Chapter 366: The Vortex

After leaving the cabin, Niu Youdao called Gongsun Bu over and headed toward the bow. There, beneath a sky filled with stars, someone sat half-reclined with her legs drawn up, staring blankly into the endless sea of stars. Her skirts fluttered in the wind. It was Guan Fangyi. Niu Youdao had not expected to find her there.

Hearing them approach, Guan Fangyi glanced back and abruptly asked, "Where is my home?"

Niu Youdao did not answer. Instead, he asked Gongsun Bu, "Have you verified the identities of those people from the fleet? Are they Xiaoyue Pavilion people?"

Gongsun Bu said, "No one admits to belonging to Xiaoyue Pavilion, but their public identities and backgrounds are all different. It's complicated. Anyone capable of organizing such a mixed group for this kind of operation could very well be using those identities to conceal a Xiaoyue Pavilion connection."

"If they won't talk, don't waste time on small fry. Keeping them alive only wastes supplies. Send orders to every ship in the fleet. Kill them all!"

"Uh..." Gongsun Bu froze. "All three hundred? Shouldn't we keep a few alive and investigate them carefully later? We might still uncover something."

"If they truly are Xiaoyue Pavilion people, then an organization capable of surviving this many years without exposing its foundations must have safeguards in place. We should not make any moves right now. Once they discover the fleet has been seized, every line connecting these people to their superiors will be cut. Keeping them alive will be useless. Kill them all. Let them serve as a send-off for Black Peony."

The final sentence ended Gongsun Bu's hesitation. He cupped his hands. "Yes!"

Niu Youdao added, "Don't let the bodies float around at sea and expose anything. Chop them all into minced meat and feed them to the fish. Have Duan Hu come see me."

Three hundred people, all chopped into minced meat? The corner of Guan Fangyi's mouth twitched. She turned to look at him again.

"Yes!" Gongsun Bu answered and left.

Before long, Duan Hu arrived. His spirits had been low these past few days.

Niu Youdao said, "Duan Hu, people say that when a person dies, the lamp goes out. Even so, regrets remain in this world, and some accounts of right and wrong still need settling. When she was alive, there were painful things she did not want to talk about, so I never pressed her. Black Peony's former husband, the man who abandoned her and went off to enjoy a comfortable life. And there was another matter Black Peony once told me about. She said she had once been reduced to some man's plaything, suffered a humiliation too unbearable to remember, and nearly lost her life. You should know about it. Tell me. Who are those two men, and where are they?"

Duan Hu slowly raised his bowed head and looked at Niu Youdao's back as he stood at the bow facing the stars and the sea. Under the night sky, a boat drifted freely across a lake. No lights burned within.

A beaded curtain was rolled halfway up. By the moonlight, Qin Mian could be seen sitting beside the window, slowly drinking tea.

Ripples spread across the lake. A figure emerged from the water, climbed aboard the boat, and entered the cabin in darkness. He sat quietly opposite Qin Mian. It was Wei Chu. Qin Mian lifted the pot and poured him a cup of tea.

Wei Chu thanked her.

Qin Mian asked, "Have you completed the handover on Prince Jin and Prince Yu's sides?"

"Everything has been handed over." Wei Chu nodded, then leaned slightly forward. "I don't understand. I've been doing perfectly well here. Is it really appropriate to transfer me away?"

"Naturally there is a reason. This time, the Pavilion Master personally named you and ordered you transferred to his side. I suspect he is preparing to make some move here and needs someone beside him who understands the situation so he can make decisions."

Wei Chu was startled. "Transfer me to the Pavilion Master's side?"

Qin Mian nodded. "From now on, you'll be someone at the Pavilion Master's side. Brother Wei, we've known each other for many years. I don't believe I've ever treated you poorly. Once you're beside the Pavilion Master, I hope you'll put in a few good words for me."

"You're too polite, too polite." Wei Chu immediately offered several modest replies, though the excitement on his face was difficult to hide.

Soon, however, a trace of hesitation appeared.

He picked up his tea and slowly drank several mouthfuls before asking, "What operation is this? Will it endanger my younger sister and Prince Yu?"

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask. I don't know either. If there really is some operation, you'll be beside the Pavilion Master by then. You'll probably know more than I do, so there'll be no need to ask me."

Wei Chu considered it and found that reasonable.

Qin Mian asked, "Is there anything else concerning the two princes that needs to be explained? Don't make things difficult for whoever takes over after you."

"Nothing much. I've already reported all the important matters. There are a few bits of household trivia, but it makes no difference whether the next person knows them or not..."

Under the moonlight, the two sat facing each other inside the boat and talked at length. As the conversation continued, Wei Chu gradually sensed a faint numbness spreading through his body. Something seemed to be running from his nostrils.

He wiped at it.

His fingers came away covered in blood.

Wei Chu's expression changed. He shot to his feet and pointed across the table. "You..."

His body swayed.

Crash!

He knocked over the chair and staggered toward the door. His body had gone numb. He stumbled with every step, unable to keep his balance. Before he could make it out of the cabin, his body abruptly stiffened. He looked down at his chest. A length of gleaming blade protruded from it, blood dripping steadily from the point.

"Why?" Wei Chu asked painfully, the word coming with great difficulty.

Never in his dreams had he imagined Qin Mian would try to kill him. He knew perfectly well how important his position was. As long as he remained cautious, no matter whom the organization moved against, it should never have been him. By all reason, he should have been one of the people they protected most carefully.

"Brother Wei, we've known each other for many years. I don't want to do this either. But the order from above was clear. You're too important. So important that there can be no mistake, not the slightest one. Which means you can never show your face in this world again. The safest course is for you to disappear completely."

Qin Mian whispered the words beside his ear, then stepped back and pulled out her sword. Wei Chu collapsed to the floor. His body convulsed as he stared painfully up at Qin Mian, still unable to understand. He did not know that Linghu Qiu belonged to Xiaoyue Pavilion. He did not know that his own staged death had been connected to Linghu Qiu.

Under Niu Youdao's pressure, a flaw had appeared in a decision made by Xiaoyue Pavilion's upper ranks. Someone now had to bear responsibility, and Wei Chu's life was the only way to seal that breach. Qin Mian, looking down at him, understood the cause and effect perfectly well.

Niu Youdao had most likely already escaped the State of Qi. If Xiaoyue Pavilion could no longer kill Niu Youdao inside the State of Qi, then killing Wei Chu was the only way to eliminate the future danger. At Among the White Clouds, inside Su Zhao's private bedchamber, Yuan Gang looked around. This was his second time entering her room. The first time, he had come on his own initiative. This time, Su Zhao had invited him.

The room was different from before. It seemed to have been carefully arranged. Everything was neater, several pots of fresh flowers had been added for decoration, and some sort of fragrance seemed to have been sprinkled through the room.

With the two of them alone together here, it was difficult not to remember what had happened last time.

Heat rose into Su Zhao's cheeks, coloring them with a rosy flush. She gestured toward a seat. "Sit."

Yuan Gang did not sit. "Is there something you wanted?"

"Nothing in particular," Su Zhao said softly.

"There's still some business at the Tofu House. I'll go back first."

Yuan Gang turned to leave, then stopped.

Su Zhao had already wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. With a trace of shyness, she said, "Can't I ask you to come unless there's business?"

Yuan Gang was silent for a moment. "About last time... I'm sorry."

"What use is saying sorry? I told you I was willing."

"I should still go. It won't be good if someone sees me."

"Everyone in this courtyard who is allowed to know about us already knows. Anyone who isn't allowed to know won't be allowed to find out. You don't need to worry."

Yuan Gang's brows shifted slightly.

He understood Su Zhao's identity perfectly well. Otherwise, the last time he came barging in, he would never have done what he did to her. After Niu Youdao uncovered Su Zhao's identity, he had worried that Yuan Gang might run into danger and told him at the first opportunity.

Her words, "everyone who is allowed to know already knows," made him understand.

Xiaoyue Pavilion already knew about him. And Xiaoyue Pavilion had accepted him. The muddled idea that had first entered his head, using this relationship to infiltrate Xiaoyue Pavilion, had actually worked. He hated himself for using such a method. It went against his principles. But in a moment of heated impulse, he had already done what he should not have done.

When he remained silent for a long time, Su Zhao continued, "Do you think it's unsuitable for me to stay here? I understand how men think. Give me some time. I'll find a way to get free of this place. There are things you'll understand later."

As she murmured, the presence and scent of the man in her arms drew her in, stirring her emotions until restraint slipped away. She pulled him around to face her.

Their eyes met.

She wrapped both arms around his neck, rose onto her toes, and tilted her face up. Qin Mian returned beneath the moonlight and came to the door of Su Zhao's bedchamber. The sounds from inside made the hand she had raised to knock slowly lower again. She shook her head softly, turned, and quietly walked away. At daybreak, Yuan Gang emerged from Su Zhao's room after spending the entire night there.

He was almost at the rear gate when Qin Mian strolled out from the side and blocked his path.

Yuan Gang stopped.

Without facing him directly, Qin Mian said evenly, "Let's talk."

She walked toward a secluded corner. Yuan Gang was silent for a moment, then followed. The two entered a small pavilion building and turned to face one another.

Qin Mian asked, "The Proprietress isn't one of the girls out front. You understand that. What do you plan to do now?"

Yuan Gang said nothing.

One moment of confusion, one wrong step, and now he was caught in a dilemma. After waiting a long while without receiving an answer, Qin Mian took out a wax-sealed pill and held it toward him.

"The Proprietress still doesn't know that I poisoned you last time. Here at Among the White Clouds, what kind of man haven't I seen? Not one of you men is any good. I did it for the Proprietress's sake."

"I'm warning you. Don't do anything that betrays her, or I won't spare you. There is still residual poison in your body. When you begin to feel unwell, take this..."

At the Residence of Supreme General Huyan, Huyan Wuhen stood on an upper floor with his hands resting on the railing, gazing toward one corner of the estate. A courtyard was being renovated and put in order in preparation for his son's approaching grand wedding.

His feelings were complicated.

Once his son married the Grand Princess, the Huyan family would probably lose the freedom to decide many things for itself. Remaining neutral in certain matters would become extremely difficult. Even if the Huyan family wanted neutrality, others would not necessarily believe it.

Open attacks and hidden arrows from people who had never before dared offend him would probably begin flying toward the Huyan family.

Consider only one point.

The Grand Princess and Prince Yu were both children of the Empress. After this marriage, Prince Jin would probably hate the Huyan family to the bone. The Huyan family could insist it would not favor anyone. Would Prince Jin believe that? Would the other princes secretly harboring ambitions believe it? This was one of the greatest reasons Huyan Wuhen had not wanted the Grand Princess as his daughter-in-law. He believed His Majesty understood all of this.

But it was obvious that compared with securing imperial power, everything else was secondary in the Emperor's eyes. The Huyan family was the one truly caught in a difficult position.

Zha Hu came upstairs and approached him. "General, An Taiping spent the entire night at Among the White Clouds."

Huyan Wuhen asked, "What did he do?"

"The situation inside is unclear. It's difficult for us to enter, so we don't know."

"The wedding date is approaching. Ask the three major sects to send over more cultivators. Starting today, whenever anyone in the family goes out, they must have retainer cultivators protecting them."

"All right." Zha Hu nodded.

Following Huyan Wuhen's gaze, he understood what the General was worried about. In the end, the Huyan family had still been drawn into that vortex.

[End of Chapter 366]