Xiao Yi was very puzzled. He had already said he would pay her, so why was Yuan Qi still so unhappy? He wondered what this little girl was planning to do. Did she want to become the Imperial Advisor?

That's unlikely.

After thinking it over, he finally stated his purpose directly: "Seventh Miss, the Imperial Advisor was injured by Xiao Zhen and has not yet recovered. The palace's protective formation is now severely damaged, and your elder brother and I are taking turns patrolling day and night. I wonder if you are proficient in formations?"

Yuan Qixing sneered. The emperor thought she was very capable, but didn't want to promote her. He even wanted her to work for free. What did he take her for? A lackey of the royal family?

She doesn't lack the money, doesn't want fame, and certainly doesn't want to be taken advantage of.

She blurted out, "I'm not proficient in formations. At most, I can only create a spirit-gathering formation. I really don't know anything else. Your Highness, you should find someone more capable. As far as I know, the Imperial Preceptor's senior brother is also quite skilled. Why don't you let him repair the formation?"

She kindly pointed out a clear path for Xiao Yi.

Xiao Yi was surprised that Yuan Qi dared to lie to him, so he assumed that she was really not good at formations. After all, she was already very capable. If she could even repair the formations in the imperial palace, how capable would she be? Wouldn't that pose a threat to the court?

Xiao Yi stared at Yuan Qi for two seconds, then asked, "You're really not good at formations?"

Yuan Qi said, "I'm really not good at it. My best skills are catching ghosts and fortune telling. I'm really not good at other things. Your Highness, please find someone more capable."

Xiao Yi left helplessly.

His figure had just disappeared down the street when Bai Youhui sat down next to him, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"The imperial court has been having a terrible headache these past few days because of the palace's protective formation. The emperor is so afraid of dying that he doesn't even have a fixed place to sleep. He moves to a different place every day and has the commander of the Imperial Guards protecting him closely."

Bai Youhui looked disdainful and joined Yuan Qi in complaining.

Yuan Qi rested his chin on his hands: "Why did you run out again?"

Bai Youhui chuckled: "I didn't run away. My grandfather sent me out to find you. You know what, it's really good that you're setting up a stall here. When our family has something to do, we don't have to go to the Jiang family to find you or owe them any favors. We pay you to do the work, which is great."

Yuan Qi packed his things, preparing to leave with him, and casually asked, "What happened to your family again?"

Bai Youhui beckoned the carriage over and told Yuan Qi, "Bai Fujun is ill, and his illness is very strange. Although he was not normal before, he was still healthy. Now he's become sickly, extremely weak, and gets sick from the slightest breeze. The doctor says he's naturally weak. What kind of talk is that? Our family knows that Bai Fujun is exceptionally intelligent and healthy, except that he sometimes has seizures, but he recovered after your treatment. My grandfather said his illness is strange and wants you to go and take a look."

On the carriage, Bai Youhui complained to Yuan Qi about Xiao Yi's situation.

"Have you heard? Ever since the Fifth Prince disappeared, His Highness the Crown Prince has been all-powerful, in charge of capturing him. The entire capital is filled with Imperial Guards, causing widespread panic..."

Yuan Qi wasn't interested in this and didn't really like listening to it, but there were indeed several groups of imperial guards patrolling the streets, arresting anyone they saw who seemed suspicious.

Before long, they arrived at the Bai family's residence.

The Bai family patriarch, Bai Fujun's father, Uncle Bai, and Madam Bai were all present.

Yuan Qi greeted the three of them and then went directly into Bai Fujun's bedroom.

He lay on the bed, his face pale and his lips bloodless, and he forced a smile at Yuan Qi: "Seventh Sister, I'm going to trouble you again."

A dashing young man has transformed into a sickly beauty, a stark contrast to his former spirited self, and he has also lost a lot of weight.

Yuan Qi directly pulled his arm over to take his pulse. He was indeed weak, but not the kind of weak he had been since childhood. It was more like the kind of weakness that came from having his tendons and veins completely severed and then having his bones and muscles rebuilt. He was the kind of person who would fall ill at the slightest breeze.

Yuan Qi rolled up Bai Fujun's sleeves and felt his bones and joints piece by piece, checking the sensitivity of his tendons and veins. He found that Bai Fujun's movements were somewhat slow, like those of an elderly person who had suffered a stroke.

Using spiritual power to explore his meridians, it was discovered that his meridians were indeed not well connected.

"Have you recently experienced a series of ruptured meridians throughout your body?"

The Bai family was very surprised and replied in unison, "No, how could that be?"

Bai Fujun also said, "I haven't suffered any external injuries recently, let alone severed tendons or veins."

Yuan Qi confirmed: "You have been subjected to a 'life-sustaining' ritual. Someone used a technique to exchange your physical constitution and fortune with theirs."

The Bai family members were somewhat puzzled, but the patriarch of the Bai family quickly remembered that there had indeed been a person whose meridians had been completely severed recently.

Fifth Prince Xiao Zhen.

He lowered his voice and asked, "Seventh Miss, was it Xiao Zhen who did it?"

Yuan Qi had also thought of that, and she nodded slightly: "Very likely. Sixth Young Master, where did you go and who did you come into contact with before you fell ill?"

Bai Fujun thought for a moment and said, "I attended your elder brother's wedding. A few days later, I went to Wuji Palace. I tripped and fell while walking that day, and scraped my palm. I met a female Taoist priest who treated my wound."

Yuan Qi nodded and said, "That's right. How could you have fallen down like that? It was someone else's doing. Their goal was to take your blood and a few strands of your hair so they could have everything they needed to plant a life-giving tomb."

The Bai family was furious, especially the eldest son of the Bai family: "I never expected that my Bai family had treated the Fifth Prince so well in the past, yet he would scheme against my son like this!"

Madam Bai asked worriedly, "Seventh Miss, do you have a way to break this kind of 'living tomb'?"

Yuan Qi said, "This is not difficult to solve, but after the spell is lifted, Xiao Zhen will most likely die."

The patriarch of the Bai family snorted: "We're all commoners now, so let him die. Who told him to collude with Wuji Palace? We just can't deal with Wuji Palace for the time being. The Emperor trusts the Imperial Advisor and is protecting Wuji Palace. We have to wait for an opportunity."

Grandpa Bai asked, "Father, do you think this is the Emperor's will?"

The old master of the Bai family shook his head: "It's hard to say. Now the emperor is obsessed with elixirs and listens to the imperial advisor in everything. He no longer trusts the four major families and has even tried to eliminate them."

Yuan Qi wasn't interested in this, but she knew that the Jiang family's great calamity had just passed, and now that the Emperor trusted Jiang Juncai, the Jiang family was temporarily safe.

But the Bai family might not be so certain.

"You shouldn't worry about so much. While the Emperor hasn't changed his mind and still wants to kill Xiao Zhen, let's quickly dismantle this 'living tomb'. Once Xiao Zhen is really dead, and the Emperor regrets it, it won't be our problem."

Yuan Qi set up a Bagua formation in the courtyard, had someone dress Bai Fujun and place her in the Bagua formation, and then drew several talismans on the spot and pasted them on Bai Fujun's body. Afterwards, she changed into a dharma robe, held the Xuantian Sword in one hand and a bell in the other, and began to walk the steps of the Gang, while chanting incantations.