The strike had been so fast that the blood and slime on the blade couldn’t stick.
A layer peeled off and splattered onto Chen Shang’s chin, dripping down his neck.
Chen Shang, never having experienced such a scene, was nearly paralyzed with fear.
Su Lingxi stepped out of the formation, glanced at Xi Liu, and frowned.
“What were you saying?”
“It was too loud inside,” Xi Liu answered, “I didn’t hear clearly.”
Who would believe that?
But no one dared say it.
Xi Liu looked at the dead toad, then at Su Lingxi’s calm face, and swallowed her words.
She raised a hand, signaling the demon-hunting team to dispose of the foul corpse.
Su Lingxi raised her brows and walked to the other side to retrieve her blade.
She pulled the knife effortlessly from the stake.
Catching a glimpse of the still-traumatized Chen Shang, she thought for a moment, then tapped his face with the knife’s hilt, saying her first words to him:
“That’s what real interrogation looks like, young prince.”
Chen Shang’s face turned from pale to green, more fear than anger.
Su Lingxi then strode out of the dungeon, Xi Liu following behind.
In the corridor, Xi Liu hesitated before asking carefully:
“My lady, are you trying to… hint to Prince Yan that there’s tension between you and His Majesty?”
“Missing a message doesn’t mean things are that serious,” Su Lingxi replied with a vague smile.
“It depends on how the listener interprets it.”
Of course, no one would think positively.
She had purposely placed the toad in Chen Shang’s cell, knowing he would report everything in detail to the Yan Prince—head of the powerful faction loyal to the deposed emperor.
What happened inside the Demon Suppression Bureau would soon reach his ears.
In short, Su Lingxi was sending a challenge to Prince Yan.
All the strange details were part of the message she wanted to send.
She hadn’t taken action in a long time—and even when she had, she used talismans and wore a veil.
Chen Shang’s status alone wasn’t enough to make her come out personally.
This time, she was saying one thing:
Su Lingxi isn’t as weakened as rumors say.
She’s still in Chang’an, guarding it.
Whether demon or human—don’t make any rash moves.
This was a warning.
Xi Liu held her breath.
“My lady… do you think Prince Yan still…”
She paused, not knowing what word to use.
“Trying to… oppose His Majesty?”
Su Lingxi stopped walking. After a long silence, she replied:
“He better not.”
“We’ll bait him a little longer. A fish with the urge to bite always ends up on the hook.”
Xi Liu suddenly understood.
The first half of today was a warning.
The second half—a lure.
A young man who once sat on the throne—if he still had ambition—would surely make a move after hearing that the current emperor was falling out with his strongest supporter.
Understanding this, Xi Liu rubbed her nose.
Even after two years under the imperial tutor, she still had much to learn.
Outside the dungeon, the sun shone down.
Su Lingxi prepared to return to the Imperial Tutor’s residence.
The household was quiet.
Assassins guarded it around the clock.
She had no real attachments, except the occasional urge to go home and tease her two dumb birds.
That was when news from the Northern Wing arrived.
An attendant had been waiting at the dungeon entrance for half an hour.
When he saw her, he immediately approached and recited the message word for word:
“My lady, the Northern Wing sent word. The Commander of the Floating Jade Division will arrive at the Demon Suppression Bureau at the hour of Xu.”
Su Lingxi glanced at the sundial in the distance.
It was three-quarters past the hour of You.
Dark clouds were starting to gather at the horizon. In a while, the lanterns across Chang’an would begin to light.
“Who delivered the message?”
The attendant bowed again.
“Young Master Yu.”
Looks like she wouldn’t be returning home tonight.
Su Lingxi turned on her heel and headed to her quarters first.
The smell on the three-eyed toad was unpleasant.
Without thinking too much, she immersed herself in hot water to wash up thoroughly.
She then instructed the attendant to bring another basin of water and place it on the wooden rack, where she tossed in her bone blade.
After her bath, she changed into a fresh robe.
As per her habit, she hung her waist token, official pendant, scented pouch, and a silver filigree bell ball back onto her waist.
Since she was about to meet the long-delayed Commander, she changed into the Zhenyao Division’s official uniform.
The deep black-and-red color was heavy and stifling.
A qilin was embroidered across the chest, with its claws gripping the Big Dipper, symbolizing the suppression of the seven souls.
Every detail exuded dominance.
Su Lingxi glanced at herself in the bronze mirror.
Satisfied, she turned away and retrieved incense charcoal and a burner from a drawer nearby.
Once the charcoal was covered with a thin layer of ash and the incense was buried inside, a faint fragrance began to drift out.
Su Lingxi leaned against the window frame, her shoulders relaxing, eyes half-closed as she finally began to think.
The Chief Commander of Fuyu was named Ye Zhuxu—Su Lingxi had asked about him.
Interestingly, that unit had quite a few troublemakers.
They always appeared scattered, with severe internal dysfunction.
The attitude was essentially:
“You don’t bother me, I won’t bother you. Let’s all mind our own business.”
Su Lingxi didn’t believe Fuyu would appoint an incompetent person who couldn’t control his team as their commander.
That night, the young girl Baixiao kept referring to him as the Commander—that proved it.
Ye Zhuxu was the one who could hold everyone in check, the real decision-maker.
Su Lingxi was a bit curious about him.
After all, he had left everyone waiting for so long and only showed up after more than ten days—and yet, no one complained.
That alone spoke to his strength.
He had to be formidable.
A strong and capable public servant could offer peace of mind.
At least for the Zhenyao Division, he might reduce their future burdens.
Seeing it was almost time, Su Lingxi put up her hair, applied some makeup, and finally took the bone blade from the soaking basin, dried it, and sheathed it.
Then, with Xiliu and a monster-hunting team, she headed to the North Courtyard.
Ye Zhuxu hadn’t arrived yet when they got there.
But the North Courtyard was unusually orderly.
Nearly everyone was present, except those with legitimate reasons to be absent.
Some were even napping in the trees, yawning.
Zhenyao Division didn’t allow trees to be planted, so no one knew where these had come from, but they’d grown tall overnight.
These people weren’t waiting in the main hall but in the outer room.
Yu Lin’an was pressing his temples with a finger, wincing occasionally.
When he saw her, he waved.
Su Lingxi walked over, subtly noticing more than a dozen gazes tracking her.
For some reason, most people were watching her.
She was used to being stared at and didn’t mind.
She walked up gracefully and asked, “Wasn’t it supposed to be at the Hour of the Dog?”
“There’s been a slight delay,” Yu Lin’an said.
“But it shouldn’t be long now.”
Su Lingxi noticed his deliberate choice of the word “delay.”
On the side, Sang Chu nodded amicably at her.
Baixiao sat nearby, her gaze also falling on Su Lingxi, eyes showing a strange complexity—something between child and adult.
It made no sense.
Baixiao was twelve, and Su Lingxi had been in the mortal world for fourteen years.
They couldn’t have met before.
What was the complicated look about?
Sang Chu looked after the younger ones and bent over to say to Baixiao, “If you’re sleepy, go back and rest. You’re still growing.”
Baixiao shook her head.
“I’m not sleepy.”
Sang Chu picked an orange from the fruit basket and offered it.
“Here, Xiaoxiao, have an orange.”
Her eyes flickered slightly.
Though she was maturing fast and becoming quite capable, older boys still treated her like a child.
She moved her lips slightly and accepted the orange.
“Thanks, Brother Sang Chu.”
Seeing this, Su Lingxi smiled and turned her gaze back to Yu Lin’an.
“Your Commander really knows how to make an entrance.”
“Indeed.”
“What can you do?”
Yu Lin’an looked at her intently and after a moment, said, “He’s quite the celebrity.”
Su Lingxi herself had once been just as famous—an awe-inspiring presence at every appearance.
Anyone who studied incense techniques knew her name.
Generations of juniors in the field had grown up on tales of her legendary and seemingly unattainable skill.
Yu Lin’an pressed his brow again.
There had been much debate within the team about notifying Su Lingxi.
In the end, Sang Chu made the final call.
This wasn’t just about her and Ye Zhuxu.
The two now represented the Court and Fuyu, respectively.
Monster extermination was no small matter—and finding the Twelve Witches even less so.
Su Lingxi had lost her memories and didn’t even know who Ye Zhuxu was.
If they met privately later and suddenly fought to the death, it would be a disaster.
At least if they were present, they could try to stop it…
Though whether they could stop it was another question.
At that moment, a sound came from the sky.
Su Lingxi looked up instinctively.
Yu Lin’an said beside her, “He’s here.”
She thought the Commander would enter through the door.
She didn’t expect him to descend from the sky.
A gate burning with black fire appeared mid-air.
The fire roared, reflected in people’s pupils.
The air warped with the heat.
The gate’s edges were already melting from the extreme temperature.
Like a portal from hell suddenly arriving.
Maybe Su Lingxi had seen such things before, but not once in the past fourteen years.
Someone stepped out of the gate.
The footsteps were light, slow, and dangerous—soon buried under the noise of others.
Black fire flowed down and formed an ancient stairway.
Dozens of secret guards flanked either side, clad in chilling armor with lava-like glow in their eyes.
Someone walked down the steps to the ground.
Su Lingxi had been watching.
At first, she thought this spectacle reflected the person’s flair, but she quickly realized it didn’t.
Even as he descended, the portal behind him continued to ripple with signs of fierce battle.
A giant tiger claw suddenly reached out, swiping violently as if grabbing something.
Then came antelope horns, then a bird-like tail.
Each time something emerged, the secret guards would strike with weapons forged from lava to push them back.
The chaos quickly died down.
Su Lingxi had sharp eyes and noticed—
The man descending the steps walked effortlessly, with focus, like nothing around him mattered… extremely oppressive.
At least three powerful demons had opened battle domains and were fighting to the death, yet this Commander walked out calmly.
When Ye Zhuxu finally reached the ground and looked at her, Su Lingxi saw his face clearly—and for some reason, her heart skipped a beat.
It wasn’t due to some ostentatious appearance.
The Commander had outstanding features, with finely structured bones.
His long hair flowed loosely without crown or pin—not even a red ribbon like Yu Lin’an’s.
His raven-black hair hung quietly to his waist.
His robe was the most common silk cloak worn in Fuyu—cool, soft, flowing like water and wind.
His skin was fair, lips tinged a vibrant red.
Not at all how she’d imagined him.
And younger than she expected.
She knew the team was young, but had assumed the Commander would be older—enough to command authority.
Now, he looked even younger than Sang Chu.
As he walked over, young men along the way rubbed their noses and greeted him respectfully.
Unlike how they addressed each other by name, they all called him “Commander.”
The distinction between closeness and distance, rank and respect, was instantly clear.
Ye Zhuxu stopped about twenty paces from Yu Lin’an and the others.
He looked at Su Lingxi.
He looked seriously, for a long moment.
At that point, all movement from the sky-gate ceased.
The secret guards disappeared—except one, who leapt down and knelt at Ye Zhuxu’s feet.
He held three strings, each tied to a bound, ferocious demon.
The guard burned like a great brazier in the darkened outer courtyard, driving away all shadows.
Su Lingxi could see more clearly.
And then noticed more details.
She liked to study people through details, and she was good at it.
At this moment, she realized Ye Zhuxu had deep, pitch-black eyes.
Soft on the outside, but within them lay a dense, oppressive, and terrifying force—his true aggression and murderous aura were buried deep in those eyes.
A single movement of his brow carried unspeakable danger.
He was an extremely dangerous man.
And there were no chains on him.
Nothing could bind him.
“Step aside.”
Ye Zhuxu finally turned slightly toward the kneeling guard, his fingers dropping loosely, voice low:
“You’re in my way.”
The secret guard then melted, transforming into a segmented sword.
As it unsheathed, countless blinding sword lights spread through the air and then converged into one, sheathing itself in Ye Zhuxu’s hand.
A sword?
Yu Lin’an, under pressure, stepped forward.
“Commander,” he called.
Ye Zhuxu didn’t even glance at him.
Su Lingxi frowned slightly, then took a few steps forward, nodding at him.
“Zhenyao Division, Su Lingxi.”
“Pleasure to meet you.”
Upon hearing this, Yu Lin’an couldn’t help but close his eyes.