Xue Chen frowned, forcefully shutting down his thoughts. The rare display of emotion was pushed back down, locked away in a dark corner of his heart, never to see the light of day.

His expression returned to normal as he spoke.

“Yesterday, I used some methods to find out that Prefect Shi’s son died ten days ago. Prefect Shi’s wife is the only daughter of his superior, Governor Xu. They have been married for several years without any children.”

“I heard his mother was anxious for a grandchild, so Prefect Shi secretly kept a mistress and had a son with her.”

“That only son was deeply doted on.”

“The only son grew up spoiled and lawless. Ten days ago, after bullying some commoners and drinking at a brothel, he was beaten to death by someone on his way home at night.”

“And then what you said happened.”

“He pushed a coffin into the paper effigy shop late at night, and the next day, the shop owner was dead.”

Tsk! Her sixth sense had told her that Prefect Shi was no good. The culprit behind the scenes had to be him.

“So where are we going to catch the person today?” Ning Shengsheng asked enthusiastically.

“We’re not catching anyone.” Xue Chen shook his head.

“Huh?”

Under her puzzled gaze, the young man curved his lips into a smile. “I’m taking you to see something interesting.”

After a long moment without a response, Xue Chen couldn’t help but look up. He saw the girl cupping her face with both hands, blinking her almond eyes as she praised him from the bottom of her heart, “You look so beautiful when you smile!”

“…”

He silently turned his face away, feeling as if he had been flirted with. No way. He shook his head, dispelling the ridiculous thought.

Xue Chen’s face darkened as he walked away. Ning Shengsheng hiked up her skirts and chased after him. Songgao and Zaoni were about to follow, but they heard the princess’s command: “You stay at home.”

The two of them had no choice but to retreat.

A moment later, a scream came from the east room. The Third Princess’s maid ran out in a panic to find Master Pei, and soon, Pei Yuan arrived. The courtyard was in an uproar.

Songgao and Zaoni stood at the outermost edge of the crowd, watching the spectacle. Guards carried a body out. The two of them took a step back in fear. It’s Young Master Jiang? Who would dare to kill the Marquis of Ping’an’s youngest son? Everyone knew the Marquis of Ping’an’s residence had two Profound Aperture cultivators. The murderer was too audacious!

Pei Yuan dismissed the onlookers. His usually gentle, jade-like face was now unusually grave and stern. He had just carefully examined the room. There were no signs of a struggle, which clearly indicated that the opponent’s realm was much higher than Jiang Feng’s. The killer had even had the leisure to toy with him before killing him. Crucially, not a single sound had been heard. The killer had to be at least at the Profound Aperture realm.

Pei Yuan rubbed his temples in a headache. The Marquis of Ping’an had a violent temper. He didn’t know how he was going to explain this when he returned.

No matter how they investigated, they would never trace it back to Xue Chen. After all, he wasn’t even considered to have an Earth Aperture.

…

Xue Chen pressed down on his chest, a fluffy white ball trying to squirm out. Snowball’s existence cannot be discovered. This little one had been a great help last night. Without feeding it some heavenly materials and earthly treasures, it would surely throw a tantrum.

“How much longer do we have to walk?” Ning Shengsheng asked.

“Almost there. We’re going to Sweetwater Alley in the north of the city.”

“Oh…”

The streets were bustling, and the commoners went about their lives and business as usual. Both sides of the street were lined with stalls. She bought all sorts of snacks and asked Xue Chen to hold them, which made him so angry he was practically fuming.

Xue Chen held an iced watermelon in his left hand and a bowl of green bean paste in his right, all the while having to push Snowball back down. The little one, smelling the sweets, was desperately causing a ruckus. It was impossible to guard against.

Snowball wriggled out, swiftly snatched the watermelon, and devoured it in a few bites. After enjoying a good lick of its paws, it wriggled back in.

Xue Chen: “…”

“Where’s my iced watermelon? Give it here!”

After finishing the sweet soup, Ning Shengsheng turned back to ask for the watermelon, only to see the young man holding an empty watermelon rind.

“Oh?” she said, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.

“Uh… it wasn’t…”

Xue Chen couldn’t explain.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. You said you wouldn’t eat it, but you snuck some after I bought it. So insincere!”

Ning Shengsheng was certain he had eaten it. The young man’s face darkened even more. He thrust the green bean paste into her hand and said stiffly, “Don’t ask me to help you again.”

“I wouldn’t dare!”

“You’re more of a snack-sneaker than a little mouse.” Ning Shengsheng took a sip of the green bean paste, her eyes curving into crescents with a smile.

“Prin-cess-Your-High-ness,”

Xue Chen practically ground out the words.

She knew when to stop. “I’ll shut up!”

She happily hummed a tune, following behind Xue Chen like a little tail. He would occasionally hear her eating, and it reminded him even more of the little rabbit he had raised as a child. It ate with the same slow and deliberate chewing.

Lost in thought, they arrived at a hidden courtyard in Sweetwater Alley. The courtyard gate looked much like any other.

Ning Shengsheng was suddenly lifted up without warning. Xue Chen took her over the courtyard wall.

“Wow, how luxurious…”

That’s right. The courtyard, which looked ordinary from the outside, was decorated on the inside to the standard of a first-rank official’s residence.

“The most-favored princess of Great Ning is still surprised by this?” Xue Chen retorted reflexively. Only after he spoke did he realize something was wrong. This was the second time he had let his guard down in front of her. A lump formed in his throat.

Ning Shengsheng didn’t reply to him. The two of them twisted and turned, passed through the rockery, and walked to the deepest part of the courtyard.

Again, without warning, she was lifted up by Xue Chen and jumped onto the roof.

Ning Shengsheng: … Isn’t he afraid she’ll scream?

He removed a tile from the roof. The young man beckoned with his finger, a mischievous smile on his face, gesturing for her to look down.

Tch~ She wasn’t afraid.

Ning Shengsheng stuck her little head over, and after seeing what was inside, her eyes widened in horror.

There was a person lying on the bed. It was hard to say if it should be called a “person,” or rather, a pile of flesh and a few bones? The flesh and bones were eroding each other, constantly dissolving into a bloody pulp and then fusing back together. The entire bed was soaked in a mixture of flesh and bone fragments. Even his face was completely rotten, with two eyeballs hanging out and only a few teeth left.

Ugh… No, I can’t throw up. I can’t alert them.

She lifted her sleeve and tightly covered her nose and mouth.

Seeing her ability to endure, Xue Chen raised his eyebrows in surprise. His long, slender fingers pinched Ning Shengsheng’s collar, and he lifted her up and flew away.

Ning Shengsheng: Speechless. Again!

The young man took her to a corner of the rockery in the garden. He crossed his arms and lifted his chin towards the corner. “You can throw up now.”

“I… I’m not…” Ning Shengsheng took a deep breath, her small face stubbornly tense. “It’s not scary at all! And it’s not disgusting either! I’m not scared at all… Ugh!!!”

Seeing her leaning against the rockery, vomiting until she was dizzy, Xue Chen pressed his lips together, and finally couldn’t help but laugh out loud. He hadn’t realized that Princess Ning An was such a stubborn little mule.

After she had recovered, Xue Chen said lightly, “What you saw was Prefect Shi’s son.”

“What? Didn’t he die?”

“He did die. Now he’s alive again. Or rather, he’s in a state of being half-dead.”

This… this was too unbelievable! It completely shattered her understanding of the world. Ning Shengsheng remembered that in the novel “Chains of Clouded Joy,” the spiritual energy was thin, and many magical arts had been lost. A dead person could only be made into a puppet; otherwise, they could never be revived.

Then… what was going on with Prefect Shi’s dead son?

Xue Chen observed Ning Shengsheng’s expression. Seeing that her confusion did not seem feigned, he continued, “It’s a bone demon.”

“A bone demon?”

“What’s that?”