Footsteps came from behind. A maidservant approached, walked to Princess Lizhu’s side, and said in a low voice: “Your Highness, Immortal Gu just sent word asking for Your Highness’s birth date and time…”
Princess Lizhu collected her thoughts, turned around in surprise, and said: “My birth date and time?”
The maidservant nodded.
After pondering for a moment, Princess Lizhu said: “So be it. Since they’re asking for it, then give it to them.”
“Your Highness,” the maidservant disapprovingly tried to dissuade her: “You are a member of the royal family. How can you casually give your birth date and time to outsiders?”
“They are people from cultivation sects. What use would they have for a mortal’s birth date and time? It’s nothing more than being useful for the demon shark case.” Princess Lizhu walked toward the long table in the hall. “Besides, now that my son is the ruler, I have long left the palace and am no longer a member of the royal family. If this matter can be ended sooner and the demon subdued, the people of Li’er Kingdom can have peace of mind a day earlier.”
She stopped at the table, had the maidservant spread out paper and ink, picked up the brush herself, and wrote on the white paper, saying: “I’ll write it myself.”
……
Princess Lizhu’s side moved quickly.
About two incense sticks’ time after sending someone to ask for the birth date and time, a maidservant from Princess Lizhu’s side came. She handed a red brocade pouch to Zanxing, repeatedly instructing that the birth date and time inside must not be seen by outsiders before leaving.
After the maidservant left, Zanxing took the red brocade pouch back into the room and handed it to Gu Baiying.
Gu Baiying opened the pouch, took out the slip of paper with Princess Lizhu’s birth date and time written on it. After just one glance, his expression turned cold.
Tian Fangfang and Mendong anxiously asked: “How is it, Master Uncle? Was she born in a yin month, on a yin day, at a yin hour?”
Gu Baiying was silent for a moment, then handed them the slip: “Indeed, a pure yin body.”
Zanxing sighed inwardly. As expected.
When Gu Baiying asked Princess Lizhu for her birth date and time, she had already guessed this result. Li’er Kingdom’s royal family kept Emperor Shengning’s records tightly sealed, the demon shark case’s details were recorded unclearly, there were those abruptly terminated medicine lists, and the sudden decision to marry Princess Lizhu… one thing after another, none of it seemed coincidental.
However, with the truth being such, it couldn’t help but chill one’s heart.
When the maidservant went to ask for the birth date and time earlier, Zanxing had already told Mendong and the others about her and Gu Baiying’s discoveries at Tianlu Pavilion. Tian Fangfang looked at Gu Baiying and spoke in a lowered voice: “Master Uncle, then things are now very clear. Emperor Shengning was a sickly man who, to extend his life and achieve immortality, secretly practiced the Yanyang Secret Art, killing those pure yin maidens for ritual sacrifice. Even Princess Lizhu was a sacrificial offering he had prepared. What murderous demon shark—it simply took the blame for the late ruler. These Li’er Kingdom people even carved others’ statues to look so ugly and fierce, wantonly insulting them. Ptui, this is too wicked!”
“But that’s not right,” Mendong said puzzledly: “If what’s recorded in the annals isn’t false, back then in the palace, the demon-slaying formation did indeed capture a merperson. Since Emperor Shengning was the real culprit, where did the merperson come from? Could Princess Lizhu be lying?”
Zanxing didn’t think Princess Lizhu was lying. She probably never imagined that Emperor Shengning’s marriage to her, a princess of the Linshi Kingdom, was for achieving immortality. But… a merperson had indeed appeared in the palace many years ago. Why would that merperson appear in the palace? And there was the demon that appeared in her room last night… Thinking of this, Zanxing looked at Gu Baiying and asked: “Master Uncle, if the events of that year truly had nothing to do with the merperson, even if Princess Lizhu is lying and no demon shark appeared back then, the current blood cases are continuing. The maidens forty years ago died because of the Yanyang Secret Art, but why are these maidens dying miserably now? Surely there isn’t a second person practicing the Yanyang Secret Art? But this time, the women that Senior Brothers investigated weren’t pure yin bodies born in yin months, on yin days, at yin hours.”
“My silly junior sister, you can’t even understand this,” Tian Fangfang pulled her along: “Look, this time these maidens aren’t pure yin bodies, which shows the killer isn’t murdering for practicing evil arts. But these maidens died in the same way as those from back then—it’s the descendants of that demon shark from years ago returning for revenge. Think about it—they were perfectly fine, did nothing wrong, yet were cursed as ultimate demons and carved into statues that everyone spits on when they see. If I were a descendant of this merperson, I’d be angry too. This is bullying demons!”
Zanxing shook her head: “That’s not right. If it’s just for revenge, why would it sneak into my room last night? I have no grievances with this merperson. Forty years ago, I wasn’t even born yet. For it to come find me at night—it couldn’t be because I look like a good person and it came to tell me its grievances in a dream, right?”
“What?” Tian Fangfang was startled: “A demon sneaked into your room last night? Junior Sister, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Zanxing comforted her: “Later, Master Uncle stayed in my room watching the whole time, not letting that demon find another opportunity.”
“What!” This time, it was Mendong who jumped up. With an incredulous expression, as if Zanxing had burned down his house, he loudly questioned: “Master Uncle spent the night in your room last night—what did you do to him?”
Zanxing was baffled: “What could I do to him?”
“You two, a man and woman alone together like dry kindling meeting fire—there’s plenty you could do…” Before Mendong could finish speaking, Gu Baiying covered his mouth with a darkened face: “Shut up!”
Mendong struggled twice. Tian Fangfang said, “I think there are still unexplained parts to this matter. Why don’t we go find the princess again and ask about all the details of the demon shark case from back then? At least we need to first clarify whether there was such a ‘merperson’ that existed back then.”
Just as they were speaking, a commotion suddenly came from outside. Looking through the window, they saw in the gathering dusk that laughter and conversation from cultivators came from the palace courtyard. Mendong’s gaze focused, then he excitedly waved toward the outside: “Senior Sister Meng! Senior Brother Mu!”
Meng Ying and Mu Cengxiao had returned.
Tian Fangfang opened the door, and Meng Ying and Mu Cengxiao walked in. When they got closer, they could see that a large patch of Mu Cengxiao’s gauze robe at the right shoulder was stained red—he seemed to be injured.
“Junior Brother, how did you get injured?” Tian Fangfang quickly pulled Mu Cengxiao to sit on one side, then asked Mendong: “Dongdong, quickly take a look at Junior Brother Mu—what medicine should he use?”
“It’s nothing,” Mu Cengxiao said, sitting in the chair. “Just a surface wound.”
“Don’t call me Dongdong.” Mendong was quite dissatisfied with this address: “This is a bite wound from some creature. Just apply some herbal salve and it’ll be fine.” After speaking, he took out a small bottle from his waist, pulled out the stopper, and handed it to Mu Cengxiao: “Use it sparingly. I don’t have much left.”