Xiao Pei’s retreating figure, a wobbly, sobbing silhouette disappearing down the garden path, finally vanished behind a screen of flowering plum trees.
Fang Yuan watched him go, a faint, almost imperceptible smile softening the usual sharpness of his features for just a mont.
Fond exasperation lingered in the air.
Then, the smile vanished.
He turned, his expression smoothing into detached focus.
With a thought as swift and silent as a shadow passing, he summoned the translucent, golden interface of his system.
Lists of resources flickered before his inner eye.
Faith Points: 4,250 FP
His gaze skimd past the familiar items, landing on sothing he rembered seeing in the faith shop.
[Minor Resource Well] – 100 FP
Create a spiritual spring in designated land. Enhances cultivation speed in a small area.
"Is it permanent?" Fang Yuan murmured aloud, his voice low in the quiet garden.
The koi pond beside him burbled softly.
"If it’s a permanent well... It could be useful for the outer disciples’ quarters... or perhaps the herb gardens..." His mind began calculating placents, resource allocation, the subtle shift it could bring to the clan’s foundation.
Curiosity, that ever-present spark, ignited.
He needed quiet space to think.
Turning on his heel, he strode purposefully back towards his private chamber within the Phoenix Soul Pavilion, the system interface dissolving as he focused on the path.
He reached the familiar, polished wood of his chamber door, hand already rising to push it open. He stopped dead.
At the doorway, bathed in the soft light filtering from the chamber within, stood Du Juan.
She was dressed not in her usual simple attire, but in finely woven traveling robes of deep indigo and silver, practical yet elegant.
Her hair was neatly braided and pinned, a small pack slung over one shoulder.
She looked... prepared.
Ready to depart.
Her posture was straight, almost rigid, but her eyes, wide and dark, held a flicker of apprehension as they t Fang Yuan’s.
And behind her, close enough to be possessive, stood Lin Zhaoyue.
The girl’s arms were wrapped loosely, almost casually, around Du Juan’s shoulders from behind, her chin resting lightly atop Du Juan’s head.
Her expression was one of serene amusent, a perfect, practiced curve gracing her lips.
But the smile didn’t touch her eyes.
Those eyes, sharp and calculating as obsidian shards, were fixed solely on Fang Yuan.
It was a smile that held no warmth, only a silent, dangerous challenge.
A predator’s smile, claiming its prey.
The air in the corridor grew thick and still, charged with unspoken tension.
The quiet hum of the estate faded away, replaced by the heavy silence between the three figures frozen at the threshold.
Lin Zhaoyue’s grip, though seemingly gentle, felt like iron bands to Du Juan, who remained utterly still, a trapped bird held too close to the fla.
Fang Yuan’s gaze, sharp as a drawn blade, flickered from Du Juan’s travel-ready form to Lin Zhaoyue’s unnerving, possessive smile.
The Minor Resource Well was instantly forgotten.
The silence stretched, thick enough to choke on.
Lin Zhaoyue’s obsidian gaze never wavered from Fang Yuan, her smile a blade sheathed in silk.
Du Juan remained statue-still within her embrace, eyes darting nervously between the two.
Finally, Lin Zhaoyue spoke, her voice honey-smooth yet carrying the weight of glacial ice.
"Fang Yuan. How fortuitous we caught you. Du Juan and I were just discussing your little... expedition."
Fang Yuan’s eyes narrowed imperceptibly. Expedition? What expeditions— The concept itself was foreign, unplanned.
"Expedition?" he echoed, tone deliberately neutral, though a spark of pure, unguarded surprise flashed before being ruthlessly banked.
He hadn’t considered, let alone planned, any such venture.
Lin Zhaoyue was operating on information he didn’t possess.
"To the Dark Forest in the Northern Reaches," Lin Zhaoyue clarified, her fingers tracing idle patterns on Du Juan’s shoulder.
Du Juan flinched minutely but didn’t pull away.
"Such a dangerous place for a clan head to wander alone. Or even," her gaze slid aningfully to Du Juan, "with only one companion."
Du Juan found her voice, soft but clear, laced with unwavering deference: "Clan Head Fang, I... I wished to inform you I am ready to depart imdiately."
She continued, a hint of practical eagerness breaking through, "—I have already marked where I hid it, so it won’t take lo—"
Ahem! Lin Zhaoyue’s cough wasn’t loud, but it sliced through Du Juan’s sentence like a knife.
Before Du Juan could utter another syllable, Lin Zhaoyue’s hand, moving with the speed of a striking viper yet the deceptive softness of silk, clamped gently but firmly over Du Juan’s mouth.
"Shhh, Little Sister," Lin Zhaoyue murmured, her voice a honeyed whisper directly into Du Juan’s ear, though her obsidian eyes never left Fang Yuan’s face.
A smirk, wide and utterly self-satisfied, played on her lips.
"Mustn’t give away all our precious secrets so freely in the corridor, hmm? Especially not the exact locations." Her grip on Du Juan’s mouth was velvet-covered steel.
Du Juan’s eyes widened above the restraining hand, but she didn’t struggle.
She simply froze, accepting the silencing with a neutral, almost resigned stillness.
Fang Yuan observed this little power play. His expression remained calm, the picture of clan head composure.
Only a single, faint twitch of his left eyebrow betrayed a flicker of profound annoyance.
His gaze lingered for a heartbeat on Lin Zhaoyue’s hand covering Du Juan’s mouth, then lifted coolly to et Lin Zhaoyue’s triumphant smirk.
Lin Zhaoyue seamlessly resud, her smile widening, revealing perfectly white teeth. "Ah, the Lotus. Precisely why I shall be joining you."
Fang Yuan stiffened. "Joining us?"
"Naturally." Lin Zhaoyue released Du Juan and took a graceful step forward, closing the distance to Fang Yuan.
Her presence felt like a sudden drop in temperature. "The Dark Forest borders our Lin Clan territory, you know. Its shadows whisper secrets only we ought to know. Its paths twist in ways only Lin blood can navigate safely."
She tilted her head, a predatory gleam in her eye. "Consider your guide. Your protector, even. Would you deny your... guest... the chance to be useful? To ensure the safety of my dear husband?"
Fang Yuan t Lin Zhaoyue’s challenging stare as a slow, calculated smile spread across Fang Yuan’s face, mirroring Lin Zhaoyue’s own dangerous charm, a predator acknowledging another.
"Perhaps," he conceded smoothly, his voice deceptively light, "that is for the best."
Lin Zhaoyue’s obsidian eyes sparkled, a flicker of genuine, predatory joy lighting her features.
Her smirk softened into sothing almost... pleased. He sees my worth. He accepts my claim, my place at his side.
Fang Yuan continued, his tone shifting to one of casual inconvenience, as if discussing a minor household chore.
"Actually, Zhaoyue, your timing is... serendipitous. A rather pressing clan matter has just arisen, putting unavoidably behind schedule."
He gestured vaguely towards his chamber, the picture of a burdened leader. "Since you’re so eager to assist, and possess such... invaluable knowledge of the Dark Forest..."
He paused, letting the implication hang. "Why not do this small favor? Accompany Du Juan directly to retrieve the Seven Ring Lotus? You seem perfectly equipped to ensure her safety and success."
The air crackled.
Lin Zhaoyue’s expression froze mid-smirk.
Her eyes, wide with disbelief, locked onto Fang Yuan’s infuriatingly calm face.
Her lips parted slightly, then snapped shut with an audible click of teeth.
Silence stretched, thick and brittle.
Two seconds.
Three.
The predatory joy vanished, replaced by a dawning, icy fury. Her delicate nostrils flared.
Then, it erupted.
"Husband!"
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