Chapter 257 – Shedding One’s Shell, Moving Into The Third Gate - Part 2
Qing Hancheng swept his eyes over the patriarchs gathered around. “I’ll be entering seclusion for a few days. As for the Liu Clan, arrest all their sixth rank and above members for rigorous interrogation. Anyone below sixth rank should be temporarily detained until I return.”
He paused, then turned to Li Yuan. “Master Li, enjoy the wedding banquet. Once I’ve emerged from my closed-door cultivation, there’s more I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Yes, Temple Master,” Li Yuan replied respectfully.
Qing Hancheng said no more; it seemed he didn’t want to linger even a second longer. In a flash, he flew toward the heart of the city stronghold. The remaining patriarchs left to deal with the Liu Clan. This war had only been raging half a year, and already of the Holy Tree Temple’s eight great clans, one was annihilated and another had turned traitor.
Where the elders once played cunning games of intrigue, now they looked tense and subdued. They were old enough to understand that when the nest was overturned, not one egg would remain intact. Though they had vied among themselves before, none of them were foolish enough to risk internal strife when such a powerful enemy loomed.
Li Yuan returned quietly to the banquet, slipping back into his seat beside Cui Huayin. She had barely touched her food; next to her sat the first wife of Cui Heng, clan head of the Cui Clan, and neither woman was speaking.
Cui Huayin glanced at Li Yuan, asking no questions. They sat together, watching the newlyweds going around to toast every table in near-terror.
Li Yuan quickly filled his bowl and ate in a hurry—elegantly, as he would say, though Cui Huayin threw him a faint look of distaste. He ignored her. After three years of marriage, he was well acquainted with his wife’s imperious streak, which reminded him of a certain haughty consort he’d once seen in a television drama back in his original world. Her little expressions of disdain only added spice to their time together.
All the while, his mind churned with the evening’s developments. He knew far too little; he’d only witnessed the temple master expose a traitor but had almost no clue about the deeper events. In chaotic times, ignorance was dangerous, like a wild animal failing to sense changes in the weather.
Li Yuan despised being caught up in trouble. To avoid it, he needed more information. Yet in the depths of the city stronghold, where even extending his senses too far might be unwise, how was he to learn anything?
After an hour, the guests began to disperse. Li Yuan covertly slipped a short dagger from his sleeve and dropped it under the table before getting up to leave. Cui Huayin didn’t notice his little trick. She simply took his arm, said polite farewells to a few acquaintances, and climbed into the carriage waiting in the shadows.
The driver was a dedicated sort; he hadn’t even left to enjoy the party’s leftover feast. Once Li Yuan and Cui Huayin were inside, she discreetly pulled away, and they sat on opposite sides of the dark carriage.