The Mountain Lord's Daughter

"Who told me I owe you"

Every Mirage Realm has only one key to exit, and Zhan Yunwei never expected that Yue Zhiheng would give it to her.

Or rather, she never expected Yue Zhiheng to come in and save her.

Even though Yue Zhiheng had the Ninth-Level Spirit Meridian, there was still the risk of dying in the Heavenly Grade Formation.

To complete the Spirit Emperor's mission, Yue Zhiheng would be willing to sacrifice his life? Then why did he eventually betray them?

Zhan Yunwei opened her mouth, but before she could ask anything, Yue Zhiheng had already turned his back and entered the chaotic void.

Without the Dream Shatter Stone, Yue Zhiheng couldn't possibly leave. He could only let the formation create another Mirage Realm. If he could obtain the key, he could exit. But if he died in the Mirage Realm, everything would be over.

Logically speaking, compared to Yue Zhiheng's survival, his death would be more beneficial to her.

However, Zhan Yunwei understood that even if Yue Zhiheng died, there would still be someone like Dongfang Jibai, a powerful controller, in charge.

The imperial dynasty's hounds were all cruel, and Yue Zhiheng was just one of them. Essentially, there was no difference between him and any other controller.

The Dream Shatter Stone still retained some warmth, and the spiritual energy swirling around was like heavy snow. For some reason, Zhan Yunwei was reminded of the winter night when Yue Zhiheng went to his death.

Facing the brutal punishment of having his flesh carved away, he had remained just as calm and resolute.

Zhan Yunwei suddenly felt a bit suffocated in her heart. Perhaps it was because, despite everything, this person, even if he were to be evil, she had already owed him two favors.

Once in her past life, when he helped her save Pei Yujing, and once just now.

Though Zhan Yunwei didn't want to admit it, if Yue Zhiheng hadn't been there, she would have been killed by "Senior Sister Duan" long ago.

The version of herself who had lost her memories wouldn't have guarded against Senior Sister Duan at all.

Zhan Yunwei had tried to walk away, ignoring everything, but in the end, she found herself looking toward the chaotic void.

"Forget it. Who told me I owe you?" she muttered, "If something really happens, I'll just take the Dream Shatter Stone and run."

She wouldn't look at him again.

Once she had made up her mind, she felt a sudden clarity, no longer hesitating. Holding the Dream Shatter Stone, she followed the direction Yue Zhiheng had just left in.

Under the gray sky, red lanterns flickered everywhere.

A luxurious boat sailed on the dark river, and in the lowest part of the cabin, a group of children were locked up.

The youngest was only four or five years old, the oldest around twelve or thirteen, and all of them had numbed expressions in their eyes.

In a corner, a seven- or eight-year-old boy handed a dagger to a girl, lowering his voice, "Sister, do you remember what I said? When we reach the Jianhuan Tower, you have to try to get close to the spirit cultivators from the outside. As long as you show them the patterns on your waist, they will take you out."

The girl couldn't speak, but made a few gestures.

"Right, once you leave Du'e City, you can find mother."

The girl smiled at the words and nodded vigorously.

The eight-year-old Yue Zhiheng lowered his eyes, hiding the dagger in her arms, and calmly reminded her, "But don't let these spirit cultivators take you to find mother. Once you're out, use this dagger to kill them. Even if you can't kill them, you must find a way to escape."

The mute girl shook her head in fear, her expression full of confusion—how could she kill someone who helped her?

The boy sneered, "They're not saviors. I heard from people in the underground palace that they will sell the Evil Spirit Child and turn you into a human skin drum or a magical artifact. You can't trust them!"

The mute girl gestured—But I'll beg them to let me go. We're not small evil creatures, we're spirit cultivators, right?

Yue Zhiheng fell silent.

He didn't even know what he was. The first thing he remembered was the huge underground palace and a woman who was sometimes mad, sometimes gentle.

That was their mother.

When she was mad, she would gently hold them and tell them they weren't small evil spirits, but children of the Yue family. Their father was Yue Jinyan, the eldest son of the Yue family.

Father had told her long ago that if they had children, the son would be called Yue Zhiheng.

She would pat his head and softly chant, "To the people, I give you my favor. Like the moon that never wanes, like the sun that always rises."

"For the daughter, she shall be called Yue Qingluo. The autumn wind is clear, the autumn moon bright, falling leaves gather and scatter, the cold crows perch and startle."

That was the happiest time for Yue Zhiheng and the mute girl. But most of the time, their mother would recover her sanity and gaze at them with cold, hateful eyes, wanting to kill them.

Every so often, the underground palace would test the children, selecting the ones with the best potential for the Chizhi King.

On those days, their mother would try her best to destroy his and the mute girl's meridians, laughing coldly, "You want perfect descendants? Dream on."

Yue Zhiheng could no longer remember how painful it was when his meridians were destroyed over and over. But the mute girl never seemed to hold a grudge. After every test, she would still eagerly bring food to their mother.

Their mother would turn her back on them and tell them to get lost.

Such a life continued until they were three. When they were three years old, someone came and rescued their mother.

That day, both Yue Zhiheng and the mute girl sensed it—she was leaving.

The two children watched her, but neither spoke to stop her.

Yue Zhiheng had never seen such vitality in their mother's eyes before. She looked at them with hatred and a complex expression, and that night, she left the underground palace forever.

Life seemed to go on unchanged, but the number of children in the underground palace gradually decreased. From over a thousand when they first remembered, now only two or three hundred were left.

Yue Zhiheng often eavesdropped on the guards' conversations. They said:

"These descendants of the Chizhi King mostly die young. They start mutating at six or seven, and their talents are still worse than ours. I heard that when they're used for food supplements, they taste pretty good."

"There are very few who survive to adulthood. Do you think the perfect heir of the Chizhi King will truly be as powerful as the legends say?"

"Who knows? The one with the best talent was taken over by possession at fifteen."

They couldn't stay any longer. From that day, Yue Zhiheng began planning to escape with the mute girl. He learned from their mother's previous actions and destroyed both his and the mute girl's meridians to avoid the tests.

He deliberately offended the underground palace guards, making them treat him and the mute girl as useless trash, selling them to the Jianhuan Tower.

Outside the cabin, a blood-red moon hung high in the sky.

The road ahead was uncertain.

Over the years, Yue Zhiheng had almost forgotten what that woman looked like, and he had no idea whether their mother would recognize them if they managed to escape.

Was he really a Yue family child? Or was he the heir of the Chizhi King?

The mute girl was equally anxious, but her greatest concern was Yue Zhiheng. She looked at her younger brother's exceptional appearance—people said that the most beautiful children were sent to serve noble guests at Jianhuan Tower.

"A Heng, what does it mean to serve noble guests?"

The boy lowered his eyes, his gaze cold and dead. After a while, he softly replied, "It's nothing."

He could endure. As long as he survived, he would find a way to leave and search for their mother and sister.

He had had this dream countless times.

In those dreams, there were family members, a talented father, and a loving grandfather.

If he endured this, would he be able to grow up like the disciples of the immortal sects, as his mother had once described, living with grace and honor?

When Zhan Yunwei regained consciousness, a hand was on her shoulder. A voice spoke, "Wen Xun, don't get angry. The Chizhi King has this kind of temper. We suffered at his lair, but here, we can finally have a little pleasure."

The laugh was grating and eerie. Zhan Yunwei forced herself to endure, not brushing off the hand on her shoulder.

She focused her eyes and realized that she was sitting by a window.

Outside, the blood-red moon cast its light on the dark river, giving it an ominous hue.

For a moment, Zhan Yunwei's heart sank. Yue Zhiheng was in even worse circumstances than she had imagined. She had only encountered a newly emerged Chizhi King, but Yue Zhiheng had ended up in the very heart of the evil creatures' lair!

The blood-red moon and dark river—this was the Du'e City she had once read about in books.

Her heart raced. Hiding her panic behind a cup of tea, she observed her surroundings.

At that moment, someone was sitting in front of her. Or rather, it was something that looked like a human. It had blood-red eyes and was surrounded by a thick black, evil aura.

It was an evil spirit, or perhaps a conscious one.

Even if it wasn't a Chizhi King, it wasn't far from becoming one. Zhan Yunwei hadn't expected that high-level evil spirits in Du'e City would appear almost identical to ordinary humans. She speculated that the more complete and human-like the evil spirit, the stronger it was.

She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to her. She glanced down and saw a pair of pale, thin hands, also surrounded by black mist.

Thankfully, she was still an evil spirit.

In Du'e City, being an evil spirit meant she could at least fight back. If she couldn't win, she could join them and possibly pretend to fit in. But if she were a spirit cultivator here, she would be close to death.

She forced herself to calm down, trying to make sense of where she was and what she needed to do.

The man beside her didn't disappoint her and began explaining, "Jianhuan Tower is quite the place. We've grown tired of torturing spirit cultivators. Their flesh tastes the same, but here, we have something different."

Zhan Yunwei asked, "What's different?"

His blood-red eyes gleamed with cruelty and pleasure. "The Chizhi King's abandoned heirs—all brought here. The frustration we suffered from the Chizhi King can be avenged on these little bastards."

Zhan Yunwei's heart sank with an ominous feeling.

Things that didn't make sense before now became clearer. She remembered the night she married Yue Zhiheng, noticing the mute girl's strange behavior. Her heart sank. Could it be what she feared?

"The spirit cultivators we caught before, we didn't get to keep, but these Chizhi King's heirs... Haha, this is even more fun," the evil spirit in front of her continued. "They were raised in the underground palace, ignorant and clueless. Guess what the last words of the little bastard who died under my soul whip were?"

Zhan Yunwei coldly stared at the twisted man and feigned interest. "Oh? Do tell."

"I threw a knife in front of her, wanting to see her resist before she died, giving her a bit of hope, then taking it away. But she didn't dare to pick it up. Instead, she begged me to spare her, to show mercy, saying she would be obedient," the man laughed in a grotesque voice. "She was clearly the descendant of wolves, but she didn't dare show any claws, just like the spirit cultivators from the Lingyu side."

Zhan Yunwei nearly crushed the cup in her hand.

At that moment, the sound of drums echoed from outside, and in the heavy, eerie atmosphere, a luxurious ship sailed along the dark river.

The evil spirit from Jianhuan Tower, wearing a white mask, levitated to the ground, his voice low as he said, "Two distinguished guests, please come and choose the flower slaves to attend to you tonight."

Although she didn't understand what "flower slaves" meant, given where she was, she could guess its meaning with little doubt.

Zhan Yunwei knew that she could only take things one step at a time. She had to find Yue Zhiheng first to figure out where the Dream Shatter Stone was hidden.

She took a step forward, following the evil spirit.

The Chizhi King's children, who had been brought to Jianhuan Tower, had already changed into clean clothes and washed their faces.

The children, nervous and uneasy, stood together, confused and frightened as they didn't know what they were about to face, their faces full of bewilderment.

Zhan Yunwei immediately spotted the last child in the line. There was no mistaking it—his face was too striking.

Under the light of the blood-red moon, the young Yue Zhiheng stood out from the rest. His skin was fair, and his aura was exceptional. Unlike the other children who appeared like puppets, there was a resilience in him.

Zhan Yunwei noticed him instantly, and so did the twisted man beside her. Sure enough, the man narrowed his eyes and pointed his hand at Yue Zhiheng.

Zhan Yunwei's heart skipped a beat. Thinking of Yue Zhiheng's temper, she feared he might run or even fight to the death.

Her fingers twitched, and she was ready to turn on the man if necessary.

But to her surprise, Yue Zhiheng, with a pale face, remained silent and motionless.