The Astral Wind within the sleeve poured forth, and the wide sleeve lost all its imposing force, hanging weakly like a deflated balloon. Although the Sword Qi of the Heavenly Strategy Jun Mountain Sword had dissipated, Baili An’s physical strength remained. He twisted his wrist and lifted the sword tip. A blinding spark appeared as the sword tip scratched across his metallic mask. Zangxin hastily retreated, landing in the pouring rain, his clothes completely soaked in an instant. He covered his cheek, blood seeping through his fingers, his gaze sinisterly staring at the half-mask on the ground, his expression extremely dangerous. "It seems Si Chen is not cherishing the hard-earned friendship between us." The next moment, the gloom in his eyes vanished in an instant. He lightly wiped his cheek with his palm, and the blood instantly disappeared, replaced by a complete Skull Ghost Mask. Zangxin once again appeared as the gentle and mild-mannered persona: "But considering Si Chen’s grieving loss of his beloved concubine, tonight’s sword strike, Zangxin will take it upon himself. I hope the lord at tomorrow’s wedding does not lose his composure again." He chuckled softly, and as his black robe flourished, he transformed into a dense fog and vanished completely from this world. Baili An held the Glazed Umbrella and raised his sword. Under the umbrella, his dark eyes carried an indescribable coldness. He gazed forward into the rainy night, standing still for a long time. Until the sound of the rain gradually lessened, he walked out into the corridor, crouched down, and looked at his reflection in the small puddle on the ground. As he lightly closed the umbrella, the coldness, anger, and sorrow in his eyes all dispersed entirely, replaced by a calm and inscrutable depth. The water surface of the small puddle rippled ripple after ripple. At this moment, he stood before the puddle, with an umbrella above, shielding him from countless lonely raindrops; how could the water surface be stirred into ripples? In the ripple’s reflection, besides Baili An, there was unexpectedly another small, eerie shadow beside him. The Ghost Child, holding a Yin Wood Qiang Flute, appeared at Baili An’s feet, its arm hanging slightly by its side, its ghost-like, soulless eyes slightly shifting. It raised its head, slowly offering a blood-stained bead. That bead was the other half of the Water Lord Divine Origin, an earring bead Ning Feiyan had worn year-round. Now, the bead no longer retained its former crimson beauty but was blackened as if soaked in ink, severely tainted by the Demon Poison. Baili An took the bead, suddenly trembled, covered his lips, coughed softly for a while, then lowered his hand nonchalantly, a faint blush of blood hidden between his closed lips. After receiving the black bead, he took out the treasure bead pendant from around his neck and handed it to the Ghost Flute Child. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁 He commanded in a calm voice: "You know what to do." The Ghost Flute Child obediently took the bead, then transformed into a dense ghostly aura, merging into Baili An’s shadow and disappearing. Baili An rose, the surface of the puddle once again reflected the night sky, and in the silent and lonely rainy night, a few soft coughs echoed again. Baili An took a few steps, his figure swayed slightly, leaning against the wall as if unable to stand steadily. He spread his palm, looking deeply at the scarlet liquid in it, and couldn’t help but furrow his brow. "It’s more painful than I imagined." He murmured to himself, his face unable to hide the expression of unbearable pain. Leaning against the wall, he could barely hold the umbrella steadily, his entire body trembling like the thin snow precariously hanging on a winter branch. The mental fortitude he had maintained earlier in the face of Zangxin was gradually becoming insufficient, his face appearing shockingly pale. Until a blood-red vertical mark slowly emerged between his brows, looking extremely appalling. After a long time, Baili An stood straight again, taking up the Glazed Umbrella, taking a handful of rainwater dripping from the umbrella, and meticulously washing away the blood traces between his palm and lips until no trace remained. Then he slowly returned to Chao Mu Hall. Hearing that the Demon Lord intended to reopen the Netherworld Crow Boundary Bridge and return everyone to the Mortal World, Wen Hanwei looked gravely at Baili An, who was shaking off the umbrella at his side, her voice rare with tempered anger: "This is too reckless. Do you intend to face the Demon Lord alone?" Baili An rubbed his brow. Having resolved so many troubles that night, he was feeling quite fatigued. Wen Hanwei’s gaze paused, and she quickly stepped forward to take the Glazed Umbrella from his hand. Before Baili An could explain and persuade her, she had already come to an understanding with herself during this brief moment of taking the umbrella. "When are we leaving tomorrow?" Wen Hanwei asked. Ye Lian’s face changed slightly upon hearing this, and he said, "Sister Wen, are you planning to leave him alone?" Yin Baishuang scoffed lightly and said, "If we don’t leave now, will we really stay here and let ourselves be seen as a weakness to be manipulated? If the little corpse demon wants to escape from marriage, with the Demon Lord pressing down on us, he certainly won’t be able to act freely. Don’t overestimate your status as the Scripture Master of Taixuan, at this moment in the Demon World, you, I, and she are all burdens to the little corpse demon. Leaving now is the wise choice." The words aren’t wrong. But ever since entering the Demon World, Ye Lian had received much care from Baili An. At this crucial moment, leaving him here alone to marry that demoness seemed to force the good into prostitution for self-preservation, with the sense of selling out for peace. Ye Lian, well-raised, appeared troubled as he looked at Su Jing, having no choice but to toss the problem to her, asking, "Young Master, what do you think of this?" Su Jing was by the window teasing the Afu Tu left by Baili An who was sleeping there. Uh... it wasn’t really teasing either. Because at this moment, Afu Tu, provoked by her, had bristled up entirely, showing a fierce light, baring its teeth and guarding the carrot in its embrace, glaring at her with a fierce and vigilant gaze. And Su Jing’s finger had already inserted firmly under the rabbit’s paw, trying to hook out the carrot it was guarding. That carrot was left for Afu Tu by Baili An when he left the hall to meet the Demon Lord, and by now the rabbit had gnawed off half of the carrot’s end. Somehow, this carrot caught Miss Jing’s eye, leading her to actually get into a tiff with a rabbit. Perhaps the collective gaze was too palpable, Su Jing slowly withdrew her finger, lowered her head, nonchalantly picking at the silver thread in her sleeve. Seeing her like that... It actually made people feel she was a bit guilty. Could Miss Jing, as clear as a deep abyss and pure as jade, actually feel guilty over a carrot? This thought flashed through everyone’s mind as absurd, feeling it was ridiculous. The rabbit, holding the carrot, fell back asleep. Su Jing looked down and said in a light voice, "There’s no need to stay here for long." A couple of words revealed her cold and indifferent nature, as if who Baili An married didn’t concern her at all. Yin Baishuang stared at her steadily, but maliciously remarked without giving any face, "Can’t you speak properly?" Su Jing looked askance at her, "When have I not spoken properly?" Yin Baishuang said, "When you’re speaking, just speak. What’s with your rabbit ears bouncing around on your head? That ostentatious look makes it seem like you’re deceiving with a guilty conscience." Su Jing slowly furrowed her delicate brows, her eyes becoming covered with a layer of icy aloofness, and suddenly raised her hand, actually tying a tight knot on the unruly little ears atop her head. The restless ears quieted down. Su Jing’s tone also turned cold, her exquisite face showing indifference: "Which of your eyes saw my ears bouncing?" Wen Hanwei arrived at a proper conclusion earnestly: "Jing seems to be in a bad mood tonight." Baili An responded instinctively with an "Ah?", asking without thinking, "Is it because she lost in a fight over a carrot with the rabbit?" Wen Hanwei turned her gaze to look at Baili An, this ’carrot’, and shook her head firmly.