Chapter 31 The Eye of the Talisman "might be related to those dead people coming back to life."...

Zhou Yaren pushed open the guest room door, only to find it empty. The faint, almost imperceptible scent of frost and snow made the old room feel slightly cold, a peculiar chill that lingered around Bai Yuan.

Although Zhou Yaren had some idea on her way back, she was still heartbroken when she didn't see Bai Yuan.

Even with constant vigilance, he couldn't keep an eye on him. He knew that Bai Yuan couldn't stay put peacefully, much less surrender and be controlled by him.

Having dealt with each other a few times, he considered himself to have a somewhat superficial understanding of Bai Yuan.

That was a cold and arrogant temperament that would never submit to anyone, and within that cold arrogance lay an incomparably sharp and violent spirit; she could not tolerate the slightest grievance.

Moreover, after being suppressed for a thousand years, her sudden emergence was like a sharp sword unsheathed from its seal. Once she saw the light of day again, she was eager to kill and drink blood.

Bai Yuan, harboring a bellyful of resentment, was bound to unleash it into this peaceful and prosperous world, inevitably causing great chaos.

He had a premonition that Bai Yuan was going to cause trouble, but for some reason, Zhou Yaren felt more helpless than worried, as if it were an inescapable cycle of cause and effect, a long-lost destiny.

This sense of destiny once left Zhou Yaren feeling hopeless, so he wanted to peek into the ways of heaven, and then he became Tingfengzhi, the so-called Heavenly Ear Saint in the court.

Zhou Yaren paused for a moment, then turned around without hesitation and left the city, walking briskly to the Yellow River.

The watchman said that the white-clad female ghost had followed the funeral procession and must have reached the Yellow River, so he went along the riverbank to search for her.

He needs to find the innocent as soon as possible.

For a blind person, the sound of the rushing river and the collision of countless ice floes would inevitably impair their hearing. In addition, the rugged and uneven road in the canyon would make the journey even more difficult. So Zhou Yaren held a bamboo pole in his hand and carefully slowed down his pace.

His blue robe swept across the dense, withered grass, and a biting wind swept over, carrying his divine sense outwards.

In an instant, the crashing of the rapids and ice floes was deafening, crows flapped their wings, wild animals ran about, withered branches and fallen leaves rustled, and human voices clamored... All the sounds of the canyon and wilderness were amplified several times over, and all the chaotic noises of heaven and earth poured into our ears like a tsunami.

Zhou Yaren was searching for traces of Bai Yuan amidst the deafening noise, listening with utmost care. This method was effective, but the longer it took, the more his temples would ache, as if pricked by needles. When he finally focused his senses, his ears felt like they were plugged with cotton, making it difficult to hear anything clearly—an unavoidable affliction.

A crow circled a few times over the canyon before flying down to Bai Yuan, who was leaning against the cliff face. Its slender claws snatched the clothes from her shoulder.

Bai Yuan, sitting high, could see far and wide. He could see the man in blue walking towards him from afar, tapping the ground with his bamboo pole as if he were probing the way.

Zhou Yaren suddenly lost her footing and stumbled, but fortunately she regained her balance in time and did not fall.

This scene made Bai Yuan frown, quietly observing the man's gait. Only a blind man would rely on a bamboo cane to clear a path, and even then, he would walk unsteadily.

But before this, this person was clearly able to move freely.

Moreover—he was looking at himself; he could see himself.

If she were truly blind, how could she see her? If she weren't blind, how could she not see the path beneath her feet and walk so unsteadily?

Bai Yuan became suspicious. When their eyes met, she brushed the crow off her shoulder and snorted coldly, "You're really persistent."

Zhou Yaren's hearing is poor now, and he has to concentrate to barely hear the sarcasm of Bai Yuan, but he doesn't mind. He gets straight to the point: "Those who died from the Gu worms suddenly came back to life last night and then carried their coffins into the Yellow River."

Bai Yuan wasn't stupid; he understood the unspoken meaning. Seeing that Bai Yuan had come looking for him all travel-worn, he realized: "Do you suspect I'm causing trouble?"

After all, she had caused an incident in Bei Qu twelve years ago, which panicked the people of Bei Qu and even alarmed the leader of the Taihang Sect, who personally descended the mountain. Last night, she followed that group of corpse-ridden funeral processions out of the city and stayed alone on the edge of the Yellow River, her intentions unknown. Zhou Yaren certainly had reason to suspect her. Who else could she suspect if not her? Who else possessed such bizarre supernatural powers?

However, Zhou Yaren denied it, saying, "I didn't say you caused trouble, but since you were there last night, you should know the details of what happened best."

Unexpectedly, Bai Yuan replied, "I don't know."

Zhou Yaren paused for a moment: "The family that held the funeral last night was surnamed Qin. The deceased were two brothers. Qin Er was the one who went to the Ghost Office to pay respects to your Sun Xiuniang's husband. I won't go into Sun Xiuniang's entanglement with the Shen family for now. The Qin family also has a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl named Qin San, who is now missing. The government has been searching for her all day. Did you see her in the funeral procession last night?"

Fearing that the injustice might not be clear, Zhou Yaren added, "I once took you to stay at her house."

Qin San was once paralyzed with fear by her hideous face, so Bai Yuan certainly remembered her: "I saw her, that dirty girl."

Qin San wasn't actually dirty; it was just that from a young age, he had toiled in the fields, his skin tanned dark and yellow, which made him appear dirty.

Just as Zhou Yaren was about to ask about his whereabouts, Bai Yuan, who seemed unconcerned, said, "He took the memorial tablet and jumped into the Yellow River."

"You..." Zhou Yaren's breath hitched, "You just watched her jump?"

"Otherwise what?" Bai Yuan tilted his head, his flat tone revealing indifference towards life. "She looked like she had no will to live, she didn't want to live in the first place."

To Zhou Yaren, this sounded extremely cold and heartless: "So you're just going to stand by and watch her die? Watch her go to her death?"

Bai Yuan stared at his angry expression and sneered, "How can I save you? You've cast a spell on me, blocking my meridians. I'm practically a cripple. What right do I have to care about someone else's life or death? You've harmed me to this extent, and you have the nerve to accuse me of not saving you?!"

Zhou Yaren was suddenly taken aback, realizing he had almost forgotten about this matter; in that case, it was his responsibility.

Last night, Bai Yuan heard some strange noises and drifted over on the northwest wind. Although he knew that the spiritual veins were blocked, he thought he still had some room to maneuver because he had been working on it for half the night. In the end, he "gave up halfway".

Bai Yuan never expected that he would become so useless. Coupled with the injuries from the torture, he was accidentally hung on a cliff ten feet high, helplessly exposed to the cold wind all day long, which was simply unbearable.

Zhou Yaren, realizing she was in the wrong, changed the subject: "Then what are you doing here?"

Bai Yuan: "..."

How dare you ask that!

Could she say something as shameful as being hung on a cliff by the northwest wind?

Back in the day, she was capable of anything, from ascending to the heavens to descending to the earth, and was incredibly powerful. Now, she's trapped in this mere ten-zhang-high cliff, unable to go up or down—a truly humiliating disgrace.

Bai Yuan, trying to calm the raging evil fire within him, didn't want to see the culprit right under his nose. So, without changing his expression, he simply closed his eyelids and said calmly, "Meditate."

In reality, it was breaking through the spiritual veins.

Once she regained even a little strength, she immediately jumped off. Who would want to stay on this wind-blown, sun-exposed, broken cliff face!

Zhou Yaren stood at the foot of the cliff, naturally needing to look up at her. Bai Yuan remained expressionless, and he didn't notice anything amiss either, so he asked, "Meditating here?"

Bai Yuan silently gritted her teeth. If she could find another place, she would never sit here under the open sky and let him see her like this.

Zhou Yaren was unaware of her difficulties and predicaments. Looking up at Bai Yuan, who remained unmoved by the winds, she wondered what Bai Yuan's purpose was in guarding this place.

Perhaps they are waiting for the right opportunity.

It's probably related to that funeral procession that supposedly brought the dead back to life.

After careful consideration, Zhou Yaren decided that since her hearing was currently impaired and her mobility would be limited, she would just wait here for the time being.

Bai Yuan had not heard any movement from his subordinates for a long time, so he opened his eyes.

She sat high up, looking down at people with her eyes lowered.

Zhou Yaren stood upright. Although tall, she looked too thin, not as robust as her companions who had fallen into the Taiyin/Dao Body with her. However, her shoulders and back were straight, and her temperament was extraordinary. Her face was flawless, beautiful in every way, even more elegant and refined than the immortal who only drank dew.

Unfortunately... Bai Yuan's gaze fell on his bamboo cane, and he couldn't help but ask, "Can't you see?"

Zhou Yaren wasn't paying attention, and she only vaguely heard the sentence: "What?"

"Your eyes aren't working properly, and your ears aren't working properly either?"

Zhou Yaren replied, "I can't see, but my hearing is fine."

"Blind?" Bai Yuan questioned. "It doesn't seem like it. You can clearly see me. Are you pretending to be blind?"

“Nothing was installed,” Zhou Yaren said truthfully. “I could only see the grotesque things.”

Bai Yuan paused, then said, "...How strange."

His tone was chilling.

Zhou Yaren realized that she might not like to hear it, so she kept quiet, leaned her bamboo cane against the cliff, and sat down cross-legged at the foot of the cliff to meditate as well.

This time, Bai Yuan lowered his eyes and could only see the top of his head, where a green hairpin was inserted into his hair bun: "Are you planning to stay by my side like this forever?"

"Um."

"How long do you plan to keep this up?"

“It’s not really about being entangled,” Zhou Yaren said calmly. “When I was in the Taiyin/Dao Body, you promised that you would help me as long as I removed the shackles from your body.”

"A promise?" Bai Yuan asked, intrigued. "Who made you a promise?"

Zhou Yaren: "..."

Clearly, Bai Yuan had forced Lu Bing to cut the shackles by choking him, which did not constitute an agreement between the two parties. Therefore, she could easily have reneged on the agreement. However, Zhou Yaren said, "In any case, I have released you."

Without him, she truly couldn't escape that "prison of torture".

“Yes,” Bai Yuan said noncommittally, “but you are not currently imprisoned…”

Zhou Yaren interrupted her: "I have always been a criminal and have always lived in the palace prison. Unless there is an imperial edict, I can step out of the palace prison to see the light of day for a while. After I finish my business, I will go back inside."

This was a special pardon granted by the emperor, which he obtained by exchanging his eyes. Zhou Yaren said, "I have been imprisoned all along." It's just that outsiders don't know that.

"It seems no one can clear my name, not even myself." Zhou Yaren took a deep breath, burdened by an unbearable injustice. He had tried so hard, yet could not prove his innocence. He couldn't understand it at first, "until you said..."

As the sun set and night fell, Bai Yuan finally mustered enough strength to descend from the cliff. She tried to appear nimble and graceful, standing before Zhou Yaren like a celestial being descending from the heavens, revealing nothing of her true nature. Then, interrupting Zhou Yaren, she said in a deep voice, "You bear the burden of punishment, and your fate is afflicted by three punishments, bringing misfortune to your six relatives." Bai Yuan concluded, "You are a jinx."

Zhou Yaren was taken aback, not expecting her to deliver another blow, her words hitting the nail on the head.

Just as he was about to speak, Bai Yuan suddenly leaned down, exuding a sense of oppression, and stared at him, their noses almost touching.

They were too close. Zhou Yaren instinctively tried to back away, but Bai Yuan grabbed the back of her head and held her in place.

The hand supporting the back of his head was very cold, and even his breath carried the chill of wind and frost.

Bai Yuan stared straight into his eyes, focusing on Zhou Yaren's slightly pale pupils, and asked, "How did you go blind?"

Zhou Yaren's head landed in her hand, forcing her to look up and meet her gaze, her neck forming a long arc.

There was nothing for him to hide: "It's Kaoru's."

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow: "Self-harm?"

Zhou Yaren: "..."

Judging from his expression, it was him. Bai Yuan continued to stare intently into his eyes, where her ghostly reflection was mirrored: "To blind oneself and block out all thoughts, and then willingly become a blind official in prison?"

Zhou Yaren's Adam's apple bobbed: "Yes." This was his only way out; otherwise, he would rot in prison, never to rise again.

“You’re quite decisive,” Bai Yuan said, not as a compliment, “what did you use to fumigate it?”

"A talisman. A talisman nail."

“A talisman eye.” No wonder he could see the spirits. Bai Yuan finally released him, stood up straight, and asked casually, “What’s your name now?”

"What?"

She repeated impatiently, "I asked you what your name is?"

"Zhou Yaren".

Upon hearing this, Bai Yuan narrowed his eyes, his gaze lingering on the other person's face again. After a quick scan, he concluded in his mind that the person truly deserved the title of "refined gentleman."

Bai Yuan looked away and spoke ramblingly, "This winter is truly bleak."

Just as she was about to turn around, her wrist was grabbed, and Zhou Yaren's cool fingertips pressed against her wrist pulse: "Innocent."

He said, "There must be something else at the bottom of this river!"

The innocent remained silent.

“Since I was able to discover the Taiyin/Dao Body, I can naturally also find that there are other things at the bottom of this river.” If Lu Bing hadn’t suddenly come down and caused trouble this morning, he might have explored the river for a while longer.

Bai Yuan remained expressionless: "For example? What did you discover?"

“We need to investigate further,” Zhou Yaren said. “It might be related to those dead people coming back to life.”