After the shadowy figure left the courtyard behind, it made its way straight to the Eastern quarter. There, under the dim glow of a lantern, Ling Yue's figure appeared.
But what was she doing in that place at this hour of the night?
The answer lay in the item she had just taken with her.
Carefully pulling it out, it turned out to be a dagger. About two fingers wide and three inches long, its edges were as thin as paper. When she flicked the blade with a finger, it gave off a clear metallic hum, proof of its fine craftsmanship.
"Wow, the Song family must be filthy rich to afford something this pure just for forging a dagger!" What Ling Yue had retrieved from the courtyard was none other than the same dagger that had nearly ended Ye Gu's life earlier that day.
Ye Gu was still angry over the incident, and thanks to the rest of the Ye family being preoccupied, only Ling Yue had noticed how unusual the dagger really was.
First of all, the Yuan Iron content in the blade was at least sixty percent!
Considering the Ye family's current capabilities, there was no way they could refine metal of that quality, let alone forge it into a dagger.
Anyone who has worked with Yuan Iron would know that forging it into a weapon was much harder than simply refining it into a bar. Except for the master smiths in the county's main city, no one in Autumn Maple Town had the skills to make something like this.
But what worried her more was the faint trace of spirit force still lingering on the dagger.
If she hadn't reacted so quickly earlier, Ye Gu would've died on the spot.
"What a vile Song family. They dare plot against us like this? Just wait. I'll make sure to repay this debt," Ling Yue vowed.
Still, the appearance of this flying dagger had given her a new perspective on cultivating spirit force.
She hadn't worked with spirit force for long, and Mr. Red Mist's codex barely recorded anything about cultivation techniques related to it.
Until now, she had only known how to transfer items in and out of her dimensional space. But after witnessing the sneak attack, she realized that spirit force had a huge potential—especially in combat.
As she played with the dagger, she tried using her spirit force to control it. But the moment her force made contact, a powerful resistance pushed her back.
Ah, that explains it—the blade still had a trace of its original owner's spirit force.
"I need to think of a way to make this dagger mine." As she said this, the cauldron mark on her right hand suddenly lit up and released a wisp of spirit smoke into the dagger on its own.
The spirit force inside the dagger fought back instinctively, but under the relentless pressure of the spirit smoke, it was gradually overwhelmed and consumed by the cauldron's power.
Once that was done, Ling Yue sent her own spirit force into the dagger to claim ownership over it.
"Squeak?" Noticing that his mistress was still awake, Little Squeak rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked at the dagger in confusion.
"Go!" Ling Yue suddenly gave a sharp command.
The dagger shot forward in a silver blur—straight at Little Squeak.
SQUEAK!!!
Fur bristling in terror, Little Squeak jolted awake, tumbling from the bed and landing belly-up, his little paws splayed in the air.
Ling Yue laughed so hard tears rolled down her face.
Realizing she had been teasing him, Little Squeak turned his back to her in protest, his tiny butt facing her as he pouted silently for the rest of the night.
Elsewhere that same night, others were also unable to sleep—though not for the same reason as Little Squeak.
While most of Autumn Maple Town was calm and quiet, one place still had its lights on: the study room of the Song family's master.
Song Mo Shi looked as if he had swallowed a fly, frowning deeply. He had planned everything perfectly. Once that old geezer Ye Gu died from the dagger provided by Master Lian, he would have his men—already stationed outside the Ye residence—storm in and eliminate everyone. But things had gone horribly wrong, and now he was stuck.
"Master Lian, what happened? Why did the dagger miss? Or did you take bribes from the Ye family and purposely mess things up?" After two failures, Song Mo Shi was growing suspicious.
"What did you just say, Song Mo Shi? Are you doubting my ability—or are you doubting the Alchemist Association?" Furious, Master Lian slammed a wooden badge onto the table.
Etched on the surface of the badge was the shape of a cauldron.
The moment Song Mo Shi saw it, he immediately suppressed his anger and began to bow and apologize profusely.
"Forgive me, Master Lian. I got carried away and spoke out of turn. Even if I had a hundred lives, I'd never dare doubt you or the Alchemist Association."
If the Ye family had seen this badge, they would've been stunned.
In fact, anyone living in Da Xia or making a living across the Nine Lands would recognize what this badge represented.
The Alchemist Association—an organization with influence in every kingdom—commanded great respect wherever its members went.
"Hmph, as long as you understand. I've already accepted your fifty thousand gold. I'll definitely get rid of the Ye family for you." Thinking about today's failure made Master Lian fume all over again.
If he didn't desperately need funding to advance from a quasi-alchemist to a real alchemist, he would never have come to a backwater place like Autumn Maple Town.
To kill Ye Gu at the banquet, he had even used his spirit dagger—his trump card—and ended up losing it. That weapon had been his last resort!
As a quasi-alchemist, Master Lian's spirit force cultivation was only at the seventh rank. But with that dagger, he could even kill martial artists of the upper celestial realm.
The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. He had killed so many before—why did he miss this time?
Could there be another spirit force user in the Ye family?
The thought crossed his mind but was dismissed almost immediately.
If that were the case, the Ye family would've long since taken control of this entire area—maybe even challenged him, a quasi-alchemist.
"It was my mistake this time. But rest assured—there won't be a third," Master Lian said with a sinister smile.
By the time the rooster crowed three times, Ling Yue had just finished practicing with the flying dagger. She was now quite skilled in controlling it.
"I'm currently at the sixth rank of body training. With this flying dagger, I could even take down someone at the eighth rank if needed. But... where did the Song family get such a weapon? Could someone that powerful be hiding in their ranks?" Without any answers, she stored the dagger away and went to sleep. A few hours later, she headed to the forge like usual.