Chapter 66
Yin Fu continued quietly,
"After Prime Minister Fang died, a large portion of the court naturally shifted toward her side. Some feared her. Others admired her." A pause. "Most simply obeyed."
Wuming leaned slightly forward now.
"And you?"
Yin Fu blinked once.
"What about me?"
"Your relationship with her."
Yin Fu smiled faintly again.
"Complicated."
"That tells me nothing."
"She saved my life once."
Wuming's tapping stopped again.
Yin Fu noticed.
"She also threatened me several times."
"…Better."
Yin Fu laughed softly.
"You truly prefer dangerous stories over emotional ones."
"Obviously."
Yin Fu shook her head lightly.
"That woman is terrifying, Wuming." Her voice lowered slightly now. "But unlike what people believe… she doesn't destroy things meaninglessly."
Wuming's eyes narrowed.
"She calculates."
"Yes."
"She plans."
"Yes."
"She manipulates people."
Yin Fu looked at him carefully.
"…Yes."
Wuming leaned back again.
"Then she sounds reasonable."
Yin Fu stared at him for two seconds.
Then suddenly laughed again despite her injuries.
"You really are Katsuro's son."
Wuming frowned immediately.
"Don't compare me to him."
"Then who should I compare you to?"
Silence.
Then Yin Fu's expression softened slightly.
"…Meihua perhaps."
The room quieted again.
Wuming's gaze shifted toward the moonlight outside.
His expression remained calm.
But internally—
He understood something now.
Meihua was not merely dangerous because of strength.
She was dangerous because she understood systems.
Power.
Fear.
Dependency.
Control.
The kind of woman capable of shaping an empire without sitting on its throne.
…
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Then suddenly—
Wuming spoke again.
"Did she ever hate me?"
Yin Fu looked genuinely surprised by the question.
Then slowly—
"No."
Wuming's eyes flickered slightly.
"Never?"
"Never."
Yin Fu watched him carefully now.
"In fact…" she paused softly, "…I think Meihua pitied you the most out of all the children."
The room became silent again.
Completely silent.
Wuming lowered his gaze slightly.
Then after a few seconds—
"…That sounds unpleasant."
Yin Fu smiled knowingly.
But this time—
She didn't say anything further.
Yin Fu looked at him quietly and then said softly, "I am glad though… that our relationship is getting better, Wuming."
Wuming looked at her. Her solemn soft eyes and silver hair looked calm beneath the dim light of the room. She was everything he wasn't… almost like a replica of something pure while he himself remained twisted.
"You think so?" Wuming asked calmly.
Yin Fu nodded lightly. "The fact you're being so free with me… as if I am some accomplice of yours while you interrogate me…" she hummed faintly, her eyes curving slightly, "I can be strict and harsh too, you know."
Wuming looked at her for a moment before speaking flatly, "Well, in order to secure your little brother's future and turn him from merely alert to tolerable… you paid the price by losing your child's childhood."
Yin Fu's fingers tightened slightly around the warm cup in her hands. Guilt flickered across her face quietly before she lowered her gaze for a brief second.
Wuming watched her silently,his thoughts detached and cold.
To be honest, I do not give a fuck whether you were present or not. What does it matter to me?
But… seeing you timid and sitting in penance like this is better.
Perhaps I truly am better suited as society's penance and menace.
Heh.
Yin Fu looked at him quietly before saying, "By the way… prepare yourself. The birthday banquet is next week, Wuming. Meihua, you, me, your father, along with the whole Katsuro clan, will be going to the imperial palace for it."
Wuming's expression remained calm. "And if I decide to pass on it?"
Yin Fu smiled faintly. "I know you are quite busy, but I can speak to your teachers. Or perhaps your father can do it more easily."
Wuming looked at her. "Why does he know both of my teachers?"
"Well…" Yin Fu adjusted the warm cup in her hands slightly, "Elder Gu is from your grandfather's generation. Your father practically grew up under his guidance."
A brief pause.
"And as for Lin Yi… Katsuro and Lin Yi were both part of the Renshou team."
Wuming's eyes dimmed slightly as he processed the information. "I see."
Then calmly—
"And the other two members?"
Yin Fu immediately went silent.
Wuming looked at her without blinking. "Well?"
She sighed softly. "Don't mention this to your father."
Then quietly—
"The other two members were Wei Yi… and Xiao Fan."
Wuming smirked faintly. "What a team."
Then his golden eyes shifted slightly. "So Wei Zhi and Weiyang are connected to me too, right?"
Yin Fu's expression hardened slightly. "We won't speak about them anymore."
Her tone became firm now. "Go to your training, Wuming."
He stood up slowly. "Have a good night, Mother."
Yin Fu smiled warmly at him. "Yes."
Wuming turned and left the room.
Outside the pavilion, Wei Zhi stood waiting beneath the moonlight. Her expression looked unusually grim. The moment he began walking, she silently followed behind him toward the late-night training grounds.
After a few moments, Wuming suddenly spoke—
"I told you to walk beside me, Wei Zhi."
Wei Zhi quietly moved beside him.
Then Wuming asked calmly—
"Who is Wei Yi?"
Wei Zhi's expression didn't change. "None of your business."
"Everyone connected to me is my business."
His tone remained indifferent.
"You. Weiyang. Yinghua. Lin Yi. Xie Zheng. All of them."
Wei Zhi kept walking without looking at him. "Don't ask me about him. I don't know."
"Then why such a grim face?"
"I'm not in a good mood."
A pause.
"And besides… I'm thinking. Don't bother me."
Wuming looked at her calmly.
Hitting a nerve, Wei Zhi? Aren't I?
Interesting. Usually she is the one forcing conversations onto me. Yet now I'm the one striking instead.
Wei Zhi suddenly spoke again, quieter this time. "I don't know much about either of those two men."
Wuming looked ahead. "How come you don't know?"
"I'm still a child, Wuming."
Her voice remained calm.
"There are things outside my knowledge. Things forbidden for me to know."
Wuming nodded lightly. "Is that so?"
Then casually—
"Here I thought that man with green eyes, a tall figure around one hundred ninety-three centimeters, wearing a bamboo-patterned cape and bamboo hat while traveling with another man… might have been important."
Wei Zhi froze.
Completely.
Her widened eyes lowered instantly while her breathing became uneven. Even her legs looked slightly unstable now.
Wuming watched her silently.
So she knows him.
Wei Zhi spoke quietly, almost strained. "I know what you're trying to do."
Then firmer—
"So stop, Wuming. Don't go there."
Wuming stepped slightly closer, gently lifting her chin so she would look at him.
"You know I don't speak unless necessary, Wei Zhi."
His golden eyes stared directly into hers.
"And right now… I need to know about the man who once stood in the same Renshou team as my father."
A pause.
"A man my mother was clearly afraid to speak about."
Wuming remembered it perfectly.
The tightened fingers around the cup.
The shallow breathing.
The brief hesitation.
She tried to hide it… then redirected me away.
Wei Zhi pushed his hand away immediately. "There's nothing for you to know about him."
"Then why are you shivering?"
The moment she realized she actually was trembling, her balance faltered slightly. Wuming instinctively caught her arm before she fully stumbled.
"Answer me," he said calmly. "Otherwise we'll be late for training again, Wei Zhi. And this time I doubt Elder Gu will leave us alone."
Wei Zhi immediately pushed him away and stepped back. Her eyes turned cold now. Slightly angry too.
This bastard really knows how to twist words and situations into his favor.
Finally—
She spoke.
"Wei Yi is a criminal."
Her voice sounded forced.
"One of the most wanted criminals in the entire Twin Dragon Empire. Both Eastern Wei and Western Wei."
Wuming's eyes widened slightly in amusement.
"Oh?"
Wei Zhi continued quietly—
"His crime is clan annihilation."
Wuming smiled faintly now. "A clan killer?"
Wei Zhi nodded coldly. "He is banned from both sides of the empire and placed on the highest wanted list within Twin Dragon."
Wuming processed the information quickly. "Which means…"
Wei Zhi immediately began analyzing aloud.
"If he's here, then either someone summoned him…"
She immediately shook her head.
"No. No one can summon that man."
Her eyes narrowed.
"He must be here under orders."
Then suddenly—
"Was the man beside him wearing the same cape too?"
"Yes."
Wei Zhi's face darkened further.
"Then they belong to that organization…"
"The ones wearing bamboo-patterned capes and bamboo hats."
A brief silence followed.
Then quietly—
"Wei Yi wouldn't come here for something small."
Wuming immediately connected the dots. "And both ladies were discussing court matters in the pavilion…"
Wei Zhi suddenly looked at him sharply.
"Oh shit."
Wuming continued calmly, "So the matter has already reached the court."
"They know he's inside the empire."
"And since he's wanted…"
"…many people must already be hunting him."
Wei Zhi laughed softly. Almost like a lunatic.
"By tomorrow morning," she said while walking ahead again, "there will probably be reports of every idiot who tried hunting him ending up dead."
Wuming looked at her. "He's a hotshot then?"
Wei Zhi snorted faintly.
"Roasting shot."
Wuming watched her quietly afterward.
A wanted criminal.
Connected to Wei Zhi.
A clan annihilator.
Interesting.
Though the reason behind the massacre itself didn't matter much to him.
What mattered was something else entirely.
Wei Zhi belonged to the same clan too.
Didn't she?
Wuming glanced sideways at her. She had regained her composure now, faintly smiling again with both hands folded neatly over her stomach as if the earlier fear had never existed at all.
Wuming said, "And anything else?" Wei Zhi replied quietly, "No." She wasn't smiling anymore. The two walked out of the pavilion while cold moonlight stretched across the stone paths leading toward the late-night training grounds. Wind brushed softly against their robes.
Then Wuming smiled faintly and said, "That man is pretty powerful." Wei Zhi folded her hands behind her back while walking beside him. "He's powerful enough to take on your father." There was slight pride hidden in her voice. Very little. But Wuming still noticed it instantly.
Then casually, while she seemed distracted by her own thoughts, Wuming asked, "Is he your older brother?" Wei Zhi answered immediately without thinking. "Yes." Then her steps suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened slightly before she slowly turned toward Wuming.
Wuming was already looking at her with a menacing smile.
"You…!"
Wuming laughed lightly. "Catching you off guard is pretty hilarious, you know?" Then he moved forward again calmly. Looking ahead toward the distant training grounds, he thought quietly— if I hadn't cornered her mentally, I never would've known she was his sister. Interesting.
Then Wuming spoke again. "Now that I know he's your brother… biological or adopted?" Wei Zhi clicked her tongue softly before answering, "He's my biological older brother." Then colder— "And the very last person I would like to talk about."
Especially you.
Wuming glanced sideways at her and said faintly, "Conflicts, huh?"
she said" I hate that man no, I loathe him. And someday I will kill him with my very hands."
"That's my only goal, Wuming."
Wuming listened quietly before speaking faintly, "That's not what you said when Lin Yi was asking."
Wei Zhi immediately frowned. "He's a cunning fox. He knows exactly what to ask from people and he's too nosy in everyone's matters."
Wuming nodded lightly. "Well… that's true."
By then the two had already reached the late-night training grounds. Lanterns flickered around the courtyard while cold wind swept through the open area. Elder Gu sat calmly upon a wooden chair watching Weiyang practice sword movements repeatedly in the middle of the grounds.
Weiyang's yellow robes moved sharply with every step while his blond hair stuck slightly against his forehead from sweat. His bright blue eyes looked unnaturally light beneath the dark sky. Then suddenly— his sword slipped from his hand.
End of 66