Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Eavesdropping

Outside the window, Ling Bu Fei’s rage surged so hard he nearly stood up. “How outrageous—!”

Bai Meng Jin clamped a hand on his sleeve and held him down. “Don’t rush. Listen first.”

Now she understood why Second Lady Hu had covered them with a barrier. She wanted them to hear this.

If Ling Yun Zhou truly had been responsible for Mo Chou’s death, Second Lady Hu wouldn’t fear offending the Limitless Sect. But he wasn’t—so she needed a reason, an explanation, something she could take back without being crushed.

Inside, the man pressed a hand to his chest, putting on an expression of relief. “Is that so? Then… that’s wonderful. I’m glad it can finally be cleared up.”

He swallowed. “Back then, I was in the rear and didn’t see clearly. Later everyone said Ling Yun Zhou was an inside man for the Devil Clan, and I remembered how A Chou protected him right before she died, so I thought…”

“So you guessed,” Second Lady Hu said coldly. “Why didn’t you make that clear earlier? If I’d acted in anger, wouldn’t I have harmed an innocent person?”

With a thud, the man dropped to his knees. “Mother-in-law, please see clearly. Ever since I watched A Chou die right in front of me, I haven’t had a peaceful day in these past ten years.”

His voice cracked in all the right places. “When I thought about what Ling Yun Zhou did back then, all that grief had nowhere to go. So I convinced myself he was the one who harmed A Chou.”

He lifted his face, eyes reddened. “I was wrong. For what happened this time, I’m willing to bear it together with Mother-in-law. If the Limitless Sect blames us, I’ll go explain it to them.”

Second Lady Hu stared at him for a long time.

When she finally nodded, it was slow, reluctant. “Fine. Later I’ll send them back to the Limitless Sect. You’ll come along.”

The man looked so grateful he nearly wept. “Yes, Honored Mother-in-law.”

“Get up,” Second Lady Hu said. “Go make preparations. We leave tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

The man rose, hesitated, and then asked, “Honored Mother-in-law… may I ask where Young Sect Master Ling is? Should I go apologize first?”

“No need,” Second Lady Hu said.

Then she turned her head slightly—toward the window. Toward them.

“He’s just a child. What would he understand?” Her voice stayed even. “When the time comes, I’ll explain it to Sect Master Ling.”

The man bowed. “Yes. I’ll do as you say.”

Fang Xu Cheng left the hut, but he didn’t leave the valley. He set up a tent across from the hut and sat down to meditate, looking like he intended to wait until morning.

Bai Meng Jin tugged Ling Bu Fei’s sleeve. The two of them slipped in through the window.

“Senior,” Ling Bu Fei said.

Second Lady Hu looked at them, unsurprised. “You heard everything.”

Her expression didn’t soften. “This is my son-in-law, Fang Xu Cheng. He’s always been smooth-tongued. Back then, he tricked A Chou into marrying him.”

She took a slow breath, as if forcing herself not to choke on the memory. “The Fang Family was pathetic when she married in—fallen to the bone. A Chou worked for years, and in the end, she made it one of the steward families of Phoenix Parasol City.”

Her eyes closed briefly before she continued. “More than ten years ago, the two of them decided to go guard the Ming River to earn military merit and help the Fang Family climb higher. I was traveling at the time. I couldn’t stop them.”

Her voice went quiet. “Later I heard the Devil-Sealing Barrier cracked. And A Chou died.”

Ling Bu Fei’s hands curled. “Senior, you said earlier the one who framed my father was him.”

Second Lady Hu nodded, then corrected herself. “I’m not certain it was deliberate. It’s possible he truly saw wrong. That’s why I’ll bring him to the Limitless Sect with us so you can question him. If he’s guilty, I won’t shield him.”

Ling Bu Fei nodded once.

Kidnapping the Young Sect Master of the Limitless Sect wasn’t something you could brush aside. With this attempt at amends, Second Lady Hu at least showed sincerity.

“Still,” Second Lady Hu added after a moment, “he likely didn’t do it on purpose.”

She spoke as if reasoning with herself. “Ling Yun Zhou was an elder of the Limitless Sect. Fang Xu Cheng only reached the Nascent Soul Stage because A Chou supported him with everything she had. The two of them couldn’t even build a connection, let alone become enemies.”

Her gaze sharpened. “And the rumor that your father betrayed the sect spread all over the Cultivation World. It involved too many people. He wouldn’t have that kind of power.”

It sounded reasonable. Ling Bu Fei couldn’t find a flaw.

But then what about Po Qian Jun and Ji Yuan Si?

They didn’t even know Fang Xu Cheng.

“Any other questions?” Second Lady Hu asked. “If not, I’ll send you back to the tree hollow to rest.”

Ling Bu Fei shook his head.

Second Lady Hu waved a hand. A wind swept them up; the world blurred.

In the next breath, they were outside the tree hollow again, landing at its entrance.

Ling Bu Fei turned and saw Bai Meng Jin staring into the distance, deep in thought.

“What are you thinking?” he asked. “Is something wrong?”

“This Fang Xu Cheng isn’t a good man,” Bai Meng Jin said quietly. “He didn’t tell the truth.”

“I know,” Ling Bu Fei said, stepping into the hollow. “Even though Second Lady Hu doesn’t like him, she still wants to protect him—because of her daughter.”

His tone sharpened with certainty. “We’ll deal with it when we’re back at the Limitless Sect. Once we use the Truth-Compelling Mantra, he won’t be able to wriggle out with his tongue.”

Bai Meng Jin considered, then nodded.

Second Lady Hu was thinking of Mo Chou and didn’t want to go too far. They couldn’t demand much here either—it wasn’t their ground.

Night fell. Bai Meng Jin took out a Moonlight Stone Lamp and hung it at the hollow’s entrance.

When she turned back, she caught Ling Bu Fei peeking at her.

“Do I look good?” she asked, amused.

“You look good,” Ling Bu Fei blurted.

Then he realized what he’d said and slapped his own mouth like he could take it back.

Bai Meng Jin laughed. She pulled out a jug of wine and poured him a cup. “What are you embarrassed for? Isn’t it normal to think your wife looks good?”

Ling Bu Fei took the cup, muttering, “You praise yourself every day. Thick-skinned…”

Bai Meng Jin sipped her own wine. “Are you talking about yourself? I never said other people were drooling over my looks.”

Ling Bu Fei: “…”

If time could rewind, he would never have said that line. That was what a boomerang felt like—one that hit every time.

He squinted at the jug in her hand. “Wait. Where did this wine come from? Didn’t you say you only had a little left?”

“I lied,” Bai Meng Jin said casually, taking another sip like it was nothing.

“You—”

Bai Meng Jin pulled out a packet of dried fruit and candied snacks, opened it, and set it on a stump. “Want some?”

Ling Bu Fei stared at the sweets, struggling with his pride for a moment—

Then gave in, defeated. “Yes…”

Outside, the birds had finally gone quiet. Everything was peaceful.

They drank for a while, the warmth settling in their bones.

Then Ling Bu Fei looked at her sideways, uncertainty creeping in despite his bravado. “We don’t really know each other yet. Isn’t it too fast to set a marriage like this?”

Bai Meng Jin raised a brow. “My surname and name, my age, where I’m from, what line I inherited, what art I cultivate, what’s special about my body, what treasures I have… don’t you already know all of that? How can you say you don’t know me?”

Ling Bu Fei stammered, caught off guard. “But we’ve only known each other for a day…”

“There’s a saying,” Bai Meng Jin said calmly. “Some people grow old together and still feel like strangers. Others meet once and feel like old friends. Whether two people click has nothing to do with time.”

She tilted her cup toward him. “Take Ji Xing Ge. You’ve known her since childhood—so why don’t you marry her?”

Ling Bu Fei opened his mouth, then shut it again, helpless.

Bai Meng Jin leaned in slightly, eyes bright. “Then let me ask you this. If Ji Xing Ge and I were standing in front of you right now, who would you choose?”

Ling Bu Fei stared at his cup for a long moment.

Then, quietly, he said, “You.”

“Then that settles it.”

Inside her chest, Lord Yu Mo raised a cup in satisfaction.

Bai Meng Jin clinked her cup against his and forced him to drink like a wedding cross-cup.

Ling Bu Fei swallowed, expression grim.

If she hadn’t admitted earlier she meant to hollow out the Sect Master and rule from behind the screen, he might have almost believed the “match made in heaven” line.