Morning after the spring rain, dawn light spilled through thin clouds, draping the mortal world in a warm veil of golden gauze.
In the courtyard, the lady wore coarse cloth garments. With her back to An Le and Huang Xian at the gate, she was tending the flowers and potted plants. Washed by a day of spring rain, the blooms looked all the more delicate and dewy. Shrouded together with the woman in the golden gauze of morning light, the scene carried a measure of peace.
An Le's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the woman.
It was not because of her beauty, nor because her proud figure could not be concealed even by her coarse clothes.
It was because wisps of Time Qi rose from her body, curling and winding without end!
Counting carefully, there were more than twenty wisps!
What did that mean?
Girl Zhuifeng of Lin Manor and Fairy Yun Rou upon the flower boats possessed only a dozen or so wisps of Time Qi, yet this woman in Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley possessed over twenty!
Beyond that, An Le sensed a difference—the difference in the Time Qi.
The Time Qi on the woman was not merely gray. Upon the surface of that current seemed to lie a layer of profound black, bewitching to the extreme.
Like... demonic qi!
An Le's eyes narrowed slightly.
A demon?
Besides cultivators, this world also had living beings born with spiritual wisdom, blessed by the essence of heaven and earth. They were called demons.
Legends of demons had existed since ancient times. Evil demons slaughtered living beings, while kind demons repaid kindness like the snail maiden...
Closer to home, it was said that beneath West Lake was sealed a snake demon with a thousand years of Cultivation Level.
An Le had never expected that this woman, living in an alley so close to Great Zhao's Imperial Ancestral Temple, might actually be a demon.
Huang Xian had not noticed anything unusual about the woman. The gap in their cultivation meant that he saw her as nothing more than an ordinary person.
Without revealing anything, An Le followed Huang Xian into the courtyard.
This was not some two-section courtyard, merely an ordinary single-section one. Yet for An Le, it was enough. Most importantly, it was spacious enough for him to move freely while practicing the Five Animal Forms.
Seeing visitors, the woman unhurriedly stopped what she was doing and turned gracefully around.
The woman's features were not particularly stunning, but paired with her proud figure, they carried a distinct, charming allure.
"Madam, this is Young Master An. He needs to purchase a courtyard to live in, so I brought him here."
Seeing the woman, Huang Xian spoke with a smile.
The woman glanced at An Le. His handsome appearance made her freeze for a moment, before she dipped into a curtsy in greeting.
An Le cupped his hands and returned the courtesy.
"Young Master An, this... this courtyard is being sold for six hundred taels. Can you accept that price?"
The woman asked with a gentle smile.
An Le examined the spotless courtyard, where flowers and potted plants had been arranged in a way that refreshed the heart and delighted the eye. He smiled lightly, did not haggle, and nodded. "I can."
An Le then took out his money pouch and removed two Primordial Spirit Treasures.
"Two Primordial Spirit Treasures amount to exactly six hundred taels. Please accept them, Madam."
An Le handed the treasures to the woman.
The gentle woman accepted them, then handed the deed to An Le and curtsied. "Young Master An, this courtyard now belongs to you. The flowers and plants within were carefully cultivated by me. They too are living things between heaven and earth, perhaps even with life of their own. I hope you will care for them well."
An Le smiled and returned the courtesy. "Rest assured, Madam. Whenever I practice martial arts, I will move the flowers and potted plants aside to keep them from being harmed."
Hearing this, the woman smiled radiantly at An Le.
Seeing the deal concluded, Huang Xian felt quite pleased. Truth be told, six hundred taels for a single-section courtyard was somewhat overpriced. If it had been listed with the Estate Agency, it certainly could not have fetched such a price.
Huang Xian only hoped that the orphaned mother and daughter could earn a little more silver, so that after leaving Lin'an, they could live a good life.
"Madam, be careful after leaving Lin'an. These are troubled times."
Huang Xian looked at the woman and reminded her.
The woman nodded. "After I send Nannan back to my maiden family, I will return to Lin'an..."
Huang Xian froze.
"Captain Huang should know there was something fishy about my husband's death... Someone wanted him dead. When I return to the capital, naturally I must seek justice." The woman lowered her head, her long hair falling loose as she murmured softly.
For a moment, Huang Xian was speechless. It felt as though a boulder weighing ten thousand catties had lodged in his throat.
Listening to their exchange, An Le also realized that there was more to the matter, but it was not convenient for him to ask. With a thought, he consecutively absorbed two wisps of Time Qi from the woman.
Captain Huang had only two wisps of Time Qi in total. Now that they had been absorbed, there was nothing left to draw from.
With the two wisps of Time Qi acquired, joy rose in An Le's heart, because... he discovered that one of them was Flowing Gold Time Qi capable of condensing a Dao Fruit!
Inside the house, a little girl with twin horn braids ran out. She seemed somewhat afraid of strangers and timidly hid behind the woman. The woman picked up a bundle of luggage she had prepared long ago and nodded to An Le.
"Young Master An, thank you for your generosity."
The woman had not noticed in the slightest that she had been fleeced. She spoke softly.
She also knew that this small single-section courtyard could never have sold for six hundred taels. An Le had only opened his purse so generously because he pitied her mother and daughter. And she truly needed the silver. She would remember this kindness.
"There is no need to thank me, Madam. This is a transaction between us, willingly agreed upon by both sides. I wish you a smooth journey."
An Le smiled.
The woman looked deeply at An Le. Those eyes of Young Master An's... had they seen something?
Yet she did not pursue the thought. Carrying the little girl and their luggage, she gave the courtyard—perhaps filled with beautiful memories—one final look, then turned and left, vanishing into the crowds of Qingbo Street and the curling morning mist.
"Haa." Huang Xian sighed.
"Captain Huang, is there more to this matter?" An Le asked. "If it is inconvenient, you need not say."
Huang Xian shook his head. "There is nothing inconvenient about it. It is merely the filthy darkness hidden beneath Lin'an Prefecture's flourishing prosperity—people using power and influence to oppress and bully others."
"Lin'an Prefecture has many nobles. Nobles enjoy many privileges, and some rely on those privileges to act without restraint, committing every kind of outrage. The more said of it, the more irritating it becomes."
"The Black Office governs cultivators, but there are some nobles it cannot govern—and dares not govern."
Huang Xian was in poor spirits. After saying only a few words, he bid An Le farewell. "Young Master An, congratulations on moving into your new home. Huang must go handle a case now. With Young Master An's portrait in hand, this suspect surely will not escape."
"Once Huang finishes work, I will bring a pot of old yellow wine and drink heartily with Young Master An."
An Le cupped his hands in reply. With a saber at his waist, Huang Xian looked toward the direction in which the mother and daughter had departed and sighed once more. He seemed to have aged somewhat, his back bending slightly as he strode away.
An Le closed the courtyard gate and placed his pack inside the house. The courtyard, inside and out, had been swept clean. Though the lady was a demon, she had truly lived her days like an ordinary woman.
Huang Xian had not explained the woman's affairs clearly, and An Le did not dwell on them.
With a thought, that strand of Flowing Gold Time Qi drawn from the woman, faintly enveloped in bewitching intent, transformed into a golden incense stick and began to burn slowly.
Moonlight flowed like water, pouring down upon the mortal world.
Deep in the mountains, ancient trees coiled their roots.
Upon an old pine growing from a boulder, its roots twisted and intertwined, a squirrel sat cross-legged atop a branch.
Moonlight descended, bathing the squirrel as its fluffy tail swayed gently.
Faintly, moonlight essence seemed to spread through the air, absorbed bit by bit by the squirrel, causing demonic qi to bloom.
Absorbing the essence of sun and moon, receiving heaven and earth's cleansing—this was the transformation through which demons took human form.
Vigorous demonic qi surged forth, like black mist shrouding the squirrel. Gradually, the demonic qi swelled ever greater, like an incomparably enormous pinecone.
After a long while, the demonic qi slowly dissipated. From within the black demonic qi, a long leg, white and lustrous as jade, slowly stretched forth. Beneath the cold moonlight, its whiteness was dazzling.
The scene gradually faded, and An Le's consciousness returned. The Flowing Gold Time Qi he had drawn from the woman had actually allowed him to witness the process of that demon taking human form.
It truly caught An Le somewhat off guard.
That woman was actually a female squirrel demon. Yet after taking human form, for some unknown reason, she had married a human. There might be many stories behind it.
However, An Le had no way of knowing those stories.
Before his eyes, the light screen displayed azure text.
Obtained Time Dao Fruit: Quenching Demon Jade Note: Quenching Demon Jade (Dao Fruit): The treasured jade absorbs demonic qi and can draw upon the demonic qi within the jade to aid in tempering the body, making one as strong as a demon's body; wearing the treasured jade can weaken the effects of demonic qi.
An Le took a deep breath, only to see a demonic wind suddenly rise in the courtyard. Demonic qi gathered like dark clouds, making the flowers and grass sway and sending dust flying.
When the demonic wind and qi dispersed, a round, nine-patterned white jade pendant with tassels gently drifted down into his palm.
At the same time.
Within the octagonal, double-eaved, pointed-roofed Imperial Ancestral Temple several miles from the small courtyard.
A Long-browed Elder clad in plain robes was holding a brush and splashing ink across a painting on the desk.
Suddenly, the old man's brush halted. He turned to look toward the courtyard in Imperial Ancestral Temple Alley and smiled in surprise.
"One squirrel demon has just left, and now such dense demonic qi has emerged..."
"Demons daring to make their nest beside the royal Imperial Ancestral Temple—they truly do not take this old man seriously."
The old man suspended his brush, clasped his hands behind his back, and pushed open the temple doors.
Neither hurried nor slow, he walked toward the small courtyard in the alley.
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