Chapter 38: Beneath the Drainage
Yan studied the page carefully, the ink was darker than the surrounding sections, written with a steadier hand.
The text described several preparations mixtures that weakened the body quietly and immediately, poisons that dissolved slowly into food or water, methods that left little trace behind.
His fingers moved to the edge of the paper.
With a soft tear, he removed the page cleanly from the binding with a soft sound.
He closed the book and threw it away while folding the page and inserted it inside his tunic.
Footsteps approached the storehouse, Yan knew who it was.Tan Suzi entered.
The thin manual rested beneath her arm.
“Let’s resume the lesson,” she said.
Yan nodded.
She opened the manual and turned several pages forward.“This section explains the basic cultivation realms.”
Her brush traced the first characters slowly.
“The first stage is the Foundation Realm,” Tan Suzi said. “At this stage the soul begins absorbing spiritual qi and gradually strengthens itself. Cultivators here can only deepen their foundation letter.”
Yan watched the characters form.
“The next stage”
“Tan Suzi.”
Her brush stopped as Yan looked at her calmly.
“What is beneath the drainage channel?”
She looked at Yan, for a brief moment her fingers trembled.The brush tip left a thin crooked mark across the page.
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Tan Suzi lowered the brush slowly.
“Do not ask questions that cannot be answered.”
Yan leaned back slightly.“You know something.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“If you tell me,” Yan continued calmly, “I will testify that the rumor is false.”
Tan Suzi’s gaze narrowed.
“Playing tricks again?” she replied slowly, “People will believe I forced you to say it.”Her voice cooled
“That means I definitely know something.”Yan yawned.
“What if next time Elder Tao loses control,” he said casually, “I tell everyone I know what happened?”
Tan Suzi stared at him.
Yan continued in the same calm tone “I’m also in Elder Chao’s faction.”
“Nothing goes wrong if I learn a little about what’s beneath the ground.”
He shrugged slightly.
“I’m only a servant who barely started cultivating.”
“What could I possibly do with that knowledge?.
Yan explained.
Tan Suzi said nothing, Her thoughts moved behind her eyes.Yan watched quietly.
Still thinking.
Finally she spoke.
“…I won’t tell you now.”
Yan did not react.
“If there is another disturbance,” she said slowly, “I might answer your question then.”
Yan nodded once.
“That works.”
“Enough of your tricks” Tan Suzi said sharply.
“As if Elder Tao is a madman who loses control whenever he pleases.”
She dipped the brush into ink again.
“He will not.”
The lesson resumed.
She continued explaining the cultivation realms as if the conversation had never happened.
Yan listened quietly.When the lantern burned low, Tan Suzi closed the manual.
The lesson ended.
She stood and looked at Yan as if trying to understand something she could not name.
Then she left the storehouse as the door closed behind her.
Yan remained seated.
The courtyard outside was quiet.He stared toward the drainage channel that ran along the edge of the stone.The soil near the bend was darker.
Packed.
Disturbed many times.
Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
The balance was shifting.
The soil was finally about to enter the danger zone.