"Have you heard? The culprit behind the unsolved case in the city has been caught."

"real?"

"Yes, it was Lord Chu who caught him. It is said that the murderer had white hair and eyebrows, and he would just stare at you with empty eyes without saying a word. His hollow eyes were really scary."

"That's great! Now we don't have to worry about going out anymore."

While picking through the bok choy, Mei Shuwei casually joined in the chatter of the vegetable vendors: "Auntie, the murderer's appearance sounds familiar. Could he have been a homeless person on the streets?"

The vegetable vendor looked up and saw it was her. His old face beamed like an orange segment, and he eagerly took the cabbage and weighed it: "It's Mrs. Chu. Thanks to your husband, we common folk have been restored to peace."

"But now that you mention it, I do have a vague recollection of it. These days, there has been a white-haired beggar who is almost starving to death wandering the streets. He doesn't speak when you get close, as if he has lost his soul. I haven't seen him attack anyone, but when children throw stones at him, he doesn't even try to dodge."

Mei Shuwei's eyes darkened, and she smiled as she put the bok choy she had chosen back: "I'm sorry, Auntie, I won't buy it."

She went straight into a restaurant, and after a few incense sticks had burned, she came out carrying a large box full of delicacies and headed to the county government office.

"What brings Lady Chu here?" As soon as she entered the county government office, several yamen runners, who had been arm in arm with her, put away their amazement and greeted her with surprise.

They had long heard that Chu Tiankuo had a beautiful wife, and they had seen her from afar when she came to have her portrait painted, leaving a deep impression on them. In addition, Chu Tiankuo had made a great contribution this time, so they were also very polite to Mei Shuwei.

"I want to find Chu Tiankuo," Mei Shuwei said with a faint smile.

"Oh dear, unfortunately, Brother Chu just went out on errands and won't be back for a while," a constable replied politely, his eyes fixed on the steaming food box in Mei Shuwei's hands, his throat involuntarily gulping. After a busy morning, it was now noon, and everyone was hungry and preparing to go out for lunch.

Mei Shuwei was very understanding and took the initiative to pick up the food box, saying warmly, "Perfect timing, I just bought some food from Zhenxiu Restaurant. Since Tiankuo is not here, if you gentlemen don't mind..."

The constables were already swallowing their saliva. A single dish at Zhenxiulou cost only a few taels of silver, which was equivalent to a month's salary for them. So, their eyes lit up and they enthusiastically invited Mei Shuwei inside.

After a few rounds of drinks, Mei Shuwei quietly took the key from the waist of a constable who was slumped on the table and went to the prison cell.

She stood quietly in front of the cell door, watching a white figure in the corner. The figure, with a sense of smell as keen as a dog, darted to the cell door in an instant, and upon seeing her, reached out and grabbed.

Mei Shuwei nimbly dodged Yun Mo's attack and shouted sharply, "Why do you always try to kill me? I don't know you at all."

Yun Mo's snow-white eyelashes trembled, and he said in a hoarse voice, "You...must...die, this is His command."

However, no matter how much Mei Shuwei provoked him, Yun Mo remained silent, only staring at her like a wild beast, seemingly planning the next opportunity to hunt her down, making Mei Shuwei feel like she had a thorn in her side.

She took a deep breath; time was running out, so she asked, "Did you commit the murders in the city?"

Yun Mo's murderous intent faltered, and he tilted his head in confusion: "Why would I kill them? My only target is you."

"If you didn't commit the crime, then how were you arrested?" Mei Shuwei had carefully observed the body when she came in, and the scratches on the corpse were larger than those on Yun Mo. Logically speaking, Chu Tiankuo, who had solved many strange cases, shouldn't have made such a mistake. Something must have happened.

Yun Mo remained silent, standing there as if he cared nothing for his own personal freedom, as if he were merely a weapon to kill his target.

“If you answer, I will open the cell door and give you a chance to attack me.” Mei Shuwei’s eyes flashed with a dangerous light. This time, Yun Mo finally moved and nodded.

"I was just passing by."

"What did you see?" Mei Shuwei asked anxiously as she approached him.

Yun Mo stared intently at the throbbing veins in Mei Shuwei's neck, a bloodthirsty desire rising in his heart. As he spoke, he moved closer.

“I saw him catch a black monster. The monster knelt down and begged for mercy. It threw out a book, which he picked up, looked at it, then looked around, released the monster, and then looked at me.”

After Yun Mo finished speaking, he rushed forward and attacked Mei Shuwei's vulnerable neck. Unexpectedly, she dodged very quickly. He crashed into a stone brick, made a loud bang, and then passed out.

Mei Shuwei peeked out from behind the stone bricks, saw that he had fainted, and turned to leave.

The whole thing was bizarre; something must have happened to Chu Tiankuo. She was certain that the white-haired madman was only targeting her for assassination, perhaps because she was an outsider. So what exactly had Chu Tiankuo discovered?

Back in the courtyard, Mei Shuwei used the object-finding technique taught by Wen Ye Cijiao and finally found an ancient book in a hidden box. Upon opening the inner pages, she discovered it was a book on cultivation techniques.

"The Dao of Ruthlessness requires cultivators to sever their worldly ties with their own hands in order to transcend the mundane and enter the path of cultivating immortality."

After quickly memorizing the contents of the Taoist teachings and restoring them to their original state, Mei Shuwei looked solemnly out the window at the approaching night.

A dull, aching pain throbbed in her chest, and a memory flooded her mind like a tidal wave.

This is a terrifying story. A woman who looks exactly like her, dragging her crippled body, meets the handsome Chu Tiankuo. Not only does he not despise her, but he also takes good care of her. The two eventually become husband and wife and are deeply in love.

Life passed peacefully and uneventfully until the murder case came to light, tearing away the facade of warmth and exposing the ugliness within.

Chu Tiankuo colluded with demons and obtained the Ruthless Daoist arts. He secretly exploited the people's trust in him, sending orphans out of the city to be devoured by demons, while pretending to be a caring husband. It wasn't until the blade pierced Mei Shuwei's chest that she realized what had happened.

Chu Tiankuo, overjoyed at the spiritual energy emanating from his fingertips, abandoned her as she grew cold and left without a second thought, completely disregarding their past relationship.

Mei Shuwei poured herself a cup of tea and drank it to calm her mind. She was certain that this body wasn't her own; perhaps it was a soul from beyond the mortal realm that had mistakenly entered it. Regardless, she was determined in one thing: to seize the Ruthless Daoist arts!

Chu Tiankuo set up a trap to lure her into a deadly situation, so she decided to do the opposite.

She murdered her husband to become an immortal!