Chapter 112: Chapter 104: "Immovable Saber

Lower Four had used a Raven to send back a Blood Letter, revealing a single piece of information.

Ever since the Blood Letter was sent back, all contact from Shuzhou had been lost. Ye Weiyang dispatched numerous Night Guards to search for Lower Four, but there has been no word.

"He’s a goner."

The young man remarked with a look of regret.

Although Yue Yan’s description wasn’t conclusive, it was the type of situation where if one didn’t expect any accidents, an accident was guaranteed to have occurred.

A hush fell over the hall.

After the silence, Yue Yan said, "The Night Lord’s intention is to have Lord Upper Three take action."

After she spoke, Yue Yan’s gaze, intentionally or not, shifted to Feng Bei’s black silk gloves.

For others, "taking action" might have other connotations. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

But for Feng Bei, the meaning of "take action" was quite literal: she would "put out her hands."

What happened next was something that both Dou Xie and Yue Yan found utterly inconceivable.

After hearing the details of the bizarre case, Feng Bei’s first reaction was, surprisingly, to turn to the young man and ask softly, "Do you... want to go?"

’Huh?’

Yue Yan and Dou Xie were both dumbfounded.

It wasn’t just the two Constellations; Zheng Xiu himself was also taken aback.

’Why would Feng Bei ask that?’

’Is she so sure I’d be interested?’

But.

Zheng Xiu really was interested.

Never mind that going on a mission with Feng Bei meant the chances of encountering strange phenomena like Ghostly Realms and the Darkness were far higher than with anyone else—she was a Celestial Killer Lone Star, after all. What kind of prestige would that title have if trouble didn’t follow her? But the main reason for Zheng Xiu’s interest wasn’t simply the bizarre case itself. It was the information from the Blood Letter that Ye Weiyang’s Lower Four had sent back after entering Shuzhou—the Cannibal Painting.

Those two words were like a tempting riddle, sending Zheng Xiu’s imagination reeling.

"Let me think about it?"

Zheng Xiu asked tentatively, watching for Feng Bei’s reaction.

"Alright. If... you want to go, we’ll leave tomorrow at the latest."

Yue Yan later added that after being rebuffed at the Zheng Family’s gate last night, two of the North Seven Stars, Xu Shu and Jin Niu, had already partnered up, mounted fast horses, and galloped to Shuzhou overnight.

Ye Weiyang’s members were spread across the land. Of the seven Constellations stationed in the north—Dou Xie, Jin Niu, Tu Fu, Xu Shu, Yue Yan, Shi Zhu, and Bi Shui—Zheng Xiu had met nearly all of them, if one didn’t distinguish between their Main Bodies and their Incarnations.

As for the Constellations’ strength, aside from the recently promoted and still rather unimpressive Dou Xie, he acknowledged Yue Yan’s power. With his understanding of the Constellations’ capabilities, Zheng Xiu thought to himself that this "Cannibal Painting" case had already drawn in four Constellations and one of the Twelfth Moon. The level of danger was clearly extraordinary.

It was only logical for the Night Lord to finally ask Feng Bei to intervene.

However, as Zheng Xiu returned to the study to copy texts and mull things over, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

The Immortal Maiden Temple had existed for twenty years.

The "Cannibal Painting" was triggered by a strange scroll from the Ghost Painter Gongsun Mo a century ago.

For nothing to have happened for so many years, only for both incidents to erupt one after another during this specific period... it all felt too coincidental to Zheng Xiu.

He finished the "Evil Child’s" daily tasks, but the Incarnation still hadn’t glimpsed the Path related to [Scholars]. Another day of wasted effort.

But Zheng Xiu wasn’t worried. After his Zheng Shan Incarnation entered the [Painter] Path, Zheng Xiu had learned that glimpsing a Path wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight. It required patient accumulation over time until success came naturally, a culmination of sustained effort.

The Evil Child’s Scholarship was still slowly increasing, so there was at least some hope. It was thankless work, but not entirely fruitless.

Returning to the dungeon, Zheng Xiu entered the Heart Prison.

Looking at the three Incarnations at the table, Zheng Xiu hesitated for a long moment. ’Leaving the city right now might not be a bad thing,’ he thought.

He needed an excuse to introduce his third Incarnation, one that could plausibly move about the Zheng Family estate and gain experience. While one of his "alts" was away with Feng Bei, another one—the Sword Saint—could come "online" back home, reducing the risk of his secret being exposed.

Feng Bei’s eyes always gave Zheng Xiu the feeling that she had sensed something. But her reactions suggested otherwise. This ambiguity was giving Zheng Xiu a headache.

"Cannibal Painting, Cannibal Painting, Cannibal Painting."

Zheng Xiu’s gaze swept over the three Incarnations, who stood with their eyes closed.

He had a vague feeling that going on this trip as the Mighty Painter might bring greater benefits.

For the moment, Zheng Xiu couldn’t quite place that vague feeling, so he could only attribute it to his [Intuition].

When dinner time came, Zheng Xiu used the excuse of being unwell to stay hidden in the dungeon, letting the youthful Zheng Er "go online" to eat.

Feng Bei could now stay at the Zheng Family residence without any issue; it was as if the place had become her second home. Everyone, including Zheng Erniang, had lost their initial fear of her. At the dinner table, aside from her ominous hands, she acted no different from a normal person, even showing a bit of introversion and bashful shyness. She would even place food on the Young Master’s plate. As long as you didn’t get too close, she didn’t seem frightening at all.

After dinner, the young man and Feng Bei stood in the courtyard, gazing at the stars and the moon.

In the courtyard, Feng Bei stood with her hands clasped behind her back, silent as a sturdy pine tree in the snow.

She rarely spoke first.

Knowing Feng Bei was "spoiling" him, Zheng Xiu brazenly decided to test the waters. "Sister Feng Bei, what if I don’t want to go on this trip to Shuzhou?"

Feng Bei, who had been as still as a statue, finally moved. She turned to the young man with a slight smile. "It’s fine. If you don’t want to go, then you don’t have to."

"But..." The young man put on a troubled expression. "But if the Cannibal Painting is real and harming people, more will die if we don’t find a way to eliminate it."

Feng Bei’s eyes brightened, and she nodded. "True."

"I’d be worried if Sister Feng Bei went to Shuzhou alone."

The corners of Feng Bei’s lips curled up slightly. "You’re worried for me?"

"Ahem, I don’t mean I’m worried about your strength, Sister Feng Bei. I mean, when you’re traveling, the weather is unpredictable, and people’s hearts are even harder to read. There’s this little thing called ’the unexpected,’ you know? Things can’t always go your way, not everything can be smooth sailing. This ’unexpected’ can be both a nuisance and a delight. More of it just adds more complications. But if life had no unexpected moments, what fun would it be?"

Zheng Xiu said it all in one breath, feeling even to himself that he was trying a bit too hard to twist the logic. But one look at Feng Bei’s expression told him she was listening with rapt attention, nodding continuously in agreement.

’Huh? It seems... fooling Feng Bei isn’t as hard as I thought?’

Reassured, Zheng Xiu decided to reveal his true intentions. "How about... I have my father accompany you?"

Feng Bei tilted her head. "You mean Zheng Xiu, or Zheng Shan?"

"Zheng Shan, of course."

Zheng Xiu planned to send Zheng Shan.

The idea was a bit audacious.

But to Zheng Xiu’s utter astonishment, Feng Bei agreed without a moment’s hesitation. "Alright."

"If you have any reservations, Sister Feng Bei... wait, what did you just say?"

Feng Bei nodded calmly. "I said it’s fine."

’This... Feng Bei, aren’t you agreeing a little too readily?’

’Do you not have the slightest suspicion? Not a single shred of concern?’

Young Master Zheng stared fixedly, his eyes meeting Feng Bei’s.

The two stared at each other for a moment before Feng Bei broke eye contact.

Zheng Xiu thought for a moment, then added, "But my father isn’t one of your people, after all. I’m afraid..."

Feng Bei shook her head, her voice filled with an undeniable resolve. "It doesn’t matter. I have the final say."

That single sentence shut down the conversation completely. Zheng Xiu had prepared several lines of argument, but now none of them were needed.

The outcome was perfect for him. Feng Bei didn’t seem to have the slightest suspicion.

Feng Bei was staying at the Zheng estate again that night. Since there was still time, Zheng Xiu casually asked about the "ill-fated" Lower Four.

"That Lower Four... how does he compare to you?"

Feng Bei’s answer was interesting.

"In a contest of skill, I am not his equal. In a battle to the death, he wouldn’t last an instant."

"Tell me more, Sister Feng Bei."

Feng Bei sat down next to the young man and began recounting some interesting facts about Ye Weiyang.

It turned out that Ye Weiyang’s top Miracle Masters—the Twelfth Moon—had a system similar to "ranked battles." A lower-ranked member could challenge a higher-ranked one in a "life-or-death" battle, but only with the Night Lord’s approval. Internally, these were called "Ranked Deathmatches." However, to avoid losing valuable members, the Night Lord rarely approved these duels and had even established an ironclad rule: Ye Weiyang members were strictly forbidden from fighting amongst themselves.

The other way to move up was when a member of the Twelfth Moon died in the line of duty, leaving a position vacant. At an opportune moment, the Night Lord would issue a mission to all Constellations or lower-ranked members of the Twelfth Moon. For instance, in the case of this "Cannibal Painting" mystery, whoever ultimately solved it would be promoted to fill the empty slot. Within Ye Weiyang, this was called a "Ranked Competition."

The current Lower Four, before his promotion, was a world-renowned Swordsman named Gu Qiutang.

According to Feng Bei, Gu Qiutang had entered the [Knight] Path, which was a relatively common one. But as for its specific branch, Gu Qiutang never said, and no one knew.

Some said he had mastered a "half-martial, half-miracle" Miracle Technique called the "Immovable Saber." Within a hundred paces, once Gu Qiutang assumed the unmoving "Immovable Saber" stance, if his opponent moved first, he could instantly appear behind them and deliver a fatal blow.

"Immovable Saber? ’If the enemy doesn’t move, I don’t move. The moment the enemy moves, I move first?’" Hearing this, Zheng Xiu found it baffling. ’What kind of rules and Restrictions must exist to give birth to such a bizarre Path Mystic Skill?’ he wondered.

Feng Bei smiled. "As I understand it, when Gu Qiutang first became famous twenty years ago, he was devoted to a reactive style of Swordsmanship. Later, he found he could no longer improve by sparring with people, so he began to practice his blade against a boulder. He stood in a motionless standoff with the rock for twenty days without eating or drinking. During a torrential downpour, a raindrop happened to crack the stone. The moment he drew his blade, he comprehended the true ’Immovable Saber’."

"For real?" Zheng Xiu asked, amazed.

Feng Bei smiled as well. "Only he himself knows for sure."

The first half of their conversation had been Zheng Xiu cautiously probing Feng Bei’s thoughts. The second half was spent chatting about interesting stories within Ye Weiyang. Their conversation was pleasant, and Feng Bei’s face held more smiles than usual. Before they knew it, it was late, and a light snow began to fall. Zheng Xiu yawned, ready to head back to his room, switch back to his "main account," and get ready for bed.

After rounding a corridor corner under Feng Bei’s watchful gaze, Zheng Xiu sprinted toward his room.

But just as he, still in his "young man" form, entered the courtyard, a figure emerged silently from the shadows. Even Zheng Xiu didn’t notice him at first.

It was one of the Brotherhood’s on-duty Assassins. He wore a dark hood, a sword hidden up his sleeve.

"Ahem." The Zheng Family Assassin’s voice was tinged with awkwardness. He pointed to a lit room not far away and whispered, "Young Master, please wait. If you’re looking for the master of the house, tonight he... seems to be a bit indisposed."

Zheng Xiu froze. Being stopped by his own household staff in his own home felt incredibly strange. When he glanced toward the room, he could vaguely make out four graceful silhouettes flickering on the paper window.

The loyal Assassin, fearing the Young Master didn’t understand the situation, gave him a meaningful blink. "Young Master, you wouldn’t want to wake up and find yourself with four fewer stepmothers for no reason, would you?"