To Gao Yang's astonishment, the Twelfth Sister led him not to her own quarters, but to the First Senior Brother's room.
The First Senior Brother gave them a weary, helpless smile. "Twelve, you brought him after all."
"Stop talking and start," she snapped.
With a resigned sigh, he raised his hand. A thin shimmer rippled through the air as the room sealed under a boundary array.
"Twelve," he said quietly, "you know the rules. Some things must never be spoken aloud. Even if you're a Bai clanswoman, if you go too far, I won't be able to let you walk away."
She scoffed, her tone sharp and impatient. "I know. You never shut up, do you?"
The Senior Brother's lips twitched. "…"
Gao Yang, remembering his meeting with Bai Zhu, understood perfectly what the man was afraid of.
Twelve turned to him, voice cutting like a blade. "Well? What did she tell you?"
Gao Yang met her gaze steadily. "She taught me the Bai Family's secret art—and told me to protect you."
A flicker of confusion crossed Twelve's face. Protect her? Why would her sister entrust her safety to a half-trained novice? Why grant a stranger their clan's forbidden inheritance?
And then she realized. Her sister didn't want a protector—she wanted bait. A disposable shield. When all was done, she'd expose him to the Bai clan, and Gao Yang would die hunted and alone.
Her voice trembled with anger. "You do know the price of learning that art, don't you?"
"I do," he said calmly. "Your sister told me. The Bai clan will never forgive me."
Her eyes flared. "Then why would you—"
But then she caught the faint smirk in his eyes, the stubborn glimmer of defiance, and her words died. She looked away. "Your life isn't my concern. Once you've practiced it, you can call on the ancestor's spirit. Since you've already doomed yourself, you might as well enjoy the time you have left."
He didn't bother to explain. The truth was simple: if he hadn't learned it, the Immortal Mistress would have turned him into an ingredient for her next pill. If he was destined to die, he might as well die on his own terms.
The First Senior Brother broke the silence. "Twelve. Since he's here, he deserves to know."
She shrugged. "You tell him. I'm not wasting my breath."
The man turned to Gao Yang. His tone softened. "Thirteen, do you know who the Immortal Mistress really is?"
Gao Yang shook his head. "No."
The Senior Brother frowned. "Your family never told you?"
Sensing danger, Gao Yang played along. "They said only to come here and learn cultivation. The rest would be explained later."
The Senior Brother nodded, seemingly convinced. "The Immortal Mistress was once part of a great sect. She fled after stealing a relic—one said to ensure an unobstructed path to immortality. When she began recruiting disciples, my family sent me to a house in Shinan Village, and she took the bait. I've been here more than ten years, yet I've never glimpsed that relic."
He paused, a shadow darkening his expression. "She's a breath away from ascension. Once she crosses that line, we'll never touch her. So… we'll strike first."
Gao Yang's voice was quiet. "Who's 'we'?"
The Senior Brother hesitated.
Twelve answered for him. "Second Brother and Third Brother. Yuan Qing is from the Yuan family. As for Liu Sheng… he claims no affiliation. I don't buy it."
The Senior Brother nodded grimly. "He hides something. The Mistress herself fears his talent. No one that gifted comes from nowhere."
Understanding dawned, heavy as stone.
Gao Yang asked softly, "Is it too late to back out?"
The Senior Brother didn't speak—but the sealed door said enough. Twelve's eyes had sharpened, wary.
Finally, Gao Yang gave a faint smile. "Alright. I'm in."
Both of them exhaled in relief. Neither wanted a fight—his Seven Fiends technique made him unpredictable, dangerous. Twelve especially remembered too vividly what it felt like when a ghost phantom entered her flesh.
Still, they knew he would be a powerful ally.
"When do we act?" he asked.
The Senior Brother's eyes flicked toward the window. "We wait. Reach out to your family—have them send people beyond the mountain gate. The Mistress is too strong for us to confront. Our job will be to keep her distracted while we find her treasure."
"And afterward?" Gao Yang asked. "How will it be divided?"
"Shared," said the Senior Brother with a faint smile. "Together, we'll ascend."
Gao Yang laughed inwardly. Ascend together? No throne was ever shared. When the moment came, betrayal would follow like night after dusk.
His only goal was to live.
Half a month passed. The Immortal Mistress had not returned.
Gao Yang practiced tirelessly. The qi within his Dantian grew denser, swirling like mist before condensing into tiny droplets.
Then came the day Xiao Man was to leave.
He handed her a small pouch of silver. "Xiao Man, go to Chai Village. Give this to…"
His words faltered.
He frowned deeply—he couldn't recall his parents' names.
After a long silence, he forced a smile. "Find the village chief. Tell him to deliver it to the Gao family. Ask them to move to the city… someplace safe."
He'd never seen a city, but he'd heard of their walls, guards, and lamplight streets untouched by ghosts.
He just wanted them far away. Once he fled Azure Mountain, the Mistress would surely come looking.
He pressed another ingot into her hands. "For your journey."
She shook her head, frightened. "Master, I can't."
"Take it," he said softly, tucking it into her sleeve.
Her eyes glistened. He pretended not to see.
It wasn't much—money borrowed from Twelve—but it might buy her a chance to live.
The steward arrived. "Xiao Man, are you ready?"
She looked at Gao Yang one last time, her voice trembling. "Master… I'll go now."
He walked with her all the way to the sect gate.
The air there felt colder. The scent of damp talismans hung heavy.
He watched as the steward pressed a paper talisman onto her back. Gao Yang's eyes narrowed. He'd seen that kind before—paper effigies that could drain a life with a single thought. The sect's leash for its servants.
A rustle echoed through the courtyard. Dozens of rats scurried from the shadows, their bodies heaving in unison as they pushed the massive doors open.
Through the widening gap, Gao Yang saw two men waiting outside—one older, one young. The elder seized Xiao Man's arm; the youth snatched for her bundle.
She struggled, voice breaking. A slap cracked the air, echoing in the hollow space.
Gao Yang's fists clenched as the gates swung shut, the heavy wood groaning until only silence remained.
He stood there for a long time, staring at the closed doors.
It was then he realized—the world beyond them no longer had a place for him.