Chapter 203 - Masks

By the time Xu Yuan returned to the courtyard Bai Zhao had prepared for the three of them, Xu Xinyao was sitting by the pavilion, speaking softly with Ran Qingmo. But the moment Xu Yuan pushed the door open, Xu Xinyao immediately stopped talking, as if she did not want him to hear.

Xu Yuan walked over and asked with a smile, “What were you two talking about?”

Xu Xinyao rose to her feet, her eyes curving in a smile. “Private talk between girls. Third Brother, do you want to know that badly?”

“I do.” Xu Yuan came closer, casually sat down, and placed the box containing the human-skin masks on the table. Still smiling, he said, “Of course I do. Ran Qingmo, what were you two talking about just now?”

Beside them, Ran Qingmo put away her half-understanding, half-bewildered look. After a brief hesitation, she shook her head. “Xinyao told me this matter cannot be told to you.”

“Oh?” Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, “What could be so mysterious?”

“Ahem!” Xu Xinyao cleared her throat at once, cutting him off. Then she changed the subject with a sweet smile. “What is inside this box?”

Xu Yuan did not press the two girls on what their secret little conversation had been about. In his mind, he quietly said to the Sage's remnant soul, Sealing you up for a bit, then conveniently cut off the connection.

He opened the box and said in a low voice, “Human-skin masks. One for you, one for me. We’ll wear them when we go to negotiate.”

“What?” Xu Xinyao looked at the two compartments inside the box, surprise flickering in her eyes. “Wear masks?”

Xu Yuan picked up the teacup on the stone table, poured himself a cup, and drained it in one go. “Father’s idea.”

At that, thought flashed through Xu Xinyao’s eyes, but she soon asked anyway, “Why?”

Xu Yuan set down the cup and lightly tapped his fingers against the stone table. He did not answer right away. Instead, he continued, “Aside from that, Father also gave me command over the 40,000 Blackscale troops. And judging from what Yuan Hao said, as long as I’m willing, I can order him without condition to wipe out the Myriad Manifestations Sect on the spot.”

Ran Qingmo blinked, a little puzzled.

“Why are you telling me this?” Xu Xinyao asked in a low voice, frowning slightly. She did not think Xu Yuan was telling her this because he wanted her opinion.

Xu Yuan let out a long sigh and said quietly, “I wanted to ask you what exactly happened with Second Brother’s death.”

Across the many plotlines of Azure Point, Xu Chang’an had never once appeared. Because of that, Xu Yuan had no way to learn anything useful about him from the story.

As for the news of that second brother’s death in this life, Xu Yuan had learned it one day while drinking and whoring himself silly in the pleasure quarters. Someone had suddenly told him his second brother was dead and ordered him to hurry back to the estate.

The wastrel back then could never have gotten close to matters like these, but Xu Xinyao had already finished her studies and returned to the estate by that time. Given her position then, she ought to know at least some of the inside story.

Xu Xinyao froze. Her beautiful eyes dimmed for an instant, and she asked in puzzlement, “Why are you suddenly asking about this?”

Xu Yuan did not answer right away. He only said, “I have a few guesses, so I wanted to ask.”

Xu Xinyao thought for a moment, then said softly, “Eldest Brother asked Father about it back then, but Father did not say much. He only said the matter was his fault. Eldest Brother kept pressing him, and Father seemed a little angry, so Eldest Brother left the estate straight away.”

Hearing that, Xu Yuan’s brows furrowed bit by bit. “What did Xu Changge leave to do?”

Xu Xinyao shook her head. “I’m not sure.”

Xu Yuan continued, “Are you certain Father was angry because Eldest Brother kept pressing him?”

Xu Xinyao thought it over carefully, then said in a low voice, “It wasn’t exactly anger. His voice was just very stern.”

After saying that, she saw the complicated look on Xu Yuan’s face and asked gently, “Third Brother, does Second Brother’s death have something to do with what is happening now?”

“No.” Xu Yuan’s tone was complicated. “But I think I know who made a move against Second Brother.”

Surprise flashed through Xu Xinyao’s beautiful eyes, and her delicate hand clenched slightly. “W-who was it?”

“Everyone.”

“Huh?”

Xu Yuan took a deep breath, glanced at the human-skin masks on the table, and said each word slowly and clearly. “Everyone outside our Chancellor’s Manor.”

When Xu Xinyao heard that, confusion surfaced in her beautiful eyes. “Everyone?”

Xu Yuan lowered his head and looked at his own palm. “Second Brother most likely died because he shone too brightly.”

Xu Xinyao’s eyes carried a trace of doubt. “Shone too brightly? But wasn’t Eldest Brother even more outstanding?”

“Xu Changge?” Xu Yuan leaned back against the wooden railing behind him. “Xu Changge’s cultivation is too high. Ten years ago, he had already reached the Origin Awakener Realm. Even we, his own family, don’t know his exact cultivation now. If outsiders wanted to kill him, they would need at least two or three Transcendants to be certain. And Xinyao, compared with Eldest Brother, those people were actually more afraid of Second Brother.”

The confusion in Xu Xinyao’s beautiful eyes deepened.

Xu Changge’s name was known throughout the world, while Xu Chang’an had only been somewhat famous.

Xu Yuan sighed and asked, “Xinyao, you should still remember what Second Brother was doing back then, right?”

Xu Xinyao thought for a moment and said, “After Second Brother returned from his travels, he seemed to spend all his time following Father...”

Xu Yuan nodded. “Yes. When he came back from his travels, you still hadn’t returned yet. I was in the Imperial Capital the whole time, so I know. Many important guests, including Hua Hong and Lou Ji, were people Second Brother was responsible for keeping in contact with.”

Hearing this, Xu Xinyao already understood what Xu Yuan meant. “Are you saying Father wanted to train Second Brother to succeed him?”

Xu Yuan thought of that figure who had always stood in front of him with a stick in hand. “After all, ever since we were young, he always loved reasoning with people the most.”

After he said that, silence lingered for a long time.

Ran Qingmo bit her lip and looked at Xu Yuan. She wanted to say something to comfort him, but the words would not come.

Xu Yuan took the human-skin mask out of the box. “Right now, everyone under Heaven wants our Chancellor’s Manor to decline. That is why Second Brother had to die. Once he died, there was no one left in our family who could take Father’s place. You know the structure of the Chancellor’s Manor too. Everything basically revolves around Father alone. If the person at the top cannot keep the people below in line, the whole thing can easily fall apart.”

“But isn’t there still Eldest Brother?” Xu Xinyao asked in a low voice. In her mind, aside from Xu Yuan, both of her elder brothers could do anything. ℴ

The image of Xu Changge surfaced in Xu Yuan’s mind, but he shook his head in denial. “Eldest Brother cannot do it. He can indeed suppress the people beneath him, but his nature is too indifferent, and he understands forbearance too poorly. At most, he would become another Uncle. If he took over the Chancellor's Manor, it would most likely slowly decline. That was probably why Father had been so helpless back then. The sects, the noble clans, even His Majesty in the Golden Throne Hall, they all wanted Second Brother dead.”

What the world feared was not Xu Changge. What it feared was the Chancellor's Manor producing another Xu Yinhe.

When he finished speaking, Xu Yuan put the human-skin mask on his face.