Zhan Ri Fei smiled. “Brother Huo may not care, but don’t forget—you’re no longer part of Ling Long Manor. And besides, if even the Tang Clan wants to know, how could Brother Huo not be curious?”
—Perhaps this was the nature of people in the martial world? Human curiosity often works like this: the more you’re kept in the dark, the more you want to know. And sometimes, once you’ve found out, you regret ever seeking the truth.
—Huo Xiao Di, born into Ling Long Manor, was naturally competitive and unwilling to admit defeat. How could he let Xing Yun Manor and the Tang Clan outshine him? If they both sought the truth, how could he not want it too?
Huo Xiao Di couldn’t help but defend himself. “I drew my blade to help him because I saw a lonely, helpless child wandering the world. He’s endured so much suffering at such a young age. Don’t you think it’s a case of ‘everyone has their fate, and destiny loves to toy with people’?”
Seeing his youthful face suddenly take on the weariness of a scholar, Zhan Ri Fei couldn’t help but feel amused.
But Huo Xiao Di was oblivious. His gaze drifted to the dilapidated roof, clearly lost in thought.
—Thoughts deeply buried in his heart.
He sighed and murmured, “For a homeless child like him, his fate is far harsher than Zhao Zhi’er’s ever was.”
“Maybe we really should take him to the capital. If Zhao Zhi’er saw him, she might even like him a lot.”
Zhan Ri Fei, who had been leaning against the fire, raised an eyebrow at this. “Are you talking about that Zhao Zhi’er from the residence of the young prince of Dong Jing City?”
As soon as Huo Xiao Di mentioned him, his face couldn’t help but light up.
“Of course it’s him! Everyone in Dongjing City knows about Zhao’s character and temperament. Naturally, his servant is just as clever and mischievous. I’ve heard he has a nickname: ‘The Terror of the Gods.’ Don’t tell me you haven’t heard of the infamous pair in Dongjing City that even the emperor knows about! One of them is Zhao’s servant. The other, I’ve never met, but I’ve heard he’s called Ming Zhu’er, from the household of the imperial bodyguard Zhan. His nickname is ‘The Bane of Ghosts.’ Honestly, those two are like peas in a pod—an absolutely perfect pair.”
Zhan Ri Fei, as if recalling something amusing, also couldn’t help but smile.
“You’ve met this Zhan bodyguard?”
Huo Xiao Di shook his head. “No, but I’ve often heard Zhao mention him. Don’t let Zhao’s silence fool you—I know he admires him deeply. Everyone in the martial world says Zhan Zhao, the Southern Hero of his generation, is a true dragon among men. His swordsmanship is said to be unmatched in all the land. Someday, I’ll have to meet him and see if my ‘Yin-Yang Blade’ can stand against his ‘Jue Que’ sword.”
Zhan Ri Fei smiled faintly. “Honestly, he’s not as extraordinary as people say. How could his swordsmanship truly be the best in the world?”
Huo Xiao Di glared at him. “How can you say someone Zhao admires is ‘not extraordinary’? Zhao’s judgment of people has never been wrong. If Zhan the bodyguard were an ordinary person, Zhao wouldn’t have such a strong connection with him. Even their servants share the same quirks!”
Zhan Ri Fei gave a bitter smile. “I didn’t realize you were so close to Prince Zhao. Now I see why you’re like him—always enjoying making others owe you favors.”
Huo Xiao Di’s face flushed red. This time, he didn’t argue back.
Zhan Ri Fei smiled knowingly. “It seems your purpose in going to Dongjing is to find him. So that’s it. I see now.”
There was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes, as though he had seen through everything.
Huo Xiao Di’s face was now as red as a cloth, though in the dim firelight, others wouldn’t have noticed.
“I—I—what? What do you mean, ‘so that’s it’?”
Zhan Ri Fei replied, “So the ‘backing’ you mentioned yesterday is none other than the Southern Qing Palace. No wonder you don’t even consider Ma Chaoxian, the overseer of the Four Treasury Departments, or the Prince of Xiang Yang’s mansion as threats.”
—“But what puzzles me is this: since you know Zhao Zhi’er from the Southern Qing Palace, how could you not know Ming Zhu’er from the Zhan Guard’s residence? The two of them are inseparable.”
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