After being comforted by her small servant, Qiang Zilan steeled her heart. For better or for worse, she had chosen Xue Rui as her husband. Since she had figured out what was wrong with him, she had been hesitant. But now she had found a new resolve. Unfortunately, she couldn't think about just herself, she had to think about her family as well. If she outed Xue Rui as a demonic cultivator, she would obviously be freed of her links with him but also with the Xue family. And she knew that they wouldn't take kindly to her after that. After all, she would be the only one they could turn their anger toward.

Besides, she remembered a soft Xue Rui. She knew that he was never a true gentleman but he wasn't a monster either. Maybe she could reason with him. Thus, she went to his chambers. She found him prostrated in his bed, alone. He had his head in his hands and didn't move at all. When she saw him and the emptiness in his eyes, her heart was pained.

"Husband, we need to talk. Please, don't be angry, but... I know everything..."

"And what are you referring to?"

The moment Xue Rui came back to reality, his eyes went from empty to terrifying.

"Please, you know what I'm talking about. I really tried to avoid the subject, but you do realize you have some... issues?"

Xue Rui's first reaction was to brutally stand up. As he did, he saw Qiang Zilan flinch as though she was expecting him to hit her. Seeing himself in her eyes, he froze and his head fell forward. All strength abandoned him for an instant.

"I... I know... I've been trying to control myself, but I can't. Maybe... Maybe I really suffered from Qi deviation, but I can't sense anything wrong. I even tried to refine some pills to keep my temper in check but nothing worked... Believe me, I did try everything before I... But I have to be the best alchemist possible. I can't humiliate my family's name. Patriarch Xue would discard me completely. I suspect he never really liked me much. They've all always preferred my brother. I just can't stop. As much as I hate it, I can't. If I'm not the best, I will lose everything. I know you married me out of necessity, but I couldn't bare to see you suffer because of me. And I know that you... And I..."

In his eyes, Qiang Zilan could see that Xue Rui was reaching his breaking point.

"Maybe if you give your master Gu, this could save us all. You can tell everyone that you were tricked."

"My master?!"

Once more, his eyes changed. Qiang Zilan had the feeling she was speaking to different men at the same time. Those eyes completely froze her blood in her veins. Contrary to Xue Rui, she wasn't even a Mortal Warrior. With a single move, he could do anything he wanted to her. Until now, she had never been afraid he would hurt her, but in that moment, she knew he would if she said the wrong thing.

"You would turn me against my master?! He's the only one who ever helped me! I knew what you were... Despite all your tricks, I've seen through your deception! You've only become mine so you could leech off of my success. And now, you want to sell me and my master to gain fame and fortune, isn't that right?"

Before she could answer, Xue Rui had his hands around her throat. Considering his strength, he could literally behead her with one hand if he wanted to. For now, he was just choking her. The poor Qiang Zilan was helpless and no sound was leaving her mouth. With her eyes alone, she tried to plead. But the only thing she saw were eyes turned black. Deep in them, she could see flames. It felt as though those flames would devour her soul. Whoever this man was, he wasn't the Xue Rui she had known.

As she was losing consciousness, her eyes darted all over the place as though she was looking for help. That was when she saw it. She should have seen it before, but somehow she had missed it. Behind the bed, she saw two feet. Indeed, Zhong Ling's body had been thrown to the ground. She couldn't tell whether the poor girl was dead or alive. And in that moment, she knew that she was going to live through the same torments. If she had tried to help Zhong Ling earlier instead of looking away, she might have escaped such a fate. Maybe it was fate, a punishment from the heavens...

Everything went dark.

-

Several days passed and nothing happened. Finally, the moment Cao Yun had been waiting for came though. He had focused on his soul all this time and had completed all his preparations. He was ready for it, but there was still a bit of fear in his heart. After all, he knew what he was up against. But both the anger and the desire to know more about his family were stronger. He would not run away. Finally, he was acting and not reacting! And he had prepared everything. In the worst case, he could still escape, but he wouldn't, because he was going to win this!

He received a message from Cang Yin. Tomorrow she would go back to the Red Realm's Banquet Hall with the information he needed to end it all. Now, he knew whether he could trust her or not.

With the anticipation building up in him, Cao Yun decided to clear his head completely and to forget about his cultivation. He had to be perfectly ready for it. Even Dian Mo was oddly quiet.

As it turned out, he had received an invitation from Jiahe Ruo. Knowing that the man was a connoisseur of art, he decided that this might be a good idea to visit him. The two men admired Jiahe Ruo's collection together. It was indeed very nice and Cao Yun was enjoying his stay. As a matter of fact, Jiahe Ruo did have an impressive collection of poetry in his study, not just paintings and sculptures. But he also had many other books. Some were classics while others were unknown even to Cao Yun who could remember everything he read. Indeed, there were books that were clearly modern. Most likely, Jiahe Ruo had found them in the Imperial City the last time he was there.

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"I think you might enjoy this little novel. Its author is only a mortal and when you read it you really find the hardships that mortals live through, but you can also taste a simple and yet fulfilling life. At times, I truly felt like I was working in some field. I'd say that it's a bittersweet read. However, I often find myself attracted to it."

"Do you personally know the author?"

"Indeed, I've been his benefactor so he could publish his books. Unfortunately, making copies is still very costly and no one really works on that. The copyists prefer working on manuals. I am certain that there are many masterpieces that are still unknown. But worse than that, countless great works will disappear with time because of the lack of copies and their poor quality. This is truly a shame. So I try to conserve as much as I can."

"This is a noble sentiment. In fact, this is also the case for martial arts and even some cultivation manuals. When they stop being used for a few generations, they tend to disappear. Apart from the most important ones such as the 'Universal Law of Immortality', we believe that we lost many manuals and books. Of course, some are still hidden within the collections of some old experts, but this is knowledge that will be lost to us all with time. Some weep on what mankind lost from the Legendary Era. But the truth is that we also lost from our own era without us even realizing it."

"You are indeed right, Brother. Maybe I could extend my venture to more than just literary works. In fact, I could probably find even more money to help in that endeavor. Hell, I could get a sponsorship by the Imperial City itself as a way to preserve the strength of mankind... You've given me a great idea Brother! It's even a wonder that I never thought of that any sooner."

"Well, sometimes, you're just stuck on a way of thinking and you can't get out of it. This is when you have to pull back a little and ask people who don't necessarily do what you do or even understand it for that matter. Even in alchemy this has happened to me. Getting inspiration from other domains can be a great thing. Not only will it help you develop your current field, but it will also open yourself to new possibilities. And soon you'll realize that everything is linked in some manner, sometimes more closely than others of course. But finding similarities between very different fields is more useful than you can imagine."

"Very insightful. By the way, do you have a favorite writer?"

"Well, I won't be very original with my answer I fear. But I am partial to Saint Dashan. And 'Dying Poems Under the Mirage Pavilion' is probably my favorite poetry among everything I've read. Imagining that things experienced more than fifty thousand years ago are still relevant today and still, to this day, shape our destinies, is just incredible. Despite their age, I always find some form of connection with my own life, and more and more everyday. Although I know all the poems by heart, I often revisit them on paper."

"It seems like we have more in common than I thought. Recently, I've rediscovered his sixteenth overture. The entire poem is meant as a glorious melody. As you read it, the words create a vivid atmosphere of epic and grandiose. And yet, you also feel sadness and pain through it. The victory itself feels like a defeat at the end. There is something extremely beautiful in all of that."

For several hours, Cao Yun and Jiahe Ruo ended up discussing many topics. And now that the topic of Xue Rui was definitely done between the two men, they realized that they had very similar tastes when it came to art. Jiahe Ruo had seemed too scheming to Cao Yun at first as he was always trying to create connections with everyone without offending anyone. But he could understand his position. And with Xue Rui, he had proved that he had ethics as well. Even he wouldn't befriend just anyone, he had standards as well.

While he was within the Governor's residence, Cao Yun tried to discreetly examine everything and even extend his Wei Qi with 'Ashen Feather Seal' as far as he could to try and detect things. When he had first come into tow, he had felt Evil Qi around here. But now he couldn't feel it at all. Maybe it had been something else. Since he was very sensitive to Evil Qi and Death Energy and that they were related to demonic cultivators, he could still find clues even without spiritual senses. However, he couldn't find anything any longer, any trace of Evil Qi had disappeared. At the same time, he asked very innocent questions to Jiahe Ruo to get a better idea of the layout of this place. After all, they could easily go from art to architecture.

At the end of their discussion, they even went to the Red Realm's Banquet Hall. This time though, Cao Yun invited Jiahe Ruo. The last time, he had played a little prank on him knowing full well that paying the bill would be a huge loss for him. But this time, Cao Yun decided to pay for everything. To be fair, he was now insanely rich and he was going to get richer and richer. The sales of the True Essence pills weren't over at all. Besides, he had not refined any Heaven pill yet. As soon as he would be able to do so, he might clearly become richer than some noble families.

In the restaurant, they also met with Minister Yong who didn't stay long. Cao Yun's impression of the man was rather good. He was a pure scholar. As such, he was a bit insipid but Cao Yun at least felt that he was earnest and hard-working. This man seemed to have been born to work in an office doing paperwork. When he thought about the chief elders of the Wubei Sect, he knew they would kill to have such a man by their help. Apparently, paperwork and administration truly were the doom of most cultivators. That truth stayed true even at the scale of the Hongchen Kingdom if Cao Yun were to judge by the dark rings under Minister Yong's eyes. He was a Mortal Warrior and was that exhausted nonetheless. One could imagine how much work he was doing. And Governor Jiahe wasn't really appreciative of that.

"By the way Brother, do you have a lady in your life?"

"Well, it's complicated. You've not seen each other in a long time. And even before that, we've only just met a few weeks.At that time, I was certain that she would be my Dao companion for life. However, with so much time away, I'm doubting myself. Maybe it was just because we were young and in very special circumstances her and me..."

"I'm sure you'll sort it out if you see her again. When I was young I also got carried away some times. But you never know if this is the real deal or not. I'm sure that with a cool head, you'll see things more clearly when you meet her again."

"And you and miss Liang?"

"Oh, she's just a very good friend. You would appreciate her as well. Her collection isn't as vast as mine, but she is even more particular than I am when it comes to art."

They enjoyed themselves for some time. Cao Yun almost forgot about his upcoming plan. But then, he felt the presence of Di Xihe in the distance. This time, she appeared as an old woman who entered the restaurant. Since he had warned the head waiter, he knew exactly what to do and lead her to a secluded room like always.

"I'm sorry, but something has come up. You can enjoy the rest of the meal. This time, I'll pay for everything."

"Thank you, Brother. I won't take any more of your time. When you came to visit, I could see that there was something on your mind. I don't know what's going on, but I hope that everything is fine."

"Yes, do not worry. There is a difficult refinement process that I've been waiting to perform. And all the ingredients just turned up."