Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

In the guest room of the east wing, a single lamp cast a dim light.

Xia Ximo was sitting cross-legged in a chair with her eyes closed, resting.

The carefree spirit of the lamp floated to the side, resting its chin on its hand as it scrutinized her. "You're quite strange. Why do you sit so upright instead of sleeping on a soft bed?"

"Giving you this body is truly beneath me..."

The bedding on the bed was neat and tidy, without a single wrinkle, clearly indicating that it had not been used in the past few days.

She's not used to sleeping lying down yet.

In my hazy memories of the past, it seems like it has always been like this.

Now that he has briefly returned to life, he continues his old habits and has no intention of changing them.

Wuyou was used to her sparing use of words. When she didn't get a response, she floated to the bed and lay down, even pretending to stretch her soul.

"Your body's yang energy is too weak right now, so it's best to use your soul power less. Otherwise, if your soul dissipates, it will be troublesome."

Upon hearing this, Xia Ximo slowly opened her eyes.

Last night, she used her soul power to send a wisp of Zhu Yan's scattered soul into Ren Dongxing's eyes, thus sealing his five senses.

This was done to lure out the sorcerer from the mortal realm behind him.

However, she did overestimate her body, which was not compatible with her soul. If Ren Fengjue hadn't unexpectedly appeared in the East Courtyard, she probably wouldn't have been able to recover for a while.

Thinking of this, Xia Ximo frowned slightly.

She has never liked constraints or entanglements.

Now, the constraints of her physical body and the entanglements of mortals are the shackles that bind her in the mortal realm.

The shackles on their hands and feet were no different from those in the Nine Netherworlds.

According to the rules of the underworld, her lifespan in the human world is only three years after her return to life.

In three years, in addition to ferrying away thirty-two lingering spirits, he also had to fulfill the original owner's three unfulfilled wishes.

Otherwise, her soul and this body would not be able to fully merge.

Of the three last wishes, two have already been fulfilled.

The remaining task, seemingly simple, actually involves many complexities and may not be easy...

Human affairs are far more complicated than those of ghosts.

Suddenly, the doors and windows shook.

Then, an unidentified object swiftly broke through the window and embedded itself directly in the wall.

Xia Ximo narrowed his eyes and, upon closer inspection, discovered it was a cinnabar magic brush, along with a slip of paper with a talisman drawn on it.

Wuyou was startled by the spectacle and was about to hide in the lamp when she heard her say, "It's just a smokescreen used by sorcerers in the mortal realm to bluff."

"..."

She walked to the wall, glanced at the writing on the note, picked up the Soul-Crossing Lamp, turned around, and went out the door.

Wuyou, not understanding why, had no choice but to follow.

The man and his soul quickly disappeared into the warm night.

-

Inside the study in the South Courtyard.

After hearing the news Ren Cong brought back from the clothing store, Ren Fengjue frowned deeply, realizing the matter was complicated.

Ren Dongxing's sudden onset of madness must be related to Xia Ximo.

However, no matter how he tried to guess, he couldn't figure out the connections between them.

It's really too strange.

Perhaps I should go there myself.

The thought had just crossed his mind when he was about to have Ren Cong arrange a carriage when a figure suddenly appeared outside the window.

"Young master, an outsider has broken into the manor and disappeared in the direction of the east courtyard."

It was the servant, A-Dong.

Ren Fengjue sensed something was wrong and immediately rushed to the guest rooms in the east courtyard.

When they arrived, they found the door wide open and the lights on inside, but no one in sight.

Ren Cong stepped forward first, knocked lightly on the door, and only stepped inside after confirming that no one was there.

"Young master, he's disappeared again..."

Ren Fengjue followed him into the room, looked around, and his gaze suddenly stopped on one spot, his eyes becoming serious.

Following his gaze, Ren Cong also noticed the object on the wall.

"Why...is there a pen there?"

Ren Fengjue remained silent, stepped forward, and took the strange cinnabar pen and talisman paper off the wall.

However, as soon as the words on the paper were clearly seen, the paper and pen instantly turned into a handful of black ash.

"Young master! Be careful!"

Ren Cong was startled, thinking it was some kind of evil magic, and was about to protect his master.

Ren Fengjue calmly flicked the dust from his hand, saying, "It's nothing, just a sorcerer's illusion."

Having worked in the Ministry of Justice for many years, he had handled numerous mysterious cases and had some understanding of folk magic and sorcery.

Ren Cong breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then felt a chill run down his spine.

"How...how does this woman know magic?!"

Ren Fengjue looked solemn and offered no explanation, only instructing, "Go to Jinxiu Clothing Store immediately."

-

Jinxiu Clothing Store remained closed.

But unlike last night, before Xia Ximo could knock, the vermilion door opened by itself from the inside.

With no one around to help, the place exuded an eerie atmosphere.

Wuyou poked half his head out from under the lamp, looked around, sniffed the air, and said, "There's danger. You have to be careful."

Xia Ximo remained silent, and did not even pause in his steps.

She walked around the screen wall and came to the front yard. Under the bright moonlight, she saw a Taoist priest in a gray robe standing in the yard.

This setup makes it seem like they've been waiting for a long time.

Xia Ximo swept his cold gaze across her and asked bluntly, "So you're the sorcerer who scattered Zhu Yan's soul?"

The gray-robed Taoist did not answer, but stared intently at her, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

Suddenly, he raised the hand holding the whisk, muttered to himself while counting on his fingers, and his brows furrowed.

After a moment, he retorted, "Are you a human or a ghost?"

Xia Ximo's expression remained indifferent as he took a few more steps forward. "I thought you had some skill, that you couldn't even tell whether I was human or ghost?"

The gray-robed Taoist snorted coldly, swept his whisk across his chest, drew a talisman in the air, and raised his hand to form a hand seal.

Suddenly, the sound of bells rang out, and the previously stable ground began to tremble violently.

Xia Ximo looked down and saw a magic array rising beneath her feet, made up of dozens of densely packed red ropes connected together to form a talisman that trapped her inside.

As the Taoist priest chanted incantations, the bells rang loudly, golden light flickered, and the ropes, nimble as snakes, suddenly tightened, binding her hands and feet tightly.

Seeing that she was being restrained, Ren Shuo, who had been watching the show from the shadows, finally showed himself.

"Miss Xia, I have offended you greatly."

He had a kind face, a smile on his face, and spoke politely.

Only in those slender eyes did a cold glint remain hidden.

"I went to the young marquis's residence during the day to invite you, but you wouldn't listen, so I had no choice but to resort to this tactic."

"Speaking of which, we'll be family sooner or later, there's no need to act so distant."

"If you agree to let my son go and not pursue the matter of the painter, I will also let it go for the sake of the young marquis."

After he finished speaking, it was thought that the woman trapped in the formation would be moved.

After all, she looked so weak and frail that she didn't seem to have any power to fight back.

However, a single glance sent a shiver down one's spine.

"no."

Xia Ximo spoke, coldly uttering two words that showed absolutely no mercy.

Even though she was trapped in the formation and her hands and feet were restrained, there was not a trace of fear on her face.

On the contrary, it also carries a certain air of superiority.

Ren Shuo had met countless people in his life, but he had never seen such a look in the eyes of any young woman.

He was speechless for a moment, and a surge of anger welled up inside him.

However, at that moment, Manager Liu rushed out from the inner courtyard, shouting, "Master, something terrible has happened! Young Master... he..."

"Young Master... he's passed away!"