Chapter 491 – Fragrant Bait for Eunuchs, Receiving a Ghost Hammer From the Green Lotus - Part 1

“Gentler.

Oh, stop that...be gentle! You’re hurting me...

Ow...!”

In the Clear Mind Hall, the Empress Dowager in her dark golden phoenix robe let out a soft string of murmurs. Behind her, a man in white was massaging her shoulders with a careful touch.

But that man wasn’t Chang Xin, it was Li Yuan.

This explained why Xie Wei felt free to be so completely unrestrained. All the lights inside the hall were extinguished. Only the stone lanterns in the outer pavilion, the red lanterns hanging from the eaves, and the stars scattered across the clouds outside offered any glow.

Inside the suffocating darkness of the hall, their figures and eyes were swallowed whole. Yet each of her soft, suppressed, but unmistakably pleasured sighs seemed to throb with the raw craving of a beast. It created the heavy, decadent mood of the

palace after sunset

, a place steeped in shadow, intrigue, and lust.

Li Yuan said quietly, “I’m using the

Mountain Style Vital Blood Secret Manual

to treat you. You’ve been trapped for too long in this high-pressure swamp of shadows and schemes. No wonder your cultivation has declined.”

He pressed a little more firmly and added, “Your shadow blood is beginning to stagnate. This massage should help. It’ll be sore at first, but that ache will turn to comfort.”

The Empress Dowager caught her breath, her voice low and husky. “It’s so late already...you should be with Yu'er. She’s the one you belong to. As for me...I’m just borrowing you. Occasionally. Very occasionally.”

“...” Li Yuan didn’t answer. But he understood.

Xie Wei had sacrificed too much. For the sake of her family’s rise, she had given up love and abandoned her cultivation. She had thrown herself completely into the perilous, solitary throne she now occupied, besieged on all sides by invisible undercurrents and enemies in disguise.

She needed a harbor. A place to let her guard down.

And because of a strange, inexplicable twist of fate, Li Yuan had become that safe haven for her.

He had slain the Emperor, impersonated him, and played the role of her late husband. Later on, his identity had even been exposed to her by Gao Kaikping. Yet somehow, against all odds, Xie Wei had grown to deeply rely on this man.

She cared not that this kind of

reliance

was closer to addiction than affection. A desperate, hysterical craving, like some poor soul in the dark, reaching out to grasp a flicker of flame, knowing full well it would burn.

Li Yuan’s hands stopped moving. He leaned forward and gently wrapped his arms around her shoulders from behind.

Xie Wei tilted her head ever so slightly and rested it on his arm, eyes drifting shut.

The silence between them stretched out, quiet and tender.

Then, softly, she murmured, “The fish has seen the hook. But there’s no bait on it yet.”

“The bait is already there. Don’t worry,” Li Yuan replied gently.

Abruptly, Xie Wei said, “Don’t let Yu'er find out you can change your appearance. And don’t let her know anything about all this.”

Li Yuan raised an eyebrow and started to reply, “You know I...”

“—I know,” she continued, interrupting him. “They say the truth is more precious than comforting lies. Better to cry over a painful truth to live in ignorance. At least that way, one can eventually find real happiness. But my Yu’er...she’s a fragile girl. She doesn’t need the truth. She needs protection. She doesn’t need anyone else. She needs

Ximen Gucheng.

”

Xie Wei gently gripped his hand. Perhaps thinking of that foolish younger sister of hers, she smiled slightly and said, “So please...go back to the way you were. Pick up the blade again and walk that road with her at your side. You...you

are

Ximen Gucheng. You

are

her husband.”

Li Yuan gave a quiet chuckle. “Didn’t you beg me just last time to become Ximen Gucheng and sleep with

you

instead?”

“I told you, that was only an exception. So from now on, if you ever wear Ximen Gucheng’s face again, I’ll treat you as nothing more than my brother-in-law. No other thoughts. No more crossing that line,” Xie Wei said calmly. “Ximen Gucheng belongs to Yu'er alone.”

Li Yuan was silent for a moment. Then he gave a soft reply, “Alright.”

Xie Wei let go of his hand and said gently, “Go back. It’s late. Yu'er will be worried.”

As her voice faded, the figure behind her vanished into thin air.

Xie Wei turned her head slightly, then withdrew her gaze. She sat there alone, wrapped in darkness.

Outside the window, the moon cast long silhouettes over the sprawling palace complex. She pushed open the lattice window. A faint, silvery strand of moonlight touched her face, highlighting the serene dignity and quiet authority that belonged to the Empress Dowager alone.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Several days later.

Shi Shanbai was speaking to an elder within the Mountain Hall. Ever since the Lotus Cult’s defeat and subsequent retreat from the Jade Capital, many of the lucrative positions had suddenly become vacant.

Following the instructions of the Immortal Domain envoy, the Mountain Hall had quietly aligned themselves with the Empress Dowager on the surface. By playing both sides, they were now being rewarded with a fair share of these newly available posts.

Among them was a particularly valuable one, control over canal transport.

The Heavenly Dragon River thundered down from the west and flowed eastward into the sea. It was like an ancient, towering tree rooted in the land, its branches sprawling far and wide. Each branch was a waterway, a tributary, and each one brought with it influence and profit.

Elder Liu, who was currently speaking with Shi Shanbai, was the one now tasked with overseeing that massive system of canal transportation.

Of course, under normal circumstances, a fifth rank elder wouldn’t bother with such a mundane and earthly affair. Especially now, when resources were flowing more freely than ever. Elder Liu was even on the cusp of advancing to the fourth rank; managing grain boats and river routes should’ve been beneath him.

But the two spoke quietly, carefully. Elder Liu’s face showed no sign of disdain, only caution. Then Shi Shanbai clapped his hands lightly.

From behind the folding screen, a man in yellow armor stepped forward.

His presence was immediately striking. The sheer force he exuded was enough to stand on equal footing with Shi Shanbai, no weaker in the slightest.

His armor, too, was nearly identical to Shi Shanbai’s.

Shi Shanbai bowed respectfully. “Honored Envoy, I’ve explained everything to Elder Liu. He’ll follow your instructions from now on.”

The yellow-armored man gave a short nod. “Very good.”

With that, he and Elder Liu turned and left together.

Shi Shanbai watched them go, his calm eyes gleaming with something closer to fanaticism.

That yellow-armored man, he wasn’t even a full envoy, merely a disciple that came along with the real envoy.

Just a disciple! And yet because of his origin, he possesses strength equal to me, perhaps even greater. What kind of place is the Eastern Sea?

Shi Shanbai gently ran his hand across the thin yellow armor he wore. He could feel the flow of power within it, armor that seemed to be training him even as he stood still. A constant, silent cultivation.

And in the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain, this sort of treasure was considered

commonplace

.

The one behind it all had once said that this armor came in many levels—low, mid, and high. The best kind didn’t just enhance cultivation, it could unleash terrifying power at critical moments.

Shi Shanbai’s thirst for the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain only grew deeper.

He’d long since understood the truth behind the sudden

death

of Qing Hancheng...and the Lotus Cult’s assassination of the palace master of Sacred Fire Palace.

In the end, it all traced back to the same source: the bottleneck between the third and fourth rank.

And from the very moment he first glimpsed the true hand behind the Eastern Sea’s Immortal Domain...he knew this was his only path forward.

He clenched his fist quietly.

Then, unbidden, the image of the dignified Empress Dowager surfaced in his mind once again.

And with it...came the report from that female disciple he’d sent to deliver a set of scrolls to her—something she’d said in passing, something he couldn’t quite forget.

He narrowed his eyes.

“That eunuch named Chang Xin was seen entering the Empress Dowager’s quarters...massaging her shoulders. Her expression looked utterly relaxed, completely at ease. What happened after that...this disciple doesn’t know.”

That was the report Shi Shanbai had received.

And with just that, his mind instantly leapt to the many sordid tales whispered in palace corridors, about concubines and eunuchs and the things they got up to behind closed doors.

Eunuchs were, by nature, bound to their masters. Loyal like pets. Trustworthy because they had no one else to trust.

“So,” Shi Shanbai thought, “she’d rather be served by a eunuch than let

me

near her.”

“So that day...I wasn’t wrong after all. She didn’t summon Chang Xin simply because I was present. But the moment Gongyang Qin visited instead of me, the truth came out.”

A strange fire surged up in Shi Shanbai’s chest. His desire grew more powerful and all-consuming. He wanted to conquer that proud, regal Empress Dowager...not just to fulfill his own lust, but to complete his mission and seize the opportunity that would take him one step closer to power.

He was deep in thought when, from a distance, a direct disciple rushed toward the hall. In his arms, he held a jade box. At the entrance, he exchanged only a quick nod with the gatekeeper before stepping inside.

“Greetings, Hall Master,” the disciple said respectfully.

Shi Shanbai gave him a brief glance, eyes falling on the jade box. “What’s that?”

The disciple answered, “We’ve been rounding up remnants of the Immortal Worship Cult. During the raids, we confiscated a few unusual ghost items. These ones match descriptions from old records, so we know what they do.”

Shi Shanbai motioned him forward.

The disciple stepped up and handed over the box.

Opening it, Shi Shanbai examined the contents carefully. After a few moments, something inside caught his eye, and he let out a soft murmur, half to himself, “Well now... isn’t that convenient? Seems even Heaven is lending me a hand.”

Then his expression suddenly hardened. His tone dropped cold. “And the cultists of the Immortal Worship Cult?”

“Executed,” the disciple replied simply. “All beheaded.”

Only then did Shi Shanbai nod and smile faintly.