This was vastly different from what Song Qingshu had imagined. If her surname had been Li, she might have been Li Wenxiu—Li Wan in this world—the sister of Li Mochou. If her surname had been Bai, she might have been Bai Axiu of the Snow Mountain Sect, the protagonist of Ode to Gallantry.
But this girl's surname was Shi. He truly had no idea where she came from.
After giving it some thought, Song Qingshu decided that business came first. He turned and asked Cheng Qingshuang directly, "Why are you here?"
Cheng Qingshuang hurriedly replied, "Reporting to the Lord! After the former Lord went missing, we of the Nine Heavens and Nine Departments immediately descended the mountain and split up to search for her. The Haotian Department headed east to welcome the former Lord, the Yangtian Department southeast, the Chitian Department south, the Zhutian Department southwest, the Chengtian Department west, the Youtian Department northwest, the Xuantian Department north, the Luantian Department northeast, while the Juntian Department remained behind to guard the palace. Who would have thought that the slaves of the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands would dare rebel while the former Lord was in trouble? They are currently attacking the main peak. The Juntian Department has strictly defended the paths up the mountain, preventing those fiends from succeeding. But the Juntian Department is outnumbered and cannot hold on much longer, so they sent someone to break through and seek help."
Song Qingshu frowned. "Since you were entrusted with seeking help, why did you delay along the way and neglect your duty?"
Cheng Qingshuang's face turned deathly pale as she hastily answered, "Reporting to the Lord, I deserve death for delaying my duty. But most of us women in Lingjiu Palace have suffered abuse at the hands of men. When