After discovering the jade eye on the chessboard and perceiving his eerie true form, the result took a turn to voicing their feelings. The past half-day had been truly tumultuous.

Shi Jingzhi once again clung to Yin Ci, leading by example to show that the frightening "true form" was quite inconsequential. This time, Yin Ci didn't tear him off. The feeling of stepping into the void gradually dissipated with the warmth.

Shi Jingzhi had pulled him back from the cliff's edge, for the second time now.

However, while this time's method was effective, it truly caught Yin Ci a bit... off guard.

His heart was filled with mixed emotions. In the earlier chaotic situation, if Shi Jingzhi had shown hesitation, the situation might not have stabilized. Now, although Shi Jingzhi was nervous, or perhaps not nervous, but seemed to have come to his senses, he wanted to burrow into the ground like before.

...It was somewhat adorable.

Yin Ci had once thought that being master and disciple was enough, being partners was also not bad, going with the flow was fine. It's just that they walked together on the edge of the abyss, advancing and retreating, pulling and tugging each other. With such entanglement, myriad thoughts and loneliness ultimately converged on the same fulcrum.

The vast thoughts returned to one person, and that one person happened to be able to support the many absurdities around him. Continuing on the path of longevity, there would never be a second Shi Jingzhi.

Even if it was just a fleeting, brilliant firework.

What did it matter if he was a monster? He wanted to rebel against fate itself, so fretting over the ways of heaven and the world would be a bit petty. Since Sect Leader Shi had boasted about wanting to marry a demon, he could also show this person through actions what it meant by "inviting a god is easy, sending them off is hard".

Thinking of this, Yin Ci couldn't help but move his fingers upward. He first tidied Shi Jingzhi's hair by his temples, then rubbed that person's earlobe with his fingertips.

Soft and burning hot, the touch was exquisite.

Shi Jingzhi was still a bit dazed, his reaction slower than usual by half a beat. His eyes were glued to the person in front of him, the familiar bitter scent still lingering around his nose. Desire begetting desire, after years of a simple life, with only coldness and no warmth in the feelings around him, when had he ever experienced such stimulation.

Yin Ci had always been by his side, the two of them close. Now, before he could change his attitude, with just a change in their relationship, an extremely fierce heat rose from the bottom of his heart, swelling his entire heart - he had originally thought that the fates of love in the world were like flowing water, as long as he found the right method, he could manipulate them all.

Who knew that this river of his looked calm on the surface, but when he stuck his staff in, the undercurrent below nearly swept him away.

After Yin Ci finished pinching Shi Jingzhi's ear, one hand slid down his spine. A set of movements, half comforting and half intimate, although without any obscene intent, brought up waves of heat that were several times heavier. Shi Jingzhi had originally thought of countless sweet words, but at this moment, he couldn't utter a single one, and could only use the tip of his nose to touch the tip of Yin Ci's nose.

Afterwards, he tightly embraced the person in front of him, burying his nose in the crook of Yin Ci's neck, his cheek tightly pressed against Yin Ci's neck. The warm skin was tightly pressed together, and he was unwilling to let go even a little bit.

That vortex of desire no longer charged ahead recklessly, wanting to roll back and forth on the ground. The hunger that had spanned a lifetime was thus satisfied, and the feeling of wild joy permeated his entire body. Even though there were still thousands of desires lingering and not dispersing, they all turned into clouds and smoke that could not enter his eyes.

So it turned out that a person could be this happy.

"Let's go back." Yin Ci smiled, "As for the matter of the Immortal Gathering, it's better to wait until Miss Shen Zhu returns to discuss it."

"Don't want to leave anymore?"

"Mm, can't bear to leave anymore." Yin Ci answered straightforwardly and decisively.

Shi Jingzhi had originally wanted to try teasing Yin Ci a bit, but who knew the other party would be so straightforward, he tried to steal a chicken but lost the rice instead, and once again boiled himself with the heat.

Yin Ci seized the opportunity to pursue, and grasped his hand - this time, Yin Ci did not grip his wrist like before, but spread out his five fingers and interlocked them with Shi Jingzhi's.

Sect Leader Shi went from being 70% cooked to 100% cooked, but he was able to put on a calm front with his imposing manner. He tried to take steps as steadily as possible, but his footsteps still had the unsteady appearance of stepping on clouds.

Even though the conspiracy and the unknown were suffocating, Shi Jingzhi's heart was filled with ease and joy. There was even a moment when he felt that even if the worst things in the world were placed in front of his eyes, he would not be afraid in the slightest.

But for some people, the worst situation was already before their eyes.

Shen Zhu did not find any information outside the mountain, so she simply followed Su Si's footsteps to see his progress - the disciples of the Red Hook Sect received the bad news and directly rushed to their foothold in Qizhou, preparing to set off for the northwest. They were uneasy the entire way, and as soon as they arrived in Qizhou, they scattered to collect supplies and luggage.

It was the perfect opportunity to steal the goose, and Su Si was very satisfied.

Before long, the disciples would discover that the news of "Dark Blood Witch's death" was complete nonsense. After all, the secret letter was in the format used internally by the Red Hook Sect. When the Red Hook Sect disciples angrily conducted self-investigations, it would not be easy for him to make a move.

Having experienced the loss of the goose last time, the Red Hook Sect disciples specially found the most meticulous female disciple to guard Lord Bai day and night. Lord Bai was once again fed the most tender fish fry and vegetable hearts, but one orange-red foot was dragging a silver chain, which would jingle when it moved.

Su Si was not worried at all, it was just a thin chain. His deboning knife was so sharp that it could even cut through a bowl-sized steel cable.

He made full use of his experience from his time as a fugitive and did not hastily make a move. It's just that Lord Bai's condition seemed a bit strange - it seemed to be worried.

After all, Lord Bai was just a goose, and its little head could not hold too many things. Being able to search for items and sense the fortune or misfortune before its eyes was already its limit. Seeing it show such a dispirited expression and not even eating the tender fish fry, Su Si had a very bad premonition.

The goose was in poor condition, surrounded by quite a few Red Hook Sect disciples. Su Si was also happy to continue observing, so he delayed making a move for a few days, until Shen Zhu caught up.

"Not returning for a long time, I thought you had encountered some trouble. Is this goose so good-looking that you have to stare at it for two or three days?" Shen Zhu clicked her tongue. "If you don't need help, I'll go explore the Yueshui Bureau."

"Don't wander around for now." Without Yan Qing by his side, Su Si put away his smile, and the coldness in his tone returned. "This goose knows fortune and misfortune, and its condition is a bit off. Something big might happen here soon."

"I remember it only knows the immediate fortune and misfortune. Qizhou is prosperous and stable, and the Red Hook Sect is a top sect. If you say something will happen..."

"I can't figure it out either, anyway, don't act rashly for now." Su Si pursed his lips.

If he went up to snatch Lord Bai, it would inevitably be startled, and then it would be unclear what caused its poor condition. Having undergone the assassin training of Red Hook Sect and having been a fugitive for a long time, Su Si had an almost excessive sensitivity to subtle anomalies.

Shen Zhu had little interest in the Red Hook Sect: "Hmm, their main altar's message is probably arriving soon, you grasp the timing yourself."

That night, the subtle abnormality became extremely clear - at midnight, Lord Bai suddenly straightened its neck and let out a piercing scream towards the pitch-black ceiling. It had never cried so sharply before, waking up people within half a mile.

Su Si was lying on the roof, looking out at the sleepless and still brightly lit Qizhou city. His heart slowly sank.

Qizhou seemed to be fine, leaving only one possibility... Come to think of it, its life in the Red Hook Sect was so luxurious at first, and when he forcibly took Lord Bai away, it did not desperately resist, almost calmly going along.

The problem was with the Red Hook Sect itself.

Northwest, near Shafu City.

The Sect Leader's residence was made up of two isolated courtyards - in order to prevent the elders from fighting for power, the Sect Leader was often captured from outside the sect and secretly trained by the previous Sect Leader. The Sect Leader and the Young Sect Leader lived in these two courtyards, surrounded by layers of mechanisms, making it difficult for ordinary elders to even approach.

This could be considered the safest corner of the entire Red Hook Sect.

But now, the "safest corner" was unusually quiet, with no sign of life. The Dark Blood Witch sat at the table, looking at her bloody hands. She was sitting upright, but there was an extremely deep cut on her throat, blood constantly gushing out, and she couldn't even call for help.

The only thing that could do this was probably the evil creature "Twin Roots". Jiang Youyue's Immortal Gathering indeed had other plans, and it must have taken a lot of effort to reach into Red Hook Sect.

Dark Blood Witch stood up unsteadily, making unpleasant gurgling sounds from her throat. The blood turned into pink foam, illuminated by the firelight.

She did not call for help, but rummaged in her bosom and took out a small enamel box. Inside the enamel box lay two love beans, both soaked in blood, one with the word "true" written on it and the other with "false".

Love beans soaked in blood could observe the state of the blood's owner, but had no other use. But just this one use was a great help to Dark Blood Witch - the one with "false" written on it was slowly crumbling, turning to ashes in her blurred vision.

Perhaps this was the will of heaven, she gave an extremely ugly smile.

Jianchen Temple was sealed, Taiheng Sect changed hands. Ling Sect's Vermilion Tower was destroyed in battle, and now it was her turn, not a strange thing. If both the Sect Leader and Young Sect Leader were lost at the same time, the Red Hook Sect would not fall into chaos, but it would be enough to give people an opportunity.

It was a pity that the Young Sect Leader she chose was not very honest and had run far away long ago. In order to prevent others from being suspicious, she specially made a similar body double and placed it in another courtyard, feeding it well.

Not to mention outsiders, even she herself could not guess that someone could persistently escape for more than ten years.

Dark Blood Witch stretched out her withered hand and touched the wound on her throat. Then she used the last of her strength to crush the love bean with the word "true" into powder.

The Red Hook Sect flourished in the northwestern desert, with strong and deep roots. It was not easy to eradicate it, just by starting with the Sect Leader.

She closed her eyes, and faces flashed before her.

Divine objects appeared in the world, and the young wave had just begun, but unfortunately she would not see it. Dark Blood Witch thought of the young man surnamed Shi under the Ghost Tomb, the mysterious descendant of the Su family, the little "blind man" mixed into Taiheng Sect... In the end, her thoughts stopped on the child surnamed Su brought back by her subordinates.

As death approached, for some reason, she thought of the scene when she chose that boy.

[Boy, what do you regret the most?]

[Being caught by you dogs!]

[Tell the truth.]

[...]

[I said, don't lie in front of me.]

[This young master has many things I wish were different.] The child grinned, [But I don't regret anything!]

A few years later, she saw him again at the Red Hook Sect camp. By then, the child had become a teenager, and the arrogance in his eyes had not turned into numbness.

[Boy, what are you most proud of?]

[I killed someone when I was nine.] The boy answered provocatively. [Just this kind of broken place can't scare me!]

[Oh? Tell me about it.]

[I went to reason with a drunkard, and he lost his balance and hit his head at the door.] The teenager stared into her eyes, like a furious young beast trying to exude almost non-existent might. [He struggled and cursed, and later cried and begged me to call for help. This young master just stood there and watched him die... I've grown up so much, and I've never felt so happy before.]

It was him.

She had never misjudged a person. This person might fall into confusion, might go astray. But in the end, her successor would definitely come back - that was his nature. Good and evil were shallow, forming his own persistence, and that was what the Red Hook Sect wanted.

No matter how the demons calculated the heavens and the earth, they could never calculate the human heart in the end. As for the mastermind behind all this... and that Ku Mountain Sect, they would eventually know.

Heaven did not destroy the Red Hook Sect, the chaos had formed, this was an opportunity to destroy first and then establish. Dark Blood Witch let out a breath, it was the longest and last breath of her life.

When her breathing stopped, there was still a smile on her face.

Author's Note:

The silver chain locks the feet, but unfortunately it locks Lord Bai.

Lord Bai: "Ahhh——!!!!!!!"