Across the tribe, torches flickered to life beneath the eaves, their warm light stretching long shadows across stone paths. The earlier tension lingered in the air like the aftermath of thunder.
Liu Shiye exhaled slowly as he walked toward his modest home. The performance had succeeded—but success carried consequences. Liu Feng would not remain silent. But it was better than letting the known variable run free.
To a modern man like Liu Shiye, Liu Feng appeared to be a protagonist waiting to bloom. The cliché of the fiancee divorcing the hero and breeding resentment for no reason other than to dare to leave him, as the protagonist never really cares about the fiancee in the beginning of the story. Liu Shiye shook his head and with a smirk.
Right on cue, a figure stepped into his path.
"Liu Shiye."
The voice was controlled, but fury simmered beneath it.
Liu Feng stood beneath a tourch's glow, his expression no longer composed. The restraint he had maintained inside the hall had fractured, leaving only anger sharpened by betrayal.
Liu Shiye stopped.
"I wondered how long it would take," he said calmly.
"How dare you?" Liu Feng demanded, stepping closer. "You humiliated Mingfei before the entire clan."
"I offered her mercy," Liu Shiye replied evenly. "Something you should appreciate."
"Mercy?" Liu Feng laughed bitterly. "You cornered her. You manipulated everyone."
"And you," Liu Shiye said quietly, "defended her so fiercely that suspicion only deepened."
The words struck their mark. Liu Feng's jaw tightened.
"You think this is a game?" he snapped. "Do you even care about her well-being?"
Liu Shiye met his gaze steadily. "More than you think."
Silence stretched between them, heavy and dangerous.
"I intend," Liu Shiye continued, voice firm, "to make amends with Liu Mingfei. Our engagement was arranged by our parents. I will honor it. I will bind myself to her properly and treat her as she deserves."
For a moment Liu Feng simply stared, disbelief overtaking anger.
"…You?" he said slowly. "You suddenly speak of love?"
"Yes," Liu Shiye answered without hesitation. "I love her. And I will correct my past mistakes."
The declaration landed like a spark thrown into oil.
Liu Feng's composure shattered.
"You don't get to claim her now!" he roared. "After everything—you think you can simply decide this?"
A surge of invisible force exploded outward.
Vital energy flooded the courtyard.
Air grew heavy, pressing downward like an unseen mountain. Lantern flames trembled violently as spiritual pressure descended upon Liu Shiye.
Liu Shiye's breath hitched.
Heat surged through his veins as if his blood had turned to boiling iron. His knees buckled despite his resistance, stone cracking faintly beneath him as he collapsed downward.
Sweat soaked through his robes instantly. His heart pounded violently against his ribs, every instinct screaming danger.
Damn… this is power…Real cultivation…
He clenched his teeth, refusing to cry out, but pain flooded his body relentlessly. The pressure was not merely physical—it invaded thought itself, crushing will beneath raw cultivation strength.
Liu Feng stepped forward, eyes blazing.
"You dare speak of love?" he said coldly. "You only want possession."
Liu Shiye struggled to lift his head, vision blurring.
"And you," he rasped, forcing the words out, "confuse desire… with righteousness."
The pressure intensified.
Blood rose in his throat.
Then—
A second force entered the courtyard.
Sharp. Cold. Absolute.
The crushing weight shattered instantly as another wave of vital energy swept between them like a drawn blade intercepting a strike.
Xue Ruo stepped forward.
Her sleeves fluttered softly as her aura pressed outward, elegant yet merciless, forcing Liu Feng's energy back step by step.
"That is enough," she said calmly.
Liu Feng froze, shock flashing across his face. "You—"
Xue Ruo positioned herself beside Liu Shiye, not touching him yet unmistakably shielding him.
"You ally yourself with him now?" Liu Feng demanded, disbelief turning quickly to anger.
Her lips curved faintly.
"Alliance?" she repeated. "Do not flatter yourself."
She glanced briefly at Liu Shiye before returning her gaze to Liu Feng, eyes glacial.
"I simply dislike you more."
The words struck harder than any blow.
"You humiliated me," she continued evenly. "Before servants. Before merchants. Before the clan. You made me a spectacle."
Her voice remained controlled, but something darker simmered beneath it.
"So understand this clearly," she said. "I would rather see Liu Mingfei spend her life suffering beside Liu Shiye than see her happy with you."
Liu Feng staggered back slightly, stunned.
Xue Ruo stepped closer, each word deliberate.
"I will remain bound to you," she declared softly, "until the day you die regretting every choice that led you here. I will stand beside you as your fiancée, your wife, your shadow—watching your ambitions crumble piece by piece."
Her gaze hardened, ambition and vengeance intertwining.
"And when the Liu Clan finally rises under my influence," she added, voice like ice, "perhaps they will remember whose strength preserved it."
A faint smile appeared.
"Perhaps they will even call it the Xue Clan."
Silence engulfed the courtyard.
Liu Feng's expression shifted from fury to realization as understanding finally dawned.
This was no misunderstanding.
No emotional outburst.
The board had changed—and he had not noticed when the pieces moved.
Behind Xue Ruo, Liu Shiye slowly pushed himself upright, breath still unsteady, pain lingering through his limbs. Watching Liu Feng's stunned expression, one thought surfaced clearly in his mind:
The hero finally realizes he isn't the one controlling the story. But, I have to know one thing.
The courtyard remained heavy with silence after Xue Ruo's declaration. Lantern light trembled against stone walls, casting long, uneven shadows that made every movement appear sharper, more deliberate. Servants lingered at distant corridors, pretending to be busy themselves while clearly unwilling to leave. News of conflict traveled faster when witnessed firsthand, and no one wished to miss the conclusion.
Liu Feng's gaze shifted slowly between them—first to Xue Ruo, then to Liu Shiye, whose breathing had only just steadied after the crushing pressure of vital energy.
Understanding hardened into suspicion.
"So this is it," Liu Feng said at last, his voice low but edged with accusation. "You stand together now."
His eyes locked onto Liu Shiye.
"Tell me plainly. Do you support the Xue Clan?"
The question carried more weight than its words suggested. It was not merely personal—it was political. Allegiance between great families determined futures, inheritances, and survival itself.
Several nearby attendants subtly stilled, ears sharpening.
Liu Shiye straightened slowly, wiping lingering sweat from his brow. He allowed exhaustion to remain visible, letting vulnerability soften his image before answering. Inside, his thoughts moved with cold precision.
Simple answers. No ambition. Become harmless. Only…
"I support no clan but my own," he said quietly, in English. "I have no interest in faction struggles."
Liu Feng's eyes narrowed. "What Zhengqi gibberish. Speak plainly!"
Liu Shiye leaned forward, "Reincarnator…."
"Time traveller!" he shouted.
Liu Feng showed every emotion save for what Liu Shiye wanted. He sighed, then spoke the native dialect, "I support no clan but my own."
"Then what is this? Cooperation? Scheming?" asked Liu Feng.
Liu Shiye shook his head faintly, expression weary.
"I am tired, Cousin," he said, voice lowering with practiced sincerity. "Tired of conflict. Tired of pride. I nearly died not long ago. Illness strips away illusions." He paused, letting the words settle. "I only wish to live peacefully… to love Liu Mingfei properly and build the life our parents intended for us."
Every word was a lie.
Every word sounded true.
He allowed emotion to touch his voice—not too strong, not theatrical, just enough to appear genuine. The image he presented was disarmingly ordinary: a man humbled by suffering seeking stability rather than power.
Around them, a few servants exchanged approving glances.
Liu Feng searched his face, clearly trying to reconcile the manipulative strategist from moments ago with the man now speaking of quiet domestic hopes. The contradiction unsettled him more than hostility would have.
"You expect me to believe that?" Liu Feng asked.
"I expect nothing from you," Liu Shiye replied gently. "Only that you allow me to correct my mistakes."
The calmness only deepened Liu Feng's frustration. Anger required resistance; sincerity offered no target.
For a moment it seemed he might speak again, might challenge further—but the words failed him. Rage flickered across his features before collapsing into something colder, something wounded.
"You've both changed," he said finally, voice tight. "And not for the better."
He turned sharply, robes snapping behind him as he strode away down the lantern-lit path. His footsteps echoed until distance swallowed the sound, leaving only the quiet rustle of night wind through the courtyard trees.
Liu Shiye watched him go, eyes thoughtful.
A hero leaving the battlefield, he mused inwardly. But how well does Liu Feng really know me?
Beside him, Xue Ruo adjusted her sleeve as though brushing away invisible dust. The hostility that had filled her moments earlier faded into cool composure, her expression once again that of an elegant noblewoman rather than a vengeful storm.
She glanced at Liu Shiye briefly. His eyes remained curiously focused on Liu Feng's back.
"I wish you a long and healthy life, Cousin," she said pleasantly.
The words sounded like a blessing. The tone made it unmistakably a warning. Her gaze sharpened just enough for him alone to notice.
"Keep Liu Mingfei under control," she continued, voice calm but carrying clearly enough for nearby listeners. "A woman who forgets her place invites tragedy."
Liu Shiye met her eyes, understanding instantly.
This was theater.
Spies watched. Servants listened. Narratives formed in real time.
"If she finds her way back to Liu Feng," Xue Ruo added lightly, as though discussing household discipline rather than murder, "I will butcher her."
A collective chill swept through the observers. Several servants lowered their heads quickly, pretending not to hear.
Xue Ruo allowed a faint smile to follow the statement, transforming cruelty into aristocratic disdain.
"I have no further interest in your affairs," she said, turning away from him with deliberate finality. "Just be a man and stop moping around the tribe."
Her attendants immediately stepped forward, forming around her as she walked toward her carriage. The distance she created was obvious, unmistakable—whatever cooperation had existed earlier now appeared severed before witnesses.
Liu Shiye bowed politely toward her departing figure, playing his part to completion.
"Lady Xue," he said respectfully.
She did not look back.
The carriage doors closed, wheels rolling across stone as she departed the compound, leaving murmurs blooming in her wake.
Only after the area emptied did Liu Shiye allow his expression to relax slightly.
This Liu Feng is something. He's clearly changed but he's lying low, for what? Could he not be a protagonist? Maybe, a strong second lead type.
Liu Shiye waved the thoughts away and decided to leave it alone. Only time would reveal the motives of a snake like Liu Feng.
XXX