The open chamber within the mountain was broad and lofty. The surrounding stone walls were smooth yet layered, combining the rough grandeur of nature with the imposing marks of human excavation. Luminous pearls hung casually throughout the cavern, resembling stars in the night sky and lamps among the mortal world.
The central bonfire from the previous banquet had been removed and replaced by two rows of torches. Beneath them stood two lines of round-backed chairs fitted with soft cushions. They looked comfortable, yet not one person sitting there today felt relaxed.
When Fu Xi Yan invited everyone to the meeting, he had already spoiled part of the plot. No one could possibly feel cheerful after hearing that children they had watched grow up had become moles. Even Ying Zhu Cui, the person who originally proposed investigating the matter, entered beneath a cloud of gloom and repeatedly glanced toward Zhao Tong Qu beside her.
The smile Zhao Tong Qu normally wore year-round had disappeared. He sat quietly with lowered eyes.
Pei Yuan Jin had taken his seat early, while Fu Xi Yan entered last beside Pei Xiong Ji. Everyone’s gaze appeared to fall upon Pei Xiong Ji, but more than half of their attention was actually studying Fu Xi Yan.
Fu Xi Yan kept his face stern and calmly looked back at them.
Unable to read anything from his expression, everyone gradually withdrew their gazes.
Pei Xiong Ji sat down and looked around before speaking mildly. “Xi Yan is far too sincere. On his first visit here, he somehow picked up this hot potato for himself. Whatever hidden circumstances surrounded the theft of the Harmonized Yang Pill, the Immortal Treasury Palace cannot escape responsibility, and we owe an apology to the Fu family, who were dragged into the matter through no fault of their own.”
Both cases involved consuming medicine, but the Tang family could at least be said to have brought their disaster upon themselves. Fu Xi Yan, on the other hand, had known absolutely nothing. If the Taotie Gu had not been powerful enough to suppress the Harmonized Yang Pill’s medicinal properties, Pei Xiong Ji’s apology today could only have been delivered to the yellow earth covering Fu Xi Yan’s grave.
Pei Xiong Ji naturally understood this too. His gaze toward Fu Xi Yan was filled with sympathy. “Now the victim himself has personally investigated the truth. Perhaps this can also be called the turning of cause and effect.”
Ying Zhu Cui asked impatiently, “You confirmed it?”
Pei Xiong Ji said, “Don’t rush, little sister. First hear what the child has to say.”
Fu Xi Yan knew it was finally time for him to take the stage. He calmly rose without wasting words on formalities and directly announced his conclusion. “The insiders responsible for stealing the Harmonized Yang Pill were Yu Yu Er and Chen Lai Dong.”
They had all received hints before coming, but hearing the names stated openly still produced an uproar. Ying Zhu Cui was the first unable to remain seated. “This is a serious matter. Do you have evidence?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “I have a witness.” He clapped his hands, and Xiao Zhang escorted the dejected Yu Yu Er inside.
Ying Zhu Cui stared at Yu Yu Er and raised her voice. “Yu Er, you know my temper! If you have suffered any grievance, speak freely. No matter who caused it, I will demand an explanation for you!”
Yu Yu Er raised his head. His eyes were already red. “Aunt Ying…”
“Yes?”
“I… I stole a failed pill.” Yu Yu Er burst into tears. “I truly thought what I stole was a failed pill.”
Ying Zhu Cui turned toward Fu Xi Yan. “You heard him. He says he took a failed pill. What we are investigating today is the Harmonized Yang Pill. Those are two different things and cannot simply be treated as one!”
Fu Xi Yan remained completely composed. “Elder Ying, please be patient and continue listening.”
Receiving the signal, Yu Yu Er continued between sobs. “I didn’t know Chen Lai Dong would exchange the real pill and the failed pill. By the time I found out, it was already too late.”
Ying Zhu Cui’s expression changed. “What do you mean? What do you mean the real and failed pills were exchanged? And who is Chen Lai Dong?”
Yu Yu Er explained Chen Lai Dong’s identity, then followed Fu Xi Yan’s instructions and replaced Gao Ze with himself as the person who had gone looking for Chen Lai Dong. “When I arrived, Chen Lai Dong was already dead. I… I was afraid there would be no living witness and I wouldn’t be able to explain myself. My head stopped working, so I buried him.”
“Foolish!”
Ying Zhu Cui slapped the arm of her chair and stood. “If you had reported it then, perhaps the killer had not gone far. With several of us old fellows around, were you afraid he could escape into the heavens?”
Fu Xi Yan thought, At the time, all of you were in seclusion. Jing Luo, Pei Yuan Jin, and Yu Su Huan were all off the mountain. Even if he had reported it, the matter would have landed in Zhao Tong Qu’s hands. Wouldn’t that have been sending a lamb straight into a tiger’s mouth?
He could not help clicking his tongue inwardly. That Zhao Tong Qu bastard really calculated far ahead.
Ying Zhu Cui asked, “Where is the corpse?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “I already had it dug up yesterday and asked Apothecary Jiang to examine it. The cause of death was poisoning. The poison was so severe that even the soil where the corpse had been buried could no longer be used. I was afraid it might harm someone else, so under the witness of Elder Yi and Elder Ji, I had the body cremated.”
Fortunately, Fu Xi Yan had been cautious and secretly excavated the body. The instant Pei Yuan Jin saw the corpse, he recognized that the wounds closely resembled those caused by Elder Yu’s signature technique, the Thirteen Whirlwind Swords.
Altering the existing wounds would have risked making everything look even more suspicious, so Fu Xi Yan had no choice but to ask Jiang Xiu for help. Jiang Xiu poisoned the corpse, contaminated the surrounding soil, and then Pei Yuan Jin brought two elders over as “witnesses,” providing a perfectly legitimate excuse to destroy the corpse completely.
Ji Mo was one of Elder Yu’s closest friends. When he saw the wounds, he assumed Yu Yu Er had accidentally killed Chen Lai Dong. Seeing that Fu Xi Yan clearly intended to conceal the evidence, he had actually felt extremely grateful and immediately agreed to cooperate.
As for Yi Jue, he might have looked difficult to approach, but whenever Pei Yuan Jin and Fu Xi Yan asked him for something, he had never once said the word “no.”
After the corpse had been burned, Fu Xi Yan was still slightly worried. “What if Gao Ze or Yu Yu Er really killed him?”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “If they had, they would never have allowed us to dig up the corpse.”
Fu Xi Yan thought about it and agreed. Gao Ze probably still had no idea that Chen Lai Dong’s wounds resembled the Thirteen Whirlwind Swords. Otherwise, he would never have behaved so openly. Gao Ze had grown up inside the Immortal Treasury Palace with everything going smoothly. Suddenly suffering one blow after another had inevitably thrown his mind into chaos and caused him to make repeated mistakes.
Pei Yuan Jin said, “Even if Gao Ze had noticed the wounds, it would only have strengthened his determination to destroy the corpse and erase the evidence.”
Fu Xi Yan imagined himself in Gao Ze’s position and nodded in understanding. “He might even have personally used a blade to ruin the wounds.” That would only have made the situation even more impossible to explain. The entire trap had clearly been custom-made for Gao Ze and Yu Yu Er from beginning to end, fitting the two martial brothers so perfectly that they could hardly escape it.
But that digression belonged elsewhere. The meeting inside the mountain continued.
Cremating the corpse certainly left Fu Xi Yan vulnerable to criticism, but he had placed two enormous mountains named Yi Jue and Ji Mo behind the decision. Even Ying Zhu Cui could not casually challenge it.
Ying Zhu Cui could only question Ji Mo with her eyes.
Ji Mo coughed dryly. “It was indeed poisoning. Jiang Xiu can testify.”
Ying Zhu Cui asked, “Who bribed Chen Lai Dong? And who made the transaction with Yu Yu Er? Did you find them?”
Before Fu Xi Yan could answer, Pei Yuan Jin spoke. “Too much time has passed. The trail has already gone cold.”
Ying Zhu Cui opened her mouth, but she understood that this could hardly be blamed on Fu Xi Yan. Solving enough of the case to uncover the Palace insiders in only a few days was already extremely impressive. But…
She stared at Fu Xi Yan’s perfectly round face and heavy build and simply could not make herself find him pleasing.
Their Young Master, heir to the Immortal Treasury Palace, possessed extraordinary talent, family background, appearance, and character. Looking across the entire realm, he stood among the absolute finest. Princesses would offer themselves to him and heroic women would fall in love with him. Who could he not marry? Yet somehow, he was destined to spend the rest of his life entangled with this fat man. It was simply a criminal waste of Heaven’s gifts!
But when she looked at Pei Yuan Jin, perfectly content and obviously enjoying every bit of it, the words became difficult to voice. Worse, his biological father was sitting nearby smiling broadly, looking so satisfied with the marriage that Ying Zhu Cui’s displeasure suddenly seemed to lack any proper foundation.
Bai Li Shen suddenly said, “It is enough that the matter has been clarified this far. Investigating internal Palace cases is the Lightning Division’s responsibility. Leave the remainder until Jing Luo returns.”
Clearly, he feared that Fu Xi Yan might use Yu Yu Er as a sacrificial target to establish his own authority.
Zhao Tong Qu said, “When will Chief Steward Jing return? Now that the truth has largely surfaced, delaying punishment for too long may create rumors and ultimately harm Junior Brother Yu instead.”
His argument was not without reason.
If they cut through the mess now and immediately determined the punishment, then anyone discussing the matter afterward would have a clear cause and result and would not examine it too deeply. Leave the punishment undecided, however, and the whole affair would become an ongoing serialized story, encouraging everyone to think about it repeatedly. No outcome could satisfy every mouth. When the final punishment eventually appeared, whether heavy or light, someone would object, making Yu Yu Er’s future even more difficult.
Yu Su Huan asked, “Then what does Chief Manager Zhao suggest?”
Zhao Tong Qu answered openly. “Elder Yu has rendered great service over many years, and Yu Yu Er and I grew up together. Naturally, I would plead for mercy. But since Young Madam investigated the case, the decision should ultimately belong to Young Madam.”
Fu Xi Yan smiled. “Speaking of which, Yuan Jin and I haven’t actually married yet. Calling me Young Madam is still premature.”
Zhao Tong Qu thought Fu Xi Yan was trying to withdraw from the decision and hurriedly said, “Young Master Fu and the Young Master already have one husband singing and the other husband following. Whoever makes the decision amounts to the same thing.”
Elio’s Notes: Zhao Tong Qu twists the traditional idiom 夫唱妇随, “the husband sings and the wife follows,” describing conventional marital harmony. He replaces 妇, “wife,” with another 夫, “husband,” making it “husband sings, husband follows” for Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin.
Fu Xi Yan looked toward Pei Yuan Jin. Pei Yuan Jin said, “According to Palace rules, betraying one’s own people for outsiders is punishable by death.”
Although Yu Yu Er already knew this was an inevitable part of the performance, his legs still went weak. He dropped to his knees on the spot.
Ji Mo opened his mouth to speak, but Yi Jue pressed him back down.
Pei Yuan Jin drew a sheet of paper from his robes. “However, there is another Palace rule. If a Chief Manager or elder uses accumulated merit and their own position to plead for the offender, the merit and offense may cancel each other out.”
There was an established precedent for this rule.
The first Chief Manager of the Rain Division had voluntarily left the Immortal Treasury Palace to plead for her lover, who had committed corruption. That vacancy allowed Yu Su Huan to join the Palace carrying tremendous wealth and take charge of the Rain Division. Regional Rain Division branches had suffered badly under the first Chief Manager and naturally resisted her successor. Yu Su Huan was both a newcomer and someone who knew no martial arts, leaving her constrained at every turn. That was one reason the Rain Division’s administration had become so loose today.
“This is Elder Yu’s letter pleading for mercy.”
Pei Yuan Jin handed the letter toward Pei Xiong Ji.
Pei Xiong Ji refused to take it and frowned. “Why did such a small matter have to disturb Old Taro?” In his opinion, rather than alarm Elder Yu, it would have been better simply to let Pei Xiong Ji suppress the matter himself. His prestige within the Immortal Treasury Palace was unrivaled. Handling something like this would have been effortless.
Elio’s Notes: Pei Xiong Ji calls Elder Yu 老芋头, literally “Old Taro,” a teasing nickname that plays loosely on the sound of Yu’s surname and signals their long familiarity.
Pei Yuan Jin reversed his hand and offered the letter to Ying Zhu Cui instead. “We should follow the rules so there are no future complications.”
Ying Zhu Cui’s expression became extremely ugly. She had been the one to demand an investigation. She never expected the final outcome would force Elder Yu from his position.
She said, “Elder Yu has not recovered from his injuries. How could you disturb his state of mind with something like this?”
Pei Yuan Jin said, “It concerns his son’s life. There was no way to avoid telling him.”
Ying Zhu Cui opened her mouth but could not find an argument. After all, she herself had repeatedly demanded that the matter be investigated to the bottom. Irritated, she said, “There are so many elders and Chief Managers sitting here. Are we truly going to stand by and watch Yu Yu Er die?”
Fu Xi Yan said, “Since none of the elders or Chief Managers object, then we’ll settle it this way.”
Zhao Tong Qu said, “Young Master Fu and the Young Master are the injured parties. If neither of you chooses to pursue the matter, naturally all of us are happy to see it resolved peacefully.”
Yu Yu Er kowtowed toward Pei Yuan Jin. Wiping away tears, he had just started climbing to his feet when Zhao Tong Qu asked with apparent concern, “What does Yu Yu Er plan to do afterward?”
The elders immediately remembered that the first Rain Division Chief Manager and her lover had both left the Immortal Treasury Palace. With that precedent established, naturally Yu Yu Er could not become an exception.
Fu Xi Yan said, “I have a somewhat presumptuous request.”
The corner of Zhao Tong Qu’s mouth stiffened, as though he had already guessed what Fu Xi Yan was about to say.
Fu Xi Yan bent down and helped Yu Yu Er to his feet. “Stealing the Harmonized Yang Pill is naturally an enormous offense, and whoever planned everything behind the scenes certainly had…” His gaze swept across Zhao Tong Qu’s face at exactly the right moment. “…no good intentions. I’m almost embarrassed to admit it, but although this began as something terrible, I gained very real benefits from it. My martial arts advanced by leaps and bounds, and I was fortunate enough to meet the person whose hand I want to hold for the rest of my life. Yu Yu Er acted without understanding the consequences, but he nevertheless helped bring Yuan Jin and me together. In that sense, he counts as half a matchmaker. I happen to need someone to manage affairs at my side, so I would like to ask him to serve as one of my stewards.”
A steward serving beside the Young Madam would still effectively remain part of the Immortal Treasury Palace, wouldn’t he?
Once the elders realized this, they understood that Fu Xi Yan and Pei Yuan Jin had already prepared Yu Yu Er’s path of retreat before publicly confronting him. They quietly relaxed.
Zhao Tong Qu said, “Young Master Fu’s intentions are generous. I only fear public opinion can be frightening.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “There aren’t many people present today. Those who needed to know the truth now know it, and everything that needed explaining has been explained. I think the details should stop here. Publicly, we can simply say that the traitor Chen Lai Dong committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Hm. Who would be best suited to handle this?”
His mouth addressed Pei Yuan Jin, but his eyes were looking directly at Zhao Tong Qu.
Pei Yuan Jin looked toward Zhao Tong Qu as well.
With both of them staring so openly, Zhao Tong Qu had no choice but to say, “Chief Steward Jing is absent. If the two of you trust me, I can handle it.”
Fu Xi Yan smiled. “Then I’ll trouble Chief Manager Zhao.”
Such trouble. Truly, such trouble.
Zhao Tong Qu smiled along with him. What he was thinking underneath that smile, however, only he himself knew.
The meeting ended. The theft of the Harmonized Yang Pill seemed to have reached a temporary conclusion, yet Ying Zhu Cui, the person who had originally forced the issue into the open, felt profoundly uncomfortable. The outcome was obviously nothing like what she had expected.
She had originally thought…
Her gaze passed through the crowd and landed on the slender figure slowly walking away behind Pei Yuan Jin.
Perhaps sensing someone watching, Yu Su Huan turned around. But Ying Zhu Cui had already hurried forward in three long steps and said to Fu Xi Yan, “The mastermind still hasn’t been caught. This matter cannot be considered finished.”
Fu Xi Yan stopped and politely asked, “Elder Ying has lived in the Immortal Treasury Palace for so many years. Do you have any clues?” The implication was obvious: You’ve lived on this mountain all these years and still don’t know who raided your own home. What exactly do you expect from me, someone who only just arrived?
Ying Zhu Cui said, “The Immortal Treasury Palace’s existence has always been an obstacle in many people’s eyes.”
Fu Xi Yan deliberately said, “But Pei Yuan Jin isn’t yet the pillar holding up the Immortal Treasury Palace. Even if he fell, the sky would remain standing.”
Ying Zhu Cui snapped, “The Young Master’s safety concerns the future of the Immortal Treasury Palace!”
Fu Xi Yan was mildly surprised. For someone so close to Zhao Tong Qu, she had apparently not been completely brainwashed by him. Her basic position remained unexpectedly stable. “I understand. Perhaps what we really need to ask is who wants to steal the Immortal Treasury Palace’s future.”
Ying Zhu Cui froze.
Fu Xi Yan noticed Zhao Tong Qu standing behind Ying Zhu Cui. He offered Zhao Tong Qu an extremely false, perfunctory smile and was about to turn away when Zhao Tong Qu spoke. “Young Master Fu, could I trouble you for a private conversation?”
＊
Only after leaving the Palace did Fu Xi Yan discover that a hard shower had recently passed. The grass and trees released a fresh fragrance after the rain. Water still streamed from soaked branches and leaves, droplets periodically falling with crisp pat, pat sounds.
Fu Xi Yan followed Zhao Tong Qu along the mountain path and gradually deeper into the forest.
The white tiger suddenly sprang from ahead, circled the two of them once, then rubbed itself against Fu Xi Yan.
Fu Xi Yan was instantly covered in water. Stroking its soaked fur, he said between laughter and exasperation, “Did you just take a bath?” He smelled his palm. There was still a certain odor.
But the white tiger was staring directly at him. Fu Xi Yan did not dare look too disgusted, so he merely chuckled and quietly hid his hand behind his back.
Zhao Tong Qu silently watched this interaction between “father and son.” “White tigers are fierce by nature. This one has only ever willingly approached the Young Master.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “Animals understand people’s hearts. They know who treats them well.”
Zhao Tong Qu said, “Humans are also animals, aren’t they?”
Fu Xi Yan stopped and said meaningfully, “Hard to say. Humans do have an expression, ‘worse than beasts,’ after all.”
Zhao Tong Qu said, “Young Master Fu is truly amusing. No wonder the Young Master likes you. I was different. Ever since childhood, people found me irritating. Sometimes I wondered why. When another child behaved well, they were praised. When I behaved well, I was ignored. When another child was naughty, everyone called them innocent and lively. When I was naughty, I deserved a beating. Why was there such a difference between people?”
Fu Xi Yan studied his appearance. Zhao Tong Qu had a broad, square face and utterly ordinary features. He certainly was not ugly, but as a child he probably had not been one of those clever, adorable children adults naturally wanted to indulge. As for his personality…
“Have you ever considered that perhaps what people like is innocence that comes naturally from the heart, rather than deliberate flattery and imitation?”
Zhao Tong Qu spoke enviously. “Yongfeng Earl Residence must have been a very harmonious family. Unlike me. I had neither father nor mother and survived by eating meals from a hundred households.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “I heard you were beside your mother when she died?”
“Did someone tell you that I watched her die without helping?” Zhao Tong Qu’s expression gradually turned cold. “In their eyes, I’m that person who is ‘worse than beasts.’ But they forget I was only seven. A seven-year-old child sees a group of armed bandits, every one taller and stronger than him, becomes so terrified he cannot move, and forgets every martial art he ever learned. Is that really so strange?”
Fu Xi Yan could no longer remember how a genuine seven-year-old should think. After all, when he had been seven in this life, he could hardly still have been considered a child.
Zhao Tong Qu said, “Afterward, I regretted it too. I blamed myself. There is no person in this world who could possibly have suffered more over it than I did!”
Fu Xi Yan said, “So you admit that when the bandits killed your mother, you were present and watched.”
Zhao Tong Qu’s breathing suddenly grew heavier. Only after a long time did he say, “Young Master Fu has now proven that I really am someone worse than a beast. Does that give you a great sense of accomplishment?”
Fu Xi Yan shrugged. “You’re very well-behaved. I can still ignore you.”
The instant the words fell, Zhao Tong Qu’s expression did not visibly change, yet veins rose sharply along his neck. He turned away and forced his gaze onto the little path disappearing through the forest. “Young Master Fu possesses extraordinary talent and has already reached Dao-Entry at such a young age. Martial King lies within reach. But above Martial King, the martial path becomes increasingly treacherous. One should not allow miscellaneous affairs to divide one’s attention.”
Fu Xi Yan knew they had finally reached the true subject of today’s conversation and immediately became even more cautious. “I heard Chief Manager Zhao was also attempting to reach Martial King?”
Zhao Tong Qu said, “I’ve given up.”
Surprise appeared openly on Fu Xi Yan’s face.
“The Palace Master needs Chief Steward Jing. Perhaps the Young Master and Young Master Fu also need someone capable of sharing your burdens and resolving your worries?” Zhao Tong Qu said. “Compared with pursuing the absolute peak of martial arts, I would rather devote everything I have to the Immortal Treasury Palace.”
It sounded remarkably noble, but once Fu Xi Yan examined it closely, Zhao Tong Qu was still pursuing authority within the Immortal Treasury Palace. He had simply wrapped the desire in prettier words.
Fu Xi Yan deliberately twisted his meaning. “Chief Steward Jing has only been away for a little while and you’re already plotting to usurp his position? Aren’t you afraid he’ll come back and settle accounts with you?”
Zhao Tong Qu said, “If Chief Steward Jing returns and cannot tolerate me, I will willingly accept punishment.”
When he spoke, his voice carried powerful confidence, as though he were certain Jing Luo could do absolutely nothing to him. Fu Xi Yan tested him. “It sounds like your relationship with Chief Steward Jing is excellent.”
“Young Master Fu doesn’t need to probe me. I do know where Chief Steward Jing went. How could he possibly stand aside when something as serious as the theft of the Harmonized Yang Pill occurred? He is pursuing the person behind the entire matter. I know some people within the Palace suspect that I’m the true mole…” Zhao Tong Qu shook his head. “The innocent need no defense. Once Chief Steward Jing returns, naturally he will restore my name.”
He spoke with such absolute certainty that Fu Xi Yan unexpectedly began wondering whether his own earlier judgment had been too arbitrary. Fu Xi Yan shook his head slightly. “The trap against Gao Ze and Yu Yu Er was designed far too perfectly. It had to be the work of someone familiar with them.”
Zhao Tong Qu fell silent for a moment before saying, “Gao Ze?”
He still reacted in the end, but that moment of silence was already enough for Fu Xi Yan to confirm one thing. Zhao Tong Qu absolutely knew something!
Having obtained the information he wanted and strengthened his earlier suspicions, Fu Xi Yan became much more casual. “Chen Lai Dong worked under Gao Ze, and Yu Yu Er is Gao Ze’s junior martial brother. Once both of them were implicated, naturally Gao Ze would be dragged in too. Isn’t he still sitting in the dungeon now?”
The explanation was slightly forced, but it was enough to make sense on the surface.
Zhao Tong Qu said, “I’ll have him released immediately.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “Yuan Jin already went.”
Zhao Tong Qu nodded, unsurprised. “Gao Ze always liked following the Young Master when they were children.”
“What about you?”
“I was too old. It wouldn’t have been appropriate for me to follow him around.”
Without noticing, the two had already returned along their original route with the white tiger accompanying them.
Fu Xi Yan asked, “Do you still resent the attention you never received as a child?”
Zhao Tong Qu laughed. “A child’s jealousy naturally disappears once he grows up.”
Fu Xi Yan shook his head. “Childhood is blank paper. The colors printed onto it then often remain for an entire lifetime.”
Zhao Tong Qu did not argue. Instead, he followed Fu Xi Yan’s metaphor. “A piece of paper has only so much space, but life is extremely long. Once enough other colors are layered over it, the original color can no longer be seen.”
Fu Xi Yan said, “That makes sense too. Still, if I ever had the chance to meet little Zhao Tong Qu from back then, I think I would tell him that parents always favor their own children. I don’t know what your mother said when she was killed, but I imagine she never revealed where her child was hiding. To a child, she was the person who would love him unconditionally whether he behaved well or badly. That kind of partiality cannot be copied or begged from someone else.”
＊
Fu Xi Yan stretched out a hand and caught a drop of rain falling from a branch at the forest’s edge. Looking toward the gates of the Immortal Treasury Palace, he saw Pei Yuan Jin’s tall figure appear ahead. He casually said goodbye to Zhao Tong Qu, then broke into a small run toward him.
Pei Yuan Jin reached out and caught him. His gaze moved past Fu Xi Yan toward Zhao Tong Qu behind him.
Zhao Tong Qu bowed slightly.
Only then did Pei Yuan Jin look away. Holding his large, chubby wife in his arms, he asked, “Nothing happened?”
Fu Xi Yan smiled bitterly. “I think I offended him spectacularly.”
Zhao Tong Qu had tried to build an image of himself as pitiful in Fu Xi Yan’s mind so that Fu Xi Yan might soften Pei Yuan Jin’s attitude toward him. Fu Xi Yan, meanwhile, had deliberately tried to tear apart Zhao Tong Qu’s false packaging and attack the vulnerabilities hidden underneath.
Naturally, the conversation ended badly.
Even now, remembering the look Zhao Tong Qu had given him made Fu Xi Yan’s heart turn cold. Beneath that seemingly calm surface lurked a darkness like a black hole, so deep and dense it seemed capable of swallowing every trace of light.