Chapter 57: The Gathering
The morning air was crisp and carried the faint, earthy scent of dew-kissed stone as the heavy wooden doors of the guest villa clicked shut behind them. True to their word, Han Lin and Ye Chenxue had refused to rush their morning preparations just to suit a merchant’s impatient whim, stretching their ten-minute window into a thorough, unhurried routine of grooming and dressing.
Lu Feng had used the extra time well. Standing before the mirror in his private quarters, he smoothed down the front of his freshly brushed dark robes, ensuring every seam was immaculate. But as he stepped back out into the hallway to meet the two women, he found himself genuinely pausing.
Han Lin walked out first, stepping lightly across the wooden floorboards. She was wearing the sophisticated, slate-blue travel dress Lu Feng had purchased for her the previous afternoon during his walk.
The garment fit her slender frame to absolute perfection, its structured shoulders giving her an air of quiet executive authority, while the reinforced inner linings and deep pockets blended seamlessly with practical elegance. Around her neck rested a delicate silver pendant inlaid with a smooth lapis lazuli stone—a subtle, high-grade piece of jewelry Lu Feng had quietly slipped onto her vanity earlier that morning.
Right behind her came Ye Chenxue. The ethereal cultivator had donned the sleek, midnight-black utility robes woven with micro-etched defensive arrays. The dark silk absorbed the ambient light, making her look like a phantom carved from midnight frost.
Dangling gracefully from her ears were minimalist silver drops, and a fine, polished jade bracelet gleamed softly against her pale wrist—accessories Lu Feng had picked out to complement her cold, lethal aesthetic.
"You both clean up nicely," Lu Feng noted with an approving nod, a faint, confident smile touching his lips.
Han Lin smoothed down her skirt with a soft chuckle, her fingers brushing the lapis lazuli pendant. "If we are going to walk into a den of merchants and potential adversaries with Lin Laifu, we might as well look the part. Thank you for the jewelry, Young Master; it’s remarkably fine craftsmanship."
Ye Chenxue merely offered a slight, acknowledging nod, touching the cool jade bracelet on her wrist. "The robes provide exceptional qi flow. They will not hinder my movements if a fight breaks out."
"Let’s hope it doesn’t come to a full-scale brawl before we even touch our tea," Lu Feng replied dryly.
Stepping out of the courtyard gates, they found that Lin Laifu had long since departed, unwilling to waste a single second lingering outside. However, true to his word as a wealthy host, he had left behind a secondary, highly luxurious closed carriage pulled by two spirit-beasts with snow-white manes. A liveried driver bowed deeply as the trio approached, holding the door open and gesturing respectfully toward the plush velvet seats inside.
Without hesitation, Lu Feng and his ladies climbed aboard. The interior of the carriage was spacious, lined with thick cushions, perfumed with burning sandalwood incense, and muffled by sound-suppression talismans that completely blocked out the noisy clatter of the morning streets outside.
As the carriage lurched forward with a smooth, almost imperceptible motion, rolling steadily toward the upper commercial district, the quiet atmosphere inside invited conversation.
Han Lin adjusted her cuffs, her dark eyes reflecting the flickering amber light of the carriage lantern as she brought up the elephant in the room.
"So," Han Lin murmured, keeping her voice low despite the sound-proofing. "Lin Laifu is hosting us at the Grand Crimson Pavilion, and the mysterious correspondent behind the pink duck just so happens to have sent a letter warning us they’ll be at the exact same pavilion this morning. The coincidence is so thick you could carve it with a broadsword."
"It’s not a coincidence," Lu Feng replied, leaning back against the velvet cushions with his arms crossed over his chest. "Lin Laifu is panicking about something in the lower markets, and our feathered extortionist is trying to squeeze us for leverage. Either they are working together to test our boundaries, or they are two separate factions colliding over the same territory. Either way, we’re walking straight into their crossfire."
Ye Chenxue sat upright, her hand resting casually near the hilt of her hidden blade. "If Lin Laifu is tied to the sender, we eliminate him before we reach the restaurant. It would save us a considerable amount of wasted breath."
"Not yet," Lu Feng shook his head, a cold, analytical gleam flashing in his mismatched eyes. "Lin Laifu is still too useful as a financial anchor in this city. Let him play his hand first. We’ll see how much he actually knows when we put the pressure on him."
The carriage ride through the winding, sunlit avenues of Crimson Vale took nearly twenty minutes. By the time the vehicle smoothly decelerated and came to a gentle halt, they had arrived at the most opulent dining establishment in the upper district.
The Grand Crimson Pavilion was an architectural masterpiece—a massive, five-story pagoda built from polished red cedar and white marble, adorned with hanging silk lanterns and guarded by four heavily armored martial sentries standing at the main double doors. The moment the carriage door opened, an eager young restaurant attendant rushed forward, bowing frantically as he offered a stepping stool.
As Lu Feng, Han Lin, and Ye Chenxue stepped out onto the pristine marble steps, they spotted Lin Laifu waiting anxiously near the entrance. The portly merchant was pacing back and forth, wringing his chubby hands, but the moment he saw Lu Feng emerge followed by the two impeccably dressed, strikingly intimidating women, his face split into a wide, oily grin.
"Ah, marvelous! You’ve arrived!" Lin Laifu boomed, scurrying forward with short, rapid steps. "Please, follow me. I’ve secured the exclusive top-floor sky-box overlooking the entire eastern trade district. The dragon-rib broth is already being heated!"
Without giving them a chance to reply, Lin Laifu turned and led them past the bowing sentries, guiding them through the luxurious, incense-filled halls of the pavilion and straight up a sweeping spiral staircase carved from dragon-blood wood.
The top-floor sky-box was breathtaking—an open-air terrace enclosed by delicate silk screens, featuring a low mahogany dining table surrounded by plush silk pillows. A panoramic view of Crimson Vale City spread out beneath them, shimmering in the morning light.
Once the restaurant attendants had scurried away after setting down pots of steaming snow-peak tea and delicate porcelain bowls, Lin Laifu finally let out a breath, pouring a cup for Lu Feng.
"Now, let us put aside business for a moment and simply enjoy the morning air," Lin Laifu chuckled nervously, trying to ease the heavy tension hanging in the room. "Though, as I was waiting for you outside, I couldn’t help but notice your guards whispering about something. You folks looked rather serious during the ride over."
Han Lin raised an eyebrow, exchanging a brief, amused glance with Lu Feng. "Oh, we were just discussing our morning mail, Master Lin. Specifically, the peculiar delivery system some people in this city rely on."
Lin Laifu paused, his teacup halfway to his mouth. He blinked, a look of genuine confusion crossing his round face. "Mail? What kind of mail requires a discussion?"
"A bird," Ye Chenxue stated bluntly, her cold voice cutting cleanly through the ambient noise of the terrace. "A chubby, pink duck wearing a tiny waistcoat and an abacus, dropping extortion notes and warning letters on our doorstep."
Lin Laifu’s hand jerked violently, nearly slopping hot tea across the polished mahogany table. He stared at Ye Chenxue, his jaw dropping open in sheer astonishment.
"The... the pink duck?" Lin Laifu stammered, his eyes widening in sudden realization. He let out a sharp, dismissive scoff, waving his hand frantically as if trying to brush away a bad smell. "Oh, that wretched creature! You’ve encountered it, have you? Disgraceful beast. Absolute nuisance."
Lu Feng narrowed his eyes, tracking the merchant’s sudden shift in demeanor. "You seem awfully familiar with a stray poultry hazard, Master Lin."
"It’s not a stray!" Lin Laifu muttered, leaning across the table and lowering his voice, looking genuinely irritated. "That feathered pest belongs to one of my fiercest commercial rivals in the eastern sector—a petty, eccentric broker who uses it to pull childish pranks and deliver crude intimidation notes to his competitors. It’s an open secret in the underworld. Do yourself a favor, Young Master Lu: completely ignore its messages. They’re worthless garbage meant to rile you up."
Hearing Lin Laifu casually dismiss the extortion notes as worthless trash caused Lu Feng’s brow to furrow into a deep, dark frown. The merchant was playing it off as a petty commercial rivalry, desperately trying to steer them away from taking the threat seriously.
Lin Laifu instantly caught the subtle shift in Lu Feng’s expression. The merchant froze, his smile faltering as a cold knot of dread formed in his stomach.
"Why... why did that cause you to frown, Young Master Lu?" Lin Laifu asked cautiously, his voice losing its cheerful cadence. "Did the bird do something else?"
Before Lu Feng could open his mouth to answer, Ye Chenxue leaned forward. Her piercing, glacial eyes locked directly onto the portly merchant, and she delivered the final blow with absolute, terrifying calm.
"That advice comes a bit too late, Master Lin," Ye Chenxue said smoothly, her voice dropping the temperature in the sky-box by several degrees. "We didn’t ignore its messages. In fact, we replied to the letter the duck brought us a few days ago. And in response, we received a brand-new letter this very morning... informing us that the sender would also happen to be present here, at this exact pavilion, today."
The silence that fell over the top-floor terrace was instantaneous and absolute.
The steaming tea in the porcelain pots seemed to stop rippling. The bustling sounds of the city below faded into total insignificance.
Lin Laifu’s face drained of all color, turning a pasty, sickly gray. The oily, confident merchant expression shattered completely, replaced by a mask of unadulterated horror. His hands began to shake so violently that he could no longer hold his teacup, setting it down with a loud, clattering crash that spilled amber liquid across the table.
Now, it was Lin Laifu’s turn to frown—not out of casual curiosity, but out of the sheer, suffocating terror of a man who suddenly realized he had stepped into a trap he never saw coming.