Princess, she is the one who facilitated the extradition.

"I……"

Yu Qinghuan retreated repeatedly, finally squatting down in a corner, covering her face with her hands, "I deserve to die, I really deserve to die."

The choked voice suppressed extreme pain.

Gui Yao stood up and walked to her, a thought flashing through her mind. "Because you two can't be husband and wife, right?"

Yu Qinghuan didn't speak, burying her face in her arms, her shoulders shaking violently.

A hint of compassion flashed in Gui Yao's eyes. "But what can we do? Even if Pei Xuan comes back to life, he will still love you deeply, Miss Pei Liu."

Yu Qinghuan suddenly looked up, "You..."

Then, as if struck by a sudden thought, she said angrily, "You all knew all along, didn't you?"

You know he's my twin brother, born of the same parents, yet you watched me sink into depravity and commit shameful acts, didn't you?"

"I have no idea."

Gui Yao leaned against the jade table and said, "I didn't know you were the younger sister that Pei Xuan had been searching for."

I wonder who instructed you to approach Xiao Huaijin? As a result, you accidentally bewitched Pei Xuan.

"I don't know what method you used to conjure up the 'Longing for You' to deceive Pei Xuan, or where did this 'Xuanji Tower' come from."

She approached and took Yu Qinghuan's hand. "But what I do know is that you are now my employer, and I will fulfill the contract to grant your wish."

"you……"

Yu Qinghuan realized, "Not from the Ghost Market?"

"Of course not."

Gui Yao said, "But you can tell me about the Ghost Market and your relationship, so I can help you better."

Yu Qinghuan hoped that Pei Xuan would live well, but she was helpless against the Love-Locking Talisman inside his body.

Perhaps she was carrying too much pain and shame and wanted to confide in someone. After a moment of silence, she began to tell Gui Yao what had happened.

Years ago, she and Pei Xuan went on a trip and unfortunately fell into the hands of human traffickers. The traffickers erased her memory and took her to Dasheng Jiangnan.

She and dozens of other children were kept in a high-walled mansion, where they learned music, chess, calligraphy, painting, household management, accounting, and how to seduce men or women.

Yes, among them were both girls and boys, and without exception, they were all exceptionally good-looking.

Every child who grew up would be taken away from that house. She didn't know where they would go, but judging from what they were learning, it wasn't hard to guess.

Unwilling to become a plaything for men who use their looks to please them, she used some tricks to ruin her face at the hands of the steward.

That year, she was fourteen years old. After seven years of training, she excelled in everything, from playing musical instruments and chess to calligraphy and painting, as well as the art of seducing men.

She gambled that the other party had gone to great lengths to cultivate her and wouldn't abandon her just because she ruined her face.

Sure enough, her gamble paid off; she was taken to a shop to work as a maid.

The shop is an antique store on the outside, but on the first and fifteenth of each month, it sells some rare and unusual items.

The steward who took her there told her that the market that opened at night was called the Ghost Market, and that it sold desires.

She also had desires; she wanted to know who she was, why she had fallen into the hands of those people, whether she had been sold, or for some other reason.

But she was just a lowly maid who handled domestic affairs and wasn't even qualified to entertain guests because her face was ruined. How could she possibly have access to the Ghost Market?

Until three years ago, when the steward who had taken her with him left, the manager, seeing her good performance, promoted her to take over the steward's position.

She finally had the chance to get in touch with the Ghost Market, but the Ghost Market wanted to change her face because her appearance would affect their business.

As slaves, what right do they have to refuse?

She regained her beautiful face, and thankfully, this time she wouldn't become a plaything.

She even learned that if the manager served for three years without making any mistakes, the Ghost Market could grant her one wish.

She worked diligently for three years without daring to be negligent in the slightest. Last year, she finally met the target and expressed her desire: she wanted to regain her memories.

The ghost market agreed.

They also gave her a chance to redeem herself, but on the condition that she complete a mission for the Ghost Market.

The ghost market opens its doors to do business, catering to the desires of all beings, and naturally, people are needed to carry out its operations.

Having been involved with the ghost market for three years, she was no stranger to it and knew that this was her only chance to regain her freedom.

Not wanting to miss out, she took on her mission: to go to the capital and bewitch Prince Nan Yaojin.

She had studied how to seduce men for seven years, and although she hadn't put it into practice, she was very confident thanks to the love-locking talisman given to her by the Ghost Market.

Who would have thought that her first mistake would be such a fatal one.

Once the Love-Locking Talisman is taken, one will be completely unable to control their own heart. If Pei Xuanruo cannot stay with her, he will be depressed and eventually perish.

She couldn't bear to see Pei Xuan die, so she planned to hide with him in Nan Yao.

Unexpectedly, the pills she took when she left the ghost market took effect, and her memories returned.

She remembered everything.

Thinking about what she had done, she felt a chill run through her body, as if she had fallen into an abyss. She was filled with fear, terror, and regret, and she didn't know how to face it.

She could only hastily propose breaking up and send Pei Xuan away.

She prayed that Pei Xuan would forget her and that all this evil and ugliness would end, but Pei Xuan was under the spell of the Love-Locking Talisman.

She fed it herself!

She slapped herself repeatedly, repenting and cursing herself to go to the deepest hell, while also worrying about Pei Xuan and sending her maid to secretly find out about him.

Knowing that his health was failing and his life was in danger, she had no choice but to appear again. She begged him to take care of his health and wrote a storybook, hoping that Pei Xuan's fear of death could overcome his illusory love.

But Pei Xuan was already obsessed with love. He wanted to see her every day and love her as before. For her, seeing him again would be a sin. How could things be the same as before?

She could only lie to him that she was going on a long trip, keeping Pei Xuan on tenterhooks while actually contacting the Ghost Market to seek a solution.

But before anything could be done, Pei Xuan died.

Upon hearing the news, all she wanted to do was to use the sharpest dagger in the world to stab her own heart to pieces.

"I knew the mission was malicious, but I accepted it for the sake of freedom. I have the filthiest heart in the world, so God gave me the cruelest punishment."

Yu Qinghuan wept uncontrollably, "I dream of returning to my family, but I can never go back. I have nothing left now, except for the Xuanji Bone..."

"The Xuanji Bone?"

Upon hearing this, Mao Dan couldn't help but speak up.

Yu Qinghuan was startled, tears welling up in her eyes.

Gui Yao comforted her, "Don't be afraid, it's my spirit bird."

Her face remained calm and gentle, but her heart was in turmoil.

How could the Ghost Market have the Xuanji Bone?

Could there be other people in this world like her, born with the Xuanji Bone?

Or perhaps the Xuanji Bone was originally hers?

But right now, all the bones in her body are intact.

All thoughts vanished in an instant, and Gui Yao poured Yu Qinghuan another cup of tea.

"Did the transformation of Changxiangsi and Xuanji Tower, and even the taking of Pei Xuan out of thin air, involve the use of the Xuanji Bone?"

Yu Qinghuan nodded. "The Ghost Market has always been mysterious. The court attaches great importance to Prince Jin, and Prince Jin is surrounded by top guards personally selected by the Emperor and Empress of Nanyao."

Only by taking him to the place conjured by the Xuanji Bone can we avoid being easily discovered.

She countered Gui Yao's question, "Is your Xuanji Tower also a manifestation of the Xuanji Bone?"

When she arrived in the capital, the first place she used the Xuanji Bone to conjure up was a two-story building with a sign that read "Xuanji Tower".

It was only when Gui Yao mentioned Xuanji Tower that she assumed Gui Yao was also from the Ghost Market.

Gui Yao nodded. "May I see your Xuanji bone?"

Yu Qinghuan hesitated for a moment, "The Xuanji Bone is an important treasure in the Ghost Market. Before I left, the shopkeeper told me that I must not lose it."

Now that my mission has failed, the Ghost Market doesn't know how they will punish me. I've committed a grave mistake, and death is no loss, but I fear they will take their anger out on him.

She took out a purse from her sleeve and looked at Gui Yao. "You are a practitioner of magic. The Xuanji Bone will definitely be more useful in your hands than in mine."

I wish to give this to you, young lady. Would you please promise to protect him in the future?

"it is good."

Gui Yao agreed to her request.

Yu Qinghuan then handed the purse to Gui Yao.

The purse was opened, revealing a section of smooth, polished spine. Gui Yao picked it up, and a feeling of closeness welled up from his heart.

Before she could fully savor the feeling, something unexpected happened.

The spine seemed to possess a spirit, rising from her hand and instantly disappearing into her chest cavity.

"Owner!"

Mao Dan flew over hurriedly, "Master, are you alright?"

Gui Yao felt the spiritual energy surging in her chest, quickly spreading throughout her body from her heart. She shook her head. "It's nothing."

The frilly egg flew around her once, and seeing that she was indeed unharmed, it relaxed and muttered in confusion, "Strange, how did this thing get into your body..."

After a pause, it exploded, "Master, this Xuanji Bone isn't yours, is it? It only returned after seeing its master, right?"

Gui Yao pressed her hand to her chest; she didn't know either.

But the way Maodan acted made it seem like she had taken something from someone else, and it was acting as a shill to cooperate.

"Miss Yu, I will accept this gift, and I will also fulfill my promise to you."

"Thanks!"

Yu Qinghuan was also shocked by what she had just witnessed. After a moment, she asked, "Is Pei Xuan really in trouble?"

Now that things have come to this, she realized that Gui Yao had been waiting for her to show herself all along, so she couldn't help but hold onto hope that Pei Xuan was not dead, all to lure her out.

Gui Yao knew she had guessed, and laughed, "Sorry, you're really hard to find, so I had to use this method to trick you out."

Yu Qinghuan shook her head bitterly, "Even if you're not lying to me, he won't live more than two days if his obsession isn't broken."

Gui Yao asked, "If you two hadn't separated, what would he have done? Would he have loved you devotedly for the rest of his life?"

"That's exactly what they said when promoting their products at the ghost market."

Yu Qinghuan recalled, "But I think it has a time limit."

She wrote to the ghost market in Jiangnan for help, but received no response, leading her to suspect that they had withdrawn.

During the years she worked at the shop, the shop moved once. The shopkeeper implied that some things had lost their original effectiveness after a certain period of time.

To avoid the hassle of customers searching for the ghost market, we changed the city.

Gui Yao thought of something strange, "You said that when you left Jiangnan, they gave you medicine to restore your memory."

Have you ever considered that perhaps they were the ones who abducted you, and that they knew your identity from the beginning, which is why they let you get close to Xiao Huaijin?

The reason you regained your memories was so that you could become a daughter of the Pei family again and marry Xiao Huaijin smoothly.

At that time, no matter how good Xiao Huaijin is to you, people will only think that he dotes on his wife. No one will suspect that you have put a love-locking spell on him and that you can control him.

"Then, the person who orchestrated all of this must also have a way to control you, Miss Yu. Do you have any other secrets?"

"I……"

Yu Qinghuan once again showed a pained expression.