Chapter 4

Chapter 4: So Easy to Fool

The warning snapped through the air like a whip.

Huo Chong Xiao and Yue Yun Qiao both startled.

But Huo Chong Xiao’s instincts were sharp. He sensed the burst of black qi at the same moment Bai Meng Jin did. His sword cleared its sheath with a clean hiss, and he struck.

Sword qi flashed.

The black qi shattered.

Bai Meng Jin lunged in and yanked Yue Yun Qiao behind her, fast enough that the girl barely had time to gasp.

Still trembling, Yue Yun Qiao clutched Bai Meng Jin’s sleeve, eyes wide. “W-what was that?”

“Charmed Ghost,” Bai Meng Jin said, voice flat.

A chill ran through Huo Chong Xiao.

A Charmed Ghost formed when someone was killed by a Devil Creature and their soul lost its mind. A twisted servant, a puppet that helped a tiger do evil.

This one was powerful—and worse, it was hidden well enough that it had almost slipped right into Yue Yun Qiao’s body.

Yue Yun Qiao was only at the Qi Refining Stage. She’d come along to gain experience, not to be devoured from the inside out. If she were possessed, it could damage her spirit. The consequences were unthinkable.

Huo Chong Xiao looked at the stranger who’d intervened and felt his gratitude sharpen into urgency. “Thank you for helping, Miss…”

His gaze flicked over Bai Meng Jin’s clothes and face. She was young. Too young to be wandering the streets at night alone.

He swallowed his questions and tried again, politely. “Forgive me. I’m Huo Chong Xiao, a disciple of the Cinnabar Cloud Palace. May I ask what to call you, Miss?”

“My surname is Bai,” Bai Meng Jin said smoothly. “I’m second in my family.”

“You’re from the Bai Family?” Huo Chong Xiao’s expression softened a fraction.

When she nodded, he smiled. “Then you’re one of ours.”

The Bai Family was a subordinate clan of the Cinnabar Cloud Palace—protected by it, used by it. Their ties ran deep enough that the words same side weren’t a lie.

Bai Meng Jin’s gaze slid to Yue Yun Qiao.

Once, when Bai Meng Jin first entered the Cinnabar Cloud Palace, she’d been close to Yue Yun Qiao. Seeing her alive—laughing, breathing—stirred something like nostalgia.

She let a small smile show and said, “Immortal Maiden Yue, you’re too polite. I only happened to be nearby.”

“Oh, don’t call me ‘Immortal Maiden,'” Yue Yun Qiao said at once, waving it off. “We’re on the same side. And I’m a little older than you—just call me Senior Sister.”

She sounded delighted by the idea, as if gaining a junior sister were as simple as sharing tea.

Bai Meng Jin hesitated, the picture of modesty, then nodded as if persuaded. “…All right, Senior Sister.”

Huo Chong Xiao’s eyes narrowed slightly, not in suspicion—more like concern. “Miss Bai, why are you out alone in the middle of the night? Did something happen?”

Bai Meng Jin let her lashes lower, expression troubled. “I…”

Yue Yun Qiao leaned in, immediate and earnest. “Just say it. If we can help, we’ll help you for sure.”

Bai Meng Jin lowered her head and softened her voice. “It’s not a big deal. I just argued with my brother at school today, and I don’t dare go back…”

Yue Yun Qiao blinked, genuinely baffled. “But you look so well-behaved. If there was a fight, it must be your brother’s fault. Why are you afraid?”

Huo Chong Xiao tugged lightly at Yue Yun Qiao’s sleeve, a silent reminder. “Junior Sister. Every household is different. You can’t lump them all together.”

Then he turned back to Bai Meng Jin. “Miss Bai, why don’t we go back with you? You helped us tonight. By both reason and courtesy, we should visit your home to thank you. For our sake, perhaps your elders won’t punish you.”

Bai Meng Jin’s eyes lifted, perfectly placed surprise. “Really?”

Then she erased her own hope, as if being considerate hurt. “But wouldn’t that be too much? You still have a mission.”

“It’s fine,” Huo Chong Xiao said. “We can spare a little time.”

Bai Meng Jin shook her head again, even gentler. “We just found a Charmed Ghost. The Devil Creature may have sensed it. If we waste time on me and it slips away, it could ruin your mission.”

Yue Yun Qiao frowned, forced to admit the logic, and looked to her senior brother for a decision.

Huo Chong Xiao thought for a moment. “Then how about this—Miss Bai comes with us.”

Bai Meng Jin remained silent, letting him continue.

“If we find a clue and resolve the danger, you’ll have done a service. Your elders won’t be able to hold today’s quarrel against you.”

Yue Yun Qiao’s face lit up. “That’s a good idea! You could see the Charmed Ghost before either of us. You must be sensitive to devil qi. With you helping, we’ll get twice the result with half the effort.”

Bai Meng Jin smiled faintly, as if unsure she deserved the praise. “Really? I won’t hold you back?”

“With my senior brother here, what’s there to be afraid of?” Yue Yun Qiao said, brimming with confidence. “If we do well, we’ll report it. When you take the entry assessment later, you’ll be accepted first. Senior Brother—right?”

Huo Chong Xiao nodded.

The mission wasn’t rated very high. Bai Meng Jin seemed to have decent cultivation. And since he was already bringing Yue Yun Qiao, one more person wouldn’t complicate much.

Inside, Bai Meng Jin’s satisfaction curled like smoke.

She’d seen Huo Chong Xiao bellow about slaying and killing for so long that she’d almost forgotten this version of him—warm-hearted, straightforward.

So easy to steer.

The three of them returned to the real problem.

Huo Chong Xiao gathered the remaining devil qi into a talisman, then destroyed the soul-summoning array. His gaze darkened. “Da Ya is dead. Her mother… is pitiful.”

Bai Meng Jin kept her voice mild. “When did a Devil Creature appear in Azure Cloud City? I never heard about it.”

“We received a report from a devil hunter last month,” Yue Yun Qiao said. “He found five or six cases. The earliest disappearance was three months ago.”

Azure Cloud City was huge. A few missing people could vanish into the cracks of daily life.

“And this Devil Creature is very good at hiding,” Huo Chong Xiao said. He looked troubled. “We couldn’t find traces of devil qi anywhere. If the compass hadn’t reacted, we might’ve been fooled. We did find leftover devil qi… but there’s too little. I don’t know if it’s enough to track.”

“Let’s try first,” Yue Yun Qiao said quickly. “Senior Brother, I’ll protect you.”

Huo Chong Xiao nodded. He took out an antique-looking Stone Lamp and closed his eyes, chanting softly.

Bai Meng Jin watched, expression calm.

Huo Chong Xiao’s concern made sense. With his current cultivation, that faint residue might not be enough to guide the technique.

When he reached for talisman paper to burn, Bai Meng Jin spoke up. “Young Master Huo, let me hold the lamp. If I add my power, it might respond better.”

He considered it, then handed the Stone Lamp over.

The weight was cool in her palms.

Bai Meng Jin formed a hand seal, quick and hidden, then poured her spiritual power into the lamp.

When the devil-qi-stained talisman was brought close, the lamp flared with a whoom. A flame leapt up, and a thread of black smoke coiled into the night, pointing decisively in one direction.

Huo Chong Xiao’s eyes lit. “It worked!”

Bai Meng Jin smiled and handed the lamp back as if she’d done nothing special. “Great. Do we chase after it?”

Huo Chong Xiao checked the direction and set off at once. “Let’s go.”

Bai Meng Jin followed behind them, smile soft and obedient.

After all, she’d been cursed as a devil fiend for a thousand years. Little tricks like this were nothing.

The only problem was her cultivation—suppressed so thoroughly it felt like wading through mud.

She had no idea how to get it back.