Chapter 10
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Chapter 10: Title
The weather was fair that day, early autumn’s chill softened by sunlight.
In the Fang courtyard, Fang Hanyu rarely sat still, now fidgeting as she asked, \"Father… is Brother’s failed marriage my fault?\"
Fang Xun patted her shoulder. \"Sit. Not your fault. He and Miss Zhou faced too many obstacles. Ultimately…\" He trailed off. \"Never mind. Don’t dwell. That Zhou Se was vile to dare harass you. I regret taking you there.\"
Fang Hanyu replied, \"I insisted on going, Father. I taught him a lesson—he won’t misbehave again. But angering the Zhou Family might bring trouble.\"
\"Don’t fear—\"
Knocks interrupted them. Fang Hanyu opened the door to a Taoist. Suspicious, she demanded, \"Who are you?\"
The Taoist flicked his whisk, bowing slightly. \"This humble Taoist travels afar. Dark clouds of resentment hang here—likely evil spirits. Might I cleanse them for you?\"
\"Evil spirits?\" Fang Hanyu frowned. \"You’re mistaken. Our Fang fortune is strong. What spirits?\"
\"Without cultivation, you wouldn’t sense them,\" the Taoist countered. \"Allow me to divine your household’s state. Then decide if you believe me.\"
Fang Hanyu raised an eyebrow. \"Fine. Prove it.\"
The Taoist calculated with his fingers. Moments later, he smiled. \"Your family: elders and an elder brother. His marriage recently faltered, while you… attracted rotten peach blossoms.\"
Her expression tightened. \"Go on.\"
\"Your brother’s absent today. Your mother visits distant kin, still away. You’re upset today because… of his marriage. Correct?\"
Fang Hanyu murmured, \"You’re certainly…\"
\"Hanyu! Who’s there?\" Fang Xun called from the courtyard.
Fang Hanyu turned her head and called out, \"It’s a Taoist priest.\"
Fang Xun said, \"Since it’s a priest, invite him in if he seeks aid.\"
Fang Hanyu replied, \"Understood.\"
With Fang Xun’s approval, she naturally welcomed the Taoist. She explained his purpose to her father and offered him a seat.
Little did she know this invitation would plunge her into an irreversible path between life and death.
The Taoist feigned solemnity, delivering righteous speeches with conviction. Seizing the moment when Fang Xun briefly stepped away, he lunged to kill Fang Hanyu.
Though alert enough to dodge the first strike, Fang Hanyu couldn’t bridge the gap between an ordinary person and a Flame Beast—a demon far beyond non-cultivators. Defeated, she coughed blood.
Fang Hanyu gasped, \"You… you’re no priest… why… kill me…?\"
The Taoist leaned down. \"You offended the wrong people. I’m merely fulfilling a request. See now? Hadn’t you resisted, death would’ve been swift and painless. Your struggle makes me… seem ungentle.\"
He smirked, mustering spiritual power in his palm. The glow halted inches from Fang Hanyu—
Fang Xun had returned, shielding his daughter from the fatal blow.
\"Father!\" Fang Hanyu cried.
Crimson stained the Taoist’s fingertips. He wiped them disdainfully. Moments later, Fang Hanyu breathed her last.
Two lives vanished.
After consuming their resentment, the Taoist cleaned the bloodstains. Passing Ye Qingshang and her companion, he resumed his serene facade, flicking his whisk like an immortal.
Ye Qingshang’s knuckles whitened. *Flame Beast, just you wait! I’ll execute you where you stand and raze your lair!*
*
At dusk, the Taoist arrived at Zhou Mansion.
\"Mr. Zhou, your request is fulfilled. Might I receive my payment promptly?\"
Zhou Hanguang beamed. \"Your efficiency astounds me, Master Taoist. Name your price—it shall be yours.\"
The Taoist answered, \"No great sum. Material things hold no interest. I desire but one item—if you’d part with it?\"
\"Name it,\" Zhou Hanguang urged.
A smile curled the Taoist’s lips. \"Your son’s life.\"
\"What?!\" Mrs. Zhou shot to her feet.
Zhou Hanguang stammered, \"Master Taoist, jest not! Surely another—\"
\"Mr. Zhou,\" the Taoist cut in, \"I speak plainly. Do commoners not say *a life for a life*? Two perished in the Fang household. Is your son’s life not worth those two?\"
Zhou Hanguang’s composure shattered. \"Mad talk! Guards! Expel this lunatic!\"
The Taoist chuckled. \"Mr. Zhou, *you* pledged willingness moments ago. Now you recoil? Truly, merchants’ words hold no weight. No matter—I’ll depart. But remember: you owe me. I *will* collect.\"
After he left, Zhou Hanguang clutched his chest. \"Madman! Utter madman!\"
Mrs. Zhou fretted, \"Husband, he sounded resolute. What if he targets Se’er? Should we inform the magistrates?\"
\"Impossible!\" Zhou Hanguang hissed. \"If authorities investigate, that demon might expose us. Tomorrow, I’ll order the steward to hire guards. Seal the mansion. Deny him entry.\"
He squeezed Mrs. Zhou\’s hand and added, \"Don\’t worry, I\’ll protect Se\’er.\"
While tension filled Zhou Mansion, the Fang household lay under a pall of gloom.
Fang Meiyong returned home to find utter chaos. Overwhelmed by sorrow, she collapsed in a faint. When news reached Mrs. Fang, the distraught woman—nearly fifty—succumbed to rage and grief, falling unconscious never to wake again.
The once-prosperous Fang family now had but a single survivor. What a tragedy!
Just then, fragmented memories surfaced in Ye Qingshang’s mind, piecing together a distant yet familiar phrase.
…
\"Scholar Fang’s family met such a cruel fate. Only one remains now. I saw young master Fang recently—tch, tch—looking so sallow and emaciated. A pity…\"
…
No wonder the name \"Fang family\" had felt familiar within the illusion; she’d overheard it outside Xu manor.
Ye Qingshang said, \"Back then… had I known sooner about the demon haunting the Zhou Family, I’d have captured it and trapped it inside their mansion. Let it torment them day and night.\"
Mu Huaiyun replied, \"But sects have rules. Cultivators mustn’t associate with demons. Now that we know the truth, we’ll report this to the authorities after breaking the illusion. Let them handle it.\"
Ye Qingshang pressed her lips. \"Not enough.\" Relying solely on officials could never compensate for three Fang family lives.
Mu Huaiyun asked, \"What?\"
Ye Qingshang answered, \"Nothing. Zhou Se is dying. If Mr. Zhou is the array’s core, the runic mark should appear now. Let’s go.\"
The next day, just as Ye Qingshang and Mu Huaiyun had foreseen, Zhou Se died within the mansion.
Zhou Hanguang was shattered by grief. Mrs. Zhou developed a raging fever that very night, taking to her bed unconscious.
Yet still, no runic mark manifested on Zhou Hanguang.
Had she miscalculated? Was Mr. Zhou not the core after all?
Disaster loomed. Without finding the core, the illusion couldn’t be broken. Would they truly perish here?
She wasn’t ready to die. She hadn’t uncovered the truth behind her previous death, hadn’t lived nearly enough…
\"Ye Qingshang.\" Mu Huaiyun’s voice broke through. \"Should we… observe a while longer?\"
\"Pointless,\" Ye Qingshang countered. \"Zhou Se was Mr. Zhou’s deepest wound. His death hasn’t triggered the mark, proving Mr. Zhou isn’t the core. Further observation is wasted effort.\"
\"But…\" Mu Huaiyun seemed poised to speak, yet seeing Ye Qingshang’s expression, he let his words fade into the night.
The full moon vanished. Light and darkness shifted, marking a new cycle’s start.
Gazing at the vast sky, a realization struck her.
Events within the bone spell’s illusion revolved entirely around its core.
Besides Mr. Zhou, two others could fit that role.
Only…
\"I know! I know who the core is!\" Ye Qingshang’s excitement blazed.
Beauty decays to bones; longing crumbles to ash.
What is beauty? What is longing?
Merely a tale of love unconsummated, a bond forever severed.
She grabbed Mu Huaiyun\’s hand and ran toward Zhou Yuanyi\’s residence.
Just then, a maid passed by them and said, \"Miss, Fang Gongzi had someone deliver a letter.\"
Zhou Yuanyi exclaimed joyfully, \"Bring it to me quickly!\"
The ink had smudged, and the writing flowed like drifting smoke.
*To Yuanyi,*
*Years ago, we first met by the street—a single glimpse captured my heart. Since then, you’ve lingered in my dreams like moonlight. Yet fate denied our wishes; though we understood love’s nature, we could never wed. Now, with my family gone and me left alone, I cannot burden you further. Cast me aside, forget us both. May your remaining days be spent with another, in unwavering devotion.*
*Respectfully, Meiyong.*
\"Forget… both of us…\" Zhou Yuanyi’s fingers trembled uncontrollably. Her face froze in disbelief, brows furrowed, before tears suddenly fell. \"Fang, how heartless… After all our years together, how could you say to forget… just like that?\"
\"I thought… if we couldn’t be together in this life… I’d rather grow old cherishing you in my heart… But why… why…\"
Her sobs wracked her body, as if their brief, searing memories seeped into her bones, turning bitter and cold.
This love’s torment could not be undone or erased; the longing carved into her soul had crumbled to ashes.
A white light flashed abruptly across Zhou Yuanyi’s forehead, a runic mark appearing and vanishing instantly.
