Chapter 35: Matching Rings

Chapter 35: The Matching Rings

When Xie Chi finished speaking, the room fell silent for two or three seconds.

Yan Wanqiu had already recalled who Edmond was, and looked up at Mr. Ai with a thoughtful look.

Mr. Ai knew that the information he'd offered as a bargaining chip had already been mostly exposed by Xie Chi. With Yan Wanqiu's abilities, knowing the name "Edmond" would let him trace it back and uncover his identity, and then discover the truth of what had happened back then.

He bent down to pick up the pipe that had fallen to the floor, wiping it as he laughed softly: "Your Highness, your shadow guard is truly loyal."

Yan Wanqiu snorted coldly: "Like I need you to tell me that?"

He'd given Xie Chi raises and a clear promotion track, yet this ungrateful brat never so much as thanked him. Did Mr. Ai think he could buy Xie Chi's loyalty with a few candies?

As if.

Mr. Ai let out a soft sigh: "Since it's come to this, once you go back and look into it, you'll discover the truth. No point in hiding anything anymore."

He gestured for Shopkeeper Wang to step out, then topped off both their teacups.

Xie Chi stayed put until Yan Wanqiu gestured for him to sit, then took his place beside him.

Mr. Ai took a light sip of tea and got straight to the point: "Edmond was my father."

Yan Wanqiu wasn't all that surprised—he'd already figured that much out. He followed up: "As far as I know, Mr. Edmond died of natural illness six years ago. Sounds like there's more to it than that?"

Mr. Ai lowered his eyes.

The steam from the tea hid his expression. He seemed lost in memory, speaking more slowly.

"That's right. Back then, Yan Huishi invited my father to the palace to make jewelry for him. He inadvertently stumbled upon his secret and was quietly silenced. He sensed something was off early on and shipped me and most of the family's wealth to North Star, a frontier planet, ahead of time. That's how I survived, but I had to go by a fake name to keep Yan Huishi from hunting me down."

"This necklace is called 'Treasure.' It was originally the bridal gift my father left for me, which is why it bears no inscription. When he sent me off in such a hurry, this necklace got left behind, and I never managed to get it back."

Yan Wanqiu listened closely, waiting for what came next.

He knew the secret Mr. Ai was about to spill was the exact bargaining chip he'd used earlier.

Mr. Ai set down his teacup and looked up at him: "This might sound crazy, but it really happened—Yan Huishi made contact with another civilization. Their secret meeting happened to be overheard by my father."

Yan Wanqiu raised an eyebrow in surprise: "He made contact six years ago?"

Mr. Ai nodded: "That's right. According to my father, that civilization's technology was several times more advanced than ours. The beings there were silicon-based lifeforms that reproduced using energy. Since their planet was running low on energy, they had to look outward, and they contacted Yan Huishi, hoping to trade tech for energy."

"Yan Huishi agreed. As the Crown Prince, he had the authority to. He set up Ice City on the border as a contact point with the Foreign Civilization, using it to move weapons. Those electromagnetic guns and cannons you saw on the battlefield, plus the space-folding backpack I just showed you—all of that trickled into the capital planet through Ice City."

Mr. Ai looked at Yan Wanqiu: "I've heard a bit about your situation. When you started making a name for yourself, he got scared his secrets would come out and did everything he could to get rid of you—that's how you ended up in Blizzard City."

"Honestly, when I heard you'd been exiled here, I was already getting ready to pack up and leave this mess. Yan Huishi would never let me live, and I couldn't possibly fight the powerful, mysterious civilization backing him. But what you did gave me a sliver of hope, so I cautiously took your offer."

"My situation is delicate, so I had to be careful. Hope you can forgive any slip-ups in our past dealings."

Mr. Ai was always smooth with his words. He explained everything while painting himself and Yan Wanqiu as fellow victims, and neatly covered his own shady moves with a convenient excuse.

He waited quietly to see how Yan Wanqiu and Xie Chi would react.

A story this wild had shattered his worldview back when he was in his twenties. Surely they'd need time to process it too.

But to Mr. Ai's surprise, neither of them batted an eye.

Xie Chi wasn't surprised because he already knew. If he wasn't scared that blurting out "aliens exist" would make Yan Wanqiu think he was nuts, he'd have handed over the full intel to Yan Wanqiu ages ago for a reward.

Yan Wanqiu wasn't surprised in the least, but he did shoot Xie Chi another look.

He'd had his suspicions about Xie Chi before, but everything about the guy defied logic. Now he finally had a thread to pull.

"Thanks for the intel." Yan Wanqiu withdrew his gaze, offering thanks first, then said: "But I think you've got the wrong idea about me and my dear brother. Six years ago, I was already in politics. With our resources running dry and the starship industry maturing, research into alien civilizations was picking up. I was the one pushing for outer-space exploration while promoting starship development. That program caused a huge uproar on the capital planet back then. Maybe you didn't hear about it since you don't follow politics."

"Back then, Yan Huishi felt threatened. He used my trust in him to take over some of my key projects, claiming I was too young to be in charge. That program was one of them. He didn't care much at first, only pouring more money in six months later."

"That same year, my Pheromone Dysregulation Syndrome first flared up, and the capital planet hit an unprecedented energy crisis. I was running the Energy Institute then—that became my first scandal."

With Mr. Ai's intel, Yan Wanqiu finally put it all together. He narrowed his eyes and let out a cold, contemptuous laugh.

"This bastard—after stealing my credit, he got scared I'd get in his way, so he sold out his own country and hooked up with some shady alien civilization just to take me out."

He said with biting sarcasm: "A fool who thinks he's smart, just like Yan Baiyue."

The real fool was him.

He'd let that family of fools fool him with a little fake warmth for sixteen damn years.

Xie Chi and Mr. Ai both heard about the real reason behind Yan Wanqiu's exile for the first time, and their eyes went wide.

Mr. Ai realized he'd put his foot in his mouth and quickly apologized: "Sorry. I never heard you were the one behind that program. I never thought the truth was like this."

Yan Wanqiu waved it off: "That's normal. Once Yan Huishi took over, I slowly disappeared from the public eye. I only had my moment in the spotlight for about half a year when I was sixteen, and after that, he kept dragging my name through the mud. Even people who saw it firsthand probably can't remember straight after six years of lies."

He quickly changed the subject and kept asking Mr. Ai for more details about the Alien Civilization.

But Mr. Ai didn't know much more—just that it was a Mechanical Civilization and that electromagnetic cannons weren't even their top-tier tech.

Still, that was enough for Yan Wanqiu. He'd finally tied together every weird thing that had been bugging him, and finally got why Yan Huishi always acted so untouchable.

When he was done, Mr. Ai looked at Yan Wanqiu, who hadn't flinched once, and couldn't help adding a warning: "That Mechanical Civilization is seriously powerful. Since Yan Huishi's teamed up with them, he's bound to have more tricks. Just be careful from here on out."

Yan Wanqiu nodded slightly.

He wasn't afraid of powerful opponents.

Fear comes from the unknown. If he'd been stumped by Yan Huishi's weird methods before, now that he knew the guy was just a coward hiding behind foreign allies, Yan Wanqiu already had a plan.

He'd stepped off the little chessboard and was now sitting across from Yan Huishi at the real table.

And that was a game he never lost.

Seeing it was getting late and Mr. Ai had said everything he could, Yan Wanqiu stood up with Xie Chi: "This intel means a lot to me. I owe you one. If I make it to the end, I won't forget it."

Mr. Ai said, half joking: "Your Highness, that's a pretty big promise. How about you just hand over this batch of jewelry instead?"

Mr. Ai had already lost three thermal ore mines, so Yan Wanqiu didn't need to bleed him dry.

He didn't care much for jewelry anyway, so he nodded easily: "Fine."

Xie Chi, who'd been quietly listening the whole time, felt his heart drop.

If he'd known that telling Yan Wanqiu about the Mechanical Civilization would score him jewelry, how was this any different from getting robbed of thirty million?

Probably even more than thirty million, because that necklace had just gone from "made by some unknown craftsman" to "Edmond's masterpiece."

Xie Chi thought for a moment, then sighed.

Forget it, this was originally Mr. Ai's item anyway. Returning it to its rightful owner was only fair.

He could always ask Mr. Ai later if he was willing to sell it.

If that didn't work out, Mr. Ai had so many jewels and accessories here—surely one of them could measure up to the "Treasure."

Yan Wanqiu noticed his sigh and actually showed concern: "What's wrong?"

Xie Chi said, sounding dejected. "I was gonna buy that necklace for my wife..."

Yan Wanqiu went still.

They hadn't gotten far when Mr. Ai, overhearing from behind, couldn't help laughing. "Captain Xie, you're so young and already married?"

At the mention of his wife, Xie Chi lit up. "Of course! My wife loves me to death—cooks for me and brings me meals every single day, and he's incredibly smart and gentle... Basically, my wife is perfect in every way. I want to buy him the finest jewelry. Mr. Ai, if you've got anything similar, please set it aside for me."

Yan Wanqiu: "..."

Having Xie Chi praise him so openly in public made his ears burn. He muttered under his breath, "What the hell are you spouting out here?"

After being scolded, Xie Chi ducked his head and muttered, "I'm just telling the truth. Praising my wife isn't nonsense."

Mr. Ai had never seen this lord-and-retainer duo interact outside of work before. He watched them from behind, intrigued, for a while before speaking up: "I haven't made up my mind about the 'Treasure' yet, but I've got a pretty big collection of jewelry here—not just necklaces, but rings and earrings too. If you're interested, feel free to come take a look anytime."

Xie Chi was delighted. "Thank you."

Yan Wanqiu, however, stopped mid-step.

He glanced at the ring on Xie Chi's hand, thoughtful.

It was a simple, plain band with no ornamentation at all.

Asking Xie Chi where he'd gotten the ring was out of the question, but buying a matching pair to replace that eyesore was totally fine.

With that in mind, Yan Wanqiu said to Xie Chi, "It's getting late. Head to Ice City first—go early, come back early. Mr. Ai and I still have some things to discuss."

Xie Chi didn't think twice about it. He slung his guitar case over his back, said goodbye to Yan Wanqiu, and hurried off toward Ice City.

Once Xie Chi was out of sight, Yan Wanqiu turned to the confused Mr. Ai and said succinctly, "Show me everything you've got here."

Mr. Ai: "...?"

Wait—did Yan Wanqiu have a wife too?

.

Meanwhile, elsewhere.

Xie Chi returned to camp, grabbed a flier, and sped toward Ice City, frantically texting Ji Chou the whole way.

Thanks to yesterday's prep work, Xie Chi now had a full map of the Northern Star in hand. Sneaking into Ice City was no big deal for him.

"Xie Chi: Honey, just wondering—do you like wearing accessories? What kind do you like? What colors?"

Ji Chou was probably busy and hadn't replied.

Xie Chi figured Ji Chou was busy with his promotion today—moving offices and all—so he probably couldn't spare a second to reply. Xie Chi stopped waiting.

"Xie Chi: Honey, I'm heading to work now. I'll turn off notifications and come chat with you after my shift. owo"

After sending that last message, he parked the flier at the border between Ice City and Blizzard City, slung his guitar case over his back, and quietly crossed the city line through a gap on the map.

The two cities were separated by mountains, and with his right arm still in a sling, climbing wasn't easy.

He thought about ripping off the bandage a few times, but the thought of his wife's anger made him think twice. He took a detour and slipped into Ice City through a remote village that wasn't even on the map.

It was snowing hard in Ice City.

Unlike Blizzard City, where the snow had stopped, Ice City was still in the middle of a snowstorm—clumps of snow came crashing down, stinging your face on impact.

The ground was buried under dozens of feet of snow. Luckily, even though the village was remote, a narrow path had been cleared through the snow.

Xie Chi pulled an umbrella out of his spatial ring and made his way along the path toward the Ice City lord's mansion.

With his terminal glasses on, Xie Chi studied the map on the holo-screen and did some quick mental math.

At his current pace, he'd hit the town in about twenty minutes. Once there, he could borrow a flier and make much better time.

Unfortunately, his spatial storage was packed to the brim—even after pulling out dozens of crates of supplies since he'd arrived, it was still stuffed with weapons, nutrient solutions, and repair fluids. Otherwise, he'd have just stuffed the camp's flier into his space and brought it straight to Ice City, saving himself the hassle.

"Crunch."

Just as Xie Chi was lost in thought, he heard the faint crunch of footsteps in the snow off in the distance.

He immediately tensed up, pulled a quantum gun from his spatial storage, and hid it in his sleeve, waiting for whatever was coming.

More than ten minutes later, a hunched, elderly figure emerged, trembling, through the wind and snow.

The old man carried a bundle of firewood on his back and leaned on a wooden staff, trudging painfully through the deep snow. He was practically skin and bones, looking like he might collapse under the weight of his heavy clothes at any second, his lips blue from the cold.

Xie Chi watched from a distance for a bit. Once he confirmed the old man wasn't a threat, he put away his gun and walked over.

"Hey, old-timer," Xie Chi called out. The old man jumped, nearly losing his footing.

Xie Chi quickly steadied him, and that's when he realized this frail old man was an omega. Even more confused, he asked, "What are you doing out in this heavy snow?"

The old man was startled by the sudden appearance of a young alpha, but once he realized Xie Chi meant no harm, he said in a shaky voice: "There's a doctor giving free check-ups in town today. They're also handing out firewood with the exams, so I went to see the doctor and grab some firewood..."

Xie Chi raised an eyebrow, remembering what Nie Huaiyi had said a while back, and took a guess: "Is the doctor you're talking about named Fu Zhu?"

The old man nodded eagerly. "That's right, that's right."

Xie Chi figured that since he was here anyway, he might as well go check out this legendary healer. He asked the old man, "Is he still around? Where exactly?"

The old man shook his head. "It's getting dark soon, so Dr. Fu's already gone. He doesn't have a regular clinic—every time, the village announces it and we go."

Xie Chi wasn't about to give up. Using his guitar case as cover, he pulled a handful of energy stones from his spatial storage and pressed them into the old man's hands. "Then he's got to have some kind of territory he works in, right?"

The old man stared at the energy stones in bewilderment—these were great for heating; just this handful alone was worth more than the whole bundle of firewood on his back.

He said hesitantly, "I don't know... Dr. Fu works all over Ice City."

Xie Chi was speechless.

This doctor was like a ghost—showing up and vanishing whenever he felt like it.

But since the old man had said so, there was nothing he could do. He just dug another pouch of energy stones out of his backpack and handed them over.

These were leftovers he'd swiped from Boss Ye back in the day. He'd gradually sold most of them to Shopkeeper Wang, and only these few stragglers were left in his spatial storage.

The old man was both surprised and moved, completely letting down his guard toward Xie Chi and opening up to him.

This was how Xie Chi came to learn about the situation here.

The village was called Icebrook Village, and it was hit by several snow disasters every year. Most of the able-bodied laborers had already gone to work in the central region, leaving only the elderly behind. The small snow path they were on had been cleared by workers sent from town.

When he mentioned Blizzard City, which was just a mountain away, the old man sounded a bit envious: "I heard they have thermal ore there. In the future, every household will be able to use heating pipes. Not like our village—even firewood for the winter is hard to come by. This year, as soon as the freezing period began, over a dozen people froze to death."

"These old bones of mine probably don't have much longer to live either."

Xie Chi didn't know how to respond.

He'd always known the Northern Frontier Star was a harsh place, but his understanding of it went no further than what he'd seen on his terminal and at Yan Wanqiu's camp. In his later missions, he'd only dealt with powerful leaders like Mr. Ai—or at the very least, Boss Ye.

This was the first time he'd ever met ordinary civilians living on the Northern Frontier Star in this era.

One moment he was talking about thirty million credits' worth of jewelry with Shopkeeper Wang, and the next he was watching an old man who had to walk miles to town just to get firewood. Xie Chi felt a knot in his stomach.

No matter how the city lords schemed against each other, the people living here were all the same—just trying to survive on this frozen wasteland the main star had abandoned.

Xie Chi walked the old man all the way home, then dug through his space to find some normal food he could spare, and only left after the old man thanked him profusely.

Before he left, when the old man learned Xie Chi was heading to town to rent a flyer, he helpfully told him where the biggest rental shop was.

With the old man's directions, Xie Chi found the rental shop without any trouble.

He quickly knocked out an Icebound City resident who'd just rented a flyer, stuffed a wad of cash into the guy's hand, dumped him in the shop's bathroom stall, and flew off in the vehicle.

By his original nature, he would've put a bullet in the poor bastard long ago to finish the job cleanly and leave no loose ends.

But remembering the old man's simple, careful smile in the mountain village, Xie Chi went with the more troublesome option instead.

He was a married man now—might as well stack up some good karma.

.

Outside the Icebound City Lord's estate.

Xie Chi parked the flyer a little ways from the mansion and walked the rest of the way, guitar case on his back.

He slipped past the patrolling sentries with practiced ease and silently infiltrated the mansion.

He headed straight for the weapons depot. Sure enough, just as Yan Wanqiu had predicted, all twenty electromagnetic guns Yan Baiyue had brought were stored there—not a single one missing.

Xie Chi didn't take the guns. Instead, he pulled out his smart device and snapped a 3D panoramic photo of the depot, then found an empty room in the mansion, opened his guitar case, hauled Yan Baiyue out of the coffin inside, and dumped him in the room for photos.

That's right—this was all part of Yan Wanqiu's plan.

If You Fuzhu could go after Yan Baiyue's men and frame them for it, they could just as easily flip the script and frame You Fuzhu.

After all, the mine footage was so grainy that even the wanted notice Yan Huishi put out couldn't offer solid proof. As long as they dumped Yan Baiyue's body at You Fuzhu's place and claimed he did it, nobody could argue.

Never mind that You Fuzhu also had black hair—those twenty electromagnetic guns were still sitting neatly in his depot. Who wouldn't say Lord You killed the guy and took the loot?

As for where the other eighty electromagnetic guns went, or why Yan Baiyue—who should've been in Blizzard City—ended up in Icebound City, Yan Wanqiu had no plans to explain.

All he wanted was to drive a wedge between You Fuzhu and Yan Huishi.

Knowing Yan Huishi's personality, even if he figured out Yan Wanqiu killed Yan Baiyue, once he learned You Fuzhu had been lying to him and hiding so much, he'd definitely find a way to replace him.

They might not be able to get You Fuzhu to willingly switch sides by flashing quantum guns, but if he lost Yan Huishi as his support, he'd have no choice but to look for a better deal.

And in the public's eyes, the Third Prince's death—which had seemed like a done deal—would turn into a murky conspiracy.

In this day and age, public opinion belonged to the winner. Once You Fuzhu was defeated, he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of it—he'd have to take the fall.

As for history—he'd be dead by then, so who cares what it said about him?

Xie Chi had been pissed about You Fuzhu playing him, so getting to turn the tables now put him in a great mood.

He finished taking the photos and gathering evidence, and was about to leave when he stopped mid-step.

Since he was already here, he might as well not leave empty-handed.

He'd seen it all when he snuck in earlier—You Fuzhu's mansion was way more lavish than Yan Wanqiu's. The hallways were lined with famous paintings and celadon porcelain.

He was still saving up to buy his wife some fancy jewelry. If he didn't take this chance to raid You Fuzhu's mansion, his poor wallet would never forgive him.

Without further ado, Xie Chi slung his guitar case over his shoulder and started sweeping through the side hall.

In just over ten minutes, he'd cleaned out everything in the side hall that looked worth anything.

The side hall immediately fell into chaos. Several servants stared in disbelief at the bare corridor—even the chandeliers were gone—and ran around frantically looking for someone.

Xie Chi stayed in the shadows, bag full, slipping away with his haul.

Just as he was about to leave, he caught snippets of conversation.

"Yan Wanqiu and Xie Chi... we... die..."

Who the hell was cursing him out?

Xie Chi frowned.

He changed course, followed the voices to the main hall, climbed the outer wall one-handed, and made it to the top-floor window.

The voices inside got clearer. This was where they were coming from.

Xie Chi peeked inside. Tsk. An old friend.

You Fuzhu sat behind the desk in his office, talking to a potbellied middle-aged alpha dripping in jewelry.

The middle-aged man was practically vibrating with excitement, spit flying as he talked, greed written all over his face:

"Yan Wanqiu found the thermal ore and kept it all to himself, not even thinking about sharing with the other six city lords. He just watched the people freeze to death during the ice season—absolutely heartless! Lord You, I'm with you. We need to join forces and take down Yan Wanqiu—and that shadow guard Xie Chi of his too—to get justice for the dead Third Prince!"

You Fuzhu looked at the idiot in front of him, a flicker of impatience passing through his usually smiling fox eyes.

The previous city lord of Glacier City had been sensible, but he'd dropped dead a month ago, leaving behind nineteen kids. This fool was the eldest.

He forced himself to stay patient and said, "Lord Yuan, our Icebound City and your Glacier City aren't exactly wealthy right now. The matter of going to war needs to be discussed carefully. The main reason I came to you this time is because I heard you know the truth about Yan Wanqiu's parents' deaths—apparently even Yan Wanqiu himself doesn't know. So I wanted to ask about it. Perhaps that information could prove useful in our confrontation with Yan Wanqiu, and I'm willing to offer something in exchange."

Xie Chi's eyes flickered slightly outside the window.

Glacier City—one of the neutral cities, bordering Icebound City, and historically the third city Yan Wanqiu had conquered.

He had assumed the city lords of such neutral cities would all be shrewd old foxes like Mr. Ai, but looking at this Lord Yuan now, he didn't seem particularly clever.

Lord You, upon hearing this, finally remembered why You Fuzhu had sought him out in the first place: "Oh... this matter, it's because my father and his family happened to know people from Yan Wanqiu's maternal family. Unfortunately, that entire household died out back then."

You Fuzhu struggled to maintain his smile: "I'd be glad to hear the details."

Unexpectedly, the lord who had just been gesticulating wildly for over ten minutes about how to capture and torment Yan Wanqiu rolled his eyes and suddenly clammed up: "After all, this is their family's secret. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to speak of it. Let's continue discussing how to coordinate our forces and how to divide the thermal ore once Yan Wanqiu is dead."

You Fuzhu nearly cursed in frustration.

This wasn't about propriety at all—it was clear that Yuan Mingshan, this fool, thought he had a grip on Yan Wanqiu's weakness and was entertaining ideas of going solo!

Lord You remained oblivious to You Fuzhu's sour expression, still rambling on.

As the eldest son, he naturally harbored resentment toward Yan Wanqiu, always believing the latter had merely been lucky to establish himself in Blizzard City. He coveted the thermal ore and the three-billion bounty, and wanted to curry favor with Yan Huishi. At this moment, he naturally spewed nothing but venom.

Talk of making Yan Wanqiu and his maternal family die without intact bodies, of making Yan Wanqiu serve as his dog for entertainment recordings, of summoning eight or ten alphas to torment this prince...

You Fuzhu maintained a facade of a smile while pondering whether he should find an opportunity to sow discord with Eternal Frost City, another neutral city, and have them intervene in Glacier City's succession crisis.

Just then.

"BANG—"

A deafening crash followed by the sound of shattering glass. A glinting object burst through the window, passed through the holographic projection of Yuan Mingshan's head, and hurtled straight toward You Fuzhu's face.

Without a moment's hesitation, You Fuzhu threw himself to the ground in a clumsy dive, barely managing to dodge the sudden assassination attempt.

He rolled several times on the floor, quickly finding cover, and hid there for over ten minutes.

Only after confirming there was no second attack did You Fuzhu cautiously peek out to survey the room.

The interior was in shambles. The window glass had been smashed into a large hole, and cold wind whipped snow into the room, sending a shiver through him.

Yuan Mingshan had been communicating with You Fuzhu via holographic projection. He had just experienced an assassination firsthand, watching the blade fly straight through his own head.

Having been pampered his entire life, he had never witnessed such killing intent. He was utterly terrified, collapsed on the ground clutching his head, looking even more pathetic than You Fuzhu.

Yuan Mingshan's face was deathly pale, his lips trembling as he finally managed to stammer out: "L-L-Lord You... look behind you."

You Fuzhu turned warily and saw a small dagger deeply embedded in the wall.

What had shattered the bulletproof window was actually a dagger.

You Fuzhu's heart raced. When he stepped forward and found he needed full strength to barely pull the dagger free, a chill ran down his spine.

If he hadn't dodged in time, that dagger would have cleanly taken his head off.

Who in the world was this?

You Fuzhu forced himself to calm down and examined the dagger closely for any clues. Only then did he notice that the dagger had originally been wrapped with a strip of cloth, with some fabric remnants still attached.

But due to the immense force, the cloth strip had been driven deep into the wall.

You Fuzhu used the dagger to dig further into the wall before retrieving the cloth.

By then, the dagger had crumbled apart inch by inch under the strain.

This meant it was just an ordinary dagger—the terrifying impact had been entirely the result of the thrower's skill.

A troubling suspicion rose in You Fuzhu's mind.

It couldn't be, could it?

That Xie Chi didn't seem capable of such a feat.

Filled with confusion, he slowly unfolded the note under Lord You's fearful gaze.

Written on it was a line of blood-red characters.

"Next time, it'll be your heads."

The blood was fresh, clearly just written, smeared and blurred, looking all the more gruesome.

Lord You's face went pale, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted dead away.

You Fuzhu hurried to contact Glacier City, only to discover upon stepping out that his own manor had been burglarized. Both cities were thrown into chaos.

Outside the manor.

Xie Chi lowered his head and licked the bead of blood from his index fingertip, watching the wound on it freeze over in the cold wind before rewrapping the half-torn bandage on his right arm.

If his wife found out, he'd get scolded again.

But displeasure was displeasure—if he hadn't thrown that blade, he wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight.

Yan Wanqiu might have a terrible personality, but that didn't give outsiders the right to badmouth him.

Xie Chi adjusted the black guitar case on his back, paid no further attention to the chaos behind him, and silently vanished into the wind and snow.