After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

Taking advantage of her small size and fast running speed, Yun Ling crept along the shadows under the corridor all the way to the inner palace.

He had intended to wander around the most bustling areas, but found the entire harem eerily quiet.

Only the westernmost side hall was still lit by warm yellow candlelight, with palace maids and eunuchs going in and out, making it seem like a favored person.

Yunling Cat watched from behind the artificial hill for a while, and saw a little eunuch carrying a tray hurriedly walking into the hall.

While passing a flower bed, I slipped on the dew and almost lost my balance, nearly causing the bottles and jars on my tray to fly off.

Yun Ling's eyes darted around, and she silently followed him, knocking him unconscious with a chop to the back of his hand, then dragging him into the depths of the flower bushes.

He quickly stripped off his clothes and put them on, picked up the tray, and followed the example of the little eunuch, walking meekly into the hall.

The hall was filled with a warm, fragrant aroma.

A beautiful woman with stunning looks was sitting in front of her dressing table, with a maid standing behind her combing her long, black hair with a comb.

Her bright and beautiful face was reflected in the bronze mirror.

Yunling lowered her head, took small steps forward, and handed the tray to the dressing table.

The maid who was combing her hair turned her head to reach for something on the tray, but stopped halfway through her reach.

"What's wrong?" The beautiful woman opened her half-closed eyes and glanced at her in the mirror.

The maidservant hurriedly said, "It's nothing. I just asked Xiao Shunzi to get some ointment, but he got the wrong one—hand lotion. I'll have him go and change it right away."

He glared at Yun Ling as he spoke.

Yun Ling hung his head, not daring to utter a sound, inwardly groaning. Little did he know this little eunuch would be so unreliable.

The beautiful woman waved her hand dismissively, "Never mind, it's the middle of the night, a little longer won't make a difference. I can apply it tomorrow."

The maidservant said anxiously, "How can that be? Your Highness, your wounds haven't fully healed yet, and now you've gotten new ones. If you don't treat them promptly, what if they leave scars?"

"His Majesty has become a completely different person lately, unpredictable and chilling to behold..."

The beautiful woman lightly scolded, "Watch your words!"

The maidservant fell silent.

The beautiful woman looked at herself in the bronze mirror, raised her hand and gently touched her face, smiling faintly: "So what if I have a scar? Maybe it's a good thing."

The maid hesitated for a moment, her lips moved, but she didn't try to persuade her further and lowered her head in agreement.

Then, remembering something, he turned and glared at Yun Ling, lowering his voice to say, "Hurry up and put those things down, they're in the way."

Yun Ling felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She quickly placed the tray on the table beside her, retreated to the base of the wall, and shrunk herself into a human-shaped pillar.

The beautiful woman continued her conversation, her voice tinged with weariness: "You shouldn't be too strict with them. Things haven't been peaceful in the palace lately, everyone's on edge, it's understandable that they make small mistakes. If you drive them away too, I'll really have no one to serve me."

"Your Highness is kind-hearted," the maid said softly. "It's just that these servants are becoming increasingly outrageous. If we don't keep them in check, who knows what kind of trouble they'll cause in the future."

The beautiful woman sighed softly, her gaze falling on the flickering candlelight, and said in a low voice, "This palace has now become a den of monsters that devour people."

"I heard that two more palace maids went missing from the laundry department a few days ago, and this morning another one floated to the surface in the pond in the Imperial Garden. Her face was so wet that she was unrecognizable. Who knows, it might be our turn soon."

Yunling's ears perked up immediately.

The maid was startled and almost dropped the comb in her hand. She hurriedly said, "Your Highness, please stop talking. It's the middle of the night, and it's really creepy."

Seeing her frightened expression, the beautiful woman chuckled, "You're so timid. What will you do if something really happens to you?"

The maid lowered her head. "Then this servant will also walk ahead of Your Highness to scout the way for you."

The beautiful woman didn't speak again, but her smile faded a little.

"I can't bear to see a little girl like you standing in front of me."

The two didn't speak again after that.

Seeing that she couldn't hear any useful information, Yunling took advantage of the moment when the maid turned around to make the bed, and slowly moved along the wall to the door, slipping away.

After leaving the palace, he scurried along, crouching low, until he reached behind a rockery before stopping, patting his chest and panting heavily.

A gust of cold wind blew, and I realized that my back was covered in sweat.

"Damn it, please don't ever ask me for this kind of work again."

He was about to go find Lin Zhixu to meet up when he looked up and saw a dark figure, also crouching low, flash over from another path.

The two nearly collided head-on, both leaning back at the same time, and simultaneously drawing their short daggers and longswords.

The moonlight fell, illuminating their faces clearly.

"Brother Lin!"

"Yunling".

They both stopped at the same time, then simultaneously put their fingers to their lips: "Shh—"

Yun Ling lowered her voice: "How's it going on your end? What did you find out?"

Lin Zhixu didn't reply, but first looked him up and down.

Seeing that he was dressed in eunuch's clothes, without missing any limbs, and in good spirits, she was relieved: "Let's go out first, we can't stay here any longer."

Yun Ling didn't waste any words and followed behind him. The two of them made their way back to the palace wall.

By the time the two climbed over the palace wall and returned to the inn, it was already broad daylight.

Lin Zhixu pushed open the door, and sure enough, Daoist Qingcheng and Master Yunhe were already waiting in the room.

One was dozing off in a chair, while the other stood by the window, gazing absently at the street scene outside.

Upon seeing the two enter, Master Yunhe slapped Daoist Qingcheng awake.

Master Qingcheng jumped up, almost tipping over his chair.

"Who! Who attacked me?!"

Master Yunhe ignored him. "You're finally back! If you hadn't come back, I was going to come looking for you!"

He looked Lin Zhixu up and down, then turned to look at Yun Ling, "Are you alright?"

Yun Ling shook her head.

Seeing that the two were both safe and sound, Master Yunhe's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a little: "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright. We were worried sick all night, afraid that something might have happened to you inside."

Lin Zhixu closed the door, checked the soundproof barrier again, and then sat down at the table to briefly explain what he had found out during the night.

"That imperial advisor is definitely problematic. He's using live human sacrifices to prolong the old emperor's life. And he plans to offer a live sacrifice in three days. His main target is the dragon vein."

Yun Ling said, "Yes, I've heard that too. People frequently disappear and die in the harem, and the entire palace is filled with a bloody aura. I've also heard that the old emperor seems to have changed recently, and the beautiful ladies in the harem are often injured."

Lin Zhixu's face turned cold: "They want to use the bloodthirsty aura to pollute the dragon's energy, using the emperor's lifeline as a catalyst, and once the dragon vein is completely corroded, they will devour it entirely."

Master Qingcheng gasped, "Dragon veins are formed from the fortune of heaven and earth. Who would dare to devour them? Aren't they afraid of being devoured and reduced to ashes?"

"That's exactly what the evil cultivators want." Lin Zhixu looked up at him. "When the dragon veins collapse and the fortune of heaven and earth dissipates, evil energy will fill the fields and the people will suffer."

"Resentment is a rare and precious source of nourishment for evil cultivators. They don't necessarily have to consume it themselves; as long as the dragon vein is severed, the resentment of heaven and earth will be enough for them to refine countless evil techniques."