"Prince, Grand Preceptor."

Yi Dayou came in from outside, carefully closed the door, and reported in a low voice: "I've already asked and gotten the details."

Longshan Imperial Palace is a royal inner garden, nominally under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Bureau, but in reality, all matters such as manors and farmlands are managed by the Office of Palace Services, established by the Department of Palace Attendants. Finding out if any Taoists from Chunling Temple had been borrowed was, in truth, a matter of a single question. The trouble, however, lay in the fact that given Chi Lian's and Wei Ming's statuses, it would be a bit delicate for either of them to make inquiries. At the crucial moment, it was fortunate that Wei Ming remembered he had the most suitable person for the job under him and asked the Prince's Manor's steward, Yi Dayou, to run the errand for them.

Yi Dayou did not disappoint. In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he had found out everything: "Chunling Temple has a total of five Taoist acolytes and seven Taoists. The current Temple Master, Chi Anshou, is the junior martial brother of the previous Temple Master. Before the previous master passed away, he personally submitted a memorial to have Chi Anshou succeed him. In all the years he has managed the temple's affairs, he has always been quiet and inactive, never causing any trouble, and his relationship with the palace's internal departments is passable."

"As for employing people, everyone in the Imperial Palace's internal departments said they have never used the Taoists from Chunling Temple for any imperial visit. Since clergy are still considered outside males, they feared they might inadvertently offend a noble personage. Thus, they were only ordered to remain cautiously within the temple and not to go out without reason."

Wei Ming and Chi Lian exchanged a silent glance. Yi Dayou continued, "The Prince's worries are justified. If something truly went wrong, everyone in the Imperial Palace, from top to bottom, would be implicated. It's a good thing we discovered this early; fortunately, no major disaster has occurred."

Wei Ming waved his hand and said, "Don't say that to me. It's all thanks to our Grand Preceptor's decisiveness."

Chi Lian turned his head away, speechless. Wei Ming smiled and said to Yi Dayou, "Later, the Grand Preceptor and I will go to Chunling Temple again to have a look. You shouldn't be idle either. We have someone in the court; go give him a heads-up. In the unlucky event that we encounter the worst-case scenario, we can ask him to help us navigate the situation."

Yi Dayou also smiled upon hearing this, acknowledged the order, and took his leave. Chi Lian didn't understand the riddle between them. "Did I miss something? Someone in the court, who is it?"

Wei Ming leaned in with a mysterious expression. "This is a heaven-shattering secret, don't tell anyone, okay?"

From his tone, it was clear it wasn't any kind of serious secret. Chi Lian unenthusiastically agreed, "Alright, I won't tell. Please speak."

Wei Ming held his teacup, striking the pose of a storyteller. "Don't be fooled by Yi Dayou being just a steward in my down-and-out Prince's Manor now. Back in the day, he was a bona fide member of the Department of Palace Attendants. He and The Emperor's most favored person—Chief Eunuch Shang Heng—were martial brothers who entered the palace in the same year."

"He used to be in charge of the Imperial Stables and was considered among the top tier of palace attendants. His future was bright, but who knew he would accidentally offend Prince Kang and get plotted against by that bastard, resulting in a broken leg." As he spoke, Wei Ming couldn't help but sigh. "The Department of Palace Attendants turned its back on him and wanted to expel him from the palace. Only Shang Heng, remembering their past friendship, ran around trying to help him. It just so happened that I was coming of age and establishing my own manor at that time, so Shang Heng entrusted him to me. A comeback is impossible, but as a quiet place to live out his years, it's not bad."

"Your Highness really likes to pick up strays and bring them home," Chi Lian teased him. "If I recall correctly, Prince Kang's mother is the Noble Consort Wu, right? By doing this, have you decided to draw a clear line between yourself and them?"

Wei Ming's long-deceased mother was once a palace maid who served Noble Consort Wu. With such a connection between them, for Wei Ming to take in someone Prince Kang despised was tantamount to personally severing any possibility of a good relationship with Prince Kang's faction.

Wei Ming couldn't care less about that. "In the imperial family, even father and son can be mortal enemies, let alone brothers. If I handed Yi Dayou over to him, would Prince Kang treat me like his own brother? Impossible. Besides, I didn't take Steward Yi in just to spite him. It's mainly that Prince Kang's way of doing things is truly awful."

Chi Lian: "What do you mean?"

"The Imperial Stables is where the palace's horses are kept. Besides the imperial horses for daily use and the famous steeds sent as tribute from foreign lands, there were also two warhorses. They were the posthumous possessions of the late Great General Shenwu, Wei Chenwu. After the Wei Clan's assets were confiscated, these two horses were brought into the palace and handed over to the Imperial Stables to be cared for." Wei Ming paused, then belatedly asked, "You know who Wei Chenwu is, right?"

Chi Lian honestly shook his head.

Wei Ming had no choice but to explain from the beginning. "Wei Chenwu was this dynasty's greatest god of war, a hero who once led an army to pacify the thirteen kingdoms of the northern region. Unfortunately, he died of illness at Dingfang Pass six years ago. His descendants were unworthy, relying on his legacy to run rampant in the capital. A few years ago, they ended up having their titles stripped and their property confiscated. There is no longer a Wei Clan in the capital today."

"Getting back to Yi Dayou, the current Emperor is not fond of riding and archery, so those two horses were just left there with no one paying them any mind. One day, Prince Kang, for some reason, had a sudden whim and remembered them. He sent people to secretly demand the two horses from the attendants at the Imperial Stables, telling them to find a way to get the horses out. When Yi Dayou learned of this, he immediately put a stop to it. He was considerate of Prince Kang's reputation and didn't make a big deal out of it, but Prince Kang held a grudge against him for it. Once, during a game of polo, he deliberately pretended his horse had spooked and lost control, trampling and breaking Yi Dayou's leg. Then, he turned around and filed a complaint with The Emperor, accusing the Imperial Stables of being incompetent at raising horses. With the Noble Consort adding her voice from the side, The Emperor ordered the Department of Palace Attendants to punish him severely."

"He was already injured, and on top of that, the people from the Department of Palace Attendants kicked him while he was down. He endured several days of punishment. If Shang Heng hadn't helped him, he probably would never have had the chance to walk out of the palace gates."

Although Wei Ming had rarely returned to his manor over the years, after spending so much time together, their bond was different. He heaved a deep sigh, his tone filled with regret. "When Yi Dayou first arrived at my manor, he was barely breathing. Several times, I was worried he'd lose the will to live and jump into the river. Later, his physical wounds gradually healed and he recovered, but it's a pity his leg was ultimately left crippled."

"Life is full of hardships, but I can't see any sign of depression in Steward Yi... Living in the palace is one way of life; in the Prince's Manor, he manages the household affairs in perfect order. Isn't that very good?" Chi Lian comforted him. "Your Highness doesn't need to think of people as so fragile. All the myriad living beings in this world are like this. As long as they have the will to survive, they can persevere and live on, no matter how harsh the environment."

"What Your Highness gave him was not just a place to live, but the very will to 'live on,' which is just as important."

Wei Ming was silent for a moment after hearing this, then murmured, "...I didn't expect you to be so good at comforting people."

Chi Lian: “...”

Wei Ming: "I think you're absolutely right. If it were me, if someone gave me food, a place to live, paid me a salary, and frequently created opportunities for me to see my friends, I definitely wouldn't be trying to kill myself either."

“...”

Chi Lian calmly stood up and walked towards the door. "It's getting late. I'll head back first, lest someone comes looking for me."

"How strange. I seem to recall someone saying they would accompany me for the entire day and would only go back if the Emperor's place was haunted." Wei Ming pillowed his head with his arms and lazily leaned back, still mumbling, "The situation at Chunling Temple right now is no different from being haunted. Otherwise, maybe I should go report to Father Emperor and ask him to dispatch a powerful sorcerer from his entourage to protect this unarmed prince."

Chi Lian: “...”

Wei Ming: "Hmph, you don't want to be discovered by Father Emperor either... Oof!"

Chi Lian finally couldn't take it anymore. He turned, grabbed a peach from the tea table, and shoved the whole thing into Wei Ming's face.

At the hour of Hai, deep in the night, the sky had finally turned completely dark. Two figures appeared on the walls of Chunling Temple, as nimble as wildcats walking on eaves, and silently slipped along the courtyard wall into the temple's rear courtyard.

As they landed, Chi Lian gave Wei Ming an extra glance. It was less of a surprise and more of a belated realization. Since their first meeting, he had subconsciously placed himself in the role of a protector and had never carefully considered the level of Wei Ming's skills. After all, an immortal looking at a mortal was like a mortal looking at a monkey—it was merely a difference between jumping high and jumping low. But at this moment, he suddenly discovered that Wei Ming could effortlessly keep up with him. Even if he were a monkey, he must be one of the higher-jumping ones.

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Wei Ming sensed his gaze without turning around and spoke with a tacit understanding, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Chi Lian said in a low voice, his body half-hidden in the shadows, his figure as thin as a long blade. After checking the side rooms in the rear courtyard one by one, he said, "The belongings are all here, but the people are gone."

"Your Highness, in this courtyard... there's no one at all."

"Where on earth did they go?" Wei Ming sighed and looked up at the moon. "I say, shouldn't you immortals be casting a spell to create a water mirror or something at a time like this? Why do we have to go through all the trouble of searching room by room?"

"The Mortal Realm is a world unto itself. Whether spirit or immortal, one's spiritual powers are restricted in the mortal world, and one might even suffer a backlash. So, it's best to use them sparingly." Chi Lian scanned the deathly still courtyard, his elegant, long eyebrows knitting together as a subtle, ominous feeling crossed his mind. "It's unnaturally quiet here. Your Highness, have we walked into a trap..."

Before his words could fade, an eerie wind suddenly rose. Thick, dark clouds gathered from all directions, obscuring the pale moonlight. The dry air of the summer night turned damp and cool, like cold scales pressing against the skin, leaving a lingering, clammy sensation.

Wei Ming reacted almost at the same time. Listening closely, there wasn't a single bird call or insect chirp across the entire mountain, yet it wasn't completely silent. The night was filled with rustling sounds, like the slithering of snakes through grass, or perhaps like countless insects crawling over sand and stone. Either way, it was extremely unsettling, a feeling that sent a tingle from the crown of one's head to the soles of one's feet. The faint, sharp sting amidst the raised hairs on his skin was his instinct screaming at him to flee.

With a swish, the sound of something cutting through the air arose. Chi Lian flew towards Wei Ming, a longsword appearing in his right palm. He executed a backhanded diagonal slash, the dazzling sword light flashing like lightning, slicing a vine as thick as a wrist that was behind him in mid-air. Immediately after, Wei Ming dodged and lunged, flinging a dagger from his sleeve like a flash of lightning. With a thud, it pinned a huge vine that had shot up from the ground to a corridor pillar. Chi Lian followed up with a fluid sword strike, and green sap splattered like rain, drenching half of their bodies. The unique, rank smell of vegetation spread through the courtyard.

"It seems someone was already waiting for us here." Wei Ming, dagger in hand, stood back-to-back with him, surprisingly still in the mood to complain. "What happened to breaking the laws of heaven and getting struck by lightning? A Tree Spirit this big manifesting... it must have drained at least half the mountain. If it's not getting struck now, are they waiting for the New Year?"

Chi Lian looked up abruptly, only to see that the walls of Chunling Temple in all four directions had, at some unknown time, become covered with living, tree-like vines. Each one was at least as thick as an arm, their branches and leaves dancing wildly like demonic creatures, a truly terrifying sight. The century-old tree in the temple had grown wildly by at least ten zhang, already surpassing the highest peak of Longshan. Its massive canopy stretched out, covering the sky and land. Wherever its shadow fell, all flowers and grass withered instantly, animals turned to white bones, and not even insects were spared, devoured as nourishment by countless roots bursting from the ground.

Longshan had been an imperial palace for at least a century, making it unsuitable for either cultivation or residence for the Spirit Race. Moreover, plant and flower spirits were known to be the most docile of races, so how could such a powerful Tree Spirit suddenly appear? The spirit didn't show up earlier or later, but precisely at this moment. Was it targeting Wei Ming, or him? And who was controlling it from behind the scenes?

In an instant, countless thoughts raced through Chi Lian's mind, yet the vines did not continue their attack. In the dark night, a soft, delicate, and even somewhat timid voice suddenly spoke.

"Immortal Lord Chi Lian, is that Immortal Lord Chi Lian?"