Yedu was in early summer at this moment. The temperature hadn’t risen yet, and the flowers and plants were growing vigorously. The leaves were a jade-like deep, congealed green, surrounding clusters of blooming flowers like stars around the moon, arching before one’s eyes in abundant vitality.

In the elegant room on the third floor of Chenyu Pavilion, after Su You left, the room suddenly became quiet.

Sui Jinyu’s throat caught, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

After the brothers’ recognition, apart from that phrase “please excuse me,” Su You hadn’t said a second sentence to him. He neither asked about past events nor mentioned plans for staying or leaving. That attitude conveyed one meaning to Sui Jinyu.

—His affairs were all under Xue Yu’s management.

This was different from what Sui Jinyu had expected – completely different.

Before coming, he had carefully examined Su You’s dossier in Yedu, knowing that his current position as Young Master required real work. No matter how prestigious it sounded, he was still a subject.

Just like now, when there was troublesome work to be done, he had to set off immediately.

This was worlds apart from the carefree treatment and status of a young master in the demon capital.

Yet, regardless of his disappointment, anger, or inability to understand, as long as he was willing to return, Sui Jinyu and the many people at home could always explain clearly what happened over two hundred years ago. The relationship afterward could be slowly cultivated.

After all, they were blood relatives.

But Su You appeared too composed, too indifferent, as if having or not having an elder brother made no impact or difference to him.

Facing Xue Yu, Sui Jinyu actually felt more at ease.

He cleared his throat and was about to speak when he saw Xue Yu slowly lift her teacup and raise her eyelids slightly, interrupting his prepared, lengthy discourse: “Young Master Sui, you’ve already said words of gratitude many times.”

“I don’t like hearing these things.”

Good – this Xue Yu was quite consistent with what he’d learned about her from others.

Sui Jinyu showed her great courtesy, and you could hear that his gratitude came from the heart. After hearing Xue Yu’s words, he finally restrained the smile on his face and became serious: “Your Highness Xue Yu, Nineteenth is the young master of the Sui family, my blood brother from the same parents. Previously he wandered the mortal world, unaware of his identity – this was our negligence. But now that we’ve recognized each other, it’s inappropriate for him to remain in Yedu.”

As if knowing his words seemed somewhat abrupt, Sui Jinyu took two spirit rings from the silver tray held by his attendant behind him, personally rising to place them beside Xue Yu’s hand, his words carrying indescribable sincerity: “These years, that Nineteenth could survive and walk to today is entirely due to Your Highness extending aid. For this grace of assistance and support, my father and mother are still in seclusion due to past events from a century ago. When I heard news of Nineteenth, I came in haste. These items are a small token of the Sui family’s appreciation. Please accept them, Your Highness.”

Xue Yu’s gaze settled briefly on his eyes, which bore some resemblance to Su You’s, but she didn’t move.

As the future ruler of Yedu, she indeed lacked nothing of this sort.

Sui Jinyu once again felt the difficulty of the situation.

“He’s different from other subjects. I once promised him that in the future, whether to go or stay would be entirely according to his own wishes.” Xue Yu pushed the spirit ring back, her voice neither cold nor eager: “You shouldn’t be asking for my opinion.”

“You saw just now – he doesn’t want to return with you.”

This ability to hit the nail on the head, to deliver a killing blow with one stroke – Sui Jinyu had truly witnessed it today.

He choked, then remained silent for a long while before speaking words that he didn’t know were meant to comfort himself or persuade Xue Yu: “Nineteenth previously didn’t know his identity or our existence. Having this suddenly emerge, he certainly can’t adapt, plus he can’t immediately let go of what happened back then. But these aren’t insurmountable problems.”

“We never gave up on him. Blood relatives – there’s nothing that can’t be talked through.”

Xue Yu neither agreed nor disagreed, her fingertip brushing the rim of her teacup as she said: “I once heard Jiu Feng mention that the Sui family has many siblings, united as one with very good relationships.”

Jiu Feng’s original words were that the Sui family housed a pack of fearless wolf cubs led by Sui Jinyu. Every single one of them was so stupid their brains seemed waterlogged, their strength apparently traded for their minds. They were also protective – when one got in trouble, all the others would charge in, impossible to stop.

She had concluded with the remark that encountering such madmen ranking second in the demon capital was her, Jiu Feng’s, great misfortune.

“Nineteenth trusts Your Highness. In our initial contact, he’s wary of me and others in the family. Let me first explain the Sui family’s situation to Your Highness.” Even though their statuses were equivalent, before this Yedu Princess who had saved his younger brother, Sui Jinyu completely restrained his usual arrogance and disdain: “From ancient times to now, the Sui family has remained in seclusion, only gradually appearing in the world’s view after Nineteenth’s incident. Previously our clan members were inconspicuous, and our direct bloodline wasn’t abundant either. This situation only improved in my father’s generation.”

He spoke softly and at length: “My father’s generation had six brothers, and in our generation, there are nineteen siblings in total. Because we grew up together and the clan has ancestral teachings, there’s no scheming or competitive jealousy, so our relationships are all very good.”

“The Tian’ao clan.” Xue Yu listened quietly, then looked at Sui Jinyu, whose expression had grown grave: “The direct bloodline can be so numerous?”

The way of the world involves balance everywhere. Humans are the fastest and most prolific race in reproduction among all races. Regardless of direct or collateral branches, their achievements depend entirely on individual talent and effort. But demon clans are different – powerful bloodlines often determine racial strength, but correspondingly, truly capable direct descendants are extremely rare.

Just look at Jiu Feng’s family to understand.

If bloodlines were powerful and descendants numerous, how would others survive?

“Nineteenth is somewhat special.” Sui Jinyu smiled bitterly: “To be honest, our branch can’t be considered true Tian’ao either. We just have some thin bloodline that fortunately survived from ancient disasters.”

True Tian’ao, regardless of age, without exception, all died in the final battle against the Mei.

But even so, as Xue Yu said, their lineage shouldn’t have so many people.

All of this was because of Nineteenth.

He was not only of true Tian’ao bloodline but also a rare auspicious beast seen once in ten thousand years. Auspicious beasts are heaven and earth’s favored children, uniquely blessed. Even before he was born, fortune had mysteriously descended upon the Tian’ao clan. The Sui family’s prosperity was inseparable from this stroke of luck.

But heaven’s way was always thus – give a little benefit, then immediately follow with capricious twists of fate.

Xue Yu looked at him, pressed her lips slightly, and said: “You are brotherly and harmonious, enjoying perfect happiness, so you think there’s nothing between blood relatives that can’t be resolved. But he’s different.”

“He didn’t grow up in such an environment.”

“Family affection isn’t worthless to him, but for someone who has experienced disappointment once and fell into despair because of it, he won’t easily attempt it a second time.”

Sui Jinyu immediately sat up straight, showing an attentive posture, humbly saying: “Honestly, what happened back then was chaotic and complex. People in the clan only learned the news three or four days after Nineteenth went missing. With countless people in the mortal world and him being so small at the time, three or four days was enough for someone with intentions to take him through three or four cities. Finding him was like searching for a needle in the ocean.”

“Moreover.” He paused, then continued: “The Tian’ao identity wasn’t convenient to mention publicly. When we searched for him later, we always had reservations, so after all these years, we still don’t know clearly about Nineteenth’s past.”

Even though the demon capital rarely interfered in human affairs, through generations of influence, it had gained a notorious reputation for accumulated evil deeds. If not for the five great families of the demon capital having strength comparable to the Sacred Lands, they would have been attacked en masse long ago.

Under such circumstances, how could they search publicly, saying the Sui family had lost a Tian’ao?

With Jiu Feng alone being enough to make some human sects and court officials indignant with righteous anger and cursing, adding another Tian’ao would have made Su You’s survival impossible.

“If Your Highness knows, could you tell me?”

Xue Yu’s movements paused slightly. When Sui Jinyu thought she wouldn’t speak, she slowly began to voice her words.

Due to her status, her voice wasn’t the type of Jiangnan melody that men particularly favored – gentle and soft – but carried a clear quality, each word like the sound of flowing water.

“The first time I saw him was on Xihe’s Judgment Platform…” In the depths of winter when water turned to ice, Su You had his cultivation abolished, was covered in wounds, wearing only a loose prisoner’s robe. When the wind blew, blood stains immediately appeared on the prison garb.

At that time, the young man’s eyes were full of defiance and rebellion, never thinking he could survive.

Because of Fo Nu’s words from a previous life, Xue Yu saved him.

“…He was very smart and obedient, knew how to repay kindness. I took a liking to his talent and wanted to keep him in Yedu, by my side to work.”

Following Xue Yu’s description, Sui Jinyu seemed to see those unknown aspects of Su You’s past.

Fortunately, even after suffering at the Judgment Platform, he later met a ruler who truly appreciated him and gave him the best development opportunities.

Both unfortunate and extremely fortunate.

Xue Yu slowly sank into memories, her voice becoming soft: “He had strong comprehension and ability, but his past personality was always too extreme. I felt this wasn’t good and spoke to him about it several times.”

She rarely had occasions to discuss someone at such length, mentioning both their strengths and weaknesses.

The two people sitting in the elegant room – one spoke earnestly, the other listened attentively, until she unconsciously moved her eyelashes, seeming to suddenly break some rhythm: “…He proved himself well, didn’t disappoint, taking only ten years to complete patrol duty and become Commander of the Palace Guard Division. After he emerged, he and I completed the Heavenly Mystery Book mission together in Luozhou…”

Then they encountered the Feitian Diagram’s Turing, a woman named Xuanji who could read people’s memories.

It was during that mission that she learned about his past, which he had never mentioned, the origin of his extreme and stubborn personality.

The saying about what kind of cause leads to what kind of effect was correct.

Xue Yu spoke of Su You’s childhood, how the Xuan Su family treated him, about that bottle of bone-corroding water poured on his hands during a freezing snowy night, and a century later, how he was lured by those people using “family affection” as bait, stepping into a deadly formation for a demon pill.

Due to Xihe’s negligence and people’s prejudice, no one cared whether he was right or wrong. He was imprisoned in Xihe’s dungeon, suffering all kinds of punishment without once crying out his innocence.

No one would believe him.

The smile on Sui Jinyu’s face had long disappeared. He clenched his fists, feeling as if each of Xue Yu’s words was like an ice blade falling from heaven, cutting until blood flowed from his scalp and his breathing became painfully dull.

After a long while, he took a deep breath, his palm pressed against his forehead as if this could support his emotions on the verge of collapse.

After finishing the last word, Xue Yu’s eyes also showed different ripples. She said: “Perhaps before coming, you imagined he grew up by my side from childhood, raised in Yedu with no one mistreating or bullying him, growing up to hold great power and become Yedu’s decisive Young Master. But that’s not him.”

She spoke word by word: “The one with fine clothes and food, highly valued and used – that’s not him. On the contrary, the one who lived under others’ roofs, being careful, covered in wounds – that is him.”

For a moment, Sui Jinyu’s breathing stopped entirely.

He could not imagine the scenes Xue Yu described – not at all.

At this moment, he even felt his previous confident assertion about blood kinship was naively laughable.

When he was being bullied, ostracized, and cursed by peers, when he endured the agony of bone-corroding water and Xihe’s prison disaster, nearly losing his life, where were his blood relatives then?

“He…” Sui Jinyu had only said one word before he couldn’t continue.

Xue Yu stood up, looking at him with an expression still showing cold indifference without warmth: “I sit here today telling you these things not to make you feel guilty or compensatory, but for one reason – don’t force him to do anything in the name of kinship.”

“I won’t take the items. Yedu has heavy affairs. Having said what I needed to say, I won’t keep you longer.”

When Sixth Uncle Sui Yu rushed over, he saw Sui Jinyu covering his face, looking wooden and dejected. He looked around the empty, elegant room, delivered a sharp blow to Sui Jinyu’s elbow, his eyelid twitching: “Where is he?”

“Sixth Uncle.” Sui Jinyu dully tapped the chair’s edge: “Nineteenth – he just left.”

Then he recounted everything that happened afterward and all the words Xue Yu had said, his voice catching at the end.

Chen Longzhi, who had come along, had often seen Jiu Feng jumping with frustration at Sui Jinyu’s stubborn, impervious attitude, but this was truly the first time seeing such a situation. He couldn’t help but look a few more times.

Sui Yu’s attention wasn’t on Sui Jinyu at all. After listening, he just stood there with arms crossed, coldly snorting through his nose, his words as cold as possible: “So you’re not going to tell me you’re planning to wait in this broken tower until he finishes his business and returns to see you?”

“Do you have any brains?”

Chen Longzhi made a sound of protest, coming to his senses: “You can’t say it like that. Our Chenyu Pavilion’s elegant rooms rank in the top three anywhere. The word ‘broken’ really doesn’t apply, doesn’t apply at all.”

Sui Jinyu was used to being scolded by Sui Yu. At this moment, he numbly raised his head to hear his high opinion.

“What’s the use of crying to us? If you’re so good at shedding tears, why not cry in front of your brother?” Sui Yu said in frustration: “You said yourself he has troublesome matters to handle. Is the Sui family just for show? Are you just for show? Why not go help?”

“Sui Jinyu, it’s not that I’m criticizing you, but with your attitude, it would truly be strange if Nineteenth wanted to return with you.”

Sui Jinyu’s thoughts, which had been stunned by Xue Yu’s words, were immediately awakened by this barbed criticism. He slapped the table and stood up, looking at Chen Longzhi: “Where’s the teleportation array? Where’s the one that goes to the imperial capital?”

Chen Longzhi couldn’t help saying: “Opening that once is expensive…” His words gradually faded under Sui Yu’s lazy smile.

Su You arrived at the imperial capital three days later. Because the Human Emperor was seriously ill, this usually most bustling and grand city also began to restrain itself, sinking into an extremely low-key silence. Within a few days, many of the large red lanterns hanging in streets and alleys had been taken down.

Along with the increasingly heavily guarded imperial palace, undercurrents surged beneath the imperial capital.

Shan Shu and Cang Ju met unexpectedly at Yipin Residence. The former smiled and said to Shen Jingshi, “You go contact Su You. Ah Yu said two days ago that he had already set out from Yedu. Calculating the time, he should arrive about now.”

Shen Jingshi gracefully clapped his hands, braced his palm against the window frame to one side, flipped half his body over, and lightly floated down from the second floor to the street below, blown away by the wind like a falling leaf.

Cang Ju watched this scene and couldn’t help raising an eyebrow: “Su You? The key to breaking the situation?”

Shan Shu looked over and asked: “What?”

But Cang Ju stopped speaking. People from Tai Hua were always mysterious, speaking only in words others couldn’t understand.

At this moment, gazing at the scene outside the window, the curve of his eye corners appeared cold and sharp, his thoughts unknown.

“Do you come every time a mortal ruler passes away?” Shan Shu asked.

Cang Ju nodded somewhat ambiguously: “When old and new rulers change, the mortal world most easily produces various miasma and death qi. Others can’t suppress it, so I must come.”

“What about you? Instead of staying nicely in Buddha Province, what are you doing in the imperial capital?” he looked at Shan Shu.

Shan Shu had brought Shen Jingshi to see the world. She thought it over – the Fusang Tree couldn’t act without purpose in having Shen Jingshi review memorials for ten years at Feiyun Peak. Additionally, he was originally of the Human Emperor lineage. Regardless of whether he would take that position in the future, coming to see now had more benefits than drawbacks.

“Coming out for cultivation.” Shan Shu smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, lifting it: “The Three Lands Grand Assembly happens to be held not far from the imperial capital, so I’ll stay here. When the time comes, I won’t need to travel around.”

“Aren’t you going to Xue Yu’s investiture ceremony?” Cang Ju asked.

“I sent Jia Xi instead.” Shan Shu said softly, “I sent my congratulatory gift ahead of time, so it won’t delay anything.”

This was the advantage of Sacred Lands having two successors – at critical times, there was always another to substitute. Like Cang Ju, who bore everything alone, sometimes he felt he wasn’t one person but an ox plowing fields from dawn to dusk.

He laughed coldly: “Truly enviable. Seven days from now, I still have to rush to Yedu to show support. When that’s finished, I have to return here to handle affairs.”

Shan Shu was amused by this tone and laughed, her eyes curved as she looked at the low-hanging clouds on the horizon: “The mortal world’s scenery is truly beautiful, different from Sacred Lands – lively.”

This worldly atmosphere was too moving.

“Sometimes I think the court excludes us, yet fears us. Sacred Lands are caught in the middle, facing difficulties from both sides. We repeatedly disguise ourselves to travel between mortal realms, often working thanklessly. Perhaps what we’re doing isn’t some responsibility we must shoulder. When you get down to it, we’ve heard those grand concepts since childhood and are long tired of them.” She pointed at the opposite wall and the street behind it: “Maybe we just like looking at this wall, this street, and the various people in this tavern.”

If someone else had said these words, they might not have much effect. But with Shan Shu standing by the window, her profile gentle, her entire being emanating from within a compassionate tenderness toward all living beings.

After speaking, Shan Shu turned to look at Cang Ju again, smiling faintly in a way difficult to refuse: “Among Sacred Lands, Tai Hua is the most mysterious. Things we can’t comprehend, you can sense in advance. To get you to repeatedly descend from Tai Hua to the mortal world, could you reveal a bit about what the future holds?”

Hearing this familiar tone, Cang Ju immediately realized he’d been calculated.

“Xue Yu asked you to inquire.” He stated with certainty: “Specifically waiting here for me, right?”

“The future world might not be good, correct?” Shan Shu didn’t answer but asked instead.

“Cang Ju, give me a straight answer.”

Tai Hua was different from other Sacred Lands. Like Shan Shu and Xue Yu, they managed people, demons, and heavenly anomalies, unable to let mortal beings suffer devastation or cause mountains and rivers to overturn with blood flowing like rivers. But all of this had nothing to do with Tai Hua. They only needed to be responsible for one thing – suppressing various miasmas arising from malevolent thoughts.

Because of this unique aspect, they could always sense first before great changes occurred in heaven and earth. But due to the invisible rule that heavenly secrets couldn’t be revealed, no one dared speak carelessly.

As if knowing what he was thinking, Shan Shu stepped back: “You also saw those ten years at Feiyun Peak. Others don’t understand the meaning, but we few know clearly what kind of hint that was.”

“I won’t hide it from you – Xue Yu did contact me. She said the Mei might very likely re-emerge in the world. When I heard this, I haven’t been able to close my eyes.”

She was the most understanding person, the first to step out and mediate when disputes arose, with an boundlessly good temper. If there were ways to investigate these matters herself, she wouldn’t ask Cang Ju like this.

But there was no way.

Once this kind of thing appeared, the consequences would be unimaginable. Whether human race, Sacred Lands, or demon race, none could escape disaster or remain aloof.

Facing great calamity, they had only speculation, unable to get confirmation, much less judge which specific aspect had gone wrong. This feeling was undoubtedly tormenting and painful.

Cang Ju tapped his finger on the window edge for a long time. After a while, he leaned back against the wall, half his face sunk in shadow, set up a barrier, and said in a deep voice: “I can’t give you a definite answer, but there’s one point I can reveal slightly.”

“Shortly, the dark qi pervading the world will increase ten or a hundred times over. What kind of extent is that?” Cang Ju curved his finger: “Probably the extent where even filling all of Tai Hua into it couldn’t clean it up.”

Shan Shu’s expression changed slightly.

“Heavenly secrets change constantly. Some things seem like they’ll happen, but when the time comes, they’re narrowly avoided. For us, everything in the world is unpredictable, so knowing these things will only make you paranoid and anxious about gains and losses.”

“Not just you – even I, growing up in this environment, couldn’t help wanting to come to the source to investigate this time.” After Cang Ju finished speaking, he looked at his palm: “If you want to investigate, start with the court and the Human Emperor.”

Shan Shu took a deep breath, knowing he had said everything he could, so she didn’t press further. After thanking him, she turned and said, “The Human Emperor’s critical illness at this time is suspicious. His request to see Xue Yu alone probably also has problems. I’ll inform the others first and remind Su You as well.”

Cang Ju had said what he could and couldn’t help with what he couldn’t say. At this moment, he only nodded, didn’t linger outside long, and soon entered his room.

Su You had just arrived at the imperial capital and only had time to change clothes before being invited by Shen Jingshi to Yipin Residence to hear Shan Shu discuss this matter.

“What do you plan to do now?” Shan Shu said rather worriedly: “The Human Emperor’s matter might involve extremely serious consequences. I’m also somewhat uncertain how to proceed next.”

She looked at Shen Jingshi and asked: “Has the Sound Spirit Holy Maiden arrived?”

“She has.” Shen Jingshi said: “After hearing Your Highness from Yedu discuss the cases in Luozhou, Suzhou, and other places that day, she returned and ordered the Law Enforcement Halls in these cities to be purged. She’s still investigating them one by one.”

“Go ask her to come over.”

While they talked, Su You listened from the side. Finally, he frowned and said softly, “I’ll enter the palace first to see the Human Emperor.”

Often, speculation in one’s mind was useless – you had to see the person to know what kind of situation it was.

Half an hour later, in the ornately decorated imperial palace annex, after passing countless winding corridors, Su You was led by a eunuch holding a whisk, speaking in a shrill voice and looking at people with the whites of his eyes, into the emperor’s sleeping quarters.

Standing outside the hall, the pungent medicinal smell was unstoppable.

Su You didn’t pause, directly following the eunuch across the threshold, around screens and three layers of pearl curtains, finally seeing physicians and ministers kneeling all over the floor, with the head eunuch Bai Su standing bent over, ready to receive orders at any time.

The vast inner hall had doors and windows tightly closed, with various spiritual medicines ground and boiled into broths to sustain the life of the emperor lying weakly on the carved dragon bed.

Su You took in the surrounding situation, then slightly lowered his head and raised his sleeves, saying neither humbly nor arrogantly: “Su You of Yedu pays respects to the Human Emperor.”

The person on the dragon bed, covered with thick brocade quilts and lying properly, showed no response, not even opening his eyes once. Bai Su, standing to the side with layers of chins, smiled as he said: “Master Su You has made a mistake. His Majesty wanted to see the Yedu Princess, not the Young Master.”

“Reporting to the Human Emperor, Yedu will hold the Crown Princess investiture ceremony in ten days. Guests from all over will attend. Neither the ruler nor Her Highness can spare the time. Among the ministers who can leave, this minister has the highest rank. I hope the Human Emperor will show understanding.”

This person with such an appearance was hard for Bai Su to forget, even if he wanted to.

He bent his waist completely, leaning close to the Human Emperor’s ear, saying softly: “Your Majesty, someone from Yedu has come.”

With Su You having spoken to this extent, you couldn’t let people mock the already-scheduled Crown Princess investiture ceremony to chat casually with a dying Human Emperor. Moreover, although the principal hadn’t come, among those who could come, he had indeed chosen the most capable one, giving the court sufficient face.

No matter how much lying there without getting up, Xue Yu wouldn’t come again. Instead, she would completely offend the person in front of her. If he waved his sleeves and turned to leave directly, how would the following drama continue?

The Human Emperor understood this logic, and so did Su You.

He rested one hand on the other’s sleeve edge, his index finger bent as he patiently tapped several times, as if counting. When he reached the fourth tap, a heavy and urgent coughing sound echoed in the room.

Su You raised his eyes slightly.

Bai Su carefully helped Qiu Tong sit up, leaning against raised soft pillows.

Twenty years was nearly half a lifetime for mortals, but for a demon race like Su You, it was just a fleeting moment. Qiu Tong’s eyes could no longer open fully. He had to use considerable effort to barely squint them into a slit, looking at Su You through the dim light.

Completely different from the youth who had forcibly entered Prince Zhao’s mansion over twenty years ago and been tortured by Qiu Zhao until barely human, he now stood with just the right amount of gentle smile adorning his face. Those peach blossom eyes that should have appeared gorgeous and harmless drooped slightly, and looking deeply into them revealed unfathomable depths.

His sleeves hung quietly like clouds, showing a kind of composed patience.

Qiu Tong even had a momentary illusion, thinking the person standing before him was his kind, harmless when smiling, but internally full of unscrupulous thoughts for achieving goals. Even though deeply suppressed, it gave people a dangerous feeling that penetrated to the bone.

After all, this was someone Xue Yu had personally cultivated, not to be underestimated.

Look – these people were each in their prime, like the rising sun, with many opportunities to display their talents in the future. Yet he, even using all his strength, had reached life’s end.

Even ordinary families, when children succeeded and obtained superior spiritual medicines and essence, could cleanse meridians and marrow for parents and relatives, extending life by hundreds or even thousands of years. But he was Human Emperor – he couldn’t.

Qiu Tong coughed several times before looking at Su You, saying softly, “I have seen you before.”

He waved for the kneeling people to withdraw, then looked at Su You again: “I – cough, I know you’re coming was Xue Yu’s idea. She wants to learn something from me.”

“My memory isn’t very good anymore.” Qiu Tong smiled helplessly, his complexion paler than paper, as if painted with thick lacquer: “When death approaches, many matters pile up together, impossible to sort clearly.”

Su You helpfully reminded him: “Twenty-five years ago, Your Majesty made a deal with Xue Rong of Yedu.”

“My family’s Highness wants to know – besides the Jade Azure Pills and the demons and ghosts from the execution platform, what else did Xue Rong give Your Majesty?”

“Xue Yu.” Qiu Tong rarely pulled his mouth corners into a smile: “Isn’t she curious about what I… I once promised Xue Rong?”

“Regardless of what was promised, now that Xue Rong is dead and Your Majesty’s days are numbered, nothing counts anymore.” Su You looked at Qiu Tong: “However, Your Majesty thinking of seeing Her Highness even while ill should mean you intend to speak truthfully.”

As his words fell, Qiu Tong suddenly burst into violent coughing, his upper body hunched over. At a certain moment, his complexion suddenly flushed red, blood color surging over his prominent cheekbones, then – whoosh.

Blood mist exploded across the light, golden dragon-patterned brocade quilt in large areas, like clusters of red fireworks deliberately painted on.

Bai Su hurriedly called for physicians, followed by pulse-taking and carefully laying unconscious Qiu Tong flat on the bed. Finally, he respectfully said to Su You, “That’s all for today. Please return, Young Master. When His Majesty feels better, we’ll discuss official matters.”

Su You looked at the blood-stained bedding being tremblingly carried away by palace maids for a moment, then turned and left the palace, returning to Yipin Residence.

That night, after washing up, he set down his brush, thought for a moment, and finally couldn’t resist taking out a spirit talisman, tapping twice on a certain character.

The spiritual light flickered rapidly. Before long, steady breathing sounds came from the other side.

“My lady.”

When Su You used this address, it meant he was discussing official business. Xue Yu hummed in response and asked: “At the Human Emperor’s side – you didn’t suffer any losses, did you?”

He picked out some details from today’s meeting with the Human Emperor to relate, also mentioning what Shan Shu had said about the Mei and speculations about the Human Emperor. Xue Yu’s thoughts aligned with Cang Ju’s statement: “Can’t think about so much. What we can do well is what’s before us – keep watch on the Human Emperor first.”

As they talked and official matters were nearly finished, Su You moved slightly closer to the spirit talisman. His voice, transmitted through the talisman to Xue Yu’s side, carried every breath sound clearly, as if speaking beside her ear: “Ah Yu.”

“Ah Yu.”

He called Xue Yu’s name twice, causing her to hesitantly set down her brush and ask softly: “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve only been away from Yedu for two days.”

Su You laughed low and briefly, his breath trembling as if mocking himself: “I miss you a little.”

Xue Yu couldn’t bear hearing such words, her eyelashes involuntarily fluttering downward.

For half an hour, the two characters “Ah Yu” seemed to bloom like flowers in his mouth, displaying different aspects repeatedly.

Xue Yu kept busy throughout. When he called once, she responded once, not saying much else. But that flickering spirit talisman remained by the table’s edge. Until he said it was over, she wouldn’t tap it to end the call.

Until Chao Nian pushed the door open, standing before the desk with a voice so loud it seemed amplified by magic, his tone particularly dissatisfied: “Your Highness, that Song Heng is standing at Yedu’s gates, insisting he has urgent matters to see Your Highness.”

On the other side of the spirit talisman, Su You suddenly raised his eyes, the rich sweetness in his beautiful peach blossom eyes dissolving like foam.