While Pei Yuan Jin rested in his room with his eyes closed after traveling through the night, Fu Xi Yan strolled around the courtyard garden with his hands clasped behind his back.
The small garden made excellent use of every inch of space. A winding stone path divided it in two, with several rosebushes planted on one side and pots of chrysanthemums arranged on the other. Roses would bloom whenever they received enough sunlight and the temperature was suitable, making them ideal for permanent planting, while the chrysanthemums had clearly been moved in recently to suit the season.
The cloth shop attendant who had once found Fu Xi Yan’s appearance too disreputable saw him absorbed in admiring the flowers and hurried over ingratiatingly to explain, “The chrysanthemums were only purchased the day before yesterday. The green ones are called Green Cloud, and the white ones are called Ten-Zhang Hanging Curtain. They’re both prized cultivars.”
Perhaps he was overthinking it, but something about those two colors felt faintly suggestive. Fu Xi Yan asked, “Did your Young Palace Master choose them?”
The attendant gave him a deeply meaningful, knowing look and smiled softly. “They were not chosen by our Young Palace Master.”
Fu Xi Yan: “…”
Could he have placed any more emphasis on the words our Young Palace Master?
Elio’s Notes: The flower colors make Fu Xi Yan uneasy because green evokes the Chinese expression “wearing a green hat,” meaning being cuckolded, while white chrysanthemums are associated with mourning and funerals. After publicly claiming to be Pei Yuan Jin’s wife, he finds the combination rather ominous. The attendant’s pointed emphasis on “our Young Palace Master” shows that he has heard about Fu Xi Yan’s public declaration and is teasing him as though he were already acting like the Young Palace Master’s possessive spouse.
“The chrysanthemums were a gift from Chief Manager Qiu,” the attendant said.
Fu Xi Yan had not met the chief manager yet, so he casually asked, “Is Chief Manager Qiu not here?”
“Chief Manager Qiu oversees the Xiangyun Trading House in Luoyang and does not usually live here. The cloth shop has suspended business for the past few days so that we can devote ourselves entirely to serving the Young Palace Master.”
Fu Xi Yan did not understand how the Immortal Treasury Palace managed its internal affairs, but closing an entire cloth shop merely to host one person seemed rather wasteful. Then he remembered the ledgers he had checked yesterday and decided that the shop might actually lose less money by remaining closed, so perhaps it was for the best.
After breakfast, he conscientiously returned to the room to work.
The mountain of ledgers inside had already been sorted into orderly categories. Yu Su Huan was currently handling the accounts for the agricultural estates.
Fu Xi Yan looked over them one after another. Every ledger in this room represented only the Immortal Treasury Palace’s holdings around Luoyang. If all its properties throughout Northern Zhou were added together, what kind of astronomical sum would that amount to?
He unknowingly spoke the thought aloud, and Yu Su Huan smiled. “Not only Northern Zhou. We also conduct business in Southern Yu and along the western frontier.”
She rubbed her stiff, aching neck and stood. “Of course, when an enterprise spreads too widely, not every branch produces returns.”
Fu Xi Yan had actually noticed certain things in the ledgers yesterday, but he was an outsider and could hardly interfere in another organization’s internal affairs. He could only say indirectly, “That’s true. Once a forest grows large enough, every kind of bird appears.”
Yu Su Huan looked at him with some surprise before giving him a faint smile. “Without you here, all these irritating accounts would have fallen on me alone. I have no idea how many years it would have taken me to finish.”
Fu Xi Yan smiled bitterly. “Even with me added, we’ll still be at this until the Year of the Monkey.”
Yu Su Huan set down the ledger. “Actually, there is little difference between examining one of these ledgers and examining a hundred. The same person tampered with all of them.”
Fu Xi Yan could not help being startled by how casually she said the word “tampered.”
Yu Su Huan continued, “Just as you said, every kind of bird appears in a large forest. Some birds hide in the rear and enjoy the benefits, while other foolish birds are pushed forward to die in their place. Catching a scapegoat is easy. Rooting out the mastermind and taking the entire group down at once is far more difficult.”
The Thunder Division had Lu Rui Chun, who had colluded with Tang Gong, while the Rain Division’s accounts were a complete disaster. Fu Xi Yan felt that the widely feared Immortal Treasury Palace did not seem quite as grand and untouchable as he had once imagined.
Then again, large organizations had the difficulties of large organizations, while insignificant people had their own insignificant troubles.
Take Fu Xi Yan himself. He had been sitting peacefully at home when disaster dropped from the sky. He had not yet untangled his grudges with Chu Guang, Chu Shao Yang, and Zhang Da Shan, yet now an assassin with terrifying martial arts had emerged from nowhere.
The Immortal Treasury Palace currently sheltering him appeared friendly, but the Harmonized Yang Pills inside his body remained a ticking time bomb. If they ever discovered a way to refine the pills back out of a living person…
Boiled, steamed, fried, braised, or stewed—he wondered which cooking method would make him taste best.
Fu Xi Yan asked gloomily, “Did Pharmacist Jiang not come with you?”
“He is advanced in age and should not travel around too much,” Yu Su Huan replied.
Fu Xi Yan looked at the ledgers on the table. “Which one should I start calculating today?”
Yu Su Huan smiled. “The autumn weather is so lovely. Don’t you want to go outside for a walk?”
Fu Xi Yan looked at her resentfully.
Did she think he did not want to? He simply did not dare!
Yu Su Huan understood. “If you’re worried about yesterday’s assassin, he has already fled.” Pei Yuan Jin had been responsible for killing the man, while the Lightning Division disposed of the body, ensuring that not even a trace remained. They had concealed his death for two reasons.
First, Lord Qilin had the City of Ten Thousand Beasts behind him. The Immortal Treasury Palace already had more than enough troubles and should not create another powerful enemy.
Second, they still did not know why Lord Qilin had tried to kill Fu Xi Yan. To prevent his allies from sending another assassin as soon as they learned he was dead, it was better to let Lord Qilin continue “wandering around outside” for a while.
Fu Xi Yan immediately brightened. “Really?”
Yu Su Huan said, “Even if you don’t believe me, you should at least believe the Young Palace Master.”
Fu Xi Yan thought, Naturally, I choose to believe you.
As an unpaid temporary worker, he certainly would not refuse when the boss offered him a holiday. He immediately called Zhong Xin and Geng Geng and happily left the shop. As they passed a public notice wall, he discovered that the Third Prince had already begun recruiting civilian laborers to build Luoyang’s new imperial palace.
Emperor Jianhong might be merciless when chopping off officials’ heads, but he treated the common people rather well. Recruitment of this sort generally included enough food to fill one’s stomach and a modest wage, and it had been scheduled during the agricultural slack season. Quite a few people were already tempted.
The Prefect of Luoyang had sent an adviser to stand beside the notice and paint a grand vision for the crowd. Once the new palace was completed and the emperor moved there with all the officials of the court, Luoyang would become the center of Northern Zhou, and its residents would naturally be more distinguished than people elsewhere. The sooner the palace was finished, the sooner the emperor would relocate, and the sooner everyone could enjoy the privileged treatment due citizens of the new imperial capital!
Somehow, this peculiar argument ignited everyone’s enthusiasm for building up their hometown, and the number of applicants surged.
Fu Xi Yan watched from the side with considerable amusement.
It appeared that the Prefect of Luoyang understood opportunism perfectly. Before being forced out of that scorching-hot seat, he was opening every possible door for the Third Prince. If he handled the work beautifully and successfully entered the Third Prince’s faction, he might even have a chance of remaining in office.
This one minor detail was already enough to reveal the storms that would soon gather over Luoyang.
Fu Xi Yan wandered through the market again.
Unlike the day before, he did not spend any money today. His main goal was to study market conditions. From what he could see, even if his first shop opened in Haojing, he would eventually need to establish a branch in Luoyang as well.
After asking around about prices, however, he could not help clicking his tongue. The new palace had not even been built, yet shop rents in Luoyang had already overtaken Haojing’s. Purchase prices were even more outrageous. Despite that, shops in even moderately desirable locations remained in short supply.
Fu Xi Yan could not help worrying that, at this rate, the “privileged” treatment enjoyed by citizens of the future capital might truly prove very expensive.
With his heart full of concern, noon arrived.
He told Zhong Xin and Geng Geng to wait outside while he entered the pawnshop alone.
The pawnshop keeper was still slurping noodles.
“Pawning or redeeming… Hm?” The shop had plenty of repeat customers, but Fu Xi Yan was the first to appear every day. The keeper did not even ask to see the copper coin before smiling cheerfully. “What information would you like today?”
Fu Xi Yan crooked a finger at him. Only after the keeper leaned closer did he whisper, “Someone tried to assassinate me yesterday. I want to know who he was.”
The pawnshop keeper remained silent for a moment before asking, “If he tried to assassinate you, didn’t you see his face?”
Fu Xi Yan recalled the scene. Amid the exchange of attacks and the flashes of blades, they had certainly come face-to-face. He simply had not seen the face clearly.
The keeper said, “Listen to yourself. You were personally involved and still didn’t get a clear look. How could a man sitting inside a pawnshop possibly know?”
Fu Xi Yan frowned. “Aren’t you supposed to be extraordinarily well-informed?”
“I’m well-informed, not clairvoyant.”
Fu Xi Yan could not help feeling disappointed. Apparently, the omniscient information brokers in novels were all frauds.
Afraid that Fu Xi Yan’s disappointment might cost him a loyal customer who spent money freely, the keeper hurriedly said, “How about this? I have a piece of Haojing news worth five taels. I’ll sell it to you for three.”
“One-tenth of a tael.”
The keeper stared at him. “Isn’t that cutting the price a little too savagely?”
Fu Xi Yan nodded. “Mm.”
The keeper looked at him, and Fu Xi Yan calmly looked back.
After a long silence, the keeper finally understood. Fu Xi Yan meant: I admit I’m bargaining savagely. So what?
So…
The keeper painfully accepted one-tenth of a tael and beckoned him closer. “Do you remember Consort Dowager Chen’s nephew?”
Fu Xi Yan: “…”
He had been cheated out of another tenth of a tael!
Seeing his expression darken, the keeper hurriedly said, “This isn’t about him being cuckolded. This time, the cuckolding was discovered!”
Fu Xi Yan imagined the resulting chaos and immediately became somewhat interested. “Oh?”
“After the concubine of Consort Dowager Chen’s nephew gave birth, she became inexplicably despondent. She refused food and drink and insisted on visiting Mingji Temple to worship the Buddha. Unexpectedly, just after he sent her up the mountain, a sudden downpour began. Her husband had no choice but to turn back—and caught the adulterous pair together on the spot! In a fury, he fought Monk Zhi Ji and beat him to death. The affair has now reached the Capital Prefecture yamen, and the nephew has been thrown into prison. Consort Dowager Chen has requested an audience with the emperor several times, but His Majesty has refused to see her.”
Only now did Fu Xi Yan find the story truly interesting. “The emperor refuses to grant the Consort Dowager this favor?”
That was unusual. Before the present emperor ascended the throne, no one in the inner palace had believed in him. Emperor Jianhong had expended considerable effort to win Consort Dowager Chen over. By cooperating from within and without and eliminating their strongest opponents, the two of them had secured the realm he ruled today.
To demonstrate that he remembered and repaid favors, Emperor Jianhong had treated Consort Dowager Chen with exceptional respect after ascending the throne. Her nephew accidentally killing someone would once have been considered no matter at all.
Years ago, Consort Dowager Chen’s relatives had committed more than a dozen appalling murders in their home region. One of the victims escaped to Haojing and beat the Drum of Appeals, shocking the entire realm. The Left Censor-in-Chief attacked the issue during court deliberations, and the ministers of multiple departments joined him. Their language was fierce and their indignation overwhelming; they were only one step short of smashing their heads against a pillar in remonstrance. Admittedly, the court officials also wished to suppress the arrogance of the newly enthroned emperor, but because they occupied the moral high ground, they nearly carried all public opinion along with them.
Emperor Jianhong responded by claiming that the facts remained unclear, ordering retrials, raising doubts about those retrials, and arranging a joint hearing by the Three Judicial Offices. Through one tactic after another, he delayed the case for three full years. Just as judgment was finally handed down, he named the sickly First Prince crown prince and proclaimed a general amnesty. The Chen family members had spent less than three days in prison before swaggering straight back out.
Afterward, Emperor Jianhong gradually revealed the ferocious face of an emperor who specialized in chopping off heads, and the matter faded away without resolution.
Consort Dowager Chen might have been Emperor Jianhong’s elder, but he truly had once gone to extraordinary lengths for her. Who would have expected that everything would change so completely with time? It was truly…
Delightful!
Fu Xi Yan had never imagined that so many events would occur in Haojing the moment he left.
He took out another tenth of a tael and declared with magnificent generosity, “Give me another tenth-tael story!”
The pawnshop keeper: “…”
The eight days of leave passed in the blink of an eye, but Fu Xi Yan’s life was not nearly as leisurely as he had imagined.
He worked hard to make up for all the years of martial training he had missed in his youth. Zhong Xin taught him techniques, while Geng Geng taught him how to use them against an opponent. Although he could not become accomplished overnight, he now looked reasonably competent when fighting.
During breaks in his training, he improved his soap to version 2.0 by adding essential oils. Unfortunately, the fragrance remained faint, and it did not leave the skin feeling fresh enough after washing. He asked Yu Su Huan about the dark-green bead and learned that Jiang Xiu had refined it from fragrant wood. Its production cost was astonishing; that tiny bead alone was worth one thousand taels of gold.
He immediately returned it to Pei Yuan Jin with trembling hands.
Pei Yuan Jin raised an eyebrow. “You don’t like it?”
“I don’t deserve to accept something so valuable,” Fu Xi Yan said.
“Didn’t you calculate the accounts?”
“That was a trivial task. It wasn’t worth this much.”
Pei Yuan Jin looked somewhat confused. “Hm?”
Afraid that Pei Yuan Jin, who had never managed a household, did not understand the price of firewood and rice, Fu Xi Yan deliberately explained, “This bead is worth one thousand taels of gold.”
Pei Yuan Jin looked at him as though asking, So?
Did that mean he thought Fu Xi Yan was worth it?
Had their relationship not been so confusing, Fu Xi Yan would have dropped to his knees on the spot and cried, Boss, no wonder you deserve to be rich! Employers were everywhere these days, but those capable of recognizing and affirming an employee’s value were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
After Fu Xi Yan left, Pei Yuan Jin still looked faintly bewildered, as though he had no idea where the man’s overwhelming emotion had come from.
Yu Su Huan could not help smiling. “Has the Young Palace Master changed his opinion of Fu Xi Yan?” Compared with how he had treated Fu Xi Yan at Willowwood Manor, his attitude now could be called gentle.
Pei Yuan Jin lowered his head and drank his tea, clearly unwilling to answer.
Yu Su Huan’s eyes shifted thoughtfully. “I heard Xiao Sang say that when Fu Xi Yan was being pursued that day, he fled to the cloth shop and announced the moment he arrived that he was the wife of the Immortal Treasury Palace’s Young Palace Master?”
Pei Yuan Jin’s hand froze in the middle of raising the cup.
“So it really happened,” Yu Su Huan continued to herself.
Pei Yuan Jin’s expression darkened. “Xiao Sang talks too much.”
Yu Su Huan smiled and nodded. “Mm. A little like Fu Xi Yan.”
Pei Yuan Jin set down his cup and explained with obvious reluctance, “When he was younger, he did work hard. He is not entirely beyond saving.”
Naturally, “he” referred to Fu Xi Yan.
Fu Xi Yan had cultivated for years without succeeding on the martial path, yet he had not given up. He had even swallowed his pride and studied alongside his seven- and eight-year-old younger brother in an attempt to pursue the scholarly path instead. That path had failed as well, but in Pei Yuan Jin’s mind, giving up after making a genuine effort and giving up without trying were two entirely different things.
Originally, Fu Xi Yan had been nothing more than an irritatingly enormous round face in Pei Yuan Jin’s mind. After Pei Yuan Jin learned about the struggles and effort of his youth, that round face gradually gained life and personality. Then Fu Xi Yan had publicly shouted something as shameless as “I’m the Young Palace Master’s wife” in order to save Xiao Sang and Xiao Zhang, proving that he had truly been worried about them. Pei Yuan Jin therefore decided that although Fu Xi Yan was ugly, he had a kind heart and a reasonably useful brain.
Had he ever watched Flirting Scholar, he would have known that definitions of beauty and ugliness often depended on comparison. After enduring subordinates who were either stupid or wicked, the Young Palace Master of the Immortal Treasury Palace had reached the lowest standards for judging people in recorded history.
Elio’s Notes: Flirting Scholar is a popular comedy in which beauty and ugliness are repeatedly exaggerated through visual comparison.
Although Pei Yuan Jin did not say any of this aloud, Yu Su Huan was intelligent enough to read the meaning between the lines. She smiled. “Unfortunately, he will be returning in another two days. I only fear that our interactions with him over the past several days have already been noticed by interested parties.”
Fu Xi Yan’s importance to Pei Yuan Jin went without saying.
Those who wanted Pei Yuan Jin dead but could not touch him could achieve the same result by attacking Fu Xi Yan. That was why Pei Yuan Jin had eliminated Lord Qilin the moment he attempted to kill Fu Xi Yan, crushing the threat before it could grow.
Seeing his expression turn grim, Yu Su Huan hurriedly reassured him. “Fu Xi Yan has been cultivating very diligently these past few days. Reaching the Vajra Stage should only be a matter of time.”
Pei Yuan Jin shook his head. “Too slow.”
After considering it, he said, “Ask Jiang Xiu whether he has any suitable medicine.”
Yu Su Huan could not practice martial arts, but she understood the harm of pulling seedlings upward to make them grow faster and tried to dissuade him. Pei Yuan Jin scoffed. “The Harmonized Yang Pills couldn’t kill him. What other harm does he need to fear?” Even so, he did not insist.
Elio’s Notes: “Pulling seedlings upward to help them grow” is an idiom for ruining something through impatient attempts to accelerate its progress.
Yu Su Huan continued, “Pharmacist Jiang said that Fu Xi Yan has Gu inside his body. Perhaps we should seek information about experts in that field.”
Pei Yuan Jin considered it. “Gu is one of the Puppet Path’s signature arts. Since Mo Xiao Ran entered the Heaven-Earth Mirror, he has publicly ceased using it. The only one of his disciples still active in the jianghu is Tong Fang Yu, the lord of the City of Ten Thousand Beasts.”
Both he and Yu Su Huan immediately thought of Lord Qilin, whom he had killed.
“The Gu inside Fu Xi Yan is extremely strange and may be connected to Tong Fang Yu. Earlier, a Brocade Guard named Zhang Da Shan tried to kill him using puppet arts. Now Lord Qilin has come after him as well.” Yu Su Huan paused. “You said that Lord Qilin imitated the Red Dragon King in an attempt to frame you. Perhaps word has already spread that you and Fu Xi Yan appeared at Willowwood Manor at the same time.”
With so many servants from Willowwood Manor still alive, the matter could never have remained secret.
Yu Su Huan said gravely, “The Harmonized Yang Pills were stolen, and we surrounded Willowwood Manor. Tang Gong then died, and we refused to allow Ban Qing Yu and the others to visit. At the critical moment between life and death, Fu Xi Yan was rescued by the Lightning Division. He then fled to Xiangyun Cloth Shop for help and shouted that claim in the middle of the street… There is no need to question anyone involved. Merely gathering these clues would make the truth easy enough to infer.”
A tree might long for stillness, but the wind would not cease.
She sighed. “The troubles surrounding him were already considerable…” And now he had become entangled in an even greater one.
Yu Su Huan looked helplessly toward Pei Yuan Jin.
Although twenty years separated them in age, when important decisions had to be made, she was accustomed to allowing him to take the lead.
This time, however, Pei Yuan Jin had no answer either.
He only knew that, for the moment, Fu Xi Yan had to remain alive. Everything else could be considered slowly and observed over time.
Fu Xi Yan, who was currently discussing with Zhong Xin and Geng Geng whether they should buy a roast goose from Yang’s Shop for dinner, had no idea that storm clouds were already gathering in great numbers and rushing toward him.
Yang’s Shop was famous for roast goose with crisp skin and tender meat. The cloth shop attendants had bought it once, and Fu Xi Yan had been thinking about it ever since. He was about to settle the matter and send Zhou Geng Geng to purchase one when a Brocade Guard hurried over from across the street.
Fu Xi Yan could not remember the man’s name, but he remembered that during his contest with Chu Shao Yang, this fellow had been one of the loudest people jeering at him. Afraid that the man had come to expose his fraudulent sick leave, Fu Xi Yan cried, “Oh!” and prepared to collapse backward.
Zhong Xin and Geng Geng circulated their true origin, raised both arms, and caught him together.
The Brocade Guard rolled his eyes. “Company Commander Chu said you were only frightened.”
Fu Xi Yan took advantage of their support to stand upright and laughed awkwardly. “My foot slipped just now. You arrived at the perfect time—it’s almost dinner. Why don’t we find somewhere and eat together?”
The Brocade Guard ignored the faintly barbed invitation and went directly to the point. “Someone has come to buy Zhang Da Shan’s release. Company Commander Chu wants you to return and take a look.”
Fu Xi Yan’s eyes widened. “Buy his release? Zhang Da Shan tried to murder an official of the court, and he still dares call someone here to take him away?”
The Brocade Guard thought, If you knew who had come, you would understand where that confidence came from. But he disliked Fu Xi Yan and did not warn him, merely urging him to return.
Wei Gang’s memorial was still tucked inside Fu Xi Yan’s robes. He thought that, at worst, he would slap it down in front of the Third Prince and see which damned bastard still dared shield that damned bastard Zhang Da Shan.
He went upstairs to bid farewell to Pei Yuan Jin and Yu Su Huan.
Pei Yuan Jin’s expression remained indifferent, as though Fu Xi Yan was free to come and go. Yu Su Huan had already learned who the visitor was and offered an indirect warning. “The Puppet Path has declined, and very few of its practitioners remain active outside.”
Fu Xi Yan had always been sensitive to hidden meanings.
Seeing that he understood, Yu Su Huan added, “Their lineage is infamous, and everyone in the jianghu condemns them. However, the imperial court has too much at stake and may be unwilling to confront them openly. If you cannot support the situation alone, endure it for now. The future is long, and we will eventually recover whatever ground is lost.”
Lord Qilin’s bones had barely gone cold, so in truth, the lost ground had already been recovered.
With her assurance behind him, Fu Xi Yan understood how matters stood.
Besides its tents, the Brocade Guard encampment now had a row of temporary earthen houses. To demonstrate that he shared the soldiers’ hardships, the Third Prince also lived in one of them. Yet although the structures appeared rough outside, they remained warm in winter and cool in summer, and their interiors were decorated with brocade and porcelain. They looked rather like rustic boutique guesthouses from Fu Xi Yan’s previous life.
The second room on the western side had originally served as the dining hall, but today it was being used to receive a guest.
The moment Fu Xi Yan entered, he saw a short, overbearing man seated in the hall, with Chu Shao Yang sitting silently beside him. Only when Fu Xi Yan arrived did Chu Shao Yang relax, rise, and say, “Guard Fu is here. Come and pay your respects to Senior Xuan Ou Zi of the City of Ten Thousand Beasts.”
So it truly was the City of Ten Thousand Beasts!
After the Puppet Path was besieged by the orthodox factions and its sect master abandoned the dark path for the righteous one, the City of Ten Thousand Beasts was the only branch that still operated openly. Its lord, Tong Fang Yu, lived on the western frontier, but she had once orchestrated a frenzied massacre that nearly wiped out an entire city. She was a notorious female fiend both inside and outside the courts of two dynasties. If Zhang Da Shan was one of her disciples…
Then he was far too useless.
Before overwhelming power, Fu Xi Yan became exceptionally obedient and honest. Xuan Ou Zi did not appreciate the attitude, however. Looking down at his own hand, he said with mocking hostility, “Zhang Da Shan is my junior brother. I have come to take him away.”
Fu Xi Yan had already thought the matter through on the way there. Zhang Da Shan would certainly be taken away. Hadn’t the Third Prince and Chu Guang both tactfully made themselves unavailable? Even so, he did not intend to allow the man to leave so easily. Since Xuan Ou Zi had chosen to come openly, it meant he did not wish to sour relations with the Northern Zhou court too badly. Reassured by that, Fu Xi Yan boldly said, “Alas, I still don’t understand why Guard Zhang wanted to kill me. The uncertainty has left me constantly uneasy.”
He was demanding an explanation.
Xuan Ou Zi slowly raised his head, and Fu Xi Yan’s eyes involuntarily brightened.
Across both his lives, Fu Xi Yan had seen a considerable number of handsome men, but purely on the strength of his facial features, the man before him could easily rank among the top ten. His crooked smile carried a trace of wickedness and the roguish air of someone attractively bad.
Xuan Ou Zi scoffed. “Does killing someone always require a reason? The sunlight is too harsh, so I’m in a bad mood. Someone is blocking the road, so I’m in a bad mood. A table has four corners, so I’m in a bad mood… Can none of those serve as reasons to kill?”
This was the first time Chu Shao Yang had ever heard such openly antisocial reasoning, and he stared in astonishment. Even as an uninvolved bystander, he felt his blood begin to boil, much less Fu Xi Yan, the intended victim. Chu Shao Yang was genuinely worried that Fu Xi Yan might lose control and rush forward to seek death.
But Fu Xi Yan had consumed more than enough television dramas and novels in his previous life. He had seen plenty of grandiose lunatics and obsessively unstable characters; they were practically fashionable stock roles, so Xuan Ou Zi’s behavior did not strike him as especially unexpected. He continued in the same pleasant tone, “He also stole five thousand taels in banknotes from me. There’s no need to ask why he did that. I only want to know how he intends to pay me back.”
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