Chapter 586: The Scene From Back Then (Two in One)

Hearing Yan Jing's question, Wuhe froze.

"You mean?"

"That's impossible."

He shot down Yan Jing's theory almost instantly.

"We're inside the Family estate," he whispered.

"Father had returned. Could something like that happen right under his nose?"

"I asked about those uncles before... They supposedly died in battle for the Family. It couldn't be what you think." He paused, pondering for a moment before shaking his head again.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible."

"Let's hope so." Yan Jing smiled slightly. He was only guessing, after all. Without evidence, trying to convince this brother of his with mere words was going to be difficult.

But seeing Yan Jing like this made Wuhe uncertain.

He frowned, his hands fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

"Those uncles... it couldn't be, right? I need to ask around... Who would know about this..."

After thinking for a long while, he seemed to make up his mind and looked at Yan Jing again.

"Xiao Yi, did Father... say anything else to you?"

Looking at the tension written all over Wuhe's face, Yan Jing naturally knew what he wanted to ask: he was asking about the dispatch operation back then, the one that had ultimately resulted in losing both San Shan and Yi Ji.

Beads of sweat now covered that mechanical face.

Yan Jing offered a faint smile.

"He did."

Hearing this, Wuhe let out a breath of relief.

Inside his chest, the string that had been pulled taut for years seemed to finally snap.

The great mountain resting on it came crashing down.

The situation was far better than he had initially expected.

He had thought he wouldn't know how to face his two younger brothers, but seeing the gentle smile on Yan Jing's face, his first reaction was profound relief.

"Xiao Yi, I failed you and Little Third."

Wuhe tried to smile, but it came out more bitter than a bitter melon.

Yan Jing shook his head.

"It's all in the past, Fifth Brother."

"I..." The rest of the sentence caught in Wuhe's throat, finally dissolving into a long, heavy sigh.

That sigh morphed into mist, condensing into rain in the air.

Wuhe's scarlet eyes grew wet. He scrubbed his face frantically with his sleeve, crying like a child.

"Xiao Yi, all these years, I've wanted nothing more than to find you and Little Third and bring you back, but... your Fifth Brother is useless... Little Third... Little Third... Your Fifth Brother is useless! Little Third was originally the most promising successor in the Family... I messed everything up. Now Little Third is gone, and our Family has fallen..."

"Yes, and that is exactly the crux of the matter." Yan Jing's words were like an umbrella suddenly opening in the rain, completely shielding away all those sighs, sorrows, and regrets.

Wuhe blanked, looking up at him.

Yan Jing smiled.

"Fifth Brother, do you think it's possible that the enemy's target back then was actually Third Brother right from the start, rather than the Fear Bird and the Fear Seed?" Wuhe's eyes widened in shock, but then he shook his head.

"Impossible. Although Little Third's talent was good and his temper was fine, he wasn't actually that outstanding. If we're talking about talent, back then, Xiao Yi, yours was the absolute best."

"We all came into contact with this generation's Fear Bird, but you were the only one she wouldn't squawk at when you touched her."

"Moreover, you practically mastered the White Stone Cage and the method to tame the Fear Bird without any guidance. If you hadn't been so young, leading the Family to feel you wouldn't be ready in time for Advent Day, the successor would very likely have been you."

"As for Old Third, even though he was designated as the Family's next-generation successor back then, it was something only the Family knew. Outsiders absolutely wouldn't—" Wuhe froze once again.

A certain possibility struck him, his head snapping toward Yan Jing.

Yan Jing offered a faint smile.

"Perhaps we can have dinner together, and then... take a look at the recording from back then."

Wuhe had watched the video recording of that dispatch operation countless times.

In the video, everything had originally been in perfect order, proceeding exactly according to plan.

Jiafa and Jianfa were leading a group of junior butlers, monitoring any enemies appearing around San Shan and Yi Ji.

Thanks to the Fear family's unique "camera" talent, almost everyone had a transplanted camera, making it incredibly easy to spot the lurkers in the vicinity.

A total of seven Summit experts.

Two from the Order Keepers, two from New Life, one from the Qi Family, one from the Zhu Family, and one from the Wrath faction of New Sin City.

Each of them had brought along some lower-tier entities.

Everyone was under surveillance. The moment anyone approached, they would be immediately intercepted.

Until...

The target for the operation appeared.

News came simultaneously from Eldest Brother and Second Brother.

The Order Keepers' Tenth Tier had appeared with a group of Ninth Tiers in tow, aggressive and menacing.

The net was ready to close.

Almost everyone simultaneously issued orders to Wuhe, telling him to hold his ground.

It was at that exact moment.

To everyone's utter shock, the four Summit experts from the Order Keepers and New Life suddenly made their move.

They rapidly advanced toward San Shan and Yi Ji's position.

The main target hadn't even entered the encirclement yet, but the enemy foot soldiers struck early. It had obviously been arranged from the very beginning to send people in to test the waters. Under those circumstances, Wuhe hadn't lost his cool.

Almost instantly, he made what he felt was the best choice at the time—

prioritizing the protection of San Shan and Yi Ji.

He didn't order his men to intercept immediately. Instead, he stirred up a commotion around San Shan and Yi Ji, having several butlers disguise themselves as rogue factions also gunning for the brothers. They pretended to try and snatch San Shan and Yi Ji first in a classic double-cross. Very quickly, just as he had calculated, the enemy's lack of unity led to infighting, and the scene descended into chaos.

Yet to everyone's shock, San Shan and Yi Ji suddenly vanished at this exact juncture.

Chengfa, who was responsible for tracking San Shan and Yi Ji at the time, had been ambushed.

By the time they dealt with the ambush, it was too late.

San Shan and Yi Ji were gone. Although Wuhe was alarmed, he didn't panic.

He received word that all the monitored enemies were still present.

This meant that as long as there were no pursuers, the two were safe.

As for the rest, it would just take time to find them...

But...

He ultimately only found one of San Shan's shoes.

Traces at the scene indicated that several Fourth Tier and Fifth Tier entities had shown up, forcing the two to jump into a Space Rift. "Did you never consider it was an internal issue?" Yan Jing looked at Wuhe.

Wuhe's face darkened.

"Of course I did. But... Father investigated Chengfa and declared him clean. After losing the two of you, Chengfa knelt at the Family's gate for five full days and nights just to atone for his sins. Seeing him like that, it was truly hard to blame him."

"Moreover... Father said it couldn't possibly be a problem within the Family."

"Everyone else agreed with this conclusion, including... Mother."

He had been too young back then. Consumed by self-blame for losing his two younger brothers and trusting San Yan implicitly, he hadn't seen where the real issue lay.

But looking back on it now, combined with recent events, the whole affair was incredibly bizarre.

First of all, there was a high probability someone was pulling strings behind Chengfa.

His betrayal was now confirmed. If someone were to claim this only started in recent years and had nothing to do with him back then, Wuhe absolutely wouldn't believe it.

And since Chengfa was compromised, it led to the next question.

Would San Yan... really not have noticed?

If he did notice, why say there was no problem?

Could San Yan himself be the one orchestrating all of this behind the scenes?

That made even less sense!

Furthermore, it wasn't just San Yan. The others had also insisted that Chengfa was absolutely innocent.

Wuhe was completely baffled; he could only look at Yan Jing in confusion.

Yan Jing pondered for a moment before asking, "What was the final outcome of that battle back then?"

"The Order Keepers' leader was annihilated. Everyone else involved in the operation was slaughtered as a warning to the other factions in Old Sin City not to provoke our Family again. Though the Family also suffered heavy internal casualties, they kept it strictly under wraps. Father announced a policy of showing outward strength while recuperating internally. Other than sending people out to look for the two of you, he never—"

Wuhe's fluent recount suddenly stuttered to a halt.

Meeting Yan Jing's calm gaze, he suddenly understood.

This hadn't been done by San Yan.

Instead, someone had "forced" San Yan's hand.

What kind of person was San Yan?

A man who, in order to maintain the Fear family's rule, was willing to delegate power to the Mo Family—to the point where the Mo Family coercing their superiors and oppressing their subordinates was now faintly visible. A man who, in order to recover the Fear Bird and the Fear Seed, had threatened to bring his own grandfather out of seclusion.

In fact, according to Yan Jing's speculation, he was someone who had climbed to power over his brothers' corpses.

How could such a man allow internal strife to fester right after a Pyrrhic victory?

If the "traitor" inside the Family back then had leaked word and caused all the factions to unite against the recently crippled Fear family, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

San Yan knew this. Thus, even if he had seen through the deception, he absolutely wouldn't expose it.

And as for his older brothers.

They knew that admitting there was a traitor in the Family would be akin to drawing fire onto themselves. They would certainly be treated as suspects. It was better to just push all the blame onto outsiders. If the matter were pursued, the fault would ultimately land on him.

It was his dereliction of duty.

In the end, they left him—who was still very young at the time—to sink into an endless spiral of self-condemnation.

Looking at it all now, Wuhe could finally piece it together.

But there was just one point he still couldn't wrap his head around.

He looked at Yan Jing.

"But what about Mom? Why would Mom also accept the claim that outsiders were responsible?"

Yan Jing shook his head.

He gave no answer.

It wasn't that he didn't know, but rather that he was unwilling to let Wuhe tumble into an even harder reality to accept.

If one really thought deeply about it, there were many possibilities.

Her own children, her own flesh and blood, were important, true... but compared to the entire Family?

Compared to her own husband?

Compared to her other children?

If San Yan was the emperor, what decision-making power did the empress really hold?

In any case, Yan Jing did not believe that Yi Ji's mother was truly as naive and sweet as she appeared to be.

"I... I need to go out for a bit!"

Wuhe suddenly stood up and headed out of the dining room.

"Fifth Brother, where are you going?" Yan Jing asked, looking at Wuhe's back.

"I need to find out exactly where those uncles went back then." Wuhe paused.

"Xiao Yi, don't follow me. I'll be back soon."

"...Alright. See you later, Fifth Brother."

Yan Jing didn't stop him, allowing Wuhe to hurry away and disappear into the night.

He headed straight back to his room, washed up as usual, and prepared for bed.

As he unfolded his quilt, he suddenly noticed a black card resting on his bedsheets. He had no idea when it had been placed there.

"Ah Ji, it's Eldest Brother. This card has a limit of 30 million Eerie City coins. If it's not enough, just let me know."

Staring at the black card, Yan Jing curled his lips into a smile and simply placed it beside his pillow.

In the middle of the night, while sleeping soundly, he was suddenly woken by a knock at his door.

He stepped forward and pulled the door open a crack.

The figure outside was dressed in a suit and leather shoes, bearing a white digital camera for a head. It was precisely the second brother, Shi Yicheng.

"Ah Ji, are you resting? Your Second Brother has some things to discuss with you."

"It's fine, Second Brother. Come in," Yan Jing said.

Yan Jing opened the door wide, letting Shi Yicheng step into the room.

Shi Yicheng spotted the black card beside Yan Jing's pillow at first glance. He immediately spoke in a mocking tone:

"Eldest Brother is still up to his same old tricks. Besides giving away money, he has no other sincerity to offer."

"You'd better be careful, Ah Ji. Very few people who take Eldest Brother's money end up not regretting it."

"How so, Second Brother?" Yan Jing asked with a slight smile.

"It's just blood money," Shi Yicheng chuckled.

"You take the money, and if you're obedient, that's that. But if you aren't, whatever you spend today will end up as an itemized bill slapped in front of Father the day after tomorrow."

"To put it plainly, if money is solely used for legitimate purposes, there's absolutely no need for such a massive sum."

"An insightful observation, Second Brother," Yan Jing smiled. "So what are your bargaining chips?"

Shi Yicheng smiled thinly.

"I can guarantee your safety within the Family."

"Are you threatening me, Second Brother?" Yan Jing smiled.

"No, no, no, not a threat." Shi Yicheng chuckled. "I don't need to resort to such despicable methods, Ah Ji. I'm telling the truth. This household is not safe. You should be able to see that."

"I am already at the Ninth Tier," Yan Jing smiled.

"Yes, the Ninth Tier. Very impressive." Shi Yicheng first expressed his approval, but his smile gradually vanished. A near-tangible chill crept into his words.

"But it is still far from enough."

"Are you saying a Tenth Tier wants to kill me?" Yan Jing laughed.

"It's entirely possible."

"Taking it a step further, do you hold the power to stand against a Tenth Tier, Second Brother?" Yan Jing pressed on.

Shi Yicheng's smile grew completely icy.

"Ah Ji, there are some things you should know when to drop. Knowing too much won't do you any good."

Yan Jing smiled.

"Today, Father actually asked me who I wanted to cast my vote for."

"How did you answer?" Shi Yicheng stared at Yan Jing.

An indescribable fear began to seep into the air.

But it had absolutely no effect on Yan Jing.

"I said I'd vote for Fourth Brother."

"..." Shi Yicheng stood up.

"So that is your answer?"

"Very well. I've said all I came to say."

"Since you enjoy asking a tiger for its skin, Ah Ji, then please, be my guest."

He headed straight for the door. The heavy thudding of his footsteps made it glaringly obvious that his mood was currently abysmal.

But just as he reached the doorway, Yan Jing's voice echoed behind him.

"But Pops doesn't seem to think so. From what he said, I get the feeling he favors you."

Shi Yicheng's footsteps faltered.

Before he could even speak, an even more shocking string of words left Yan Jing's mouth.

"Even knowing you're planning to kill him, he still feels that way."