Linyue was still smiling faintly when she pushed open the door to her chamber. She wondered if her chaos family was already inside.
Of course they were. There they sat, like it was their own chamber and furniture. Song Meiyu was even happily munching on candied haw, crumbs scattered around the table and floor.
As expected, Song Meiyu was the first to speak, chirping brightly, "Sister Linyue! Come here quick! I have news from Master Yin Xue!"
Linyue stepped inside and took her seat casually. Like a normal person. Like someone who definitely had not spent the night being kissed and hugged to near collapse by a certain shameless king. She folded her hands neatly in her lap. "What news?"
Song Meiyu leaned in close, her eyes wide with drama. "The strange cases of people losing their minds and attacking others? They've increased. King Lu got so worried. He asked Master Yin Xue for help, but she still can't find the cause. No illness. No poison. Nothing. It's like something invisible is changing people without warning."
Linyue's faint smile disappeared. "So it's getting worse."
Shen Zhenyu, who had been sitting silently like always, spoke up next. "That Soup Man came by this morning too." He held up a spirit transmission jade between his fingers. "He left this. He said the cases in the North are rising as well. It's spreading fast."
Linyue stared at the spirit transmission jade in Shen Zhenyu's hand. Her mind was already running through possibilities, connections, and dead ends. But under all the logic and worry, there was something else.
Resolve.
She had known peace for one whole night. Warm, sleepy cuddles, and a shameless Demon King doting on her. It had been nice. Perfect even. So of course the world was trying to ruin it now. She straightened in her chair, her fingers tapping lightly against her knee. "There's still no known case in Shulin. It's only happening in the East and North. What's the link between the two?"
Shen Zhenyu shook his head. "Master Yin Xue said she couldn't even find the cause. Nothing adds up."
Song Meiyu leaned forward eagerly. "And it's totally different from the Crimson Bloodroot. Completely different flavor of creepy."
In the corner, He Yuying popped a dried plum into his mouth and said in his usual flat tone, "Maybe they really did just lose their minds. Happens sometimes. I feel like that too when I skip breakfast."
Song Meiyu gave him a sharp look. "Mental illness doesn't spread like a cold."
Linyue's eyes narrowed as her thoughts deepened. "Is there any herb, poison, or disease that could cause this? Something that can change a person's behavior so suddenly?"
Song Meiyu shook her head, frowning. "Not like this. Sure, there are herbs that can mess with mind. Some make people confused or hallucinate. But this?" She leaned back, waving her candied haw like a pointer. "People going violent all of a sudden, eyes turning red, veins bulging—"
She paused with perfect timing and said with a completely straight face, "Like angry cabbage. That's Master Yin Xue's official diagnosis."
Shen Zhenyu coughed quietly into his sleeve. Probably hiding a laugh.
Song Meiyu, on the other hand, looked deadly serious as she waved her candied haw stick for emphasis. "Her exact words. Not mine. She said the veins swell up all over the body, especially near the eyes, like they're about to sprout leaves. And there's no poison trace in their blood. She checked three times. Even made someone else check it."
He Yuying let out a long sigh, still chewing. "So we're basically looking for something invisible, impossible, and very annoying."
Linyue nodded. "Exactly."
Chaos family: worried, confused, and somehow still comedic.
The room fell into silence. Or more accurately, the suspicious kind of silence. The kind that usually meant someone was about to say something reckless.
Sure enough, Song Meiyu leaned forward, voice careful but eyes sparkling with mischief. "Should we go back to the East? Maybe we could help."
Linyue nodded once. "Mhm. I'll go back too."
Song Meiyu gasped. "Really?! Will that Demon King even let you?"
Linyue shrugged lightly. "He's going too. He said he'll handle everything in a few days. Then we'll leave together."
Song Meiyu gasped again, even louder this time. She was practically bouncing in her seat. "Really?? He's that impatient to marry you?"
Linyue hummed. "Mhm."
Shen Zhenyu, who had been listening in silence, finally spoke. "Then it's good timing. We can leave together."
He Yuying nodded lazily from his corner. "Great. A wedding and a long trip. I'll pack extra snacks."
Song Meiyu, however, was far from done. She squinted suspiciously at Linyue, her eyes glowing with conspiracy. "Actually, don't you think the timing is too perfect? I mean, as soon as the new emperor takes the throne, people start going crazy. And let's not forget… the whole imperial family was poisoned with Crimson Bloodroot except him. We still don't know who did it."
He Yuying raised one brow, unbothered. "So, you're saying he did it?"
Shen Zhenyu frowned. "We don't have any proof."
Linyue crossed her arms and looked at Song Meiyu firmly. "And how would he even make people go crazy? Master Yin Xue said it's not poison. And what would he even gain from it?"
Song Meiyu let out a long sigh and slumped back in her chair. "You're right. There's no reason for him to make people go wild right after getting the crown. He should be trying to look trustworthy, not like a cabbage-triggering maniac."
There was a short pause. Then He Yuying spoke, his voice perfectly calm and full of nonsense. "Or… maybe he discovered a forbidden technique to control people's minds. But it backfired. Now everyone's going mad instead."
Shen Zhenyu turned to him slowly. "What kind of books have you been reading lately?"
He Yuying looked him straight in the eye and answered without shame. "Exciting ones."
Linyue sighed, rubbing her forehead.
Chaos family: very helpful. Probably. Eventually.
Linyue sat in silence. Her fingers tapped lightly on the armrest as her thoughts raced. She didn't fully understand what was going on. People going mad without warning. No poison. No illness. Nothing made sense. He Yuying's strange suggestion echoed in her head. A forbidden technique to control people? It sounded ridiculous. Completely impossible. But was it really?
Her mind went back to the past. Princess Han. That woman had used something similar once. The victims back then had been like puppets, moving with empty eyes and no will of their own. Controlled by spiritual energy. But this was different. Wilder. Crazier. These people weren't puppets. They were violent, out of control. Just like Master Yin Xue had described, though she really could have picked a less ridiculous name than "angry cabbages." And now these cases were showing up in both the North and the East at the same time.
"How could anyone control something spreading in two places at once?" Linyue murmured to herself. Her eyes narrowed. Maybe…
"What if," she said slowly, "someone really did find a way to control people's minds? Like what Princess Han did, but different. Stronger. Crazier. More dangerous."
Song Meiyu gasped. Her eyes went wide. "That's right! I almost forgot that happened! That was terrifying!"
Shen Zhenyu went quiet. His brows furrowed as he stared at the floor. "A new method of mind control…" he said under his breath. His voice was lower, tense in a way that made the others glance at him.
He Yuying, for once, didn't sound sarcastic. He actually shuddered. "That would be crazy. And scary. And creepy. And I do not want to get chased by angry cabbage."
Song Meiyu whipped her head toward him, eyes wide. "You think they'd chase us?!"
He Yuying pointed his half-eaten plum at her. His face was serious, his tone even more so. "They always chase the loudest one first."
Song Meiyu opened her mouth. Then closed it. Slowly, she scooted her chair closer to Linyue.
Linyue glanced at her and sighed, muttering under her breath, "Chaos family, gathering closer in case of doom."
He Yuying gave her an approving nod. "Smart move."
Shen Zhenyu let out a long, suffering sigh.
Linyue leaned back, arms crossed. Her tone turned thoughtful as she spoke again. "But how did Princess Han even discover that method in the first place? She only researched it for four years in Shulin. That's pretty fast for something that terrifying, don't you think?"