Chu Yue walked up to the door. The person inside spoke first, his tone casual. “Is he dead?”
“Dead.” He pushed the door open and stepped in.
Li Lanxiu sat at the table with a book spread open in front of him, eyes lowered as he read with quiet focus. “The monk we saw today at White Pagoda Temple?”
Chu Yue walked slowly to stand in front of him. His eyes fell on the back of Li Lanxiu’s neck. Silky black hair revealed a patch of delicate, vulnerable skin. So fragile, so slender. He replied softly, “Yes.”
Li Lanxiu closed the book and lifted his gaze, nodding thoughtfully. “Wuji, that damned monk, isn’t simple.”
Chu Yue only let out a quiet “Mm,” his gaze dark as he stared at him.
Li Lanxiu tapped his fingers lightly on the table’s edge and spoke unhurriedly. “At White Pagoda Temple, I forced Wuji to break his dietary precepts. He didn’t react abnormally, but this now dead monk’s eyes when he looked at me… It was like he wanted to kill me. I’m guessing he was connected to the Red Sect.”
“I wasn’t entirely sure earlier today. But now that he snuck into the City Lord’s estate under heavy guard without making a sound, I know he has to be from the Red Sect.”
“If he’s with the Red Sect, then Wuji can’t be unrelated to them either.”
He paused, resting his arm on the chair’s armrest, then slowly leaned his cheek into his palm and said softly, “He isn’t just related.”
When Wuji was forced to break the precepts, he hadn’t revealed his identity. His acting had no flaws—he was so patient, so calculating.
And he had followers willing to die for revenge. Someone like that couldn’t be an ordinary member of the sect.
Wuji’s position in the Red Sect had to be quite high.
Sevenstar Tower had once given Li Lanxiu information on the four Red Sect guardians. There was the North Dipper Guardian, Canyue—a tall man with a brutal, domineering temperament who wielded a long blade.
The South Dipper Guardian, Huanji—a woman of striking beauty, skilled in music.
The West Dipper Guardian, Xueying—a man with ugly features who clad himself in a black cloak every day like a ghost. He was an expert at killing people without leaving a trace behind.
The last of the Four Guardians, according to Sevenstar Tower’s report, was a master of formations—a Daoist with hair half black and half white, tied into a yin-yang topknot.
Wuji’s appearance didn’t match any of the Four Guardians.
Li Lanxiu tapped the mask on his cheek with a fingertip. His gaze was thoughtful. On their first day in Dreamsaint City, Han Qian had mentioned that the Red Sect referred to their leader as “Buddha Son”...
Chu Yue brushed aside the black hair spilling over his shoulder and lifted Li Lanxiu’s chin with a finger. “Who is the young master thinking about?”
“Wuji.” Li Lanxiu remained completely immersed in thought, unaware of this motion, or of how his words brimmed with jealousy.
He looked up at Chu Yue. While thinking aloud, he said slowly, “When Wuji helped deliver the lamb, he said, ‘There’s no difference between humans and beasts. In my eyes, they are the same.’ At first, that sounds like the Buddhist idea of equality among all beings. But what if he only meant it literally?”
A flash of light sparked in Li Lanxiu’s eyes. His gaze grew sharp and piercing. “I have a theory. I can’t tell you what it is yet, but I’m almost certain of it.”
He had assumed there were only small fry from the Red Sect in Dreamsaint City. Catching even one guardian would have already exceeded his expectations.
He hadn’t expected a big fish to be hiding here.
Chu Yue’s thumb gently stroked the soft, warm skin beneath his chin. He whispered, “The young master is truly clever. I never know what you're doing.”
Li Lanxiu finally came back to himself. He slapped his hand away, then poked his chest with a finger and chuckled. “Why do you need to know so much?”
Chu Yue lightly caught his finger and looked down at him. “To stay ahead of trouble. If one day the young master replaces the old with the new, I’ll need to know why.”
His handsome brows and refined features gave him a cool, restrained aura, but that line carried the weight of a jealous concubine.
Li Lanxiu pulled his hand free and leaned back into the chair. He smiled as he looked at him. “Don’t worry. I won’t discard you.”
Chu Yue knelt by the chair and picked up the hand resting on the armrest. He rubbed his cheek against it. “There’s something I’d like to ask the young master. Where did your ghost-path spirit stone come from?”
Li Lanxiu opened his palm, letting him rub against it, and answered truthfully. “I traded for it with the black jiao lord’s yao core.”
“What…did the buyer look like?” Chu Yue stared at him as he asked.
Li Lanxiu gave his face a gentle push. “Why are you asking so many questions?”
Chu Yue suspected that the shadow’s master had something to do with the ghost-path spirit stone—and was just as full of ghastly qi. He curled his lips into a smile. “My young master is dazzling and unmatched in charm. Who could see him and not be moved? I worry they’ll get entangled with you.”
Li Lanxiu raised an eyebrow and patted his face lightly. “Are you asking for a beating?”
Chu Yue swept his gaze over Li Lanxiu’s shadow. His smile deepened, dimples blooming in his cheeks. He said with a sincere and innocent expression, “Was I wrong? If Young Master wants to hit me, go ahead. I’m your man.”
Li Lanxiu stared at him for a few seconds, then pulled his hand back and lightly hit his lips a few times. “I’ll slap your mouth.”
He hit carelessly, but his palm brushed against something soft and wet. Chu Yue stuck out his tongue and licked him without warning, then stared at him as if nothing had happened.
Li Lanxiu slapped his mouth harder and sneered. “Are you a dog?”
Chu Yue’s jaw reddened from the slap. His eyes glowed faintly as he stared back like a wolf in the dark. He nodded slightly.
Li Lanxiu burst out laughing and asked teasingly, “Then are you a male dog or a female one?”
“Male.” Chu Yue spat out the word clearly and leaned in closer.
Li Lanxiu narrowed his long eyes and slowly swept his gaze over him. He lowered his voice. “Oh? Little dog, where’s your tail?”
Chu Yue paused for a moment, then licked his lips. “I don’t have a tail.”
Li Lanxiu tapped his lips with a finger, his expression solemn. “Nonsense. Your tail just grew in the front.”
His shadow trembled slightly under the light, as if startled by the words.
Chu Yue’s ears flushed from the comment. He replied softly, “Mm, Young Master is right.”
Li Lanxiu chuckled, picked up the scroll on the table and held it to his lips. “Hold this.”
Chu Yue bit the seam of the book, lifted it and stared at him with an unfathomable gaze.
Li Lanxiu moved the lamp closer and lowered his eyes, concentrating on the words on the scroll. From time to time he paused, deep in thought.
Chu Yue still lingered on what he had just said. The thought made his blood surge, his throat dry. The spot where his teeth bit the book grew damp.
Li Lanxiu pulled the book out, turned a page and handed it back to him. “Drooling little dog,” he said coldly.
Chu Yue’s expression stayed calm and steady. He stared straight at him, from the hidden dark-red scar under his neck to the faint glow on his fingertips as he flipped the page.
Li Lanxiu met his burning gaze but remained focused on the book until he finished reading.
He pulled the book out, put it away and stood up. He walked to the bed and loosened the sash on his robe. “I’m going to cultivate. Go back to your den.”
Chu Yue stepped forward quickly. He picked up the robe and draped it back over his shoulders, tying the sash with quick hands. “No.”
“Why not?” Li Lanxiu looked around the room but saw nothing out of place.
Chu Yue hesitated slightly. He said in a low voice, “I’m afraid the Red Sect might return. You’re safer this way.”
Li Lanxiu gave a quiet sound of agreement and sat on the edge of the bed, motioning as if to kick off his boots. Chu Yue bent down and gripped the boots, fitting the loosened boots back onto his feet.
Li Lanxiu glanced at him and sat cross-legged in his boots to meditate. He closed his eyes and began circulating spiritual energy.
Chu Yue left the room and closed the door behind him. He dragged the corpses out of the courtyard and handed them over to the city lord’s guards, then returned to the courtyard separated from Li Lanxiu’s by a single wall.
A clear full moon hung in the sky. The courtyard lay silent.
He stood still for a moment, then suddenly drew his black blade. A cold gleam flashed under the moonlight.
The black blade flickered like lightning in the courtyard, appearing and vanishing in bursts. A sharp, cutting aura filled the air. The sound of it tearing through the wind howled like a beast, fierce enough to cut everything down.
Chu Yue moved faster. His slashes came quicker and quicker until afterimages blurred behind each motion.
Sweat seeped from his temples. His black robe clung damply to his broad back. Every tendon screamed, every muscle ached, but he refused to stop.
The night deepened. In the courtyard, only the glint of his blade and the sound of his ragged breathing remained.
Chu Yue's breaths came faster and faster, but still he wouldn’t rest. His blade moved faster than ever before.
At last, daylight broke. Morning sunlight poured into the courtyard. He swiftly sheathed his blade, clenched his fists to brace his exhausted body and walked back into the room as if nothing had happened.
He still didn’t know who the lark or the shadow truly were, but he could sense that both of them were far stronger than him. So, he had to grow stronger too.
That morning, news of an assassin breaking into the city lord’s manor the night before spread through the entire estate.
Ming Tian’s corpse lay in the center of the main hall. He wore black robes, had been recently tonsured, and the scars from his ordination had yet to heal. A single slash across the neck had killed him.
Han Qian and a few disciples of the Loftcloud Sect searched Ming Tian’s body from head to toe. They found a string of prayer beads, a Buddhist scripture from White Pagoda Temple and, in his storage ring, an identity token from the Red Sect. It identified Ming Tian as a disciple of the Red Sect’s Third Hall.
“The Red Sect! He’s one of them!” a disciple exclaimed.
Li Xuanzhen picked up the scripture from White Pagoda Temple, flipped through a few pages and said, “The Red Sect hiding in White Pagoda Temple…they sure know how to pick a place. Daoist sects don’t even want to go there.”
Jingmei stared at the wound on the corpse’s neck. She held up her fingers to measure it. “This was caused by Chu Yue’s black blade. Was he trying to assassinate Li Lanxiu?”
“Li Lanxiu…” Jiang Zhuo repeated the name under his breath, then turned to ask the servant pouring tea, “Last night, was Li… was he hurt at all?”
The servant shook his head in confusion. He knew nothing.
Jiang Zhuo paused, looked out at the empty space beyond the hall and stood up. “He ran into the Red Sect last night. Since we’re all Daoist sect disciples, shouldn’t we pay him a visit?”
Han Qian pulled a white cloth over Ming Tian’s body and looked around. “Since the Red Sect is hiding in White Pagoda Temple, let’s visit Young Master Li first, then head to the temple and investigate. What do you all think?”
The Loftcloud Sect disciples nodded in unison.
Li Xuanzhen stepped forward and said sternly, “This Red Sect affair concerns the lives of hundreds of thousands in Dreamsaint City. It must not be delayed.”
“So—” He shifted tone and said coolly, “We’ll split into two groups. You go investigate White Pagoda Temple. Lanxiu is my cousin. It’s only right that I be the one to visit him.”
Jiang Zhuo frowned at him. “Didn’t you have a falling-out with him?”
Li Xuanzhen turned to him and smiled slightly. “Just childhood disputes, not worth mentioning. Besides, didn’t you have a falling-out with him too, Young Master Jiang?”
Jiang Zhuo sat back down at ease, lifted a cup of tea and took a sip. “I have my own plans. No need to trouble yourself over them, Li-daoxiong.”
Han Qian swept a speechless glance over the two of them, cleared his throat and said, “Fine. You two may do as you please. Who among you is willing to come with me to investigate White Pagoda Temple?”
“Please be at ease, everyone.” A soft, clear voice rang from outside the hall. Li Lanxiu walked in, Chu Yue following him. He went straight to the center of the hall and took a seat.
Li Lanxiu swept a glance across the room. He shed his usual lazy demeanor and sat upright, asking seriously, “How does everyone here communicate with their sects?”
Han Qian was the first to respond. “Loftcloud Sect uses communication talismans. One channels spiritual power into the talisman and writes the name of the person they wish to reach.”
Jing Mei drew a jade slip from her sleeve. “Jademaiden Sect uses communication jade slips, which function the same way as Han-daoxiong’s.”
After the two spoke, they both looked toward Jiang Zhuo, worried he would refuse to answer Li Lanxiu’s question.
Jiang Zhuo took out a finely crafted bronze mirror from his storage ring, walked up to Li Lanxiu and handed it to him. He said quietly, “Streamcloud Sect uses this Heartlink Mirror. Every disciple has one. I have two. You can have this one.”
The other disciples were stunned. They vaguely remembered he had been seeking revenge for Jiang Jiusi just days ago. Why was he treating Li Lanxiu so well now?
Li Xuanzhen turned toward the outside of the hall and sent a voice transmission to Han Qian. “Han-shixiong, have you found any clues?”
Han Qian replied, confused, “What clues?”
“Li Lanxiu really holds a grudge against me.” Li Xuanzhen spoke with certainty, saying seriously, “He resents the injury I left him. That first day he pretended not to recognize me just to spite me.”
“So what clues?” Han Qian asked, still puzzled.
Li Xuanzhen turned to look at Li Lanxiu and smiled faintly. “Jiang Zhuo is my friend. He’s always admired me. Lanxiu did everything he could to win Jiang Zhuo over, just to get back at me.”
Han Qian pressed his hand to his forehead and replied with a voice transmission, “I don’t know what kind of person Li Lanxiu is, and I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that he wants revenge, but shidi—Li Lanxiu hasn’t done anything. As far as I know, they’ve spoken less than ten sentences to each other.”
Li Xuanzhen ignored him and continued calmly. “For Lanxiu to hate me this much, he must think about me constantly. He must have come to Dreamsaint City for me.”
As he finished the last word, a sofjot smile appeared at the corner of his lips, as if immersed in bliss.
That cousin is delusional lmao
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DeleteThanks U for the ch. :)
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