Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Woman

As soon as Li Yan Er finished speaking, she wriggled into the clothes Gu Shi Yi had tossed onto the floor. Moments later, she surfaced again with a jade token clutched in her arms.

“Shi Yi, look…”

Gu Shi Yi took it and examined it. The token was barely thumb-sized. A tiny ferocious beast was carved into it, exhaling cloud and mist. Gu Shi Yi tilted her head, thought for a beat, then said, “Yan Er, take it.”

Li Yan Er did. Gu Shi Yi closed her eyes and reached out with her senses. Sure enough, the heavy yin aura around Yan Er was gone. She brightened.

“Now I get it.” Gu Shi Yi tapped the token lightly. “That mother-and-child sha hid in the Huang residence for so long and nobody noticed because of this. It’s doing the hiding.”

Half the beast’s body was swallowed by its own clouds, leaving only a hazy head. The carving all but shouted its purpose: concealment.

Gu Shi Yi grinned at Li Yan Er. “If this thing can even cover that mother-and-child sha’s sky-high sha aura, it’s a real treasure. Congratulations—now it belongs to us.”

This was basically grinding mobs and looting gear.

With this, Yan Er wouldn’t get spotted.

The thought alone made Gu Shi Yi feel like her guts had finally unclenched. Strength flooded back into her limbs. She rolled off the bed, sprinted out to the courtyard, drew water from the well, and scrubbed the token clean. Then she hung it on a cord and tucked it against her chest.

“This token masks your aura,” she told Li Yan Er. “As long as you stay close to it, cultivators won’t notice you.”

That mother-and-child sha had managed to hide in Blue Moon City for years, dodging the Qing Spirit Guards and slipping past other cultivators’ divine sense. Hiding the faint trace of a little yin spirit like Li Yan Er would be effortless.

By the time Gu Shi Yi returned to her room, dawn was already turning the sky pale. She crawled back into bed, dragged the quilt over herself, and passed out for an hour—only to be jolted awake by a maidservant bringing breakfast.

Gu Shi Yi washed her face, then waved the girl closer. “Go ask if Sixth Master Huang Liu is in. Tell him I want to see him.”

“Yes!”

The maidservant ran off. Gu Shi Yi wolfed down breakfast in a few bites. Soon the maidservant returned.

“Young Lady, Sixth Master is in the front study. When he heard you wished to see him, he sent his steward to escort you.”

Gu Shi Yi nodded and followed her out. The steward was waiting at the courtyard gate. He led her through the front courtyard to the study, where Sixth Master Huang Liu rose to greet her. His tone was warm, almost anxious.

“Miss Gu, did you sleep well last night? Were you disturbed?”

Gu Shi Yi laughed. “There was a guest, yes, but I sent them on their way.”

Then she got to the point. “I came today for two things. First, I’d like Sixth Master to arrange a carriage for me. I need to go out and handle some business.”

What business, they both understood. Huang Liu didn’t pretend otherwise.

“Don’t worry, Young Lady. I’ll have it arranged immediately.”

Gu Shi Yi continued, “Second, I need to give Sixth Master a warning.”

Huang Liu’s posture straightened. She said evenly, “What I ran into in your residence last night was a mother-and-child sha. It’s been hiding here for a long time. That’s likely why your line has been so thin.”

Huang Liu’s expression tightened. He was nearing forty, yet he had only one daughter—and the child was sickly, living on medicine broth. He had even taken her to the Gu Family himself for pills, only to see no cure. With his wealth and estate growing larger every year, the lack of an heir had been a silent thorn in his heart.

Now Gu Shi Yi spoke as if she’d pulled the answer from thin air. Shock, hope, and doubt flickered across his face. He cupped his hands.

“Miss Gu, forgive my bluntness. It’s not that I doubt you, Young Lady, but over the years I have invited feng shui masters, Daoist experts, and even paid heavily to bring a cultivator official to inspect the residence. They all said there was nothing unclean here. Yet you stayed one night and found the cause. How can that be…?”

He cupped his hands again. “Please enlighten me.”

Gu Shi Yi smiled. “Sixth Master is clever. After what happened on the boat these past days, you must’ve guessed a little. I carry something on me that draws yin spirits, evil entities, and spirit creatures like moths to a lantern. The mother-and-child sha in your residence was lured over by what I’m carrying.”

She paused, then added, “As for why everyone else missed it—those two had a special aura-concealing artifact. My guess is they stumbled into some opportunity, picked it up by accident, and that’s how they stayed hidden.”

Gu Shi Yi considered him for a moment. “If Sixth Master still doubts it, invite an expert to check your feng shui again. I suspect the bones of that mother-and-child sha are still on your grounds.”

She hesitated, then said the last part carefully. “Also… think back. Years ago, did a young woman die in this residence—one who was pregnant?”

“A pregnant young woman…”

Huang Liu’s eyes shifted. He fell silent. Then something seemed to click, and his face darkened by degrees.

Gu Shi Yi could read his features well enough. Whatever he’d remembered, it wasn’t pretty. She rose and cupped her hands.

“Sixth Master, I have urgent business to attend to. Please send the carriage. As for your household… I trust Sixth Master can decide what to do.”

Huang Liu snapped back to himself and hurriedly returned the salute. “Your business comes first. I’ll have a carriage send you out at once. When you return, I will reward you properly, Young Lady.”

Gu Shi Yi gave a dry laugh. “You’re too polite, Sixth Master.”

Let’s talk about rewards after she survived whatever she was walking into.

Huang Liu called for the steward to arrange the carriage, then personally escorted Gu Shi Yi to the front gate. Only after watching her climb aboard did he turn back.

Not long after, his steward went out and invited a Daoist expert into the Huang residence. Sure enough, in the back garden, they found a corpse—rotted beyond recognition, yet still clearly showing thin bones clustered at the lower belly. The Daoist expert took one look and confirmed it.

“It is a mother-and-child sha. Another five years of cultivation, and no one in this residence would’ve escaped their poison. Sixth Master Huang Liu, you’ve encountered a true expert.”

Huang Liu asked urgently, “Then my heirs won’t be harmed anymore?”

“No longer. Sixth Master may branch out and flourish, adding descendants to the Huang Family.”

“Thank you!”

Huang Liu was ecstatic. He rewarded the expert lavishly, then sat alone in his study for a long time, thinking. In the end, he slammed his palm on the desk and surged to his feet, storming toward the inner residence.

As for the furious argument between husband and wife that followed, we’ll leave that aside.

Gu Shi Yi rode the carriage to the little alley the middle-aged man had specified. She had the coachman stop at the mouth of it, climbed down, and handed him a few copper coins.

“We’re here. Coachman brother, you can head back.”

The coachman looked stricken. “Young Lady, Sixth Master ordered me to bring you here and to pick you up after. I can’t leave. I’ll wait here for you.”

Gu Shi Yi considered it and nodded. “I don’t know when I’ll be back. Go sit in a nearby tea house and wait.”

“Yes!”

She walked into the alley alone. It was in the East District of Blue Moon City, and from the outside it looked like any other forgotten corner—quiet, narrow, ordinary.

She went less than a hundred steps before the alley ended. After a quick look around to confirm no one was watching, she pressed her left palm to the wall. The blue-brick surface rippled like water.

Gu Shi Yi stared, startled. After sensing no immediate danger, she stepped forward carefully—and passed straight through. Her vision flashed, and she emerged onto another street.

At first glance, the street looked normal. Then she noticed the people.

Hooded figures. Men in plain robes with enormous swords strapped to their backs. Someone walking a vicious winged dog like it was a pet. A beautiful woman cradling a three-tailed kitten passed right by, glanced at Gu Shi Yi, and frowned.

“Huh? How did a mortal get here?”

Gu Shi Yi immediately bent at the waist, all smiles. “I wouldn’t dare disturb you officials. I’m only here on someone’s errand and entered without meaning offense.”

The woman’s expression softened. “Where are you going?”

“In reply, Official, I’m headed to Hundred Herbs Pavilion…”

“Oh.” The woman nodded as if that explained everything. “So you’re from the Marvelous Medicine Sect.”

She turned and pointed lazily. “Two streets that way. You’ll see a huge signboard.”

“Thank you, Official!”

Gu Shi Yi bowed again and again. The woman laughed behind her hand, stroked her three-tailed cat, and drifted away.

Gu Shi Yi kept her head down until the woman was far out of sight. Then she slipped into the flow of people.

Walking through a cultivators’ world as an ordinary mortal made her feel like a spark in a powder room—too bright, too easy to notice. Still, most cultivators only glanced at her in mild surprise. To them, a mortal was an ant. Not worth the trouble.

Even so, Gu Shi Yi moved as if she were stepping over thin ice, sweat soaking her clothes. Only when she spotted the signboard for Hundred Herbs Pavilion did she finally breathe out.

Inside, behind the counter, stood a middle-aged beauty in her forties. The woman frowned the moment Gu Shi Yi entered.

“Mortal, you—”

She stopped mid-sentence. Something flashed in her eyes. When she spoke again, her tone was suddenly warm.

“Customer, what do you need?”

Gu Shi Yi stepped forward, bowed, and smiled politely. “May I ask if you are Fifth Lady Wang?”

The woman nodded. “I am.”

Gu Shi Yi exhaled, relief loosening her chest. She held out her left hand. “I was sent here by someone. Please remove this seal, so I can deliver a message to the official.”

Fifth Lady Wang glanced down and immediately recognized it—a special seal of the Marvelous Medicine Sect. Only a sect broker could undo it. But she didn’t touch it yet.

“Who put this on you, and what did they order you to do?”

Gu Shi Yi answered carefully. “An official surnamed Shang placed this seal. He told me to come find Fifth Lady Wang. He said once you saw the seal, you’d understand. After you remove it, I can pass along what Official Shang instructed.”

Fifth Lady Wang thought for a moment, then nodded. “Fine. I’ll remove it.”

She took Gu Shi Yi’s hand and traced a pattern across her palm with one finger. Golden light flickered. The seal vanished.

Gu Shi Yi’s eyes went wide. She flipped her hand back and forth, staring as if it might come back. Then she bowed hard. “Thank you, Official!”

“Mm.” Fifth Lady Wang’s gaze was cool. “Now. Speak.”

Gu Shi Yi reached into her clothes and produced a jade box.

Fifth Lady Wang’s face changed instantly. With a sharp sweep of her sleeve, she whisked the box into her sleeve as if it were burning her fingers.

“Come with me.”

She stepped out from behind the counter and lifted the curtain into the back hall. Gu Shi Yi hesitated, then followed.

Inside, Fifth Lady Wang had the jade box in hand again, studying it closely. When Gu Shi Yi entered, she asked, “This is what Shang San told you to bring?”

“Yes.”

Fifth Lady Wang’s eyes swept over Gu Shi Yi. “How did Shang San hand it to you? Tell me everything.”

“Yes.”

Gu Shi Yi lowered her head and recounted it from start to finish. Fifth Lady Wang listened without interrupting. When Gu Shi Yi finished, she let out a cold laugh.

“The Eldest Miss truly means to discard sisterhood.”

The implication was obvious: an interception attempt. Second Miss forced into a desperate move—handing the item to a mortal courier.

Fifth Lady Wang looked Gu Shi Yi over once more, and her tone softened by a sliver. “You delivered it safely. That’s merit. What reward do you want?”

Gu Shi Yi smiled quickly. “Serving you officials is my honor. I wouldn’t dare ask for anything. I only beg that you remove the seal on my right palm as well.”

The left-hand seal was for entering the market; the right-hand one was for driving off ghosts. Shang San had explained it as if it were all very reasonable, but Gu Shi Yi wasn’t an idiot. There had to be strings attached.

She didn’t dare ask for rewards. She only wanted to walk out alive—preferably without anything strange still stamped on her body.

Fifth Lady Wang chuckled. “Clever.”

She lifted her chin. “Hold out your right hand.”

Gu Shi Yi did. Fifth Lady Wang traced a few strokes across her palm, and the second seal dissolved.

Gu Shi Yi nearly wept with joy. She bowed repeatedly. “Thank you, Official! Thank you, Official!”

Then she said quickly, “Since the errand is done, I’ll take my leave.”

Fifth Lady Wang merely watched her with a half-smile, saying nothing.

Gu Shi Yi backed toward the curtain, still bowing, still smiling, until—

Bang.

She hit an invisible barrier.

“Ah!”