Moonlit Reunion

After Taoist Shuangjiang left, the Plague God was already close at hand. Wu Zhen took a step forward, flicking her wrist to reveal a crimson long whip. She declared loudly, "By the power of the Nine Dragons' domain, evil be banished!"

The long crimson whip, like a living thing, continuously extended and twisted in the air, forming chaotic arcs of light before mercilessly striking the black mist creeping toward Chang'an. However, though the mist was split open by the whip, it quickly reformed, still slowly extending shadowy tendrils toward the city gates.

"Truly worthy of the title 'Plague God'—what a nuisance," Wu Zhen smirked, delivering another fierce lash with her whip.

By now, the closing drum had already sounded, and all city and district gates were shut. Ordinary people, of course, had no idea that the Plague God was knocking at the city's gates. Only a few noticed the flashes of lightning in the sky, murmuring in curiosity—today's dark clouds were unusually thick, and the lightning seemed different, tinged with red.

However, to Non-human entities and those with cultivation, the impending threat was palpable. They could sense the looming danger and guess that something sought to invade Chang'an. The explosions in the sky outside the city were not thunder but the sounds of fierce battle.

Mei Zhuyu stood by the window with his hands behind his back, frowning as he gazed toward the city gates, his fingers twitching slightly. He had been restless all day and had attempted a simple divination, only to find nothing revealed. Though divination was not his specialty, he had never failed in simple predictions before. If he couldn't divine anything, it either meant the situation was dire or that it was closely tied to him.

Naturally, he didn’t think this matter had much to do with him personally, so he could only assume the situation was truly severe.

Tonight, Chang'an would likely not rest peacefully—danger was afoot. Mei Zhuyu felt a pang of worry for Wu Zhen. She had gone out and hadn’t returned before the closing drum, meaning she probably wouldn’t be staying here tonight. If she were here, no matter what happened, he could protect her. But now, he had no idea where she was...

Mei Zhuyu hesitated. Perhaps he should go find Wu Zhen—even if he didn’t reveal himself, he could at least watch over her from the shadows. The commotion outside the city was so intense tonight that it might spill into the city. He couldn’t rest easy.

Just as he was thinking this, a paper bird folded from a talisman flew in through the window. A faint spiritual glow on its wings guided it straight to Mei Zhuyu.

Reaching out to catch the bird, Mei Zhuyu was surprised. Had a disciple from the temple come to Chang'an? This paper bird technique was a minor spell used by Changxi Temple disciples to locate others—though typically, it was only used to find fellow disciples, as their spiritual energy shared the same origin, allowing the bird to track them.

Moments after Mei Zhuyu caught the paper bird, a white figure vaulted over the wall—it was Taoist Shuangjiang.

The once cold and aloof Taoist Shuangjiang now appeared meek and respectful, brushing off the dust from his robes before stepping forward and addressing Mei Zhuyu in a low voice, "Little Uncle Guyu."

Though Shuangjiang was only a year younger than Mei Zhuyu, he had entered the temple several years later, placing them in different generations. The Daoist tradition placed great emphasis on hierarchy—not just him, but even the senior and junior brothers beneath him, some older than their "Little Uncle," held Mei Zhuyu in deep respect.Of course, it wasn't just a matter of seniority. Their young martial uncle's cultivation talent was nothing short of monstrous—not only did he surpass all his similarly-aged martial nephews, but even their own masters couldn't compare to him. If not for status reasons, their grandmaster might have skipped over the previous disciples and directly appointed their young martial uncle as the next temple master. When their young martial uncle descended the mountain, the grandmaster didn't sleep for three days, sighing from time to time about what a pity it was.

Besides that, there was another reason—martial nephews like Shuangjiang had grown up under this young martial uncle's tutelage. Among a group of children around the same age, while they were still sniffling and clueless, their young martial uncle was already sternly hauling them up to the mountain peaks to train. Disobedience meant a beating, crying meant a beating, lack of focus in cultivation meant another beating. Even Taoist Shuangjiang had been beaten by his young martial uncle since childhood, and his awe of him had long become a habit.

Who would dare act presumptuously in front of the strict teacher who frequently made their backsides bloom in their youth? Taoist Shuangjiang certainly didn't. To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that the Cat Official was truly in danger this time, Shuangjiang would never have taken the initiative to seek out this martial uncle.

"Shuangjiang."

"Yes, Martial Uncle."

"Are you in Chang'an for training?"

"No, it's about something else." Shuangjiang quickly explained the matter of the Plague God to Mei Zhuyu, keeping his words concise to avoid wasting time. Finally, he bowed his head and said, "I beg for your assistance, Martial Uncle."

Mei Zhuyu didn't immediately agree. Frowning, he said, "Chang'an City has its Demon Market, with two guardians overseeing it. This is their territory. After all, we are different from them—intervening so casually is somewhat inappropriate."

Shuangjiang stole a glance at his martial uncle. He had once overheard his master and grandmaster discussing his martial uncle's family background and knew of his connection to the Demon Market. That he didn't immediately agree didn't surprise Shuangjiang, so he continued to persuade him: "Martial Uncle, this time it was the Cat Official who extended the invitation. The Snake Lord isn't in Chang'an right now—only the Cat Official remains. I fear he won't be able to withstand the Plague God's fierce onslaught alone. Even if he could, he'd likely suffer greatly."

Seeing his martial uncle still unmoved, Shuangjiang added, "With so many innocent people in Chang'an, if the Snake Lord can't return in time and the Cat Official fails to stop the Plague God from entering the city, who knows how many ordinary folk will be affected?"

This finally elicited a reaction from Mei Zhuyu. He released his hands and returned to his room. Shuangjiang peeked inside and saw his martial uncle take out his Peach Wood Sword, finally relaxing. He withdrew his head and waited obediently outside.

"Shuangjiang, are you coming with me or waiting here?"

"I'll go with you, Martial Uncle!"

Shuangjiang followed Mei Zhuyu. Earlier, he had climbed over the wall to enter, but now he was leaving through the main gate with his martial uncle. An old servant was keeping watch at the gate. Just as Mei Zhuyu was about to open the door, he seemed to remember something and said to the servant, "If my wife returns, tell her I was invited by a friend and will be back shortly."

The old servant smiled. "Understood, young master."

Shuangjiang: "...Wife? Wife?!!!!"

Dazedly, he followed Mei Zhuyu out the gate before snapping back to reality with a start. "Martial Uncle! You said 'wife'? You have—you have a wife?!"He asked in disbelief, only to see his usually expressionless little martial uncle reveal a gentle look, as if recalling someone, and say, "Yes, not long after marriage. She's a wonderful woman. You'll meet her soon."

Even in such a critical moment, Shuangjiang couldn't help but space out. His little martial uncle—their terrifying little martial uncle who hit people especially hard—had gotten married? What kind of woman could tame him? It must be a lie, impossible!

Utterly bewildered, Taoist Shuangjiang pinched his own arm hard, took a deep breath, and barely managed to regain his composure.

Calm down. A Taoist from Changxi Temple shouldn't lose his equanimity so easily. It's just marriage. Little Martial Uncle is different from them—he was always allowed to marry, not to mention he's already left the temple. This is normal; nothing to be surprised about.

When Mei Zhuyu glanced his way, Shuangjiang felt his scalp tingle and forced himself to stay composed. If he overreacted and lost his cool now, he'd get beaten. Little Martial Uncle had always been ruthless, regardless of their age.

The two leaped across rooftops, using talismans to conceal their figures, completely unnoticed by the patrolling soldiers below. As they drew closer to the city gates and towering walls, Taoist Shuangjiang refocused and began worrying about the situation ahead. It didn't look good—the Plague God was even larger than he'd seen before and far more aggressive.

Though the crimson lightning was swift, the Plague God extended countless tendrils to scale the walls, seemingly on the verge of breaching the defenses.

Suddenly, hundreds of crimson lightning bolts erupted, scattering the encroaching black clouds. A monstrous beast-like shadow reared its head, sucking in the dispersed darkness. In an instant, half the black clouds in the sky vanished, creating a strange semicircle near the gates. Moonlight spilled through the gap, illuminating a figure plummeting from above.

"This is bad!" Shuangjiang thought, realizing the Cat Official must have suffered severe injuries.

Mei Zhuyu also saw it and quickened his pace. Staring at the falling figure, he inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity. The closer he got, the clearer it became, stirring ripples in his usually calm heart.

That seemed like—

Shuangjiang noticed his little martial uncle suddenly halt mid-movement before vanishing. When he looked up again, Little Martial Uncle had already appeared beside the Cat Official, catching them mid-air and landing atop the gate tower.

Truly worthy of Little Martial Uncle—such incredible speed. As Shuangjiang rushed over, before he could say anything, he sensed something odd between his little martial uncle and the Cat Official.

Wu Zhen had unleashed her full power to disperse half of the damned Plague God, but the backlash left her grievously wounded. She had planned to land and dissipate the impact, but someone caught her mid-fall—so fast she hadn't even sensed their approach. Only after landing on the gate tower and seeing the person's face did she exclaim in shock, "Husband?"

Was she hallucinating from her injuries? Why else would she see her delicate, scholarly Mei husband here at such a time? Wasn't he just an ordinary man?Mei Zhuyu saw her face turn pale and, faster than thought, reached out to touch her cheek. He wanted to say something, but as soon as Wu Zhen uttered the word "husband," she suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, all of it splattering onto Mei Zhuyu's hand. The bright red blood stained his left hand, causing it to tremble involuntarily before he clenched it tightly.

On the other side, the remaining half of the Plague God gathered once more. Huzhu, who had sustained minor injuries, glanced over and stepped forward to block it for the time being.

Mei Zhuyu half-supported Wu Zhen, seeing the dire situation. He lowered his bloodied hand and said to Shuangjiang, "Come and protect her."

Shuangjiang instinctively ran over, but as Mei Zhuyu set Wu Zhen down and turned to leave, she grabbed his sleeve. "Wait, you—" His expression was grim, and the situation was too chaotic. Wu Zhen had only acted on impulse, unsure of what to say.

After a brief hesitation, Mei Zhuyu turned back and squeezed her icy hand. "It's alright. Don’t worry for now. We’ll talk after this is over."

Wu Zhen released him, gritting her teeth to swallow back another surge of blood rising in her throat. Mei Zhuyu noticed, his face darkening as he drew the heavy Peach Wood Sword, switching it from his right hand to his left.

Shuangjiang, who had been standing dumbly to the side, gasped at the sight.

Little Uncle was using his left hand—proof of how furious he was. He hadn’t wielded a sword with his left hand in years. They had all assumed he would never do so again in this lifetime, yet today… Shuangjiang couldn’t help but glance at the Cat Official. Did Little Uncle know her? He had clearly seen it—the way the Cat Official and Little Uncle had acted strangely, touching faces and holding hands.

But before this, when he had mentioned the Cat Official, Little Uncle hadn’t shown any reaction at all.