Huo Xiao Di’s eyes lit up with excitement as he exclaimed, “Then it must be that his family is connected to Xing Yun Manor! Otherwise, if it wasn’t Xing Yun Manor’s doing, why would he be so terrified of going back there?”
Zhan Ri Fei responded, “Brother Huo, didn’t you notice that when Jiao Chaogui entered the inn, he only glanced briefly at the child? It was clear they didn’t know each other. Xing Yun Manor has a prominent reputation in the Central Plains, and with Ma Chaoxian backing them in court, Jiao Chaogui is meticulous and calculating in all matters. The child’s scars, both old and new, show he’s endured hardship since childhood. If he truly belonged to Xing Yun Manor, how could someone as precise as Jiao Chaogui fail to recognize him?”
Zhan Ri Fei’s deep gaze shifted toward the dark night as he murmured, “The Tang Clan’s ‘Hall of Infallibility’ sent not one but three assassins, showing they were determined to secure this item. They seized Ge Yun Fei’s bundle but later returned, clearly because the item wasn’t inside. In the main hall earlier, they thoroughly searched every corpse but found nothing. Could it be that the object is truly hidden on the boy?”
Huo Xiao Di frowned and said, “But the boy’s clothing is so thin—he couldn’t possibly be hiding anything.”
Zhan Ri Fei replied, “Exactly. Ge Yun Fei’s bundle was likely a decoy to mislead others. If he wanted everyone to believe the treasure was in his bundle, he would have made it convincing. The bundle wasn’t small, which suggests the item itself wouldn’t be small either. Furthermore, if this object is so coveted by the Tang Clan, it must be extraordinary. Whether the boy is Xing Yun Manor’s enemy or a mere stranger, someone as important as Ge Yun Fei, the third master of Xing Yun Manor, would never hide such a treasure on him. Unless—”
He suddenly fell silent, lost in thought.
Huo Xiao Di pressed, “Unless what?”
Zhan Ri Fei said, “Unless I’ve been mistaken. There may be a third thread to this story!”
Huo Xiao Di, already overwhelmed by the tangled web, waved his hand hurriedly. “Wait! First, explain—what is the second thread?”
Zhan Ri Fei pondered for a moment before replying, “The second thread involves Han Shui Palace.”
Huo Xiao Di asked, “What about Han Shui Palace? What thread are you talking about?”
Zhan Ri Fei answered, “It’s connected to something the Moon Emissary of Han Shui Palace said.”
Huo Xiao Di sneered, “That overly dramatic woman? What nonsense did she say this time?”
Zhan Ri Fei explained, “The Moon Emissary mentioned something about the boy. She said, ‘He is the lifeblood that the Matriarch longs for day and night.’ She also said, ‘As for this medicine, he’s been drinking it since he was a child. Without it, how could he have survived until now?’”
Huo Xiao Di lowered his head, starting to mull over the strange remarks.
Zhan Ri Fei said calmly, “I saw it with my own eyes. They forced the boy to drink a bowl of poison that would tear through his insides. He’s so young—how could he willingly drink poison every day? If he’s been drinking it since childhood, how could he have survived this long?”
Huo Xiao Di frowned and blurted out, “I’ve heard of some unorthodox practices where people train using poison-infused techniques or toxic martial arts. Could it be for cultivating such skills?”
Zhan Ri Fei shook his head. “If that were the case, he would at least show some signs of martial ability. But his bones and meridians clearly indicate he’s never practiced martial arts.”
He continued, “One thing is certain: the poison he’s been forced to drink since childhood is a concoction known to Han Shui Palace. This means either the boy has significant ties to Han Shui Palace, perhaps even being one of their own, or Han Shui Palace knows him very well.”
“Perhaps Han Shui Palace is aware of the secret he holds but cannot access it. Even someone as prominent as the Matriarch of Han Shui Palace longs for this secret day and night, going so far as to concoct this poison to coerce him into revealing it.”
Zhan Ri Fei shook his head as he finished, as though dissatisfied with his own reasoning.
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