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

In the long, drawn-out dream, there was always a shadow that I couldn't shake off.

Every time she turned around, she could feel him, but he never dared to go up to her.

"Why are you following me?" she asked, stamping her foot.

He remained hidden in the shadows, offering no reply.

So she continued walking, and he continued following, and they didn't know how much time had passed.

The shadow drew even closer to her.

She could roughly make out his figure; it was the outline of a man.

But when she tried to see more clearly, she was immediately plunged into darkness...

Xia Ximo woke up from her dream; it was already daylight outside the window.

She felt her throat was very dry and couldn't help but cough.

The cough aggravated the wound from the sword, causing her to gasp in pain.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Miss Mo."

Ren Fengjue stood at the doorway.

Xia Ximo responded, "Let's go in."

Although I had taken a nap, I still felt weak in my hands and feet, so I picked up a soft pillow from the side and leaned against it.

When the door opened, a crisp, cold air wafted in, and a glance outside revealed that it was still snowing heavily.

Ren Fengjue shook the snow off his clothes before walking in.

He was carrying a food box. "Master Yan cooked some porridge this morning."

Xia Ximo asked with some confusion, "Isn't there no food in the manor?"

Ren Fengjue smiled and said, "We went to Liangzhou City, bought some food, and also went to the pharmacy to buy some medicine."

Liangzhou City is still dozens of miles away from here.

It would take several hours to get back.

Besides, it was snowing.

Xia Ximo asked calmly, "What time is it now?"

Ren Fengjue replied, "It should be Chen Shi (7-9 AM)."

As he responded, he placed the steaming hot medicinal porridge on the table next to him, along with several plasters.

"After you finish your breakfast, apply this plaster to the wound; it will relieve the pain."

Xia Ximo asked, "Did you go to Liangzhou City last night?"

Ren Fengjue explained, "After leaving the manor last night, I saw our carriage. To test whether we could leave, I walked around."

"You've already arrived at Liangzhou City?"

Her expression remained calm, but her tone sounded somewhat ambiguous.

Ren Fengjue was always observant, so how could he not sense the changes in her emotions?

He deliberately said, "It's not far."

Xia Ximo's gaze swept over him, but she did not reply.

Ren Fengjue chuckled softly, "Eat the porridge while it's hot, as for the plaster..."

Xia Ximo calmly took the plaster in his hand and said, "I'll try it in a bit."

Meanwhile, in the main hall of the villa, Yu Lang, Yan Zhengchu, and A Xia were also having breakfast.

Yu Lang said to A Xia, "With such heavy snow, you didn't even stop him, and you actually let him go alone."

Ah Xia whispered, "We couldn't stop him; he rode off on his horse himself."

Yan Zhengchu smiled and said, "You still complain that the carriage is too slow?"

Glancing towards the backyard, Yu Lang sighed, "I see that the young marquis's feelings for Miss Xia are growing stronger every day, but Miss Xia..."

Xia said, "Miss Xia is cold to everyone, and it seems she's the same to the young marquis."

Yan Zhengchu shook his head: "There are still differences. She talked to the young marquis more than we did."

"Indeed," Yu Lang chimed in. "He'd say ten sentences to the young marquis, but at most half a sentence to us."

He had barely finished speaking when he caught a glimpse of Ren Fengjue out of the corner of his eye.

So, he covered his mouth and coughed lightly.

It was clear that the young marquis was in a good mood, as a slight smile remained on his face as he walked.

When they entered the hall, the three of them immediately greeted him.

Ren Fengjue responded absentmindedly.

Ah Xia stood up and said, "Young master, you haven't had breakfast yet."

After being reminded by him, Ren Fengjue remembered and found a seat to sit down.

A-Xia served him some porridge and said, "Young master hasn't slept all night, why don't you go and rest for a while?"

Ren Fengjue replied, "I'm not sleepy. I'll check on Miss Xia's condition later and then decide when to set off."

Or should we always put Miss Xia first?

No one dared to say anything.

Yu Lang, unable to contain his curiosity, asked, "My lord, you still haven't told me what exactly happened in the illusion last night. How did that young lady from the manor... just disappear?"

After a moment's consideration, Ren Fengjue briefly described the situation in the illusion, simplifying the complex details.

Everyone was stunned, including Yan Zhengchu.

"You mean... even the King of Ghosts from the underworld has come out?"

Master Yan gasped in shock.

Yu Lang hurriedly asked, "What does the Ghost King look like?"

Before Ren Fengjue could answer, Yan Zhengchu said, "It is said that the Ghost King's face cannot be seen, and no one has ever seen it."

Ren Fengjue remained calm: "When he appeared, there was a swirling mist, and only a faint outline of his mask could be seen."

"That's right."

Yan Zhengchu asked, "After all, he is the Lord of the Underworld; who dares to look him in the eye?"

These words brought a barely perceptible smile to Ren Fengjue's face.

He didn't say it, but there really was such a person...

Yu Lang then asked, "You just said that the Cold Abyss Attendant stole the Book of Life and Death for whom?"

Upon hearing this, Ren Fengjue paused for a moment before straightening his expression and saying, "Marquis of Zhenbei, Jiang Ting."

"What?"

Upon hearing that it was such an important figure, everyone's expression changed drastically.

None of these younger generation members had ever met the Marquis of Zhenbei, but they had certainly heard of his deeds.

It is said that he was brave and skilled in battle, invincible, and never suffered a defeat in his life.

Back then, the previous dynasty collapsed, and the surrounding small countries were eyeing it covetously.

Those years were filled with constant warfare and chaos.

If it weren't for the Marquis of Zhenbei leading troops to guard the land, who knows if we would have the prosperous Qi Dynasty we have today.

But how could such an upright and righteous person have such a bizarre past?

Ren Fengjue continued, "The Lord of the Underworld said that the ghosts and spirits we encountered in Beiding County were also related to him."

"Or rather, he is the legendary ghost or god."

Yan Zhengchu couldn't help but speculate, "So that means many things that happened in the capital, including Yunhe Mountain... are related to him?"

Ren Fengjue nodded slowly, "That's probably true."

Yu Lang felt a cold sweat break out: "If that's really the case, it's terrifying. He... has lived for over a hundred years? And with such power, even if we know the truth, how can we fight him?"

Everyone remained silent.

But Ren Fengjue suddenly remembered a sentence that the Lord of the Underworld had once said to Mo Gu: "Your entry into the Nine Netherworld Prison is related to him."

Mo Gu stayed in that place for a full hundred years. Was it really because she was "extremely wicked"?

wrong.

Although she has a cold personality, she is definitely not a bad person. What kind of injustice is hidden in this?

Ren Fengjue's expression suddenly turned cold, his gaze resolute, and he said, "If this is truly the truth, we will fight him to the end."