By this time, Aunt Xue had already passed away.
Xue Pan was gone, too.
He'd gotten drunk and gone riding, then fallen from his horse and died.
His son was still young and couldn't take on the responsibility of heading the Xue family.
Fortunately, Xue Pan's wife was a capable woman who held the entire family together.
Unlike Madam Xue, Xue Pan's wife wasn't the sort to spoil her son.
She raised him well, and he grew up to become a capable man who held an important position at court.
Under Jia Hu's guidance, Xue Ke had also entered the court and was now a fourth-rank official.
Xue Baochai held a banquet at the prince's residence, inviting her old friends to gather.
The sisters' lives had all gone smoothly.
Of the Twelve Beauties of Jinling, everyone had found a happy ending except Qin Keqing, who had died young, and Miaoyu, who had become a nun.
The books in the Department of Ill-Fated Souls burst into flames.
No matter how Fairy Keqing, Yinchou Jinnu, and the others tried to save them, they couldn't stop the fire from spreading. All they could do was watch as it consumed the Department of Ill-Fated Souls and the other three departments.
"What are we going to do?" Yinchou Jinnu asked, her face drawn with worry.
Fairy Keqing's expression was blank. "Don't ask me. I don't know, either."
She wanted to flee the Taixu Illusion Realm herself.
But they knew Fairy Jinghuan's methods. She would use the cruelest means to deal with anyone who tried to escape.
They were afraid of Fairy Jinghuan.
Unless they were certain she had no chance of regaining power, they couldn't leave her side lightly.
The women exchanged glances, their eyes filled with dawning realization and fear.
Suddenly, a voice rang out. "What are you doing?"
Everyone immediately turned around and saw Fairy Jinghuan standing not far away.
She was no longer surrounded by an ethereal, celestial aura. Now, black qi swirled around her, and she looked utterly sinister.
She had fallen into demonic cultivation!
Fairy Keqing nervously swallowed and spoke up. "Sister, um... the four departments have burned down."
A murderous glint appeared in Fairy Jinghuan's eyes.
"How dare they burn down the four departments! I'll tear her skin off and pull out her tendons. Then I'll make her soul into a lamp wick and let it suffer the agony of being scorched!"
Fairy Keqing asked, "Sister, do you know who's behind it?"
Fairy Jinghuan replied coldly, "Someone from another world. She has no real abilities. I'll descend to the mortal realm myself and deal with her."
Fairy Keqing was surprised. "You can descend in person?"
"I've been in seclusion these past few days, researching how to descend in person. Fortunately, I finally succeeded."
"Then I wish you victory, Sister."
Fairy Jinghuan flew away, and the women left behind all breathed a sigh of relief.
"She's terrifying!" Chimeng Fairy whispered. "Sister Jinghuan looks so frightening now."
"She's fallen into demonic cultivation," Fairy Keqing said gravely, then headed for her quarters.
"Sister Keqing, what are you going to do?"
"Pack my things and leave at once."
"Why?" Yinchou Jinnu asked.
Fairy Keqing sighed. "She's fallen into demonic cultivation. She won't have the same reservations as before. She might devour us to replenish her essence and increase her power."
The others were taken aback.
But when they thought about it, it really could happen.
Fairy Keqing knew Fairy Jinghuan best. If she was going to flee, then it truly wasn't safe to stay by Fairy Jinghuan's side.
The other fairies hurried back to their rooms, packed their belongings, retrieved their true forms, and left the Taixu Illusion Realm.
Not a single person remained in the entire Taixu Illusion Realm. It was utterly empty.
Fairy Jinghuan's true body descended to the mortal realm.
Although the Heavenly Dao suppressed her, keeping her from using even half her strength, that was more than enough to deal with mortals.
Besides, after falling into demonic cultivation, she was even more powerful than before.
Then Fairy Jinghuan sought out Liu Jiaying.
Liu Jiaying: "??"
Fairy Jinghuan: "Someone from another world?! You're the one who ruined my plans?!"
Liu Jiaying stared at the woman who had suddenly appeared, bewildered and wary.
The woman was beautiful, but she gave Liu Jiaying a terrible feeling, like a female ghost.
"Who are you?" Liu Jiaying asked.
"I reside above Lihen Heaven, within the Guanchou Sea. I am Fairy Jinghuan of the Taixu Illusion Realm, in Qianxiang Cave on Fangchun Mountain. I oversee the entanglements of love and desire in the mortal world and the resentment of women and obsession of men."
Liu Jiaying was stunned. "You're Fairy Jinghuan?"
Good heavens! This Red Chamber world really did have immortals, and the real deal had come looking for her.
What should she do?
She was no match for Fairy Jinghuan!
But wasn't Fairy Jinghuan supposed to be a fairy? Why did she look like a female ghost?
"So you know who I am?! No wonder you kept ruining my plans! Tell me, who sent you?"
Fairy Jinghuan didn't believe an ordinary soul from another world could ruin plans she had spent hundreds of years devising. She assumed someone was advising Liu Jiaying from behind the scenes and wanted to find out who that person was.
Liu Jiaying's eyes darted about before she spoke. "You'll be terrified when I tell you. Empress Nuwa sent me to this world."
"Lies. You're a mortal. How could you possibly know Empress Nuwa?"
Liu Jiaying sneered. "That's because your reckless schemes have already angered Empress Nuwa. You schemed against Fairy Jiangzhu for your own selfish desires, and you plotted against the Shenying Attendant of Chixia Palace and the Heaven-Mending Stone Empress Nuwa left among mortals, hoping to claim the merit within it. The Empress won't bother dealing with a nobody like you, so she sent my soul into this world to ruin your plans. If you dare lay a hand on me, she won't spare you."
Liu Jiaying's words frightened Fairy Jinghuan.
Liu Jiaying knew not only of Empress Nuwa, but also of Fairy Jiangzhu, the Shenying Attendant of Chixia Palace, and the Heaven-Mending Stone...
There was no way a mortal could know so much. Someone must have told her.
Had Empress Nuwa really told her?
Fairy Jinghuan couldn't help but hesitate. She was afraid that killing Liu Jiaying would anger Empress Nuwa and make the Empress deal with her personally.
But... But all her plans had violated the laws of heaven. If they were discovered, she would certainly be sent to Zhantian Platform.
Either way, she was going to die. She might as well kill the enemy who had ruined her plans and vent her rage before she did.
At the thought, Fairy Jinghuan's murderous fury surged again, and she attacked Liu Jiaying.
Liu Jiaying was horrified. She hadn't expected that invoking the name of the great Empress Nuwa wouldn't scare Fairy Jinghuan off. Instead, it had only made the woman even more murderous, and now she was attacking her.
How could Liu Jiaying possibly dodge Fairy Jinghuan's strike?!
Just as Liu Jiaying stared wide-eyed and waited to die, a streak of green light appeared in front of her and blocked Fairy Jinghuan's deadly strike.
"Who's there?" Fairy Jinghuan demanded sharply.
Liu Jiaying's eyes widened, too, as she tried to see who had saved her.
A figure suddenly appeared in her view. "You insignificant Fairy Jinghuan! How dare you disregard the laws of heaven and attack a mortal?!"
Before you continue