"Enough." Yun Huang set down his teacup, his voice bland as he cut the man off, his gaze falling back to the documents. "If there is nothing else, withdraw."
These words were spoken to Yun Chi.
Every line Yun Chi had prepared was blocked back in, yet he dared not betray the least discontent. He could only bow deeply, veil the gloom in his eyes, and say sourly: "Yes. Chi takes his leave."
Just as he turned, at the very instant he was about to step out of the hall doors—
"Cough..."
A light cough, forcibly suppressed yet still leaking a trace of weakness, came from behind him.
Yun Chi's steps stalled hard, and it took the greatest force of will to restrain the instinct to look back!
Keenly he sensed that the aura behind him — a moment ago smooth and restrained as a still, deep abyss — now, like a lake surface struck by a pebble, rippled with a disorder that could not be hidden! This was plainly the sign of unsteady inner breath, of wounds forcibly held down!
'So he was gritting his teeth all along!' A great shock struck Yun Chi's heart, wild joy and cold calculation climbing intertwined. 'Of course — Yun Hao was crippled, and Yun Shuo was the source of the conflict; how could the Young Lord not vent his anger on Yun Qing, the elder brother? The way he was so eager to target me before, deliberately provoking me so the Young Lord would rebuke and dismiss me — he must have feared that if I stayed long I would see through his flaw! His injury is surely no light one!' This discovery nearly cost him his respectful expression.
The hall doors closed soundlessly behind Yun Chi.
Within the hall, once more only Yun Huang and Yun Qing remained.
Watching Yun Chi's vanished figure, Yun Qing's face was as usual — where was the half-shred of weakness Yun Chi had imagined? His aura was steady, his Double Pupils deep; that just-right cough a moment ago might have been nothing but an illusion.
The Twelfth Elder's line was like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows. Without a solid chain of evidence, the clan could never bring down thunderous means upon a powerful, real-authority elder and his trueborn grandson over an unaccomplished plot.
That being so, rather than wait passively for the other side to make its move, better to turn their scheme against them and lure the snake from its hole. The first step was to "show the enemy weakness." He would have Yun Chi firmly convinced that he bore a grave injury, his strength diminished, and let that greed and urgency swell...
Yun Qing turned his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the reincarnated Immortal Emperor who sat high upon the jade throne, forever seemingly immersed in the vast affairs of the clan.
Suddenly, Yun Huang raised his eyes.
Caught off guard, Yun Qing met that pair of golden eyes that read like an open flame, his body stiffening faintly with guilt, cowed by that formless pressure.
"Cough... cough, cough," he at once gave two covering light coughs, swiftly heaping an exaggerated ingratiating smile onto his face, stepping briskly forward to take up the jade pot with perfect naturalness and refill Yun Huang's already-emptied cup with steaming spirit-tea. "The spring wind carries an ill chill — see, it's even set me coughing. The Young Lord had best drink more hot tea, to warm the spirit-veins and drive off the cold." A pair of Double Pupils gazed eagerly at Yun Huang, written over with thoughtfulness and... guilt.
Seeing Yun Huang still without expression, his golden eyes deep and unreadable, Yun Qing shifted tack with fluent grace, his tone even more "sincere": "The Young Lord wearies himself reviewing clan affairs — shall Qing knead your shoulders?" He paused, then probed with an addition, "Or... knead your legs?"
Yun Huang finally raised his eyes and shot him a speechless glance, that look seeming to say, 'Only today does This Lord learn how full of theatrics you are.' A helpless ripple flashed and vanished in the depths of his golden eyes. In the end he said nothing at all, only lowered his lids again and fixed on the jade slip in his hand, tacitly permitting this "noisy" show of care.
Yun Qing's heart eased a little; he knew this hurdle was passed. Tacit permission was itself a kind of wordless indulgence — henceforth he could set his hands free to act.
When Yun Huang had at last dealt with the final jade slip in hand and rose to pace toward the inner chamber—
Yun Qing, as though suddenly recalling something, addressed that black-robed back respectfully, his voice gentle and winding: "Young Lord, Qing has a matter to report to you."
Yun Huang's steps did not pause; he only conveyed a single bland word: "Speak."
"By clan law, all who rank among the 'Twelve Young Masters' must take regular turns teaching at the clan academy, to show the passing-on of the flame and the honing of those who come after. Undeserving as Qing is, the clan has not cast him out and has placed him among them; he has already accepted the assignment the Second Elder allotted, and this afternoon, at the hour of the goat, must go to 'Sun-Radiance Court' to teach." Yun Qing spoke at an unhurried pace, his reason ample.
Yun Huang at last halted his steps and turned. His pale-golden eyes fell on Yun Qing, his brow faintly furrowing, the air around him abruptly turning heavy: "Oh? Asking leave again?" His tone was bland, yet like a mountain rain about to come. "I granted you rest only yesterday, and today you have 'proper business' once more?"
Did he truly take this attendance for a favor and reward, rather than a punishment?!
Yun Qing at once bowed, his manner all the more sincere, his tone even carrying a faint... allure: "Qing would never dare be slack in his duty of attendance. Only," his words took a subtle turn as he lifted his lids, a lively slyness flashing in his Double Pupils, his voice softening a touch, "the little ones at the clan academy, having heard of the Young Lord's blazing majesty, all look up to him as to the sun and moon and yearn toward him in their hearts. Should the Young Lord happen to have leisure today and be willing to lower his noble steps and grace the academy in person — even but to pause a moment — it would be, for them, a supreme glory and spur, its effect far surpassing a hundred days, a thousand days, of Qing's empty talk here. I wonder... would the Young Lord deign to condescend to go and view it together with Qing?"
He smiled, eyes curved, as though it were only an ordinary invitation to a stroll.
Yun Huang stared at him a moment, weighing the sincerity and the calculation within.
For a long while — and just as Yun Qing thought he would refuse with silence — Yun Huang gave a slight nod and, in that tone still betraying no feeling, said: "Lead the way."
"Yes!" A gleam of a plan gone right flashed in the depths of Yun Qing's eyes as he turned his body into a gesture of respectful invitation. "This way, Young Lord."
In the instant he lowered his eyes, his thick lashes perfectly concealed a cold light that flashed and vanished in the depths of his Double Pupils.
'You would take me for a stepping-stone, and replace me?'
'Then watch — upon this chessboard, before this Immortal Emperor whose mind is deep as the sea and who holds all in his grip, what a fine show can be played.'
Within the hall, the radiance of the luminous pearls flowed, mirroring the black-robed, ink-haired youth standing still as an abyss.
Outside the hall, a figure in black armor kept guard at the side of the door like a statue — none other than Yun Chi.
Seeing Yun Huang and Yun Qing come out side by side, seemingly bound elsewhere, a keen light flashed in the depths of Yun Chi's eyes, and he at once stepped forward. He dropped to one knee, his manner respectful in the extreme: "Might I ask where the Young Lord is bound? Chi will go at once to ready the immortal-luan carriage, and would lead a small squad to attend and guard your escort, lest the sacred procession be disturbed." The reason was grand and proper, hard to refuse.
Yun Qing's heart stirred. Hooked. ✓ He looked to Yun Huang, awaiting his decision.
Yun Huang's gaze rested on Yun Chi a brief instant, committing to nothing.
"Granted."
And so the trip to the clan academy became a party of three. Yun Huang walked at the fore at his composed pace; Yun Qing fell half a step behind, his expression calm; and Yun Chi, leading a squad of elite Yunxiao Guards, followed further back, his spiritual sense quietly locked on Yun Qing, letting slip not the slightest flaw.
The Yun clan academy lay in a secluded valley where spirit-veins converged among the clan grounds' encircling peaks, divided into the four courts of "Sun, Moon, Star, and Constellation." No sooner had the party reached the valley mouth than they heard, below, the ringing chant of study and the clear cry of swords — a scene of vigorous growth.
The party alighted on a white-jade immortal platform in the valley, and in the instant Yun Huang's figure appeared, the whole Sun-Radiance Court, as though blanketed by a formless force of law, fell silent as a graveyard in an instant.
Every young member of the clan — whether drilling their moves, sparring in contest, or reciting ancient texts — stood frozen in place, their gazes fixed as one on that figure of black embroidered with gold. Shock, awe, fervor, disbelief... every emotion flickered intertwined.
The Young Clan Head, Yun Huang! He would actually come in person to the clan academy?!