**Standing amidst the ethereal mist and cloud, the white fox fur piled high like drifts of fresh snow.**

A rare flicker of warmth graced Jiang Wuqi’s face, a face usually etched with a noble and icy resolve. His gaze, clear and cool as a mountain spring, swept across the four directions, encompassing all as if these were his own mountains and rivers, his own earthly domain.

“The Kingdom of Equality has dared to plot against me in secret; they must be utterly extinguished!”

Each word struck like the sudden shattering of a silver bottle, like the clash of swords and the clang of spears. He unleashed a long, resounding cry: “And who dares to answer?”

He spoke of this moment, and more than just this moment. Zhang Yong’s act of crying out in the shrine was a subtle machination by the Kingdom of Equality, a defiance of the Emperor’s divine mandate. He had been ensnared within it, his fate hanging precariously. His very foundation in the imperial court, rooted in the Emperor’s favor, was threatened. To lose the Emperor’s heart was tantamount to losing everything.

And today was the day Jiang Wuqi would strike back!

At this moment, the four wilds fell silent, the clouds stilled, and the wind held its breath. His mere presence, having suppressed the might of two Shenlin cultivators with a casual flick of his wrist, seemed to intimidate even the very Cloud Mist Mountain itself.

“Your Highness, you have mistakenly injured me!” Li Youjiu’s voice echoed from within his grasp.

Jiang Wuqi offered no reply. Stepping upon the cloud and mist, he turned and began his descent from the mountain. Could Li Youjiu, whose duty rotation areas just happened to be nearby, truly be innocent when the strong practitioners from the Kingdom of Equality chose this very day to assassinate him? Even the records of Li Youjiu’s adjusted duty rotation were already in Jiang Wuqi’s possession.

Naturally, Li Youjiu could conjure countless plausible explanations…

But he would not listen.

Jiang Wuqi had offered his own body as bait, to fish out more than just these few. Throughout the entire territory of the Great Qi, this net had been cast wide. The Changsheng Palace had prepared meticulously for this day!

Yet, at this particular moment, within the confines of Cloud Mist Mountain, these were the only gains. After all, he had always presented himself as having only Inner Mansion cultivation. Even a figure as exalted as the Master of Changsheng Palace could only directly lure prey of this caliber. The size of the hook determined the size of the fish.

Thus, he turned.

The mountain path below was already deserted. Qiao Er and Li Youjiu, both Shenlin realm cultivators, had been suppressed with a flick of his hand.

At that hour, the morning sun had just begun its ascent, the rosy clouds painting the horizon, a shy maiden revealing her beauty to the world. The noble descendant, clad in white fox fur, stepped through the void, the cloud and mist parting before him.

Heaven and earth could no longer glimpse his figure.

Every cultivator on Cloud Mist Mountain who had witnessed this extraordinary spectacle was left utterly dumbstruck! The world knew the Great Qi’s Eleventh Prince, Jiang Wuqi, as a prodigy of unparalleled talent, who, through sheer willpower and innate ability, had risen to the position of Master of Changsheng Palace despite the limitations of innate cold poison.

But the world did not know that Jiang Wuqi could be a genius to this extent! With one step, he had ascended from Inner Mansion to Shenlin. Upon entering the Shenlin realm, he had effortlessly faced two opponents, suppressing two Shenlin realm powerhouses with a mere turn of his hand!

Could this truly be within the power of mortals?

The same morning light fell upon different corners of Linzi, awakening some from their shallow dreams and bringing solace to others with wounded hearts. The scenery remained the same, but the people had changed.

The Xiu family residence was the grandest in Jinxian Workshop, having risen to prominence due to Xiu Yuan and now finding its doors cold and deserted, again because of Xiu Yuan.

It was still that same quiet room, that same pot of tea. And Yan Tu and Xiu Yuan still sat facing each other. With similar humble origins, striking talent, a history of military service, and rapid promotion, these two commanders of the Military Affairs Hall had long forged an enviable friendship. Counting the years, they had been friends for an uncountable time. Their tacit understanding surpassed that of ordinary people, and in private, they spoke with greater openness than with anyone else.

But today, a heavy silence lingered.

It wasn’t until a vendor’s call echoed from two blocks away –

“Scissors ground, eh?”

Though distant, Yan Tu naturally heard the call. He picked up his teacup and drained it in one gulp. The teacup landed on the table with a thud.

“I won’t drink. I’ll just drink a belly full of stifled anger!”

Yan Tu stood up abruptly. “I’m leaving!”

Xiu Yuan, however, remained seated, his head lowered, gazing into the teacup. Within the white-cloud patterned cup, a single tea leaf floated and sank in the hot water, seeming to branch out and bloom, dancing in the warmth. He seemed to wish it would sink, but the tea leaf stubbornly refused.

“The operation failed, didn’t it?” Xiu Yuan asked.

Yan Tu, who had already reached the door, turned back suddenly. “What do you mean?”

Xiu Yuan gently turned the rim of the cup with his thumb and forefinger. “I’ve always wondered why I valued Cui Zhu so much. Before the Grand Master ceremony, why did he seem to agree with everything I said? He wasn’t that kind of person, yet he seemed to completely follow my ideal, as if he were tailor-made.”

He didn’t lift his head but asked, “Can you tell me the answer, Brother Yan?”

Yan Tu’s face fell. “We’ve been friends for so many years. Do you suspect me?”

“Yes… We’ve been friends for so many years,” Xiu Yuan sighed. “With your help, Cui Zhu could of course say whatever I liked. Because of your friendship with me, your guidance to him wouldn’t raise suspicion from anyone. The Zhan Yu Army just happened to be on duty in the capital, so even if the Kingdom of Equality sent high-ranking figures from the Xia Kingdom, the clues would quickly be cut off. The North Office, working with the Zhan Yu Army, searched the entire city and only caught some insignificant characters…”

“To fabricate like this, I could fabricate hundreds of different people. Don’t you find it far-fetched?” Yan Tu was furious. “Xiu Yuan, your mind has gone bad!”

“Far-fetched?” Xiu Yuan finally lifted his head to look at him, his eyes holding a strange expression. “I only feel sad. We’ve been friends for so many years, and you’ve always worn a mask to me? Even now that I am imprisoned, you still want to use me to clear your suspicion. Although the Zhan Yu Army is on duty in the capital, the Zhan Yu Army commander was just drinking tea at my mansion when His Highness had an accident! Do you think this is appropriate, Brother Yan?”

“I don’t know what you’re saying, and I don’t know who is fooling you. But Xiu Yuan, you have disappointed me greatly today! Our friendship of several decades, is it meant for you to suspect?” Yan Tu turned away heartbroken. “Calm yourself down!”

“I am very calm. It is you who are not calm enough,” Xiu Yuan said coldly. “You have already lost your composure.”

Yan Tu stood still, took a deep breath, and with a flick of his finger, tore a corner from his sturdy skirt armor. It smashed onto the ground, emitting a metallic clang.

“Since you never trusted me, this friendship is no longer necessary!”

Xiu Yuan looked at his unusually heavy back, shaking his head and laughing mockingly to himself. “Your Majesty said you were rough on the outside and subtle on the inside. You are not only rough on the outside, ah. You are simply ‘iron-faced on the outside, filled with calculating cattle and horses on the inside.’ Even in this moment, seeing your performance, I had a moment of doubt about myself. Yan Tu, ah Yan Tu, if not for His Highness’s reminder, I truly wouldn’t have noticed. I, Xiu Yuan, have truly lost to you, Yan Tu, and not by just one move!”

In the years of their close friendship, whether drinking wine, practicing military strategy, or fighting, Xiu Yuan was never willing to lose, always striving to compete for the lead. His most frequent saying was –

Far, far away. The character “far” comes first, and “away” comes after.

Today, he admitted defeat. His defeat was, naturally, in this kind of cunning character that would use a friendship of several decades as a bargaining chip. Thus, his laughter was filled with desolation.

“Nonsense!” Yan Tu’s face sank like water, and he turned to leave immediately.

“Scissors ground, eh?”

Xiu Yuan suddenly called out after him, every word, every tone, exactly the same as the voice from two blocks away. That is to say, Xiu Yuan had also heard. In other words, Xiu Yuan’s cultivation seal… had already been broken.

This was a trap, a trap specifically set for him!

A danger signal exploded at the bottom of his heart, and Yan Tu quickly realized where the problem lay. Xiu Yuan said that the Eleventh Prince had reminded him, and only then did he begin to suspect something was amiss. That meant everything that had happened today was under Jiang Wuqi’s control. The opportunity to assassinate Jiang Wuqi was given by Jiang Wuqi himself. Their very thought of assassinating Jiang Wuqi had already fallen into a trap.

Knowing Jiang Wuqi’s whereabouts, understanding the Changsheng Palace’s defenses, mobilizing forces to make the cooperation for this action seem natural, from the Blue Card captors to the army on duty in the capital responding appropriately… All these actions, they could indeed carry out very secretly. The organization’s operations were always cautious and meticulous, leaving no trace. But if these actions were being watched by a pair of keen eyes, then there were flaws everywhere!

What a ruthless person.

The Kingdom of Equality had implicated Jiang Wuqi with the Zhang Yong cry shrine case. Jiang Wuqi, in turn, used his own body as bait to uproot the Kingdom of Equality’s arrangements in the Great Qi!

Yan Tu was certain that there was no ambush on Cloud Mist Mountain. As a high-ranking official in the Great Qi’s Military Affairs Hall, and responsible for the garrison affairs of the entire capital area, what major action could escape his notice? Jiang Wuqi had truly put himself in a deadly situation, only in this way could he truly fish out a big fish. Otherwise, he would not have agreed to this action, nor would King Zhao, who was temporarily responsible for eastern domain affairs, have approved.

What went wrong on Cloud Mist Mountain? A Shenlin realm cultivator, Qiao Er, was responsible for the assassination. Another Shenlin realm cultivator, Li Youjiu, assisted by controlling the situation and blocking rescue, using his Blue Card identity. It should have been extremely difficult to capture Jiang Wuqi, and killing an Inner Mansion realm cultivator should have been a sure thing. Could there have been a real person who was previously not in Linzi lurking there? Or even a True Monarch watching the scene? Why, as the commander of the Nine Troops garrisoned in the capital, had he not received even the slightest hint? Could it truly be as Xiu Yuan said, that he had been suspected beforehand?

These were the questions Yan Tu had to ponder. Only by understanding them clearly could he make fewer mistakes in his subsequent responses. Of course, at this point, he had very few choices left.

Yan Tu stepped out of the door expressionlessly, offering no response to Xiu Yuan’s words, only saying, “Xiu, from today on, you and I are no longer friends. Take care of yourself!”

But his military boot stopped after only one step. Because directly in front of him, a white lantern pierced the space and appeared horizontally.

“General Yan, please stay.” The blind old man, who had appeared before him, said so. Though his figure was hunched, he seemed to fill heaven and earth. Though his body trembled, he was like an abyss, like a sea.

He was the night watchman who reported directly to the Emperor! Charged with monitoring the long night and eradicating all evil.

Facing this blind old man so suddenly, few people in the entire Great Qi could remain fearless. But Yan Tu stepped forward instead, his momentum erupting. “I am the commander of the Nine Troops, a lifetime for the country’s battles, my name is in the Great Qi’s Military Affairs Hall! Do you night watchmen dare to arrest me without reason?”

The old man holding the white paper lantern spoke slowly. “Then this old man will just let you know.”

“That scissors grinder is very normal. He only had a dream last night. That dream influenced him, causing him to see three or five oil strips when passing the oil strip stall and his voice selling them to have different speeds and emphases.”

“The oil strip vendor is also very normal. At that time, someone just happened to pass by and bought a lot of oil strips, leaving only three on his shelf.”

“The person who bought the oil strips is also very normal. Someone gave her a sum of money and told her to buy exactly that many. And when she finished buying the oil strips, she went to find the person who had asked her to help, but that person was already gone.”

“Our clue also broke at this point. We couldn’t find the person who gave her the money… Truly a very cautious organization.”

“It sounds very complicated,” Yan Tu said. “But what does this have to do with me?”

The blind old man asked, “You’ve said so much trouble, what information do they want to transmit? What does that selling voice represent?”

Yan Tu chuckled. “How should I know?”

“We don’t know what it represents, but we can be sure that it definitely has its meaning, it is absolutely not ordinary.”

The blind old man said unhurriedly, “Using that scissors grinder as the center, we investigated everyone within the surrounding three blocks. Ranked by cultivation, there were a total of four hundred seventy-one people who could have heard that voice at that time…”

Yan Tu looked at the white paper lantern in the hand of the blind old man before him, actually feeling as if it were a swaying banner, summoning souls, swaying in his eyes. And the old man’s voice continued to ring in his ears—

“As you thought, we meticulously checked all four hundred seventy-one people. At this moment, only three people cannot be excluded from suspicion, and General Yan, you are one of them.”

Yan Tu shook his head, expressing admiration. “Truly a marvelous process.”

“His Eleventh Highness has a saying that I deeply agree with—’In front of the most foolish method, the smartest person cannot hide. Because smart people only habitually deal with smart people.'” The blind old man said, “So we used this foolish method to find you, this smart person.”

“To tell you the truth, your guess is wonderful, and His Eleventh Highness is also very smart. But are you all not taking things a bit too for granted?” Yan Tu said angrily, “A scissors grinder had a strange dream and slightly changed his selling tone. Just because this general’s cultivation is extraordinary and can hear it from such a distance, a commander of the Nine Troops actually has suspicion of colluding with the Kingdom of Equality? It’s simply absurd, laughable!”

“You still don’t understand? You are not under suspicion because of this matter. It is because His Eleventh Highness has been suspicious of you for a long time and only confirmed his suspicion through today’s events! I am not afraid to tell you, ever since the cry shrine case, His Eleventh Highness has been investigating your entire organization. You are just one of the suspects. General Yan, I am not responsible for explaining. If you still have any doubts, you might as well go to the heavenly prison and ask.”

The blind old man finished speaking, turned and walked forward. “Follow me, don’t waste any more time.”

In front of him was a wall, but he simply walked into the wall. It seemed as if he had stepped from one world into another. He didn’t seem afraid that Yan Tu would escape.

Yan Tu indeed did not choose to escape. He no longer offered any excuses. At least at this moment, there was no point in arguing with this blind old man. It would be better to think carefully about how to defend himself before the Emperor. He couldn’t escape. Since this blind old man had personally appeared, resisting was completely useless. Although the Zhan Yu Army under his command was on duty in the capital area, it was not enough to be relied upon at such a moment.

The Qi court allowed each family to establish clan soldiers within a certain range, each county governor had significant autonomy, and the sects within the territory also had freedom under the restraint of Qi law. Only the highest power of the Nine Troops was firmly held by the Qi court. The elite of the Nine Troops were the Nine Troops of the Qi, not the Nine Troops of some single family or surname. Just as Chong Xuan Chu Liang mobilized the Qiu Sha Army, he also needed the court to issue the tiger tally. Just as the Chun Si Army was personally held by Cao Quan, in that battle at Jian Feng Mountain earlier, Jiang Mengxiong also mobilized it without hesitation.

Ultimately, the Nine Troops were loyal to the Qi, not to some one commander. Without a decree from the Qi court, he, this Zhan Yu Army commander, could not mobilize more than a thousand soldiers.

Yan Tu never thought that he would be confirmed as an enemy agent because of an extremely ingenious information transmission. To confirm his suspicion, the night watchman had even investigated everyone within the surrounding three blocks! Originally, whether the Cloud Mist Mountain operation succeeded or failed, it would not have affected him.

At what point was he discovered by Jiang Wuqi? Yan Tu thought for a while, then stopped thinking, and stepped forward. His past had been filled with many trials and tribulations, and he had no regrets in his heart.

But he didn’t know why, at this moment, the first image that came to mind was the rainy night seventy-six years ago. That dense, sorrowful rain…

At that time, the Qi country was not yet the overlord of the eastern domain, and even Jiang Shu had not yet ascended the throne, only fighting on the battlefield as the crown prince, but already showing heroic stature. And he, as a core member of the Kingdom of Equality, joined the iron hooves of the Qi country’s conquest of the eastern domain. That was a difficult rainy night. He was defeated, his armor lost, his troops scattered. In a cave, he met Xiu Yuan, who was equally wretched. The two nervous individuals, meeting for the first time, greeted each other with swords and spears, each dragging their injured bodies to fight. In the process of life and death, they understood each other’s identity and turned their weapons into friendship. The two of them hid in that cave for five days, and the rain also lasted for five days without stopping. It wasn’t until one day they heard a very bright bird call, and when they walked out of the cave, the rain had stopped and the sky was clear.

Only much later did he learn the name of that bird, “Fu Yu”. According to the record of exotic beasts: There is a bird named “Fu Yu”, with feathers of three colors, and wings nine feet long. It drums the wind and rises, carrying rain and flying. When this bird calls, the clouds scatter and the rain gathers. He also told Xiu Yuan about this, but Xiu Yuan insisted that the call outside the cave that day was just a sparrow…

The wall in front seemed to block everything. He could not see the road ahead, nor could he find his memories.

Before stepping in, Yan Tu sighed. “Empty valley Fu Yu, can I hear it again?”

Then he took a step and disappeared from the Xiu family residence. And behind him, there was no response.

Since the leader of the night watchman had appeared, Xiu Yuan had made no further sound, only slowly turning the teacup in his hand, silently watching the confrontation between the two. Only at this moment did he shift his gaze and look towards the piece of skirt armor lying on the ground, a long silence falling over him. Others cut their robes, Yan Tu cut his armor.

Xiu Yuan shook his head. He didn’t know how many times he had scorned Yan Tu’s inability to appreciate beauty, but at this moment, he also raised the cup and drank this top-quality tea in one gulp.

Purple Extreme Hall. The morning court had already dispersed, and the civil and military officials had all retreated. The Qi Emperor was still in the hall. Above the high platform was the vast and magnificent dragon chair. In the middle of the immense hall, it was empty. The Great Qi Emperor, rarely today, did not review memorials, nor did he do anything else, only sat there fixedly.

For a long time, he finally sighed. “Have I, perhaps, sat too high?”

At this moment, serving by his side, of course, was only Han Ling. He did not answer, because the Emperor did not need any answer.

*Pa da, pa da.*

Footsteps sounded outside the Purple Extreme Hall, sounding on that enormous white stone square. They were not heavy, but in their ears, they were very clear.

The Emperor leaned slightly on the armrest, stood up, and walked down from the platform. His dragon boots touched the ground, stable and powerful. The Emperor walked very slowly, because every step carried the weight of the nation. And the footsteps outside the hall were very calm and measured. Within the bounds of “ritual,” the speed was not reduced.

When the Qi Emperor finally walked down from the platform, standing in the middle of the Purple Extreme Hall, standing at the front where the court officials lined up daily. That thin figure wrapped in white fox fur also stood in the middle of the huge doors of the Purple Extreme Hall. The huge doors, like the threshold of heaven, only accentuated his thinness. In the morning light that poured in behind him, the person was like snow, and the fur was like snow. He brought with him a chill that froze the heart.

“Your son, your minister, bows to see your imperial father!” Jiang Wuqi pushed aside mountains of gold and overturned pillars of jade, kowtowing in the vast Purple Extreme Hall. He could have gone to the Emperor’s sleeping palace to pay his respects, but today was a son seeing his father, and also a minister facing his sovereign. Thus, he chose the Purple Extreme Hall.

The Qi Emperor did not stop his grand ritual, the pearls hanging down from the Ping Tian crown covering this supreme emotion of the Great Qi. But the swaying bead curtain clearly also indicated that his mood was not calm. The Emperor finally only asked, “Why bother?”

Jiang Wuqi rose after the ritual, now standing before the Great Qi Emperor. Finally, he could look at his father as a son. This was a special grace granted by the Qi Emperor. However, he maintained the ritual of a minister, his eyes lowered slightly, and said very seriously, “Your imperial father’s great cause is imminent, and the military cannot leave hidden troubles.”

The Emperor said, “We have plenty of time…”

Jiang Wuqi said, “Time waits for no one.”

“Wuqi.” The Emperor only called out his name and then fell silent. Han Ling, standing behind the Emperor, said nothing, positioning himself as a silent sculpture, but his face was sad, tears already filling his eyes.

Only Jiang Wuqi was smiling. He was smiling like a snowflake blooming in the Purple Extreme Hall. In his life, he rarely had such a bright, brilliant smile. Because from birth, he had already carried too much. While still in swaddling clothes, his fate was already sealed. In the frozen soil of life, where could flowers bloom?

“Imperial father, do you believe your son and minister?” Jiang Wuqi asked.

The Emperor was silent for a long time, finally saying, “An emperor cannot not doubt.”

On Jiang Wuqi’s pale, handsome face, the brilliant smile remained. “Now you can believe your son and minister.”

He seemed determined to let the Qi Emperor remember his appearance so brilliant. So he smiled so dazzlingly.

“I only hope that you, believe me only.”

“Imperial father, your son and minister have never had a rebellious heart!”

“Please return that piece of white jade that was taken away, give it back to your son.”

“Your son has never felt so healthy. This feeling… is very good…”

And his smile just froze like that. In the October morning, it formed autumn frost.