Although Wang Ping had made some arrangements before heading out this time, he hadn’t told anyone his specific route or when he would be leaving.

He and Yu Lian slipped out of Qianmu Mountain and traveled north, planning to set sail from a small port in Fuming Prefecture. Walking through the familiar yet strangely foreign Yongshan County after so many years gave him a sense of déjà vu.

After leaving Yongshan County, Wang Ping headed straight for Sanhe Prefecture. The roads were emptier than usual, perhaps because it was the busy autumn harvest season, or maybe due to the Court’s order to mobilize troops.

Upon reaching Sanhe Prefecture, he encountered a troop of fifty Government Soldiers followed by two hundred civilian laborers. It looked as though they had also received orders and were heading north. The leader, who wore a fifth-rank military officer robe, took one look at Wang Ping’s Jianghu Traveler attire and ordered his men to check his identity. He was probably looking to press another man into service.

When Wang Ping presented his identity token from the Daoist Scripture Hall, the officer was visibly displeased but didn’t dare press the issue. He could only mutter a few curses under his breath—something about how they had to risk their lives on the front lines while freeloaders like Wang Ping got to enjoy the good life in the rear. His words dripped with resentment.

Wang Ping paid him no mind. He purposely waited until they were far ahead before taking a shortcut. Sanhe Prefecture was crisscrossed with waterways, and there were small paths leading north everywhere.

By nightfall, he unexpectedly came across the same troop camped outside a village. Wang Ping slipped past them unnoticed and continued north in the darkness until late at night, when he started a fire in a ruined temple that had been eroded by the river.

"This place has a real ambiance..." Yu Lian said, poking her head out of his sleeve after the fire was lit and glancing around. "It’s just like the places in folk stories where scholars meet beautiful female ghosts."

"That’s what you mean by ’ambiance’?"

Wang Ping didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Ignoring Wang Ping’s reaction, Yu Lian urged him, "You should take out a flatbread to roast. When you’re halfway through eating it, a beautiful ghost will appear."

"..."

Wang Ping was speechless for a moment. "Are you sure about that?" he asked.

He did have some flatbread and jerky with him, packed in his satchel.

"Hurry, hurry," Yu Lian urged.

Wang Ping smiled and played along, taking out a piece of flatbread and placing it by the fire to roast. Before long, the aroma of baked dough began to fill the air.

"Go on, eat it."

At her words, Wang Ping sat down on the ground and laid a battered steel saber across his lap. Facing the cold wind that gusted in from the river, he picked up the scalding flatbread, tore off a piece, blew on it a couple of times, and finally put it in his mouth to chew.

It was dry and incredibly hard. When Wang Ping offered a piece to Yu Lian, she shook her head decisively.

He finished the flatbread with half a flask of water, but he encountered no ghosts from any stories. The only thing that was slightly unsettling was the chirping of autumn insects along the nearby river.

"You forgot again! A Jianghu Traveler should sleep with his saber in his arms," Yu Lian reminded him as he prepared to meditate. She seemed to be treating this all as a fun game.

Heeding her advice, Wang Ping first added more wood to the fire. Then he moved to sit against the temple’s only intact pillar, closing his eyes with the saber in his arms.

Of course, he wasn’t actually sleeping, just meditating in a different posture.

But strangely, the moment he closed his eyes, a wave of drowsiness—something he hadn’t felt in many years—suddenly struck him. Wang Ping couldn’t help but think, ’I can’t be this unlucky, can I?’

And then, he actually fell asleep.

He didn’t know how much time had passed before a bone-deep chill startled him awake.

He was still in the same dilapidated temple. Outside, the sky was bright. The fire in the center of the ruins had gone out, and Yu Lian was still fast asleep.

While Wang Ping was still in a daze, the ground beneath him began to tremble faintly. The sound was familiar—it was the sound of troops on the march. He walked out of the temple and saw the same troop he had encountered yesterday at the end of the path.

The lead Military Officer, mounted on his horse, was furious. The moment he spotted Wang Ping from a distance, he raised his whip and ordered his men to seize him. Wang Ping frowned and was about to speak, but found he couldn’t make a sound. Then he realized something else—his Qi Sea was completely devoid of Spiritual Qi.

’This... is an illusion?’

Wang Ping tried to call for Yu Lian, but there was no response. He watched as two menacing soldiers approached. One of them closed in and clapped a hand on his shoulder. An irresistible force slammed down on him, forcing him to his knees.

"You are a subject of the Xia Country. By order of the Court..."

The Military Officer was only halfway through his sentence when Wang Ping instinctively tried to rise and resist. Seeing this, the officer decisively drew the saber from his waist. The gleaming blade swung down. Before Wang Ping could react, he felt a cold slice across his neck.

’Am I dead?’

Wang Ping wondered. Then another thought followed, ’Is this a dream?’

A soft giggle echoed.

The voice of a young girl rang out. The darkness in Wang Ping’s vision gave way to light, and he found himself back in the ruined temple. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

But this time, a Nine-tailed Fox was standing at the temple entrance.

"How did that feel? When you are a mere mortal, can you still look down upon other lives from your high perch?" the Nine-tailed Fox asked in a human voice. "You will only earn the respect of others by respecting every life. Do you understand this?"

Wang Ping’s mind raced. He knew he had likely encountered a powerful, neutral Star God. The two words ’Star Demoness’ surfaced in his thoughts. This great entity often appeared in people’s dreams in the guise of a Nine-tailed Demon Fox.

"You are right to admonish me."

Wang Ping accepted the lesson with humility.

Hearing this, the Nine-tailed Fox shook its fur. It leaped onto the dilapidated threshold with cat-like grace and took two elegant steps before speaking. "Are you aware that the moment you decided to travel to the Southeast Islands, your fate entered a countdown to death? Your destiny was not meant to end like this. What made you decide to take this journey?"

Wang Ping’s gaze sharpened. "There are some things I need to understand," he replied.

"Mm, that is indeed a worthy reason for a journey. The most important thing in life is to understand certain things."

The Nine-tailed Fox stared at Wang Ping and warned, "As I was passing through this region, I noticed two chaotic Star Gods. You are their next target. Your fate is peculiar. You were meant to have a future soaring through the Nine Heavens, yet it is fated to be cut short here..."

"If I interfere with reality, terrible things will happen. Therefore, I am powerless to help you against those two Star Gods. You must resolve this yourself... Do you understand what I am saying?"

"I understand!" Wang Ping bowed and cupped his fist in a salute befitting a junior of the Taoist Family.

"Good..."

The moment the word "Good" left the Nine-tailed Demon Fox’s lips, Wang Ping felt the tangible sensations of his body return. He extended his fingers and performed a quick calculation—the entire dream had lasted but an instant in the real world.