After about an hour, Chen An returned to Rong Zhi's room, looking somewhat weary.
Cai Yue followed, biting on her sleeve. Upon seeing Rong Zhi, her expression suddenly changed drastically.
"Why are you still here? Are you trying to seduce Young Master Chen? I'm telling you, that's impossible!"
She then turned to Chu Qingze and said, "Hey, what are you looking at? Don't think I'll fancy you just because you're ugly! Hmph!" With a flick of her sleeve, she haughtily departed.
Rong Zhi and Chu Qingze were both stunned.
What was going on? It was as if she had changed into someone else.
It was as if… she had suddenly become sensible.
"Don't mind her. I've specifically set up a formation in this courtyard. With her guarding here, she's bound to be affected to some extent. It's normal for her to be a bit foolish occasionally."
Chu Qingze asked, "I noticed she seemed unwell before. Is it related to this?"
Chen An nodded.
"Then why didn't you have someone else guard here?"
Chen An gave him a look as if he were an idiot. "She insisted on staying here herself. Perhaps she was smitten by my peerless beauty and couldn't bear to leave."
Rong Zhi: "..."
Chu Qingze: "..."
"Alright, let's talk business. The Qianji Pavilion has decided to use the Soul Summoning technique to find people. I will set up a formation here to concentrate all the ghosts here. They will definitely find this place then. However..."
He looked at Rong Zhi with some uncertainty. "If you are truly taken into the palace, will you be able to answer the questions they ask?"
Many members of the royal family were disciples of Yaowang Valley, and there were even one or two core disciples. The subtle details of the master-disciple relationship would not be easy to fabricate.
Rong Zhi mouthed two words: "Don't worry."
"Very well, let's begin."
He stood up to leave. Before departing, he suddenly looked at Chu Qingze. "Oh, right. Cai Yue's health is indeed not very good. Since you have nothing else to do, why don't you help her recover?"
Chu Qingze, who had intended to watch them set up the formation, could only agree as he had been given another task.
He turned to Rong Zhi and said, "Be careful," and was about to head to the backyard. Rong Zhi suddenly stopped him and handed him a pill from her embrace.
It was a white pill, emitting a soporific aura.
The two exchanged a knowing smile. The unspoken meaning was clear.
Chu Qingze arrived at the backyard. Cai Yue was humming to herself, practicing her vocal exercises, when she suddenly felt someone approach.
"What do you want?"
Before she could finish speaking, a pill was forced into her mouth and swallowed down her throat.
Cai Yue's eyes rolled back, and she slumped softly to the ground.
Chu Qingze used a subtle technique to help her onto the bed, placing a white cloth under her wrist to take her pulse.
As expected of Lin Mo, he always thought things through thoroughly... No, he should say, as expected of his ancestor.
At the same time, Chen An was busily working in the courtyard.
"Move that stone five steps to the left."
"That stone has been moved here."
"Clear this area. There should be nothing here."
He worked himself while directing Rong Zhi.
At first, Rong Zhi was confused. But as the stones were arranged into distinct circles, she gradually understood.
It was the Nine Yin Ghost Summoning Formation!
She didn't remember many mystical arts from her previous life, but this was one of them.
Not for any other reason than that this formation could summon malevolent spirits from hundreds of miles around.
Was it necessary to go to such lengths just to confuse the Imperial Advisor?
"What do you know? If the royal family were to quietly bring you back and it turned out you weren't the one, they would have no losses. By making a big fuss, letting the entire city know, and then having a couple of people spread rumors to make the story seem convincing, they won't be able to deny it then."
So, it was a case of forcing their hand. It seemed Chen An was even more enthusiastic about this matter than she was.
"Won't people see through this formation you're setting up?"
Chen An let out a cold scoff. "If it could be seen through, I wouldn't be called Chen."
He placed the last stone three steps in front of him, and a complete circle was formed.
Just then, a sobbing figure rushed into his embrace, bringing with her a gust of desolate wind.
"Young Master, *sob sob sob*... he molested me!"
Cai Yue's shoulders trembled as she cried, tears streaming down her face.
Chu Qingze walked over from the backyard, his face flushed red. "I was just trying to give her acupuncture. She woke up as soon as I removed the needles."
He then glanced at Rong Zhi, somewhat speechlessly. What happened to the Drunken Immortal Pill that was supposed to make her sleep for three days and three nights? She woke up in less than three hours.
Rong Zhi looked up at the sky. It was impossible to avoid the diminishing effects of medicine over time.
"Alright, alright, I still need your help with something."
Chen An comforted Cai Yue and pointed at the stone formation in front of him.
"Help me hide this."
Cai Yue wiped away her tears, stepped forward, looked at the formation, and then turned to Chen An, her expression uncertain. After receiving Chen An's nod, she took out a dagger from her embrace and cut her own wrist.
"Wait a moment!" Chu Qingze was startled and tried to intervene, but the blood had already flowed onto the ground. As if it had a life of its own, it crawled towards each stone, seeped beneath them, and disappeared.
The stones absorbed the blood?
Even more surprising, the stones slowly became transparent and vanished.
Rong Zhi and Chu Qingze were both astonished.
Following their memories, they approached a stone and touched it, feeling something hard.
They hadn't disappeared, they had just become transparent.
They both turned back simultaneously, looking at Chen An in surprise. "What on earth is going on?"
Chen An shook his head smugly. "It's a secret."
"Young Master..."
Cai Yue looked exhausted, leaning weakly against Chen An.
"Go and rest!"
Chen An patted her hand, and Cai Yue followed him obediently to rest.
Only then did Rong Zhi realize that the girl's poor physique was due to her assisting Chen An in performing these mystical arts.
Last time, Cai Yue's body was injured when she tried to repair the rockery that Chu Qingze had broken.
However, in her memory, there were no such sorcerers who damaged their own bodies to perform mystical arts.
It seemed her understanding of mystical arts was still incomplete.
"These stones are hidden in inconspicuous places. Unless someone intentionally inspects them, even the Imperial Advisor won't be able to find them," Chen An said, quite satisfied with his work as he gestured to the stones.
Rong Zhi saw that it was indeed true. Although the stones formed a complete circle, they were all placed under trees, by ponds, or beneath rockeries. Without intentionally searching, they would be impossible to find.
Even if one stumbled slightly, no one would suspect the presence of invisible stones.
She had thought Chen An only had a superficial understanding of mystical arts, but he was far more profound than she had imagined.
"At night, you stand here. Someone will naturally come to find you. Chu Qingze, take Cai Yue and hide somewhere."
Chen An directed methodically, pointing to a spot by the rockery.
"I have to go back to prison, so I won't be accompanying you."
He said it with such ease, as if going to prison were like going on a spring outing.
Chu Qingze looked at Rong Zhi with concern.
Rong Zhi mouthed to him: "I'm fine. You find a place to hide and don't get implicated by me."
If this plan succeeded, it would be for the best. If it failed, she would at least see how many heinous things the royal family had done because of her. At worst, it would be a fight to the death.
"Mm..." Chu Qingze nodded slowly. For some reason, he detected a hint of farewell in these arrangements.
After nightfall, Chu Qingze left with Cai Yue. As they departed, Cai Yue gazed at Chen An with reluctance, looking back repeatedly as if she would never see him again.
"This girl is truly devoted to you."
Rong Zhi said in a very small voice.
It was a pity that Chen An was known for his philandering outside, though whether it was true or not, she instinctively felt that Chen An didn't like this girl.
"It was just a life-saving favor, and she's held onto it all this time. I can't marry her, but if you have feelings for me, I can lower myself."
Rong Zhi smiled without speaking.
"Don't be so cold. I'm going to prison, won't you bid me farewell?"
Rong Zhi cupped her fists in the manner of the martial world. Chen An's lips twitched.
"By the way, after I leave, no matter what you see, don't leave this spot. Otherwise, I can't guarantee what will happen."
Chen An also left. Although she could move freely on the streets, she was, after all, a detainee. Now, only Rong Zhi remained.
Rong Zhi stood at the spot Chen An had indicated. As the night deepened, she felt the surroundings become increasingly silent.
Strange, Chen An had already dismantled the previous formation. Even if no one was passing by outside, there should have been some sounds of the wind, or at the very least, the sound of a night watchman.
But there was nothing.
This silence was unsettling.
Rong Zhi strained her ears, and it seemed she could hear distant footsteps.
Creak! The sound of a door being opened.
"Why are you back? Did something happen?"
To her surprise, the person who arrived was Chen An. He looked around, appearing very vigilant, which made Rong Zhi even more nervous.
"Come with me quickly."
Chen An beckoned her to come outside.
Rong Zhi, seeing the situation, felt that something major had happened and was about to step out. But after taking one step, she suddenly remembered Chen An's parting words: no matter what happened, do not leave this spot.
Although the stones were now invisible, Rong Zhi still remembered the general area of the circle they had formed. It seemed... the Chen An standing before her was just outside that circle.
Why wouldn't he walk closer?
Rong Zhi calmed herself and did not move.
"What are you spacing out for? Hurry up and go!"
Chen An seemed somewhat anxious. Rong Zhi did not respond, merely staring at him intently.
Chen An urged her a few more times. Seeing that Rong Zhi remained unresponsive, he suddenly grinned a strange smile.
As he smiled, blood began to flow from his orifices. His features contorted, gradually twisting until he became a completely unfamiliar person.
He wasn't Chen An at all!
Some stray ghost had appeared out of nowhere. If Rong Zhi had really gone with him, who knew what terrifying things might have happened.
"Come out quickly!"
"Chen An" gestured wildly from inside, but he never took a step forward, as if an invisible barrier were blocking him.
"Help me..."
A faint voice suddenly came from behind her, sounding very weak. Rong Zhi turned around and saw Chu Qingze prostrate on the ground. His waist and below were a bloody mess, with blood trailing long streaks on the ground.