Extra 16: A Political Exchange [Part 3]

crimson_carnation

Dawn broke, slowly flooding the world with its warm light. It was the beginning of another day, and it would be the end of many futures.

In the Feng residence, Yang Baoyu stood in front of the egg chamber, his raised hands resting on the shining barrier that covered the chamber’s thick door. Lines and circles, squares and polygons made of various types and colors of sigils flashed and flickered on the barrier in reaction to his fiddling.

Yang Baoyu had been working on the wards of the egg chamber like this for the better part of an hour already. He spent every moment with the fear that he would be discovered by Qinghe or Wei Xiang, and yet he persisted with grim determination. He would do this and get Wu Jin—and specifically the royal family—another bargaining chip in the negotiations, and he would show that arrogant Feng Qinghe that he was not to be looked down on! He would succeed!

And so, gritting his teeth, he pushed on single-mindedly.

As an accomplished formation breaker, Yang Baoyu could undo all manner of spells, arrays, barriers and the like if given the time. Till now, he had already undone the first few layers of this complex shell of protective barriers. They had been woven for the Feng household by the topmost masters of the craft in the heavenly realm. But as an accomplished formation breaker, Yang Baoyu had already trained himself to be as familiar with those masters’ works as possible. After having thoroughly studyied the techniques in which those well-known masters created barriers and formations, Yang Baoyu was able to carefully unravel their spells and worm his way through.

But even though the outer layers were easy to undo because of that, the last layer he encountered confounded him to no small degree. It seemed all too simple and straightforward at first, but Yang Baoyu soon realized that he had to be most cautious with this one or risk falling prey to it. Though he didn’t recognize this formation as the handiwork of anyone from Heaven, he still had to admit that this formation crafter deserved his admiration and resentment for creating such a difficult and tricky one that had him on his toes the whole time he was trying to work his way through it.

There were many types of defensive restrictions, but the most common and convenient ones were those with a key. The key would oftentimes be a single character or a phrase which, when cast into the restriction, would blend into its formation to release it temporarily. The most common keys were usually something along the lines of ‘release’ or ‘open’. Yang Baoyu had of course tried them all just to be sure, but he couldn’t break in. However, that only showed that the weaver of this final barrier was not an amateur. And so, the prince had been trying to find the key for each layer of the barrier by tracing the spells and attempting to detect the tiny clues left in the formations themselves. He was now doing so for this final layer of the barrier as well.

What really surprised Yang Baoyu, however, were the intricacy and the traps in unexpected places scattered throughout this last layer.

For example, there were a lot of unnecessary spells woven into the formation that did nothing but negate themselves and lead to a trap, but Yang Baoyu hadn’t figured that out until he tried to undo a particular part of the spell and almost triggered a trap. He’d barely managed to stop it in time using up a very precious artifact. Since that almost-mishap, he’d tried to be twice as careful, but he still couldn’t be sure which thread of spells was meant to lead him into a trap and which was a genuine part of the defensive restriction unless he followed it to the end, which was quite problematic and caused him no small amount of headache. And so, was it any wonder that it was taking him so much time to carefully unravel even a small part of it?

But thankfully for him, no matter how eccentrically made that last layer of the protective barrier was, Yang Baoyu was still able to just barely undo enough of it to squeeze in. Of course, he didn’t know that that last layer, whose concepts had actually been constructed by Wu Xiao, was drastically simplified by Qinghe just recently so as to not discourage Yang Baoyu from working through the wards and entering the egg chamber.

Unknowing of the jaws of the trap that were slowly closing around him, Yang Baoyu finally pushed open the door to the egg chamber and entered.

The inside was dimly lit, the walls swept with golden light emitted from the line of fire burning along the edges of the room. High on the walls sat ornaments in the shape of wyvern heads made of gold, each one either looking profound and majestic or as if they were snarling with their sharp-fanged maws opened wide. Their eyes consisted of bright red gems that gave an eerie feeling as if the gold wyverns were really able to see, studying and judging everyone who entered the chamber. Small, cup-shaped indentations were spaced on the floor in neat rows. And in each indentation sat a large, knee-high egg with a softly shining shell.

Filled with a sense of victory now that he could finally get his hands on that man’s children, Yang Baoyu stepped toward the first egg with a wide grin filled with malicious intent. His eyes gleaming with violent rage, he lifted the silver-and-blue egg and threw it at a nearby green-and-copper one with force. The two eggs collided with a loud sound, but their shells only cracked. His fury igniting at the sight of even that man’s children defying his expectations, Yang Baoyu retrieved a giant stone hammer from his storage space and brought it down with full force again and again on that silvery egg. The sound of his frenzied hammering filled the room for a few minutes. Then, with a sharp crunch, the egg finally broke apart before thick fluid gushed out, bringing with it a half-formed wyvern fetus with frail wings curved around its little body protectively.

The defenseless pinkish fetus lay curled on the floor, its body quivering as it weakly tried to flop in the pool of amniotic fluid. Yang Baoyu smiled wider at the sight and raised a foot, stomping down mercilessly on the vulnerable flesh of the unborn wyvern and crushing it under his thick-soled boot. Sensing its fragile life being snuffed out, he happily ground his foot into it with gusto until the fetus was nothing but a pitiful paste of blood and ground meat. Feeling immensely satisfied, Yang Baoyu threw back his head and laughed heartily.

After that, like a man possessed, he went into a frenzy of destruction and cruelty, ruthlessly breaking apart every egg and squashing the soft, half-formed wyvern babies that slid out. The once neat and immaculate floor of the egg chamber was now covered in egg fragments, viscous amniotic fluid mixed with blood, and the spitefully pulverized bodies of the unborn wyvern children.

Once he was done unleashing his vengeance-driven destructive urges on the unresisting eggs, Yang Baoyu stood with his chest heaving, his eyes gleaming with glee at the sight of the gruesome devastation he’d wrought upon that infuriating Feng Qinghe’s children. Yes, this would teach him to look down on the fourth prince of Wu Jin! He couldn’t wait to see the anguish and pain on that man’s face when he saw this scene.

Slowly recovering his breath, Yang Baoyu was just about to do another round to make sure he hadn’t left even a single whole piece of flesh of the fetuses when he suddenly sensed someone behind him. Yang Baoyu quickly whirled around, his senses on high alert. “Who’s there!?”

Leaning against the door with his hands folded and his face without any expression was Feng Qinghe. Only his eyes showed a deep, cold rage.

Yang Baoyu stood stunned. When had this person snuck behind him? How could he, a centuries-old deity, not feel the approach of someone only four decades old?!

Letting out a sharp chuckle, Qinghe finally spoke, his voice soft and smooth, “Did Your Highness enjoy your rampage? Does killing unborn children give you pleasure?”

Yang Baoyu snapped out of his shock and snarled, “Unborn fetuses are not considered fully alive by your damn laws, so I can very well kill them as much as I want! And what proof do you have that I was the one who did it anyway? In the end, it will just be your word against mine!”

Qinghe chuffed out an amused laugh.

Because the wyvern eggs contained unborn spiritual beasts, they would be covered by the laws of spiritual beasts as well. And by spiritual beast laws, if an egg was irreparably harmed or destroyed by someone maliciously, then the closest kin of the eggs had the right to extract punishment directly from the offender. As in, if Yang Baoyu broke the wyvern eggs, as their closest kin, Wei Xiang could rightfully beat Yang Baoyu to within an inch of his life according to the laws of the spiritual beasts and not be penalized for it. Heaven would naturally not interfere in such a matter. And so, Qinghe had to wonder, just where this prince was getting his idiotic confidence from?

Qinghe shook his head and sighed. “Ahh, stupid, so stupid… I do not wish to waste my time explaining it to the likes of you.” Calmly extending out a hand, Qinghe coated it with his spiritual force and molded it to form wind claws. His lips suddenly stretching into a mad grin, he slammed his hand into the wall beside him, sending cracks splitting outward as the whole room shook with a loud rumble due to the sudden impact. Yang Baoyu steadied himself on the trembling floor as he looked at Qinghe with wide eyes.

His voice almost a growl, Qinghe spat, “If there were no laws preventing murder, I would have very much liked to rip out your rotten heart to feed it to my children when they are born. But I am not murderous scum like you, and the flesh of something as filthy as you does not deserve to even touch my dear ones’ lips.”

Then slowly retrieving his hand from the wall and dispersing his wind claws, Qinghe let his expression return to its usual composed state. “But it really does seem that you love to make a fool out of yourself a lot, Fourth Prince Yang.”

Yang Baoyu clenched his hands and yelled out, “Fuck you, Feng Qinghe! Whose children are scattered in this room as nothing but bloodied mush?! Who do you think suffered the most?! It’s you! You are the one who lost! You are the fool in the end! How dare you still disrespect me in such a way?!”

Qinghe laughed, a sound of genuine amusement. “Is that what you think? Haven’t you figured it out yet?” He sneered, his eyes filled with mockery. “It seems you really are a fool.”

Before a furious Yang Baoyu could reply, Qinghe lifted a hand and waved it at the room. And with it, the fragmented eggshells, bloody fluid, and ground flesh on the floor seemed to be swept away, revealing a pristine and empty room.

Yang Baoyu looked around with shock, trying to figure out what just happened. Then realization finally hit him. Turning to Qinghe, he gritted out through clenched teeth, “You! You played me! It was all an illusion?!”

Tucking his hands into his sleeves and leisurely leaning back against the door again, Qinghe smiled elegantly. “But of course. Or did you really think I was stupid enough to leave my dear children in a place where you could get to them this easily? Why else did you think I simplified the wards on this room if not to watch you make a fool of yourself by dancing into my trap? Your Highness sure is easy to manipulate. It’s been quite entertaining. First you ended up poisoning yourself while trying to seduce me, and then you huffed and puffed in this chamber destroying what you thought were my children, but were in truth nothing but smoke and shadows, an illusion left here specifically so that you could feel all pleased with yourself about your non-existent cleverness in breaching through those simplified wards and bash defenseless children to a pulp. Tsk, tsk, Fourth Prince Yang is such a pitiful person, thinking he’s oh-so-impressive all along even though he was dancing like a monkey in the palm of my hand.”

Every word Qinghe had spoken till now was deliberately meant to anger Yang Baoyu, to push him off the edge of reason and into the pit of mindless fury, and it succeeded. Veins bulged in the prince’s forehead and his hand holding the shaft of the giant hammer tightened. With a roar, He suddenly jumped forward. “Feng Qinghe!”

Seeing how easily Yang Baoyu was manipulated again, Qinghe felt pleased. He lightly leapt to the side to evade the giant hammer coming his way. The heavy hammerhead smashed against the sturdy doors, causing the wood to buckle outward. Yang Baoyu growled like an enraged animal and charged towards Qinghe again and again, swinging his hammer while aiming for him. But Qinghe sidestepped easily each time, his face calm with a slight smile.

“Fuck, stop dodging, you coward! Stand and fight, damn you!” Yang Baoyu howled.

Qinghe chuckled. “Why? So that your nation can charge me with assault? No, thank you.”

Yang Baoyu seemed to not even hear his reply as he kept smashing down his hammer. Cracking the floor, the walls, and sometimes even the ceiling. Qinghe bounced around cheerfully while taking special care to lead Yang Baoyu to the gold wyvern heads on the walls so that he would damage all but one of them. The wyvern head mounted farthest from the doorway had only one eye cracked, the rest of it whole enough to satisfy Qinghe’s purposes. But blinded by wrath, Yang Baoyu didn’t notice that he was being lead around, his red eyes swirling with bloodthirst focused only on Qinghe.

Finally bored of all the dodging, Qinghe landed on the floor lightly and held up a hand to gather wind and compress it into a barrier around him. The place he’d halted at was just in front of the sole surviving wyvern head ornament.

Seeing that his prey had stopped evading him, Yang Baoyu gave a shout of joy and lunged, hammering away at the wind barrier while Qinghe watched on amusedly. Understanding that the barrier wouldn’t break so easily, Yang Baoyu injected even more spiritual power into the hammer before bringing it down on Qinghe’s wind barrier again. The sound the impact made this time was much louder, sending ripples through the gradually weakening barrier. Grinning wide, Yang Baoyu madly beat away at it with renewed vigor.

His smile spreading, Qinghe spoke in a measured and clear voice, “Why are you so obsessed with reaching me, Fourth Prince Yang? What are you planning to do after you break my barrier? Surely you know that physically harming me will break the law?”

But gripped in the throes of mindless rage, Yang Baoyu didn’t care about logic and reason. “I will crack this barrier like the shell of those eggs and pound you into the ground, then grind you under my boots until you become nothing but meat paste as well! Feng Qinghe, I will kill you! I will obliterate you! You dare try to make a fool of me!”

Qinghe laughed. “Oh, I didn’t try to make a fool of you. You already set yourself up as a fool the moment you decided to target my household.”

Giving an angry shout at hearing this, Yang Baoyu poured all of his power into the hammer before bringing it down onto wind barrier with all the force he could muster. The barrier cracked with a loud snap, hiding the sound of Qinghe’s sly chuckle. His voice sounding amused, Qinghe spoke aloud, “Oh, dear, my barrier has cracked. Whatever shall I do? Seems like I will need a big and strong officer of the law to come and save me from this murderous prince~”

Laughter burst out of a nearby shadow before Wei Xiang materialized from it, fully attired in his uniform. “I suppose I am that officer of the law this beautiful young man speaks about?”

Yang Baoyu immediately spun around, his hammer making its way towards Wei Xiang. Wei Xiang ducked and caught the shaft of the hammer, and exerting a bit of power, wrenched it away from Yang Baoyu’s grip. “I’m confiscating this as the potential murder weapon.”

Roaring, Yang Baoyu tried to strike Wei Xiang with his fists, but Wei Xiang easily deflected his offensive by slapping it away with the back of his hand, then swept out a long leg to trip the prince. As Yang Baoyu struggled to stabilize his balance, Wei Xiang quickly swiveled to the side and brought down his elbow onto his back, sending the prince crashing down. With a wave, Wei Xiang sent out his golden strings to bind Yang Baoyu from his neck down to his ankles, cocooning him tightly.

His voice remaining steady, Wei Xiang stated, “Fourth Prince of the Wu Jin royal family, Yang Baoyu, you have broken the law by trying to murder a citizen of Heaven and a member of the heavenly court, the Deity Feng Qinghe. You will now be taken into custody to be processed in the Offices of Judgment for your crime. You have no choice but to cooperate. If you think you have been unfairly accused, you are free to ask for a trial in the halls of the Heavenly Palace. Do you understand what has been said to you?”

Yang Baoyu grunted and wriggled on the ground, desperately trying to escape, but the golden threads remained unbudging.

“Tch.” With a sound of disdain, Wei Xiang crouched beside him and clamped his fingers over the prince’s jaw in an iron grip before turning his head to face him. Letting his pupils grow slitted as his eyes turned a burning gold, Wei Xiang spoke in a deep and rumbling voice while stressing each word, “I said, did you understand what I just told you, Fourth Prince Yang?”

Faced with that menacing expression that clearly conveyed that Wei Xiang didn’t mind twisting off his limbs gruesomely and taking a big bite out of his hide if he didn’t answer quickly, Yang Baoyu froze as terror tried to blanket his mind. Trying not to lose control of his bladder while he desperately attempted to hold on to his reason, Yang Baoyu gave a short, jerky nod and whispered, “Y-Yes.”

Wei Xiang let go of his jaw and straightened again. Since Yang Baoyu was properly incapacitated, Wei Xiang left him lying on the floor and walked to his little lover. Dissolving his barrier, Qinghe ran up to Wei Xiang, happily opened his arms, and wrapped them tightly around his beloved.

But pushing him back, Wei Xiang carefully studied him with a worried frown. “Qinghe, how are you? Did he manage to hurt you anywhere?” After checking and seeing that nothing was wrong, Wei Xiang exhaled in relief. “Good, you’re fine. But love, you shouldn’t have been so passive. The law at least permits you to fight for self-defense purposes, you know? You are more skilled in martial arts than I am, so you could’ve easily taken him down.”

Qinghe showed a cheeky smile and blinked seductively. “Maybe I just wanted to be rescued by my handsome lover and held close while being comforted in different and interesting ways. And anyway, Xiang, what makes you say I’m better at martial arts than you? We almost always end up in a draw in all our sparring sessions, don’t we?”

“You little imp,” Wei Xiang said while chuckling and brushed his fingers over Qinghe’s cheek. “And yes, that is so. But if you were against me in real combat, I have no doubt that your martial arts would win over mine.”

Qinghe puffed his cheeks. “Well, I’ll never fight with you for real and risk hurting you, so there’s no point in discussing it.” Leaning forward again, Qinghe buried his face in Wei Xiang’s chest.

With a helpless and pampering expression, Wei Xiang patted Qinghe on the back. “Yes, yes, I know. But love, you still haven’t answered me seriously. Why didn’t you fight against the prince? It doesn’t seem like you to focus only on defense.”

Qinghe shrugged and answered, “Unless one receives an injury from an attacker to prove that the other part has harmful intent towards them, a skilled talker could twist it around to make it seem that the victim, as the first one to strike, was the instigator. That is, the first one to attack is more likely to be seen as the one in the wrong. And while I trust the integrity of the Offices of Judgment and the Heavenly Emperor, I didn’t want to risk that. Since I could make this case be more in my favor by holding back, I chose to only defend and extracted a clear confession that he meant me harm before calling you. If things didn’t go as planned, I would of course have taken care of it myself or activated one of the many trap formations or protective arrays set in this room to capture him. To put it simply, I didn’t attack because it would make things more convenient for us later. Now does this seem more like me?”

Looking down at his little lover’s smug face, Wei Xiang cold only chuckle and bend to press a loving kiss to his cheek. “Yes, now that does indeed seem more like you.”

Qinghe grinned happily and leaned back from his beloved’s embrace. “Well, now that we’ve straightened it out, I think it’s time to show a certain prince how his future accommodations inside a prison cell will look like.” As one, Qinghe and Wei Xiang turned their gazes towards the bound Yang Baoyu on the floor, their smiles sharp.

His blistering anger having calmed a bit by now, Yang Baoyu had already come to understand just what a horrible situation he had landed himself in. Being pierced by the pair’s gazes now, he gulped. He supposed there was no way for him to wriggle out of this… He had truly messed up beyond repair.

As Wei Xiang dragged him off to the Order of Judgment, Yang Baoyu gritted his teeth with abject regret, frustration, and despair. But as perfectly baited and trapped as he was, he knew that there was nothing he could do.

……

“It’s this cave, Lord Feng,” Yang Xuehua dutifully informed. “It doesn’t seem to have been found by anyone else till now, and the positioning of the branches and shrubbery trying to hide the cave mouth has also not changed. Maybe…no one’s entered it after I found it? Or do you think it is being used by an organization like the Dark Lotus to store things rather than as a headquarters?” His expression brightening at that thought, Yang Xuehua optimistically guessed, “Maybe there aren’t any people inside at all and there’s only black market goods stored away in the cave! This excursion of ours might turn out to be not dangerous after all!”

Standing beside the young man, Feng Huixin frowned and said noncommittally, “It might be so. But unless we go and see for ourselves, we won’t know.” Then pausing to turn and look at Yang Xuehua, Feng Huixin noted, “Perhaps it would be better if Second Prince Yang stayed behind for safety purposes while I go in to check.”

Yang Xuehua hesitated as if considering this, then shook his head and spoke with suppressed excitement shining in his eyes. “No, if I won’t be too much of a bother, I’d rather accompany you, Lord Feng. I want to see you in action with my own eyes! And I was also the one who showed you the cave, so I would like to take part in this.”

Feng Huixin sighed but nodded. “Very well, then. Let’s enter.”

After spending a few minutes to push aside the broken-off foliage blocking the cave’s mouth, Feng Huixin and Yang Xuehua carefully stepped inside. A long tunnel stretched in front of them, leading deeper into the cave. The floor and walls were rough and uneven while the ceiling was even more rocky as it curved above them. With a thoughtful gaze, Feng Huixin stepped towards a wall and dragged his fingers over it in evaluation.

“Lord Feng? Is something wrong?” Yang Xuehua asked worriedly.

Feng Huixin took back his hand from the wall, lightly rubbing the old dust and decayed cobweb that came away between his fingers. Turning back, he calmly replied, “No, it’s nothing.”

“That’s good.” Yang Xuehua let out a breath in relief and confessed nervously, “Lord Feng, I’m actually not very good with spooky places like this. I-I feel a bit uneasy, so would you mind if we hurry up a bit?”

Feng Huixin raised an eyebrow but nodded. “Very well, let us get going then.”

And so, they set off, walking deeper into the cave. The more they walked, the darker it became and the closer Yang Xuehua crept towards Feng Huixin, his eyes swiveling every which way as if expecting a ghost or ghoul to throw itself onto him at any moment.

“A-At least we haven’t encountered any traps till now…” Yang Xuehua muttered as if to console himself.

Suddenly, the faint and muffled rattle of chains echoed from further ahead, startling them both.

Before he could rush forward to check, Feng Huixin felt trembling fingers pinching the edge of his sleeve. Feng Huixin turned to his companion, “Yes?”

Realizing what he’d done, Yang Xuehua quickly took back his hands before hesitantly asking, “Lord Feng…do you, um, mind if I hold on to your sleeve while we walk?”

Feng Huixin raised his brows.

Feeling awkward, Yang Xuehua coughed and stepped back. “Ah, n-never mind. Please pardon my excessive forwardness.”

Feng Huixin wordlessly began walking again. After a slight pause, Yang Xuehua followed after him, his head lowered.

In a quiet voice, Feng Huixin suddenly explained, “Second Prince Yang, we are in potential enemy territory. Danger might be lurking in any corner. And to protect you from it, I will need to keep my hands free. Having you holding my sleeve would impede my ability to move quickly, and even a single instant of delay might end up in me being unable to defend you in time.”

Yang Xuehua lifted his head in surprise, then smiled at Feng Huixin’s back. “I see. Thank you, Lord Feng. And I’m sorry for not thinking my request through.”

Feng Huixin simply nodded without looking back. After a few moments of silence, he said softly, “You remind me of my son, just a bit.”

Yang Xuehua looked at the straight back of the man walking before him with unreadable eyes, remaining quiet as if not knowing what to say. Feng Huixin didn’t speak anymore either and continued striding forward. A heavy, meaningful silence stretched between them.

Less than an hour later, the tunnel in front of them widened into a large, circular chamber, its high ceiling disappearing into darkness. The floor curved downward in a smooth, concave bowl. Concentric circles of strange symbols were inlaid into this concave area, covering it completely. Surrounding this chamber on all sides were tall arches held aloft by weathered stone pillars carved from the cave walls. The darkened mouths of more passages were visible under each of the arches.

“What is this place?” Yang Xuehua exclaimed while looking around. He walked up to the edge of the large concave bowl and carefully peered down. His eyes widening, he hastily took a few steps back and suddenly called with a sense of urgency, “Lord Feng! Come here and look at this!”

Feng Huixin frowned but walked past the frantic young man and stood at the edge of the large concave bowl before looking down in puzzlement. “Second Prince Yang, there seems to be nothing here. What did you see―”

Feng Huixin suddenly felt the impact of someone strongly pushing him from behind. Rather than tumbling down, he used the force of the shove to leap up and land inside the concave area.

Outside the bowl-like area, Yang Xuehua suddenly shouted, “NOW!”

The concentric circles of sigils in the concave area suddenly lit up with a blindingly bright glow. A transparent, cylindrical wall of power rose up from the outermost circle running along the edge of the bowl-shaped area. Squinting his eyes due to the sudden brightness, Feng Huixin immediately recognized it as the activation of a restrictive formation that aimed to trap him inside this concave space. The dormant torches embedded into the pillars and arches surrounding the central space also suddenly flared to life, throwing more light to illuminate the large chamber. People wearing heavy, tan-colored hooded robes slowly emerged from the passageways inside the arches, their footsteps muffled. All of their hoods were pulled up, and a single stylized lotus stitched in black thread decorated the chest part of their robes.

Feng Huixin immediately recognized it as the mark of the underground organization Dark Lotus. It seemed that Yang Xuehua had led him into a trap.

The only hooded person with a white robe in the group slowly made their way to Yang Xuehua with their hands clasped behind them. “Prince, you did your job well as usual,” said a measured voice seeming to belong to a man in his thirties.

After he retrieved a tan colored hooded robe of his own and put it on, Yang Xuehua’s whole manner seemed to change from the nervous and honest youth from before into someone arrogant and sharp-tongued. “Hmph, of course I did. This is the last piece we need to free the dark god, the only thing standing between us finally ruling this nation. I naturally took special care in my acting this time to make sure we could get him here without issues. Just don’t mess up this final part, leader.”

The white-robed man chuckled. “You’re as cold as always, but your competence and intelligence make you very valuable to us. And soon, you will be rewarded for all the information you brought us from the palace and the spy work you did these past years. After this, we can put a halt to those discussions regarding merging with Heaven, and then you can rule the nation of Wu Jin from beside us. With the dark god’s grace on your side, even that talented younger brother of yours won’t stand a single chance against you. Isn’t that what you want, Prince?”

Yang Xuehua clenched his hands into fists and snarled, “Enough, I don’t want to hear about him! Just get on with it. Or are you waiting for the Deity of Judgment to find a way out on his own?”

The white-robed leader scoffed. “As if he could.” Turning his head, the leader gazed with contempt at the Feng Huixin who was standing still and straight with a calm expression inside the restrictive formation, looking directly at them with half-lidded eyes.

“He sure doesn’t look surprised for someone betrayed,” the leader observed.

Yang Xuehua frowned and muttered to himself, “It couldn’t be…”

Not thinking much about it, the leader leaned forward and whispered, “Anyway, until the preparations for the extraction formations are complete, Prince, I want you to distract our guest so that he doesn’t get up to something that will hinder us. I’m counting on you now.” Clapping a hand on his shoulder, the white-robed man turned and left to bark commands at the others.

Sighing, Yang Xuehua walked to the edge of the restrictive formation and faced Feng Huixin. His chin lifting up haughtily, he spoke “Lord Feng, you’re being awfully quiet for someone who just discovered that the obedient young man who’d been accompanying them till now turned out to be a spy from an underground organization. Or have you gone speechless from shock?”

Feng Huixin looked unperturbed as he explained, “I never once put down my guard against you, Second Prince Yang. The moment I entered the cave, my suspicions towards you had already strengthened. So I simply don’t feel the need to be surprised.”

Yang Xuehua’s eyes widened. “You really figured it out? How?”

“The cave walls,” Feng Huixin calmly replied. “It was covered with dust and cobwebs as if this cave had existed for a long time. But you specifically stated yesterday that this cave was dug out recently. And when I paid attention to that inconsistency, you immediately attempted to distract me and urged me to head deeper.”

Yang Xuehua showed an expression of displeasure. “Tch, so it was that after all. But still, if you were always on your guard against me, why did you eat the fruits I gave you?”

“Because I’m confident in my immunity against poisons of most sorts,” Feng Huixin said.

Gritting his teeth, Yang Xuehua looked miffed at being outsmarted. “Are you always so wary with others? Or did I do something to make you keep your guard up against me from the beginning?”

Feng Huixin tilted his head. From all these questions he was asking… Was the prince trying to distract him? Why?

But outwardly, Feng Huixin didn’t show his thoughts as he cooperatively began to answer, “Due to prior investigations, I was already aware that someone in a high position in the Wu Jin royal court—probably even someone of the royal family—was a part of the Dark Lotus. Knowing that you or one of your siblings could be the spy, I kept my guard up from the very beginning. But what made me feel more cautious towards Second Prince Yang in particular was the way you used your siblings. After they each came to make a commotion and were sent away, you then arrived with the justified reason of ‘making amends in their stead’. It was a reason that wouldn’t raise suspicions at all if one wasn’t already on their guard against exactly that sort of unassuming and subtle scheming worthy of being used by a skilled covert agent. Subsequently, you behaved in the exact opposite way your siblings did, as if purposefully showing me the contrast so that I would feel more favorable towards you.

“Later, after inviting me to stargaze, you tried to judge how much I’d grown to believe in your harmlessness by offering the fruit as a test. Seeing that I accepted it, thus proving in your eyes that I had already come to trust you, you started conversing with me. After evoking my pity by revealing your dissatisfaction with your father and softening me further by pretending to revere the Offices of Judgment, you steered our conversation in the direction of this cave in such a way that no officer of the law would be able to ignore the potential danger this suddenly-appearing cave might present. Wasn’t all this so that you could lure me in here and capture me for some reason?”

Hearing his pretense till now dissected like this, Yang Xuehua could only look at him speechlessly.

One had to know that even though Feng Huixin could be considered to be the least crafty person in the Feng household, for him to earn his position as the Deity of Judgment still meant that he didn’t lack intelligence. It was only in certain aspects that he appeared too dense or befuddled, just like Qinghe sometimes was.

Suddenly, Yang Xuehua burst into laughter and sneered, “Well, aren’t you a sly one, Lord Feng? You knew all that yet you still acted like nothing was wrong at all. And here I was so flattered when you said I was like your beloved son. Turns out it was all lies.”

Feng Huixin sighed. “No, I did not lie. Second Prince Yang, you truly do remind me of my son. He is also very clever and likes to use his skills in acting to lure people into his traps similar to you, though unlike you, he doesn’t underestimate his opponents. He actually tends to overestimate them a bit and always prepares many, many countermeasures against things going wrong in advance. He is just like his mother in that aspect. But unlike them, I suppose Xiang-er likes to just directly toy with his prey for a few minutes before finishing them off quickly. The three of them together would be an exceedingly frightening combination to behold.”

Seeing Feng Huixin’s wistful expression that clearly said he missed his strange-sounding family, Yang Xuehua just silently glared at him.

Breaking out of his reverie, Feng Huixin finally said, “Second Prince Yang, I’ve answered all your questions. Now I hope you will answer some of mine in return.”

Yang Xuehua narrowed his eyes and rested his hands on his hips belligerently. “Very well, ask and we will see.”

Feng Huixin almost smiled. “Once you’re done distracting me and your companions finish setting up whatever they are working on now, what are you planning to do with me?”

Yang Xuehua looked at him startled, then barked out a sharp laugh. “Observant, aren’t you? But that’s what I’ve come to expect from the famed Deity of Judgment. I really shouldn’t have underestimated you. Fine, I’ll answer you. It’s not like it’ll be of much use to you anyway. We are setting up a formation that will extract your power. The reason you were chosen for this is because of the sheer potency of your power and the way you are currently unable to use it to resist, which makes it most convenient for us. But though you can’t use your power due to those deity-suppressing restraints, it still runs through your spiritual veins. We will simply force it out of you and combine it with the life energy we’ve already harvested from all those powerful courtiers till now.”

Feng Huixin’s expression turned grave. “For what purpose?”

Chuckling, Yang Xuehua easily admitted, “It’s all a part of a huge ritual to free the dark god we worship from the seal the previous Heavenly Emperor put him under. Our dark god is a being that even the previous Heavenly Emperor couldn’t kill. He was only able to seal him. If we could get the gratitude and protection of such an unimaginably powerful being, the Dark Lotus can easily fulfill its goal of conquering Wu Jin.” His tone turning sharper and more intent, he continued, “Even that younger brother of mine will have to bow to me then and answer to my commands. So what if he was the most promising one among us? So what if Father favored him the most? I will stand above him and show Father that I am even more worthy than Baoyu!”

Feng Huixin wanted to sigh. Unqualified parents were the cause of so much suffering. As an unfavored son himself, Feng Huixin could understand a bit of what Yang Xuehua felt. But even when he came into his powers, Feng Huixin had never once thought of using them to dominate his siblings and gain his parents’ favor. Maybe that was because he had his nanny to teach and guide him down the right path while making up for whatever affection he didn’t get from his parents. After that, he had his master, then his Chunyi and their family to fill that space. But did this young prince ever have anyone like that?

Pushing away these thoughts, Feng Huixin spoke with regret, “Second Prince Yang, your talents are wasted, both in this organization and in your royal court. If you had come to the Offices of Judgment before, you really could’ve been trained to be a fine officer.”

Yang Xuehua looked at him with surprise, then turned his face away with a cough. “W-Well, whatever. It’s too late now, and no matter what manner of sweet-talk you try on me, I won’t be swayed from my path when victory is so near.”

Feng Huixin could only shake his head while suppressing his amusement. “Then let me ask you another question. Does your organization know the location of the demonic being you worship? If not, all of this would’ve been in vain.”

His expression melting into a smug smile, Yang Xuehua replied. “Of course we do. In fact, our dark god is right here even now.”

Frowning, Feng Huixin tried to sense any traces of demonic energy, but came up blank. “I’m afraid I do not understand.”

Laughing, Yang Xuehua simply pointed upward.

Feng Huixin tilted his head back, and his eyes widened imperceptibly in shock.

Before, when he’d first surveyed this chamber, the ceiling had been completely drowned in shadows. But after the restrictive formation became active and the wall torches were set ablaze, faint light finally illuminated the ceiling. With its back flat against the ceiling, something huge and monstrous seemed to be restrained under layers upon layers of chains. Each chain link itself was the size of a full-grown man, its color pitch black. From between the tightly bound coils of chains, Feng Huixin could make out hints of matted black fur, a wrinkled bovine face, pitch black horns, human-like furry hands, and dully shining cloven hooves. The flat, black horns curving up from the bull-like head looked like the petals of a dark lotus on the verge of blooming. From within the folds of the black hide on the creature’s face, two glowing eyes filled with madness and bloodlust silently watched over the happenings in this chamber. The entirety of the ancient creature’s body seemed to be hundreds of times larger than a human. But because of the seal, its presence and power were completely undetectable.

Seeming to sense the weight of Feng Huixin’s incredulous gaze, the demonic being’s head slightly shifted to focus its insanity-filled eyes on him. Due to that small movement, the black chains lightly clanked. Feng Huixin realized that this was from where they’d heard that sound before in the tunnel. Of course, Yang Xuehua had immediately distracted Feng Huixin after that, but Feng Huixin had still remembered the sound and had thought of investigating it afterward.

Meanwhile, after seeing Feng Huixin’s minimal reaction despite being faced with the chained body of such a formidable being, Yang Xuehua smirked. “Lord Feng, I have to commend you for being so calm even in this situation. But what good will you being so composed do when we all know it’s only a matter of time before your power is sucked clean and you’re nothing but a dry husk?”

Feng Huixin lowered his gaze from the ceiling to look at the confident young man. “I assure you that such a thing will not happen.”

Yang Xuehua peered at him unconvincedly. “Oh? Are you saying you know how to get out of there? But if you had a way to escape, wouldn’t you have already done so? Yet look at you. You’re still trapped in the restrictive formation, aren’t you?”

Feng Huixin earnestly replied, “I only decided to stay here to hear you speak out your plans. In my experience, criminals tend to reveal their secrets and motives more easily and honestly when they think they have the upper hand in comparison to when they are locked up and interrogated strictly by the officers. But now that I’ve gotten to hear everything I need to know, I suppose it’s time I made my way out.”

Feeling shocked yet again, Yang Xuehua ground his teeth. How could this person keep defying his expectations like this?! No, wait. Didn’t he have seven sets of deity-suppressing restraints on him? So how was he planning on getting free?

Just as Feng Huixin began calmly walking towards the edge of the restrictive formation to demonstrate exactly that, the white-robed leader from before suddenly yelled at Yang Xuehua, “Prince, it’s done! You don’t have to stall him anymore.”

The Dark Lotus members surrounding the formation chanted to activate the smaller formations they’d just drawn on the cave floor and poured in their spiritual energy.

Power abruptly punched Feng Huixin, targeting the barriers in his mind and trying to make him let go of his tight hold on himself. He froze mid-step and clamped a hand over his mouth. Pain squeezed his mind in a tight grip, trying to slowly grind away his mental barriers. No, he couldn’t let go! He of all people could never let his hold over his control slip by even a little! Squeezing his eyes closed as his brows furrowed sharply, Feng Huixin fought the power battering the walls of his mind.

Meanwhile, the people outside the restrictive formation all widened their eyes with bewilderment as the air in the chamber rippled and thickened. Their chests felt like it would explode while their sight seemed to blur. A strange pressure pressed down on them. It was as if the air was being condensed by some great force. The floor and walls of the chamber groaned and rumbled. Loose rocks and pebbles directly floated up from the ground and trembled as if being squeezed.

Yang Xuehua clutched his chest and coughed as if trying to let out the discomfort. He stared at Feng Huixin with shock. Since he was unable to use his cultivation, was all this the result of their attempt to extract his power? Just how strong were his mental barriers to show such an effect?!

“L-Leader!” Yang Xuehua struggled to call out. “Shut down the…extraction formations! A-At this rate…”

But even as he was struggling for breath, the white-robed leader refused loudly, “No! We’re…so close! J-Just a…bit…more…”

Yang Xuehua gritted his teeth at the other man’s stubbornness, but could only give up. The people manning those formations wouldn’t listen to him anyway, and if he tried to fiddle with it, it could just make things worse. Rubbing his eyes in an attempt to make them regain some clarity, he turned his gaze to Feng Huixin again and jerked in alarm.

Feng Huixin’s long hair had turned an eerie white along with his irises. Blood trickled through the fingers he had clamped over his mouth. No matter which way one looked at it, this was definitely not a good thing!

Inside the concave area, Feng Huixin desperately struggled to keep hold over his mind. But after the chain of stressful and angering situations he’d had to deal with just recently, what with various people trying to force him and take advantage of him, he hadn’t had a chance to center himself yet. His equilibrium was slowly tipping.

An arm curling around his stomach, Feng Huixin spat out another stream of blood. As much as he wanted to stubbornly deal with this on his own, the risk of him losing control and his power rampaging through this world was too high. His power was too great, an abomination of epic proportions that could tear through Heaven itself like it was wet paper. He’d had to learn to strictly suppress it from the time he’d started on the path of cultivation. But it was still too difficult to always regulate his emotions and keep a tight hold on his mental barriers to prevent leakage. Right now, that delicate balance was already slipping away. His emotions were turning agitated. He couldn’t do this by himself. He needed external help.

Gathering his strength, Feng Huixin called out with his mind, <Master…your disciple…needs your help…>

In answer, a ball of heat suddenly flared in Feng Huixin's dantian from where he'd secreted away the memento from his master that now contained his master's spirit. Slowly, it pulsed in his dantian, burning hotter and hotter. Then, compressing itself into a small point, the heat slowly pushed its way out. A little speck of light floated out of Feng Huixin’s lower belly and flew around him as if assessing his situation. Then, with a soft sigh of distress, the small speck of light swelled rapidly until it was the size of a small house. Under the incredulous gazes of the watching Dark Lotus members, the large ball of light dissolved to take the form of a giant white― no, a giant silver tiger.

Jaws dropped open as eyes almost popped out of their sockets in shock. Someone muttered in a disbelieving voice, “Is this a…Spirit Tiger?!”

Another person whispered in awe, “Weren’t Spirit Tigers one of the heavenly beasts?! Wasn’t it said that they went extinct long ago in a lower world?!”

“No, wait, this Spirit Tiger…it doesn’t seemed to be giving off life energy. It’s dead!”

“Don’t tell me…is this its lingering spirit?”

Wind suddenly lashed around the chamber, whirling around the large silver tiger and Feng Huixin as if shielding them from inquisitive gazes. Inside the swirling wind, the Spirit Tiger opened its jaws and spoke in a heavy voice that reverberated in Feng Huixin’s mind, <It’s been a while since I saw you in such a state, Xiao Xin.>

But Feng Huixin couldn’t muster any energy to reply.

Sighing at his disciple’s state, the silver tiger nudged Feng Huixin’s head with his giant nose and huffed out a breath. If his disciple was wavering, he would be firm; if he was grieving, then he would comfort; but since Feng Huixin was now agitated, the silver tiger turned his voice soothing, <Xiao Xin, calm yourself. I can drain my reserves and suppress your energy for a few moments, but you will have to regain your balance soon.>

Feng Huixin gritted his teeth and struggled to comply with his master’s instructions. His agitation began to subside, but refused to completely go away. <Master…I c-can’t…>

The silver tiger’s voice was unyielding. <Yes, you can. Xiao Xin, if your power explodes out, not only will the heavenly realm be torn to pieces, so will your precious family. That cheeky wife of yours and your sons will die.>

Just the thought of it made another mouthful of blood spurt out of Feng Huixin. No! He wouldn’t have that! No matter what, he would protect his family!

<Then control yourself. Your mind is your domain and your emotions are the waters that fill it. Calm the waves, disciple. Exercise your will.>

With the image of his family dying haunting his thoughts, Feng Huixin ruthlessly forced his mind under his control, not caring about the damage to his body.

For a moment, the wind in the chamber surged even stronger, lifting up several people and throwing them against the cave walls. Then the cutting wind suddenly died, finally exposing Feng Huixin. That silver tiger was nowhere to be seen, as if it had simply been a figment of their imagination.

Yang Xuehua studied Feng Huixin carefully and let out a breath in relief. Feng Huixin’s hair and eyes seemed to have returned to normal, and his face was even blanker than usual, his emotions under rigid control. The strange power heavily pressing down onto them had also disappeared.

The white-robed leader got up from where he’d fallen on the floor and snarled, “Strengthen the extraction formations! Don’t give him time to recover!”

The small formations around the larger restrictive formation had been steadily dimming due to the lack of spiritual energy input. But now that the people tending to those extraction formations had more or less recovered, they began to pour in their energy again.

Feng Huixin felt the spell clamp onto his mind once more, but remained unperturbed this time. His defenses were solid now, and just the thought of his family suffering if he let go of his grip on his power was enough for him to hold on to it even tighter.

“Leader, it’s not working!” one of the Dark Lotus members tending to the extraction formations shouted with alarm.

Not giving them time to think of anything else, Feng Huixin pushed up his sleeves, exposing the seven sets of black deity-suppressing restraints that were covering his forearms, and shot out his power. The restraints on his arms creaked and managed to suppress his power for barely a moment before being ground to dust by the overwhelming energy forcing its way past them. The seven sets of deity-suppressing restraints turned to powder and shushed down from Feng Huixin’s arms.

The watching people all gaped at him. He was actually able to get out of even seven sets of restraints this easily?! Just what sort of monster was he to possess that much power?!

The reason Feng Huixin had let the restraints remain on him this long was only so that anyone who wanted to scheme against him in Wu Jin would think that he was rendered powerless. He did not actually expect to have to remove the restraints on his own during this trip, since his physical might itself was enough to deal with most dangers. But now…

Feng Huixin tilted his head back and studied the chained demonic creature on the chamber’s ceiling. Its eyes glowed with bottomless hunger and insanity. As long as it was allowed to exist, it would cause chaos. Even if the Dark Lotus was dealt with now, another organization might just pop up to worship this being. And somewhere down the line, if this demonic creature was freed, then it would be disastrous.

“Since the being you worship is demonic in origin and poses a threat to the lives of the people in this world, it is my duty as the Deity of Judgment to eliminate it. Please maintain an appropriate distance in the meantime to prevent being injured.”

The Dark Lotus members could only stare at him speechlessly.

Not caring about them, Feng Huixin slowly released the tight grip on himself in a carefuly controlled manner. Unleashed, his power unfolded like massive wings, reaching below the ground, dissolving into the air, and rising high enough to brush the sky. The suffocating power was so potent, feeling as if it could suffuse the entirety of Heaven itself and still overflow. It was raw and primal. If the power of a normal deity was an ant, then Feng Huixin’s was the world itself.

Holding his arms away from his body, Feng Huixin summoned his spiritual artifacts—the golden whip Order and the black whip Punishment. The two whips appeared in his hand, the golden one with thin and flat, blade-like edges and the black whip looking like it was completely covered with sharp, curved spikes.

Intimidated by the power flooding from Feng Huixin and his weapons, the watching Dark Lotus members all hurriedly backed away to put some distance between them and Feng Huixin. Just a small swing of those whips and they would die in pieces.

Feng Huixin lifted the hand holding Order and lashed it towards the creature bound on the ceiling in a quick swing. Before those watching could register the motion, an arc of tremendous power flashed upward from the golden whip, cleaving through the black chains and carving a deep injury across the demonic being’s body. Pieces of broken black chain links rained down as the restraints sealing the creature were undone. Letting out a roar that shook the chamber, the creature reached back to dig its fingers and hooves into the ceiling, maintaining its position while its gaze fixed on Feng Huixin.

Feng Huixin narrowed his eyes. It seemed that even Order would be unable to quickly finish this demonic being. Its hide was too thick. In that case, it only left…

Letting out another earth-shaking roar, the gigantic creature let go of the ceiling and leapt down towards Feng Huixin, sensing the vast stores of energy inside him and seeking to consume every drop of it.

Quickly raising the black-colored Punishment that he seldom saw the occasion to use, Feng Huixin charged it with his power and swung it upward with force. A sharp, piercing whistle rent the air as the whip cut through it, sending a vast torrent of power rocketing up and slamming into the black-furred creature. The demonic being barely had the time to cross its arms to shield its face before it was hit. Its glowing eyes widened in horror―

―and then it was erased from existence.

The creature’s body and the cave’s ceiling, along with the top of the hill this cave was situated in, were all blown away into fine dust by that one strike of Punishment, not leaving behind even a single chunk larger than a particle of sand. Bright rays of sunlight showered down from the resultant hole in the ceiling, setting aglow the motes of dust showering down and bringing with it a strange sense of surrealism. Overhead, the clouds in the sky above the hill were all scattered or dispersed due to the strike, while powdery dust rained down softly on the surrounding areas.

Inside the chamber, the horrorstruck members of the Black Lotus were startled out of their awe due to the falling dust, coughing and covering their nose and mouth with hands, arms, or sleeves before trying to flee. Seeing just how staggeringly powerful Feng Huixin was, they knew without a doubt that even all of their power combined and multiplied a thousand times wouldn’t stand a chance against him. They could only hope to slink away now and hide, hoping for the rest of their lives that they would never be found by this monstrously strong and fearsome deity.

But everyone who tried to escape through the main tunnel or the side passageways under the arches all found that there were stern-faced, black-robed officers standing guard. Anyone who charged at them to try and break through was easily dealt with by them.

Yang Xuehua clenched his hands into fists after realizing that he wouldn’t be able to escape. It seemed that Feng Huixin had long since called for his people from the Offices of Judgment to come and surround this cave, just in case there really was something related to the Dark Lotus going on in here. Yang Xuehua guessed that for the officers to have arrived in such a timely manner, all these preparations must have been arranged yesterday night at the earliest, right after he told Feng Huixin about the cave. Yang Xuehua felt reluctant respect blooming within him. Such thorough thinking… there was no doubt that that man was suitable to bear a title as lofty as the Deity of Judgment, even being chosen to be the next Heavenly Emperor.

Meanwhile, Feng Huixin had put away his spiritual artifacts and was wiping the trickle of dried blood from the corner of his mouth. Using his senses, he determined that the operation of stealthy infiltration and surrounding of the chamber and the hill outside was complete. Opening his mouth, he finally ordered, his voice steady and calm as always, “The cultivation of all targets is still active. Deploy restrictive talismans and suppress.”

Restrictive talismans functioned just like the deity-suppressing restraints, though the only ones in possession of these talismans were the people from the Offices of Judgment.

Hearing Feng Huixin’s command, the officers immediately took out the aforementioned talismans and flung them into the air. The talismans floated in place, making a neat circle in the air around the entire chamber. Before the Dark Lotus members could react, the characters drawn on the talismans glowed as they activated, and a giant cylindrical barrier much like the one that confined Feng Huixin came to life. The Dark Lotus members all felt themselves unable to use their power, some of them rushing towards the walls of the barrier to beat their fists on it in a futile attempt to break out. Due to his own power being insuppressible, Feng Huixin barely felt anything. Waving a hand, he easily dispersed the restrictive formation trapping him and walked out.

“Begin the procedure of taking the members of the underground organization Dark Lotus into custody. We will hold them in the royal dungeons until the negotiations between Heaven and Wu Jin are complete, then transfer them into the prison cells in headquarters.”

“Yes, Lord Feng!” the officers shouted as one in acknowledgment, then quickly entered the restrictive barrier before setting about capturing everyone. Due to their greater numbers and strength, the officers weren’t worried about their inability to use their powers within the barrier. Disorganized and disoriented as they had become due to the rapidly changing situation, the Dark Lotus members were easily handcuffed, restrictive talismans stuck onto each of them.

Seeing everything proceeding smoothly, Feng Huixin gave the officers directly under him some more orders before deciding to head out of the cave. Just as he was about to step out of the chamber, he heard a loud commotion and looked in that direction. Flailing between the pair of officers holding him in place, Yang Xuehua was arguing stubbornly, “I said I’ll cooperate, so let me go already! I only want to talk to your leader for a bit, and then I’ll come quietly!”

Feng Huixin changed the direction of his steps and walked towards them. “What does Second Prince Yang wish to talk to me about?”

Yang Xuehua froze and turned around, looking at Feng Huixin with wide eyes due to being caught unawares. Then suddenly looking away, he coughed. “I-I just…I wanted to say…”

Feng Huixin cocked an eyebrow and expressionlessly asked, “Yes?”

Still looking away, Yang Xuehua got out with difficulty, “I-I didn’t completely lie to you. I’m done pretending, so don’t think I’m trying to butter you up again. I will accept my punishment, so this is not about that. I just wanted to tell you that…that I r-really did admire you when I was a child…and maybe even now… M-Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if I had joined you and become an officer under you.” His face reddening, he burst out to cover his embarrassment, “But things obviously didn’t go that way, and it’s definitely not my fault, you hear! I just didn’t want you to think I was always lying, that’s all! Hmph!”

For a moment, there was only silence. Then suddenly, one of the stern-faced officers holding Yang Xuehua let out a suppressed chortle before clamping a hand over his mouth. Another officer sighed amusedly and expressed, “How cute. It seems you have a devoted fan, my lord.”

Feng Huixin’s eyes softened while Yang Xuehua yelled at the teasing officers indignantly, “What the fuck are you talking about?! Who is his fan?! I just told you that I didn’t want him to misunderstand, that’s all! Tch, keep your weird thoughts to yourself!”

In a soft voice Feng Huixin suddenly said, “Second Prince Yang, after you’ve finished serving your sentence in prison, if you are able to pass the psychiatric evaluation and are determined to no longer have criminal tendencies, then you will be free to attend the officers’ academy to train before applying to become an officer of judgment. With your intelligence, I’m sure you will be able to work with me soon.”

Yang Xuehua looked at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “R-Really?”

“Yes.” Feng Huixin nodded. “Can you hold on until then?”

Snapping out of his daze, Yang Xuehua harrumphed again. “O-Of course I can! You just wait, Lord Feng, and keep a space beside you empty for me. I’ll finish my sentence quickly and join you before you even know it!”

Feng Huixin looked at spirited young man warmly. “Then I will be waiting.”

Now that what he wanted to say was said, Yang Xuehua unresistingly let the officers take him away. Feng Huixin also began walking towards the tunnel and slowly made his way out. Since he was still serving as the exchange, he unhurriedly strode back to his room in the royal palace and closed the door.

Bringing out the box of sweets Qinghe had given him from where he’d hidden it in his spatial storage this morning, Feng Huixin opened the lid and stared at the last one-third of the sweets inside. Since he’d had such a trying day, he decided that he deserved to eat the rest of them. And so, sitting cross-legged on the bed, Feng Huixin slowly finished the remaining sweets, his thoughts once again filled with longing towards his family.

……

The next morning, after the reports Feng Huixin and Wei Xiang had sent to the Heavenly Emperor were finished being processed, the heavenly court was called to session once again. The negotiations had already reached the final stages of planning and were brought to a temporary halt. The matter of exchanges was also put aside and Feng Huixin used the shadows to quickly return to the capital of Heaven while bringing along a few other people as instructed by the Heavenly Emperor.

Currently in the throne room, the four members of the Feng household stood to one side while the Wu Jin royal family was situated on the other side. After being branded as criminals, several members of the royal family were kneeling on the floor with their heads bowed, their wrists and ankles shackled while an officer of judgment stood beside them vigilantly.

First Prince Yang Yehuo was charged with the sexual assault of Feng Huixin and many other servants in the Wu Jin royal palace. His severe injury to the pelvic area had already been healed within a few hours by using copious amounts of medicine, and it still hurt him terribly. However, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and bear with it to attend the heavenly court now. Kneeling opposite to the Feng household as he was, Yang Yehuo didn’t even dare to lift his head to look at Feng Huixin in the fear of remembering the brutal pain of the other man’s knee driving itself between his legs just yesterday.

The Second Prince Yang Xuehua who was kneeling beside him was charged with associating with an underground organization, theft of sensitive materials, and accessory to murder and the potential loss of life that would have occurred if that demonic being had really been set free, among various other things. His expression was strangely serene and unreadable. To say that his family had been shocked upon hearing that he was a spy from the Black Lotus was an understatement. But in the present situation, they had no choice but to put aside this matter to digest later.

Fourth Prince Yang Baoyu was charged with attempted murder of Feng Qinghe and violence against an officer on duty while being taken into custody. Though his head was bowed, the veins in his neck and wrists stood out prominently as if he was barely managing to hold himself still. Bitter hatred and caustic rage burned within him as thoughts of how he had been outwitted and trapped by that Feng Qinghe kept spinning in his mind. But Yang Baoyu was determined to bide his time and use this opportunity given to him by his father to expose that wily man’s trickery for all to see!

Of the Wu Jin royal family present in the throne room currently, Yang Lingyun, the king of Wu Jin, was the only one standing. Even Yang Jian, the royal siblings’ cousin, had been apprehended for his attempt to make the bald man assault Feng Huixin in the carriage while they were heading to Wu Jin. The bald man would’ve also been present were it not for his severe injuries that rendered him unable to move at the moment. Meanwhile, without any charges against her, Princess Yang Ruanyu was left back in Wu Jin to manage the royal court.

The reason for everyone’s presence here in the throne room was because Yang Lingyun had asked for an open trial in the heavenly court and in front of the Heavenly Emperor. He desperately wanted to find some way out of this situation, and he theorized that since the Feng household must have used some sort of sneaky methods to get the Wu Jin royal family in this state, if he could just get them to spill their schemes out in the open, even if his family ended up being condemned, he could at least smear tar on the Feng household’s name and drag them down as well. And what better place to do that than in the throne room where no one could speak lies?

“Your Majesty, I seek justice for my children!” Yang Lingyun declared self-righteously while looking at the Heavenly Emperor with burning eyes.

The watching members of the heavenly court merely gazed at him with pity. This King of Wu Jin might think that he could trip up the Feng household, but they knew better. They were just waiting here out of curiosity to see what type of a show would be put on by both sides.

The Heavenly Emperor sighed and spoke, “Then we shall address the cases one by one without delay. First Prince, do you have any objections with the charges that have been placed against you that you wish to address in a trial here? I will warn you that if any of the accused wastes the time of the heavenly court, they will be judged with a harsher statement. Think carefully before you answer, First Prince.”

Yang Yehuo gulped, not even daring to lift up his head to meet the Heavenly Emperor’s weighty gaze. Sweating silently, he wracked his brains trying to make a choice. Though his father had reassured him that he would try to get him out if he pleaded for a trial in the heavenly court…after all these years of being treated like he was less than his younger brother Yang Baoyu, Yang Yehuo really had lost his faith in his father’s care for him. If it meant saving Yang Baoyu, he knew that he would be sacrificed without even a thought. And if this failed, wouldn’t he be the one to bear the extra punishment?

Gritting his teeth, Yang Yehuo finally lifted his head and forced out, “N-No, I don’t need a trial.” Since he couldn’t lie here anyway, the truth would be easily exposed, so it was better to admit defeat and choose the lesser evil.

Yang Lingyun clenched his fists. This stupid son! Did he have to ruin his plans so easily?! In truth, Yang Lingyun had requested for these trials just to pull out the Feng household’s schemes and make them show their true colors as revenge. He didn’t think he would be able to save his two older sons anyway. He had already decided to focus his efforts on vengeance against the Feng household and to help Yang Baoyu out of his sentence. He didn’t care what happened to his other two sons. As for his nephew Yang Jian, he didn’t even enter his mind.

On the Throne, the Heavenly Emperor nodded solemnly. “A wise choice, First Prince. Now what option does the Second Prince pick? Do you feel that you have been accused unfairly?”

Yang Xuehua looked up, his usually arrogant face calm. He saw his father try to send him signals telling him to nod, but he ignored him. He could easily see what Yang Lingyun was plotting and wanted no part of it. Instead, Yang Xuehua’s eyes directly met Feng Huixin’s on the opposite side, holding the other man’s gaze that showed encouragement. Smiling softly, Yang Xuehua said in a clear voice, “No, I am satisfied with the way I have been judged. I am willing to answer everything that will be asked of me and am prepared to accept my punishment.”

Feng Huixin’s eyes slightly widened. Then his blank expression warmed slightly, approval in his gaze. Seeing it, Yang Xuehua felt that he had made the right choice. He smiled wider and bowed his head again, not bothering to look at his father’s ugly expression.

Yang Lingyun wanted to smack these disobedient sons of his! These dim-witted, ungrateful wretches! But at least he still had his Yu-er. He had always lived up to his expectations and listened to him as a filial son should. As long as he could somehow get his youngest child out of this mess, he would be happy.

Seated on the Throne, the Heavenly Emperor nodded to acknowledge Yang Xuehua’s words. Turning to Yang Baoyu, he asked, “What does the Fourth Prince choose? Will you also cede your right to a trial in the heavenly court?”

Yang Baoyu looked up and glared at Qinghe while spitting out, “No! I feel that I have been treated very unfairly by the Feng household and Feng Qinghe in particular! I demand that he be judged as well for seducing me into eating something toxic and luring me into a trap to make me violent!”

Yang Lingyun breathed a sigh in relief and commended Yang Baoyu in his heart for at least following the script.

Meanwhile, Qinghe raised his brows in genuine surprise. What was wrong with this prince? Though he had indeed acted weak in an attempt to seduce Yang Baoyu in the beginning, he definitely hadn’t been doing that when the prince ate that petal! Of course, as someone who wasn’t able to judge a person’s beauty from their facial features, Qinghe didn’t understand the concept of sexual appeal based only on someone’s appearance and how Yang Baoyu had been considering his drunken beauty seductive from beginning to end.

Looking at his little lover’s confused expression, Wei Xiang had to force down his chuckles while Feng Chunyi shook her head amusedly. Her son was really too weird to not understand his own allure. Ah, how innocent he was! Feng Huixin merely narrowed his eyes. After being told of all the things this Fourth Prince Yang had done, he really was very displeased.

Hearing Yang Baoyu’s accusations, the Heavenly Emperor remained calm and simply nodded. “Very well, then Fourth Prince, please defend against all the allegations against you and state the reasons why you blame Deity Feng. Remember that only what you consider truth will be able to be spoken in these halls.”

Yang Baoyu stayed silent for a minute, then took in a deep breath and let it out. “I can’t defend against any allegations without revealing how I have been schemed against by that Feng Qinghe and his lover. I would like to speak about the events that ended up with me like this from my point of view.”

The Heavenly Emperor tapped a finger against his armrest in thought before finally saying, “Then Fourth Prince, you may recite the events as you remember. If Deity Feng or anyone has an explanation to give or objection to make in between, they are allowed to raise their hand and state their case.”

Yang Baoyu and Qinghe nodded to indicate that they agreed.

The Heavenly Emperor turned to look at Yang Baoyu and said, “Then please begin.”

Yang Baoyu nervously licked his lips and started speaking, “Their plot began the moment we met in the Feng residence. They were acting like they weren’t close, and Feng Qinghe in particular acted the role of a scorned lover perfectly. Why would he do that if not for nefarious purposes?”

Qinghe coughed and raised his hand to show that he had something to say. Pressing his lips together discontentedly, Yang Baoyu stopped speaking. In an amused voice, Qinghe observed, “It seems that you are ignoring how you attempted to break into the egg chamber just before that, but let’s put that aside for now. Fourth Prince Yang, why do you think that the way my lover and I acted with each other was nefarious and aimed at you? Are you perhaps not familiar with the term ‘roleplay’?”

Chuckles and laughter sounded from the watching courtiers. This Feng Qinghe was really too bold! Meanwhile, Yang Baoyu had gone red in anger and embarrassment, not realizing that Qinghe had merely replied to a question with a question without really answering it. He had just skirted around the truth.

Not wanting to give Yang Baoyu time to think and figure it out, Wei Xiang joined in with his own half-truths, “Yes, my little lover and I partake in it quite often. However, we weren’t aware that Fourth Prince Yang was clueless enough to not understand.”

Yang Baoyu had veins bulging out of his forehead in anger while his lips peeled back to show his gritted teeth. Feeling worried that his son would end up doing something rash, Yang Lingyun patted his shoulder and advised, “Yu-er, ignore them and just move on to the next one. Don’t let them provoke you.”

Yang Baoyu gave a tight nod to his father and took in deep breaths to calm himself. As long as things went his way, he was usually very composed. But the moment he felt uncertain or insulted, his anger would explode. Knowing this about himself, Yang Baoyu tried very hard to force down his rage and spoke in a taut voice, “Even if we put that aside, how do you plan to explain the series of events that followed? You lured me into the garden and pretended to be drunk, then acted seductive so that I’d be tempted into eating that yellow flower petal off of you. Wasn’t all that deliberate?!”

Qinghe raised his eyebrows. It seemed that this prince really believed what he was saying to be able to speak it out loud in the throne room like this. Lifting a hand to indicate that he wanted to speak, Qinghe began, “I did not lure you into the garden. I was merely sitting on a bench, drinking wine, and eating my petals in peace. In which way did I lure Fourth Prince Yang?”

Of course, that didn’t mean that Qinghe hadn’t deliberately let the other man see him entering the garden before he sat on the bench expecting the prince to come and bother him. But he had carefully made sure that he wasn’t actively ‘luring’ the other man just so that he could express his innocence with conviction in the throne room.

And so, after hearing Qinghe’s words, though Yang Baoyu opened his mouth, he could say nothing. After all, it wasn’t like Qinghe had told him to come in. Now that he thought about it, though Yang Baoyu was sure the other man had purposefully drawn him into the garden, he really couldn’t point to any particular incident that could be considered ‘luring’.

His eyes growing half-lidded, Qinghe didn’t give him time to think things through and continued, “Now, let me address the rest of Fourth Prince Yang’s statement. I did not pretend to be drunk. I really did finish those four bottles of wine, so I was drunk. That is the truth. And I do not know why Your Highness would think I seduced you into eating that petal. You came to me and sat beside me uninvited, then showed interest in what I was eating. I specifically stated that it wasn’t good for you. After that, you indecently implied how you would like to have sex with me, then touched my cheek and held onto my hand as I tried to forcefully make you let me go. I refused your rude advances by politely pointing out that I had a lover. Your Highness then proceeded to violate my personal space by picking up a petal that had fallen onto my person with your tongue. I warned you to spit it out, you chewed and swallowed it instead. Now, which part of this constitutes as me seducing you into eating that petal, I wonder? It rather sounds like you sexually harassing an intoxicated man younger than you by taking advantage of his drunkenness, then digging a pit for yourself by eating something I asked you not to. Yet now Your Highness is blaming me?”

Surprised murmurs arose in the heavenly court as they cast disgusted or mocking gazes at Yang Baoyu. But rather than pity, they instead looked at Qinghe with admiration. They were almost sure that all of that was carefully orchestrated by him fully knowing the impact reciting it in the throne room would have.

Meanwhile, no matter how much Yang Baoyu thought, he couldn’t refute a single point Qinghe made. Since Qinghe was clearly able to state that he was drunk, it must be the truth. Yang Baoyu couldn’t make a fuss about the other man scheming or seducing him while in such a state, since any argument that a drunken man had been able to plot like that would be laughable. Feeling endlessly frustrated, the prince gritted his teeth once again.

Seeing Yang Baoyu stay silent in the face of thee accusations, Yang Lingyun felt disappointment claw his chest. He had hoped that his son would be able to refute at least some of what that Feng Qinghe said, but it seemed like that hope was futile. Pushing those thoughts down, he whispered, “That’s alright, Yu-er. Just move on to the next bit.”

Yang Baoyu felt uncertain. Would he really be able to prove that he was schemed against? It seemed like…that Feng Qinghe really had thought through everything too thoroughly to let him get any foothold. But just thinking of his smug, smiling expression… Yang Baoyu refused to let that man get away with making a fool of him! He was determined to find something that would condemn that hateful person!

Letting out a breath, he once again began, “A-After that, did you or did you not provoke me in that empty chamber?”

With a smile, Qinghe raised his hand again to indicate that he was going to speak and said, “Are we going to gloss over the situation of the eggs again?”

Yang Baoyu burst out in anger, “What’s there to speak about?! It’s not like any of the eggs were actually harmed!”

Qinghe cocked an eyebrow. “Oh? Then should I have ignored the sight of your happy and vengeful smile as you thought you were breaking apart my beloved children’s eggs and crushing the blameless fetuses within? It might not have been real, but your hateful expression and attitude towards destroying unborn babies was definitely real.”

Seeing that his son was only being beaten back again and again by this loathsome Feng Qinghe, Yang Lingyun stepped in. “What proof does Young Lord Feng have that my son didn’t already know that everything was an illusion? Either way, he didn’t harm anyone. It must only be because you purposefully angered him that he attacked you. You must have provoked him on purpose!”

But Qinghe didn’t look cowed in the least. “Pardon me, but am I supposed to grin and bear it when I see a man not only forcefully break into the place where we keep our future children for safety, but also attempt to destroy their eggs? I am only human. Of course I got angry, said harsh things, and started a verbal fight with him. But I did not provoke him physically. I controlled myself from harming him even though I had just seen him happily destroying my children, illusion though they might have been. I never lifted a finger to hurt him, and yet he leapt towards me and tried to kill me. There is no law that says that you are allowed to kill someone just because they were mean to you with words.”

Yang Baoyu bowed his head. He couldn’t think of what to say against this, and he really was too tired. No matter what he tried, they all failed against that Feng Qinghe. He was no match for the other man’s ability to twist everything to make sense in his favor while not telling a single lie. Maybe…he should just give up.

But Yang Lingyun was not content. “I demand proof! What good are your words without proof! Maybe you just believe what you’re saying because you’re insane! Maybe you hypnotized yourself before coming so that you will believe your own lies!”

Everyone looked strangely at the king as he threw around wild accusations.

Feng Chunyi harrumphed and said coldly, “Doing things like self-hypnosis would constitute cheating, and any sort of cheating is impossible here. Stop accusing my son if you don’t know your shit, you bitter old man.”

Yang Lingyun’s eyebrows spasmed as he controlled his burning rage. He would not have this! He would not watch his son be silently beaten back! He would deny these people’s words till the very end!

Suppressing his urge to shout, Yang Lingyun forced out in a slightly calmer voice, “My previous statement stands. Where is the proof that my son attacked that Feng Qinghe first? How can you be sure that he was trying to kill him and not just spar with him? Maybe that young man himself believes what he is saying, but matters might be different in my son’s perspective. Unless I am given irrefutable proof that my Yu-er was the first one to be violent and was trying to kill that person, I will not be satisfied!”

Yang Baoyu looked up at his father with hope. Maybe there really was a way out of this attempted murder charge!

Standing on the opposite side, Qinghe smiled and felt faint appreciation at Yang Lingyun’s ability to still be able to refute him with a halfway reasonable sounding argument. But would Qinghe even be Qinghe if he hadn’t prepared for something like this already?

His voice calm, he said, “I can provide the proof Your Majesty is asking for. I just hope you will finally be able to accept the truth after seeing it.”

Yang Lingyun felt his heart grow cold. He really had proof?!

Not waiting for him to recover from his shock, Qinghe waved a hand and retrieved a large wyvern head made of gold. One of its red eyes was cracked through while the other was whole. Holding it up, Qinghe explained, “Ornaments similar to this were mounted on all the walls of the egg chamber where the incident occurred. For safety purposes, we decided long ago to install one image recording crystal and one sound recording crystal in each of the wyvern heads’ eyes. But unfortunately, Fourth Prince Yang’s indiscriminate attacks ended up destroying almost all of them. Only this one was left whole except for slight damage to the sound recording crystal, as you can see. If we retrieve the images it captured and whatever sound it was able to record, I’m sure we’ll find the proof that His Majesty Yang is seeking.”

Yang Lingyun didn’t know what to say. If it really had proof…

The Heavenly Emperor spoke, “Very good, then. Deity Feng, please release the recordings for the court to peruse.”

Qinghe nodded, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Pointing the golden wyvern head towards the free space at the center of the throne room, Qinghe activated the spell that would make the recording crystals show its contents. The two eyes of the wyvern glowed a bright red as the space before it lightened to show a large three-dimensional image of the inside of the hatching chamber. The vantage point was high up in the corner far away from the doorway. Settled in neat rows on the floor, the illusion of eggs was visible. Though the image was of crisp clarity, the crackling of the fire at the edges of the room sounded very blurry and disjointed. But the closer the fire was to the wyvern head, the clearer its sound was as well. This must be the result of the damage in the sound recording crystal. Suddenly, the door to the chamber opened slowly as the figure of Yang Baoyu sneaked in.

In the throne room, Yang Lingyun and the Yang Baoyu of the present looked at the image with tightening expressions.

The Yang Baoyu in the image showed an evil smile and began wreaking havoc, bashing the eggs with his hammer to break their shells, then stomping with glee on the pitiful fetuses that slid out to lay helplessly on the floor.

The gazes of the heavenly court as they looked at the Yang Baoyu currently kneeling at the side became saturated with disgust and loathing. Such a heartless and vile person! No wonder that Feng Qinghe had become so angry. Even though they knew that what Yang Baoyu was destroying was only an illusion, they still felt sick in their stomach at the way Yang Baoyu so ruthlessly went about carrying his vengeance on helpless eggs that he thought were real while grinning so happily.

Inside the image, while Yang Baoyu was busy, the door slightly opened as a white-clad figure soundlessly slipped in. Leaning back against the door, Qinghe watched Yang Baoyu going on a rampage with deep eyes. Once Yang Baoyu was done, he suddenly spun around to see Qinghe and said something. They were too far away to hear their exchange, the damaged sound recording crystal only offering blurry voices.

Suddenly, the entire heavenly court jerked as the Qinghe inside the image slammed his wind claws into the wall near him, his wide grin tinged with madness. The courtiers couldn’t help but feel cold sweat at how similar he looked to Feng Chunyi right before she went berserk. But surprisingly, the Qinghe in the image slowly reined in his anger and put away his claws.

After speaking for a few moments, Qinghe waved his hand and revealed that everything was an illusion. Yang Baoyu looked furious. After they exchanged more words, Yang Baoyu could very clearly be seen to jump towards Qinghe first, his hammer lifted and aimed to smash into the other person’s head. Qinghe dodged nimbly and Yang Baoyu chased, their movements so fast that it appeared to blur. But the watching courtiers could still see that Qinghe only evaded, he never fought back. Witnessing Yang Baoyu insistently chasing him with his hammer, not caring about the walls or the wyvern ornaments he was destroying in the process, it only deepened their impression of the prince as a violent and irrational man.

Soon, seeming to have run out of energy, Qinghe stopped near the only undamaged wyvern head ‘coincidentally’ and set up a barrier. Yang Baoyu began beating at that barrier while Qinghe only looked amused.

Opening his mouth, the Qinghe in the image suddenly asked, “Why are you so obsessed with reaching me, Fourth Prince Yang? What are you planning to do after you break my barrier? Surely you know that physically harming me will break the law?”

Due to his nearness to the sound recording crystal, his voice was unmistakably clear this time.

The next moment, Yang Baoyu’s growling voice answered, “I will crack this barrier like the shell of those eggs and pound you into the ground, then grind you under my boots until you become nothing but meat paste as well! Feng Qinghe, I will kill you! I will obliterate you! You dare try to make a fool of me!”

This was without a doubt a confession of Yang Baoyu’s intent to murder Qinghe.

In the image, Qinghe let out a laugh and mocked, “Oh, I didn’t try to make a fool of you. You already set yourself up as a fool the moment you decided to target my household.”

Hearing this, the people from the heavenly court had complex expressions on their faces. Though it couldn’t be used to prove that Feng Qinghe had planned this whole thing, they could still very clearly hear the meaning behind his words. It was a direct warning against trying to scheme against the Feng household. Sure enough, the Feng household was really not something one should anger. Even their youngest member was capable of being so sly and grinding you down methodically like what was being done to Yang Baoyu.

Meanwhile inside the image, Yang Baoyu seemed to have become incensed at Qinghe’s words and increased his efforts, managing to crack the barrier. Qinghe’s playful voice leisurely called out, “Oh, dear, my barrier has cracked. Whatever shall I do? Seems like I will need a big and strong officer of the law to come and save me from this murderous prince~”

“…” Speechless, the heavenly court could only shake their heads. This Feng Qinghe… he was truly just as incomprehensible, bad-natured, and eccentric as his mother!

The series of events after that showed how Wei Xiang appeared out of the shadows and Yang Baoyu attacking him unprovoked, which then lead to Wei Xiang taking him down and cocooning him in his golden strings. Because of the distance, they could only barely hear Wei Xiang formally reciting to Yang Baoyu about how he was now taken into custody and how, after some prodding from Wei Xiang, Yang Baoyu acknowledged that he understood.

Now that all that had finished playing out, in the throne room, Qinghe waved a hand to stop the recording. Turning to the white-faced Yang Lingyun, Qinghe asked, “Well? Is Your Majesty satisfied?”

After everything was shown so clearly, no matter how unwilling he was, even Yang Lingyun couldn’t say anything more. Meanwhile, the still-kneeling Yang Baoyu’s face twisted as he bowed his head in defeat. They could make no more excuses. He could beg and scream but there was nothing more that could be done. Even if he brought back the previous matters about the toxic flower petal to demand proof and somehow won the argument, it would change nothing, since the most serious allegations of attempted murder and resisting arrest by using violence against an officer of judgment were already proven beyond doubt.

Yang Lingyun’s clenched fists trembled as he tried to refute, “N-No, this can’t be… There has to be… M-Maybe the recording was altered. Yes, it must be altered! Feng Qinghe what is the proof that you didn’t―”

“Enough!” Feng Chunyi shouted, startling Yang Lingyun out of his babbling. “Tampering with evidence would once again be cheating, which is impossible in the throne room of Heaven. Stop trying to find excuses. You are only humiliating yourself, your royal family, and your nation! Just accept your loss with grace. It was your fault for being too greedy and grabbing for more power. Even if you lost your status as a royal, you would still have been able to stay on as a courtier in the heavenly court, so what’s the point of you trying to make a political power play by targeting the Feng household?”

Yang Lingyun gritted his teeth, his head bowing and hiding his expression. His body stood taut with strain, but he remained silent.

From the Throne, the Heavenly Emperor gave his verdict, “The Fourth Prince is proven guilty. He will now be made to undergo additional punishment for wasting the court’s time. Deity Feng, please submit that recording to the Offices of Judgment to be used as evidence.”

Qinghe nodded and handed it over to his father. Feng Huixin solemnly placed the golden wyvern head with the cracked eye into his storage space.

“Now, there is one more person left,” the Heavenly Emperor stated and turned his heavy gaze towards Yang Jian. “Do you also wish for a trial here?”

After seeing just how the Royal Cousin Yang Baoyu he had once feared so much had been whittled down steadily, with even Yang Lingyun being defeated so thoroughly, would someone as cowardly as Yang Jian even dare to lift his head?

Feeling the entire court focusing its sharp gaze on him, Yang Jian shuddered in fear and almost wet himself. He frantically shook his head, “N-N-No!”

The Heavenly Emperor nodded. “Very well, then this issue is concluded. All accused parties are guilty and will be incarcerated as per the law. The Fourth Prince will be penalized additionally. That is all.”

The matter was thus declared over.

The court buzzed as discussions began about what just happened. Seeing the sly way Feng Qinghe seemed to have manipulated everything from the beginning, many people expressed their awe. Now, the heavenly court would have more power in their negotiations against Wu Jin. With this incident, the Feng household had also demonstrated its intelligence through Feng Qinghe and its power through Feng Huixin, making everyone gain new respect for the family of four. At the side, the officers began leading away the convicted members of the Wu Jin royal family.

Suddenly, the silent Yang Lingyun burst out, “Not yet! I’m not giving up my son yet! Forget your court, I demand that we use another traditional test! We’ll use something even more ancient that the trial of Testing Will through Fire from before! And if we win this time, then you will rescind your accusations and―”

Qinghe interjected, his beautiful face cold and his voice flowing clearly, “Everything that needs to be done is done. We are already finished playing games, Your Majesty. But if you still insist…”

“We will play and win and leave you with a fate far worse than mere defeat and humiliation,” Feng Chunyi pronounced, her grin eager as her gaze glinted sharply.

With slitted eyes gleaming gold, Wei Xiang’s opened his fanged mouth to say, “This time, we will go directly for the kill.”

“Do you still wish to challenge the Feng household?” Feng Huixin asked, his back straight and voice steady.

His eyes widening, Yang Lingyun let out an involuntary shudder and stumbled back. Pinned under those four gazes, each piercing in its own way, he felt as if his soul was being crushed. Alarm bells rang in his mind, telling him that if he went against these dangerous beings, losing his life would be least of his worries.

The Heavenly Emperor chose this moment to ask, “Does King Yang have any more objections?”

Yang Lingyun turned away from the Feng household and shook his head. “No. I… There’s nothing else I have to say.”

In a ringing voice, the Heavenly Emperor declared, “Then court is now dismissed.”

Hearing this, people began to make their way out in groups, still talking about the happenings today. Some walked towards the Throne and the Heavenly Emperor seated on it to discuss important things. The Feng household started moving towards the open doors leading out of the throne room. On the way, they saw a dispirited Yang Lingyun. His shoulders were hunched, his figure seeming very pitiful and fragile. His eyes had turned dull while his face bore a lost expression. Overnight, almost his entire family was sent off to prison. The only one left was his daughter. But since he hadn’t bothered educating anyone other than Yang Baoyu, he didn’t know what use she would be. Here he had come to gain something for himself and his nation, but he had instead ended up losing even more than he’d hoped to gain.

As the Feng household passed by Yang Lingyun, they heard him mutter, his voice trembling and weak, “…I’m such a failure of a king…”

Unexpectedly, Feng Huixin stopped and replied, “No, the very fact that you support the merging of your nation with Heaven to prevent your people’s further decline is the proof of you being a good king. You are instead a failure of a father. If you had educated and loved your children equally as you should have, this would not have happened.”

Yang Lingyun jerked his head up, his startled gaze meeting Feng Huixin’s deep one.

Not waiting for him to say anything, Feng Huixin turned away and kept walking, his family following behind. They were not the kind to kick a person when they were down, so there was no mockery or smugness in their faces as they silently moved on. Unless someone stepped in their path to make trouble on purpose, what need was there to go out of their way to brandish their power?

And so, with neither pride nor humility in their features, they calmly made their way home.

……

As soon as the family of four stepped into the Feng residence, they directly made their way to the new egg chamber. Rather than being accessible through a door, this new chamber could instead only be entered through a hidden formation drawn in an unassuming corner of the house. The protections here were also manifold than in the previous one.

Walking into the chamber with quick steps, the four people immediately set out hugging, patting, crooning, and otherwise lavishing affections on the eggs. After having just seen the sight of Yang Baoyu gleefully destroying these eggs, they all needed to reassure themselves that the wyvern eggs were indeed whole and safe.

Once their restless hearts had calmed again, they retired to their respective rooms to change into simpler and more comfortable clothing, then set about preparing to eat lunch. It had been more than a day since the family got together, so they planned to make up for it. After Wei Xiang made lunch and the family of four polished off their plates and bowls, Qinghe declared that they would all now assist him in making sweets.

And that’s what they were doing now.

On one side of the table, Qinghe and Wei Xiang sat. Wei Xiang was put in charge of looking after the bottles and jars of ingredients while also taking care of a large vessel of sugar and milk that was slowly condensing. The vessel was placed on an impromptu stovetop that Qinghe fashioned with a campfire talisman as usual. Meanwhile, Qinghe had little bowls of the condensed milk waiting in front of him. He added combinations of flavoring into each one and had Feng Huixin taste it to choose the one he most liked. After hearing during lunch just now about how his father had finished all the sweets he'd boxed for him, Qinghe had felt excessively happy and wanted to make his father another box with more flavors, hence the current situation.

Directly opposite Qinghe was Feng Huixin, patiently waiting to fulfill his role as the flavor tester. Beside him was a frowning Feng Chunyi, slowly picking mint leaves from fresh stalks with nimble fingers. Below the table, her legs swung in a quick rhythm to vent her need to be active and spend her excess energy. Puffing her cheeks, Feng Chunyi expressed her dissatisfaction petulantly, “Why do I have to do this boring task? Anyone can pick these leaves. I want to do something more exciting!”

Without lifting his head, Qinghe chuckled and replied, “Mother, that’s what you said when I asked you to look after the ingredients too. Isn’t that why you and Xiang switched places?”

Feng Chunyi pouted and slumped down into the table, her cheek buried in the pile of lush mint stalks. “But all this is so boring! I want to eat sweets, but making them isn’t fun at all!”

Wei Xiang laughed and reminded, “But Mother-in-law, if we exclude you and start working on the sweets by ourselves, you’ll feel left behind and start complaining again anyway, won’t you?”

Just as Feng Chunyi wanted to open her mouth to refute, she spotted something wiggling on her face from the corner of her eyes. She suddenly straightened and peered down at her nose with crossed eyes. In a misleadingly calm voice, she stated, “There’s a worm on my nose. There’s a fucking worm on my nose. If someone doesn’t get it off right this second, I’m going to smush this little piece of shit and take my revenge on the world for all this boredom.”

Qinghe hurriedly spoke, “No, Mother, don’t do anything rash! Xiang, can you pick it up?”

While he continued stirring the vessel of condensing milk, Wei Xiang extended out a single golden string and carefully wrapped it around the small green worm, then lifted it up and to the side so that it wouldn’t be over any of the food. “Where do you want me to put this, love?”

Qinghe searched around in his storage space and brought out an empty glass jar. “Here, put it inside.”

After Wei Xiang deposited the worm into the glass jar, Qinghe dropped a few mint leaves into it to keep the worm comfortably occupied. Then keeping it open to allow air to pass, he put the jar in a clear place on the table. With an innocent expression, Qinghe said, “I’ll release the worm outside later.”

Wei Xiang shook his head and chuckled while Feng Chunyi snorted in disbelief. “Yeah, right. As if you won’t add it to your little insect kingdom in the garden, feed it weird stuff, and play with it like a gleeful kid.”

Qinghe turned his face away and said lightly, “I have no idea what you mean, Mother. Ah, I wonder which flavors I should combine this time. Maybe some honey and peach?”

Feng Chunyi huffed, then grinned evilly, “Oh? You don’t know what I’m talking about, son of mine? Then maybe I should just go right now and destroy that insect sanctuary you oh-so-sneakily constructed right inside my garden. Those stupid insects have been eating my poor plants, and destroying them will at least be more entertaining than picking leaves.”

His head shooting up at that threat, Qinghe glared at her. “Mother! Don’t be mean to my insects!”

Feng Chunyi laughed delightedly and leaned into the silent Feng Huixin beside her before saying with playfulness, “Ah-Xin, look at your son! He’s so disobedient towards his own mother, even calling me mean! Is this how you raised him, hmm?”

Feng Huixin’s gaze turned amused. “He’s perfect as he is. Chunyi, stop making trouble.”

But Feng Chunyi hugged her husband tight and wriggled her whole body while protesting, “No! I don’t wanna stop! Ah-Xin, we should punish that bratty son of ours for talking back to this great heavenly general for my entertainme― ehem, I mean to teach him good manners. I mean, he doesn’t respect me like his elder at all! Tell me, how should we punish him?”

Qinghe merely laughed and rolled his eyes at his mother’s silliness. “I will treat you like my elder if you stop behaving like a child, Mother.”

Feng Chunyi puffed her cheeks. “See? Ah-Xin, you have to punish him for me!”

Feng Huixin shook his head and patted his wife on her head affectionately. “Chunyi, wouldn’t you rather I reward you for being good instead?”

Perking up, Feng Chunyi asked eagerly, “What type of reward? Is it an alcohol-related reward or an ‘I won’t be able to get out of bed the next day’ type of reward?”

Feng Huixin coughed. “Which one would you like?”

Grinning happily, Feng Chunyi declared without hesitation, “The latter type, of course! Come, Ah-Xin, let’s leave the kids to pluck leaves and stir pots. We can go and have fun in our bedroom the way adults do.”

Both Qinghe’s and Wei Xiang’s lips twitched, but they deigned to say nothing. It was better to let Feng Huixin deal with Feng Chunyi’s ridiculousness.

Sure enough, Feng Huixin said, “Chunyi, you can only have your reward if you be good, remember?”

“Eh? Th-Then what should I do to be considered good?” Feng Chunyi tilted her head and asked confusedly.

With suppressed humor in his gaze, Feng Huixin solemnly stated, “You have to finish plucking as many leaves as our son wants.”

Qinghe chuckled gleefully while Feng Chunyi pouted. “Ah-Xin, that’s not fair! I wanted to punish him and here you twisted it all around to make me reward him instead!” But despite her mouth complaining like that, her fingers had already begun working on the mint stems to divulge them of their leaves.

Feng Huixin lifted a hand to brush it tenderly against his wife’s puffed cheeks. As his ears slowly reddened in embarrassment at what he was about to say, he spoke in a low voice, “If you are good, then you can be the one to pick what we do tonight in bed.”

Feng Chunyi’s eyes seemed to glow after hearing that. “He he he~ You better not regret it, Ah-Xin! For the sake of tonight, I will definitely pluck all these stupid leaves until these stems turn bald!”

Qinghe shook his head with a smile at his mother's ridiculousness and swept back a loose lock of hair from his face. As he carefully poured a little bit of peach puree into the condensed milk in one of the little bowls, he pondered over how even his restrained father became brazen when it came to his wife and how even his willful mother became acquiescent when it came to her husband. Mixing the puree into the condensed milk, he decided that his parents were truly suited to each other.

Suddenly, Qinghe felt Wei Xiang leaning towards him and looked up. “Xiang?”

Wei Xiang extended his warm tongue and carefully licked his cheek. Qinghe felt his face growing hot as the pleasant sensation spread over his skin before languidly sinking underneath. Warmth suffused him. “X-Xiang!”

Chuckling merrily, Wei Xiang said, “A little bit of the condensed milk seemed to have gotten onto your face when you brushed back your hair, so I simply chose to remove it without wasting it. And because it was on my little lover, it tasted especially sweet and delicious.”

Qinghe blushed harder. His lover was really unfair! Then slowly lifting his fingers, he deliberately brushed some of the condensed milk on them onto his other cheek as well. Blinking up with both bashfulness and mischievousness, he pointed to the smear on his cheek. “Xiang, there’s some here too.”

His eyes gleaming at the invitation, Wei Xiang happily dipped his head to thoroughly lap it up as well, taking far more time than necessary to Qinghe’s delight. As they both finally separated, the couple had satisfied expressions.

Feng Chunyi stewed in envy at how her sons were having fun with each other. She then peeked to the side at her own husband with assessing eyes. Hmm, maybe she could pretend there was something on his lips too and…

Before she could realize her scheme for sneaking in a kiss, Wei Xiang spoke out, “Master, the matter this time was really troublesome. Do you need my help with filing the reports?”

Feng Huixin shook his head. “I already finished writing most of it yesterday, since I had nothing else to do while staying in the Wu Jin palace after the incident at the cave. I should be able to complete the rest this evening and send it for review.”

Wei Xiang nodded. “Then let me help you with the clean-up at least. I have to say though that it’s very convenient that you were able to deal with the Dark Lotus and that demonic being before Wu Jin finished merging with us. If the Dark Lotus had more time, they might have been able to hide everything away and make things difficult for us when we set out to take care of them later.”

“I was lucky,” Feng Huixin simply said.

Meanwhile, Qinghe had finished mixing all the flavorings he wanted to add and stood up. Dipping the end of a chopstick and swirling it inside the small bowl to gather the flavored condensed milk on it, he bent over the table and extended the chopstick towards Feng Huixin. “Father, tell me how this one tastes. Now say ahh…”

Feng Huixin’s eyes warmed with a smile as he parted his lips to carefully take the end of the offered chopstick into his mouth. After a moment, he observed, “It tastes very good, but there seems to be a bit too much honey this time.”

Qinghe widened his eyes. “Ah! I think I forgot I added it once and ended up adding it a second time.” Then, showing a smile towards his father, he said, “I’ll fix it in a minute and make another sample, then I’ll ask your opinion again.”

Feng Huixin nodded, his expression softening.

Beside him, Feng Chunyi’s eyes brightened as she spotted some of the sample sweet still stuck to the corner of Feng Huixin’s mouth. Aha, an opportunity! Reaching out an arm to pull her startled husband towards her, Feng Chunyi slowly licked away the smear of sweetness, then unabashedly began suckling Feng Huixin’s lips. Her eyes closed in bliss at how sweet he tasted.

After the initial surprise, Feng Huixin started participating as well. His palm rose to cup the back of his wife’s head and pull her closer. His lips opened before he extended a tongue to push into his Chunyi’s mouth. Feng Chunyi eagerly sucked at it, savoring the lingering milky sweetness mixed with her husband’s own flavor. Hmm, tasty…

On the other side of the table, Qinghe and Wei Xiang shook their heads with helplessness and amusement even as they continued what they were doing.

Bright sunlight poured in through the windows, vividly illuminating the scene of the Feng family spending their day with happiness and contentment as usual.

crimson_carnation

The next extra will focus on Feng Huixin and Feng Chunyi having some special fun together…but you know how Feng Chunyi is~ (* ¬ ᴗ¬)