He was just an ordinary person.

After an extended use of his spiritual probing technique, Bai Fanlu was sure of his judgment—there was no mistake.

Slowly, Bai Fanlu released Xiao Liu’s wrist, unsure whether he should feel relieved or disappointed.

In truth, when Bai Fanlu was first attacked by the flower thief, his initial reaction upon sensing something wrong with his body was to look at Xiao Liu. It wasn’t out of genuine concern for the boy but because he suspected that the one who ambushed him might be Xiao Liu.

Though that suspicion was later proven unfounded, a lingering doubt about Xiao Liu’s identity remained in Bai Fanlu’s mind.

Yet, as they spent more time together, the boy made it hard for Bai Fanlu not to trust him. His gentle demeanor and straightforwardness were disarming, perhaps also due to his appearance and name.

Sometimes, Bai Fanlu didn’t quite understand himself either.

But now that his doubts had been repeatedly raised and finally confirmed, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt as he looked into the boy’s clear, bright eyes, which were honest and devoid of deceit.

Bai Fanlu smiled slightly. “It’s nothing.”

“That’s good,” Xiao Liu grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.

It’s said that the simpler a person’s mind, the easier it is for them to fall asleep. Not long after, Xiao Liu had already fallen asleep beside him, resting his head on his arm, his expression peaceful and his brow relaxed.

Bai Fanlu envied his ability to sleep so well. Even though he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, he still lay down on the ground.

The early spring grass was sparse, and Bai Fanlu tossed and turned, unable to find a comfortable position. Eventually, he settled on lying on his side, merely closing his eyes to rest.

Rustle… rustle… rustle… A strange noise came from somewhere nearby. Bai Fanlu opened his eyes and saw a small white figure darting up and down in the bushes—was it Zizi?

The little monkey first poked its tail out of the bushes, then its half-red behind, as it seemed to be dragging something, straining to pull it out.

It wasn’t very clear in the darkness of the night, so Bai Fanlu got up and walked closer, only to find that the monkey was dragging a large bundle of branches tied together with vines. The bundle was as thick and long as a fully grown, burly man—impressive in its weight.

Hearing footsteps, Zizi looked up and saw Bai Fanlu. The little monkey tilted its head, its small, round face with large, shiny black eyes looking up at him pitifully as if it could speak.

Though unsure of the monkey’s intentions, Bai Fanlu bent down to help it lift the bundle of branches.

“Where do you want to take this?”

“Zizi! Zizi!” The little monkey chirped twice in delight, scurried ahead a few steps, and then turned back, its actions suggesting it was guiding him. Bai Fanlu followed behind it.

When Zizi stopped, it began bouncing and rolling in place—the spot was right next to Xiao Liu.

Bai Fanlu set the bundle down, and Zizi immediately jumped onto it. With agile movements, it untied the vines and began arranging the branches on the ground, first laying some as a base, then adding another layer on top, neatly spreading them out.

After watching for a moment, Bai Fanlu suddenly had a realization—was it making a bed?

Sure enough, he guessed right. Soon, a natural cushion made of branches was complete. Zizi hopped onto it, stomped around a bit, then ran over to Bai Fanlu, tugging at his clothes with its little paw.

“Do you want me to sleep here?”

“Zizi!” The little monkey nodded eagerly.

Bai Fanlu tried sitting on the makeshift bed, finding it much softer. When he lay down, he was surrounded by the fresh scent of leaves.

“If I sleep here, what about your master?”

Bai Fanlu considered asking Xiao Liu to join him, but the bed seemed a bit small. Maybe they should make a bigger one?

But the little monkey shook its head vigorously, even shrugging its shoulders in a very human-like manner, sticking out its tongue and pulling a face of mock disdain.

Amused by its antics and seeing that Xiao Liu was sleeping soundly, Bai Fanlu decided to take advantage of the comfortable bed himself.

“Come on, sleep with me.”

Noticing that Zizi was still sitting nearby, Bai Fanlu beckoned it over. The little monkey quickly hopped onto the bed, curling up in Bai Fanlu’s arms.

Though the monkey appeared thin, it was surprisingly soft and warm, making it an excellent substitute for a stuffed toy.

Bai Fanlu petted the little creature, and as it became more familiar with him, it nuzzled into his chest, playing for a while until Bai Fanlu suddenly yawned.

How rare… He actually felt sleepy?

Thinking this, Bai Fanlu turned over, holding Zizi in one arm and resting his other hand under his head, lying on his side. He could feel the monkey’s tiny belly rise and fall beneath his palm.

Looking down at the small head, Bai Fanlu noticed a faint tinge of green on a tuft of fur.

He blinked and looked again, but it was still a bright white in the dim light.

As he slightly moved his wrist, he used his spiritual probing technique and sensed a golden orb of light within the monkey, radiating a strange and unique energy.

Could it be that the unusual energy he had felt during the day actually came from this little monkey? Bai Fanlu recalled that Zizi had indeed been by Xiao Liu’s side whenever he had felt something odd.

After what had happened with Snow Beyond the Mountains, Bai Fanlu wasn’t too surprised. This little white monkey was likely not an ordinary creature; it might very well be some kind of divine being.

Xiao Liu truly wasn’t simple—a seemingly ordinary boy, yet he had somehow attracted both Snow Beyond the Mountains and Zizi to follow him so devotedly.

As Bai Fanlu pondered this, he gradually succumbed to the drowsiness and soon fell asleep.

When he next opened his eyes, Bai Fanlu felt an unusual heaviness and warmth pressing down on his chest. As he strained to lift his head, he discovered that, at some point, someone had draped themselves across him.

As Bai Fanlu moved, the person slowly woke up, rubbing their eyes and grinning at him. “Immortal Brother?”

“Xiao Liu?” When did he end up sleeping here with him?

Bai Fanlu sat up, and the boy, now like a melted piece of sticky candy, slid down from his upper body to his lower body, still not letting go, his sleepy eyes half-closed.

“Mmm, so comfy…” Xiao Liu yawned and then buried his face back down.

Did he just use my leg as a pillow? Bai Fanlu sighed and pried the boy’s crossed hands from behind his waist, peeling the “sticky candy” off and tossing him to the side.

“Get up, it’s time to go.” Bai Fanlu tried to sound as stern as possible, hoping to instill some respect for elders in the boy.

Not far away, Snow Beyond the Mountains impatiently pawed at the ground. When Bai Fanlu reached for the reins, he happened to make eye contact with the horse.

It seemed like the horse had been watching the two of them sleep together for quite a while. Its gaze, well… was rather intriguing.

On the other side, Xiao Liu, now fully awake, rolled over onto his back, and a white figure darted out from behind him. There was a startled cry, and poor little Zizi, almost crushed by its master, scrambled to the side, trembling.

Bai Fanlu called out, “Zizi, come here.”

But the little monkey, looking pitiful and forlorn, didn’t respond to his invitation. Its tiny face was scrunched up in anger and distress, still lively with spirit but somehow different from the night before.

This little creature… Why had it suddenly grown distant after just one night?

Could it be that even it knew to stay loyal, refraining from getting too close to others while its master was awake?

Bai Fanlu found this amusing and didn’t dwell on it.

Xiao Liu got up, grabbed Zizi, and stuffed it into his bag, then followed Bai Fanlu. The two of them mounted Snow Beyond the Mountains and continued toward Yingzhou.

“Immortal Brother, what made you think of sleeping on a bed of branches? Why didn’t you wake me up to help? When I got up in the middle of the night and saw it, I couldn’t resist squeezing over. I hope I didn’t disturb your sleep?”

So it was Xiao Liu who had moved over on his own. Bai Fanlu was surprised that he hadn’t woken up. Normally, if someone suddenly embraced him, especially in an octopus-like grip, he would have been wide awake.

“No, I slept well.” Bai Fanlu considered explaining that Zizi had made the bed but decided it wasn’t necessary, so he left it at that.

Continuing north along the coastline would bring them to Yingzhou. The journey was straightforward and the path clear, so they managed to reach their destination by sunset the following day.

Before they could enter the city gates, Snow Beyond the Mountains parted ways with them, its presence too conspicuous and likely to attract unwanted attention. Bai Fanlu and Xiao Liu first found an inn in the city and, after securing two rooms and having dinner together, retired to their respective quarters to rest.

As night fell, Bai Fanlu sat quietly on his bed, recalling the events of the novel and

 preparing for the next day’s actions.

Ling Qingzi had sent them to investigate the source of the demonic energy in Yingzhou. Bai Fanlu knew it originated from the city’s lord, who had been corrupted by the demonic energy fissure beneath Yingzhou.

At the time, no one in the immortal sects was aware of the fissure’s existence. Even the original protagonist, who was the demon lord’s son, was unaware. This was part of the demon elder’s scheme to use the once-in-500-years appearance of the demonic energy fissure to awaken demonic creatures across the land, thereby increasing the demon clan’s strength and ultimately overthrowing the immortals to dominate the three realms.

In the novel, Yun Zhan and the original protagonist first encountered the demonized lord of Yingzhou in battle but lost the first round and were imprisoned in an underground dungeon. There, they accidentally discovered the existence of the demonic energy fissure and sealed it, weakening the lord’s power and ultimately defeating him, restoring peace to the region.

This was also the first time the original protagonist and Yun Zhan had a direct conflict. Bai Fanlu understood that, at this point, the original protagonist likely didn’t know about the demon elder’s ambitions and was merely staying in the immortal realm as a spy to avenge his mother. However, Yun Zhan was already certain that the protagonist harbored ulterior motives.

Regarding the sealing of the fissure, Yun Zhan subtly accused the protagonist of holding back and not doing his best, leading to a confrontation. The protagonist, angered, left Yun Zhan to complete the seal on his own, which required considerable effort.

Although they eventually teamed up to defeat the lord of Yingzhou, Yun Zhan’s attitude left the protagonist feeling disheartened.

In the novel, the lord of Yingzhou wasn’t an easy opponent, and Bai Fanlu had no intention of confronting him head-on. His main objective in Yingzhou was to confirm the existence of the demonic energy fissure and quietly seal it. If he could do that, it would be a major accomplishment.

The demonic energy fissure was located beneath Yingzhou City. There was a secret passage with an entrance in the lord’s mansion’s dungeon, leading to a hidden fork that crossed an underground river and ended at the fissure. The exit of the secret passage was in a public cemetery outside the city.

A cemetery… Just thinking about that place gave Bai Fanlu a chill.

It was late at night, so he decided to wait until morning to go.

With this plan in mind, Bai Fanlu didn’t anticipate that the next day his plans would be completely disrupted. As he left the inn, trying to sneak out without Xiao Liu noticing, he was stopped by soldiers stationed outside, who informed him that the city gates were sealed and no one was allowed to leave.

“The lord has decreed! Today is the grand procession and sacrificial ceremony. All citizens are required to stand along Xuanwu Avenue to observe. No one is allowed to be absent!”

Armored soldiers went door to door, herding the townspeople to the streets. Even the elderly, women, and children were not allowed to stay indoors.

Bai Fanlu couldn’t leave, and it wasn’t long before Xiao Liu came out as well. “What’s going on?”

He squeezed next to Bai Fanlu and whispered. Bai Fanlu shook his head; he didn’t fully understand either. This deviated from the original plot.

Around them, people were packed tightly together, quietly whispering to each other.

“Didn’t we just have a sacrificial ceremony a few days ago? It hasn’t even been a month. Why another one? Is that lady not doing well?”

“Hush… say no more. Do you want to lose your head?”

Bai Fanlu frowned. He knew who “that lady” referred to. In the novel, it was mentioned that the fishing village in northern Yingzhou once offered the city lord a mermaid from the East Sea.

The mermaid was incredibly beautiful and had an enchanting voice, becoming the lord’s most cherished treasure. Despite her frail health and unfortunate fate, the lord lavished her with all his love, even at the cost of his reputation, and refused to abandon her.

These monthly processions and sacrificial ceremonies were ostensibly to pray for the lady’s well-being but were actually used to select people to be sacrificed in her place. Those chosen to enter the lord’s mansion never came out alive.

This was one of the reasons Yun Zhan and the original protagonist sought to defeat the lord of Yingzhou. However, in the novel, they didn’t arrive in time to witness a procession.

Bai Fanlu thought about it, quietly concealing his spiritual energy.

Unconsciously, as the music played and swayed, the long procession, with its ornate canopy, drew closer. Bai Fanlu lowered his head, mimicking the fearful expressions of the people around him, avoiding drawing attention from the person in the palanquin.

They were very close now. Through his partially lowered gaze, Bai Fanlu could see the feet of the sixteen people carrying the palanquin as they stepped in unison past him.

Suddenly—

“Stop.”

At that cold command, the bearers halted.

Bai Fanlu’s hand, hidden behind his back, clenched slightly.

The area fell silent, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Even a baby’s cry nearby was abruptly stifled, likely by its parent’s desperate hand.

“Raise your head,” the voice commanded.

Though it was an order, Bai Fanlu wasn’t sure if it was directed at him, so he didn’t move.

A red jade staff appeared in his peripheral vision, nudging his chin upward with just enough force.

Bai Fanlu was forced to lift his head.