~~~

Out of the many restaurants in Eastern Port City, The Jade Dragon is arguably the best. Indeed, many people planned on going there after the Eastern Port City Tournament was over and had made reservations several weeks in advance.

Unfortunately, The Jade Dragon has closed for the day. A large sign hangs outside its doors, turning away all would-be customers.

The Jade Dragon has the distinction of being one of the few establishments in Eastern Port City owned by both the Xiao Sect and the Yun Sect. Whenever the two Sects need to discuss something, The Jade Dragon is usually chosen as the meeting place. That doesn’t mean the restaurant closes every time there is a meeting. Negotiations between the two sects tend to be civil in nature and rarely call the attention of the people living nearby.

There is nothing civil about the Qi emanating from The Jade Dragon right now.

To say the Eastern Port City Tournament ended in an unusual way is putting it lightly. After a fantastic final match, the winner had been accused of cheating. This led to a series of events that had riveted the audience from start to finish.

Unfortunately, the discussion between the two sects has now moved to a private venue. The Xiao Sect and the Yun Sect are discussing things away from prying eyes. No doubt, the negotiations taking place there will change the landscape of Eastern Port City.

“They threw us out.”

Not for the first time, the words leave Xiao Fang’s lips. He and Liu Jin are sitting on the roof of The Jade Dragon. Every now and then, one of Xiao Fang’s eyebrows would twitch in annoyance as he angrily paced in circles.

“I can’t believe they threw us out!”

“You already said that.”

“You cannot tell me this doesn’t bother you!” Xiao Fang shouts, his hands moving all over the place. “We are the ones who uncovered the Yun Sect’s plot! We exposed them in front of everyone! Why are we now made to wait outside like children?!”

Liu Jin refrains from mentioning they are, in fact, children. That would just make Xiao Fang angrier.

Besides, Xiao Fang’s words are not without merit.

After realizing the Yun Sect and Wu Yan planned to sabotage Xiao Fang, Liu Jin and Xiao Fang devised a plan to counter the Yun Sect’s sabotage and expose them in front of everyone. Not everything went according to the plan, but the night has been a big success for the Xiao Sect so far.

That is, undoubtedly, their achievement.

However, Liu Jin doesn’t voice those thoughts.

“It is safer for us here,” Liu Jin points out instead. “Patriarch Yun Peng is… dangerous.”

Good manners stop Liu Jin from choosing a harsher word. He doesn’t like to admit it, but he and Xiao Fang ultimately failed to take into account the mentality of the Yun Sect’s Patriarch.

“Had Xiao Nan not shown up, things could have grown violent back there.”

Xiao Fang’s eyes flash with annoyance. One of his feet stomps on the tiled roof. Considering his strength, it would be natural for it to break, but not a single tile does. Either his control is that good, or he’s acting out for the sake of it.

Knowing Xiao Fang, it is probably both.

“Xiao Nan said he was leaving the city! He was supposed to be on a mission for my father! You understand what that means, don’t you?”

“That he lied to us?”

Liu Jin’s lips thin immediately after he says the words. The truth of Xiao Nan’s actions is… uncomfortable.

“Worse! We were bait!” Xiao Fang shouts, hands balled into fists. “Think about it. He left you in charge of keeping Wu Yan in check while knowing the Yun Sect would try to sabotage us. Since we acted to counter their plans, all the attention went to us while he was free to do as he wished!!”

“That... is unfortunately not inaccurate.”

Liu Jin isn’t surprised when Xiao Nan suddenly appears next to them. If anything, he was almost expecting it. The same goes for Xiao Fang, who snorts the moment he lays eyes on his cousin.

“Did they kick you out as well?” He asks, his voice harsh.

“Oh, how I wish that was the case.”

Xiao Nan laughs, but no one joins in.

“I left the moment I could. Meetings like that tend to be dreadfully boring. Trust me, cousin. You are lucky you do not yet need to be there.”

“Many things are apparently not needed of me, cousin. Knowing the truth, for example. Tell me: How many people knew you never left the city?”

The smile slips from Xiao Nan’s face. It is for the best, Liu Jin thinks.

It was too forced to be genuine.

“Very few,” Xiao Nan admits. “Even among the Elders, not many knew the truth. I am sure you can understand why that was the case.”

Xiao Fang frowns and looks away, not wanting to concede the point.

“It was all to trick Elder Hui, wasn’t it?

Xiao Nan nods. “Exactly. It was important for Elder Hui to focus only on the events of the tournament. In that sense, you two performed your part flawlessly.” Xiao Nan attempts another smile. It is weaker yet undoubtedly heartfelt. “I must admit you two far surpassed what Uncle and I were expecting of you.”

“Thank you, Elder Brother.”

Xiao Fang immediately glares at Liu Jin.

“That you actually mean that is infuriating. Are you not bothered at all by this?”

“I am bothered,” Liu Jin admits. “I am also… confused.”

Liu Jin looks at his lap, his fingers softly drumming against the tiled roof. Something is stuck in his throat.

“Elder Brother, you came at just the right time. For that, I am thankful. However, there are still many things I do not understand about tonight. If Elder Brother feels like divulging everything now, then I wish to know…”

Why did he lie?

“I wish to know what role Elder Hui played in all this.”

It is the one thing Liu Jin still can’t make sense of.

After finding the Soul Draining Parasite egg inside Xiao Fang, he and Liu Jin had done their best to figure out how it had ended up there. Only one event stood out when Xiao Fang recounted what he had done in the weeks leading up to the tournament.

His trip to A Hundred Heavenly Feasts with Elder Hui.

The way Xiao Fang told the story, even he thought it was an odd idea at the time. However, Elder Hui was an Elder of the Xiao Sect, and thus, someone he could trust.

Evidently, that turned out not to be the case.

“Very well. I planned on telling you even if you didn’t ask. After everything that has happened, this is something you both deserve to know.” Xiao Nan pauses for a moment. He does something with his Qi. Liu Jin is not sure what, but he’s confident it has something to do with making sure they are not overheard.

“Elder Hui has been secretly collaborating with the Yun Sect for years. In fact, it was him who poisoned Uncle all those years ago.”

“That’s...How?” Xiao Fang looks even more shocked than when he lost to Liu Jin. They had been reasonably sure of the first part, but Xiao Nan’s last sentence comes as a complete surprise. “How long have you known this?”

Xiao Nan closes his eyes. “Uncle has suspected it for a long time. I daresay he suspected since Doctor Liu healed him all those years ago.”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” This time, one of the tiles around Xiao Fang does crack. “If he knew, then why allow Elder Hui to remain in our Xiao Sect for so long!”

Though Liu Jin remains silent, he finds himself in full agreement with Xiao Fang. Why would Xiao Zheng allow a traitor so close to his person?

“If Uncle removed Elder Hui, he’d only be removing Elder Hui. There was no telling if anyone else was working with him,” Xiao Nan explains. “Uncle has been carefully biding his time. He has kept a close eye on all of Elder Hui’s activities and identified all his collaborators. This wasn’t easy. After the attempt on Uncle’s life failed, Elder Hui did his best to not stand out. However, after so many years, Uncle finally cornered Elder Hui to his satisfaction. All that was missing was a proper stage to expose him and the Yun Sect.”

“And while you waited for the perfect opportunity to set your trap, you allowed Elder Hui access to my person! Years, Xiao Nan! Years!”

For the first time, Xiao Nan looks away from his cousin’s glare.

“I will not pretend I agree with Uncle’s decisions. In fact, I was quite angry when I found out, but trust me when I say you are far better protected than you think you are, cousin.”

Xiao Fang crosses his arms. “And the Outer Disciples? Elder Hui has been in charge of our Outer Disciples for over a decade.”

“The Outer Disciples are only Outer Disciples,” Xiao Nan says. “In the same way, a decade is only a decade. That was Uncle’s reasoning. From his point of view, sacrificing a decade or two is of no importance.”

Because Xiao Zheng is in the Emperor Realm, Liu Jin realizes. What is a decade to someone who can count his age in centuries? What are Outer Disciples when compared to the many Inner and Core Disciples who will serve for decades and even centuries?

For Liu Jin, it is a frightening realization.

“You speak as if you do not agree with my father, yet you followed his plan.” Xiao Fangs’s angry glare fades into something Liu Jin cannot recognize. “You truly are the perfect heir. More so than me.”

A pained expression appears on Xiao Nan’s face. For this first time, his cousin has wounded him. A sense of unease grows inside Liu Jin. This conversation… he cannot help but feel like an intruder.

It hurts more than it should.

“I wish… I wish I could have worked together with you two. I wish I could have told you the truth from the start,” Xiao Nan says, looking up at the starry sky. “It is funny. I am good at fighting. I enjoy fighting. However, before I knew it, I had become so good at fighting, I was being entrusted with duties that had nothing to do with what I enjoyed. The past few months have not been easy. A battle of wits with someone in the Heaven Realm is exhausting.”

Xiao Nan’s shoulder sag. Liu Jin has never seen him this tired.

“In the end, the only way for Elder Hui to let his guard down enough was for him to believe I wasn’t in the city. Even then, getting those eggs was not easy. Don’t get me started on the Sound Transmission Talisman he used to secretly communicate with the Yun Sect and Doctor Wu. I almost died procuring that.”

The more Xiao Nan speaks, the more Liu Jin realizes he has been on the sidelines. However…

“Why would Elder Hui collaborate with the Yun Sect?”

It makes no sense to Liu Jin. As an Elder of the Xiao Sect, Elder Hui is one of the most powerful and influential men in Eastern Port City.

Why risk that?

Xiao Fang snorts. “Because he’s an idiot. Why else?”

“It is not that simple,” Xiao Nan replies. “From what he said back there, Elder Hui resented his position within the Sect. Being in charge of the Outer Disciples is not ideal. The Yun Sect offered him a higher position. Besides, if he helped the Yun Sect become the number one sect by sabotaging the Xiao Sect, his position would have ended up being higher still.”

Liu Jin digests the information for a moment.

“So it is just as Xiao Fang said then?”

Caught by surprise, a bark-like laugh escapes Xiao Nan’s mouth.

“I guess you could say that, Little Brother,” Xiao Nan says after getting himself under control “It is a sad truth, but the longer you live, the more you’ll see people are willing to risk everything to have it just a little better. You want to know what is worse? Apparently, Uncle was thinking about promoting him before the incident with the parasite. After it, he kept Elder Hui in that position to better observe him and limit his activities.”

“What a joke he turned out to be. I can’t believe I trusted a man like that.” Xiao Fang shakes his head before looking at Xiao Nan. “So? What will happen now?”

“Doctor Wu will be placed under house arrest until we decide a fitting punishment. Elder Hui will be expelled from the Sect and placed in a punishment cell. Well, I say that, but they’ll most likely be executed.” Xiao Nan says those words without a hint of care. “As for the Yun Sect, they had no choice but to admit their part in this, so we were able to get quite a few concessions from them.”

Liu Jin tilts his head to the side.

“Concessions?”

“This restaurant, for example. It will no longer be co-owned by our Sects. From now on, it is ours. Quite a few establishments belonging to the Yun Sect will also change hands. Additionally, the Yun Sect has given up their rights to harvest ingredients from Poison Fang Canyon for the following two years.”

“That’s it?!” Another tile around Xiao Fang cracks. “After everything we went through?!”

“It does seem rather… underwhelming.”

“It seems that way because you two are still young. Today marks an important step in the battle between the Xiao Sect and the Yun Sect. Should things continue as they are right now, the Yun Sect will lose its power in a few decades.” An uncomfortable look crosses Xiao Nan’s face. “Perhaps it is not dramatic, but it will serve our Xiao Sect’s purposes.”

“Even if you say that, all I can tell is that these events have thoroughly soured the taste of victory.”

“That is how victories tend to feel, cousin. Unfortunately, that is how you know the world is turning in the right direction.”

The taste of victory, huh?

Liu Jin takes a moment to savor it.

It is sour.

~~~