the ropes from Chitian Mansion were spiritual restraints, specifically designed for spirit cultivators. With this binding, no talismans or formations would work.
The malice from Yue Zhiheng was so obvious that she couldn't help but glance at him. Under the thousands of lights, Yue Zhiheng's expression remained unchanged, never once looking at Yunwei as she was dragged away. It was as if the man who had once saved her in the snowstorm, carving out her spiritual elixir, had never existed.