Chapter fifty-eight: The river flows and the mother recognizes her child, there's an evil spirit behind the malefactor.

    The private residence of the villain Liu was vast. Jiang Liuer wandered inside for several rounds, avoiding servants and maids while secretly eavesdropping. He thus learned that a "First Lady" resided in the rear courtyard.

    After sneaking into a servant’s quarters and changing into ill-fitting clothes, Jiang Liuer no longer needed to hide. Arriving at the rear courtyard, he found an exquisitely designed garden within the estate, lush with fragrant grass and weeping willows.

    "Hey! How dare you intrude here? Leave at once!" A maid spotted him. "Don’t you know the rules? No men except the master may enter the rear courtyard."

    Jiang Liuer feigned innocence: "The master sent me to deliver a message. Would I dare enter without orders?"

    The young maid, swayed by his earnest demeanor, believed him—after all, who would dare impersonate the governor of Jiangzhou? When she offered to relay the message, Jiang Liuer refused: "What if you mishear it?"

    Though indignant, the maid worried about mistakes. "Follow me," she relented, warning sternly: "Don’t look at the First Lady’s face. The master detains men who gaze upon her."

    After dozens of steps, they encountered a red fox slipping through a doghole. At the garden pond stood a arched bridge leading to a pavilion veiled in gauze, where a solitary figure sat.

    As the maid entered the pavilion to announce him, Jiang Liuer glimpsed the fox—Hu Yuyu—watching from shadows. Defying warnings, he lifted the gauze and met the woman’s eyes directly.

    "You reckless fool!" the maid scolded, but the woman intervened: "Secrets stay secret if unspoken." Studying Jiang Liuer’s refined features, she grew suspicious: "You’re no servant. State your purpose or I’ll summon guards."

    Jiang Liuer revealed his identity: orphaned infant cast into the river, raised by Monk Faming, bearer of blood-letter and swaddling clothes. The woman trembled as he recounted his parentage—Chen E, murdered scholar, and Yin Wenjiao, abducted daughter of a chancellor.

    Tears streamed down her face as she verified his severed toe (now regrown through cultivation) and examined the relics. "I am Yin Wenjiao," she wept, embracing him. "My son!"

    The stunned maid watched mother and son reunite. Urgently, Yin Wenjiao warned: "Flee before Liu Hong discovers you! He’ll maim you or sell you to beggars. Even with your sword arts, he’s protected by shape-shifting demons."

    Jiang Liuer unsheathed his hovering sword, dazzling the maid. Yet Yin Wenjiao insisted: "Those who exposed him became demon food. His patron walks fully human—untraceable, unstoppable."

    The revelation chilled Jiang Liuer. Liu’s twelve-year imposture relied on monstrous power. As wind stirred the courtyard, he vowed to confront the truth veiled behind Jiangzhou’s corrupted elegance.