The boy seemed too stunned by his own voice—or perhaps too terrified by the gleaming sword—to respond. After a long moment, he stammered, “N-no, I wasn’t—pretending—”
His voice was still hoarse and dry, stiff and choked, each word a struggle. Yet this second attempt was marginally smoother than the first.
Huo Xiao Di’s heart sank sharply.
—Every word the boy uttered seemed to take every ounce of his strength. Even so, it was labored and halting, as if a baby learning to speak would have an easier time. Still, if Huo Xiao Di hadn’t witnessed it himself, he would never have believed that earlier in the day, this enigmatic child had appeared completely mute.
—But that wasn’t the most pressing mystery. What he wanted to know more than anything was the answer to the puzzle Zhan Ri Fei had partially unveiled yet left unresolved.
—“Are you Han Shui Palace’s Chang Hong Bi?”
At the mention of Chang Hong Bi, the boy flinched as though struck by a whip. His mouth opened as if to speak but no words came out. Instead, his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably, making it seem as if his freckles might tremble off his face.
Huo Xiao Di’s eyes darted shrewdly, but he waited, surprisingly patient.
After a long while, the boy slowly shook his head—hesitant at first, but ultimately resolute.
“I—I am—not—Chang—Hong Bi.”
His voice was firm, but it was also filled with pain.
Huo Xiao Di said softly, “Even if you don’t admit it, your expression has already betrayed you. I won’t force you if you don’t want to confess.”
The boy—Chang Hong Bi—looked surprised, his eyes wide with astonishment.
Huo Xiao Di continued, “But whether you admit it or not, your secret will eventually come to light.” His gaze finally shifted to Zhan Ri Fei, whose acupoints he had sealed.
Was this statement also directed at Zhan Ri Fei?
Zhan Ri Fei seemed oblivious to his words, his expression contemplative, as though deep in thought. Huo Xiao Di, watching his composed demeanor, felt a surge of anger rising in his chest.
Fixing his stare on Zhan Ri Fei, he repeated, “There are no secrets in this world that can remain hidden forever!”
Suddenly, his thoughts felt crystal clear, and his voice turned hoarse.
—“If you hadn’t let me remove that fragment of Chang Xiang Si for you, I might not have discovered your secret so quickly! Now, no matter what you say, I can’t help but suspect you have ulterior motives.”
Zhan Ri Fei finally lifted his head.
“Does Brother Huo truly believe I have designs on Chang Hong Bi as well?”
Huo Xiao Di replied in a low, measured tone, “No matter how well you feign ignorance, the clues have been there all along—I should have realized this much sooner!”
—“When Ge Yun Fei from Xing Yun Manor brought Chang Hong Bi to the Little Hammer Mountain inn, weren’t you there as well?”
—“And when I was about to save this child from the people of Han Shui Palace, who proposed we make a trade—sending me to deal with the Hua brothers instead?”
His eyes bore into Zhan Ri Fei. “Didn’t you expect the Han Shui Palace people to be so formidable, leaving you injured as a result? If not for that, you would have beaten me to it, and this child would have naturally fallen into your hands. I misjudged you!”
His tone grew so cold that Chang Hong Bi, sitting nearby, shivered involuntarily.
Zhan Ri Fei responded calmly, “Has Brother Huo forgotten that I only just discovered Chang Hong Bi’s identity myself?”
Huo Xiao Di let out a bitter laugh. His voice now carried a deep sense of disappointment. “You may have only just realized this boy is Chang Hong Bi, but that doesn’t mean you weren’t already aware that Chang Hong Bi was the object of Xing Yun Manor and Tang Sect’s struggle! And your interest in Chang Hong Bi—isn’t it because of the ‘Old Friends at First Sight’ poison in your body?”
The mention of ‘Old Friends at First Sight’ came with great difficulty, as though Huo Xiao Di had to force each word out of his mouth.
Zhan Ri Fei replied, “I didn’t expect Brother Huo to recognize the Shura Sect’s ‘Old Friends at First Sight.’”
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