Chapter 165 The Cracks in Fate
Elder Qin continued,
“His behavior was suspicious. A patrol happened to be nearby, so they approached to question him. To everyone's surprise, he fled. His actions were far too suspicious, so he was apprehended.”
He lifted a hand.
One of the cult members immediately stepped forward and handed him a scroll.
Elder Qin unrolled it and said calmly,
“This was found on him. See for yourselves.”
It was a parchment scroll.
The ink was still fresh.
The handwriting was elegant.
The contents were densely packed with notes.
Hua Xiang bent down for a closer look.
His expression immediately changed.
“The Dragonbone Token... the formula.”
Elder Qin raised an eyebrow.
“Correct.”
Hua Xiang bowed deeply.
“Elder Qin, did you witness this personally?”
Something flickered briefly in Elder Qin's eyes.
“I did not witness it myself. The report came from that servant with the iron hoe earlier.”
He paused.
“Unfortunately... he appears to have gone mad as well. However, there are witnesses.”
He gestured casually.
Three or four cult members surrounding the prisoner immediately nodded in unison.
I glanced toward them.
Every single one wore a grim expression.
Broad shoulders.
Solid muscles.
Not ordinary disciples at all.
They looked more like...
enforcers planted within the cult by some faction.
Alarm bells instantly started screaming in my head.
This is bad.
This wasn't simply a matter of catching a thief.
This was clearly—
someone using Feng Yu's testimony.
Using a convenient coincidence.
To manufacture irrefutable evidence.
And, while they were at it, direct suspicion toward Hua Xiang...
and the people around Lian.
The entire situation felt like a giant web.
And we had barely stepped into it before becoming hopelessly tangled.
A chill spread through my body.
Both Hua Xiang and Hua froze briefly.
Clearly, they had realized the direction this was heading.
But before either could speak, Elder Luo stepped forward with a dark expression.
His gaze fell upon the bound Liu like a blade.
“Why did you steal the Dragonbone Token formula?”
His voice was icy.
“Who is the one behind you?”
Liu's lips trembled.
His face was deathly pale.
Fear.
Pain.
And something that looked disturbingly like forced resistance flickered in his eyes.
As if grinding his teeth together with all his strength, he finally forced out a few words.
“Cult... Leader... I... hate...”
Before he could finish—
his body suddenly convulsed violently.
A thin stream of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Its crimson color looked strangely unnatural.
The next instant—
he collapsed backward.
“—LIU!”
Hua Xiang practically threw himself forward.
He grabbed Liu's jaw and checked his breathing.
For the first time ever—
I saw Hua Xiang's hands shaking.
After a long moment, he slowly closed his eyes.
His fingers fell away weakly.
“...He's dead.”
I froze.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
And far too convenient.
Those final words had pointed directly at Lian—
at the future Cult Leader of the Blood Lotus Cult before he had even officially taken the position.
The framing attempt couldn't have been more obvious.
I couldn't help looking toward the three elders.
Sure enough—
everyone immediately followed the script.
Elder Qin sighed first.
His face filled with regret.
“Liu was captured in my courtyard. When he was first brought in, he was already bound. The disciples I assigned were guarding the area the entire time. No one approached him.”
Elder Zhang followed immediately.
“I only arrived after hearing the news. I know nothing of the details.”
The statement was vague.
Yet somehow managed to remove every shred of responsibility from himself.
Finally, Elder Luo spoke coldly.
“Liu's death is suspicious.
But we all heard what he said.
The words 'Cult Leader.'”
His gaze swept across everyone.
“Lian's seclusion is part of the succession process. Everything should have proceeded smoothly. Yet this case concerns the very foundations of the cult.”
He paused.
“If the Cult Leader is not informed, how can the people's hearts be settled?”
His voice hardened.
“Rumors will spread.
And whether Lian can ascend successfully...
remains uncertain.”
One sentence.
One perfectly aimed sentence.
And the spear was suddenly pointing straight at Lian.
Hua Xiang's expression finally darkened completely.
“Elder Luo.”
He bowed.
But his voice was so low that every word sounded like sharpened steel.
“The Cult Leader is in seclusion according to sacred procedure.”
“Today, all we have is a single ambiguous statement.”
“How can that justify disturbing his mind and jeopardizing such an important matter?”
He lifted his eyes.
“This does not suppress rumors.
It creates them.”
Elder Zhang's eyebrow twitched.
His smile remained polite.
“Left Protector Hua, choose your words carefully.”
Elder Qin added gravely,
“This matter is serious. We cannot reach conclusions recklessly.”
Elder Luo sneered.
“Whether it is recklessness...
or concealment...
has yet to be determined.”
His eyes narrowed.
“If Left Protector Hua wishes to protect his own people, there is little I can do.”
The air instantly tightened.
I could see Hua Xiang's back stiffen.
His entire body resembled a bow drawn to its absolute limit.
And yet he still forced himself to remain calm.
The three elders, however, clearly had no interest in continuing the argument.
They exchanged glances.
Offered brief farewells.
And left.
Hua shot me an exaggerated wink.
“I'm going for a stroll.”
The next second, he vanished like a leaf caught by the wind.
No doubt off gathering intelligence again.
Meanwhile, events unfolded exactly as Elder Luo predicted.
Rumors exploded throughout the cult.
Liu's dying words—
"Cult Leader... I hate..."
were embellished and exaggerated with every retelling.
Within half an hour, the entire Blood Lotus Cult seemed to know.
Could the succession proceed?
Were the three elders hiding something?
Was Hua Xiang involved?
Every rumor mixed together and grew increasingly wild.
My chest felt tight.
Unable to bear it any longer, I decided to visit the child-version of Lian.
But before I even reached the courtyard where he was supposedly in seclusion—
I heard arguing.
Loud arguing.
When I got closer, I discovered Hua Xiang had arrived before me.
And present-day Lian was there too.
The two stood face-to-face.
Like the tip of a needle pressed against the edge of a blade.
I lingered outside the gate and listened.
Oddly enough, they weren't arguing about who framed Liu.
Nor about who stole the formula.
They were arguing about something else entirely.
Liu could not have stolen the formula.
And they had become increasingly convinced that Feng Yu's madness—
just like Mu Cangli's before him—
was evidence that another critical timeline event had been missed.
Hua Xiang's voice carried an anger I had rarely heard before.
“Cult Leader.
Do not disturb...
the other version of yourself right now.”
His tone sharpened.
“You know our theory.
If the timeline were proceeding correctly, Feng Yu would not have gone mad.
Mu Cangli would not have gone mad.”
“One after another, people are breaking down.”
He looked directly at Lian.
“Either someone is interfering with the timeline...
or we have once again missed something.
Or misled it.”
Lian's response was cold and stubborn.
“So what do you propose?”
His eyes flashed.
“You want yourself imprisoned?
Tortured?
Expelled from the Blood Lotus Cult?”
His voice rose.
“Are you insane, or am I?”
Hua Xiang lowered his eyes.
“If I truly am the critical point that has deviated...”
His voice became quiet.
“Perhaps I should have been framed.”
“Perhaps I should have been imprisoned.”
“Perhaps I should have been publicly expelled from the Blood Lotus Cult.”
His gaze settled on Lian.
“And perhaps then, you would have ascended smoothly.”
He exhaled softly.
“If the timeline were corrected...
Feng Yu might not have gone mad.
Liu might not have died.”
“Utter nonsense!”
Lian exploded.
For the first time, a crack appeared in his voice.
At that moment I pushed open the gate.
Just in time to see Lian grab Hua Xiang by the collar.
“What gives you the right to throw away your own fate?!”
His hands tightened.
“You think I'd just stand there and watch you die?!”
Hua Xiang was dragged halfway to his knees beside the bed.
Yet all he did was raise his eyes.
His voice sounded like a sigh.
“This isn't about me.”
His gaze softened.
“It's...
for your sake.”
For a brief moment, the two of them seemed to overlap in my vision.
Two fools trying to push each other away from danger.
One desperately refusing to let the other fall.
The other stubbornly trying to shield him anyway.
I couldn't help coughing.
Both turned simultaneously.
Lian's face darkened immediately.
“What are you doing here?”
I stepped forward.
“I'm here because Hua Xiang is right.”
Lian froze.
His grip on Hua Xiang's collar loosened slightly.
I walked closer.
“If there really is a timeline.”
“If there really are critical points.”
“Then the more you protect him now, the worse everything becomes.”
I pointed at him.
“Mu Cangli.
Feng Yu.”
“Who's next?”
“Me?”
“Hua?”
“You?”
Hua Xiang lifted his eyes.
Something complicated flashed through them.
I continued.
“Lian.
If you stop him from doing what history requires him to do at a critical point...”
I took a breath.
“You're hurting him.
And you're hurting yourself.”
Silence.
Lian said nothing.
After a long time, his fingers finally loosened completely.
He slowly sat down.
As though all strength had been drained from his body.
Hua Xiang did not press his advantage.
He simply watched.
For a while, the only sound in the room was the wind moving through the bamboo outside.
I looked at Lian.
Then asked quietly:
“What are you actually afraid of?”
Lian raised his head.
For the first time, I saw a darkness in his eyes that had never been there before.
“I'm afraid he'll die.”
The words hit me like a brick.
I instantly lost the ability to speak.
Hua Xiang merely sighed.
“Idiot.”
Lian's eyes reddened.
A rare sight.
“If you die...”
His voice trembled.
“Then what does it matter whether I become Cult Leader or not?!”
Hua Xiang slowly raised a hand.
As though he intended to pat Lian's head.
Then he remembered.
This was not the child-version of Lian.
The hand stopped midway.
Instead, he spoke softly.
“The timeline will not stop moving simply because you're afraid.”
His voice was calm.
Painfully calm.
“If a life truly must be exchanged for another...”
His gaze never left Lian.
“Then that person can only be me.”
Lian's head snapped up.
And for the first time—
I saw something in Hua Xiang's eyes.
A serenity so complete it was almost terrifying.
The tranquility of someone already prepared to sacrifice himself.
Then he smiled.
Just slightly.
“If you lose your footing now...”
His eyes softened.
“Then what comes afterward will be the part that truly cannot be saved.”