Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Before I escaped Yong Palace, I had considered the possibility that I might be dragged back.

But I was gambling.

Knowing my father, I knew there was nothing he hated more than having someone seize his weakness and use it to threaten him.

With the Four Domains in turmoil, I gambled that he would never spread word of my disappearance, and that he would not make a grand show of searching for me.

The peaceful half year that followed proved my judgment correct.

And yet now, Rui Xun’en’s words threw me back into confusion.

If Yong Palace wanted to find me, why had they waited so long to make a move?

And why was Yu Qingshi the one in command?

He cared so little about me that he ought to have been the one watching coldly from the sidelines.

Besides, with that sanctimonious front of his, he seemed utterly unrelated to anything like madness.

My thoughts twisted back and forth, but Rui Xun’en had no patience to think through any of this with me.

All he cared about was what I could do for my senior brother if I went to Yong Palace.

“Find evidence.

“I know Xiangwu Mountain was framed. The people behind it were my father and Sect Leader Yu.”

I had known this truth for a long time, yet saying it aloud still sent a dull ache through my chest.

I forced down the surge of emotion and did my best to keep my voice steady.

“They admitted it themselves, and I heard it with my own ears. To set up a game this large, they couldn’t have avoided leaving traces behind.

“Senior Xiang will be executed at the Four Regions Assembly. If we can find evidence of Dongze and West Ridge’s conspiracy before then, we can clear his name. Then my senior brother can be saved too.”

The moment I finished, Qingque suddenly flapped its wings twice as my shoulder shifted.

I paused and looked up to study Rui Xun’en’s expression.

He was watching me with dark, unreadable eyes, offering neither agreement nor objection.

“Yong Palace is enormous. Where would you even look?”

“My father’s secret chamber.”

I answered without hesitation, completely certain.

The secret chamber was hidden inside his archive. I had discovered it by accident when I was little, and because I was afraid of being punished, I had never dared tell anyone.

Not even my father knew that I knew.

“My original plan was to enter Yong Palace through the hole in the wall I used when I left, then find a chance to get close to my father’s archive.”

“…With just you?”

I did not know whether I was imagining the disdain in Rui Xun’en’s eyes.

But the words I had been about to say did indeed stop at my lips because of it.

I had meant to tell him that with the Four Regions Assembly approaching, Yong Palace would be receiving more Blessed Cultivator representatives from different domains every day. None of them trusted one another, and all of them were on guard. It was the perfect time to muddy the waters.

Besides, I knew Yong Palace’s layout like the back of my hand. As long as I could get inside, everything would become much easier.

But then I thought again. This stretch of forest had already been burned down, which meant the hole in the wall had likely been discovered.

A sudden uncertainty overcame me. I could not help feeling dejected, but I was far too unwilling to give up, so I could only say in a muffled voice, “It will be a little difficult, but I’ll do my best to think of another way.”

“Don’t waste your effort.”

Rui Xun’en lowered his voice.

His tone was calm and unhurried, with no intention of comforting me at all.

“Tell me where the archive is and how to trigger the mechanism to the secret chamber. I’ll go in your place.”

For a moment, I nearly thought I had misheard him. My eyes flew wide, and I forgot how to respond.

Rui Xun’en went on explaining by himself.

“My injuries have mostly recovered. I can use Blessed Power to cast techniques without issue. Getting into Yong Palace should be easy enough.”

This was not arrogance. He was considered an expert of the Mind-Heart Dao, and with illusion arts, he could indeed slip through unnoticed.

“Senior Brother Rui, won’t it be too dangerous for you to go alone?” I finally recovered from my shock and thought it over. “Why don’t I go with you? Maybe I can help somehow.”

“Help with what? Sprinkle chili powder on me? I’m not confident I can keep you safe, so don’t drag me down.”

“…”

He was so cutting that I lost the strength to argue.

Before, I could still have said I had the Silver Light protecting me and told him not to worry.

But after regaining my memories, I could clearly sense the power of the Protective Light Talisman weakening by the day. It was no longer a completely reliable safeguard.

I had no answer. Sullenly, I lowered my head and followed Rui Xun’en back to the house where he was staying.

On the way, I found a chance to ask him, “Senior Brother Rui, now that you know who I am, aren’t you even a little angry?

“Don’t you want to ask me anything?”

I still cared about this.

If he had a grudge against me, it was better to clear the air sooner rather than let a wall remain between us.

What answered me was a long silence.

Unwilling to give up, I said, “Senior Brother Rui, I thought you’d beat me up first. I didn’t expect you to trust me this much.”

“I don’t trust you. I trust my eldest senior brother.”

Rui Xun’en walked ahead without turning back.

“I checked your meridians. There’s a barrier on you left by Eldest Senior Brother. It can conceal blessing energy and make it easier for you to hide.

“And the steamed buns in your bundle. Each one was carefully coated in a layer of energy. That’s Eldest Senior Brother’s habit. He said it keeps them from spoiling.”

After saying that, he stopped and tossed the bundle back to me.

“No matter who you are, if Eldest Senior Brother wasn’t willing to hurt you, then I won’t hurt you either.

“I’m not interested in whatever grudges and entanglements you once had with Yong Palace. I only want to resolve the matter in front of us as quickly as possible.”

His face was terrifyingly grave, his pale eyes staring at me without blinking, carrying a silent warning.

I did not dare be the slightest bit careless. I did my best to draw him a detailed map of Yong Palace’s layout.

Almost the moment I put down the brush, Rui Xun’en prepared to set off.

Before leaving, he told me to wait in the village house for news from him.

I thought about it, then stopped him at the door again.

“Senior Brother Rui, I’m still worried.

“Take me with you. Two people are better than one. If things fail, I can cover for you.”

“I won’t fail.”

His cold words pinned me in place like icicles. By the time I realized Rui Xun’en had immobilized me, he had already stepped around me and laid an invisible illusion in front of the house.

His back was not particularly broad and still carried the immaturity of a youth, yet he walked away with extraordinary resolve.

This was a choice made with everything staked on one throw. He would not allow himself to imagine the consequences of failure.

Unable to move, I could only watch that figure go farther and farther, until at last he condensed into a black dot and vanished into the sky.

Little Senior Brother, you have to come back safely.

I prayed silently in my heart.

But clearly, I had never been the one favored by heaven.

The next night, someone knocked on the door.

A bad feeling rose in my heart, and I did not answer.

But the knocking went on and on, as if teasing me, or provoking me.

Knock.

Knock, knock.

Knock, knock, knock.

…

“Still not opening the door?”

The person outside spoke with a faint, almost smiling tone.

His enunciation was neither too hard nor too soft. It could even be called gentle.

Yet it made my hair stand on end. A chill rose from my heart and shot straight to the top of my head.

As I held my breath, the knocking stopped.

In its place came a boy’s restrained, hoarse voice.

“Tingtong.” His patience had already run out. “Are you still refusing to acknowledge me?”

With a thunderous crash, the door was smashed open.