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

West of the city.

Inside a secluded house called "Wenlu," coughing could be heard from time to time.

The servant pushed open the door and timidly asked, "Sir, you've been coughing ever since you came back last night. Should I go and fetch a doctor?"

"It's just a slight cold; drinking a few bowls of ginger soup will do the trick."

Mu Zheng leaned weakly against the bedside, his face looking very pale.

But he was more concerned about the commotion outside than about his own body.

"Has the person who delivered the supplies to Marquis Renxuan's residence not returned yet?"

The servant replied, "It was sent over early this morning and should be on its way back by now. Please be patient, sir."

Mu Zheng was anxious and unable to rest properly. He could only pick up the ginger soup on the table and force himself to take another sip.

Just then, the faint sound of horses' hooves could be heard outside the courtyard gate.

His hand trembled, and the soup bowl fell directly to the ground.

The servant wanted to tidy up, but he stopped him.

"Go quickly and see if he's back. Tell him to come see me immediately."

"Yes."

Although the servant did not understand, he still did as he was told.

But as soon as he reached the door, he stopped abruptly: "Who are you?"

No one responded.

The servant had no choice but to shout, "My master is ill and cannot receive guests at this time!"

Mu Zheng was startled.

Immediately, a thin yet familiar figure was seen reflected in the window frame.

"Won't my uncle even see me?"

Hearing that icy voice, Mu Zheng was nearly scared out of his wits. "You...you..."

The figure slowly walked to the door, finally revealing its entire face.

"You...aren't you already dead? Are you a human or a ghost?"

In his excitement, Mu Zheng rolled off the bed, his hands and feet hitting the broken soup bowl and cutting himself, but he didn't feel any pain.

More than the pain, there was terror.

Xia Ximo stood by the door, her face appearing half-lit and half-shadowed because she was backlit.

In Mu Zheng's eyes, it was like a vengeful ghost seeking death.

In his panic, he tried to back away, but his back was pressed against the edge of the bed, and there was no way to retreat.

"Don't come any closer!"

"Guards, throw her out of here!"

He shouted loudly, but even the servants outside the door remained silent.

This filled Mu Zheng with a sense of despair.

Xia Ximo remained standing by the door, staring coldly at him. "Last night, did your uncle go to Fu Lou and buy my life?"

Her voice was icy, her words slow and deliberate, devoid of any emotion, and even her eyes held a chilling glint.

This made it impossible for Mu Zheng to associate her with the "Xia Ximo" in his memory.

In fact, they hadn't seen each other for many years.

The last time we met was on New Year's Eve two years ago.

In my memory, she was timid and cowering in the corner, not even daring to meet his eyes.

But now…

She was like a completely transformed person, utterly changed.

His eyes held an air of superiority and arrogance.

They seemed to regard him as an ant.

"I'm curious, what will you offer to buy my life?"

Mu Zheng shuddered.

Even so, he wouldn't answer her, saying, "I don't know what you're talking about..."

Xia Ximo didn't care about his stubbornness at all, "Then I'll help you think of something."

As soon as she finished speaking, Mu Zheng felt his hands and feet being restrained by a strange force.

As if possessed, his hands began to uncontrollably pick up the pieces on the ground.

He was terrified, but could only watch helplessly as his left hand gripped the shards of the soup bowl in his palm, a sharp pain shooting through him as blood began to flow.

"No!" Mu Zheng cried out in pain.

The person in front of him asked, "Have you thought it through?"

Mu Zheng shouted, "You're not Xia Ximo! Are you a human or a ghost? Who are you?!"

Xia Ximo remained expressionless, and his fingers twitched slightly again: "It seems we still don't understand."

"No!"

Under her control, Mu Zheng began to reach out his right hand to grasp the fragments.

As a civil official, he spent his entire life copying documents with his right hand.

His handwriting, which he was so proud of, even earned praise from the emperor.

The Mu family had been skilled in painting for generations, but he had no talent for it.

I studied painting for several years as a teenager, and tried my best to copy it, but I was still mediocre, not even as good as the charm of my younger sister's few strokes.

His father did not value him, and he gradually became disheartened and stopped painting.

Having been a writer since childhood, he had no other talents, so he simply began to study calligraphy.

He wrote for nearly thirty years.

After entering the court, he rose from a lowly eighth-rank official to his current position as a third-rank official.

He relied on this hand!

I said…

Mu Zheng trembled violently, his forehead covered in beads of sweat from extreme fear.

"Manager Bai said that as long as I'm willing to offer a drop of my own blood essence, she can help me get rid of my biggest threat..."

Upon hearing the phrase "a major threat," Xia Ximo couldn't help but sneer.

Mu Zheng knew that once he said those words, there would be no turning back.

But he wanted to live, and he couldn't bear to give up everything he had.

"Xi Mo, don't blame your uncle for being heartless. This whole thing was caused by your aunt."

"By the time I realized it, it was already too late. I could only continue down the wrong path; I had no choice in the matter!"

"We're family, how about this..."

Mu Zheng's mind raced, and he forced a fake smile: "Is there anything you want in this capital city? Your uncle will do everything in his power to give it to you!"

"As long as you listen to me obediently..."

Before he could finish speaking, his face suddenly contorted in pain, and he cried out.

Looking down, he saw the shards deeply embedded in his right palm, a shocking wound that almost pierced through his entire hand.

Blood was everywhere.

Xia Ximo showed no pity or emotion, only coldly asking, "Fool, do you even know what 'essence blood' is?"

Mu Zheng was in so much pain that he couldn't speak, but sensing the hidden meaning in her words, he quickly asked, "What do you mean?!"

Xia Ximo didn't reply, but two more figures appeared on the window frame.

One person said, "Offering a drop of 'essence blood' is equivalent to giving up one's own life to exchange for someone else's."

"Do you know why you suddenly fell ill after returning home last night?"

"That's because the wandering ghosts on the road have all come after you. They're trying to take advantage of your vulnerability and kill you."

Upon hearing this voice, Mu Zheng felt a chill run down his spine. He angrily questioned, "Who are you? Spreading rumors here?"

The man simply pushed open the half-closed window, then leaned against the windowsill and glanced at him: "Believe it or not, it's not me who's going to die."

Mu Zheng recognized the person as the one who had broken into Fu Lou with Ren Fengjue last night.

and so…

Another figure was seen under the window, only half of his face was visible, but his calm and composed aura and noble demeanor were evident.

One glance was enough to give him a jolt.

Ren Fengjue.

He came too!

Only then did Mu Zheng realize what true despair meant.

Ren Fengjue stood by the window, his face seemingly smiling, but his eyes were cold and distant: "When I visited last time, the servant said that Minister Mu was ill and needed to seek medical help. Today, I see that he is indeed seriously ill."

Mu Zheng's face immediately turned ashen.

It's all over.