A Sudden Turn of Events

Next, Zheng Que began cultivating the Life Planting Technique, replenishing the Spirit Power he had spent practicing the two techniques just now.

In the boundless void, he focused intently on catching streams of icy air. The familiar chill seeped into his body bit by bit, then, driven by the cultivation technique, transformed into wisps of spiritual breath that gathered in his Qi Sea, forming a haze that grew increasingly dense.

As more and more spiritual energy and yin energy entered his body, Zheng Que opened his eyes and saw the Wide Hall space in ruins.

He lowered his head and looked at the Life and Death Book spread open on the long table.

Beside his own name in the Life and Death Book, his remaining lifespan was still sixteen years, seven months, and ten days.

Looking at the entry, Zheng Que nodded slightly. His lifespan had not changed, which meant that when he went to Zhao the Second's house later, he would not be in any danger of losing his life.

He surveyed the ruined Wide Hall space and, after confirming that nothing had changed, sat down in the Grandmaster Chair with the broken leg and waited quietly.

A long while later, all the black qi that had surged from between his brows sank into the Life and Death Book.

The scenery around him rippled like water. Soon, after a strange and dazzling distortion, he returned to the house in the small town.

Feeling that his Spirit Power had fully recovered, Zheng Que stood up at once and glanced at the sky outside. The sun was slanting westward, and the last of the daylight streamed through the window lattice, stretching the odds and ends scattered across the floor into long, thin shadows. Dusk had fallen.

Without hesitation, he said to Qing Li, who was hanging from the crossbeam, "Come with me."

With that, Zheng Que went straight out.

The Zhao household was next door. A few steps along the courtyard wall brought him to its gate, which bore a faded Spring Festival couplet.

The setting sun trailed across the moss-covered wall, dyeing its outer face a mellow gold. It only made the courtyard look darker, like a well brimming with gloom and chill.

Zheng Que stood before the gate. A sudden gust rose, and fallen leaves whipped through the air, pelting his shoulders like a sudden downpour.

He glanced behind him. Qing Li floated in midair, close at his side.

Knock, knock, knock!

He knocked three times and called out, "Second Brother Zhao, are you home?"

Creak!

As soon as he finished speaking, the gate swung open from within. A woman stood in the doorway, dressed in a plain skirt and blouse with a wooden hairpin in her hair. An apron was tied around her waist, and she held a handful of vegetables she had only half finished preparing. She carried the warm, smoky scent of the hearth, as though she had just been tending the stove while sorting vegetables. She was none other than Zhao the Second's wife, Sun Cui'er.

At the sight of her, Zheng Que's expression did not change. He immediately activated the Spirit Eye Technique.

In the next moment, his vision revealed that the seemingly gentle and lovely farm wife was wreathed in black qi. The density of the yin energy around her was almost on par with Qing Li's!

There really was something very wrong with Zhao the Second's wife!

Sun Cui'er glanced around, then hurried close to Zheng Que and whispered, "Young Master, come in quickly. You must help me tonight!"

Her expression was urgent, and she stared straight at Zheng Que, seemingly not noticing Qing Li behind him at all.

Without showing his reaction, Zheng Que stepped into the courtyard and quickly looked around.

The Zhao family's courtyard had a simple layout. Three rooms stood directly opposite the gate, with one side room on each side: the kitchen and the woodshed. Farming tools such as a rake and a hoe were set by the doorway.

The doors and windows of every room were tightly shut, hiding what lay inside. Two large trees grew along the wall, with a clothesline stretched between them for drying laundry.

Apart from that, the courtyard was nothing but packed earth. At a glance, there was nothing else.

A fierce yin wind now swept through the courtyard. Leaves showered from the lush trees like a sudden downpour, blanketing the ground in an instant.

The wall blocked the fading sunlight, leaving the courtyard dim and hazy. No lamps had been lit inside the rooms, which were pitch-black. Only Sun Cui'er stood alone behind the doorway, delicate and lovely. Half her pale face rested in the last light of day, warmed by the sunset; the other half was hidden in shadow. The eye on that side glimmered like crushed ice, fixed unblinkingly on Zheng Que.

Zheng Que quickly considered the situation of Zhao the Second's family. He knew that the household had once had four members: Zhao the Second's father and mother, and his elder brother, Zhao the Eldest.

But Zhao the Eldest had died unexpectedly at the age of ten, while Zhao the Second's father had passed away from illness half a year ago.

Now, only Zhao the Second and Old Lady Zhao were alive in the household.

Bang!

Just then, the courtyard gate shut on its own.

"Young Master, come with me to the inner room," Sun Cui'er said as she followed beside Zheng Que. As she spoke, she reached for his arm.

Zheng Que immediately stepped back, avoiding her hand, and asked coldly, "What for?"

Sun Cui'er lowered her head. A few loose strands of hair fell beside her ear, and she said shyly, "I heard that once a husband has a child, he'll love his wife by association and treat her more tenderly."

"But my husband won't touch me right now. If I want a child, I can only ask you to come with me to the inner room and lie with me, so I can have your child."

"Then, once I have a child, my husband will surely treat me well!"

"You already agreed to help me just now. Please, Young Master, you must help me!"

???

Zheng Que was dumbfounded. This was certainly an exciting favor to ask, but...

Swish!

Zheng Que suddenly sliced open his palm and formed a complicated hand seal.

Ghost Controlling Technique!

Now that he had confirmed she was not alive, he had no intention of wasting time.

In the next instant, the cultivator's blood, imbued with pure yang energy, transformed into a cloud of blood mist. Like a living creature, it surged up and closed around Sun Cui'er.

"Ah!!!"

Sun Cui'er let out a shrill scream, clearly terrified of Zheng Que's spiritual blood.

Her cry alerted the people inside. The kitchen door beside them swung open, and an older woman with a weather-beaten face and a skirt patched all over rushed out.

The older woman had barely taken in the scene in the courtyard when fury overtook her. She snatched up a hoe nearby and charged at Zheng Que. "Let go of my daughter-in-law!"

As she spoke, Old Lady Zhao swung the hoe in her hands hard at Zheng Que's head.

Zheng Que had his back to Old Lady Zhao. Hearing the wind rush up behind him, he frowned. He was in the middle of casting a spell; if he stopped now, Zhao the Second's wife would surely escape at once!

His thoughts flashed through his mind. He immediately looked toward Qing Li. "Stop her! Don't hurt her..."

He had not even finished saying the word "life" when Qing Li vanished from where she stood!

Clang!

The hoe hit the ground. Old Lady Zhao, who had just rushed out of the room, was suddenly lifted into the air as if by an invisible force.

Zheng Que's brows drew tight. He turned, about to say something, when his expression abruptly changed.

In the vision granted by the Spirit Eye Technique, black smoke roiled around the suspended Old Lady Zhao, denser and more intense than Sun Cui'er's.

Old Lady Zhao of the Zhao family wasn't alive anymore, either!