One
"Have a pear. Truly, it's just a pear."
Long after, these words still echoed through the pear grove.
Chi Wangchuan's Soulfire grew increasingly dim, gradually being absorbed by the Moonlight Sheen Blade until he could no longer maintain his human form.
And that pear, appearing snow-white and crystalline, truly was just a pear.
Ban Xia took a breath. Someone who wouldn't be sentimental once in eight hundred years, for some inexplicable reason, actually reached out to take the pear and took a bite.
The taste was fairly good, comparable to Xinjiang fragrant pears, but nothing particularly miraculous.
Having taken one bite, she finished the entire pear without hesitation - Ban Xia was a straightforward person.
Soon only the pear core remained. Ban Xia held it in her palm, showing it to Chi Wangchuan: "I've eaten it. Indeed, it's just a pear. An ordinary pear."
As she spoke, she glanced down and suddenly noticed the burns on her neck from the Ghost fire were fading away, like the tide receding, disappearing completely in an instant.
Almost instinctively, she touched the coin-sized scar on her forehead. This was the scar that had forced her to keep long bangs in constant frustration.
As expected, that scar had vanished too!
So this was how those women had regained their youth - through this pear.
If you could pass the trial, you could reclaim your youth and win back your beloved's heart. From beginning to end, Chi Wangchuan had never lied or broken his word.
He was a ghost burdened with heavy sins, but his word was as solid as a mountain, possessing its own valuable quality.
Ban Xia cupped her face, momentarily lost in contemplation.
"If I'm captured, the Barrier of this grove will break," Chi Wangchuan continued from the side. "Remember the old man who led you here? He's Ji Li's enemy, filled with deep resentment. If he gets out..."
"I'll take responsibility for this," Xuan Ye said calmly, flicking his finger against the blade. Chi Wangchuan's spirit immediately lost cohesion, transforming into a stream of light that was completely absorbed by the blade.
The Moonlight Sheen Blade now changed color, with green hues flowing across its surface, resembling the green smoke Chi Wangchuan had controlled earlier in the grove.
Xuan Ye's fingernail scraped against the blade, blood dripping from the wound onto the metal. The blood immediately turned to smoke, releasing that familiar sweet yet bloody scent.
"What happens to such Ghost Spirits after you capture them?" Ban Xia couldn't help but approach, stroking the blade.
Whether resisting living humans or not, the Moonlight Sheen Blade trembled violently, shimmering with an eerie green light for a long time.
"All spirits subdued by Moon Glow will be imprisoned for eternity," Xuan Ye replied impassively, tearing a strip from his clothing to bind his injured finger. "Let's go out and see if that old man is still there."
Ban Xia murmured acknowledgment, feeling a pang of sorrow in her heart, but ultimately said nothing more as she followed Xuan Ye out of the grove.
The inexplicable mist in the grove had mostly dissipated. After searching for some time, they found some wandering vengeful spirits, likely formerly under Chi Wangchuan's command, but the old man who had been mashing frogs was nowhere to be found.
"He's already escaped," Xuan Ye sighed. "Where do you think he'd go?"
Ban Xia looked up.
If you were him - Cursed by Ji Li, exploited until you had nothing left, having your nails torn out, then killed like trash - where would you go?
Of course, to seek revenge. Ji Li might be gone, but her reincarnation Yuan Fang still remained.
"I think I need to go to the capital," Xuan Ye raised his hand, rubbing his temple. "Your burns have healed. Whether you choose to come along is entirely up to you."
"It's a ram! Definitely male, absolutely!"Atop the Qilian Mountains, Chi Xue crouched on the ground, nervously clutching a twig while muttering to himself and drawing circles in the dirt.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly until the lamb was born, and Uncle Qi finally stepped outside, frowning as he announced, "Young Seer Chi, it's a ewe."
Chi Xue’s shoulders slumped instantly.
His divination had failed again. Forget foreseeing the upheaval of nations or the fall of dynasties—he couldn’t even accurately predict the gender of a newborn lamb.
He barely registered Uncle Qi’s attempts to console him. With his shoulders still drooping, he shuffled over to his master, Gu Mo, sniffled, and felt a wave of self-pity.
"Wrong again?" Gu Mo chuckled, taking a deep drag from his pipe. "Don’t worry. Last time you foresaw Aunt Lan having a girl, and she did end up giving birth to a daughter. You’re not wrong every time."
"Being wrong every time would be better—people could just interpret the opposite. But someone like me, who’s right half the time and wrong the other half, what kind of Seer am I? It’s no better than passing gas." Chi Xue sniffled again. "Master, are you absolutely sure I’m to be the tribe’s next Seer? Could you have misjudged?"
"What do you think?" Gu Mo tapped his pipe lightly.
"Master is never wrong..." Chi Xue murmured, lifting his head dazedly to gaze at the clouds drifting across the sky. Then he lowered his eyes to the moss-covered well cover beside his feet.
Stirrings echoed from within the well—a low, rushing sound, like gusts of wind swirling in its depths.
Chi Xue leaned over to peer inside, a hint of worry in his voice. "Do you think they’ll break out?"
"Not for now," Gu Mo replied, tapping his pipe again. "I reinforced the seal with my blood the day before yesterday. It should hold for a few more days."
Just then, a mountain breeze swept through, rustling the forest in waves of sound.
No matter how turbulent the world beyond, their mountaintop tribe remained eternally tranquil—so serene it felt almost surreal.
By all accounts, this should have been a place of boundless beauty. They were a semi-divine race, close to the celestial realm, blessed with long lives and a natural aptitude for cultivation.
But circumstances had taken a grim turn. Their clan leader had passed away nearly two decades ago. Though reborn, he had yet to return.
The Ghost Spirits confined within the well, seething with resentment, repeatedly attempted to shatter their prison.
"We must find the Elegant Confinement, help him restore the Moon Glow. Someone must go," Gu Mo emphasized.
Chi Xue looked up, still dazed.
"You go."
Chi Xue’s jaw dropped. "Master... what did you say? Me... I’m to find the reincarnation of the Elegant Confinement and help him restore the Moon Glow? Are you serious, Master?"
"Leave today. I’ve read the Water Divination—he’s headed for the capital."
"What’s the capital?"
"Where the emperor lives."
"What’s an emperor?"
"..."
"You’ll have to figure these things out yourself once you descend the mountain," Gu Mo said, at a loss for words. "I’ll give you a Layered Lotus. It blooms only under the moonlight, and its bud will point you in the right direction. It will lead you to the Moonlight Sheen Blade. Finding the blade means finding the Elegant Confinement."
"Oh."
"Besides the flower, take some silver with you. Down the mountain, you can’t take a single step without it."
"Oh."
"Alright, let’s start packing now."
"Oh."
Gu Mo grew slightly irritated. "Is 'oh' all you can say? Oh, oh, oh—are you a dull-witted goose?"
"What should I say, Master?"
It took Chi Xue a long moment to respond, his neck stretched out, looking even more foolish than a dull-witted goose.
At the same moment, in the capital, Xuan Ye knocked on Yuan Fang’s door.Her husband now held the position of Vice Minister of Rites, so their residence was quite imposing.
Ban Xia came up with a not-entirely-terrible idea, claiming they came from Qilin Town and were the cousin and cousin-in-law of the granddaughter-in-law of Yuan Fang’s paternal aunt. They had come to visit relatives.
The doorman was undoubtedly confused by her convoluted story. After reporting to the steward, he led the two inside.
Although it was still early, Vice Minister Lan was diligent and had already left for his office. The servant guided them to see Yuan Fang, explaining as they walked, “Please wait in the side hall. Madam is not accustomed to rising early—I will go and inform her.”
Xuan Ye nodded and soon followed him to the side hall, signaling Ban Xia to wait patiently.
“Do you think he’s arrived yet?” Ban Xia asked during the tedious wait.
“Probably not yet… I don’t sense any resentment.”
Before the words had fully left his mouth, a maid’s scream echoed from nearby—a long, drawn-out “Ah!” that sounded utterly terrified.
Xuan Ye immediately sprang into action, darting over like an arrow.
The door to the inner chamber was wide open. The maid who had gone to wake the mistress was still there, her legs trembling uncontrollably.
Ban Xia arrived moments later, rushing through the doorway to find Yuan Fang lying stiffly on the bed, fully dressed.
She was already dead. Her neck was dark, marked by a thick black bruise wider than Ban Xia’s arm—clearly, she had been strangled.
Ban Xia sighed. But as she drew closer, the dead Yuan Fang’s hand suddenly fell open.
A copper coin rolled from her palm, clattering across the floor until it came to a stop right at Ban Xia’s feet.
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