The Reticent Blade

"I'm here on business," Qi Zongbi said, leaning forward in his chair. His brows drew together slightly, his presence sharp and commanding. "Tell me where he is."

"Stormqueller?" Ye Fan's expression turned odd, his gaze lingering on Qi Zongbi's face for a long moment before he finally asked, "What do you want with him? Do you think your life is too safe already? You don't have any of the Ghostbane Association's heaven-rankers protecting you now..."

Qi Zongbi raised an eyebrow.

Ye Fan waved his hand dismissively. "I know the rules—ask less, just do business. I'm just a little curious. You should know, the Storm Listening Pavilion has always been tight-lipped."

Qi Zongbi snorted disdainfully. "Tight-lipped... Anyone in the world can say that, except for your Pavilion. As long as there's business to be done, there’s no secret you won’t sell."

Ye Fan let out a chuckle, but showed no embarrassment at all. He propped his chin up with one hand. "Are you going to tell me or not? If you don't, then you won't get anything out of me."

Qi Zongbi picked up his teacup and took a small sip before exhaling slowly. "You don’t need to provoke me. Even if I don't say anything, you'd find out sooner or later."

Ye Fan spread his hands nonchalantly. "Then I’ll hear it from you."

Qi Zongbi cleared his throat, his gaze dropping to the floor. "It's rather complicated... As you can see, I do lack capable experts to protect me right now. The Imperial Guardians have slipped from my control, that much is obvious. As for the Ghostbane Association..."

"Ghostbane Association was never yours to begin with," Ye Fan interjected.

Qi Zongbi fell silent for a moment, casting Ye Fan a glance before continuing, "You are well-informed as always. Few know that my master reorganized the Ghostbane Association thirty years ago and has since pledged allegiance to the court. The original chiefs of Ghostbane Association were killed or crippled; their positions taken over by my master's subordinates. All internal affairs of Ghostbane Association were relayed to the court through the main sect leader. The court only needed to pull the strings of this puppet to maintain control.

"I was entrusted with overseeing the Ghostbane Association after I took office because of my connection with my master. Over the years, I noticed a troubling pattern—each sect leader secretly appointed by the court was, to some degree, undermined by the four hall chiefs. However, these four hall chiefs were all once my master’s trusted men, so I never delved too deeply into the matter until my junior brother headed east this time..."