Chapter 109

Chapter 109

Chapter 109: Tranquility

It was already late, with heavy dew settling, yet the Cheng family was still busy.

Madam Cheng discussed with her husband and decided to move their daughter to their own room. As for themselves, they could make do in the study—or maybe not make do at all. Having witnessed the earlier clash of yin energy and spiritual energy, the Cheng couple was thoroughly frightened. Until they were certain their daughter was safe, they would not leave her to rest alone.

When people move, they take nothing. Even Cheng Yao’nang’s clothes, Madam Cheng made the decision: “Change them! These were new clothes made for Yao’nang for the New Year, but unfortunately…”

Unfortunately, not long after the New Year, their daughter gradually became bedridden, and the new clothes remained unworn.

Madam Cheng thought it would be best for her daughter to take a bath and completely cleanse the lingering misfortune. But with the cold season, it was difficult, and time was short—the evil energy was already on its way to her daughter—so she gave up.

Thinking of this, Madam Cheng sighed quietly and confirmed with Bai and Mei: “Is this enough? Will Yao’nang be truly safe tonight?”

Bai Zhengliu said, “Aunt, you’ve heard Lady Cheng earlier. ‘Song Lang’ always comes to her room. We think perhaps it isn’t truly entering Lady Cheng’s dreams, but that there’s something strange in the room.”

Considering the relationship between the Leshan Troupe, Dream Seeking Records, and “Song Lang,” the subtext was: Bai Zhengliu suspected that when the Leshan Troupe performed at the Cheng household, they tampered with Cheng Yao’nang’s room.

Madam Cheng’s head ached, and she wanted a definite answer. Unfortunately, for Bai Zhengliu, it was only speculation; all he could do was check around the room after the Cheng family left to look for clues.

As for the Cheng couple’s worry—“even if we leave, will that evil being still come?”—Bai Zhengliu thought for a moment and handed them a jade token.

Though called a “jade token,” it was actually a piece polished from spiritual stone found deep in Tianshan. To avoid misunderstanding, it was engraved with the words “Tianshan” and intricate mountain patterns, perfectly serving as proof of a Tianshan disciple’s identity.

Upon receiving the token, the Cheng couple immediately felt a warm sense spreading through their hands. Their hearts calmed as Bai Zhengliu said, “Even if the evil being truly comes for you, this token can hold it off for a while.”

They carefully held the token to their chests.

Not daring to waste time, they took their belongings and immediately left with their daughter.

The previously lively and noisy room became suddenly empty. Only the candle on the table continued to burn, its golden light flickering with the wind.

Bai and Mei looked up at the bright moon and roughly estimated the time.

If “Song Lang” truly came at midnight, the time left for them was short.

Bai Zhengliu said, “Yinghan, I’ll check the bed and cabinets, you take the tables, chairs, and windows. How about that?”

Mei Yinghan nodded: “Good.”

As outsiders, they normally shouldn’t move others’ belongings. But in an emergency, rules were flexible. Before leaving, the Cheng couple had said, “Anything in this room can be handled as you see fit, as long as it helps our daughter.” Bai and Mei had no reservations.

For now, Mei Yinghan’s actions could wait; Bai Zhengliu first chose the bed among the items assigned to him.Cheng Yao’nang spent eleven of the twelve earthly hours of the day on that bed; there was no room for Bai Zhengliu to be careless.

Thus, using the extraordinary vision granted by spiritual energy, Bai Zhengliu meticulously examined every detail of Cheng Yao’nang’s bed.

From the carved headboard to the patterns on the bedding, even under the bed was not spared—though the Cheng family was a meticulous, clean household, and the floor under the bed had little dust, it yielded nothing of interest.

Bai Zhengliu emerged from under the bed and exchanged a glance with Mei Yinghan, who was standing beside the screen, confirming that he too had found nothing.

His mood sank little by little, but he did not give up. He moved on to inspect Cheng Yao’nang’s wardrobe.

Though the Cheng family’s fortune did not match the wealthy merchants of Jiangnan, in Jingzhou City it was still well-known. As the only daughter, Cheng Yao’nang’s wardrobe had almost no old clothes. Everything was fresh fabrics and patterns, with fragrant powders scattered around. Bai Zhengliu, caught off guard, felt lightheaded from the strong scent.

Looking more carefully, he realized a bottle of perfume powder had been spilled.

Bai Zhengliu: “……”

He respectfully gathered the spilled powder, floating it back into place, and slowly confirmed that there was nothing wrong in the wardrobe.

Time continued to pass. As he closed the wardrobe door, he couldn’t help glancing out the window. The night was so deep, so heavy—was the Cheng family still alright?

Bai Zhengliu felt an urge to go check on them. Just then, Mei Yinghan let out a quiet sigh.

The swordsman immediately turned to his lover and saw the same helpless expression mirrored on his face as he shook his head.

Bai Zhengliu said, “It’s likely they really went directly to the Cheng family’s room.”

Mei Yinghan: “If that’s the case, we should hurry—Zhengliu?”

He paused mid-sentence, noticing Bai Zhengliu’s gaze was fixed oddly. Mei Yinghan’s brow furrowed slightly; following Bai Zhengliu’s line of sight, it pointed upward.

Since it was nighttime, their candlelight couldn’t illuminate every angle, and at first, neither Bai nor Mei had sensed anything unusual…

But now, Mei Yinghan’s eyelids twitched, and he suddenly realized: “The ceiling.”

Three breaths later.

They arrived at the top of Cheng Yao’nang’s room.

Together they exhaled, staring at the lingering, coiling yin energy on the roof.

When they crouched down and raised their hands, dispersing the sticky black shadows with spiritual energy, the source of this yin energy was revealed before their eyes.Bai Zhengliu touched it with his fingers, then lifted his hand, rubbing the dark powder that fell from his fingertips. A faint metallic smell wafted in the wind, brushing against his nose. His expression was complicated: “Looks like some kind of formation.”

Mei Yinghan nodded in agreement.

Bai Zhengliu asked, “Could it be… the Star-Seizing Record again?”

He didn’t finish the sentence, but Mei Yinghan understood his meaning and answered directly: “The parts that Old Ghost Chang showed us didn’t include this formation.”

That was an objective fact, though it didn’t explain Bai Zhengliu’s current problem.

The swordsman propped his chin on his hand, feeling even heavier. His hand, however, moved decisively; whether it had to do with old affairs of the previous dynasty or the Tianshan ghosts didn’t matter. First, they had to confirm that this thing was harming someone, then worry about misidentifying its location.

He said, “Alright. Let’s not destroy this formation for now—wait until ‘Song Lang’ arrives.”

Mei Yinghan naturally agreed.

Bai Zhengliu said, “Zhenxing missed the chance to slay the old ghost last time. This time, should I let you take ‘Song Lang’?”

Mei Yinghan chuckled, “Then I shall thank Zhenxing on your behalf first?”

Bai Zhengliu waved generously, “We’re all family now; no need for such formalities.”

He said this, expecting Mei Yinghan to tease him further, not necessarily to argue, but just to add playful tones to their conversation.

Unexpectedly, Mei Yinghan seemed to consider seriously for a moment, then replied, “That’s true.”

Bai Zhengliu: “…?”

Mei Yinghan smiled at him.

Under his lover’s gaze, perhaps slightly affected by the “danger and strangeness here, I must remain alert,” the swordsman’s heartbeat quickened… gradually reaching an unbelievable rhythm.

After a while, he finally spoke in a calm tone: “Yes, indeed, that’s exactly right.”

Mei Yinghan continued to smile at him.

Bai Zhengliu: “…”

He raised his hand to shield his face, hiding a faint cough, his voice softening: “Let’s go back down. If ‘Song Lang’ arrives and sees us, won’t he immediately notice the flaw?”

Mei Yinghan cheerfully said, “Zhengliu is right. Very well, we’ll proceed that way.”

With that, the two of them indeed returned to the room.Although their minds had been unsettled on the roof, once they reached the room, both Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan calmed themselves, observing the surroundings carefully and quietly planning. After a while, they decided to first observe “Song Lang’s” situation, then determine whether to set the battlefield inside or outside the room… If “Song Lang” had the ability to pass through walls, keeping people inside would instead restrict themselves. Conversely, placing the battle outside could be tried.

Moreover, once a fight broke out, the first task would be to destroy the formation overhead. They didn’t know its exact purpose, but since it was carefully laid out by the yin-evil, it certainly wouldn’t benefit them.

Bai Zhengliu: “Thinking back now, the yin energy on Yu Han’s letter probably came from inside this room.”

Mei Yinghan nodded in agreement: “Makes sense.” He sighed, “If Yu Han and the others had left just half a month later, carrying spirit stones, we wouldn’t be so worried.”

Bai Zhengliu comforted him: “Spirit stones are useful, but that’s not all. Think about Brother Qian—didn’t the hairpin in his hand still attract the yin-evil’s attention? Spirit stones in our hands are spirit stones, but in Meng Yuniang’s hands, who knows? If they take it from her, it might even make things worse.”

Mei Yinghan was silent for a moment: “True.”

But such trouble wasn’t impossible to resolve. As long as Yu Han and Han Shu knew how to use spiritual energy like they did, the problem would be solved. After all, they weren’t mere wealthy heirs—they had trained in martial arts since childhood.

Mei Yinghan realized this and trusted that Bai Zhengliu would think the same.

But since the junior disciples had already gone far away, if they wanted some peace of mind now, they couldn’t dwell too much on such reassurances.

Aware of this, Mei Yinghan focused again, bringing up whether they should slightly adjust the room layout to gain some advantage later.

The two discussed and acted. Unnoticed, the night grew deeper, the bright moon hung high.

It was already the hour of Zi.

Yet outside the window, the wind was calm, the clouds still—no sign of “Song Lang” appearing.

The only slight comfort for Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan was that although there was no movement on their side, there was none elsewhere in the Cheng household either. Before sending off the three Cheng family members, they had carefully instructed them: if danger arose, they must find a way to shout for help.

Bai Zhengliu ran his fingers along the sheath of the Twenty-Eight Generals’ sword.

He wondered how General Yang was doing at this moment…

Since General Yang was his master’s older sister, should he address her differently in relation to the sect?… But the title “General” was given by her personally; perhaps she preferred being called this way by him and Brother Mei.

After a moment of wandering thoughts, a sudden “pop” came from the candle beside them.

Bai Zhengliu’s pupils trembled slightly, but Mei Yinghan remained calm: “Just the candle.”

After this, both were silent for a moment.

One breath, two breaths, three…They suddenly stood up at the same time, without asking the other person present, and directly walked toward the door.

It was too quiet.

Before the sound of the candle, they hadn’t realized this. But with the candle’s noise as a contrast, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan suddenly noticed: they didn’t know when, but outside the room they were in, there was no sound or movement at all!

“Song Lang” had already arrived!

Author’s note:

I wanted to send a New Year’s Eve red envelope, but got a notification that the balance was insufficient otz

I’ll send it after the update; everyone wait a bit =v="