Chapter 3

A Chan opened her eyes, her lashes trembling. Amid the soft fall of snow, a pair of black leather boots appeared in her field of vision.

Before she could speak, an unsheathed long saber pressed against her throat. Scales that had not been fully polished off the scabbard barely brushed her skin, yet already cut open the side of her neck.

"Name?" The voice above her was low and mellow. If that saber hadn't been at her throat, A Chan would have thought him a gentle man.

"A... Ji Chan."

"Why are you here?"

"My home is in Changping Quarter. I was just passing through on my way back."

After the Soul Possession, Ji Chan's memories had poured straight into A Chan's mind. They were the complete memories of another person's short life, and the key to A Chan taking Ji Chan's place and living on.

A Chan quickly seized on the memories of that night, ready to use them to deal with the man before her.

"Tell me what happened."

Being interrogated while lying on the ground didn't feel good, but the man beside her had no intention of moving his saber. She could only remain where she was and answer his questions obediently.

"On my way home, I came across people nearby trying to catch a ghost. When the ghost rushed at me, an arrow flew over... and wounded me."

Her wound had already healed. She shouldn't have said anything unnecessary, but her white coat was far too conspicuous, and a large patch of blood stained the chest. There was no way to bluff her way past that.

As she spoke, Bai Xiuming's gaze drifted down to her heart, then shifted to the arrow nearby. It was an official issue, and judging by its design, it seemed to have come from the Ministry of Justice.

"Go on."

"I crawled into the alley, and saw her."

"Did you speak to it?"

"I thought I was about to die, and I thought she would eat me, so I said something. Who knew she'd answer me?"

"What did she say?"

"She said she didn't eat people. She also asked my name, then fell silent."

A soft scoff came from above. At last, the saber that had threatened her life moved away. The standing man crouched in front of her, his black Overcoat trailing to the ground and gathering snow.

A Chan stole a moment to think: It looks so warm.

She had never felt cold before. Her fur had been beautiful and kept her warm, but now she was shivering with cold.

Being human was so difficult.

"Quite a lot of nerve, lying to this official." The words rang in her ear, still tinged with a trace of amusement. The next instant, a hand clamped around her neck like an iron vise and forced her face up. A Chan had no choice but to meet his gaze.

The face before her was extraordinarily handsome, as if Heaven itself had carved it with exquisite care. Among the demons and people she knew, he would easily rank among the top three.

She was a picky person who had always liked good-looking people, and it had cost her dearly. This one before her was probably not someone to trifle with, either.

The man had a pair of gentle eyes. When he looked down at her, tender light seemed to ripple through them. But his hand was not gentle at all. In moments, A Chan's vision went dark, and she could barely breathe.

She grabbed desperately at his hand, trying to break free, but couldn't move him in the slightest.

Bai Xiuming simply watched her. Only when her struggles weakened did he loosen his grip a little and speak again. "I'll ask you once more. What did it say to you?"

"She sought investiture from me, but failed. She also said she was an Eight-Tailed Fox."

"Eight-Tailed Fox?" A glint flashed in Bai Xiuming's eyes. He suddenly called out, "Feng Yang."

"Here, sir."

A man named Feng Yang appeared from nowhere and knelt on one knee, head bowed as he waited for his master's orders.

"Have someone come examine the corpse."

"Yes."

Two men soon came over and examined A Chan's original body. It took them only a short while to finish, after which they stood to one side with their hands lowered.

"Well?" Bai Xiuming asked.

"Reporting to you, sir. This demon is indeed an Eight-Tailed Fox, and not very old. Its wounds reached the bone, as if it had been surrounded and hunted. We found no demon core inside its body."

Bai Xiuming didn't seem interested in their examination. He only asked, "Is it completely dead?"

"Completely dead."

"Take it back to the Mingjing Division."

"Yes."

"And this one..." He stood and took a plain handkerchief from Feng Yang, wiping his hands. "Take her back, too."

As he spoke, the handkerchief fell to the ground.

"Yes."

A Chan was taken to the Mingjing Division—or, more precisely, she was brought into the Town Prison beneath it.

She had heard of the Town Prison. They said it held many Great Demons. It was the sort of place that could make Demon Race children cry if you told them stories about it.

Ji Chan's memories held many people saying the same thing: once you entered the Mingjing Division's Town Prison, few ever made it out alive.

Mingjing Division Guards in black armor stood watch at the entrance to the Town Prison day and night. The figures of Bi'an, the Dragon's Ninth Son, faintly appeared on the two black iron gates.

As the Mingjing Division Guards escorted A Chan closer, Bi'an grew clearer on the gates. Its eyes even moved slowly along with her steps, until the Black Iron Gate swung open and she was shoved inside.

As she crossed the threshold of the Town Prison, A Chan thought, That man really does suspect me.

Everyone knew Bi'an could distinguish right from wrong and judge criminal cases, but few knew its True Dragon Eyes could also see whether a person's body and soul belonged together.

If she had forcibly possessed Ji Chan tonight, then even if she had somehow escaped Heaven's punishment, she still wouldn't have escaped that man.

But even if she passed this hurdle, could she really make it out alive today?

The Mingjing Division Guards didn't take her to a cell. Instead, they led her down a long, dark passage. At the end stood a stone chamber lit by fire.

Only after entering did A Chan realize it was an Interrogation Room.

The red light she'd seen earlier came from burning coals, with branding irons of various sizes resting on top.

The Mingjing Division Guards quickly and silently shackled A Chan to an iron frame in the corner of the room, fastening iron chains around her limbs and neck. Then they left without a sound.

A Chan was alone in the Interrogation Room.

Only now, with matters come to this, did A Chan suddenly realize what a terrible mistake she had made.

A young woman raised in comfort in a marquis's manor shouldn't have been so calm after something so terrifying.

The moment she answered that man's questions in such a clear, orderly way, she had already fallen into his trap.

She was full of regret, but it was too late to do anything about it.

If she couldn't give that man a reasonable explanation today, they would rather kill the wrong person than let her go.

While A Chan worried about her life, Bai Xiuming sat in the Yamen Inner Hall, listening to Feng Yang's report.

"Sir, we've confirmed Ji Chan's identity."

"Speak." Bai Xiuming had already taken off his Overcoat. His Vermilion Official Robe, embroidered with the Dragon-Fish Gold Pattern, made his figure look especially tall and slender.

"Ji Chan was the Eldest Legitimate Daughter of Marquis Ji Heng of Jinyang, but she was expelled from the clan not long ago. Apparently, Marquis Ji Heng suddenly discovered that Ji Chan wasn't his biological daughter."

"Suddenly discovered?" Bai Xiuming raised the corner of his mouth, as if he found the words rather amusing.

"Your subordinate suspects Marquis Ji Heng's actions were connected to the disgraced Lin Family. The former Marchioness of Jinyang was the Lin Family's legitimate daughter."

"Mm. Anything else?" Bai Xiuming lifted his teacup and took a sip.

"Also, the one who wounded Ji Chan tonight seems to have been Xue Mingtang, an Assistant Minister of Justice. Xue Mingtang's elder sister married Marquis Ji Heng not long ago and brought a son and a daughter with her."

"That's all?"

Feng Yang nodded. "That's all."

As for his analysis, the lord probably didn't need to hear it. How could the sordid affairs of Jinyang Marquis Manor possibly be hidden from him?

"What kind of person was Ji Chan?"

Feng Yang was taken aback. He tried hard to recall the information he'd gathered, but in the end could only sum her up in four words: "A proper young lady."

Bai Xiuming sneered. "What a proper young lady."

Feng Yang had also noticed that something about Ji Chan had been off, but he didn't dare say more.

"And the Fox Demon?"

"The Fox Demon's corpse has been sent for examination. No Soul Remnant was found. It may have dispersed."

"Dispersed? The Demon Race has always been treacherous. If it had a chance to survive, would it willingly wait to die?"

"But Ji Chan passed beneath Bi'an's eyes without showing any sign of anything amiss."

Bai Xiuming rose and headed out. "I'm curious about that, too."

Being hung from the iron frame was no pleasant experience, especially since A Chan's body was unusually weak.

At first, she thought it was because the Soul Possession had left her soul and body mismatched, and that she only needed some time to adjust.

But even after so long, there wasn't the slightest sign of recovery. She couldn't help suspecting that this weakness might not be due to a Soul-Body Mismatch.

Just then, she heard footsteps outside. Before long, a tall, slender figure appeared beyond the Interrogation Room.

A Chan watched as the man walked in. This time, he hadn't brought his saber, but this stone chamber was full of things more dangerous than a saber.

As if he knew what she was thinking, Bai Xiuming stopped beside a table and selected a whip from the assortment of torture implements laid out on it.

Carrying the whip, he strolled over to A Chan.

"Name."

It was the second time Bai Xiuming had asked her name.

"Ji Chan."

"Ji Chan?" His voice was low as he spoke the two words, almost like he was murmuring a lover's name, his tenderness suffocating.

"A very pleasant name. But are you really Ji Chan?"

"Do you think I'm not, sir?" A Chan looked at Bai Xiuming with a challenging gaze.

The coarse whip slid lightly along her cheek. Bai Xiuming's expression didn't change in the slightest. He simply stared at A Chan. "The Legitimate Daughter of Marquis Ji Heng wasn't a girl with much courage."

"If you'd died once, sir, I doubt you'd think that way. I'm much braver than you imagine."

"Oh? How brave?"

A Chan smiled. "Didn't you want to know where the fox's demon core went? I know."

"You know?"

"Come closer, and I'll tell you."

Bai Xiuming leaned toward A Chan until their breaths almost intertwined. In her eyes, his gaze was gentle and full of affection.

A Chan breathed the words softly. "I ate it."

The next instant, she cried out in pain.

Bai Xiuming stood several steps away, the whip in his hand having left a long bloody welt across A Chan's body.

When the whip snapped out, all the barbs along it had spread wide. They could tear away flesh, making it viciously cruel.

A Chan trembled all over with pain, but still kept her wits about her and taunted him. "Beating me won't help. I ate it."

"People die if they eat a demon's core."

"Not if the demon gives it willingly." A Chan gasped for breath. "It didn't want to live anymore, so it gave me its core of its own accord. If I hadn't eaten its core, that arrow would have killed me."

It sounded like a perfectly reasonable explanation.