Chapter 3: Are You Really Ji Chan?

Achan opened her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly. Amid the falling snow, a pair of black leather boots appeared in her line of sight.

Before she could speak, an unsheathed long sword pressed against her neck. The scabbard, with scales not fully polished off, grazed her skin, drawing blood almost instantly.

“Name?” The voice above her was calm and low, almost gentle. If not for the sword at her throat, Achan might have thought this man was kind.

“A… Ji Chan.”

“Why are you here?”

“My home is in Changping Lane. I was just passing through on my way back.”

Ji Chan’s memories had flooded into Achan’s mind after the possession, a complete record of another person’s short life, the key to her living on as Ji Chan.

Achan quickly recalled the events of the night to deal with the man before her.

“Go on. What happened?”

Being questioned while lying on the ground was far from pleasant, but the man showed no intention of moving the sword. She could only maintain her position and answer obediently.

“On my way back, I saw people nearby hunting a demon. When it rushed toward me, an arrow flew over… and hit me.”

The wound had healed, and she shouldn’t have said more, but her white robe was too conspicuous, stained with a large patch of blood at the chest. There was no way to gloss over it.

Bai Xiuming’s gaze followed her words, landing on her heart, then shifting to the arrow beside her. It was government-issued, likely from the Ministry of Justice based on its design.

“Continue.”

“I crawled into the alley and saw her.”

“You spoke to it?”

“I thought I was dying and that she might eat me, so I said something. To my surprise, she responded.”

“What did she say?”

“She said she doesn’t eat people, asked my name, and then fell silent.”

A scoff sounded above her, and the sword threatening her life finally moved away. The man crouched in front of her, his black cloak trailing on the ground, dusted with snow.

Achan stole a glance, thinking how warm it looked.

She had never felt cold before; her fur had been both beautiful and insulating. Now, she shivered uncontrollably.

Being human was truly difficult.

“You’ve got some nerve, daring to lie to an official.” The words, laced with a hint of amusement, rang in her ears. In the next moment, a hand gripped her neck like an iron clamp, forcing her to lift her face and meet his gaze.

She saw an exceptionally handsome face, as if sculpted by the heavens, easily among the top three among the demons and humans she knew.

Achan was picky and had always favored beautiful people, which had caused her plenty of trouble. This man, she suspected, was no less dangerous.

He had gentle eyes, with a fleeting shimmer of tenderness as he looked down at her. Yet his grip was anything but soft. In moments, Achan’s vision darkened, and she struggled to breathe.

She clawed desperately at his hand, trying to break free, but couldn’t budge him in the slightest.

Bai Xiuming watched her until her struggles weakened, then loosened his grip slightly and asked again, “I’ll ask one more time: what did it say to you?”

“She asked me for a seal, but it failed. She also said she was an eight-tailed fox.”

“Eight-tailed fox?” A glint flashed in Bai Xiuming’s eyes. He called out, “Feng Yang.”

“Present, sir.”

A man named Feng Yang appeared from nowhere, kneeling on one knee, head bowed, awaiting orders.

“Have someone examine the body.”

“Yes, sir.”

Two men quickly approached to inspect Achan’s original body. After a short time, they finished and stood aside.

“Well?” Bai Xiuming asked.

“Reporting to my lord, this demon is indeed an eight-tailed fox, not very old. Its body is covered in deep, bone-exposing wounds, as if it was ambushed. We found no demon core within it.”

Bai Xiuming seemed uninterested in their findings, asking only, “Is it completely dead?”

“Completely dead.”

“Take it to the Mirror Division.”

“Yes, sir.”

“And this one…” He stood, taking a plain handkerchief from Feng Yang and wiping his hand. “Take her back too.”

The handkerchief fell to the ground.

“Yes, sir.”

Achan was taken to the Mirror Division, or more precisely, to the underground Suppression Prison.

She had heard of the Suppression Prison, a place where many great demons were held, a terrifying tale told to scare demon cubs.

In Ji Chan’s memories, many had said that few who entered the Mirror Division’s Suppression Prison ever came out alive.

At the prison’s entrance, black-armored Mirror Division guards stood watch day and night. The two heavy black iron doors bore the faint outline of Bi’an, one of the nine dragon sons.

As the guards led Achan closer, Bi’an’s form grew clearer, its eyes slowly tracking her movements. When the iron doors opened, she was shoved inside.

Stepping into the Suppression Prison, Achan thought to herself that the man was indeed suspicious of her.

Everyone knew Bi’an could discern right from wrong and judge criminal matters, but few knew its true dragon eyes could also see whether a person’s body and soul were aligned.

Had she forcibly possessed Ji Chan’s body tonight, she might have escaped heaven’s punishment but not this man’s scrutiny.

Even if she passed this test, could she truly leave alive today?

The guards didn’t take her to a cell but led her through a dark, narrow corridor. At its end was a stone chamber lit by firelight.

Upon entering, Achan realized it was an interrogation room.

The red glow she had seen came from burning coals, with various sizes of branding irons placed atop them.

The guards swiftly and silently bound Achan to an iron frame in the corner, chaining her limbs and neck with iron shackles, then left without a sound.

In the interrogation room, Achan was alone.

Only now did she realize the gravity of her mistake.

A sheltered young lady raised in the Marquis Estate shouldn’t be so calm in such a terrifying situation.

By answering the man’s questions so clearly and logically, she had already fallen into his trap.

She cursed herself, but it was no use.

If she couldn’t provide a reasonable explanation today, they would likely kill her rather than risk letting her go.

While Achan worried for her life, Bai Xiuming sat in the inner hall of the Mirror Division, listening to Feng Yang’s report.

“My lord, Ji Chan’s identity has been confirmed.”

“Speak.” Bai Xiuming had removed his cloak, his vermilion robe embroidered with dragon and fish patterns accentuating his tall, slender frame.

“Ji Chan was the legitimate eldest daughter of Jinyang Marquis Ji Heng, but she was recently disowned. It’s said the Marquis suddenly discovered she wasn’t his biological daughter.”

“Suddenly discovered?” Bai Xiuming’s lips curled, as if he found the phrase amusing.

“This subordinate believes the Marquis’s actions may be related to the disgraced Lin family. The former Marchioness was the legitimate daughter of the Lin family.”

“Hm. Anything else?” Bai Xiuming picked up a teacup and took a sip.

“Also, the person who injured Ji Chan tonight was likely Xue Mingtang, a junior official in the Ministry of Justice. His sister recently married the Jinyang Marquis, bringing her two children with her.”

“That’s all?”

Feng Yang nodded. “That’s all.”

As for his analysis, he knew his lord didn’t need to hear it. The sordid affairs of the Jinyang Marquis Estate couldn’t be hidden from him.

“What kind of person is Ji Chan?”

Feng Yang paused, racking his brain for the information he’d gathered, finally summing it up in four words. “A refined young lady.”

Bai Xiuming gave a cold laugh. “Some refined young lady.”

Feng Yang, too, had noticed something off about Ji Chan but didn’t dare say more.

“And the fox demon?”

“The fox demon’s body has been sent for examination. No trace of its soul remains; it may have dissipated.”

“Dissipated? Demons are cunning and deceitful. Given a chance to live, would it willingly wait for death?”

“But Ji Chan passed under Bi’an’s gaze without any anomaly.”

Bai Xiuming stood and walked out. “That’s what I’m curious about.”

Being chained to the iron frame was far from comfortable, especially in Achan’s weakened state.

At first, she thought it was due to the possession, her soul not yet fully aligned with the body, and that it would improve with time.

But after so long with no sign of recovery, she began to suspect this weakness wasn’t from a soul-body mismatch.

At that moment, she heard footsteps outside. Soon, a tall figure appeared at the entrance of the interrogation room.

Achan watched as the man entered. This time, he carried no sword, but the room was filled with things far more dangerous than a blade.

As if sensing her thoughts, Bai Xiuming stopped at a table, picking up a whip from the array of torture tools.

“Name.”

This was the second time Bai Xiuming asked her name.

“Ji Chan.”

“Ji Chan?” His voice was low, pronouncing the name as if whispering a lover’s, laced with suffocating tenderness.

“A beautiful name. But are you really Ji Chan?”

“Don’t you think I am, my lord?” Achan challenged, meeting his gaze.

The rough whip grazed her cheek. Bai Xiuming’s expression remained impassive as he stared at her. “The legitimate daughter of the Jinyang Marquis isn’t known for her boldness.”

“If you had died once, my lord, you might not think so. My courage is greater than you imagine.”

“Oh? How great?”

Achan smiled. “Don’t you want to know where the fox’s core went, my lord? I know.”

“You know?”

“Come closer, and I’ll tell you.”

Bai Xiuming leaned in, their breaths nearly intertwining. Her eyes met his, filled with tender emotion.

Achan whispered, “I ate it.”

The next moment, she cried out in pain.

Bai Xiuming stood a few steps away, the whip leaving a long, bloody gash across her body.

As the whip struck, its barbs extended, tearing into flesh with ruthless precision.

Achan trembled in agony but maintained her defiance, “Beating me won’t help. I ate it.”

“Humans who consume a demon’s core die.”

“Not if the demon gives it willingly.” Achan gasped for breath. “She didn’t want to live, so she gave me her core. If I hadn’t eaten it, that arrow would have killed me.”

It sounded like a perfectly reasonable explanation.