Masks

When Xu Yuan returned to the courtyard Bai Zhao had prepared for the three of them, Xu Xinyao was seated by the pavilion in the courtyard, speaking in hushed tones with Ran Qingmo. Upon hearing the door pushed open by Xu Yuan, however, Xu Xinyao fell silent at once, as if reluctant to let him overhear. Walking over, Xu Yuan asked with a smile, "What are you two chatting about?" Xu Xinyao rose to her feet, her eyes curving in a smile. "Just private girl talk, Third Brother. Do you really want to know?" "Of course I do." Reaching the pavilion, Xu Yuan took a seat casually and set the box containing the human-skin masks on the stone table. Chuckling, he asked, "Naturally. Ran Qingmo, what were you two talking about just now?" Beside them, Ran Qingmo smoothed away her half-comprehending look, hesitated briefly, and shook her head. "Xinyao told me I can't tell you." "Oh?" Xu Yuan arched a brow and said with a chuckle, "What could be so secretive?" "Ahem!" Xu Xinyao cleared her throat to cut him off and changed the subject, her eyes curving as she smiled. "Third Brother, what's inside that box?" "..." Xu Yuan didn't press further into what their private chatter had been about. Whispering in his heart to the Saint's remnant soul, *Shutting you out for a bit,* he casually sealed off the remnant soul's five senses once again. Opening the box, he said in a low voice, "Human-skin masks. One for you, one for me. We'll wear them to the negotiations." "What?" Looking at the two compartments inside the box, Xu Xinyao's eyes showed surprise. "Wear masks?" Xu Yuan picked up a teacup from the stone table, poured himself a cup, and drank it in one gulp. "Father's instructions." A trace of contemplation appeared in Xu Xinyao's eyes, but she still asked, "Why?" Setting down the teacup, Xu Yuan lightly tapped his finger on the stone table. Rather than answering right away, he continued, "Beyond that, Father also handed command of the forty thousand Black Scale Army troops over to me. And from what Yuan Hao says, so long as I wish it, I can order him unconditionally to wipe out the Wanxiang Sect." "..." Ran Qingmo blinked, somewhat perplexed. Xu Xinyao furrowed her brows and said softly, "Third Brother, why are you telling me this?" She didn't believe her third brother was sharing this to ask for her advice. Xu Yuan let out a long sigh and asked in a quiet voice, "I want to ask you: what really happened with Second Brother's death?" Across all the storylines in Cangyuan, the Chancellor's Manor's second young master, Xu Chang'an, had never once appeared, so Xu Yuan had never been able to glean any useful information from the game. As for the news of his second brother's passing in this life, he had merely learned of it abruptly one day while drinking and carousing at an entertainment house, suddenly told that his second brother had died and that he had to rush back to the manor. Back then, a worthless playboy had no way of being privy to such matters. But Xu Xinyao had already completed her studies and returned to the manor by then; given her standing at the time, she ought to know some inside details. Hearing the mention of Second Brother, Xu Xinyao froze. Her beautiful eyes dimmed for an instant, and she asked with some confusion, "Third Brother, why are you suddenly asking about that?" Instead of answering directly, Xu Yuan simply said, "I have a few guesses in mind, so I wanted to ask." Xu Xinyao pondered for a moment before saying softly, "Regarding that matter, Eldest Brother asked Father back then. But Father didn't say much—he only said it was his fault. When Eldest Brother pressed him, Father seemed to grow somewhat angry, and Eldest Brother left the manor straight away." "..." Hearing this, Xu Yuan's brow furrowed by degrees. "What did Xu Changge go do?" Xu Xinyao shook her head. "I don't know." Xu Yuan pressed, "Are you certain Father was angry because Eldest Brother pressed him?" Xu Xinyao thought it over carefully and murmured, "Not truly angry, but his voice was very stern." Having said that, seeing Xu Yuan's expression turn complicated, Xu Xinyao asked gently, "Third Brother, does Second Brother's death have something to do with the matter at hand?" "No." Xu Yuan's tone was heavy with mixed emotions. "Though I think I roughly know who moved against Second Brother." "..." Surprise flickered across Xu Xinyao's delicate eyes, and her slender, fair hands tightened slightly. "Wh-who was it?" "Everyone." "Huh?" "..." Xu Yuan took a deep breath, glanced at the human-skin masks on the table, and said deliberately, word by word, "Everyone other than our Chancellor's Manor." "..." Hearing that, Xu Xinyao looked baffled. "Everyone?" Xu Yuan looked down at his own palms. "Second Brother died, in all likelihood, because his brilliance shone too brightly." Puzzled, Xu Xinyao asked, "Too brightly? But didn't Eldest Brother shine even brighter?" "Xu Changge?" Xu Yuan leaned back against the wooden railing behind him. "Xu Changge's cultivation is too high. He reached the Origin Realm ten years ago, and even we, his own family, aren't certain of his exact cultivation now. For outsiders to kill him, they would need at least two or three Transcendent Realm experts to feel assured. "And Xinyao, compared to Eldest Brother, those people actually feared Second Brother far more." "..." The confusion in Xu Xinyao's eyes deepened. Xu Changge's fame resounded throughout the world, whereas Xu Chang'an had only been modestly known. Xu Yuan sighed and asked, "Xinyao, you should remember what Second Brother was doing back then, right?" Xu Xinyao thought for a moment. "After Second Brother returned from his travels, he seemed to stay by Father's side all the time..." Xu Yuan nodded. "Yes. When he returned from his travels, you hadn't come back yet. I was in the Imperial Capital the entire time, so I know. Many of the important guests—even Old Master Hua Hong and Aunt Lou Ji—were maintained through Second Brother's liaisons..." Hearing this, Xu Xinyao already understood what her third brother meant. "Third Brother, you mean Father intended to groom Second Brother to succeed him?" Xu Yuan recalled the figure who had always held a staff, standing before him to shield him. "After all, ever since he was little, Second Brother loved talking reason the most." Silence fell for a long while after those words. Ran Qingmo bit her lip, watching Xu Yuan as if wanting to offer a word of comfort, yet unable to find the words. Xu Yuan lifted a human-skin mask from the box. "Right now, everyone under the heavens wishes for our Chancellor's Manor to decline. That is why Second Brother had to die. Once he died, there was no one in our household capable of taking Father's place. "You understand our manor's structure as well. It essentially revolves around Father alone. If someone cannot keep those beneath them under control, it will easily fall apart." "But isn't there still Eldest Brother?" Xu Xinyao whispered. In her memory, aside from Xu Yuan, both of her elder brothers had been omnipotent. Xu Changge's figure surfaced in Xu Yuan's mind, and he shook his head in denial. "Eldest Brother won't do. "He can suppress those beneath him, but his temperament is too detached, and he knows too little of patience and endurance. At best, he could only ever become another Uncle. If he were to take over the Chancellor's Manor, it would most likely drift into decline. "That was probably why Father was so helpless back then. "The sects, the noble clans, even the Emperor in the Jinluan Hall—they all wanted Second Brother dead." What the world feared was not Xu Changge; what they feared was the Chancellor's Manor producing another Xu Yinhe. With those words finished, Xu Yuan placed the human-skin mask onto his face.