Two weeks had passed.
The silk curtain of the tent was pulled aside. The morning light of the Silver Steel Forest entered without hurry, illuminating the figure that emerged.
Mò Yán did not step onto the ground.
Her bare feet floated a few millimeters above the damp earth and dry leaves. The tips of her toes and her heels were slightly flushed, contrasting with her now translucent skin, like pure jade. A thin layer of Qi supported her weight perfectly — dust, mud, and dead leaves no longer had permission to touch her.
The transformation was complete.
The body that had once been rigid and restrained had opened into heavy, generous curves. Her full breasts strained against the white upper part of the newly sewn hanfu. A thick sash of fabric cinched her slim waist, holding the black skirt that contrasted with the pronounced width of her hips. Every movement made the dark silk sway with slow softness. Scattered across her pale jade skin were dozens of small reddish marks — hickeys and finger marks her husband had left during their two weeks together.
Her long white hair fell heavily down her back. When she raised her face, there was no longer any bureaucratic hesitation in her eyes. Her scarlet irises vibrated vivid and magnetic, overflowing with calm and devoted confidence.
Yù Méi, seated on a cut log, stopped chewing her apple. Her almond-shaped eyes swept over her new sister's body from head to toe, without hiding her interest.
"Damn…" the youngest muttered, swallowing the fruit. "Husband really didn't hold back with you. If the old men from your former clan saw you now, they'd have a heart attack before they could even draw their swords."
Yù Qíng approached, gliding through the air. She stopped beside Mò Yán and raised her cold hands, carefully adjusting the white collar of the hanfu. Her fingers lightly touched one of the darker marks on her sister's neck.
"The old shell has fallen," she murmured, her voice low and satisfied. "You look beautiful, snow flower. Perfect to stand beside our heaven."
Mò Yán slightly lowered her head, accepting the first wife's touch.
"I owe everything to him, elder sister."
The tent flap moved again.
Zhì Yuǎn stepped out. His dark eyes did not go to the forest or the sky. They went straight to the white-haired woman floating in front of him. He looked at her for a long moment — her heavy breasts straining the fabric, the curve of her hips, the reddish marks he himself had left on her jade-like skin.
"Mò Zhōng," his deep voice came out calm but firm. "Prepare the beasts. We're departing for Celestial Spear City today."
He took a step and stopped right in front of Mò Yán. Without hurry, he placed his hands on her hips and pulled her against his chest, forcing her to lean into him. Then he lowered his head until his lips brushed against her ear.
"You're perfect," he said, low enough for only her to hear.
Mò Yán felt the squeeze and closed her eyes for a moment, her body visibly relaxing against his chest. A soft moan escaped her throat.
"Yes, my heaven… thanks to you."
Soon after, Zhì Yuǎn let go of his wife and raised his right hand.
He combined three Laws he had been testing over the past few days: the Law of Karma, the Law of the Soul, and the Law of Light. The technique spread silently over the group like a thin veil of Qi.
"From now on, you are disguised," he said in a calm voice. "No one will see your true appearances."
The illusion anchored itself into their flesh.
To anyone outside, the jade-like skin, divine curves, and aura of the wives disappeared. The group now looked like ordinary travelers — tired, dirty, and completely forgettable. The illusion was complete. Only Zhì Yuǎn could see their true appearances, and only they could continue seeing his true form and each other's.
Near the carriage, Mò Zhōng let out a long, heavy sigh. The old man's shoulders slumped with relief.
For the first time in days, he raised his head without fear. During the camping period, he had been forced to keep his chin pressed to his chest and his eyes on the ground. A single accidental glance at his master's wives had nearly melted his mind. Even his own granddaughter had changed so much that he could no longer look at her without losing his breath. With the veil activated, the butler could finally see normally again.
Zhì Yuǎn did not make any speeches about their departure.
Yù Qíng raised her pale hand. The green jade ring on her finger glowed for an instant. The tent, barrels, and remnants of the camp vanished into the spatial artifact. The group boarded the Mobile Palace. Mò Zhōng snapped the reins, and the beasts began pulling the vehicle out of the forest.
The crossing of the Silver Steel Forest took a few hours. It was a direct journey without incidents. The gray trees struck the armor without leaving marks. Smaller beasts that tried to attack the vehicle were crushed under the wheels before the butler even needed to move.
In the middle of the afternoon, the tree line opened. The horizon was dominated by the colossal walls of Celestial Spear City.
The afternoon sun burned strongly. The entrance to the metropolis was a constant noise of commerce. Hunters dragged carcasses on carts, mercenaries shouted at merchants, and the smell of roasted meat mixed with dust and sweat.
The carriage stopped in front of the gate. A heavily armored guard struck the ground with the shaft of his spear, blocking the way.
"Entry fee for armored carriages," he said, his voice dragged with boredom. "Two spirit stones."
Inside the cabin, Zhì Yuǎn slid open the glass panel. Without saying a word, he tossed two stones directly into the soldier's gauntlet. They were mid-grade crystals they had collected from the lower world.
The guard caught the stones, opened his hand, and let out a rough laugh.
"You think I'm blind, outsider?" He threw the stones back onto the dirt. "This trash isn't even good enough to light a stove. Try passing off withered stones again and the carriage stays here."
The air inside the cabin cooled.
Yù Qíng slowly turned her face toward the window. The insult had been direct. The insect had just spat in her husband's face. She could have ripped his head off right there, but dirtying her hands at the gates would only delay her heaven's bath and rest.
A sweet, lethal smile formed beneath her veil. She raised her hand.
Yù Qíng's cold hand passed through the window and threw two stones directly at the guard's chest. The impact was sharp and heavy. The stones glowed with a density that purified the air around them for several meters. They were High-Grade Spirit Stones — something that almost never circulated openly in the border regions.
The guard's eyes widened. His legs lost their strength and he fell to his knees in the dust, trembling as he picked up the stones from the ground as if they were his very life.
"P-Please forgive me… My Lords…" His voice came out dragged with panic. He bowed his head until it nearly touched the ground. "I was blind. The gate is open. Thank you very much for your generosity!"
Zhì Yuǎn did not respond. Mò Zhōng snapped the reins and the Mobile Palace crossed the gates, plunging into the noise of the city.
Through the gap in the window, Yù Qíng observed what was left behind.
The guard who had received the stones stood up in a hurry. He stuffed the crystals under his breastplate and abandoned his post immediately, running toward the alleys. The second guard at the gatehouse did not shout for him to return. Instead, he tightened his grip on his sword, his eyes locked on his colleague's back with silent greed.
Three figures in dirty cloaks separated from the crowd and followed the deserting guard into the shadows.
Yù Qíng leaned her head against Zhì Yuǎn's shoulder and closed her eyes, satisfied. The problem had resolved itself.
The armored carriage rolled through a few more wide streets before stopping in the inner courtyard of the Bronze Bird Inn, the most expensive establishment in the commercial district.
Zhì Yuǎn did not hold back. He rented the entire top floor of the pavilion, tossing a single High-Grade Spirit Stone onto the counter. The dense glow of the crystal was enough for the innkeeper to bow until he touched the floor and order the servants to prepare hot baths and bring food immediately.
Downstairs, in the inner courtyard, Mò Zhōng had already led the copper-scaled beasts to an isolated stable. The butler did not need to be present. His place was to ensure that nothing disturbed his master's rest.
None of them truly needed the bath. The dust from the road and the filth of the outside world were passively repelled by their elevated bodies. But the cedar tubs filled with boiling water served as the perfect excuse.
The hour that followed had nothing to do with cleaning.
The doors to the bathing room locked. The hot water overflowed and lashed against the wooden floor repeatedly while Zhì Yuǎn handled all three of them at once beneath the thick steam. The act was rough and simultaneous. He divided his weight and rhythm among the three of them in the water, taking their bodies until their lungs gave out and their legs trembled on the edge of collapse.
When they finally emerged, the clean scent of soap mixed with the sweet, heavy aroma of bodily fluids.
The family gathered in the main room of the floor. The scent of fresh tea replaced the sweaty air of the market.
The round table in the center was carved from Dark Ink Stone.
Dozens of scrolls, metal plaques, and maps fell onto the stone table with a dry sound. They were the records the young Lǐ Wēi had been carrying.
Zhì Yuǎn sat at the head of the table. He leaned back in his chair and didn't look at the documents. He had no interest in the city; they had only stopped there to rest from the journey. On the other side of the table, Yù Qíng was already drinking tea in silence, having lost interest in the useless belongings. Yù Méi was sprawled in an armchair, cutting and eating an apple in small bites.
Mò Yán took a step forward. The diplomat opened the scrolls, her scarlet eyes quickly scanning the lines of ink. She separated three plaques and pushed them toward the center of the table.
"The city is governed by the Lǐ Clan, but their coffers are empty," Mò Yán's voice came out clean and direct. She pointed at the heir's notes. "They need urgent resources to reinvest in the clan's cultivators and maintain control of the city before the merchant guilds sponsor a rival clan to replace them. Tomorrow night's auction is just a facade. They plan to sell their own reserves while pretending they're spoils recovered from mercenaries."
Zhì Yuǎn rested his arm on the chair.
"We only stopped here to sleep," his rough voice cut through the topic with practicality. "What they do with the city doesn't concern us."
"Yes, husband," Mò Yán nodded slowly. She touched the black plaque with the emblem of the dead heir and looked at Yù Qíng. "But the strategy the young master and his father planned is interesting. The boy was supposed to place fake bids on the items. The goal was to gradually inflate the prices, creating competition to force the merchants to pay the maximum amount without taking them out of the game. Just to maximize profit."
Yù Qíng lowered her porcelain cup, her interest slightly piqued.
Mò Yán continued, her voice low and almost casual:
"If elder sister wants a bit of entertainment while we rest… we have his jade medallion. Instead of following their plan and inflating the prices little by little, we could… interrupt the performance right at the first act. A bid high enough to shatter the illusion of control the Patriarch is trying to sell. Without giving him time to recover or adjust his strategy."
She paused, her scarlet eyes gleaming with a veiled suggestion.
"Sometimes, the most elegant way to destroy a board is to not play by its rules. Just flip the table on the first move. The rest… should be interesting to watch."
Yù Méi let out a low whistle from the armchair, raising her eyebrows in pure surprise.
Yù Qíng opened a sweet smile, but her black eyes sparkled with venomous approval.
"Congratulations, snow flower," Yù Qíng said, her voice honeyed. "At least one of my sisters has a mind sharp enough for something useful."
She slowly turned her head and stared at the youngest.
Yù Méi stopped cleaning her nails immediately. She crossed her arms and huffed, visibly irritated.
"Hey! You didn't see how I humiliated that idiot with my knowledge before killing him!" She pointed a finger at Yù Qíng. "Besides, it was thanks to my cleverness that I thought of stealing… I mean, taking the information from his belongings. If it weren't for me, that ring would've been vaporized along with his body!"
Yù Qíng stared at her sister for two full seconds, her face completely stunned by the level of stupidity she had just heard. She slowly shook her head, as though attempting to expel the foolishness that had reached her ears, before turning her face aside and ignoring her younger sister entirely.
On the other side of the table, Zhì Yuǎn watched the scene in silence. A smile formed at the corner of his mouth. He simply observed the two with a calm and slightly entertained expression, like someone watching a light play he had already seen many times.
Yù Méi, still sulking, turned her face toward Yù Qíng and stuck her tongue out, making a loud, childish sound:
"Pbbbt!"
Yù Qíng closed her eyes for a second, clearly fighting the urge to turn around and slap her own sister. Instead, she simply let out a deep sigh and leaned back in her chair, keeping her gaze fixed on any other point in the room that wasn't the youngest.
Zhì Yuǎn let out a low chuckle. He slowly shook his head and tapped his fingers on the wooden armrest.
The man's dark gaze landed directly on Mò Yán. He didn't care about the auction, the guilds, or the economy of that useless city. The only thing holding his attention was the lively spark in the white-haired woman's scarlet eyes as she dismantled the board.
"Continue," he murmured, his eyes never leaving hers. "I like hearing your voice."