Chapter 30

Fu Ming's mind went blank for a moment. Wandering souls—what kind of creatures were those? They were ancient beings, like the Taotie or the Black Tortoise! How could Lin Yu have encountered wandering souls?!

Fu Ming looked Lin Yu over from head to toe. Lin Yu felt a twinge of guilt, but she truly hadn't killed anyone, so she stood up straight and let Fu Ming examine her.

Fu Ming grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. Lin Yu was a bit bewildered by the sudden action, but then Fu Ming leaned down slightly and lifted the hem of her robe.

Lin Yu started: "What are you doing?"

She looked back and only then noticed that the hem of her robe behind her had somehow become stained with a black, ink-like filth.

It was a substance produced when a wandering soul was killed and dissolved into water.

Fu Ming's face suddenly darkened. "Summon the witch doctors! Call in all of them from the Imperial City too! No matter what it takes, have every witch doctor here before the Chen hour!"

Yu Jia's heart was in turmoil. There were at most two hours left until the Chen hour—where on earth was he supposed to find them all? But his face remained composed: "As you command."

Just as Yu Jia was about to take his leave, Lin Yu hurriedly called him back.

"I'm fine. A few wandering souls are nothing to make such a fuss over." Lin Yu cut off Fu Ming. "What's most important right now is..."

Fu Ming followed her lead: "What is it?"

Lin Yu grabbed Fu Ming's sleeve. "Let's go climb the walls of the Lu residence, and hurry! If we wait any longer, it'll be dawn, and once it's light out, Lu Yao will leave to worship the Rain Goddess."

Fu Ming was still stunned. Lin Yu, anxious to get going, pulled him across the threshold and ran downstairs with him in tow. Yu Jia stood dumbfounded at the door, watching Lin Yu drag Fu Ming off into the distance.

Just then, Zhang Yulin happened to push open the door from next door, looking glum. When she saw Yu Jia outside, she brightened—she'd been annoyed by him moments ago, but right now his arrival couldn't have been more timely!

Zhang Yulin: "Lend me some of your power?"

Yu Jia: ?

...

"Alright, here it is. Climb up!" Lin Yu stood at the base of the Lu residence's wall and said to Fu Ming.

Fu Ming watched Lin Yu as she bounded along the entire way, her face rosy and her step vigorous—she didn't look the least bit injured. Only then did he relax slightly.

He looked up at the wall, over a dozen feet tall, then at Lin Yu, who was rolling up her sleeves. "You want me to climb a wall?" Fu Ming deliberately stressed the word "me."

Fu Ming rarely referred to himself in the imperial manner, and only now did Lin Yu remember—Fu Ming was often so approachable, handling bloody battles himself and caring little for formalities. Lin Yu had never once kowtowed to him, which was why she kept forgetting he was the emperor...

In short, he had very little authority.

Lin Yu circled around to the side and tentatively suggested: "Then pick the lock?"

Fu Ming: ...

Fu Ming pressed a hand to his forehead and stepped forward. Suddenly, Lin Yu felt her feet leave the ground, an arm wrapped around her waist, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them were inside the Lu residence's courtyard. Fu Ming landed steadily with Lin Yu in his arms.

Lin Yu glanced back at the absurdly tall wall. Fu Ming could get over that? His lightness skill was probably superior to hers!

Inside the courtyard, a fish pond came into view. Lin Yu recalled the layout of the Lu residence from her daytime visit, and whispered to Fu Ming, "This way. Lu Yao's father's room is over there."

"Wait, what's that?" Lin Yu spotted a flash of white in the fish pond, striking against the darkness of the night.

Lin Yu reached toward the pale glow. With a twist of her fingertip, the white object flew toward her. She unfolded it and confirmed it was a pair of gloves—the ones Lu Yao had worn while pruning flowers during the day.

"Why would Lu Yao's gloves be here?" But she didn't dwell on it. She dried the gloves with her spiritual power and tucked them away.

The two walked along the winding gravel path. After a while, Fu Ming suddenly spoke up. "How many people are in this household?"

Lin Yu: "Three? Lu Yao, Lu Yao's younger sister, and her father. I haven't seen anyone else—the other rooms all seem empty."

The familiar courtyard appeared before Lin Yu. "We're here!"

Fu Ming had been walking half a step behind Lin Yu the whole time. She tugged at him, and the two of them stepped into Lu Yao's father's room.

Inside, a stale, moldy smell hung in the air. As they drew closer, they realized the person on the bed had already stopped breathing.

Sensing the approach of living auras, the figure on the bed suddenly sat bolt upright!

Lin Yu's brow twitched and she halted. She held her breath and watched the sitting figure. For a long while, it didn't move. Fu Ming stepped past Lin Yu and approached the bed.

Fu Ming checked Lu Yao's father's breathing, then turned back to Lin Yu. "Dead."

Only then did Lin Yu step forward to examine him. He sat slumped with his head hanging, lifeless, his living soul's aura nearly gone. His shadow merged with the shadow cast by the window lattice, resembling a figure hanging from a noose.

Lin Yu raised her hand and cast a spell to bring a faint light into the room. She stared at the sitting corpse on the bed, then suddenly asked Fu Ming, "What do you think the Divine Maiden's heart's blood could be used for?"

Fu Ming: "The Divine Maiden's heart's blood? Its uses are endless—sacrifice, cultivation, consecration, medicinal catalyst—it can be used for anything."

It was only after speaking that Fu Ming sensed something off. He frowned. "Who dares want your heart's blood? I'll go kill them."

Lin Yu: "...Stop talking about killing people every day!"

Fu Ming: "Oh."

Lin Yu reached out and lightly touched Lu Yao's father's forehead. His skin had already gone soft and lost its elasticity—he was thoroughly dead. What had just happened must have been rigor mortis. She laid him back down, then pulled open the thick quilt and parted his collar.

Beneath the collar were clear strangulation marks. She rolled up his sleeves as well—he had been brutally beaten. The blood vessels in both upper arms had burst; blood had pooled beneath the skin in dark purple bruises.

Looking further down, two ribs were missing from his abdomen. His stomach must have been empty—his belly caved in deeply. The skin on his thighs had been burned black and charred.

It seemed Lu Yao truly hated her father, to have tortured him like this.

Fu Ming searched the room but found nothing suspicious. He came back to the small bed. "The cabinet is empty—no clues at all. This place doesn't look like someone lives here regularly."

Lin Yu finished her examination. "Not sure if he's really dead or not. There's no Soul-Renewing Pill here. When a revenant dies, the pill drops—though it's possible Lu Yao took it."

Fu Ming asked, "So what do we do now?"

Lin Yu's gaze swept the room, then she flashed a smile at Fu Ming. "Your Majesty?"

Lin Yu had only ever called him that when they first met, back when she was fleeing for her life and had kowtowed to him to stay alive. Fu Ming sensed something was coming.

Fu Ming's face was expressionless. "Say it..."

"Would you be so kind as to pack this person up in your dimensional pouch and bring him back?" Lin Yu wanted to see whether Lu Yao would keep using the excuse of extending her father's life—and what she truly wanted the Divine Maiden's heart's blood for.

Fu Ming was speechless. "You brought me here to steal a corpse?"

Lin Yu blinked at Fu Ming. "It's called collecting evidence."

Fu Ming complied anyway. He took out the dimensional pouch, which suddenly expanded and swallowed Lu Yao's father's body before shrinking back to the size of a palm and floating in the air.

Lin Yu took the pouch with satisfaction and hung it on Fu Ming's waist. The two of them slipped out of the residence, sneaking away with a corpse in tow.

...

"Yaoniang, today marks the Great Snow. How about I have the Snow God come by and snow for you specially, just for you?"

Lu Yao was pressed against the wall by the God of Glory, unable to move. She forced a smile. "Alright."

Lu Yao raised her hand and traced her fingers across the God of Glory's brow. Her nails had not been trimmed—long and sharp, they scraped against his face. The God of Glory leaned in closer. He caught her hand. At this distance, the two could feel each other's breath.

Lin Yu and Fu Ming were just about to step out of the courtyard when they caught sight of this scene from afar. Startled, Lin Yu took a step back and collided with Fu Ming's chest. Fu Ming gently steadied her.

Lin Yu pulled Fu Ming behind the wall to hide. Fortunately, the Lu family was well-off, and the walls were tall and thick, so the God of Glory and Lu Yao didn't notice them.

Lin Yu was about to cast an invisibility spell when Fu Ming lightly pressed her hand. "That's the God of Glory."

Their distance was neither near nor far, but at this range, any use of magic would certainly be detected by him.

On the other side, Lu Yao said something, and the two were already standing close. Amid the ambiguity, the God of Glory suddenly kissed Lu Yao on the lips! The two embraced and kissed fiercely!

The scene was too bizarre. Lin Yu squinted at the two blurry figures in the distance. She widened her eyes in disbelief. Just as she leaned out to get a closer look, her vision suddenly went dark.

Fu Ming's warm palm covered her eyes, pulling her back. "Keep your eyes on what's proper."

Lin Yu was still reeling from the shock and didn't dodge his palm. She said in disbelief, "So it's true..."

Fu Ming looked puzzled. "What's true?"

In the darkness, Fu Ming had one hand resting near her neck and the other covering her eyes. Lin Yu didn't shift her position, letting Fu Ming keep the pose. She tilted her head back, feeling her way, until her lips were near his ear. Her soft hair brushed against Fu Ming's fingers and chest, carrying a faint, elusive scent. Fu Ming's Adam's apple shifted slightly.

Lin Yu didn't notice anything amiss. In a very low whisper, she said, "Everyone around here has terribly bad luck with wealth—every last one of them, and terribly so. It's practically a life of misery. But Lu Yao alone can pick up a pile of money just by stepping out the door..."

Lin Yu went on at length about Lu Yao and the lives of the surrounding commoners. Fu Ming listened quietly. As she spoke, he felt the faint flutter of Lin Yu's eyelashes, brushing his palm like a feather.

At last, Lin Yu finished and asked Fu Ming, "Got it?"

Fu Ming looked thoughtful. "You're saying the God of Wealth fell in love with a mortal woman, so he drained the wealth luck from everyone around and piled it onto her—so much so that in just one year, this woman went from a destitute orphan to the wealthiest merchant in Jiangnan?"

Lin Yu: "Yes! Exactly that."

Fu Ming finally understood—so this was what Lin Yu meant by the commoners not being able to earn money. They simply had no money at all... No wonder the heavens forbade gods from falling in love with mortals. If word of the God of Glory and Lu Yao got out, the people of Jiangnan would band together and chop Lu Yao to pieces!

Living in poverty was one thing—they could write it off as bad luck. But if they learned the truth—that their wealth luck had been stolen from them—that would be impossible to accept.

And there was no telling what extremes some people might go to.

On the other side, Lu Yao was nearly out of breath from the kiss. She punched the God of Glory hard in the chest. He grabbed her slender wrist and scooped her up, carrying her toward the room.

Lu Yao's expression suddenly turned terrified. She struggled helplessly in his arms. "No... don't..."