A stifling silence hung within the Mayor's office. Wuzhi calmly bandaged the wounds on his body and stumped the bleeding. Yuelong watched everything with a dull gaze.

Nobody spoke.

After spending a few minutes performing basic first-aid on himself, Wuzhi then put down the roll of gauze and bandage in his hand and turned to face Yuelong. He wore a gentle smile on his face and spoke. "Firstly, there is no need to apologize to me. What had happened was an accident. I helped you while fully knowing the consequences of my actions."

He absolved Yuelong's guilt for injuring him.

"Secondly, it is true that I am your elder brother. However, I have no intention to fight you for that claim. I am aware of the engagement agreement with the Heavenly Spirit Empire and do not wish to quarrel with you for that claim."

"But Brother Wuzhi," Yuelong began, only to be interrupted by Wuzhi.

"Do you like Feng Tianfei?" asked Wuzhi.

Yuelong nodded his head.

"Are you willing to give her up to me?" asked Wuzhi.

Yuelong shook his head.

"Well then, what are you arguing with me about? I do not want her either," laughed Wuzhi. "I like the freedom that I now possess. I do not wish to be encumbered by some tiresome responsibility. If you are happy with your engagement, then it is settled. You can keep it."

These words were honest truths stemming from the bottom of Wuzhi's heart. So what if he was promised a wife? So what if that woman is a goddess? These things meant nothing to Wuzhi.

'To have fun' and 'to have no regrets;' were Wuzhi's mottos. He wanted to do as he pleased and live doing the things that he wished to do. Besides, there was his 'Grand Strategy' that Wuzhi wanted to accomplish. Now was not the time to be embroiled in tiresome marriage politics and the like.

"Brother Wuzhi! This is not right! You are the eldest and these things were promised to you at birth! These are your claims!!" Yuelong screamed; his emotions agitated.

When he had heard Wuzhi's words earlier, Yuelong was ashamed to admit that he felt joy and relief in his heart. This feeling of shame was then further compounded by the guilt that he felt towards Wuzhi.

Yuelong wanted to slap himself. How could he feel relieved at his older brother's answer? How could he be so immoral? How could he be so beastly?

"Aiyaya! Why are you such a hardass?" Wuzhi started to feel annoyed. Ever since he had left his birth town, Wuzhi had come across a wide variety of people. They were dishonest, scheming, greedy, lustful, envious, etc. He had come across some good people too. However, this was his first time meeting with someone like Yuelong.

He had already said that he didn't want this wife. He even asked Yuelong if he liked her, which he did, and gave him his blessings. And yet! This guy was going about clamouring about how it was unfair and unethical!

Was he stupid? Or was he…! A look of horror appeared on Wuzhi's face.

"Xiao Long! Don't tell me that you are one of 'those' people!" asked Wuzhi, horrified.

"Huh?" Yuelong appeared confused. "I don't understand."

"Y-you know," stuttered Wuzhi. For the first time, the usually wordy and unfettered Wuzhi appeared at a loss for words. His expression became reserved and shameful, and a red blush appeared on his exquisite face. "Those people who like to wear 'green…'"

Seeing Wuzhi blushing with shame, Yuelong felt initially confused. However, the instant he heard his clarification, the young master of the Mu family felt boiling rage gush forth from his heart. "You f*cking! Like HELL I like to wear green! I am not some degenerate pervert! Why the hell would you assume that!?!"

{AN: To wear a 'green hat' means to be a cuckold. Wuzhi basically implied that Yuelong is a… you get the idea.}

"Well, you're the one that keeps telling me to retrieve my claim and pushing your fiancée to me! What else am I to assume!?" shouted Wuzhi.

"Bastard! I was being ethical and considerate of you, and you actually slander me like this!? Do you have any morals!?"

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"And I keep telling you that I don't want it! Xiao Long, it is fine to have some 'interesting' taste. Elder Brother here won't judge you for it. However! You must remember that 'consent is key.' You mustn't force those that aren't favourable to your tastes into your hobbies." Wuzhi sincerely advised.

Hearing that, Yuelong almost nearly drew his sword and beheaded this hateful guy on the spot. However, he soon calmed himself. Shooting a terrible glare at Wuzhi, he forcefully said, "We shall no longer speak about it. It is not funny to shame other people."

"I have no issues with that," replied Wuzhi. He then recovered his smile and looked at Yuelong with renewed interest. As it turned out, his young brother was quite a cute person. He was so easy to tease.

Seeing the look in Wuzhi's eyes, Yuelong was instantly alerted. He knew about that look. His fiancée also gave him that same look every time they met.

Yuelong forcibly shifted his thoughts and sat down. He then severely gazed at Wuzhi and said, "The resolution for this matter is not something that you or I can arrive upon. It has to be decided by Father and the Heaven Gazing Fairy."

Wuzhi nodded his head and spoke nothing. In any case, he wasn't interested in it. And if anyone forced him to do something that he did not want to do, Wuzhi had no qualms about ruining their life!

It was in moments like these that the Heaven Scheming Devil's influence on Wuzhi's character shined brightly.

"But know this! I can give up on everything else; even the title as the successor of the Mu Household. However, I will never give up on the matter of Feng Tianfei!" declared Mu Yuelong.

As for the complication in his emotions, he would resolve that later. For now, the young man simply wanted to listen to his heart's desires.

It was unknown just how much of this came as a result of Wuzhi's influence. Perhaps, Wuzhi's careless, easy-going character had unknowingly affected Yuelong by a little.

"You can keep everything. I have no interest in your titles and responsibilities." Other people might have been moved by such an offer. However, Wuzhi had plans of his own.

'Successor of the Mu Household?' Not interested. Wuzhi had something else that was much more meaningful to strive toward.

The two young men then sat in silence. Wuzhi sat with an easygoing smile while Yuelong had a difficult expression on his face. After some time, Yuelong softly asked, "Why have you come to meet me?"

At first, Yuelong thought that Wuzhi had come back to retrieve his rightful claims. However, in their following conversation, he learned that his 'supposed' older brother had such desires. This resulted in Yuelong's question; just why had this fellow who had disappeared for the last three months suddenly appeared again?

"I came here to give you something and to make a request," answered Wuzhi. He then opened the suitcase by his leg and retrieved a large red-coloured sealed document.

Wearing a mischievous smile on his face, Wuzhi said, "Here is the 'red packet' that your older brother owes you for the last twenty years."

Yuelong snorted and received the item. He then alternated his gaze between the sealed document and Wuzhi before deciding to open it. Upon opening, Yuelong found a stack of neatly arranged papers inside.

On the first sheet, it was written, 'A Study on the Possibility of the Automatic Harvest of Unattributed World Energy.'

Yuelong's entire body trembled fiercely. He shot a quivering gaze at Wuzhi. "T-this!"

"A new Path," Wuzhi smilingly replied. "My Path."

A research study based on a new, undiscovered topic and Path; wasn't this exactly what Yuelong was desperately praying for?

'This is too much. Please take this back,' is what Yuelong wanted to say. However, he did not say it. He dared not say it.

"The Paths Symposium is four months away, right?" said Wuzhi. "I heard that there are a lot of great things to look forward to this year."

Yuelong trembled. He unconsciously recalled Tianfei's words from a while back.

'There have been rumours floating around the Tower recently that someone has submitted a 'Star-worthy' research paper for private evaluation. And they are true. My Master is one of the evaluators.'

Yuelong stopped for a moment and honestly questioned himself. Could he really come up with something that was deemed 'Star-worthy' in these four months?

Honestly put, no. He had no confidence that he could come up with something like that. In that case, wasn't Wuzhi's offer, a blessing from the heavens?

Yuelong could not throw away this chance. Not for the sake of himself but for the sake of his family. Yuelong could bear having his reputation ruined. He did not care if people stopped considering him a genius. He would be glad if that was the case. However, Yuelong could never stand to have his family's reputation tarnished.

He would never allow that to happen.

"What's the price? What do you want in exchange for this?" asked Yuelong. He might be helpless but he was no idiot. He keenly understood that Wuzhi was not doing this for him out of the kindness of his heart. There had to be a price!

A full smile appeared on Wuzhi's face. "Smart. As expected of Young Master Yuelong." Wuzhi laughed. He then raised his hand and showed three fingers. "I'll hand my research to you. I'll even allow you to claim all credit for it. In exchange, I want three things."

"Firstly, I want this meeting and our conversation to remain a secret. You will not inform anybody about me. This includes family, friends, subordinates, lovers, and so on."

Yuelong nodded his head. While he did not know why Wuzhi wanted to remain unknown, he would accept this condition.

"Secondly, I want you to promise me 'one thing.' This can be anything; an item, a person, a task, etc. Whatever it is that I ask for, you will not deny," said Wuzhi. "And before you deny, no, I will not ask for your to-be-wife; I will not ask you to do anything that will harm the Mu family; I will not ask you to do anything that goes against the Heavenly Spirit Tower's Ten Commandments. I might not ask you anything at all. This is just insurance for me."

Yuelong hesitated at this request. However, after a long period of consideration, he nodded his head once more.

"Thirdly, I want all of the Mu Household's firearms and other related technology. This must include schematics, production lines, and machinery… everything except for the workers. Oh, I would love it if you could spare a few related experts too."

The previous two conditions were merely appetizers. Wuzhi finally stated his true motive for coming to Yuelong.