Appearance

"Chu Liang, something happened..." The one who burst in was Lin Bei.

He rushed in with a panicked look, then froze when he saw the state of the room. "Instructor Song is here too? Whoa, it's pretty lively."

Those standing and those lying down—there were enough of them to make up a mahjong table.

"Why are you here? Where's Li Jue?" Chu Liang asked.

"Li Jue is gone!" Lin Bei said hurriedly.

"Hm?"

"I was keeping watch outside. There hadn't been a sound from inside for ages, so I got suspicious. When I knocked and looked in, the window was open, and Li Jue had run off somewhere!" Lin Bei said. "So I hurried over to find you."

"You didn't hear any disturbance at all?" Chu Liang asked.

"No." Lin Bei shook his head. "There was absolutely no unusual aura or sound. I suspect he may have slipped away on his own, but I don't know why he would do that."

"He might still be hiding something from us. Li Jue could also be Situ Yan's target..." Chu Liang's thoughts raced, his brows knitting as he pondered. "We don't know where he went. What should we do?"

"I... I might be able to try." Song Qingyi suddenly spoke.

"You have a way to find Li Jue?" Both Lin Bei and Chu Liang looked at her.

"Mm." Song Qingyi nodded gently, then raised her hand and took out half a sheet of old golden paper. It was completely blank, yet spiritual energy flowed across it.

She held two fingers together like a brush with her right hand and lightly traced over the half-sheet. At once, cinnabar-red light gleamed forth, forming characters beneath her fingertips.

Li... Jue...

After writing the name, Song Qingyi tossed the half-sheet into the air. It spun round and round three times in midair, then seemed to find a direction. A clear radiance fell from it and flew out through the window.

"Follow it," Song Qingyi said, chasing after the guiding radiance as she flew out the window alongside the half-sheet of paper.

"Someone has to stay behind and watch him." Chu Liang pointed at Yan Xiaohu.

"I'll do it." This time, Lin Bei actually volunteered to stay.

Chu Liang nodded and leaped out after Song Qingyi.

Only Yan Xiaohu and Lin Bei remained, staring at each other.

After a brief silence, Yan Xiaohu cautiously asked, "Then... what are we supposed to do now?"

Lin Bei thought for a moment. "Order food first."

"Huh?" Yan Xiaohu blanked out.

Lin Bei sprawled carelessly into a chair. "Then wake them up, and we'll keep the music playing, keep the dancing going!"

"Is that really okay?" Yan Xiaohu scratched his head. "I haven't even been cleared of danger yet, have I?"

"With your big brother watching over you, just relax." Lin Bei patted his shoulder. "Though the last person I watched over just ran into trouble... but that was purely an accident, wasn't it? I'd like to succeed at least once too..."

Meanwhile.

Chu Liang followed Song Qingyi and the half-sheet of golden paper, riding the wind out of the city. Along the way, he praised her aloud, "Instructor Song, this magical artifact of yours is so convenient. As long as you know someone's name, wouldn't there be no one under heaven you couldn't find?"

"Not quite. My cultivation is insufficient, so I can only track within and around Yan Suburb City," Song Qingyi said.

"That's still incredible," Chu Liang said.

Song Qingyi added, "This half-page Golden Book is a protective treasure my master gave me for this trip. It has many wondrous uses, but I haven't fully mastered it yet."

Chu Liang fell silent for a moment.

Her master is so good to her. Huh, why am I sad?

But he also knew this was not Empress Feng's problem alone. At Shushan, unless a disciple was exceptionally outstanding or had rendered great service, it was extremely rare for one's master to bestow a magical treasure. Even outside the impoverished Silver Sword Peak, it was still the same.

Yet at other immortal sects, this was simply an ordinary matter.

At the root of it all lay differences in sect philosophy.

Especially among the three teachings, Confucian cultivators differed somewhat from the other two. Beyond cultivating divine abilities, Confucianism valued learning and moral character more highly, and this was particularly true at the Hall of Gentlemen.

With Song Qingyi's cultivation, she likely would not receive such attention in other immortal sects. But in the Hall of Gentlemen, her excellence in learning and character could earn her the regard of her elders.

The half-page Golden Book did not fly very fast. Only after quite some time did it arrive at a familiar place.

The academy's back mountain, beside the small lake.

"Li Jue is here."

"Don't rush. Let's take a look first."

After confirming the direction from afar, Song Qingyi put away her artifact, and the night sky returned to silence. The two slowly moved forward and soon saw a slender figure by the lake.

"Why..."

That figure was muttering something toward the lake. From the voice, shape, and appearance, it was Li Jue.

"Why did you have to kill so many people..." Li Jue's voice was filled with pain.

"I caused your death. Why didn't you just come kill me directly? Why do you keep killing people..."

"Hm?" Chu Liang, watching from the shadows, brightened.

Just as expected.

Li Jue had concealed something.

"That day, you tied me up and wanted to scratch up my face. I was so terrified that I struggled desperately... and accidentally pushed you into the lake. I was shocked and frightened then, and without thinking of anything else, I ran all the way home."

"Only much later did I realize that falling into the lake might have put you in danger... But when I ran back to check on you, I heard that someone had drowned in the lake..."

"I didn't mean to... But it really was me who caused your death."

"I've been so scared these past days, and I've kept running away from it... But now, I don't want to run anymore..."

"Situ Yan, if you really became a ghost, then come find me. Stop killing other people."

"..."

His broken words all drifted on the wind into Chu Liang and Song Qingyi's ears.

So Li Jue had directly caused Situ Yan's drowning, rather than Situ Yan throwing herself into the water to kill herself. No wonder Li Jue had been so terrified. These past days, he had been trapped between the guilt of accidentally killing someone and the fear of a Vengeful Spirit coming to claim his life, suffering unimaginable mental torment.

Today, he must have finally been unable to endure that torment any longer and run here.

But after speaking alone for a long time, nothing unusual happened.

Li Jue raised his head and looked around. "Are you not here, or are you unwilling to show yourself? Fine... then I'll go down and atone for my sins myself..."

He murmured a few more words, then rose and walked toward the lake below.

From the look of it, he seemed to be planning to kill himself!

"Li..." Song Qingyi immediately wanted to rise and stop him, but Chu Liang grabbed her.

"Wait a little longer," Chu Liang said softly.

Li Jue reached the shore and seemed to hesitate for a moment. But it did not last long before he steeled himself and jumped!

Just as Song Qingyi was about to forcefully intervene, a sudden gale of yin energy surged forth!

The howling wind seemed to stir waves from flat ground. Bone-chillingly cold, it swept in from all directions and actually pushed Li Jue, who was halfway through his leap, back onto the shore.

With a thud, Li Jue fell to the ground, then immediately rolled over and scrambled up. "Situ Yan, is that you?"

The raging yin wind finally gathered in one spot, shaping itself into a human figure before him. In the blink of an eye, it all scattered away again.

Only a shadowy ghost remained where it had been.

It was a woman dressed in Confucian robes, with dense scars covering half her face. Other than the rumored Situ Yan, it could be no one else.

Li Jue saw the ghost he had feared all this time, yet seemed to reveal an expression of relief. "You finally came to see me."

At the side, Chu Liang and Song Qingyi also focused their attention.

That dense yin energy was no ordinary Vengeful Spirit, and her solid form was enough to prove it. Though they did not know what had happened to grant her such cultivation...

One thing was certain.

Situ Yan was the Painted Skin Ghost!