The peaceful room remained as tranquil as before.

Yet suddenly, wind arose.

It was not the gentle, sweet spring breeze, nor the startling wind and secret rain of summer, nor the colorful and desolate autumn wind, nor the snow-laden, menacing winter wind.

This wind was soft, fierce, mysterious, and imposing.

It had the power of wind, yet lacked wind’s scattered casualness.

In just an instant, it came like a tangible weapon, striking straight and mercilessly forward.

Qin Chang Ge felt her face grow cold, as if ice water had splashed across it, or as if some cold, invisible weapon had crashed toward her face. Her skin was invaded by the forest-cold, sharp killing intent, causing her to shiver involuntarily.

Her martial arts were not yet accomplished, but her previous life’s experience remained. In those days, she too had possessed such fierce and powerful energy. This was a true master who, in certain environments that stirred the heart, intentionally or unintentionally released protective energy.

She inwardly praised Su Xuan’s reputation as the foremost expert. His protective energy had reached the realm of releasing and retracting at will, transforming energy into form. It condensed into a sword, striking directly at her most vulnerable spot just inches from her eyelashes, stimulating her eyes until they ached and nearly wept, yet causing no harm. Meanwhile, Xiao Rong, drowsing in her arms, was not affected by even a single hair.

Smiling slightly, Qin Chang Ge extended her finger, her expression unchanged, slowly reaching toward the tip of that invisible protective energy.

Any protective energy is strongest when first released from the body, but weakens by the time it reaches another person. Moreover, this type of energy, mindful of others and condensed into a single line, had no intention of harming anyone—it was merely Su Xuan’s warning.

With her slender finger lightly pinching, Qin Chang Ge even smiled sweetly as she made a gesture of casting it aside, saying charmingly, “Leader Su, to act thus toward a Palace Lady damages your reputation for cherishing flowers.”

The protective energy immediately dissipated. Su Xuan laughed, “Good, what excellent courage.”

“The Leader also has excellent martial arts,” Qin Chang Ge said gently. “Otherwise, with the slightest carelessness, both my eyes would have been ruined.”

“I was rash,” Su Xuan slightly bowed, his posture elegant. “What the young lady spoke of concerns the lives of over ten thousand brothers of my Blazing Flame Alliance. I, Su, was truly uneasy.”

After a pause, he smiled, “I know that before you, there is nowhere left to hide or dissemble. I only ask you one thing: how did you guess?”

“It’s exactly this word—guess.” Qin Chang Ge smiled lazily. “When things are abnormal, there must be demons at work. Based on my investigation and understanding of you, your supposed admiration for Southern culture and coming here to learn, establishing the unprecedented foundation of the Blazing Flame Gang in the capital—this explanation simply cannot hold. The Blazing Flame is already the greatest gang under heaven. Why would you need to start over? You have absolutely no need to come south to compete for business, yet you came anyway, sparing no expense. Therefore, what you seek must not be these things.”

“You desperately compete for business, rapidly establishing connections with officials in a short time, quickly becoming a major merchant in the capital. At its core, it’s all to become an Imperial Merchant.”

Qin Chang Ge smiled, looking into Su Xuan’s deep black eyes that flowed with light. “Our Xiliang’s regulations have no equal distribution or procurement policies. All court needs are purchased at market prices, solely to avoid burdening the people. During wartime, Imperial Merchants are responsible for supervising the manufacture of weapons and transporting grain for the imperial family. During periods of rest and recovery, they handle procurement of inner palace materials for the court. From large items like timber for palace construction and clothing manufacture for the harem, to small things like palace flower and plant cultivation and women’s rouge and face powder—all are managed by Imperial Merchants. The connection between Imperial Merchants and court politics, palace internal affairs is extraordinarily close, incomparable to ordinary people. Moreover, our dynasty grants Imperial Merchants official ranks and titles, and the right to enter and exit the palace. For those with ulterior motives, this is truly very important.”

“To become an Imperial Merchant, first one must become a major merchant in the capital or even throughout the realm, with sufficient financial resources to support all manner of demands, and vast influence to enter the Ministry of Revenue’s consideration for selecting partners. Leader Su, your efforts during this period, constantly conflicting with my Heng Records—isn’t this all for exactly this purpose?”

“Excellent,” Su Xuan lightly clapped his hands. “My doubts are resolved. Then, young lady, what is this assistance you indicated you’re willing to provide?”

Qin Chang Ge smiled faintly, “Leader Su, your true purpose is to get close to the palace, isn’t it? What you really want to do is seek revenge for someone, isn’t it? You approach the palace to learn something, and how you ultimately plan your revenge—I don’t care about any of this. I only tell you this: if someone could help you achieve your goal through different means, then why expend such great effort competing for business, risking the foundation that Blazing Flame has painstakingly built beyond the passes over these years, mutually destroying both sides with Heng Records? You must know that the Blazing Flame Gang’s tree attracts wind—any slight movement inevitably draws attention. The current dynasty, because the previous Empress came from a renowned martial arts family, has always been wary of jianghu forces, suppressing martial arts sects in many ways. Don’t you remember the last time the Emperor summoned you? The survival of over ten thousand brothers rests on your single thought.”

Glancing at her, Su Xuan no longer wanted to ask how she knew about his revenge plans. This woman was mysterious through and through—he would take time to ponder this carefully. After thinking, he smiled, “Everything you say makes perfect sense. But to avoid having too many Imperial Merchants and thereby troubling the people, the previous Empress Ruiyi decreed that there could only be one Imperial Merchant in the capital. From your meaning, you want us to withdraw. Then, how do you plan to compensate me?”

“Leader Su is so shrewd,” Qin Chang Ge smiled with pursed lips. “Didn’t I already say? At the foot of the Son of Heaven, when the time is not right, what you want to do—I can roughly guess. And I have a better method than your painstaking efforts to become an Imperial Merchant to achieve the purpose you originally wanted to achieve. When the time is ripe, whatever you want to do will no longer have difficulties.”

“Very well,” after only brief contemplation, Su Xuan accepted this seemingly vague promise, smiling brightly, “I believe you would not deceive me, so the Blazing Flame Gang will show the appropriate attitude in the coming days.”

“Rather than saying you trust my integrity, it’s better to say Leader Su trusts his own and the Blazing Flame Gang’s capabilities and power, confident that I wouldn’t dare play tricks,” Qin Chang Ge’s eyes sparkled like autumn water. “I indeed wouldn’t dare play tricks. The Leader can rest assured.”

“To tell the truth,” Su Xuan suddenly blinked, “though I don’t need to personally handle things, I hear from my subordinates that every day requires exhausting one’s mind to establish connections, constantly being subordinate to others, constantly using silver to curry favor with those worthless officials—it’s truly suffocating work. Now that you’ve freed me from this, we should all thank you.”

Smiling slightly, Qin Chang Ge said meaningfully, “How could the Leader be one to remain subordinate to others?”

Picking up her drooling, sleeping son, Qin Chang Ge smiled, “Mission accomplished. I’ve disturbed you for so long—truly apologetic. I’ll take my leave now.”

Su Xuan’s gaze swept over Xiao Rong’s form and suddenly said, “Your son has excellent bone structure… would he be willing to learn martial arts?”

With these words spoken, it was an imperial edict that countless martial arts people couldn’t obtain even in their dreams. To enter his tutelage, even if achieving nothing, would be equivalent to having a trump card for freely traveling the jianghu. Yet Qin Chang Ge merely smiled faintly, looking lovingly at her son’s sleeping face, “Wait until he’s a bit older… or ask his opinion… Learning martial arts is very difficult. Rong’er is still small.”

Su Xuan smiled freely and said no more, only slightly bowing to look at Xiao Rong. At four years old practicing martial arts, with bones and tendons not yet formed, it was exactly the right time for tendon transformation and marrow cleansing. This child was also a boy—by all accounts, learning some martial arts for physical strengthening and self-protection was appropriate. Moreover, with him making the offer, this was an opportunity countless people couldn’t obtain even by begging. Given this Miss Ming’s previous knowledge in pointing and pinching protective energy swords, she couldn’t be unaware of these things. Yet she smiled and declined, and that fleeting loneliness and desolation in her eyes made even him feel shocked.

However, probing others’ private matters was ultimately improper. Though Su Xuan disdained being a gentleman, he had no fondness for being a petty person either, so he smiled and let it pass.

He was magnanimous and unwilling to probe others’ hearts, but Qin Chang Ge had no such scruples. As she reached the door, she suddenly turned and asked, “Who is the person in the painting?”

This sudden question caught Su Xuan, lost in his own thoughts, off guard, causing him to unconsciously answer what he originally wouldn’t have replied.

“My benefactor.”

Only after answering did he realize what happened. He raised an eyebrow, slightly helpless, but immediately smiled. That momentary vexation disappeared like a clear breeze without a trace.

Qin Chang Ge smiled gracefully without the slightest apology and departed like a drifting fairy.

Her figure disappeared swiftly among the four walls of green shade, decorated windows and vermillion doors of the high-walled deep courtyard. The western wind cut sharply, lifting her garments. She seemed as light and graceful as a wild goose skimming across clear skies, yet what she flew toward might not be the warm, humid southern kingdoms, but rather the sinister, unpredictable maze on the chessboard of the world.

Su Xuan watched her retreating figure for a long time before turning back, slowly pacing to that painting, continuing to stand with hands clasped behind his back, gazing up deeply. His standing posture was like a stone cliff with accumulated snow on a mountain peak—silent and firm, as if he could stand that way for eternity, unchanged by wind and frost, enduring through the transformation of mountains and rivers, the alternation of sun and moon, still standing as before.

The shadows of the setting sun moved across the ground, across tables and cases, across incense burners, across long windows, across his black hair and white clothes, gradually fading away at the distant horizon. A touch of crimson deepened, then lightened, then turned blue, finally replaced by a moon radiating bright light in all directions, casting its brilliant white, cold radiance precisely and impartially on the figure who still stood alone looking up, who clearly should see nothing yet still gazed intently.

That silhouette bathed in moonlight’s ethereal splendor seemed to merge entirely with the lunar radiance.

For a long while, at the boundary between darkness and bright light, a person’s quiet, deep sigh could be heard, the sound prolonged.

Like past events tangled endlessly, like those memories already forgotten by others but remembered by him for life.

“In a flash, ten years have passed…”