Chapter 7
Chapter 7: Returning to the Bai Family
Among all immortal sects, the Upper Three Sects stood at the head.
The moment the guards examined Huo Chong Xiao’s token, their attitude shifted from suspicion to respectful caution.
“So you’re an immortal master of the Cinnabar Cloud Palace,” the captain said, bowing slightly. “We sensed devil qi disturbances here and assumed something had happened. We didn’t expect an immortal master to be here. Since you’ve already handled it… we truly can’t thank you enough.”
Huo Chong Xiao nodded and gestured toward the human skin on the ground. “Since you’re here, this… remains—”
“We’ll take care of it.” The captain smiled broadly, eager to prove usefulness. His eyes flicked to the bride huddled in the corner of the barrier, shaking like a leaf, and he hurried to add, “Cleaning up afterward is our duty. Please explain what happened, and we’ll handle the rest.”
Huo Chong Xiao gave a concise account of the estate, the wedding, and the Devil Creature.
The captain listened, face growing paler as the details settled. When Huo Chong Xiao finished, the man bowed again. “Please wait a moment, Immortal Master. I’ll report to my superior officer.”
That was only proper. Huo Chong Xiao didn’t object.
Not long after, the yamen sent people. The estate was sealed off, and a mage went in to purge the lingering devil qi.
Huo Chong Xiao retrieved his formation flags, puppets, and tools. He sat near the gate with Yue Yun Qiao and Bai Meng Jin, watching the commotion from a distance.
Before long, the guard captain returned—this time with a man dressed like a scholar.
After greetings were exchanged, the scholar smiled. “I am Guan Mo Wen, retainer of the Bai Clan of Qingyun. My patron heard that an immortal master of the Cinnabar Cloud Palace was here and ordered me to invite you.”
The Bai Family relied on the Cinnabar Cloud Palace. Sending an invitation wasn’t strange.
But Huo Chong Xiao’s gaze drifted to Bai Meng Jin without meaning to.
Guan Mo Wen followed the look—then froze.
“Second Miss?” His eyebrows shot up. “Why are you here?”
Bai Meng Jin’s mouth tightened in faint embarrassment.
She couldn’t exactly say she’d beaten up her cousin and fled home to avoid punishment. Pride still existed, even in a devil fiend.
Huo Chong Xiao smoothly stepped in. “To be honest, tonight’s matter also requires our thanks to Miss Bai. When we were pursuing the Devil Creature, we nearly suffered an accident. Miss Bai happened to notice and stepped in to help. Because of her, we avoided injury.”
Guan Mo Wen’s expression cleared at once. “So fate truly brought us together.”
He bowed more deeply. “In that case, Immortal Master Huo and Immortal Maiden Yue must come to the Bai Family as honored guests.”
Then he turned to Bai Meng Jin, warmth back in his voice. “Second Miss has done great service. The patron will surely be pleased.”
With things framed that way, Huo Chong Xiao couldn’t refuse.
Besides, he and Yue Yun Qiao did need a place to stay. The Bai Family was the obvious choice.
Guan Mo Wen ordered a carriage.
He rode with Huo Chong Xiao. Yue Yun Qiao rode with Bai Meng Jin.
Inside the carriage, Yue Yun Qiao glanced at Bai Meng Jin’s unusually quiet face and tried to reassure her. “Junior Sister Bai, don’t worry. Senior Brother and I will definitely speak up for you. You helped a lot tonight. I don’t think your family head is someone who can’t tell right from wrong.”
Bai Meng Jin smiled slightly, polite.
That wasn’t what she was worried about.
Family Head Bai Chong An was the only Golden Core cultivator left in the Bai Family. Bai Meng Jin had to call him Great-Uncle. He didn’t bother with daily affairs, but his presence alone carried weight. With him alive, Bai Ding Chang couldn’t openly do whatever he pleased.
What bothered Bai Meng Jin was something else—something sour and sharp that wouldn’t settle.
Huo Chong Xiao was young. Yue Yun Qiao had barely left the sect before. Neither of them had enough experience to feel the shift.
From the moment the guards appeared, the case had been pushed out of their hands.
Even when they crouched nearby to watch, someone came over, polite but firm, and steered them away.
Was there something deeper behind the Devil Creature’s appearance?
What role had the Bai Family played in it?
The thought dragged Bai Meng Jin’s mind down old paths—paths stained dark enough that even time couldn’t bleach them clean.
Years later, after her cultivation technique reached completion, she’d returned to the Bai Family to retrieve her parents’ belongings.
Instead, she’d walked into blood.
The entire compound was a ruin of shattered bodies. Not a single clean patch of ground. Not a single intact corpse.
While she searched through the devastation, people from the immortal sects arrived.
Her mother had been an orphan from the Ming River Gu Clan, skilled in yin-yang arts. Among her belongings was the Yin-Yang Umbrella—an item that could command wandering souls.
They saw Bai Meng Jin holding it and assumed she’d slaughtered the Bai Family.
No one asked. No one listened.
At the time, Bai Meng Jin had only recently betrayed the Cinnabar Cloud Palace. Resentment still burned in her bones. She loathed sanctimonious sect types, and she refused to explain herself.
So she’d ended up bearing the crime of rebellion and atrocity.
After being called a devil fiend for so long, she hadn’t cared much whether she was wronged.
But if she could uncover the truth behind the extermination—of course she would.
This wasn’t in her memory.
An illusion shouldn’t be able to simulate it.
Unless the Reincarnation Mirror truly could trace time itself.
If so, then maybe it wasn’t useless after all.
The carriage rolled to a stop.
They’d arrived at the Bai Family.
The house was brightly lit and noisy, as if something was already boiling over.
The moment Bai Meng Jin stepped into the hall, Bai Meng Xing spotted her. His eyes lit with spite.
“Mother!” he shouted, pointing at her like a triumph. “She’s the one who hit me! She hit so hard I couldn’t even stand!”
Madam Jing sat at the head, richly dressed, face pinched with righteous outrage. If she’d raised Bai Meng Xing into this, her responsibility was no less than Bai Ding Chang’s.
Hearing her son’s words, Madam Jing slapped the armrest and pointed at Bai Meng Jin. “You little wretch! You still dare come back? Beating your brother—how lawless can you be? Your parents aren’t here, so as your elder, I’ll teach you a lesson for them. Someone—bring the family discipline!”
Huo Chong Xiao and Yue Yun Qiao both turned at the same time, expressions shifting.
So when Bai Meng Jin had said “a little conflict,” she’d meant she’d beaten him half to death?
It didn’t show on her face at all.
Bai Meng Jin lowered her lashes and let her eyes redden on command. She took a half-step behind Yue Yun Qiao, looking small and pitiful. “I-I…”
Yue Yun Qiao’s protectiveness flared like kindling. She planted herself between Bai Meng Jin and the advancing servants. “Junior Sister Bai is so delicate. You must have gone too far, or she wouldn’t have hit him!”
Delicate?
Bai Meng Xing stared as if he’d seen a ghost.
“Delicate my ass!” he yelled. “She’s faking it! And who are you? If you’re begging, go to the gatehouse. Our Bai Family isn’t some place any random mutt can walk into!”
Yue Yun Qiao’s face went red with rage.
In the Cinnabar Cloud Palace, she was the cherished little junior sister. When had anyone ever spoken to her like this?
Huo Chong Xiao’s brow furrowed too. His impression of the Bai Family sank rapidly.
They were supposed to be a noble house with immortal arts in their bloodline. How did they raise a junior like this?
No wonder Miss Bai hadn’t dared come home. She must have been bullied constantly.
Guan Mo Wen had given instructions when they got off the carriage, but he arrived a step late. By the time he entered, the situation was already on the verge of exploding.
Seeing Madam Jing order the family discipline and servants move to seize Bai Meng Jin, he spoke quickly. “Eldest Madam, please wait. These two are an immortal master and an immortal maiden from the Cinnabar Cloud Palace. They are the patron’s guests.”
Madam Jing froze.
Her gaze snapped to Huo Chong Xiao and Yue Yun Qiao.
Then her face rearranged itself into a smile that looked like it hurt. “So you’re immortals from the Cinnabar Cloud Palace. Oh dear—why didn’t you say so? There was almost a misunderstanding.”
She turned back at once, voice sharpening again as she redirected her anger. “You two may not know, but our second uncle died early, and this girl has had no one to discipline her since childhood. She’s learned a mouth full of lies. Since Great-Uncle is waiting for you, I won’t delay your business. I’ll take my time teaching this girl.”
Before Bai Meng Jin could speak, Guan Mo Wen cut in smoothly. “No need to trouble yourself, Eldest Madam. The patron is also waiting for Second Miss. I’ll report the matter later. The patron will handle it.”
Madam Jing didn’t dare oppose the family head.
She swallowed her rage so hard it almost showed in her jaw. “…Yes.”