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

The incense pavilion where Xia Ximo was located was now completely empty.

Both she and the handsome young man had vanished without a trace.

Ren Fengjue pushed aside the dancer who was blocking his view and looked around.

Inside the pavilion, in the corridor, on the staircase.

They had all vanished without a trace.

Not good.

Seeing his tense expression, Du Yueming was startled. "What's wrong, Young Master?"

Ren Fengjue offered no explanation: "Excuse me for a moment."

As he spoke, he pulled Yan Zhengchu and walked outside.

Yan Zhengchu hurriedly closed his folding fan and staggered out of the pavilion with him.

"Young Master, don't be anxious, I have a tracking talisman..."

Ren Fengjue then released his grip and said, "Let's see where she is now..."

Yan Zhengchu quietly took out a compass, whispered some technical terms, and the pointer spun rapidly, eventually pointing to the upstairs.

"She must have gone to the 'Tongtian Pavilion'."

Ren Fengjue's expression changed, and he looked towards the mahogany staircase at the end of the corridor.

Once the thought arose, I unconsciously started walking in that direction.

Yan Zhengchu hurriedly grabbed him, "Young Marquis, if you trust me, why not leave the matter of finding Miss Xia to me?"

Ren Fengjue paused, realizing he had indeed acted impulsively…

He immediately calmed down: "Do you have a solution?"

Yan Zhengchu didn't forget to boast: "I am the chief disciple of Master Tianji of Yunhe Mountain. I don't even care about mere ghosts."

As she spoke, she leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Just now, I used a transformation talisman to reveal the true forms of those dancers, hehe... they really aren't human."

Ren Fengjue's heart skipped a beat. "What is it?"

"Skull."

Yan Zhengchu uttered two words, then looked around solemnly; "A place that can transform a skeleton into a physical ghost—there's definitely something fishy about it!"

Ren Fengjue frowned: "Master Yan, are you confident you can subdue the ghost?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Zhengchu pondered for a long time, then held up five fingers.

"We don't know the full story yet, so we can only be 50% sure."

"..."

Ren Fengjue, always decisive, asked him, "Then how does the Taoist priest hope I can help you?"

"No problem."

Yan Zhengchu dodged the maids coming and going, pulled Ren Fengjue to the railing, and whispered, "I have a magical artifact here that can make all the evil things here reveal their true forms."

"Young Master only needs to place this item inside the glass lamps in the four corners of the hall."

As he spoke, he took out four crystal-clear beads from his pocket.

Ren Fengjue noticed that this object was a few centimeters smaller than the "Soul-Nourishing Pearl," and asked, "What is this?"

Yan Zhengchu replied, "This item is called the 'Xuanyuan Pearl,' a treasure of my Yunhe Mountain sect. Before I left the mountain, my master only gave me ten of them."

"it is good."

Ren Fengjue accepted the bead without hesitation, showing his complete trust in her: "Then please be careful, Daoist. I'm entrusting Miss Xia's safety to you for now."

"I will certainly repay you handsomely."

Yan Zhengchu quickly returned the greeting, not bothering with formalities, "After the matter is settled, I only hope that the young marquis will reward me with two more ingots of gold."

As he spoke, he put his hands behind his back and walked towards the stairs on his own.

In a short while, the figure disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Ren Fengjue knew that he had used magic to conceal his tracks, so he immediately turned around and went into the pavilion.

Seeing him return, Du Yueming quickly pulled him down to sit, "What happened just now?"

Ren Fengjue explained, "I ran into an acquaintance of Young Master Yan, so I went with him to say hello."

Upon hearing this, Du Yueming immediately glanced outside, but Yan Zhengchu was nowhere to be seen. Without asking any further questions, she simply called for a dancer to pour her some wine.

Ren Fengjue looked out through the crescent-shaped window and saw the four glass lamps that Yan Zhengchu had mentioned, one of which happened to be not far from this fragrant pavilion.

With his finger strength and accuracy, hitting the target with one strike wouldn't be difficult.

So he walked to the window, secretly held the bead in his right hand, and with a flick of his index and middle fingers, released it.

The bead immediately and accurately fell into the glass lamp, causing the originally bright lamplight to flicker and faintly emit a faint green light.

Then, he looked at the other three lamps, glancing at Du Yueming out of the corner of his eye, and suddenly an idea came to him.

-

The door to the pavilion opened.

The young man in fine clothes bowed and asked, "Miss, my manager has been waiting for you for quite some time."

Xia Ximo walked in expressionlessly.

Behind him, the door to the pavilion closed again.

Amidst the swirling smoke, the woman's graceful figure appeared and disappeared, accompanied by a faint laugh that seemed to linger in and out of earshot.

"Miss Xia is indeed very courageous."

A melodious voice suddenly appeared in my ears.

Then, a slender, jade-like hand gently touched her shoulder, the voice soft and seductive, carrying a hint of bewitching allure.

"I really like your body."

"Not only those with the most Yin constitution born in the Yin year, Yin month, Yin day, and Yin hour, but also those who can communicate between Yin and Yang."

"And she is so beautiful, I feel sorry for her."

As he spoke, that hand began to climb up her shoulder, but before it could touch her face, Xia Ximo stopped it.

"What are you, that you're worthy of my body?"

Her tone was dismissive, and she showed no fear whatsoever.

Bai Qingshuang was slightly surprised, and then took shape in the smoke.

She stared at the "prey" that had come to her door, her interest growing even stronger.

"Do you know that a few hours ago, someone came here to buy your life?"

"This person is still the only blood relative you have in this world."

"Do you feel heartbroken?"

Xia Ximo remained expressionless and didn't bother to respond.

Bai Qingshuang sized her up while chuckling softly, "His daughter is currently living in the Renxuan Marquis's residence, taking your place."

"He was naturally afraid that if you lived, it would affect both his daughter's marriage to Ren Fengjue and his status as the Vice Minister of the Chancellery."

"If you die, he and his daughter will be free from any future troubles in the capital."

Upon hearing this, Xia Ximo finally let out a sneer.

"You've got a good plan, but unfortunately, you can't kill me."

Seeing her so arrogant, Bai Qingshuang couldn't help but ask curiously, "Aren't you afraid?"

Xia Ximo gave her a cold look. "If you were afraid, you wouldn't have come."

Bai Qingshuang was finally provoked by her arrogant attitude: "Do you know that this is not a place you can come and go as you please?"

"Yeah?"

A cold smile appeared on Xia Ximo's lips: "I'd like to see how you're going to kill me."

As soon as she finished speaking, the smoke floating in the air began to rapidly converge in her direction.

In an instant, a dense, airtight net was woven, enveloping her body.

Bai Qingshuang once again reached out her jade-like hand and gently gripped her neck.

However, at this moment, the door of the pavilion suddenly opened wide, and a yellow talisman came flying towards them.

Sensing danger, Bai Qingshuang was forced to let go and knocked down the yellow talisman with a cloud of smoke.

"Who?"

The yellow talisman was knocked to the ground, and a male figure was seen standing in the pavilion.

"So this is the Tower of Heaven?"

Yan Zhengchu looked around, then scoffed, "Making so much smoke and mirrors, do you really think you're in the Ninth Heaven?"

Bai Qingshuang's expression changed slightly: "Yunhe Mountain?"

Yan Zhengchu, dressed in his best, looked at her and raised his eyebrows slightly: "It is indeed I, Daoist Yan Zhengchu of Yunhe Mountain."