Inside the spacious lounge, a rare liveliness filled the air.
The furnishings and amenities were crude compared to the stature of the guests present, yet that did nothing to dampen their high spirits. Bursts of laughter and cheerful chatter echoed through the room.
"Nice weather today," Lou Guan remarked, holding the cup of Ji Jue’s "fine tea." He glanced politely left and right, wisely keeping his lips sealed from taking a single sip.
"Indeed, indeed." Tong Ting nodded, his mouth smacking nonstop as the pile of nutshells on the table grew into a miniature mountain.
"Say what you will, but these dried fruits really are something else." Uncle Lin, having come along from the Wild Gathering to join the spectacle, beamed with delight as he cracked open nuts without pause. "Give me another handful."
Lou Guan leaned in as well. "A few over here, too."
"Come on, there's plenty for everyone! Everyone gets some!" Tong Ting generously opened his stash, tossing a big handful to each of them. "No one goes home empty-handed!"
Tasked with playing host, Yu Shu hesitated several times to speak, but didn't dare utter a word. He silently poured tea and refilled water.
There was good reason for his silence. Even though every face was stretched into broad smiles, a wicked glint flickered in their eyes. The way their grins parted betrayed a ravenous, insatiable thirst.
The bloodthirsty spectators had caught the scent and swarmed in!
*Fight! Fight!*
Within just a few minutes, before his seat was even warm, Tong Ting had been unanimously elected by the crowd to act as referee. Now Captain Aether had truly come to call!
He thumped his chest, swearing he would referee fairly and deliver a splendid show!
In truth, whether there was a referee hardly mattered. With both duelists and their respective mentors present, there was no chance anyone would get so carried away as to fight to the death and refuse to honor the outcome. The real point was that there had to be commentary. Everyone was here for the spectacle; without commentary, wouldn't the fun be cut in half?
Amid the ticking of the clock, they cracked melon seeds and chatted in high spirits, casting occasional glances out the window toward the brightening morning sky.
Why hadn't it started yet?!
***
In another private lounge, silence reigned—so quiet that a falling needle would have sounded like thunder.
Master Kong stared expressionlessly at her student. Lou Feng stood with his hands clamped at his sides, cold sweat soaking his back, not daring to take a deep breath.
"Speak." Kong Qingyan turned the jade ring on her index finger, a faint strand of emerald radiance swirling across her fingertip—an unconscious habit. The gentle warmth between mentor and disciple had vanished from her eyes, replaced entirely by cold scrutiny. "What were you thinking?"
"Ah—me?" Lou Feng froze. "Thinking… thinking about what?"
"Pledging your independence as an artisan and your future in the Association over a project with an uncertain outlook. Putting yourself on the line as a stake just to meddle in a joint faction destined to know no peace. Win, and you gain a meager pittance; lose, and you become meat on someone else's chopping board…"
Kong Qingyan asked without inflection, "What on earth was going through your head, Lou Feng?"
"I—"
Lou Feng hesitated, his throat constricting. Under his teacher’s piercing gaze, waves of cold sweat drenched him anew.
"If you merely wished to remain an obedient family artisan without any ambition to achieve greatness within the Ring of Taiyi, that would be your prerogative. The infighting and political machinations of the Association would mean nothing to you, and as your mentor, I wouldn't care either—I would simply wish you a long and peaceful life. But if you hold even the slightest desire to travel far down the Path of Embers, you owe me an explanation as your teacher. What do you think you are doing?" The chill in Kong Qingyan's eyes deepened. "Lou Feng, are you truly in your right mind?"
*I didn't! It wasn't me! Aunt bypassed me and made the decision on her own!*
This was the moment to pass the blame.
If he were being rational, he should seize this opportunity to beg his teacher to halt the duel, severing ties with Ji Jue rather than tangling himself deeper into the web.
*…Was it truly not me? Was there truly no part of me that wanted this?*
Amid the silence, Lou Feng suddenly realized: had he really been left without a choice?
He had possessed countless opportunities to stop Lou Yanyue from acting recklessly. He knew better than anyone how unreliable his aunt was and how little regard she had for consequences, yet he had done nothing to restrain her.
In fact… the moment he had heard his aunt declare an upright, fair contest to settle the score, a surge of excitement had set his blood racing!
"It was my decision, Master."
Lou Feng bowed his head. "Call it a momentary lapse of reason. I… I will take responsibility for the consequences."
"You? Take responsibility? What could you possibly take responsibility for? Are you expecting me, your teacher, to draw a clear line and wash my hands of you?" Kong Qingyan shook her head. "Utterly, incomparably foolish."
Lou Feng instinctively opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by her soft, contemplative sigh.
"At long last, you resemble an Ember artisan."
Lou Feng stood frozen, bewildered and uncomprehending.
"Rationality aside, whether this was foolish or wise can be judged after the fact. Knowing full well the consequences and choosing to act anyway—as an artisan, you disappoint me. You failed to weigh profit against loss. Yet, in the face of the current disparity between you two, you still possessed the courage to speak up, to stand before your rival and test your mettle. As your mentor, I must grant my permission. Otherwise, where would your drive to ascend and surpass yourself reside?"
Kong Qingyan let out a mocking smile. "It is merely a contest. You are still young; you can afford to win, and you can afford to lose. My only hope is that if you fall, you crash down spectacularly, and if you win, you do so with glorious brilliance. Regardless of success or failure, it will be a lesson."
Lou Feng remained silent, staring blankly at his mentor. Noticing the complex emotion in her eyes, he tried to speak, but words failed him. His heart hammered wildly against his ribs, beyond all control, and heat rushed to his face.
"Master, I—"
"No need for guarantees or promises. An artisan does not rely on empty talk."
Kong Qingyan rose slowly to her feet and patted his shoulder one last time. "Prepare yourself well. Bring out your peak form… But if you lose, you understand what the consequences will be, don't you?"
And so, within the dead silence, Lou Feng began to sweat all over again.
***
Inside Ji Jue's office, an identical silence hung heavy in the air.
After dumping Ji Jue's awful tea down the drain, Ye Xian unscrewed her own insulated tumbler, leisurely took a sip, and only then lifted her eyes toward the student standing beside her.
"What were you thinking?" she asked abruptly.
"Uh, well…"
Ji Jue grew tense by reflex. After a moment of thought, he answered, "Since a challenge came knocking at my door, it wouldn't look good to back down. At worst, it’s just a matter of earning a modest profit versus a massive one. Besides, it's not like I could actually lose, right?"
Having said that, he even let out a small laugh.
Ye Xian did not laugh.
She simply stared at him.
She stared until Ji Jue’s laughter died in his throat, gradually replaced by shock. "…I really could?!"
Only then did Ye Xian finally smile—a frigid, deeply mocking smirk. "Which is to say, even now, you know nothing about your opponent? You don't know his hidden trump cards, you don't understand what he has kept concealed, and you have no idea what his lethal measures are?"
Ji Jue fell silent. "…"
Ye Xian added, "Meanwhile, your opponent has spent day and night studying you, resorting to every conceivable method to pry into your affairs, dissecting every trace you leave behind. Even while knowing full well the gap between you, he took the initiative to propose a duel. And what you must face is an 'artisan' who perhaps understands you better than you understand yourself."
"…" Ji Jue remained silent.
"For an artisan on the Path of Embers, you should know just how terrifying such a situation is, shouldn't you, Ji Jue?" Ye Xian narrowed her eyes, studying her bewildered student, before letting out a nonchalant sigh. "Still, not bad."
"Huh?" Ji Jue blinked, dumbfounded.
"Isn't this only natural?" Ye Xian scoffed dismissively. "The loser always obsesses over the victor; since when does the victor spend every waking moment living in fear? Do you think that old relic Tianlu cares about who envies him? Do you think the Plowsmith or the Carrion Eater lose sleep over which Grandmaster beneath them might issue a challenge one day? Would Kanemoto pay attention around the clock to a trifling nuisance like you?
"Standing at the heights naturally draws the covetous stares of those scrambling from below. Must one scrutinize every single one of them? Is research supposed to grind to a halt? Aren't there enough headaches already? In our line of work, artisans only ever target others. If you can actually be brought down by someone targeting you, it only proves you were mediocre to begin with, incapable of achieving true greatness."
"Then, Master, you mean…?" Ji Jue tentatively probed.
"Your own business is yours to decide. Fight if you want to fight. I'm your teacher, not your babysitter; why should I micromanage you? As for the joint workshop—heh, you certainly have more initiative than I do. Fine by me. Rather than letting you stir up chaos out in the wild, you might as well go into the Association and experience the cutthroat infighting for yourself. Playing games with fools all day won't raise your standards.
"That will be all."
Ye Xian screwed the lid back onto her tumbler, stood up unhurriedly, and walked toward the exit with her hands behind her back. But just before pulling the door open, she cast one final glance back over her shoulder.
Her smile remained, yet it carried a bone-chilling frost.
"Just remember… if you lose, you understand what the consequences will be, don't you?"
*Gulp.*
Ji Jue swallowed hard.
***
Ten minutes later, when Ji Jue and Lou Feng met again, neither wore the slightest trace of a smile. All geniality had vanished. Amid the cheers and praise of the bloodthirsty onlookers, their gazes crossed, spitting fiery sparks into the air.
In that single instant, both understood—what was on the line wasn't just their independence as artisans, the future direction of the workshop, or their standing within the Association.
It was their legs!
As the saying went: victory or death; advance without retreat!
Meanwhile, Ye Xian and Kong Qingyan had already begun exchanging pleasantries, entirely oblivious to the surrounding crowd.
"Master Kong certainly has rare leisure today, coming to watch children squabble. Have you realized promotion is hopeless, and decided to dote on your grandchildren to pass your twilight years in peace?"
"Far from it. I don't share your good fortune, Master Ye, of having neither son nor daughter; but nor do I have a student running wild, leaving messes for me to clean up. In comparison, my life is rather peaceful and carefree."
"Quite natural. The mediocre drift through life, while the capable shoulder worries." Ye Xian let out a faint sigh. "Whether a student amounts to anything depends entirely on themselves. A mentor tying them to her apron strings with constant nagging achieves nothing. Even with a few small troubles, it is far better than incompetence."
"Heh, who knew Master Ye would one day lecture me on the bond between mentor and disciple?" Master Kong appeared thoroughly convinced. "I have truly been enlightened."
"Affection comes secondary. If one cannot even teach a student properly, there is no mentor-disciple relationship to speak of anyway. Why bother discussing anything else?" Ye Xian waved her hand modestly. "Respecting teachers and honoring their ways, as Master Kong does, is what truly warrants admiration. Perhaps one day I might ask you to teach me how to stoke a firewood stove."
"Paying respects to one's elders? Naturally, that is an inescapable duty." Master Kong laughed heartily. "I merely wonder if you even have anywhere to send those offerings."
Before anyone realized it, the room had fallen into complete, dead silence. No one dared utter a word.
Beneath their breezy, polite banter, Ji Jue and Lou Feng stepped back again and again, sweat pouring down their backs. Watching their two mentors calmly take turns plunging figurative daggers straight into each other's chests, absolute terror gripped them.
*Maybe we should just reschedule for another day…*
Neither of them possessed the courage to say such words aloud!
Chapter 555