Chapter 7. Parents
The street was silent, the gray eaves of buildings staggered high and low, their curled corners like waves in a black ocean of night, frozen in time.
Old Yao walked lethargically ahead with his hands clasped behind his back, while Chen Ji silently followed, burdened with many questions he wanted to ask, such as where the Northern Continent was, whether he knew a young man named Li Qingniao, and what the Forty-nine Heavens were.
Yet, he knew he couldn't ask; he could only bury those questions deep in his heart.
Old Yao, puzzled, remarked, "You're usually as chatty as torn cotton fabric, why so quiet today?"
Chen Ji's heart tightened, "It's still because of the matter at Zhou Mansion, which you forbade me to mention."
Suddenly, Old Yao inquired, "Did you kill someone?"
After a long silence, Chen Ji answered, "No."
Old Yao snorted lightly, asking no further.
The old man truly didn't inquire about tonight's events anymore along the way, as if nothing had ever happened.
After walking for an hour, Chen Ji finally saw the vast red-painted gates of Prince Jing Mansion from afar, with guards bearing halberds standing in iron armor, and formidable stone lions on each side of the gate.
Under the gray-tiled eaves hung two white lanterns labeled "Prince Jing Mansion" in three characters, and the plaque above the door was inscribed with golden letters, "Upright and Bright."