Mei Hua’s ploy worked. When the highest in authority acts in a shameless way, those below will definitely feel emboldened. They all stripped, with Mei Hua handing them hair and body soaps and instructing them how to use them.

When Mei Hua saw Jia Ying naked scarred body, her heart tightened. There were darker scars running down her shoulders to her calves, and around her wrists and ankles. It wasn’t until after they’d showered and were heading towards the baths that Mei Hua finally felt confident enough to ask.

“If you don’t mind me asking, where did all the scars on your body come from?”

Jia Ying looked surprised.

“Should I not have asked?”

“No, no… just… usually people only comment on my scars to belittle me. Other than children, I’ve never had someone honesty ask me about them.”

“Oh…”

“I got them as a child—”

The conversation stopped abruptly because they’d entered the bathing rooms.

Which was huge.

There were pools of steaming water in various colors and depths. Some bubbled while others were so still you could see your reflection in them. At fixed intervals pillars shaped like bears were carved to look as though they were holding up the tall ceiling. Carved fish were gushing water out of their mouths here and there.

Near the ceiling to their left, the slants they’d see outside were letting in streams of sunlight. There was also giant pearl-like objects sitting in stone shaped like claim shells letting off a faint light.

“Ah, a deer!” Guilei pointed at one of the bear pillars feet. Sure enough, a small deer could be seen peeking around the bear pillar’s feet.

“I told you,” Jia Ying chuckled. “Once you start looking, you can’t stop.”

Since the girls didn’t know which place to go first, Mei Hua guided them to a bubbling pool that was just warm enough to make your muscles relax. Along the way, they found five more deers designs. They all got in and, as one, sighed in deep satisfaction. After several minutes of just enjoying themselves, Mei Hua went back to the topic of scars.

“So you got all those scars as a child?”

“Hn,” Jia Ying nodded, eyes closed and neck resting on the stone rim of the pool bath. “I was a child sacrifice for the people who kidnapped you.”

Mei Hua whole face went black while Guilei paled. The World Tree had explained to Guilei and her husband what had happened to Lady Mei Hua before they arrived to ask for sanctuary.

“Those evil—!” She smashed her fists into the water, sending it flying everywhere. “Wasn’t what they did to me bad enough?!”

The other two got splashed and had to wipe their faces.

Guilei looked deeply troubled. “…were they Devil Cultivators?”

Jia Yin nodded slightly, her body tensing.

Guilei reached out and pat the other woman on the shoulder in sympathy. Jia Ying’s body relaxed at the other woman’s kind gesture and she managed a low chuckle.

“Thank you, but I’m alright. It happened a long time ago. Truthfully, what I remember before coming here… it’s almost like it happened to another person. Only after living on these Mountains did I begin to feel like a living, breathing person. Before that I was an empty husk.”

She raised an arm and glide her hand across it. “These scars are all that’s truly left from that time… even Doctor Zufu couldn’t get rid of them. He said they go all the way into the soul. ‘Soul Scars’ he called them. They won’t do any harm, but at the same time, they’ll never go away either. Lady— ah, M-Mother’s—” Jia Ying looked a bit flustered. “—shoulder is like that too.”

Guilei looked at Mei Hua’s shoulder and nodded. Based off how the wound spread out like a spider’s web, Guilei could guess even without being told there’d been poison involved.

Jia Ying leaned back and sighed. “I was the only eyewitness left conscious and alive at the assassins base. Doctor Zufu allowed me to stay here originally because of the information he hoped I had on those assassins. It took time, but Auntie Zumu eventually got me to open up. I had no idea what was important or not, so I told her everything… things like how I came from Jianghu and the people who bought me—”

“Bought?!”

“—oh yes, I was a slave. It’s not uncommon in Jianghu for families to sell their unwanted children on the Black Market to get spirit stones, high grade cores, or whatever they need to further their cultivation.”

Mei Hua sank into the water until it was just below her nose, eyebrows in a flat line at such unpleasant news. Shuya had said that Jianghu was a blessed land or some such. And Cultivators were suppose to be people who meditated on the deep things in life. Yet somehow they had a Black Market and sold their own children.

“Like I was saying, I was bought in Jianghu. My Masters made sure I only had enough food and water to survive, but never enough to give me the energy to flee. None of my Masters told my their name or where they were located, most of what I remember is being in a dark room with no windows. Occasionally someone would come and torture me. They didn’t say why at first, but later I got a chatty torturer who told me it was better for their cultivation if my spirit was broken.” She nodded slightly, eyes looking at nothing and face blank. “But maybe they just did it for fun. They all seemed to enjoy watching me suffer.”

The other women didn’t know what to say, rendered silent by such cruelty. Jia Ying suddenly shook herself, as if waking up.

“Anyway, Lad— Mother, did you know the Main Land is horrible for cultivators?”

This sudden change in topic caught her off guard and she tilted her head.

“Vaguely? It’s something to do with the nature I think?”

“Hn, the Elements are strangely “thin” on the Main Land. And most cultivating depends on absorbing one of the five elements of nature…” She blinked. “Though I have heard of a few exceptions in the West. But in Jianghu it’s all Elemental based. Without an ample supply of Elements, not only does their cultivation stall but they also have no way to regenerate their qi. They end up stranded if they stay too long. But Devil Cultivators get around this limitation by bringing along human sacrifices…”

Guilei said glumly. “The sacrifices let them channel power from Jianghu, right? I’ve heard of that’s how they do business here… on the Main Land I mean. And not only that, Devil cultivators can use human souls as a power source directly and bypass the nature elements altogether if they need.”

“That’s right, and slaves are the best source since our spirits are broken and we won’t run away. They also used us in an array system so they could instantly transport themselves and a large amount of supplies where ever they wanted.” Jia Ying suddenly glanced at Mei Hua and looked horribly guilt. “M-Mother, I… I’ve always wanted to say this… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? For what?”

“The only reason I was left with a single breath in my body was because an assassin foolishly stayed behind. I lived but in exchange he… to you…” The younger woman didn’t know how to continue.

At first Mei Hua didn’t understand. When she did her whole body tensed and she began to feel ill. She’d passed out by the end, but she remembered the beginning.

“Lady Mei Hua?” Jia Ying said softly, not daring to call her Mother.

Hearing her anxiousness jolted Mei Hua out of herself. She dunked her head in the water, surprising the other to women. For just a moment, she didn’t want them seeing her expression. She rubbed her face violently in the warm bubbly water, as if to scrub out the grossness she felt.

Just as suddenly, she popped back out. Water dripping down her long hair, she reached out and pushed Jia Ying playfully.

“What are you even apologizing for? Did you think I’d resent you for living? Ha! I’m not that weak! And didn’t I say you need to call me Mother?”

Jia Ying relaxed at her tone and she gave a hesitant smile.

“A-anyway, I was fortunate to hear the Devil cultivators mention they came from an Association. I didn’t even know that much until they’d dragged me to the Main Land. That information is more or less what I shared with the Doctor and Auntie.” She rubbed her forehead in annoyance. “We still don’t know which Association... I wish I’d payed more attention. They always used aliases but I’m sure if I’d been more aware I could have found something more…”

Mei Hua looked at her in exasperation. “You’re not actually beating yourself up over that too, are you? It’s a miracle you remembered as much as you did considered how you were treated.”

“And what you knew was useful enough,” Guilei nodded in agreement with Mei Hua. “In Jianghu, Evil Factions are numerous. You’ve got the wandering vagabonds who answer to no one, about a hundred of the regular groups like my husband’s former family, and then those with a Devil Patron that number six. Of those six, one is a Clan, two are Sects, and three are Associations. So you narrowed down the Emperor’s search by quite a lot.”

Jia Ying eyes widened. “Yan Li has always said my information was useful, but I had no idea it was that helpful.”

“I know my son’s been nothing but trouble, but at least in this one instance you would have done well to believe him.”

“H-he hasn’t been any trouble…”

Mei Hua’s whole face bunched up sourly, her eyes narrowing. Clearly she disagreed.

“Really, Mother. He’s a good man, even if he lacks some in the social graces.”

“Yan Li is… Yan Li is your son, Lady Mei Hua?” Guilei actually knew very little about the family of the Emperor, so she wanted to confirm.

“One of four.” Mei Hua’s face finally relaxed. “Shan Hui is the oldest, Yan Li and Shi Ji are twins, and Lu Shao is the youngest.”

Guilei muttered the names to herself, memorizing them.

“So Guilei, what’s Jianghu li—”

“GRANDMA!”

All three women almost jumped out of their own skin at the loud yell. They turned around to see a little boy running toward them.

Mei Hua blinked rapidly. “Little Wei? What are you doing here?”

“Grandma, I heard you—urk!” He’d run up and suddenly seen his Mother. “M-Mommy, why are you here?!”

Jia Ying face was frowning in that exact way all Mother’s faces do when they caught their children being exceptionally naughty.

“Little Wei, what are you doing here?”

“…er…”

“Didn’t I specifically leave you with Xiao Ting as punishment for running away?”

“…but Grandma…”

Jai Ying stood up and marched over to Little Wei, grabbing him by the ear and scolding him fiercely. The fact that she was naked and wet, dripping hot water all over her son, didn’t matter at all.

Guilei watched this scene wide eyed, while Mei Hua slid closer to her. She leaned over and whispered conspiratorially.

“That’s my grandson, Wei Sheng.”

Guilei nodded.

“Did you know the Princes can only have sons?”

Guilei blinked and shook her head.

“Hm… now this is just a suggestion but… should you have a baby girl… Wei Sheng would only be a few years older than her. What do you think of playing at being a matchmaker with me, hm?”

Guilei almost choked on her own spit.

“Eh, eh? Is that a yes?”