The rhythmic knocking echoed through the still night.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

The sound shattered the tranquility.

“Who is it?”

Bai Lian opened the door, her eyes met with a blinding expanse of white.

She blinked, struggling to discern a figure within the white. “Second Elder, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Can’t this old one simply come to inquire after the Saintess?” The Second Elder chuckled, his aged face seeming as though it should radiate benevolence, but his empty-white eyes lent a sinister air to his smile. “The Saintess’ cultivation has improved greatly. A true blessing for our White Bone Path.”

“Nay, Elder, you are the pillar of our sect, a pillar of jade reaching to the heavens, a beam of purple gold supporting the seas.”

“Hahaha. You wouldn’t invite this old one in for a seat?”

“This…” Bai Lian’s eyes betrayed a hint of hesitation. “Being a young woman alone, it might be… inconvenient.”

“I’ve watched the Saintess grow up since she was a child. You are like a daughter to me. What could be inconvenient?” As he spoke, the Second Elder edged his way into the room.

He glanced around, feigning nonchalance. “Why does the Saintess still wear a night veil within her own chambers in the sect?”

Bai Lian fluttered her eyelashes. “Born with such beauty, one must needs conceal it to avoid unwanted attention.”

“Hahahaha…” The Second Elder roared with laughter, which abruptly ceased. “Ouyang has returned. I can sense his scent.”

“That is indeed fortunate! Our efforts, the sacrifices of so many hidden operatives, all for his sake, have not been in vain. Why has the Grand Elder not yet revealed himself?”

“Who can fathom his thoughts?”

“If you cannot guess, Elder, how could I possibly know?”

“Is it a matter of not wanting to know, or being unable to know?”

“I have no need to know.” Bai Lian giggled coyly. “The sect’s affairs are best left to the elders to decide. I will simply await news.”

The Second Elder scrutinized her with a profound gaze, then turned to leave.

Pausing before crossing the threshold, he turned back. “Why is the Saintess being so amenable today?”

Bai Lian giggled playfully. “What are you saying, Elder? When have I ever been difficult? Even my occasional temper tantrums are for the good of the sect, are they not?”

Finally, the Second Elder departed, and the oppressive atmosphere that had filled the room seemed to be severed by the closing door.

…

“Perhaps… that was the final test.”

Bai Lian murmured softly.

She sat quietly for a while, ensuring no one else would intrude. Only then did she place an array disk on the floor, open her wardrobe, and pull out Jiang Wang, whose eyes were tightly shut. She tossed him onto the bed.

In this state of sealed senses, he was shielded from the Second Elder’s all-seeing eyes of white.

Bai Lian formed a hand seal, releasing the sensory seal.

Jiang Wang abruptly sat up, his hand instinctively reaching for his sword, his eyes fixed on Bai Lian.

Though he had been within the sensory seal, unable to hear the conversation between Bai Lian and the Second Elder, he had cleared his mind and reflected on the events of the day.

“Ask what you will,” Bai Lian said, walking to the table and seating herself.

“You saved me again,” Jiang Wang said, his voice strained.

Bai Lian offered a smile. “It was nothing.”

“This is the White Bone Path’s den. Are you one of them?” Jiang Wang inquired.

“We are all people of the Dao,” Bai Lian replied.

Knowing that arguing whether the White Bone Path was a legitimate Daoist sect was pointless, Jiang Wang pressed, “I only ask, are you of the White Bone Path?”

“Not I,” Bai Lian said, then tapped Jiang Wang with a jade finger. “We are.”

“What do you mean?”

“I did not wish to tell you so soon, for your ‘transformation’ is incomplete.” Bai Lian sighed, then asked: “But as you are here tonight, you will not be satisfied without answers, will you?”

Jiang Wang didn’t respond. Instead he asked, “So, Fang Heling’s arrival at Ox Head Mountain was a trap? For whom?”

“A stray pawn played by the White Bone Envoy, not specifically targeting anyone. Tonight, anyone who followed Fang Heling would have died here. We are abandoning this place soon anyway. You and the Dark Sentinel of the Judicial Office just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The White Bone Path would soon abandon Ox Head Mountain.

Jiang Wang latched onto this information, but then set it aside. “What is this ‘transformation’? What ‘we,’ ‘us’?”

“The White Bone Lotus on your back, your sudden mastery of the Flesh Reborn Soul Return technique… Do these not inspire any thoughts?”

“You’ve always known a lot about me. All of this could be your setup. The White Bone Lotus could have been tattooed on me while I was unconscious. You could have used some method to transmit the Flesh Reborn Soul Return technique to me… I could not be related to the White Bone Path!”

“I do not possess such神通 as memory alteration.” Bai Lian chuckled. “However, it is true that I have always been interested in you. Since you were a beggar…”

Jiang Wang recoiled in shock!

He had disguised himself as a beggar to escape Fang Pengju’s pursuit, eked out a living at Still Truth Temple. That was before he had even opened his meridians! Bai Lian had been watching him since then?

Bai Lian quickly clarified, “We guided the choices of the group of beggars to settle down at the Still Truth Temple.”

Her voice was soft, yet penetrating. “Still Truth Temple is a significant place, chosen by the Revered God. As far back as Zuoguanglie’s death, I wondered, so many beggars died, why didn’t you? Was that merely a coincidence?

Why did your cultivation advance by leaps and bounds after returning to the Dao Academy?

I suppose you have noticed it, too?

After opening your meridians, your cultivation speed surpasses common people.

Most importantly, you can devour the White Bone Path Seed, perfectly adapt to the White Bone Path’s secret techniques, and you know the Flesh Reborn Soul Return technique! You are not ordinary. You are the White Bone Path’s child!”

Bai Lian concluded, “Later, I realized that your appearance at Still Truth Temple was arranged by the Revered God.”

“No, no!” Jiang Wang shook his head. He believed his cultivation came from the Mirage Sea, and that he had nothing to do with any White Bone Path’s Child. But the Mirage Sea was his greatest secret, and he could not use it to argue.

“I fear that you will say ‘no’, yet you cry in your heart.”

“What Path Child!” Jiang Wang took a step back. “I have said, I can never forgive the White Bone Path’s actions. I can’t collude with you! We are not on the same path!”

“That is because you have not yet seen the truth of this world, not thoroughly erased your hypocrisy, and not found your true self.”

“I know who I am. I don’t need you to remind me.” Jiang Wang tried to control his emotions and calm down so that he could think.

“What is this White Bone Path Seed that you speak of?” he asked.

“It is precious. I only had one. It can absorb the nutrients of the host in order to grow, and finally perfectly control the host. But it was devoured by you… As you can see, the seed naturally cannot affect the Path Child!”

Jiang Wang stared coldly at her. “You tried to parasitize me?”

Bai Lian’s eyes showed an almost apologetic expression. “At that time, we weren’t familiar…”

“We are not familiar now. You make me feel very strange!” Jiang Wang said coldly. “Say no more! I will never believe that I am any White Bone Path Child. Even if I were, I would never conspire with you beast-hearted monsters!”

The “even if” indicated that although Jiang Wang was resolute, he was wavering.

Bai Lian did not rush to use this. Instead she asked, “Which is more beast-hearted: to raise ferocious beasts, disregarding the lives of common people, or to extract the Dao veins of aquatic creatures to refine Meridian Opening Pills?”

“Don’t try to use words to shake my Dao heart!” Jiang Wang’s voice was firm, as if only that was enough to resist the pressure he was under.

He tried to steady his breathing and reaffirm his determination. “Bai Lian, if our paths differ, then let us part ways. I said that you saved my life. You can take it back now.”

Bai Lian’s eyes were very beautiful, seemingly both angry and resentful, brimming with autumn waves. She gazed at Jiang Wang with those eyes.

“How could I bear to kill you?” she said softly. “However, as long as you cooperate, I can erase your memories of tonight. Let it be as if none of this has ever happened. You will only remember tonight’s events when you are completely awakened.”

“Am I burying my head in the sand?”

“No, the time is not yet right.”

Bai Lian got up, moving closer. Before Jiang Wang could react, she pressed him onto the bed.

“Look into my eyes,” she said. “I do not possess the divine power to manipulate memories, but merely use a secret technique to temporarily seal this small segment of memory. So, you must open your mind and fully cooperate. If anything goes wrong, it could lead to mental derangement, or soul scattering.”

Jiang Wang knew that this was the best choice.

He had mistakenly entered Ox Head Mountain tonight, stepping into a den of thieves, and should have died.

Bai Lian’s actions had already saved his life. But no matter what, she could not allow him to return to Maple Leaf City with the secrets of the White Bone Path.

He would rather die than collude with the White Bone Path.

Now, he could postpone the choice he had to face, without having to die.

Jiang Wang completely opened his mind, allowing his consciousness to be flooded by countless lotus petals.

He felt a sense of warmth and inclusion, and longing.

Then, in this boundless sea of lotus petals, he saw a lotus bud floating towards him.

It grew taller and taller until it was level with Jiang Wang’s eyes.

Then the lotus bloomed. At its center, there was no pistil, nor lotus seeds.

Instead… a black candle!