Chapter 5: What Is Mine, You Cannot Take Away

She kicked one of the serving maids and snapped, "How dare you, you lowly wench!"

The two maids knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly. "We wouldn't dare! We wouldn't dare, mistress!"

"Smack!" Another slap followed, even louder than the last.

Sheng Jintang stood there in a daze. Seeing the two maids on the ground without even making a move to rise, she was overcome with terror. Scared out of her wits, she scrambled backward and hid behind a screen, shrieking, "There’s a ghost! A ghost!"

In the midst of her frantic cries, she was kicked hard in the back of the knee and collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud, looking utterly wretched.

The two kneeling maids exchanged glances, surreptitiously pursing their lips to hide their amusement.

Before long, the hairpins were scattered across the floor, and her once beautiful face was covered in black and blue bruises.

She whimpered as she lay on the floor in agony, "Zhixing! Zhixing, help me!"

***

Sansheng Hall.

Su Lan watched as Yun Qing swiped continuously at the empty air. Having been her companion for so many years, she had naturally seen her play such tricks on others before.

"Fairy sister, look at me! This is the most painful way to hit someone! Like this—crouch down, sweep her legs, strike her jaw, and throw a punch right here—her molars are sure to fall out!"

Yun Qing observed the techniques Su Lan was demonstrating and mimicked them with precision. From the direction of the Marquis's residence, the screams grew even more shrill.

Zhixing rushed over, but the moment she opened the door, she saw Sheng Jintang, whose face was swollen like a pig’s head and bleeding from the nose. Sheng Jintang’s eyes were unfocused, and she mumbled incoherently, "Zhixing, save me..."

Zhixing was startled. She clutched her chest, let out a slow breath, and whispered to the servants, "Not a word of tonight’s events is to leave this room. Everyone, get out."

"Yes." The two maids lowered their heads and departed.

A moment later, an assassin dressed in night-traveling gear entered the room, injured. Through the screen, he addressed Sheng Jintang and Zhixing, "Reporting to the young lady, this subordinate failed to kill Yun Qing."

Sheng Jintang stood up abruptly, shouting indignantly, "Nonsense! If you had killed her, would she have been able to beat me like this?!"

The man in black stole a glance, but could not see clearly through the screen.

Noticing his curious gaze, Sheng Jintang frowned. "Keep looking, and I’ll gouge out those dog eyes of yours!"

"This subordinate wouldn't dare." The assassin immediately lowered his head.

Sheng Jintang frowned again. "You can’t even handle this small task? Five people couldn't kill her?"

"My lady, you don't know—she has a top-tier martial arts expert by her side. Before my brothers could even enter the room, they were all killed. She... she also asked me to pass on a message..."

"Speak!"

"‘Man proposes, heaven disposes. What belongs to Yun Qing, you... you cannot take away...’"

"Damn her!" Sheng Jintang clenched her fists. "I absolutely cannot let her step foot in the Marquis's residence. Zhixing, help me!"

***

Sansheng Hall.

Yun Qing felt satisfied after the beating. She exhaled with relief, unable to stop a smile from forming as she imagined Sheng Jintang’s swollen face.

But her smile had barely faded when a bell chimed at the door.

Yun Qing’s expression froze. Her peach-blossom eyes fixed on the entrance as several dark, white-ish wisps of energy surged in.

She quickly pulled two protective talismans from her sleeves and slapped them onto herself and Su Lan to prevent the malevolent spirits from possessing them.

She took a quick count—there were four vengeful spirits. She had just dealt with the evil aura on the jade pendant, and her vitality had not yet fully recovered. It would be difficult to handle these spirits now.

She turned her head and said to Su Lan, "Go to the Prince of Ye’s manor and tell him his jade pendant is with me."

Su Lan nodded, adding, "Fairy sister, please be careful."

A chilling wind howled past her ears, blowing out the lamps in the courtyard, accompanied by eerie sounds that echoed all around.

Yun Qing set up a formation and inscribed talismans to suppress the spirits in the air.

Less than half an incense stick later, Ye Jinchen kicked the door open in a fit of rage. He strode into the courtyard and demanded, "Yun Qing! How dare you! Where is the jade pendant? Return it to me!"

Yun Qing guided the vengeful spirits with her fingers, drawing them into the purple-gold gourd in her hand.

She sealed the lid, and the surrounding bone-chilling aura vanished. The extinguished candles flickered back to life, filling the room with warmth once more.

As Ye Jinchen approached her, Yun Qing’s head swam, and she collapsed against him. Her face was deathly pale, devoid of life, and she appeared to be on the verge of death.

***

The Marquis of Zhenbei’s residence.

"Zhixing, it’s been so long—is there still no news?" Sheng Jintang held a hard-boiled egg against her face, rolling it to reduce the swelling.

Zhixing, sitting cross-legged in a chair nearby, kept her eyes closed and counted on her fingers. "The six vengeful spirits I summoned have not returned. I fear they have met a grim fate."

"What?" Sheng Jintang’s breath hitched.

That Yun Qing—could she really have such immense power?

A moment later, Zhixing opened her eyes and smiled. "Congratulations, my lady. Yun Qing is dead."

"Truly?!" Sheng Jintang’s eyes lit up. She stood up in excitement but immediately felt a wave of soreness throughout her body, forcing her to sit back down in pain.

Zhixing curled her lips. "Her life force is broken. She is thoroughly dead."

"Wonderful..." Sheng Jintang chuckled, unable to contain her joy. "I thought she was some high-level expert, but she was nothing more than this."

Once Yun Qing was dead, her position as the legitimate daughter of the Marquis would be secure, and she would never have to live in fear again.

***

Sansheng Hall.

As Yun Qing’s consciousness drifted away, she inhaled the purple aura radiating from him. Only then did a hint of color return to her face. The soul that was about to be ripped from her body was steadied by his masculine energy, saving her life.

Struggling to speak, she parted her lips: "Door repair, twenty taels. Exorcism for the jade pendant, five thousand taels."

Ye Jinchen: "..."

She had made Su Lan rush to bring him here just to pull a scam?

Who dared to run a scam on him, the Prince of Ye?!

Ye Jinchen gritted his teeth. At the mention of the jade pendant, a surge of fury welled up within him. He had only realized the pendant was missing while he was bathing earlier.

The entire household had been turned upside down with no results. He was just about to storm to Sansheng Hall when Su Lan arrived, claiming his jade pendant was in the hands of her mistress.

Now, hearing her demand such an exorbitant price, he suppressed the urge to strangle her and roared, "Do you take me for a three-year-old child? So easily fooled? You dare to extort money from me? Are you tired of living?!"

"Pfft!" Unexpectedly, a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from Yun Qing’s lips. The thick, metallic scent of blood filled the air, and hot droplets splattered onto his cheek, leaving him momentarily stunned.

This was clearly not a magician’s prop.

He looked around and saw four masked men lying in disarray, blood also trickling from their noses and mouths. It was already beginning to congeal, their dark clothing barely visible under the moonlight.

The furnishings in the courtyard were not the elegant items of a lady’s boudoir. Hanging threads and various mystical artifacts were laid out on the tables. A formation was etched in the center, and the furniture was scattered, showing clear signs of a struggle. He couldn't help but grow suspicious of her true identity.

He furrowed his brows slightly. "What happened here?"

As he spoke, Yun Qing went limp in his arms, her hand falling slack. The familiar jade pendant slipped from her sleeve.

Ye Jinchen didn't bother to verify if the pendant was real; he hurriedly stuffed it into his robe and tapped her face. "Hey, Yun Qing, wake up! Wake up!"