“The Song family? Which Song family?”
“The Song family of merchants, which was destroyed five years ago because of a jade pendant.”
“I have some impression of it,” Feng Kongzun slumped back lazily into his large chair, propping his head on one hand, seemingly indifferent. “But what does the Song family’s business have to do with me?”
Shen Zhuo was concise, “Rumors among the people say that five years ago, the Song family was exterminated by a great fire from Mount Fengyan.”
Feng Kongzun’s hand slipped, and his propped head nearly hit the armrest. He slapped the chair and stood up abruptly. “What did you say? Say that again!”
“In the rumors, the fire that wiped out the Song family burned for three days and three nights. Aside from the Phoenix Flame, it is rare for any fire to last that long.”
“Nonsense! If I start a fire in a stove and have someone add firewood continuously for three days, can it not also burn for three days and three nights?” Feng Kongzun arched an eyebrow, his golden phoenix eyes burning with offended anger. “It was not my doing, so do not even think about pinning it on me!”
He paced back and forth in agitation, muttering under his breath, “This is simply preposterous!”
“If it were only the fire, it naturally would not be enough to blame the Feng family,” Shen Zhuo said, watching the instantly enraged Feng Kongzun. “But I also heard that the Song family invited disaster because of a jade pendant, and shortly before the incident, was the Feng family not searching ostentatiously for a lost jade pendant?”
Feng Kongzun calmed down and stared fixedly at Shen Zhuo. He suddenly sat back in his chair, his fingers tapping forcefully on the armrest.
“You came to ask about the jade pendant.”
Shen Zhuo did not flinch, meeting his gaze. “Exactly.”
“Then it has even less to do with me.” Feng Kongzun recalled the events of that year and continued, “Back then, the Heavenly Dao ordered me to find a jade pendant. The Song family was at the height of its power then, and I suspected the pendant was in their hands. I even specifically asked to take a look at it, but it turned out not to be the same one.”
“Did you only ask to take a look at it?”
Song Yan, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up, interrupting their conversation.
“What else?” Feng Kongzun tilted his head and glanced at her. He finally noticed her hollow eyes. “No wonder you looked familiar just now. You are the blind only daughter of the Song family head, are you not? Five years ago, when I visited with the Xuanyun Sect, you were there as well.”
“The Xuanyun Sect?” Shen Zhuo immediately caught the name. “This matter is also related to the Xuanyun Sect?”
“It is not exactly related. At the time, I wanted to see the jade pendant but was not acquainted with the Song family. I heard that the Xuanyun Sect was on good terms with them, so I asked Qing Yun to take me to the Song family home.”
Song Yan asked softly, “Then does Clan Head Feng know who the real culprit behind the murder of the entire Song family actually was?”
Feng Kongzun let out a yawn. “How would I know? Regardless, it was not me. Stop throwing every black pot onto Mount Fengyan; we Fengs just do not like going out, but we are not all dead yet.”
The hall fell into a brief silence, and Shen Zhuo’s heart sank along with it.
Feng Kongzun’s reaction indeed confirmed Pei Chuan’s statement that the Song family incident was not the work of Mount Fengyan. But if that was true, who was the killer? And what connection did it have with the Xuanyun Sect that made Pei Chuan so secretive?
Feng Kongzun was clearly impatient with the stagnant atmosphere. He yawned again and grumbled, “Hurry up. What other old scores do you want to settle? Just say it all in one breath.”
Shen Zhuo suppressed the swirling speculations in his heart, realizing he was unlikely to find more clues here with Feng Kongzun. He turned and asked, “There is one more thing I would like to ask Clan Head Feng. What exactly do you mean by the Heavenly Dao?”
“Why ask about that all of a sudden?”
“At the sect gate, you said I had the scent of the Heavenly Dao on me, and you just mentioned the jade pendant was also related to it. I could not help but be curious.”
“The jade pendant is indeed related to the Heavenly Dao, but it has nothing to do with the Song family’s pendant!” Feng Kongzun narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Shen Zhuo’s features for a long while before huffing. “Fine, it does no harm to tell you.”
“The Heavenly Dao cannot intervene directly in worldly affairs, so it must choose agents from the world,” Feng Kongzun explained. “The Phoenix blood passed down through the Feng lineage was granted by the Heavenly Dao. The price is that the Feng family must become the ears and limbs of the Heavenly Dao, handling miscellaneous matters on its behalf. Five years ago, I was ordered to descend the mountain to find the jade pendant; that was the will of the Heavenly Dao.”
In his previous life, Shen Zhuo’s cultivation had reached the Tribulation Transcendence stage, and he had long ago touched the boundaries of the Heavenly Dao, so he understood what Feng Kongzun meant. However, Xie Yuan listened in a daze and could not help but ask, “What is the Heavenly Dao?”
“There, that is it.” Feng Kongzun tilted his head back and jerked his chin toward the sky. “Fate? Destiny? A script? I cannot say for sure either. In short, it wants us to act according to its wishes. If a situation deviates from its arrangement, I must handle it and pull it back onto the so-called right track.”
“When I said before that your friend from the Xuanyun Sect has the scent of the Heavenly Dao, I meant that his words and actions are still constrained by the Heavenly Dao.”
Xie Yuan thought for a moment and asked, “Is the Heavenly Dao a person?”
“Not exactly,” Shen Zhuo took over the explanation. “The Heavenly Dao is more like the embodiment of the world’s order. If one does not break through this layer of order, one can only follow the mandate of heaven. Clan Head Feng means that the Feng family, having inherited the Phoenix blood, is the protector of this order.”
“Exactly! That is what I meant! That is what our Feng family does!” Feng Kongzun’s eyes lit up with joy. “You are quite clever, kid. I like you! Stay behind later and drink with me!”
“I appreciate your hospitality, Clan Head Feng,” Shen Zhuo said. “However, I am still curious; what exactly is the origin of that jade pendant the Heavenly Dao ordered you to find?”
Feng Kongzun waved his hand. “I do not know.”
“Hmm?”
He leaned back carelessly, sinking into his chair in a more comfortable position. “The Heavenly Dao only said that something was being suppressed by that jade pendant and told me to go and remove it. But it did not specify where it was or what it looked like. Where was I supposed to look?”
Shen Zhuo was stunned. “Is it alright if you cannot find something ordered by the Heavenly Dao?”
“Hmph, I do not care if it is alright or not,” Feng Kongzun curled his lip. “Anyway, I looked for it according to its wishes. If I cannot find it, what else am I supposed to do?”
Could the decrees of the Heavenly Dao truly be handled so perfunctorily?
Looking at his rogue-like expression that said “I have done my best, the rest is not my business,” Shen Zhuo could not help but laugh. He pondered for a moment and pressed further, “Did the Heavenly Dao give any other instructions after that?”
“No,” Feng Kongzun answered bluntly. “There has been no movement since then. Perhaps it solved the problem itself, or found some other sucker to handle it. Who cares!”
As Shen Zhuo lowered his eyes in thought, Feng Kongzun stood up again and urged impatiently, “Quickly, is there anything else? Hurry up and finish digging through these old accounts so we can go drink!”
Saying so, he did not wait for a response and strode out of the main hall on his own. This Clan Head was clearly used to being willful, and his actions brooked no refusal. The group had no choice but to follow quickly.
After passing through several corridors built against the crimson rock walls, they found the banquet set in a pavilion. In the center of the pavilion stood a wide wine table, surrounded by several soft brocade cushions embroidered with dark gold phoenix feather patterns.
Feng Kongzun sat in the main seat without ceremony, and the three of them took their seats in order. A maidservant immediately brought a tightly sealed wine jar, its body still damp with red mud, likely just unearthed from the ground.
Feng Kongzun slapped away the mud seal, and an incredibly pure and strong wine fragrance instantly filled the air. Just the smell alone made one feel warm all over.
He laughed loudly. “This jar of wine has not been opened since Taoheng-jun left. Today, we must drink to our hearts’ content!”
Shen Zhuo smelled the fragrance and could not help but frown. He could not hold his liquor well.
“I…”
Just as he was about to decline, Feng Kongzun had already picked up a wine vessel, filled it to the brim, and pushed it in front of him. Seeing Shen Zhuo looking with difficulty at the amber liquid in the cup, Feng Kongzun arched an eyebrow. “What, you do not want to drink?”
Having his thoughts read, Shen Zhuo paused and told the truth, “I indeed have a shallow tolerance for alcohol. I fear I may struggle to keep you company, Clan Head Feng.”
“I knew it,” Feng Kongzun sneered, then changed his tone. “How about this: you and I will have a contest. If you lose, there is no penalty. If you win, I will gift you a precious treasure. How about that?”
Shen Zhuo knew his limits perfectly well. Even if he were willing to participate, he would almost certainly not win. But looking into Feng Kongzun’s golden eyes, his refusal got stuck in his throat.
After a long silence, he asked in a low voice, “What treasure?”
“Phoenix blood. How is that?”
Feng Kongzun’s tone was light and quite proud as his golden eyes looked at Shen Zhuo expectantly.
“What is the use of this Phoenix blood?”
Feng Kongzun seemed satisfied with Shen Zhuo’s momentary freeze. Propping his chin on one hand, he lightly stroked the wine vessel and said, “Taking it to play with fire is not bad either. With this blood, you can ignite the Phoenix Flame, the very flame you spoke of that does not extinguish for three days and three nights. In this world, aside from the three drops once gifted by the Heavenly Dao to the Xuanyun Sect, Yanxue Sect, and Wanyao Valley as tokens for the four great families, no one else possesses it. Are you truly not tempted?”
How could Shen Zhuo not be tempted?
As someone with an Extreme Yin body, he understood the preciousness of special bloodlines better than anyone. Phoenix blood was a thing of Extreme Yang; its utility was far more than just playing with fire as Feng Kongzun claimed.
He smiled, his gaze falling on the wine in the cup. “Many people would beg for it. Why are you willing to give such a precious thing to me, Clan Head Feng?”
“You do not need to worry about that,” Feng Kongzun tossed his head. “Just answer me: are you drinking or not!”
Shen Zhuo no longer hesitated, raising his cup to meet him. “With such a grand invitation from Clan Head Feng, how can I not drink?”
“Good!”
Feng Kongzun also raised his cup. Their eyes met, and they both drained their cups in one gulp.
As the liquid entered his throat, it was like a surge of raging flames, burning all the way down. Even though Shen Zhuo was prepared, he was overwhelmed by this domineering alcohol, his blood and energy churning as if a ball of Phoenix fire had truly exploded within his organs.
He coughed for a good while before sighing, “What a strong wine.”
“Haha! It has a kick, does it not!” A faint red flush had also appeared on Feng Kongzun’s face, but his phoenix eyes grew even brighter. He shook his head while holding the wine jar and filled Shen Zhuo’s cup again. “Another!”
Shen Zhuo only felt a buzzing in his ears, and Feng Kongzun’s figure had already begun to double in his vision. He took a deep breath and tilted his head back again, forcing the second cup of wine down his throat.
The drunkenness surged. He tried to steady his body, but only felt lightheaded. Then, he collapsed headfirst onto the table, the wine vessel falling from his hand.