Sang Sha’s face contorted from the burn, but he didn’t dare make a sound. He could only follow the man’s steps.
After walking a few paces, Huo Jingzhao suddenly turned and stared at him, asking lightly, “Which do you think breaks more easily? A Wolf Hair Brush… or a human finger bone?”
“Wh… what?” Meeting those dark eyes so close to his own, Sang Sha halted in fright.
He was racking his brains for a way to respond when he suddenly realized the man was looking through him, at the bedchamber behind.
Sang Sha instantly understood. He hurriedly lowered his head and said, “Young Sect Master, I saw nothing just now…”
Before he could finish his trembling words, Huo Jingzhao broke into a wide grin. “What are you afraid of? I’m not blaming you.”
Saying this, he reached out and patted Sang Sha’s shoulder.
“…Thank you, Hrrk—!!” Just as the cold-sweating Sang Sha started to relax, Huo Jingzhao suddenly tightened his grip. An intangible Palm Wind emanated from his right hand, nearly crushing Sang Sha’s shoulder blade.
“Y-Young Sect Master, have mercy.”
Huo Jingzhao lowered his eyes and chuckled softly. “It just occurred to me… from now on, any man who steps into his room, or even thinks of stepping into his room… will have his legs broken by me.”
“Yes, yes…!” Sang Sha agreed, his lips white. Only then did Huo Jingzhao release his force.
Even so, Sang Sha’s left shoulder went momentarily numb. Clutching the injured spot, he cautiously watched the man’s gaunt, jagged black silhouette in the cold moonlight and gritted his teeth.
He couldn’t fathom Huo Jingzhao’s attitude toward Pei Lianyi. If it was simple toying, why so meticulous? If it was genuine interest, who didn’t know that Master Pei had kept himself pure for years? Beautiful as he was, his demeanor was rigid and old-fashioned. How could he compare to the worldly, charming beauties in the sect?
Or was tonight’s transgression merely retaliation born from anger?
And if it were mere anger, why this obsessive desire for sole possession…?
“Cough—” Just as Sang Sha was frowning in thought, Huo Jingzhao’s figure ahead suddenly staggered.
“Young Sect Master! Are you alright…?” Hearing the man’s ragged breath, Sang Sha quickly stepped forward.
Huo Jingzhao pressed a hand firmly against his chest. A moment later, he answered in an extremely hoarse voice, “It’s nothing.”
Noticing his faintly trembling hand, Sang Sha immediately retrieved a pill from his sleeve and offered it forward.
“Young Sect Master, the Sect Master said you must not use martial force except when necessary, otherwise your qi and blood will flow in reverse and damage your heart meridian…”
Huo Jingzhao had cultivated under the Nine Blossoms Sect for many years. Not only had he mastered the whip technique, he had also inherited the Sect Master’s personally taught skill. This Internal Cultivation allowed for swift, shadowless movement, but it followed the path of extreme yin and volatility, causing great harm to the practitioner.
Sang Sha wasn’t clear what kind of Evil Art it was, but thinking of how Huo Jingzhao had suffered injuries, alternating between chills and fever because of it, he urgently advised, “You must take the medicine quickly!”
Hearing this, Huo Jingzhao paused, then gave a cold snort. “Necessary time… you mean when it’s time to kill someone?”
Sang Sha froze. By the time he snapped out of it, the man had already snatched the pill from his hand and swallowed it in silence.
Only then did Sang Sha feel relieved. He added another reminder: “Young Sect Master must remember—for seven days after taking the medicine, you absolutely cannot use martial force…”
“…What a nag.” Unexpectedly, Huo Jingzhao didn’t listen at all. Right in front of him, he summoned his Internal Energy again, leaped onto the eaves, and flew away from the Pei Manor with lightning speed.
“…” Watching the man’s meteor-like figure vanish, Sang Sha clasped his hands to his head, which felt ready to burst, and let out a mournful sigh. His own purple-clad figure then soared into the air and gradually drifted away.
As the two departed, the phoenix lanterns throughout the Pei Manor blazed back to life. The people, as if waking from a dream, rubbed their eyes. Afraid of being scolded by the Master, they hurried back to their respective posts to stand guard.
“Family Head…! Family Head, how are you…?! Quick, fetch a doctor…”
“No.”
When Cao Xian found Pei Lianyi, he was still lying motionless on the ground. But his captivating, autumn-water pupils were staring fixedly at the ceiling beam, as if his most treasured possession had been extracted.
Seeing his Master’s face full of shock and flushed red, Steward Cao was baffled.
Pei Lianyi appeared refined and proud, but his temperament was exceptionally firm and unyielding. In his youth, when fighting over wharfs, he would rather let ships sink and cargo be lost, prefer mutual destruction, than concede an inch of ground.
Never had he shown such an expression as now, as if facing a formidable enemy, his eyes trembling with fear.
Cao Xian turned to go find a doctor, but Pei Lianyi immediately raised a hand to stop him.
“Absolutely no… doctor.”
“But…” Deeply aware of the reason Pei Lianyi dared not seek medical attention, Cao Xian felt helpless and could only stand there.
And Pei Lianyi’s next words shocked him even more.
“Someone broke in just now.” The man, with his hair slightly disheveled, stood up using the table for support, his voice deep and cold.
“What? But all the servants were in the courtyard; no one heard a thing,” Cao Xian said, his mouth agape in astonishment.
“Send people to search…” Pei Lianyi was about to order a search for any trace of the Ghost-Faced Man when he realized everything around him seemed untouched.
How…? He had clearly struck the Ghost-Faced Man on the head. There should have been fragments and blood. But the tabletop he saw and the floor beneath his feet were now spotless, without a single trace of a struggle.
And that call of “Father-in-law” that had made his heart pound wildly and his face burn with shame… it was the hands that had gripped his chest and waist, leaving him in such a disheveled state.
He spread his own hands, scrutinizing his fingers, and suddenly felt intensely confused.
“The Family Head has been overworked lately with the Little Young Master’s affairs. Perhaps you had a nightmare.” Noticing the subtle clues on his face, Cao Xian quickly had someone bring a bowl of golden bird’s nest soup. “Drink this to calm your nerves.”
Pei Lianyi took the small bowl of gold-inlaid jade but his eyes darted to the inexplicably vanished vase, knowing full well that tonight’s events were no dream.
He took a few shallow sips of the sweet soup and asked hoarsely, “Has there been any activity at the Huo family home? Anyone coming or going?”
“Replying to Master, the servants watching outside the Huo residence say the Huo family put out their lamps and went to sleep very early.”
Hearing Cao Xian’s words, Pei Lianyi felt a little relieved.
Huo Jingzhao was of noble character and gentle temperament. He would never do something as immoral and improper as a night raid. Thinking someone might be using the other man’s name to get revenge, Pei Lianyi’s face darkened as he said, “Have them watch closely. Report to me if any strangers approach the Huo residence.”
“Yes.”
“Withdraw.”
“…Yes.”
After Cao Xian left, looking at the familiar yet strange bedchamber, Pei Lianyi’s desire to sleep vanished completely. He curled up in his chair, lightly touching his neck where the man had grabbed him, still aching faintly. Another wave of palpitations hit him.
“Meow…” At that moment, the little gray cat jumped out from under the chair and licked its paw at him.
Pei Lianyi leaned his head against the chair back, watching it with weary thoughts.
The little gray cat suddenly jumped beside the incense burner and began pawing at its lid, as if trying to signal something to him.
His heart jolted. He immediately stood and pushed open the incense burner lid.
The incense had been stolen. The thief had taken nothing else, only the incense from his room.
Staring at the destroyed jade burner, Pei Lianyi closed his eyes in trepidation and murmured, “If it was for this… then Ziying’s absence is a good thing.”
Thinking back to the argument between father and son the night before the wedding, a touch of sadness filled him.
Due to various reasons, he had been exceptionally strict with Pei Ziying since childhood—strict discipline, and he’d investigate everything thoroughly: where Ziying went, who his friends were.
Although Pei Ziying was domineering and unreasonable outside, he was obedient before his father and dared not disobey.
Pei Lianyi could never have imagined that his usually well-behaved son would bring him such shame in a matter of such importance.
“No matter what, I won’t marry that Huo!” Pei Ziying glared at the luxurious wedding robe, slammed the table, and shouted, rising to his feet.
He had just turned seventeen this year. His delicate features possessed the spirit of youth. A pair of Auspicious Phoenix Eyes sparkled with charm, somewhat resembling Pei Lianyi. Even his stature inherited his father’s tall, straight bearing.
However, compared to his mature, noble father, Pei Ziying, with cheeks still carrying a touch of baby fat, remained too immature.
And when this pampered face threw a tantrum, it only appeared even more willful and petulant.
Pei Lianyi sat silently in the main seat, his clear eyes half-lidded. He gently massaged his brow, listening to Pei Ziying’s tirade.
“That Huo Jingzhao is just a good-for-nothing!”
He ranted as he paced around the hall. “Do you know, Dad? When he saw me tied up, not only did he not lift a hand to help, he actually started negotiating with those bandits about how much I was worth!”
Hearing this, Pei Lianyi opened his eyes. A dark, swirling light passed through them.
To facilitate the marriage between Huo Jingzhao and his beloved son, he had specifically hired a few long-term laborers working in the Pei family granary. Instructing them to use the excuse of demanding wages, they were to kidnap Pei Ziying on the route Huo Jingzhao took to the academy.
As he predicted, upon seeing someone abducted, Huo Jingzhao indeed pursued them desperately outside the city, eventually “rescuing” Ziying from the laborers.
As the orchestrator of this act, Pei Lianyi knew the outcome but not the details. Having Pei Ziying bring it up now stirred a very complex feeling in his heart.
“Big brothers, Huo Jingzhao begs you… let’s talk this over… no one needs to get hurt.”
“Pfft… ha, hahh…” Listening to Pei Ziying imitate Huo Jingzhao’s tone, Pei Lianyi couldn’t help but laugh.
He had never bowed his head since childhood. When looking at people, the ends of his slender eyes always held a touch of pale blue aloofness. Now, his rare smile unexpectedly carried a captivating, endearing charm.
“Dad…” Pei Ziying stared, momentarily stunned.
In his eyes, his dad was always stern and dignified, never cracking a smile. City folk said Master Pei was a lofty figure who couldn’t laugh. Yet now, he was laughing because of a few words from a good-for-nothing!
Pei Ziying clenched his fists and cursed with fresh hatred: “Huo Jingzhao is spineless! He was nearly begging on his knees to those thugs! He… he’s not a real man at all!”
“Is that so?” Pei Lianyi sat upright, his expression calm. “A hero knows when to bend and when to stand. I think he’s quite clever.”
“Dad!” At this, Pei Ziying completely lost his composure. He gritted his teeth. “No matter what you say, I won’t agree.”
“I, Pei Ziying, will never be with a coward!”
