The wedding was livestreamed by the sister, revealing his identity as a Taoist priest.

Tianyin Pavilion, the secluded cave behind the mountain.

sleepless nights.

Su Qingluan sat in front of the zither, her fingers tracing the patterns on the instrument's body again and again.

There is a very shallow scratch on the lacquer surface, slightly to the left of the body of the instrument.

It was when he was fifteen years old, practicing "High Mountains and Flowing Water," that his fingernails grew too long and he accidentally left them.

She laughed at him for half a month.

He never grew long fingernails again.

Outside the window, the sky was gradually brightening.

Qiuyue stood at the entrance of the cave, hesitating all night before finally speaking.

"Miss, the car is ready."

Su Qingluan did not move.

"From Tianyin Pavilion to Jiangcheng, it takes one day by flying on a sword and two days by carriage."

Qiuyue added in a low voice.

"Your body has just suffered a backlash; it's not advisable for you to fly on a sword..."

"understood."

Su Qingluan withdrew her hand and stood up.

She walked up to the bronze mirror.

The woman in the mirror was pale, her lips were bloodless, and her eyes were bluish-gray.

She stared at the mirror for three seconds.

Then she took out a lip rouge from her vanity case and, looking in the mirror, slowly drew a red line on it.

Its colors are so vibrant they are almost blinding.

Qiu Yue looked at her, and her nose tingled with emotion.

Su Qingluan put down her lip rouge, straightened her collar, and turned around.

"Pack up the instrument and come with me."

The moment she stepped out of the cave, she heard hurried footsteps coming from below the stone steps.

"Miss Su! Miss Su! Wait a minute!"

Qingxu rushed out of the bamboo forest, his Taoist robe soaked with dew, as if he had been squatting in the bamboo forest all night.

In fact, he did squat there all night.

Su Qingluan stopped, raising her eyebrows slightly.

"Why are you here again?"

Qingxu took a couple of breaths, took out a plain-colored envelope from his pocket, and handed it over with both hands.

"A letter from the Celestial Master to you."

Su Qingluan's gaze fell on the letter.

His fingertips paused for a moment.

She took it.

Qingxu took three steps back.

not enough.

They took two more steps back.

Then he stopped, put his hands in his sleeves, hunched his shoulders, and looked down at an innocent green bamboo stalk beside him.

Don't lose your temper!

Don't lose your temper!

Don't lose your temper!

The envelope was opened very quietly.

Su Qingluan unfolded the letter.

Qingxu glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

Her expression remained unchanged.

Read it line by line.

very slow.

Qingxu felt that time had never passed so slowly in her entire life.

It was even more agonizing than when he was undergoing the tribulation of lightning.

finish watching.

Su Qingluan folded the letter back and put it back into the envelope.

The movements were very steady.

Qingxu's heart was in his throat.

"He's still the same."

Su Qingluan spoke.

Her voice was very soft, carrying a hint of bitterness that only she could hear.

"It's always been like this."

Qingxu dared not respond.

Su Qingluan put the envelope into her sleeve.

She looked up at the dawn breaking through the sky above Tianyin Pavilion.

The golden-red light shone on her face, making the lipstick appear even more vibrant.

He said... "You are my junior sister. The path you walk and the path you cultivate should not be compromised because of anyone else."

She lowered her head, and the corners of her mouth slowly turned up.

It was a laugh tinged with resentment, a laugh that had been seen through and had nowhere to hide.

"Chen Shidu".

She read out those three words.

"You're about to marry someone else, why do you care whether I'm doing well or not?"

"Isn't that infuriating?"

Qingxu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

I didn't smash the piano.

He didn't lose his temper.

No one was hit.

Thank goodness.

Su Qingluan turned around and looked at Qingxu.

"Shen Nianqing".

She read the name aloud.

"A PhD from MIT, the daughter of the Shen family, 24 years old, and has never let her family down."

Qingxu nodded cautiously.

Su Qingluan tilted her head, a glint of light flashing in her eyes.

It wasn't hatred, it wasn't jealousy.

It's curiosity.

"The woman who can make him say that the three realms are his witnesses and the sun and moon are his witnesses."

She lowered her eyes, and the corners of her mouth curved into a slight smile.

"I have even higher expectations for her now."

Qingxu was stunned.

Su Qingluan had already turned around and descended the stone steps, her dark red Taoist robe fluttering in the morning mist.

"Let's go, Elder Qingxu."

She didn't even turn her head.

"Weren't you going to come with me?"

Qingxu snapped out of his daze and quickly followed.

Qiuyue then ran alongside, carrying the zither case.

The gate of Tianyin Pavilion receded further and further behind us.

……

Thousands of miles away.

Qingteng City, on the edge of the Shiwan Mountains, deep in a karst cave.

"bite."

The third brother took out a black talisman from his sleeve.

A line of small, blood-red characters appeared on the surface of the talisman.

After he finished reading it, a smile appeared on his lips.

"Qi Zhen has made his move."

The eldest brother sat cross-legged on the stone platform, his eyes closed.

"How so?"

"The Shen Group's three upstream supply chains were all cut off this morning."

The third brother crushed the talisman.

"Two shipments of goods at Jiangcheng Port were seized by customs, ostensibly due to procedural defects."

"There is also a bridge loan that the Shen family had in Hong Kong Island, which was unilaterally withdrawn by the bank this morning."

The eldest brother opened one eye.

"That's decisive."

"Oh."

The third brother sneered.

"These old foxes who have been in business for decades are more ruthless than us when it comes to it. He's trying to corner the Shen family by first using money."

The second child tilted his head.

"So what if we force them? The Shen family has a net worth of hundreds of billions; they can handle it."

"He doesn't expect the economic blockade to kill the Shen family."

The third brother sat down on the stone wall.

"He's trying to force Chen Shidu to show himself."

The eldest brother nodded.

"A smart person."

"But he also said it."

The third brother took out a second talisman from his sleeve.

"The affairs of the Taoist sect should still be handled by us."

The cave was quiet for a few seconds.

The second brother licked his lips.

"Brother, how do we try it?"

The eldest brother finally opened his eyes completely.

His murky eyes held a sinister glint.

"The three cities surrounding Jiangcheng are Anping, Changhe, and Liangdu."

He held up three withered fingers.

"We've raised a half-step Ghost King in each of these three places."

The second brother gasped.

"Big brother, those three are for a crucial moment..."

"We're not sending them to their deaths."

The eldest brother waved his hand.

"Just a test."

His voice deepened.

"Three half-step ghost kings are approaching Jiangcheng from three directions at the same time."

"Instead of entering the city, we'll spread our spiritual pressure outwards and see how the Daoist sects react."

"If the Daoist sect only has a few juniors in charge, then the spiritual pressure of a half-step Ghost King would be enough to keep them busy."

"If a powerful figure were to intervene..."

The third brother chimed in.

"Then we know how wide Chen Shidu's perception range is."

"right."

The eldest brother withdrew his finger.

"No matter the outcome, we won't lose out."

The second son hesitated for a moment.

"What if those three don't come back?"

The eldest brother chuckled.

"A half-step Ghost King isn't a complete being; if he dies, he dies."

"Using three test subjects to exchange for the sect's trump card information is a worthwhile deal."

The third brother had already stood up and dusted off his robe.

"I'll pass on the message tonight."

"Within three days, three half-step ghost kings simultaneously approached Jiangcheng."

His mouth split open, revealing a row of yellow teeth.

"Perfect."

"I heard that Chen Shidu's fourth betrothal gift will be delivered soon."

"If the Ghost King makes a move here, we'll see if he's Gu Pinli or Gu Cheng."

The people inside the cave looked at each other.

A sinister laugh echoed from between the stone walls.

……