Yan Dan shuddered, stumbling back five steps.
“It’s you…”
The candle flared to life again. Tang Zhou rose slowly, his gaze steady.
“Come here.”
Yan Dan shook her head pitifully.
“Don’t be angry. I didn’t mean to use you as a cushion—I swear to heaven, I’ll swear with my own blood!”
Tang Zhou’s voice remained calm.
“Come here.”
She clasped her hands together.
“I was wrong, it’s all my fault. Please, don’t lock me in the magic weapon again…”
With a weary sigh, Tang Zhou admitted,
“The impact just now struck my acupuncture point. I can’t stand. Come and help me.”
Relief washed over Yan Dan.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
His tone sharpened.
“Who taught you to be so clever? On my back—two inches up, a little to the right. Strike it a few more times.”
She obeyed, then stepped aside obediently. Tang Zhou stood, dusting himself off.
“If you keep this up, I won’t confine you in the magical instrument.”
Yan Dan seized the chance.
“Then… when will you let me go?”
Before he could answer, Ling Xuzi’s voice echoed from the tunnel.
“Nephew Tang, are you well?”
Tang Zhou called back, “There’s another tomb below. The stone path is slippery—be cautious.”
Yan Dan fumed at the interruption, silently wishing the old Taoist would tumble headfirst. She pressed again.
“When will you let me go?”
Tang Zhou’s reply was calm, almost cold.
“I’ve done my best.”
The meaning was clear: freedom was not guaranteed. If she left Qingshi Town, she might be refined into a pill. Yan Dan forced herself to hope—time was still on her side.
Moments later, Ling Xuzi slid down the tunnel, followed by Zhai Shang and Wu Lao San.
“This path is too slick,” Zhai Shang muttered. “Climbing back won’t be easy.”
Ling Xuzi’s expression darkened.
“This cemetery is cunningly built. There must be another exit.”
Eight had entered. Now, only five remained.
“This place is riddled with traps,” Ling Xuzi warned. “If we turn on each other again, none of us will leave alive.”
Zhai Shang agreed quickly. Together, they pushed open a stone door, revealing another chamber.
At its center lay a coffin, its lid cast aside. Two pale hands jutted upward, frozen in a desperate pose.
Wu Lao San recoiled, teeth chattering.
“Zombie! That’s a zombie!”
Ling Xuzi stepped closer, exhaling in relief.
“Not a zombie. The Empress’s corpse.”
“Then why are her hands raised?”
Tang Zhou set his candle down.
“She was buried alive. She must have struggled to escape.”
Zhai Shang’s eyes gleamed.
“There are treasures buried here!”
Wu Lao San lunged forward, scooping up a handful of pearls. They glowed faintly in the candlelight—until one shattered, spraying black poison across his face. He collapsed, lifeless.
Tang Zhou’s blade flashed, pressing against Zhai Shang’s throat.
“Who are you?”
Ling Xuzi gasped.
“Nephew Tang, what are you doing?!”
Tang Zhou’s eyes narrowed.
“He’s not Zhai Shang. Look at his hands—smooth, unscarred. No true martial artist has hands like these.”
The man chuckled, voice soft and chilling.
“Anyone who dares attack me will be killed. Do you still wish to go inside?”
The candlelight died, plunging the chamber into darkness. Tang Zhou slashed through the shadows, then struck a tinder, sparks flaring against the tomb’s silence.
The sudden brightness blinded Yan Dan. Someone brushed past her, flicking their fingers, and a faint white light spread between them.
“So we’re the same…” the man murmured before vanishing like smoke.
Yan Dan stood frozen, repeating the words in her mind. So we’re the same…
Behind the stone door, they found Zhai Shang’s body. A scar marked his brow, his face calm, untouched by pain.
Tang Zhou watched in silence until Ling Xuzi collapsed into sobs—then laughter—pounding his chest in madness.
Yan Dan whispered, “He’s gone mad with fear.”
The despair was suffocating. With a hidden enemy and endless traps, survival itself felt uncertain.
Tang Zhou turned to her.
“Are you afraid?”
Yan Dan smiled faintly.
“I know what he is. Not mortal, not demon, not devil. He wanders beyond the Three Realms. He won’t kill us—he’s only testing.”
At that moment, a figure appeared: tall, elegant, hair like black jade, yet with a face so ugly it was almost unbearable. His voice, however, was mesmerizing.
“I won’t act. If you live long enough, we’ll meet again.”
He slipped away through the stone gate. Tang Zhou gave chase, but the man was gone.
“How do you know he means no harm?” Tang Zhou asked.
Yan Dan’s eyes glimmered.
“He’s the Lord of Divine Sky Palace. His nature is both good and evil. Today he spared us—tomorrow, who knows?”
Tang Zhou’s smile was bitter.
“How can such a man exist?”
They pressed deeper into the cemetery until a stone door swung open by itself, thrusting them into a chamber that gleamed like a palace. Aqua‑blue tiles paved the floor, and night‑shining pearls lit the walls with eerie brilliance.
Yan Dan pointed.
“There’s another door.”
Tang Zhou’s hand tightened on his sword.
“There is someone.”
In the shadows sat a woman in purple, pale and trembling. She opened her eyes slowly, gaze fixed on them.
Yan Dan asked softly,
“Young lady, what brings you here?”
Her lips moved without sound. Yan Dan read them: Were you brought here? You can’t speak?
The woman nodded, then shook her head.
Tang Zhou said coldly,
“Her mute point has been pressed.”
He pushed Yan Dan forward.
“Do as I say.”
Reluctantly, Yan Dan obeyed, pressing the points he directed until the woman’s face flushed and her voice returned.
She bowed weakly.
“Thank you, young master and young lady. What are your names?”
Tang Zhou replied with rare courtesy.
“Tang Zhou, courtesy name Shensi. And you?”
Blushing, she whispered,
“Tao Ziqi.”
Yan Dan muttered inwardly—what strange parents, to name her after one of the Nine Stars.
As Tao Ziqi and Tang Zhou walked ahead, Yan Dan trailed behind, praying he would find the girl troublesome and dismiss her. Instead, he turned back.
“Why are you dawdling?”
Yan Dan forced a sweet smile.
“Brother, my feet hurt.”
Tang Zhou’s voice was cold.
“Junior sister, you’re being naughty again.”
Then, to Tao Ziqi:
“My junior sister is strong enough to kill a tiger. If you’re tired, let me know and we’ll rest.”
Yan Dan’s smile froze. Strong enough to kill a tiger? She seethed silently.
Moments later, she tripped and fell hard. Tang Zhou frowned.
“You fell while walking?”
Yan Dan picked up the object that had tripped her. Her eyes widened—it was a skull.
Tao Ziqi screamed, stumbling back, only to trip over a rib. Her face turned deathly pale.
Tang Zhou rushed to steady her, but Yan Dan was dragged forward by the invisible bond between them, her voice sharp with fury.
“Tang Zhou, you bastard! Stop it now!”
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