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

In the middle of the night, it is snowing, and the sky and the earth are the same color.

Outside the main hall of the Mu residence, Mu Tingting frowned, staring at the tightly closed hall door with a worried expression.

Three days ago, news of Xia Ximo's death came from the side courtyard. Madam Fan chose to keep it a secret, but she still heard a little bit of the news.

Mu Tingting felt guilty towards her cousin.

But my mother said that once you've chosen a path of no return, there's no turning back.

Xia Ximo is dead. She has no choice but to enter the gates of the Marquis of Renxuan's mansion.

But now, things have become a bit complicated.

How can a dead person suddenly come back?

Lost in thought, the door suddenly opened a crack from the inside.

The servants guarding the door were all taken aback.

A moment later, the first person to step out was a thin and frail figure.

"Xi Mo..."

Mu Tingting's breath hitched, and she felt a chill creeping into her internal organs.

Despite the astonished looks from the crowd, Xia Ximo's pale face remained devoid of any emotion.

Behind her, Butler Zhou was helping the terrified Madam Fan slowly walk out from inside.

Compared to the former, these two looked blank and pale, clearly indicating that the situation was not good.

"Mother."

Despite her fear, Mu Tingting quickly stepped forward and asked Madam Fan, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Upon hearing her daughter's voice, a glimmer of light returned to Madam Fan's vacant eyes.

She grabbed Mu Tingting's hand and said anxiously, "Tingting, take some people to the backyard now, to the well... to dig out Chunying'er's body from the well."

Mu Tingting's expression changed drastically: "Mother, what...what are you saying?"

Without offering an explanation, Fan urged, "Don't ask, just do it..."

Mu Tingting always obeyed her mother's orders. Although she did not know the inside story, she dared not hesitate and immediately called several servants to rush to the backyard together.

In less than an hour, a skeleton appeared beside the dry well in the backyard.

Human life was at stake, which made Mu Tingting even more at a loss.

Upon seeing the human bones, Fan's knees buckled, and she knelt on the ground, her face filled with remorse.

"I'm so sorry, I was wrong! I deserve to die!"

"In the next life—I'll be your ox or your horse!"

Please forgive me!

The matriarch, who was always so graceful and magnanimous, suddenly uttered such words, leaving everyone astonished.

Mu Tingting felt as if the sky had fallen and went forward to help her up.

"Mother, what are you talking about? What...what does this have to do with you?"

With tears streaming down her face, Madam Fan gazed in Xia Ximo's direction, her lips trembling as she slowly said, "She is Chun Ying'er. It was I... who had her beaten to death..."

Upon hearing this name, Mu Tingting finally understood about 70-80% of what was going on.

She followed the gaze and met a pair of cold eyes, immediately choking and daring not to speak again.

Xia Ximo withdrew his gaze, glanced at the sky, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, walked to the skeleton, extended his index finger, and gently touched the space between the bones' eyebrows.

"Now that the injustice has been redressed, let us set off on our journey."

As soon as she finished speaking, the white bones instantly turned into dust and melted into the snow.

Upon seeing this, everyone in the Mu family was terrified and involuntarily took a few steps back. Their eyes, when looking at Xia Ximo, were clearly filled with fear.

Fan was terrified and at a loss when Xia Ximo turned around and coldly ordered, "Remember my demands clearly: a life for a life. So that we may meet again in the afterlife."

Having said that, she didn't care whether the other party responded or not, and like the wind and snow of the night, she came quietly and left without a sound.

-

In just one night, the Mu family underwent a dramatic transformation.

As dawn broke, a group of yamen runners quickly crossed West Street and soon blocked the area outside the Mu residence.

The lead constable yawned, arms crossed, and raised his voice to ask, "Who reported this?"

A woman with disheveled hair slowly walked out and said in a hoarse voice, "Sir, it's me."

The head constable was a discerning man and immediately recognized the other party's identity, which greatly surprised him.

"Madam Mu... what brings you here?"

The woman slowly raised her head and uttered four words: "I killed someone."

After saying that, he presented a confession.

On that day, Madam Fan, the matriarch of the Mu family, was imprisoned and hanged herself that very night, shocking the entire Xiling County.

However, the authorities refused to disclose any information about why he was imprisoned or what crime he had committed.

Three days later, Mu Zheng, who was working in the capital, received a letter from his daughter, written on his behalf.

After reading the long letter, he felt a chill run through him, and he was at a loss for what to think.

I tossed and turned all night, thinking of many solutions.

Before dawn, Mu Zheng summoned his trusted aides. After much deliberation, he instructed, "Find Xi Mo as soon as possible and bring her to the capital to see me."

Meanwhile, on a merchant ship bound for Kyoto, a young woman dressed in coarse linen clothing was leaning against a cabin filled with wine jars.

Her eyes were closed, her face was pale, and as the boat rocked, she slowly slumped to the ground and lost consciousness.

At that moment, a commotion arose outside the cabin.

Someone shouted, "Get down! If you know what's good for you, hand over your valuables, or don't blame the swords for being merciless!"

It turned out that they were actually pirates who had disguised themselves and infiltrated the area, hoping to extort money from the ship.

This merchant ship departed from Xiling County and was originally intended only to transport goods to the capital.

Due to the convenience of waterways, there was frequent interaction between the prefectures and counties along the way, and people gradually began to make a living by carrying passengers.

At this point, the boat was in the middle of the river, surrounded by water on all sides, leaving it completely isolated and helpless.

As several robbers brandished their knives, panic erupted on the ship, and no one dared to make a move.

Those who value their lives will hand over their money and valuables early on, for fear of offending the other party.

Seeing this, the robbers were about to loot everything.

Suddenly, he heard a soft "whoosh" sound, and a chopstick flew out of nowhere, grazing his cheek and hitting the beam of the boat next to him.

Although the attack did not injure anyone, it was incredibly powerful.

He's clearly a master.

In the dim light of dawn, the robbers looked up and saw two men sitting in the second-floor pavilion.

One of them, dressed in flowing white robes, with a face as fair as jade and an elegant demeanor, was playing with a chopstick in his hand, looking quite unrestrained.

The other person, wearing a black cloak, was handsome and refined. Although he was not old, he had a calm demeanor and an air of nobility, clearly indicating that he came from an extraordinary background.

The two men seemed unconcerned about the danger below, their expressions calm and composed, showing no fear whatsoever.

The leader of the robbers suddenly choked, sensing something was wrong.

The man in white said leisurely, "We're about to enter the capital, how come we have to run into something like this?"

The man in black didn't reply, but poured himself a cup of tea and drank it down gently.

Seeing this, the man in white lazily crossed his arms, turned around, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "Lord Ren, do you think we should still get involved in such a trivial matter?"