"I don't know. He only said he was looking for you, young master, and nothing else." Qingdai clung tightly to his sleeve, not daring to let go for a moment.
Ye Lanshan gently pried her hand away, telling them to wait downstairs while she slowly made her way up.
"I wonder what urgent matter brings the Dark Lord to me today?" She pushed open the door but frowned, unaccustomed to the incense burning in the room.
"I'm heading to the Sunset Mountains soon to retrieve something. I'd like you to accompany me." Ye Yutian certainly wasn't foolish enough to say outright that he wanted to go with her.
The light in Ye Lanshan's eyes flickered. Could he know I'm going to the Sunset Manor and is testing me? she wondered.
No—when I met Ye Yu and Mu Ziming, I was in my true identity. The Dark Lord has no reason to tail me. Is this just a coincidence?
No matter how she thought about it, something felt off. But regardless, it was Ye Lanshan going to the Sunset Mountains, not Young Master Shanluo, so she absolutely couldn't agree to the Dark Lord's request.
"What, is this too difficult for you?" Ye Yutian's voice suddenly shifted, his entire demeanor turning dark and oppressive.
"Well, Dark Lord, it's not that I don't want to accompany you, but I'm truly tied up with matters. However, I'd like to know what you're after in the Sunset Mountains. Perhaps someone could assist you." Ye Lanshan pondered inwardly—she couldn't afford to let go of a powerful ally like the Dark Lord. After all, the phoenix was a divine beast, and she and Yun Di alone might not be able to subdue it.
"You don't need to know." Ye Yutian seemed unwilling to waste more words, standing up to leave directly.
"Wait—do you know Ye Lanshan?" The moment she said this, Ye Yutian's steps halted mid-stride.
"I've heard of her." He turned around, his originally icy voice softening.
"She's also heading to the Sunset Mountains. How about I speak with her and suggest you two go together? No matter how strong you are, it's good to have someone watching your back." Ye Lanshan was willing to go all out to secure a powerful ally for the Sunset Mountains.
"Fine. Meet at the city gate tomorrow."
"Huh? Oh, alright." Ye Lanshan's prepared words were swallowed back down. She'd thought Ye Yutian wouldn't agree, but he accepted so easily.
"Still, I need Young Master Shanluo to show up, or someone will get suspicious." Ye Lanshan muttered under her breath, her hands busy weaving a small figure out of straw.
"You've really gone to a lot of trouble to give me a solid body." Mu Lianxin, just released by Ye Lanshan, spoke with a cold edge to her lips.
"At least I've let you walk in the sunlight properly now. Saying that really hurts my feelings." Though Ye Lanshan claimed to be hurt, there was no trace of sadness in her expression.
"You're using these strange symbols to control my body, aren't you?" Seeing Ye Lanshan drawing odd markings on the straw figure, Mu Lianxin recalled the blood symbols Ye Lanshan had drawn when this body was shattered by Ye Yutian.
"Strange symbols? These are inscriptions—the main force allowing you to possess and control this body." Ye Lanshan rolled her eyes at Mu Lianxin while using spiritual energy and cinnabar to inscribe the markings.
Mu Lianxin observed more closely and said, "Inscriptions? They look a lot like what a puppeteer uses, though your technique seems less sinister."
"Puppeteer? What puppeteer?" Ye Lanshan had clearly never heard of this profession and was naturally puzzled.
"There's a puppeteer living in the palace. Don't you know? As the head of the Ye family, so favored by the emperor, I thought you'd know." Mu Lianxin had thoroughly mapped out Ye Lanshan's connections over the past few days.
"I don't know. Probably someone the emperor secretly trained to deal with the Holy Land." Ye Lanshan didn't care much about it.
What she didn't know was that she had already met that puppeteer before—and even fought him. And the puppeteer wasn't trained by the royal family to oppose the Holy Land, but to oppose her.
"Come take a look. How is it? Satisfied?" Ye Lanshan placed the finished figure on the table.
"Does it matter if I'm satisfied? What if I'm not? What if I am? You'll still stuff me into this thing anyway, won't you?" Mu Lianxin didn't approach, her tone full of resentment, showing she hadn't truly submitted.
"If you're not satisfied, I can make some adjustments." Ye Lanshan didn't get angry at the words.
"Oh, right, one more step." Ye Lanshan looked at the figure on the table, bit her index finger, pressed a drop of blood onto its forehead, chanted a spell, and then set it back down.
"This body feels much more solid." After switching to the straw figure, Mu Lianxin felt more like a human.
"Tomorrow, I need you to do something for me." Ye Lanshan suddenly walked over, fiddled with her face and body for a while, then clapped her hands in satisfaction.
"What did you do to me?" The moment she spoke, she immediately covered her mouth. That voice?
"Ye Lanshan and Young Master Shanluo can't both be in the capital, or someone will get suspicious. So I'll have to trouble you to play the part of Young Master Shanluo." Ye Lanshan rubbed her temples, looking tired.
"What if I mess up?" Mu Lianxin had recovered from her initial shock.
"I trust you won't. When I get back, maybe I can even help you get revenge." Ye Lanshan smiled, unconcerned.
"Revenge? Do you even know who my enemy is? And you think you can help me?" Mu Lianxin's emotions had been stable, but at the word "revenge," her face twisted with mockery.
"Is there someone besides the Li family?" Ye Lanshan had thought the Li family was his only enemy, but it seemed there were others.
"That puppeteer is also my enemy. But do you know who backs the puppeteer? The royal family. Do you think you can take on the royal family?" It wasn't that Mu Lianxin didn't believe her, but the enemy was truly too powerful.
"The royal family? They're my enemy too. Don't worry—sooner or later, I'll destroy them." Ye Lanshan was utterly confident, a confidence that came from deep within.
"Then I'll wait and see." Mu Lianxin's tone was ambiguous—neither fully believing nor disbelieving.
"Knock, knock, knock. Young master, may I come in?" As the two stared at each other in silence, Xia Ri's voice came from outside the door.