"Tap, tap, tap..."

Fingers rhythmically tapped on the armrest. After pondering for quite a while, Bai Yue finally spoke:

"So, you're saying that the Immortal will come to my mansion tomorrow to discuss the matter of demon extermination?"

"That's correct, City Lord."

"Very well, you've done a good job. I am already aware of this matter, and tomorrow I will personally attend to this legendary Cultivator. You will accompany me, and make sure not to neglect our guest."

"Oh right, thank you for the matter regarding Xiao Jie. I, Bai, owe you a favor..."

Ye Lin quickly clasped his hands in decline upon hearing this.

After Ye Lin left, Bai Yue sat alone in the main hall, contemplating for a long time before sighing and turning to the backyard of the City Lord Mansion.

The City Lord Mansion is located in the central area of Han Yue City, covering a vast area.

But from the outside, it looks as if one has entered a large scenic area in Huaxia, requiring vehicles for transportation.

Bai Yue has served as the City Lord of Han Yue City for decades, bringing prosperity to the city, with wealthy citizens and bustling trade.

It can be said that the current prosperity of Han Yue City is undoubtedly due to his efforts.

However, a significant part of these achievements also comes from a woman, namely Bai Yue's wife, Shangguan Jingling.

Despite being a woman, Shangguan Jingling is highly talented, well-versed in various books, and able to utilize her strengths, assisting Bai Yue in elevating Han Yue City to its current state.

Bai Yue loves his wife dearly, and the two have a harmonious and loving relationship.

However, aside from the evil spirits causing chaos in the city recently, one thing that has been troubling Bai Yue is that his wife seems to have changed.

Born into a prestigious family, Shangguan Jingling was well-educated, gentle, and a true lady.

However, of late, Bai Yue has noticed that his wife's personality has become increasingly strange.

Many of her actions seem unusual, filling him with confusion.

For instance, his wife used to be soft-spoken and kind-hearted, showing love towards even small animals in the mansion and not willing to harm them.

Yet now, she avoids him, her voice seems hoarse and unpleasant, and she isolates herself daily in her pavilion, rarely interacting with others.

According to some maidservants, they even witnessed her cruelly torturing her favorite rabbit to death in the backyard, leaving people baffled.

Bai Yue felt that if his wife didn't remember the times they spent together, he might've suspected she had been impersonated by someone.

Previously preoccupied with handling the city's evil spirits, Bai Yue was unable to break away, but now, with the Immortal's help, he finally felt relieved.

So this time, he dismissed the surrounding guards and went alone to his wife's backyard, intending to communicate with her earnestly and ask if anything was troubling her.

Shangguan Jingling's courtyard is where she usually reads.

Lately, she has been staying here, secretively tinkering with unknown things, preventing anyone from approaching, including Bai Yue himself.

However, now, Bai Yue decided to enter personally to see what has been going on with his wife recently.

"Creak~"

The courtyard door was pushed open, letting dust fall as it revealed the scene inside.

Weeds covered the surroundings, cobwebs filled the rooftops, and the entire courtyard looked lifeless.

Bai Yue was shocked; this was nowhere near an inhabited yard—it looked like an abandoned and decayed house for decades.

Though busy with city affairs, Bai Yue hadn't returned to the backyard for a long time.

But he never expected his wife's courtyard to deteriorate into such a state.

"Something's not right..."

Bai Yue, not being a fool, immediately sensed something was wrong.

In the current situation, the sudden eerie change of his backyard raised his alarm instantly.

"Ling'er? Ling'er?"

He refrained from going further, instead calling out tentatively from where he stood.

The yard remained utterly silent, with no response.

"Could it be that Ling'er has fallen victim to a demon?"

Anxiety welled up within Bai Yue.

However, he did not lose his calm and rashly rush in; instead, he turned to seek help.

Yet, the moment he turned around, he inadvertently bumped right into the courtyard door, which had somehow silently closed behind him!

Bai Yue felt a mix of surprise and doubt.

The door was clearly behind him; with his martial arts, who could manage to close it without his notice?

When he pushed it earlier, the door creaked noisily, so how did it close with not even a whisper now?

While doubts filled his mind, he dared not hesitate with his hands and raised them to push the door open.

As soon as his palm touched the door, a translucent barrier surfaced abruptly, shocking him back as if electrocuted.

"What, what's happening!"

Bai Yue was astonished, staring in horror at the now-fading barrier.

He knew that he had probably encountered demons this time.

All previous suspicions vanished; such occurrences couldn't be explained merely by martial arts and Inner Strength.

Glancing upward, Bai Yue prepared to leap over the courtyard wall's top.

However, the barrier seemed to encase the entire courtyard completely, blocking every escape angle.

"Huff, huff..."

Exhausted, Bai Yue suppressed his impulse to leave and turned his focus towards the house.

Just then, a soft rustling sound reached his ears, coming from the dusty, webbed pavilion.

Bai Yue tensed up, knowing the inevitable had arrived, unsure whether his wife had already fallen victim.

He fixated on the pavilion door, watching it slowly swing open from within.

Dust fell from the doorframe as a figure slowly emerged behind it.

"Ling, Ling'er?"

Bai Yue was in disbelief upon seeing the person.

He never anticipated that his worrying wife would appear so intact before him, showing no signs of injury.

"No!! You're not Ling'er!!"

The next moment, he suddenly snapped back to reality.

The bizarre series of occurrences couldn't be without reason.

Combining his wife's recent behavior with the city's events, Bai Yue had a dreadful premonition.

"Heh heh... Seems you've figured it out... but you're really quite foolish to only notice now..."

The woman kept her head down, rasping out harsh, unpleasant sounds.

"Who are you really! What have you done to Ling'er!!?"

Bai Yue sternly questioned, secretly channeling his Inner Strength, ready to act at any moment.

"Heh heh... What have I done to Ling'er? Seems you still haven't seen through it... I am your Ling'er!"

"What!?"

Bai Yue hesitated, and the Inner Strength he gathered began to dissipate.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Ling'er is gentle and virtuous; how could she be like you!!"

The woman gradually approached, saying:

"There's nothing impossible... I intended to set up the Ten Thousand Spirit Array again to transcend the Transformation Heavenly Tribulation, but I didn't expect you to discover it..."

"However, by now, even your discovery is useless... Heh heh... I've collected a thousand portions of Human Clan essence blood; soon, I can face the Heavenly Tribulation to become a Devil Infant!"

Shangguan Jingling suddenly burst into unrestrained laughter.

The laughter was piercing, making Bai Yue's head swim and nearly causing him to lose consciousness.

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