NOVPUBBreaking into the Incense Valley
The group drifted past the city’s bulletin board when Yue'er, sharp-eyed as ever, caught sight of something. "Is that a drawing of the Demon Realm’s Thorn Phoenix Flower?"
Peng Wanxi, noticing her curiosity, guided their cloud ride closer. "Indeed. It’s said the city lord has encountered some issues with his cultivation and needs the Thorn Phoenix Flower for medicinal purposes. He’s offering a hefty reward for any cultivator willing to retrieve one from the Demon Realm."
"Ten thousand spirit stones? For just one flower?" Yue'er gaped at the notice.
"Yes, this notice has been up for a while," Xi Cheng replied. "But no one dares to take the risk, as no one knows what the Demon Realm looks like these days, despite the generous reward."
Bai Roushuang, sitting cross-legged on a fiery cloud, propped her chin in her hands. "The drawing is so beautiful. I wonder what the real Thorn Phoenix Flower, worth ten thousand spirit stones, actually looks like."
"Like this?"
Everyone turned to see Yue'er holding a vibrant crimson flower, her face alight with triumph.
The flower seemed to have been plucked at the peak of its bloom, forever preserved in that radiant state—bright as brocade, vivid as sunset clouds.
The group froze. "The Thorn Phoenix Flower?!"
Peng Wanxi gasped. "You carry such a flower with you?"
"Of course. I have plenty more," Yue'er said, reaching for the seashell at her waist—a unique storage artifact from the Demon Realm called the Instant Shell. "I originally planned to make jewelry out of them. Who knew they’d be so valuable in the cultivation world?"
As she was about to pull out more flowers to show them, the others hurriedly stopped her. "Don’t flaunt your wealth—someone might target you."
Reluctantly, Yue'er relented, her eyes glinting as she handed them the single flower.
Peng Wanxi blinked. "What’s this for?"
Yue'er smirked. "Since this flower is worth ten thousand spirit stones, can I use it to hire you all for a favor?"
"What favor?"
"Accompany me to the Incense Valley," Yue'er said, biting her lip. "I want to see Nan Xiuxiu’s ice coffin with my own eyes and ask Li Muci why he married someone else."
"..." She was truly fixated on this love story.
Xu Shulou glanced at the others. She herself had no shortage of spirit stones, but Xi Cheng and Peng Wanxi were rogue cultivators with no steady income, often taking on small tasks from bulletin boards to earn a living. This opportunity was undeniably tempting for them.
Then she looked at her junior sister. Bai Roushuang also seemed intrigued—though likely just for the fun of it.
After a silent exchange, Xu Shulou nodded at Yue'er. "Fine, we accept."
Yue'er cheered. "Then let’s set off now?"
Peng Wanxi hesitated. "Shouldn’t we make a plan first?"
Xu Shulou raised a hand. "I’ve thought of two."
Everyone except Bai Roushuang looked at her expectantly.
Xu Shulou declared, "First, I charge in alone, kidnap Li Muci, and drag him out. Second, we all charge in together, surround him, and interrogate him."
Xi Cheng struggled to respond. "This plan seems... a tad crude?"
Xu Shulou wasn’t surprised by the objection and simply nodded. "Then we’ll improvise as we go."
Peng Wanxi and Xi Cheng exchanged glances, both wearing wry smiles, feeling as though they’d boarded a rather unreliable pirate ship.
———
Over half a month later, the group lay panting inside the Incense Valley’s mountain-protecting formation.
The formation consumed spirit stones with each activation and was rarely used—its current deployment was clearly meant to deal with them.
Xu Shulou gazed at the sky, baffled. "Is this really better than my plan?"
"..." No one had an answer.
It had all started when they arrived at the Incense Valley half a month prior. Yue'er suggested sneaking in to see the ice coffin first, while Xu Shulou was assigned to keep watch and provide backup.
This step went smoothly. The Incense Valley was renowned for its artifact forging, and as a place open to outsiders for trade, it frequently hosted unfamiliar guests. Moreover, Li Muci had likely never imagined anyone would target the ice coffin, leaving only a handful of negligent guards—negligence that gave the group their opening.
After days of covert searching, they finally found the female protagonist of this love story in an ice cavern at the back of the valley.
Inside the ice coffin lay a woman with a serene expression, a faint smile lingering on her lips—as if, in her final moments, she had truly departed without regrets.
She was undeniably beautiful, appearing to be in her early twenties, with skin like lotus blossoms and hair cascading like a waterfall.
Seeing the protagonist of the tale in person was different from merely hearing the story. Even Yue'er, who had once praised Nan Xiuxiu’s actions, couldn’t help but lament her life ending so young.
At that moment, Yue'er still wanted to find Li Muci and demand why he had betrayed Nan Xiuxiu—until she encountered a woman in the valley.
This woman bore an uncanny resemblance to Nan Xiuxiu in the ice coffin.
Upon closer inspection, there were differences, but at first glance, it startled everyone.
Yue'er blurted out, "Nan Xiuxiu?"
The attendant beside the woman glared. "What Nan Xiuxiu? This is the young valley master’s wife."
"..." The group froze.
The woman, seemingly unfamiliar with the name Nan Xiuxiu, merely shook her head at Yue'er. "You must have mistaken me for someone else."
After she left, Bai Roushuang ventured a guess. "Reincarnation?"
"Impossible," Peng Wanxi refuted. "I’ve heard of this young mistress. She was born in the cultivation world and is at least two hundred years old. How could she have any connection to Nan Xiuxiu? At most, it’s a coincidence they look alike—and even then, not that much upon closer inspection."
Xi Cheng added, "Besides, there’s a long-standing theory in the cultivation world about reincarnation—though no one’s confirmed whether it’s true."
"What theory?" Bai Roushuang asked.
Xi Cheng and Peng Wanxi exchanged glances before answering softly, "For someone like Nan Xiuxiu, who threw her life away for such a... trivial reason, she wouldn’t be granted immediate reincarnation. That privilege is reserved for those who value life."
"...I see," Bai Roushuang murmured.
Yue'er frowned. "This young mistress isn’t Nan Xiuxiu, but Li Muci..."
It dawned on them then—Li Muci hadn’t forgotten his past love and moved on. Instead, he’d married a woman who resembled Nan Xiuxiu.
It was unsettling, no matter how one looked at it—for both the new wife and the deceased.
Yue'er was baffled. "Does this mean he’s deeply devoted, or has he truly moved on?"
Bai Roushuang pondered and found herself equally stumped. "I don’t know. Maybe that’s for his wife to decide."
Unable to hold back, Yue'er stepped forward, chased after the young valley master's wife, and blocked her path. Words poured out of her like spilled beans as she laid the truth bare before the woman.
What followed was the wife's furious flight toward the back mountains.
The group watched her retreating figure, speculating about what would happen next. About an hour later, the entire Incense-Burning Valley descended into chaos.
In their dazed state, they bumped into the young valley master's wife, who had changed into inconspicuous clothing. She shot them a glance and snapped, "What are you standing around for? Run!"
So they followed her in a confused rush, eventually meeting up with Xu Shulou, who was in charge of their escape.
Along the way, they learned the reason for the wife's desperate flight: upon discovering that her husband had been using her as a mere replacement for another woman, she had flown into such a rage that she severed a certain part of Young Valley Master Li Muci's anatomy.
The events had unfolded too quickly for anyone to process.
Yue'er's mouth fell open. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that her involvement would lead to the male protagonist of this once-beautiful love story losing... well, you know.
Of course, whether this love story could still be called "beautiful" in her mind was now up for debate.
Time passed, and now, at this very moment...
After hiding for several days, the group was accidentally forced into the mountain-protecting formation.
Meanwhile, rumors spread throughout the cultivation world: Xu Shulou had stormed into Incense-Burning Valley, chopped off Young Valley Master Li Muci's... something, and run off with his wife.
Xu Shulou leaned on her sword, utterly baffled, and glanced at the mastermind behind this whole mess—Yue'er.
Then at the prime culprit—the young valley master's wife.
And finally at the accomplices—Bai Roushuang and the others.
She couldn't for the life of her understand why, despite merely being the lookout and escape coordinator, she had ended up shouldering the heaviest blame of all.
