Chapter 7

    Mingzhe raised the ice hammer and struck downward, repeating the action tirelessly.

    The hammer, forged from his power, was far sturdier than ordinary ice—solid as steel and perfectly weighted in his grip. After a few forceful blows against the stone base of the statue, cracks began to spread, and eventually, the ground caved in to reveal a hollow beneath.

    The hammer in his hand transformed into a shovel. Mingzhe began digging with enthusiasm and practiced skill, while Guo Yuexiang’s left hand was utterly stunned.

    As more dirt piled up, a foul stench began to rise, overpowering even the fragrant incense burning throughout the northern courtyard. The deeper Mingzhe dug, the more confident he felt. That’s because he didn’t only have keen eyes, but also an acute sense of smell.

    The thing buried underground was dozens of meters deep. Mingzhe continued to dig until his shovel finally struck a wooden box.

    He unearthed it, revealing a container long soaked in blood. The congealed, blackened stains exuded a nauseating metallic odor. The front of the box was sealed with a talisman.

    The box wasn’t big but an ominous aura of malevolence shrouded it tightly. Carelessly opening it could result in severe consequences—even death.

    Mingzhe sealed the box in a layer of ice before redirecting his attention to the lantern.

    Having examined the lantern every day, he was quick to notice even the slightest changes. The oil level had decreased by a fraction, and the flame had dimmed ever so slightly.

    Until now, the flame had always burned steadily. But with just a few (?) disturbances—tapping at the base of the statue and breaking the floor—the fire in the lamp that had never changed before finally had something shifted.

    Mingzhe returned the lantern to its original position, refilling it with fresh oil, thinking it would last until morning. Satisfied with his work, he grabbed the frozen wooden box and made his way back to his quarters.

    He hadn’t forgotten the precautions he’d taken before starting—freezing the two ponds to prevent any surprises. This allowed him to act boldly and efficiently, smashing the floor without hesitation. Thus, he didn’t dare linger around, doing things nimbly. Now that he had what he came for, Mingzhe wasted no time retreating. He was not ready to face that grotesquely distorted woman.

    That woman’s power far surpassed Shin Wang’s, both in strength and ferocity. In her domain, Mingzhe’s ice could only delay her for so long. Grabbing Guo Yuexiang’s left hand, which remained stiff, he quickly made his escape.

    However, before he could step out of the courtyard, a torrential rain began to pour. This wasn’t ordinary rain—the droplets were massive and fell with such force that Mingzhe’s outstretched arm turned red from the impact. The downpour was like a storm of needles falling from the sky. Mingzhe hastily conjured an ice umbrella, which offered some protection, but not entirely.

    As he fled, he noticed that one of the ponds, which should have been securely sealed with ice, now had a visible hole where the ice had been forcibly broken.

    Mingzhe couldn’t help but curse inwardly. He had spent considerable effort sealing the ponds, yet the distorted woman had broken through in the blink of an eye.

    The rain was so heavy it blurred his vision. He could see nothing clearly ahead—just a hazy, indistinct landscape. One arm held the wooden box tightly, while the other clutched the ice umbrella. Mingzhe knew he couldn’t afford to lose focus. If he let his guard down, even for a moment, the umbrella’s ability to repair itself would fail. And if that happened, he dreaded to think how many holes his body would have by the time he escaped.

    The defensive stratagem protecting the treasures within the northern inner courtyard was meticulously designed and positioned. For an ordinary person, attempting to breach it would result in failure or even death before taking the first step. Even someone with some mastery of magical arts would likely sustain severe injuries. However, what the creator of this stratagem could never have anticipated was that its challenger would be none other than a former Snow Deity.

    The sound of rustling behind him made Mingzhe glance over his shoulder. In the dim light, he could make out a shadowy figure creeping closer from behind. Though the image was blurry, the accompanying scream cutting through the rain and the metallic scent of blood confirmed its identity.

    Mingzhe looked at Guo Yuexiang’s left hand, which perched idly on his shoulder, contributing nothing. No matter how many times he looked, he couldn’t help comparing this passive hand to the powerful entity crawling toward him from behind. While the distorted woman exuded immense power, Shin Wang, the supposed master of this palace, was utterly useless.

    Well, not entirely useless—he was certainly skilled at tormenting others in their dreams.

    “Husband, perhaps you could learn a thing or two from her.”

    Even attempting to act intimidating was beyond the prince. Truly, this royal figure was hopeless.

    Perhaps Mingzhe’s disdainful glance was too obvious, for Guo Yuexiang’s left hand suddenly gripped his shoulder tightly, as if in protest. It made Mingzhe itch to throw the hand at the approaching woman to buy himself some time.

    The familiar cries of, it’s not mine, and, give me what’s mine, resounded alongside the distorted woman’s shrieks.

    Without turning to look, Mingzhe flicked a finger behind him. Ice spears erupted from the ground, impaling the grotesque woman like a skewer. However, her ferocity today surpassed anything he’d encountered before. She snapped the ice spears effortlessly and lunged toward him.

    Mingzhe sidestepped, taking off at a sprint away from the northern inner courtyard. The rain grew heavier, falling harder with each step, to the point where even his ice umbrella could no longer shield him effectively.

    Wounds began to appear on Mingzhe’s body, but he maintained his composure, despite the escalating tension. The rain seemed to invigorate the woman behind him, as though she had been injected with raw energy. Despite her fragmented body, she moved with terrifying speed. Mingzhe knew that if he slowed down or lost focus for even a moment, his slender neck would soon be caught and crushed by her sharp claws.

    What should have been a short distance felt like an eternity. Mingzhe ran for what seemed like ages without finding an exit from the courtyard’s domain, all while the woman behind him drew closer.

    The rain fell like bullets from the sky, and Mingzhe realized immediately that escaping this place in his current state was impossible. Continuing to run would only lead to exhaustion, leaving him vulnerable to being torn apart by the monstrous woman pursuing him.

    Guo Yuexiang’s left hand tapped Mingzhe’s shoulder and pointed in another direction.

    Without hesitation, Mingzhe followed the indicated path. However, the route was anything but straightforward—it twisted and turned, transforming what should have been a simple escape into a small labyrinth.

    Pressed into a life-or-death chase, Mingzhe felt exhaustion creeping in after minutes of relentless running.

    Ahead of him, the northern inner courtyard came into view. Whether this was a salvation or a cruel twist of fate, Mingzhe couldn’t tell. Initially, he thought Guo Yuexiang was guiding him out of danger, only to realize it had brought him back to where he started.

    With no other options, Mingzhe re-entered the courtyard and sealed the entrance behind him. Outside, the distorted woman slammed against the ice barrier with immense force, shaking the very foundation of the courtyard.

    Instinctively, Mingzhe glanced at the lantern. To his alarm, its flame was on the verge of dying out. This time, he couldn’t afford to remain calm. He quickly grabbed the lantern oil and replenished it, restoring the flame to its steady brilliance.

    “No chance of making this easy for me, huh?” He muttered under his breath.

    Outside, the woman shrieked as she tore at her own body. Her sharp claws scratched against the ice wall, producing an ear-piercing screech. Mingzhe had no time to spare for his own discomfort. Placing the box on a table, he hurriedly dismantled the cursed stratagem sealing it and tore off the talisman to inspect its contents.

    The moment the talisman was removed, the wooden box creaked open. A putrid, metallic stench of blood hit him like a wave, making him frown deeply.

    At first glance, the box seemed to contain nothing but pitch-black blood. It was large and deep, and the sheer weight of the box came from the copious amount of blood it held.

    Seeing this, Mingzhe felt a pang of frustration. There was nothing he could use to sift through the blood and examine what lay beneath.

    After scanning his surroundings and enduring the tremors shaking the courtyard, he thought of Guo Yuexiang.

    In truth, he had already suspected something but needed to confirm it. Without hesitation, he grabbed Guo Yuexiang’s pale hand, ignoring its struggles, and plunged it into the grotesque black blood. He used the hand to rummage through the vile liquid in search of something.

    Guo Yuexiang: “...”

    Mingzhe, expression deadpan and voice indifferent, said, “Hurry up, husband.”

    Guo Yuexiang: “...”

    If the hand had a mouth, Mingzhe would likely have been deafened by its protests. But since it didn’t, all the hand could do was silently comply, diligently searching through the blood as the beauty commanded.

    Outside, the frenzied, twisted spirit continued its assault on the ice barrier. Yet, Mingzhe remained unperturbed, calmly multitasking with precision.

    The contents of the box weren’t hard to guess. Given its size and depth, only a few things could possibly fit inside.

    If he had to hazard a guess, perhaps the object submerged beneath this pitch-black blood was something like…

    A left hand… Was it?