Miss Fairy, Please Hear Me Out

The room fell silent for a moment.

Then a voice came from the communication crystal, asking calmly, “Changtian, where did you learn the name of this cultivation art?”

At that, Xu Yuan immediately let out a long breath of relief in his heart. He had honestly been a little afraid that even this old man of his might not know. But as expected of the final boss who had run rampant across more than a dozen routes.

After a brief pause, he said in a low voice, “From Ran Qingmo.”

“Ran Qingmo? Ran Jianli’s disciple?” A thoughtful murmur came from the other side. It seemed something had occurred to him, and the communication crystal temporarily fell quiet in the room.

Taking advantage of the time while his old man was thinking, Xu Yuan glanced sideways at Xu Changge and whispered, “Xu Changge, is Ran Jianli the Imperial Preceptor?”

Xu Changge shot a glance at this third brother of his, who called him Eldest Brother only when he needed something and Xu Changge when he did not. With a cold snort, he nodded. “Mhm.”

“Oh right, did you tell Father earlier that Ran Qingmo came to Stillwater?”

“No.”

“No other meaning. Did you tell Father that Ran Qingmo and I are very close?”

“No.”

“And did you tell Father that Ran Qingmo and I...”

“Tch.” Xu Changge drew in a deep breath and gave Xu Yuan a bland look. “Why so much nonsense? If you have something to say in front of Father, just say it.”

“Tch.”

“What is that tch supposed to mean?”

Xu Yuan coughed lightly. “Ahem. Nothing.”

Listening to the deliberately lowered voices coming through the communication crystal, the Chancellor’s usually stern and gloomy face revealed a faint, peculiar smile.

He set the memorial in his hand down on the desk, shook his head, and said, “I more or less understand. Changtian, let us take this one matter at a time. First, tell your father how that girl surnamed Ran brought this up with you.”

Xu Yuan gathered his thoughts. After weighing his words for a moment, he gave his father and Xu Changge a greatly simplified account of the little girl named Tian Yan.

Of course, he only mentioned Tian Yan herself and the most superficial details. He had promised Ran Qingmo that he would only say that much.

When Xu Yuan finished speaking, both Xu Changge and Xu Yinhe fell silent for a while.

Xu Changge’s sharp brows were knitted tightly. He did not really believe in this talk of divining the secrets of heaven.

Compared with the idea that someone could directly deduce heaven’s will, he was more inclined to believe these events had been fabricated by certain people using clever manipulation and the natural momentum of circumstances.

Earthquakes, snow in August, and other so-called celestial disasters could all be created through enough resources and manpower. As for the barbarian army reaching the walls of Frostnorth, that was even more laughable. The Chancellor’s Manor had foreseen that several years ago.

As for the other prophecies, if someone truly wanted to make them happen, they could also be achieved by human hands.

Compared to Xu Changge’s disbelief, however, Xu Yinhe’s answer was far more ambiguous.

“I have never heard of this woman called Tian Yan, but the Heaven Deriving Art does indeed exist.”

Woman, not girl, huh...? Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Clearly, Xu Yinhe did not believe that this Tian Yan was as young as she appeared. In this world, there were cultivation arts capable of preserving youth, reversing age, or even controlling the body’s apparent age.

After a pause, as if something had occurred to him, Xu Yinhe’s voice drifted over leisurely.

“Heh. It seems there are quite a few rats hiding in the dark after all. Changtian. You mentioned Ran Qingmo earlier because she told you something else too, did she not?”

Xu Yuan nodded and replied, “Yes, Father. But didn’t you say we should discuss things one at a time?”

A trace of amusement entered Xu Yinhe’s voice as he asked in return, “Has this matter not already been discussed?”

Xu Yuan froze. He had finished talking about Tian Yan, sure, but did his father have no reaction at all? At the very least, shouldn’t he give some general course of action?

During the silence, Xu Yinhe seemed able to guess what Xu Yuan was thinking. He smiled gently and said, “Changtian, you need not think too much about this matter. Your father will handle it properly.”

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Yuan chose to trust this old man of his. For someone who existed beyond the scope of the plot, if even he could not solve it, then Xu Yuan would be even more helpless.

“Mhm. All right then.” Xu Yuan rubbed his thumb lightly against his forefinger. After considering his wording, he said, “Regarding Ran Qingmo, I want to ask you for an opportunity, Father.”

“What sort of opportunity?” Xu Yinhe’s voice revealed no emotion at all.

Xu Yuan answered simply and directly, “An opportunity concerning the Celeste Sword Sect.”

He had promised Ran Qingmo that he would ask for one on her behalf.

The moment those words were spoken,

Xu Changge immediately lifted his eyes and glanced at Xu Yuan. A thoughtful look flashed through his long, narrow eyes.

Xu Yinhe did not immediately respond either.

The attic fell into complete silence.

After around a dozen breaths, Xu Yinhe let out a soft sigh.

“So that is how it is... No wonder that girl surnamed Ran abducted you back then. If I had not known in advance that this heaven deriving cultivation art might exist, I might truly have fallen for such a crude attempt to sow discord.”

The moonlight was clear and cold. Inside the attic, the two brothers each had different thoughts running through their minds.

Xu Changge suddenly understood several things. Back when they returned to the capital, he had proposed thoroughly investigating the possibility of a mole among the upper ranks of the Chancellor’s Manor, only to be stopped.

Xu Yinhe trusted those old fellows in the estate deeply. But looking at it now, it seemed the Heaven Deriving Art had more or less been one of the reasons as well. In that case... could there really be someone capable of divining the future?

Xu Yuan’s gaze sharpened. As expected, his father and eldest brother had known Ran Qingmo’s purpose all along. They had probably even considered rooting out the mole.

At that thought, Xu Yuan drew in a deep breath and asked for confirmation. “Father, was what Tian Yan said true?”

Xu Yinhe’s deep voice came unhurriedly. “Which part?”

“The matter of the Celeste Sword Sect, naturally,” Xu Yuan said.

Xu Yinhe’s tone carried the faintest hint of a smile. “Changtian, you did not mention that just now.

“I guessed that you already knew, Father.”

“Oh? And how did you guess that?”

“Because Xu Changge had two chances, and both times, he did not attack Ran Qingmo.”

Ran Qingmo must have already revealed the matter to others before this.

For decades, officials under the Chancellor’s Manor had been submitting memorials asking for the sects to be brought under control. Alongside that were various government decrees that had been loudly proposed, then quietly abandoned before they were ever carried out. Over time, this had created a classic The Wolf was Coming effect among the sects.

So even if Ran Qingmo knew the truth, she could still remain alive. The sects would find it very difficult to believe her word alone. But if she died, and if she died now at the hands of the Chancellor’s eldest son, then it would very likely arouse suspicion among the Great Flame Empire’s sects. They would wonder whether the Chancellor’s Manor was trying to silence her.

After all, everyone knew that the beloved disciple of the Sword Sect’s master seemed to be searching for evidence.

After a pause, Xu Yuan asked again, “Father, I have another way to handle the matter of the Sword Sect. Could you give me a chance?”

Hearing this, a hard-to-read look flashed through Xu Yinhe’s sharp eyes. When that girl Xu Xinyao left the capital, she seemed to have said something similar to him as well. She too had wanted a chance. A chance for peace.