Chapter 68

Zhang Yulin couldn't keep her voice down. "And there's a woman with him?!"

It was only when Zhang Yulin pointed it out that Lin Yu remembered whose familiar back that was. She hadn't seen Yu Jia in quite some time. Her gaze lingered on Yu Jia and the woman beside him. Given their intimate gestures, it wasn't hard to guess their relationship.

But Zhang Yulin had once told Lin Yu that Yu Jia and Lin Zhao had been in love for years, and that Lin Yu could call him brother-in-law. And now, less than three months after her sister's death, he'd already found someone new.

"Damn it! I'm going to go after him—what kind of person is he?!" Zhang Yulin pulled out a small knife from her waist. "I thought he was a decent man, but it turns out all crows are equally black. I didn't bring my big blade today, but I have this little knife. Even if I can't kill him, I'll stab him a couple times and make him hurt!"

Lin Yu grabbed Zhang Yulin's hand before she could draw the blade. "Wait. Given his cultivation, you can't hurt him. Besides, it's New Year's—spilling blood isn't exactly auspicious."

Zhang Yulin stared at Lin Yu in disbelief. "You're not angry? You don't want to go after him?"

"It's not the right time yet," Lin Yu said calmly. "It won't be too late to kill him in a few days."

Since their last parting, Yu Jia hadn't been seen in public for a long time. As Imperial Preceptor, if he wasn't in the palace, then he must have been out on business. And too much had happened in the past few days. She needed to first investigate who he'd been working for lately, and what he'd been doing.

Lin Yu could guess that Fu Ming seemed to have some grand unfinished plan, but since Fu Ming didn't say anything, she pretended not to know. So she had a feeling that Yu Jia had either been sent by Fu Ming to do something important, or he'd been sent by the Xianzun to investigate the truth about the Earth Immortal Temple.

Another possibility was that he'd been busy preparing for the Spring Sacrifice these past days. Now that he was here, he'd surely be heading to the palace to report next.

Zhang Yulin nodded blankly, then suddenly registered what was off about Lin Yu's words. "Kill... kill him? That seems a bit much..."

She'd only been speaking in anger. If she actually confronted Yu Jia, the most Zhang Yulin would do was curse him out thoroughly, then find people to retaliate against him to vent her frustration. How had it escalated to actually killing him?

"Why not? My sister is dead, and he—a man—doesn't observe mourning for her but instead quickly finds someone new. Is that behavior worthy of my sister? By our dynasty's laws, he should be executed. So then, there's no reason to keep him." Lin Yu said this with an expression as calm as if she were discussing something utterly trivial.

According to the laws of the Yu Kingdom, when a wife died, her husband had to observe a year of mourning before remarrying. Violators were to be executed.

Though that law wasn't particularly effective—most commoners couldn't afford to remarry within a year anyway, and for wealthy households, taking a concubine after losing a wife wasn't a big deal as long as it wasn't done with full wife's ceremony—it technically didn't count as violating the law then.

Zhang Yulin was about to say something else when another commotion from downstairs drew their attention.

The waiters from before, holding account books, spoke politely to the short man. "Sir, you see, you've broken one of our tables and three chairs, plus two wine jugs. The jugs knocked against the pillar and chipped a corner, and there's the floor too—why don't you take a look at how many scratches there are."

"You look like a man of wealth," one waiter added, "so surely you wouldn't do something like refuse to pay. Just pay according to this amount and we'll be square." The waiter held up five fingers, smiling at the man.

The short man was stunned. "Five taels? Why don't you just rob me? How much could a pile of scrap wood and iron like that be worth?"

"Not five taels, sir—five hundred taels." The waiter's expression didn't change, maintaining a proper smile.

"This is extortion! I'll report you to the authorities!" The short man jumped up in anger again.

"No need to report us—the authorities are already here." The waiter pointed to several officials in uniform at the door. "Would you like to continue accusing us of extortion, or just pay up?"

Zhang Yulin slapped the railing and couldn't help laughing again. Her face turned red from laughing, and Lin Yu was amused by her too, the brief unhappiness from earlier swept clean away.

After leaving Fan Lou, the two browsed a few more shops. Because it was New Year's Eve, many businesses closed after the shen hour, and there weren't many people on the streets. The two wandered aimlessly through the city, not returning until nearly dusk.

Lin Yu needed to enter the palace, so she said goodbye to Zhang Yulin at the palace gates. Lin Yu was familiar with most of the routes inside the palace, and soon she found her way to Zhanghe Hall.

But today was different. Not only were there no guards outside the hall, there wasn't even a single attendant. The nearby palaces were all empty, with only Lin Yu there.

Just as she was wondering about it, she noticed a dark shadow flash across a rooftop not far away—a shadow guard.

Lin Yu waited in place for a while longer, and finally saw Fu Ming's figure in the distance. And not just Fu Ming—behind him followed a large group of people, including several Imperial Guards whose faces she recognized, and also Yu Jia.

Seeing Yu Jia, Lin Yu curled her lips. Since Yu Jia was here, she could confirm he'd been working for Fu Ming these past days. He wasn't the one investigating the Earth Immortal Temple or preparing the Spring Sacrifice.

Before they even reached the hall's outer gates, the well-trained Imperial Guards each received orders and dispersed, leaving only Fu Ming and Yu Jia walking toward Lin Yu together. She didn't need to guess—they must have been plotting some major case.

Lin Yu smiled without warmth and initiated conversation with Yu Jia. "Long time no see, Imperial Preceptor. What have you been busy with lately?" She asked in a casual, chatty tone like they were catching up over tea.

Yu Jia didn't notice anything amiss. "Thanks for your concern. I haven't been busy lately."

"Not busy? Then why haven't we seen you in so long—"

"I guessed you'd come find me today," Fu Ming interrupted Lin Yu's questioning. "The bone whip you ordered earlier is already finished."

Fu Ming summoned a snow-white bone whip. Its design was ornate, with strands of gold thread woven between the bones, matching Fu Ming's usual style. The handle was decorated with several pale green gemstones.

A very beautiful bone whip.

"Try it." Fu Ming handed the whip to Lin Yu.

Lin Yu took it with both hands. It was heavier than she'd imagined, its weight solid in her grip. She lashed it against the empty ground, and the whip split the air with a sharp, cracking sound.

Lin Yu only used half her spiritual power, expecting the force to be modest—but the moment the whip struck the ground, the dark green-gold bricks shattered instantly, and a jagged crack crackled and snaked across a long stretch of ground.

A flicker of delight passed through Lin Yu's eyes. The whip's power was far greater than she'd expected. She couldn't help but marvel—no wonder Bai Ze was so renowned.

"What would it do to a person?" she suddenly asked.

Fu Ming hadn't expected Lin Yu to want to test its power on a living person, but he still thought seriously. "On a person? One lash should kill. When the time comes for it to be useful, you'll find out naturally."

Lin Yu looked directly at Yu Jia, who had been standing silently to the side. "Imperial Preceptor, would you care to help me test this new artifact?"

Yu Jia: ?

Yu Jia was so startled he waved his hands frantically. "Please, don't joke with me..."

Yu Jia had figured it out—from the moment Lin Yu laid eyes on him today, she'd been radiating hostility toward him. But he racked his brains and still couldn't figure out what he'd done to offend this great Buddha.

Fu Ming glanced at Yu Jia. "Since she's asking, you might as well help her test her new artifact."

Hearing those words, Yu Jia's proper smile could no longer hold. His Majesty was trying to kill him for fun!

"No—" Yu Jia had barely started when Lin Yu and Fu Ming both stared at him fixedly. He swallowed his words hard, and the atmosphere hung in a delicate stalemate for a moment.

"Your Majesty, the Xianzun requests the Divine Maiden's presence for important discussion." An attendant's appearance broke the tense standoff.

At the mention of the Xianzun, both Lin Yu and Fu Ming's expressions shifted subtly. Fu Ming ordered, "You may withdraw."

Lin Yu watched Yu Jia exhale in relief, and she felt a touch of regret as she put away the whip. "See you around, Imperial Preceptor."

Just as she was about to leave, Fu Ming spoke up suddenly. "The Xianzun wants to discuss the Earth Immortal matter with you." He paused, then continued, "Whatever he says, remember to refuse."

"Okay—" Lin Yu said, sounding unenthusiastic as she walked out.

...

Lin Yu arrived at Bushou Hall as usual, but as soon as she drew near, she felt a heavy killing intent. She turned to look around—still no one in sight. She took a deep breath, pretending she'd noticed nothing, and gently knocked on the doors of Bushou Hall.

"Xianzun, this disciple requests an audience." Lin Yu called out in a steady voice.

The moment she spoke, the doors opened on their own. As they opened, Lin Yu caught a glimpse of the people inside, and she was startled for a moment before quickly realizing something was off. The Xianzun's Bushou Hall was rarely open to ordinary disciples, yet now it held so many people—roughly forty or fifty at least. The vast hall felt cramped for the first time.

Lin Yu recalled Fu Ming mentioning that the Xianzun had some personally trained closed-door disciples. So these must be them.

Lin Yu walked into the hall with a composed demeanor and nodded to the Xianzun. "Xianzun, what is this?"

"These are this one's closed-door disciples." The Xianzun got straight to the point. "This one has already investigated the matter of the Earth Immortal and..."

His sudden pause revealed that he didn't want to speak of it. He was deliberately avoiding the subject, even though the matter was settled beyond doubt. Lin Yu waited quietly for him to continue.

"The divine realm cannot allow such a villain to occupy the position of a high immortal. This one has already reported the matter to the Nine Heavens. The gods have yet to respond, but today is New Year's Eve, tomorrow is the first day of the new year, and in seven days comes the Spring Sacrifice. In these coming days, countless people will go to worship the false god at the Earth Immortal Temple. This cannot be delayed—it must be resolved at once."

The Xianzun pointed to the disciples standing nearby, his tone furious. "At the very latest, it must be settled before the Spring Sacrifice. A lowly Ghost Tribe member, worthy of receiving the people's worship? Utter fantasy!"

His speech grew faster and louder. He probably didn't even realize he was on the verge of rage. As he finished, he hurled the teacup at his side to the ground.

"Crash!" It hit the floor and shattered into pieces.

Lin Yu discreetly stepped aside to avoid the scattered porcelain shards. She kept her eyes lowered, still standing by, waiting for what the Xianzun had to say next.

The Xianzun steadied his emotions somewhat. "Next, they will follow your orders. You don't need to act. Just go with them to the Earth Immortal Temple. Surround it, and leave the killing of that lowly Ghost Tribe member to them."

Lin Yu found it strange. If she didn't need to act, then why was she needed at all?

She didn't ask directly, but instead posed a different question first, feigning hesitation. "But... that's the Ghost King himself. Can people like us really deal with him?"

"Yes." The Xianzun said with certainty.

"Since I'm not needed, then—"

Knowing Lin Yu would ask, the Xianzun tossed her a small porcelain bottle before she could finish. "This is a Soul Gathering Vial. When any highly cultivated being dies, their lifelong cultivation disperses in an instant. This vial can gather their cultivation and transfer it to you."

Lin Yu remembered the radiance that filled the sky when the God of Glory died. So that was his lifelong cultivation. The lifelong cultivation of the god with the most believers under heaven, scattered to the wind, wasted. A belated regret welled up in her heart—if only she could have gathered it all for herself.

The Xianzun's tone was unusually serious. "Lin Yu, you are a clever person. Our primary task now is to ensure your smooth ascension to godhood. There isn't much time left for you, so we must resort to some unseemly methods."

The Xianzun rarely used Lin Yu's name directly. She caught the unspoken implication in his words. The Xianzun had reverted to the look of a thirty-something man from when they first met, but the exhaustion and age in his demeanor were impossible to hide.

He didn't have much time left to live, so that meant Lin Yu didn't have much time either. She needed to ascend to godhood in the shortest possible time, and for that, the Xianzun was willing to use unseemly methods.

The question that had lingered in Lin Yu's mind for so long surfaced again—why was the Xianzun so desperate to raise a god?

Human instinct is to seek benefit and avoid harm. No one would dedicate their life to another person for no reason. The Xianzun must have stood to gain something from the god he lifted up, which was why he would pay such a price without hesitation.

Tempting as the Xianzun's reward was, Lin Yu still refused. "Xianzun, this... this disciple is unwilling to go."

The middle-aged man reclining on the couch suddenly froze, as if he'd heard something unbelievable. He rose and walked toward Lin Yu, asking sternly, "What did you say?"