"Lao Hu?" Yu Lingyu muttered thoughtfully, allowing the dancer's fingers to wander, more out of courtesy than interest. Nearby, Wu Xuan stood stiff as a drawn blade, his jaw tight, expression dark. He looked like a landmine with the pin already pulled.
Sensing something click into place, Yu Lingyu rose to leave, but the dancer gently caught his sleeve.
"Be careful, Wen Gongzi," she said, eyes fluttering with concern. "That man… he looks dangerous."
Yu Lingyu smiled, gently freeing himself. "Don't worry. I'll get back to you later."
Sliding his fan open with a snap, he slung his arm around Wu Xuan's shoulders and walked forward, the picture of nonchalance.
"Let's go find this Lao Hu," he said breezily.
Wu Xuan didn't respond right away. His arms were folded, his jaw set like iron. He was still fuming.
"…Lao Hu's not from the Lotus Sect," he muttered at last. "He's a broker. I've heard of him."
"Oh, a broker?" Yu Lingyu's eyes lit up. "Then let's pay him a visit."
Without waiting for a reply, Yu Lingyu rushed up to the top floor, the peony platform. As the dancer had said, there was a solitary figure seated in a dark corner, sipping tea. His face was hidden beneath a broad straw hat, and the light barely touched him.
Wu Xuan moved first this time.
"Master Lao," he said coolly, stepping forward. "I've heard those who with coins find their way to answers."
Lao Hu's head tilted slightly, the glint of his marble-like eyes catching the dim light. His voice, when it came, was dry and papery, like brittle leaves being crushed underfoot.
"Answers can be found," he rasped. "But the price-"
Before he could finish, Wu Xuan dropped a handful of gold onto the table. The sudden weight rattled the porcelain cups and made the entire table tremble.
Lao Hu's eyes gleamed with greed.
"Any price," Wu Xuan said curtly.
Yu Lingyu blinked. This guy really is a rich young master. No subtlety at all.
"Wen Jian," Wu Xuan said without turning. "Don't just stand there. Come here."
Yu Lingyu stepped forward hastily, noticing the flicker of curiosity in Lao Hu's eyes.
Huh? Why is he wearing that freaky mask again? thought Wu Xuan. Still, he adjusted his posture and deepened his voice a notch.
"Forgive me," Lingyu said, bowing slightly. "I don't often show my face."
Lao Hu's gaze sharpened. "Is this Wen Lu Jian? From Luoyang?"
"I am Wen Lu Jian," Yu Lingyu replied solemnly. "From Luoyang."
Lao Hu let out a low murmur, stroking his long beard. Yu Lingyu studied him carefully. The voice, the posture, the flick of his wrist, it was unmistakable.
This Lao Hu… he really is the one I knew.
"We're looking for someone," Yu Lingyu said, reaching into his sleeve. He took out a small ornamental hairpin, one Xu Jin had entrusted to him just days before, and set it gently on the table.
"So please… pursue it."
There was a long silence. Lao Hu looked at the ornament slowly, examining it with great care.
"So, you know how I work," Lao Hu said, narrowing his eyes. "Doesn't that mean you also know the truth about me, Wen Gongzi?"
Yu Lingyu smiled faintly. "That's none of your business. We're paying you, just do your job."
Lao Hu studied him for a moment, then silently picked up the jewel from the table. "We'll meet here again after two incense sticks. And the price…" His voice thinned into a whisper. "We'll talk about that after the job's done."
"Your wish." Yu Lingyu nodded.
Without another word, Lao Hu slipped away, disappearing into the crowd like smoke in the wind.
"Do you know him?" Wu Xuan asked, casually popping a piece of candy into his mouth as he leaned back.
Yu Lingyu shook his head without speaking.
"What do we do until he comes back?"
"Wu Shixiong, haven't the disciples of Juyao Peak arrived yet?" Yu Lingyu's tone was laced with concern. "There's still no word from the Lingxiao Sect, either."
"They can't have been caught, too, can they?" Wu Xuan said, his voice calm, almost bored.
"Can't be sure," Yu Lingyu murmured as he stood, brushing the folds of his sleeve. "But Wu Shixiong… why aren't you worried at all?"
Wu Xuan smiled around the candy in his mouth. "There's not much in this world I care enough to worry about."
He bit down gently, savoring the sweetness. "I was born to protect someone. That person's the only one I care about."
Yu Lingyu furrowed his brow. "Then… why do you treat me so well?"
Wu Xuan's eyes sparkled with quiet amusement. "Yu Shidi, do you really not know who I've been talking about all this time?"
Yu Lingyu blinked. "I am?"
There was a long pause.
"…Wu Xuan, who are you?"
Wu Xuan stood, brushing the candy dust from his robes. His smile remained, light and easy, but Yu Lingyu could see through it.
See the hurt hiding behind it.
"Someone you already know," Wu Xuan said quietly. "I'll tell you one day."
He glanced out toward the fading crowd.
"One day… when you're ready to know."
***************************************************************
"In here? The Crimson Phoenix Pavilion?" Wu Xuan blinked in mild disbelief.
Yu Lingyu frowned, caught in a dilemma. How could apprentices be hidden in such a busy place without anyone noticing?
"Mr. Hu, please guide us," Wu Xuan said with barely restrained urgency.
"Hmmm." Lao Hu let out a noncommittal hum, shaking his hand lazily.
Seeing this, Wu Xuan grit his teeth and placed two more gold pieces in Lao Hu's palm.
"…Follow me," the broker finally said.
"Wu Shixiong, you haven't run out of gold, have you?" Yu Lingyu asked, glancing at Wu Xuan's flushed face as he followed Lao Hu like an irritated cat.
"Don't worry. There's more," Wu Xuan growled. He had already spent over ten gold pieces just for information. Yu Lingyu felt a pang of guilt tighten in his chest.
"Wait," Yu Lingyu said suddenly, stopping in his tracks. His eyes scanned the bustling crowd within the Phoenix Pavilion.
"What is it?" Wu Xuan asked, following his gaze.
"…I thought I saw Hong Li," Yu Lingyu murmured. "Ah, forget it. Must've been my imagination."
He shook his head, chasing after Lao Hu, who stood waiting for them ahead. Wu Xuan lingered for a beat.
"Who's Hong Li…?" he asked himself softly, before hurrying after them.
Lao Hu led them to a secluded room on the lowest floor of the pavilion. It looked like a normal private cabin, nothing out of the ordinary.
"Here," Lao Hu said, halting.
"…Inside a playhouse?" Wu Xuan muttered with an annoyed flush. He was already imagining the worst.
"Look at the carpet," Lao Hu said simply.
The carpet bore intricate woven vines, skillfully crafted.
"It's a lotus flower," Yu Lingyu whispered, kneeling down to trace the pattern with his fingers.
"The lotus and four daggers… the symbol of the Lotus Sect."
He slowly opened the door. A heavy perfume spilled out, sweet and cloying, making it hard to breathe. Yu Lingyu turned to thank Lao Hu,But he was gone.
With a quiet sigh, Lingyu removed his mask and closed the door behind them.The room was draped in dark red curtains, thick with incense and secrets. Wu Xuan rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, alert.
"Look at this," Yu Lingyu said, lifting a small object from the corner.
A crescent-shaped silver hair ornament. The very same Wu Xuan often wore.
"Yu Yi."
Wu Xuan dropped his sword and snatched the ornament. His eyes widened.
"I gave it to her… in case something happened."He looked down at the necklace around his own neck, a mirror design, also crescent-shaped.
When did he do that…? Yu Lingyu wondered, disturbed by the thought.As if recognizing one another, the two pieces shimmered, forming a glowing full moon.
"We're in the right place," Yu Lingyu muttered, now checking the walls for any hidden mechanism.But before he could act,
A voice rang out. Wu Xuan reacted immediately, drawing his sword.
Standing in the doorway was a tall, pale figure in crimson robes. A cold hood was drawn back around her neck. Her eyes were wide with disbelief.
"…Hong Li," Yu Lingyu said under his breath. "So I wasn't seeing things."
She stared at them for a long, frozen moment. Then, regaining her composure, she closed the chamber doors behind her.With her back to them, she took a breath and slowly turned around to face Yu Lingyu.
"Ah-Yu," she whispered, barely audible. "You should have stayed away. It's not too late to escape."She couldn't bring herself to meet Yu Lingyu's eyes.
Wu Xuan stood silently, assessing the mood, until Yu Lingyu did something unexpected. He stepped forward and gently pulled Hong Li into an embrace, like one would a long-lost friend.
Even so, she stiffened in his arms, her hands rising as if to push him away."Ah-Yu… go," she murmured again, trying to free herself.
Wu Xuan coughed awkwardly, reminding them of his presence.
"He's my friend," Yu Lingyu said quietly, pulling away. Wu Xuan didn't know what to say, he only shook his head, bewildered.
"Oh," was all he could manage.
"I searched for you everywhere," Yu Lingyu said, voice thick with grief. "I never thought I'd find you here."
Wu Xuan narrowed his eyes. "But isn't it too convenient? We just happened to meet you in the heart of the Lotus Sect?"
Hong Li gave a small, broken smile, one that tried to assure, but didn't convince.Yu Lingyu studied her in silence. Her warmth hadn't changed. Her face was familiar, even comforting.
But her eyes, once bright with mischief, now held a darkness that shimmered like a warning.And hanging from her neck was the jade pendant he had given her long ago.It swayed gently, resting on the scarlet robes of the Fierce Lotus Sect… not the brown and white of Jun Peak.
"…Hong Li," he whispered. "You-how could you? How could you do this to me?"
"Everyone changes," she replied gently, her eyes brimming. "You have too, Ah-Yu."
She tried to smile again, but it broke halfway.
The boy she once knew, carefree and full of laughter, now stood like a drawn bow, his face sharpened by pain.
"Go," she pleaded, her voice raw. "Save yourselves. The Lotus Sect won't hesitate. They'll kill anyone who gets in their way."
But Yu Lingyu's eyes were burning, lit with fury. Sparks crackled at the corners of his lashes."They have my juniors!" he roared. Each word hit the air like shattered glass."I'm not like you, Hong Li. I won't betray my friends!"
Wu Xuan flinched. He had never seen Yu Lingyu like this—never seen the soft-spoken, steady Lingyu crack and bleed rage into the room.
Hong Li's heart clenched.
Maybe I was wrong, she thought. Maybe he hasn't changed at all.
That fierce loyalty, so radiant in their youth, had not dimmed. It had only grown sharper. More dangerous. More beautiful. And now, it was the very thing that might destroy them both.
"Someone's coming," Wu Xuan said, tensing. He gripped his sword, knuckles white.A cold wind swept into the room, heavy with the thick scent of lotus incense.
"They're close," Hong Li whispered, pale.
"Ah-Yu…" she turned to him one last time. "Please. Leave. They'll kill you if you're caught."
Her words were true. Cloaked in illusions and twisted by ruthless ambition, the Lotus Sect was no trivial enemy.
"Hide," Hong Li hissed, shoving Yu Lingyu and Wu Xuan toward the couch. "Under the bed, now!"
They barely slipped beneath the frame when the chamber doors burst open with a thunderous crack.
"Shixiong," Hong Li said, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Hong Li Shimei," came a hoarse, grating voice. "Has anyone come here?"
From beneath the bed, Yu Lingyu could see nothing but feet, black boots and red robes trailing with embroidered lotuses.
"There was no one here when I arrived," she answered coolly, each word deliberate.
A sharp voice followed. "Stay alert. That bastard Wu Xuan's been spotted nearby."
Lingyu didn't need to see Wu Xuan's face to know what expression he was making. Smug. Annoyed. Most likely imagining how the man who spoke those words would look being fed to crocodiles.
After a tense pause, the Lotus Sect disciples mumbled amongst themselves and left.
Only once their footsteps vanished down the corridor did Hong Li exhale shakily. Yu Lingyu slid out from beneath the bed, brushing dust from his robes.
"Were they looking for me?" Wu Xuan asked with a mockingly raised brow.
Hong Li turned her gaze to the door. "So you're Wu Xuan," she murmured, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "I didn't expect Ah-Yu to have such a powerful friend."
She stepped toward the doorway, but the doors slammed open again without warning.
A blade came slicing through the air.
If Yu Lingyu hadn't yanked her back in that instant, she would have been cleaved in two.