Shi Jingzhi had a not-too-long nightmare. He was clearly aware that he was dreaming, so his heart was still at ease.

The Mi Lan Empress was unlike Yan Budu. She had no intention of leaving anything behind for the world. The nearly vast hatred and despair came crashing down, and Shi Jingzhi nearly lost consciousness.

The Queen's temperament was even more vicious than Demon Lord Yan's, and she showed no mercy even to her "own kind". Shi Jingzhi was a bit frightened in hindsight—if he hadn't received the assistance of Yin Ci and Chen Qianfan, he might not have been able to defeat the secret scripture. To deal with the "Empress' Funeral" at full combat power, normally speaking, he would need at least a well-trained army.

She hoped to leave her last words to a sufficiently powerful member of her own kind.

Shi Jingzhi didn't know if he could be considered as having found a loophole. He only had a vague feeling. The Mi Lan Empress's last words were definitely not something he could easily digest.

Sure enough, in the vast despair, the information she provided was quite direct.

At the beginning of the nightmare, Shi Jingzhi saw the ten-thousand-foot glacier of the northern lands. The Mi Lan Empress stood at the edge of the glacier, wearing a blue and white royal robe, looking cold and beautiful.

There was no one beside her.

And opposite her stood the army of tens of thousands of Dayun, mixed with several thousand Mi Lan soldiers. The leader was a white-haired old man on a horse, who looked like the Yun dynasty's National Teacher at that time.

"What am I? A monster you created, or a weapon?"

Under the dark clouds and storm, she asked calmly. That voice was transmitted by magical techniques, and the surrounding generals and soldiers were unmoved, as if only the National Teacher could hear it.

The National Teacher slightly raised his eyebrows, looking up and down at Mi Lan Empress. The latter coughed up a mouthful of blood, her smile full of mockery, her entire being like a diseased plum blossom standing at the top of the glacier.

"When I was treating my illness, I found a magic formation in my own blood. That formation is too complex to be of this world, and there are indeed traces of human modification. It has accompanied me since birth, and my short-lived strange illness and terrifying desires are all related to it, right?"

Rather than a question, Mi Lan Empress's tone was closer to a reprimand. The National Teacher's eyes showed a hint of appreciation, but that appreciation quickly turned to regret.

"To be able to detect the blood formation, you truly live up to the rumors of being a magical prodigy. It's a pity..."

His voice was very low, also sent out through magic, stabbing like needles.

"No need for pity. Today, I just want to die with clarity. Old thing, if you dare to lie to my face, even if I go to hell, I will take the lives of the tens of thousands of people behind you with me."

The Mi Lan Empress interrupted him with a cold laugh.

The National Teacher had a look of compassion, as if looking at an unreasonable child throwing a tantrum. He looked at the countless spells ready to be unleashed beside the Empress, pondered for a moment, and finally spoke.

"Dayun has had a Desire Child in every generation, a talent of unparalleled splendor. The sage sacrifices himself to the heavens, and only then does heaven bestow such blessings. You are not monsters, but the hope of the heavenly mandate. Us sending you to the land of freedom is also done with good intentions."

"It's a pity, a pity... Women have shallow hearts and too biased desires, and in the end it's difficult to bear the destiny of heaven."

The Mi Lan Empress's smile grew wider and wider, the cold wind blowing her long sleeves, murderous aura and immortal aura mixing together.

"Desire Child? Desires? Let me ask you, that 'Blood Vein Disease' that nearly took my life, is that the original desire?"

The National Teacher gently nodded: "Indeed so."

The Empress gripped the handkerchief in her hand tightly, her smile a bit distorted. Dark clouds gathered in the clear sky, and rumbling thunder could be heard from the cloud layers.

Her despair grew thicker, wrapped in chaotic fragments. The memories during the time of desire were neither a blessing or a curse. She was destined to be unable to shake them off in her lifetime.

Empress Xu Luo suffered from a strange illness of coughing up blood, making it difficult to bear children, and thus was neglected by the royal family. She had entered the palace for many days, but the royal clan merely treated her as a pretty ornament, only giving her a female slave named Ah Tao.

However, an unintentional act led to an unexpected result. Two drifting duckweeds met, and the Empress gained her first friend in this life.

One spring day, she received this handkerchief. Under the sunlight, the female slave Ah Tao's eyes sparkled, her smile incomparably brilliant—

[Keep it, I embroidered it! I remember today is your birthday. Ah, the two of us are trapped here alone and destitute, we have to support each other to get by.]

[I learned a song from Dayun from my little sister back home, I'll sing it for you! How does the Dayun saying go... warm, the warm breeze lovingly caresses the lively peach branches...]

[It's a pity my family are all royal slaves. Otherwise I would definitely travel the whole country, singing everywhere. Ah Luo, what do you want to do in the future?]

It was just a smile, but it was the most beautiful thing she had seen in her life. No matter what, she wanted to see it again.

Perhaps she could fulfill that person's wish.

Years later, beside the pile of royal clan corpses, on the blood-stained throne, the new Empress happily announced to her friend—

[I'm going to abolish the royal slave system, you can sing freely.]

[I will take care of your family, and also take good care of this country... Now I can do whatever I want.]

[...Ah Tao, why aren't you smiling anymore?]

The slave Ah Tao knelt trembling below the throne, not daring to even raise her head. Hearing those words, she lifted her head, forcing out a smile uglier than crying.

Not long after, Ah Tao's family was besieged by the people for "betraying the royal clan and supporting the tyrant". Ah Tao did not seek help from her former friend. By the time Xu Luo discovered it, they had already crossed the border and fled to Dayun.

She could never find that smile again.

Ah Tao fled in panic, and no matter how hard she worked to govern the country, in the eyes of the Mi Lan people, she would always be just a kin-slaying usurper of the throne, a foreigner with ulterior motives. She was caught between a rock and a hard place, and her days were numbered to boot.

She understood in her heart that she would never see a smile like that again.

What a pitiful and laughable life, only to be met with a light "women have shallow hearts and too biased desires".

Then what was "right"?

The Empress let go of her hand, and that crumpled handkerchief fluttered in the wind, falling down the mountains and rivers. She stared straight into the National Teacher's eyes, nearly enunciating each word: "Dayun has had a Desire Child in every generation, a talent of unparalleled splendor. I know, I won't be the last one... That's enough, more than enough."

"Come, let me teach you two things—first, the words of a dying person are not necessarily good. Saying I won't kill, that was me lying to you. As for the second..."

After letting go of that handkerchief, her smile became even more beautiful.

"You should keep your secrets well. Dead men may not stay silent."

As soon as the Empress finished speaking, countless scarlet spell runes shot out. The National Teacher's face changed, and he tried to resist with magic techniques, but his heart was immediately pierced through. In the splashing fresh blood, the huge glacier instantly shattered, and the army of tens of thousands plummeted into the icy sea in an instant.

"Old thing, let me show you the hatred of a 'mere woman'."

The corpse of the National Teacher was dragged forward by the curse, and the Empress held it tightly in her arms. After a flash of blood-colored light, more corpses gathered around. Before being drowned by the corpses, the Empress's face turned ashen, and her lips moved slightly.

"I will let you know that when the sage sacrificed himself to the heavens, what the heavens bestowed was not a blessing, but a calamity."

"I will become this calamity."

In a few decades, a few centuries, there will always be others like her coming to this northern land. Even if there is only a slight possibility, she wants them to pay the price.

In the boundless hatred and despair, she finally shed tears. At the end of the nightmare, Shi Jingzhi saw the Empress move her lips, but stubbornly swallowed back her final words.

Looking at that tiny mouth shape, she seemed to want to call out "Ah Tao".

The information in the nightmare's "last words" was truly frightening, and the feeling of the surging pile of corpses was too terrifying. Shi Jingzhi gasped in shock and abruptly sat up.

He struggled wildly as if drowning, and was immediately grabbed by a warm hand.

Shi Jingzhi skillfully grasped the hand tightly and embraced its owner. That despair and oppression nearly drowned him, but fortunately he still had a piece of driftwood that would never sink.

"Awake?" Yin Ci sighed with relief.

Shi Jingzhi didn't know if he could be considered awake - the aftereffects of the Living Puppet Curse were like a hangover, and coupled with the influence of Mi Lan Empress' "last words", his brain felt like it was bubbling inside his skull. Master Shi let go of his disciple, rummaged around the edge of the wooden boat for a while, trying to vomit.

As a result, there was nothing in his stomach to throw up, and he dry heaved for a while before coming back to his senses.

With the recovery of his three-year-old memories, Shi Jingzhi knew that the matter of "destined desire" was inseparable from the previous National Teacher. Who would have thought that this "connection" started more than two hundred years ago.

It wasn't just one National Teacher involved, but a group of them.

The Mi Lan Empress, Yan Budu, and himself were all a kind of living thing called "desire children". Their strange illness of coughing up blood and distorted desires were all thanks to this identity.

There were desire children in every generation of Dayun. Besides the particularly troublesome Empress and Yan Budu, how many more people were buried in the shadows?

According to the last words, after the first generation National Teacher's heavenly sacrifice, the "desire children" appeared. But what exactly were the "desire children" used for?

Shi Jingzhi wished he could fly to City Yi right now and severely torture Jiang Youyue. Unfortunately, Jiang Youyue was heavily protected, and he was under royal guard, so it would be difficult to make a move.

Moreover, at this moment, he had more important things to consider—

There was no such thing as a short-lived strange disease, he just had an array of unknown purpose in his blood. That array was born with them, and even the Mi Lan Empress could not remove it, which showed it was not something good to be associated with.

The Living Puppet Curse had expired, and Shi Jingzhi had lost Chen Qianfan's magic reserves, unable to deduce deeper clues. He could only grab Yin Ci and look around weakly, "Where are Senior Chen and Granny?"

The wooden boat seemed to be some kind of magic tool, and it was safely stopped on the snowy plain. Shi Zhongyu and Yan Qing were still in a coma, and only Chen Qianfan and Granny Wei were nowhere to be seen on the boat.

Yin Ci lowered his eyes and said lightly, "They're both gone."

Shi Jingzhi's chaotic thoughts immediately froze. The magic tool was still warm, so they must have just stopped not long ago. It was empty and desolate all around, with no one in sight. The meaning of this "gone" was probably only one thing.

After a long time, he began to think a little dully - before he left, the two elders were clearly fine. How could they be gone after just one sleep?

He immediately grasped Yin Ci's hand tightly, as if afraid that the person in front of him would also disappear.

Since the beginning of unlocking the seal, with fierce battles and last words, Shi Jingzhi's body and mind had not rested. Yin Ci looked at the person in front of him and felt that every part of this person was filled with exhaustion, and the usual vigorous vitality had faded a few degrees.

He thought for a moment, did not ask about the last words, but continued on his own, "Shi Zhongyu and Yan Qing's conditions are not very good, and they need a warm place to recuperate. This place is not far from Luan River, and we can go there to rest for a while."

"It's just after sunrise now, and the yin energy has receded. I'll go look for Su Si, and you wait here for me."

Yin Ci's tone was calm, and also carried an unquestionable composure, which was very reassuring to hear.

Just like many years ago.

...That's right, Ah Ci has an immortal body. He thought belatedly, and his thoughts couldn't help but start to wander off again.

In just an instant, Shi Jingzhi empathized with the Mi Lan Empress's pain - if there wasn't such a thread of worldly ties by his side, when those heavy truths came crashing down, he might have also fallen into a desperate loss.

Shi Jingzhi felt a strange sense of surviving a disaster, and a layer of cold sweat seeped out from his back.

Yin Ci seemed to have misunderstood Shi Jingzhi's blank stare, thinking that he had not yet recovered from the nightmare.

He took out an exquisite peace amulet and placed it in Shi Jingzhi's palm, "Embroidered by Granny Wei, with a peace talisman written by Chen Qianfan inside. Remember not to open it casually... I accepted your 'Lantern Contract', so I have to give a gift in return."

With that said, Yin Ci took out another peace amulet from his bosom and waved it in front of Shi Jingzhi, "This is mine, and I've also put away the Lantern Contract."

Oh, he was trying to coax him.

Shi Jingzhi suddenly felt that this person's set of three-step tricks hadn't changed in twenty years, which showed that he really didn't have much in stock. Although Master Shi's heart was heavy, he was almost amused by his disciple.

Yin Ci continued to clumsily act as a father, his own tone a little hesitant, "When we get to Luan River, I'll make you fish to eat."

Shi Jingzhi carefully put the peace amulet in his bosom and looked at Yin Ci, "Master is long past three years old, and was just thinking about serious matters."

He was no longer the little mute boy from back then, and this little bit of bribery could no longer fool him.

"But I do want to eat fish fillet with fruit juice." After a little thought, he added solemnly.

Yin Ci's expression softened. He was about to say something after sighing with relief, but his brows slowly furrowed.

Shi Jingzhi turned his head and looked in the direction of Yin Ci's gaze - not far away, a trail of white smoke came rolling. Judging from the shape, the approaching thing was a bit strange, but the demonic aura was quite faint.

When the thing got closer, the two could see a general outline. It was a small sled pulled by a group of rabbit demons, and standing on the sled was a human figure holding a... big goose.

The big goose had two fleshy tentacles on its head, and its eyes were stern and dissatisfied. They looked very familiar.

Lord Bai had a warm jade pendant hanging on his chest, looking startled but fortunately unharmed. Su Si was passed out at the tail of the sled, wrapped in thick clothes, with blood still on his face, but seemed to still be breathing.

"Long time no see, Master Shi, did your Ku Mountain Sect lose something?" The person on the sled stopped beside the wooden boat, smiling charmingly.

Shi Jingzhi: "...Many thanks, Miss Shen."

He felt a bit torn between laughter and tears, having no choice but to play along with Shen Zhu's act of unfamiliarity for now. With Yin Ci's experience, he had likely discovered their connection back in the ghost tomb. Now that Shen Zhu was pretending not to know him to his face, he wasn't sure for a moment whether he should introduce this subordinate of his or not.

Given the atmosphere, it would be awkward whether he said anything or not.

Sect Leader Shi, having just received a token of true affection, was still basking in the warmth and afraid that it might slip through the cracks if he loosened his grip. He was tongue-tied for a moment, unable to come up with a smooth response.

On the other side, Yin Ci did indeed remember the face of the person who had arrived - it was none other than Shen Zhu from the ghost tomb.

When they were still in the ghost tomb, Shi Jingzhi had already been sneaking around alone with this person. The disciples of Yueshui Bureau were always running all over the place, investigating all sorts of strange things. Running into each other here now could be barely explained as a coincidence, but...

Yin Ci glanced at the bird whistle on Shen Zhu's chest, then thought of the sparrow feather on Shi Jingzhi, and understood everything. It was just that Shi Jingzhi had changed his face now, and he didn't know if Shi Jingzhi had mentioned this matter to this person.

Since the two of them had been avoiding contact with him, it seemed a bit hurtful to their feelings to directly expose it. Now that Shi Jingzhi wasn't saying anything, it seemed inappropriate for him to speak up no matter what.

The master and disciple, one looking at the sky and the other at the ground, fell into a suspicious silence.

Shen Zhu observed this inexplicable atmosphere for a while, her eyebrows rising higher and higher. Seeing that neither of them spoke, she slowly figured out a bit of the situation-

Shen Zhu pulled Su Si onto the wooden boat, then turned to Yin Ci: "Alright, I know you. I am indeed Shi Jingzhi's subordinate, but he didn't gossip about your matters to me. The news of Yueshui Bureau has always been fast. As soon as I heard that you publicly kissed your master at the city gate, I recognized you."

She spoke with a smile, trying to ease the atmosphere.

"You're Yin Ci, right? I had a deep impression of you back in the ghost tomb. You're the only one I've ever seen who dared to lay their mouth on their own master like that."

Author's Note:

Shen Zhu: I'm just the bot that slaps people with their dark history.

...Yin Ci, do you still remember what you did before?

This time, considering the chapter break, I didn't want to force the writing. The word count is about right (......) Anyway, tomorrow will also be plump~