Moonlit Reunion

The Peach Wood Sword, stained with a smear of blood, pierced through the writhing body of the Undying Corpse. The bloated, monstrous figure of the Undying Corpse suddenly froze before collapsing into a pile of foul-smelling sludge, splattering at Mei Zhuyu's feet.

The mottled ground and walls of the dark alley were all smeared with the sludge left behind by the completely destroyed Undying Corpse—except for the spot beneath Mei Zhuyu's feet, which remained pristine.

A soft plop sounded as a drop of crimson fell to the ground beside him. Mei Zhuyu lifted his hand to examine the wound on his palm, then sheathed the Peach Wood Sword with a flick of his wrist before turning to leave the alley.

Now that the Undying Corpse had been dealt with, it was time for him to return. Soon, someone—or something—might come to investigate, and Mei Zhuyu had no intention of crossing paths with them.

Having lived in Chang’an for a year, Mei Zhuyu had kept a low profile, blending in seamlessly with ordinary people. This was the first time he had acted within the city. As a practitioner of the Dao, he was naturally aware of the existence of the Demon Market in Chang’an, where two guardians presided.

Those two overseers governed all the supernatural beings here, so dealing with malevolent corpses and evil spirits was their responsibility. Mei Zhuyu shouldn’t have overstepped and taken action himself, but…

As he wrapped the wound on his hand, his thoughts turned to the missing Undying Bone. He had taken the ominous object from his cousin to prevent him from coming to harm. In Mei Zhuyu’s possession, the bone could do no harm. But last night, for some reason, it had gone missing. Because of Wu Zhen, his mind had been in turmoil, and he had spent the night copying the Scripture of Clarity in his room. It wasn’t until morning that he realized the Undying Bone was no longer at his waist. Unable to find it anywhere in the house, he feared Wu Zhen might have picked it up.

If that were the case, what if she encountered danger? No matter how extraordinary she was, she was still just an ordinary person—facing something like an Undying Corpse would be perilous.

Worried, he had been restless all day, yet he couldn’t bring himself to ask Wu Zhen about it directly. To ensure her safety in case she had indeed picked up the Undying Bone, Mei Zhuyu had no choice but to seek out and eliminate the hidden Undying Corpse himself, solving the problem at its root. With the Undying Corpse dead, the Undying Bones would soon crumble into sand. Whether Wu Zhen had picked it up or not, it wouldn’t matter anymore.

At Yan Tower, Wu Zhen was discussing the Undying Corpse with Snake Lord Liu Taizhen when suddenly, the transparent Undying Bone she had been toying with shattered with a crack . Fine grains of sand slipped through her fingers onto the smooth, black surface of the table.

Both Wu Zhen and Liu Taizhen paused. Wu Zhen then opened the small pouch beside her containing the remaining Undying Bones, only to find them all shattered as well. When poured out, they formed a small pile of sand on the table.

Tossing the pouch aside, Wu Zhen leaned back with a laugh. "I don’t know what happened, but it seems that Undying Corpse is dead?"

Liu Taizhen coughed lightly, her expression grave. "What’s going on?"

Wu Zhen shrugged. "The thing died on its own—saves us the trouble, doesn’t it? Why so serious?"

Unlike her casual demeanor, Liu Taizhen frowned. "That thing wouldn’t just die without reason. There must be a cause. Regardless, we need to figure it out. If there’s any unforeseen trouble, we should be prepared."Liu Taizhen had always been serious—so serious that she bordered on being pedantic. Wu Zhen suspected she might have inherited this annoying trait from her father, Censor Liu. But she didn’t dare say it aloud. Instead, she obediently stood up under the stern gaze of Snake Lord and said, “Fine, I’ll go figure out what happened and report back to you.”

Liu Taizhen also rose to her feet. “I’ll go with you.”

“No need.” Wu Zhen pushed her back down onto her seat. “You haven’t fully recovered yet. Just stay here and rest. This little matter is something I can handle alone.”

Before Liu Taizhen could protest, Wu Zhen had already leaped out the window, her figure vanishing into the night in a flash. Liu Taizhen walked to the window and gazed quietly at the bustling Demon Market outside, and beyond it, the ordinary human world shrouded in darkness.

The night breeze at this time of year still carried a hint of coolness. Standing atop a high point, Wu Zhen let the wind brush against her face. Soon, she caught a whiff of something foul in the air—a stench most people wouldn’t notice, but to her, it was unmistakable.

“Ugh, disgusting.” Wu Zhen covered her nose with her sleeve as she stood at the mouth of a dark alley, surveying the mess of splattered filth on the walls and ground. Just by looking at the scene, she could guess what had happened here not long ago. Some unfortunate Undying Corpse must have crossed paths with a Daoist practitioner—and a rather skilled one at that.

Aside from the lingering stench of the Undying Corpse, there was also a faint trace of blood mixed with the distinct fragrance of peach wood. This wasn’t ordinary peach wood—it was the scent of Black Bone Peach Wood, a rare spiritual treasure among Daoists. Whoever wielded such an item was certainly no ordinary practitioner. Wu Zhen wasn’t surprised that Chang’an still harbored such low-profile figures. In fact, she personally knew several Daoists herself.

However, she was certain the one who had acted this time wasn’t among her acquaintances. The Undying Corpse had met an exceptionally brutal end, suggesting the perpetrator was ruthless and cruel—unlike the methods typically employed by those she knew.

Huzhu and Shengun (The Charlatan) were also drawn to the stench. Huzhu covered her nose in disgust as she eyed the muck. “These things are always so revolting when they die.”

Shengun stroked his white beard and remarked, “It seems a kind-hearted Daoist has solved the problem for us this time.”

Since there was no further disturbance to deal with, Wu Zhen didn’t bother investigating who was responsible. With a flick of her wrist, she conjured a dark purple flame in her palm. She tossed it onto the muck, letting the fire spread until, within moments, all traces of the filth were incinerated. The flames only consumed impurities, leaving the alley unchanged—save for the absence of the splattered remains.

As the foul stench dissipated, Wu Zhen lowered her sleeve. “Alright, let’s head back.”

With the matter resolved, Wu Zhen was in high spirits, and for several days, nothing out of the ordinary occurred. Duke Yu, who had been staying at the estate recently due to her impending marriage instead of returning to the temple, wasn’t quite accustomed to his second daughter’s uncharacteristically well-behaved demeanor. Ever since informing Wu Zhen of the marriage arrangement, Duke Yu had braced himself for news of her causing trouble again. Yet, to his surprise, even after three of the six traditional wedding rites had been completed, Wu Zhen remained composed and hadn’t done anything outrageous. She hadn’t sought trouble with the groom-to-be from the Mei family, nor had she outright refused the marriage. It was as if she had silently accepted it."It's not a default—I genuinely agreed. Did I not say so?" Wu Zhen spread her hands toward her old father. "That young gentleman seems quite good to me, why wouldn't I agree?"

Duke Yu, who had been prepared to push through this marriage no matter what, was nearly moved to tears. He never thought he'd live to see the day his daughter would be so agreeable. Overcome with emotion, he immediately moved the wedding date up significantly. If he didn't seize this chance while his daughter was being cooperative, when would he ever get another?

With the strong support of Duke Yu and Wu Huanghou, Wu Zhen and Mei Zhuyu's marriage proceeded exceptionally smoothly. Once the date was set, first her circle of friends, then nearly the entire capital of Chang'an learned that Wu Er Niangzi—the woman often seen lingering in music halls and brothels, frequently dressed in men's attire, whose unrestrained behavior flouted all propriety—was finally getting married.

She was actually getting married!

At twenty-six, she would become the only one among Chang'an's noble circles to marry at such an age. Wu Zhen already had numerous friends, and once the news spread, her days were anything but peaceful. A flood of acquaintances and strangers alike—all fair-weather friends—came to congratulate her, though most were simply burning with curiosity about the marriage and came to pry for details. Faced with endless questions and probing looks, Wu Zhen paid them no mind and carried on as usual.

As for Mei Zhuyu, he displayed remarkable composure as well. He attended his duties diligently and returned home quietly, keeping an extremely low profile. Yet no matter how inconspicuous he tried to be, Wu Zhen's notoriety ensured he experienced what it was like to be the center of attention.

The number of people finding excuses to visit the Ministry of Justice surged—all to catch a glimpse of Wu Zhen's future husband. Even riding through the streets, he was met with countless curious stares. Even at home, peace eluded him. He received a flood of name cards and invitations from people he didn’t know. Before this, his residence had never seen visitors, nor had anyone ever invited him to banquets or poetry gatherings.

Even during the court assemblies held every five days, Mei Zhuyu—who had always been practically invisible—was suddenly summoned by the emperor, who examined him with open curiosity.

It seemed everyone reacted to the news that "Wu Zhen is actually marrying some man" with disbelief and astonishment. This astonishment could be broken down into two main sentiments: "How could Wu Zhen possibly fancy such an ordinary man?" and "How could any man dare to marry Wu Zhen?"

As the group closest to Mei Zhuyu, the officials at the Ministry of Justice spent their free time these days huddled together discussing the matter, all wearing expressions of utter incredulity.

"I truly never imagined that Wu Er Niangzi would marry Vice Director Mei. These two have nothing in common—how did they even end up together?"

"Exactly! Vice Director Mei has been with our ministry for so long, but has he ever joined us at a brothel even once? I’ve never even seen him smile. For someone so young, his manner is so rigid and dull—even Vice Minister Du, the biggest joker in our ministry, doesn’t dare tease him. How could a man like that tolerate Wu Er Niang, who spends half her time in brothels? Once they’re married, I doubt it’ll last. They’ll probably be at each other’s throats within days.""Indeed, that Wu Er Niangzi is not someone to be trifled with. I heard she once beat a gentleman to death in a brothel. If she were displeased, Physician Mei might well get a beating. And from what I can tell, Physician Mei isn’t the type to back down either. Ah, just thinking about it makes his life seem rather difficult."

The group sighed in sympathy, then suddenly fell into an awkward silence.

Mei Zhuyu walked past the embarrassed officials of the Ministry of Justice with an impassive face, carrying a stack of processed documents, as if he hadn’t heard a word they said. However, just as he was about to enter the room, he paused and turned to look at a minor clerk in the crowd. Calmly, he remarked, "Wu Er Niangzi has never beaten anyone to death. There are no such records in the Ministry of Justice archives. Article 35 of the Legal Code , Section on Slander, states that baseless defamation may, in severe cases, be punishable by law. Be more careful next time—do not spread rumors."

The door closed behind him. Outside, the officials' faces turned pale, then flushed. The clerk who had been fixed with Mei Zhuyu’s stare felt his scalp prickle and muttered, "I only heard it from others... everyone says so..." But he didn’t dare continue. After a moment of uneasy silence, they all slunk back to their work.