Robert instinctively turned his head, only to be struck with sudden astonishment.
Luo Xiong, a general by birth and a lifelong devotee of weapons and armor, had always despised jewels and ornaments, scorning them as "trifling baubles fit only for women." Robert knew his father's temper all too well. Yet the small object before him was unmistakably a piece of jade ornamentation!
Why, then, had his father left behind in death the very thing he loathed most in life?
The matter grew all at once strange and uncanny. Robert's spirit quickened, his mind cleared; he no longer pressed to tend immediately to his father's remains. Instead, he picked up the jade, frowning as he asked, "Luo Dong, you served my father for many years. Do you know what this is?"
Luo Dong, too, was taken aback. He gazed at the jade and slowly shook his head. Robert questioned others, but astonishingly, within the vast estate—among more than a hundred trusted retainers—not one could explain the jade's purpose, nor did anyone know why Luo Xiong would leave behind such a bizarre object.
After some thought, Luo Dong said gravely, "My lord, if the late city master left behind such a thing, it must conceal some secret design. I advise that we immediately demand a detailed report of the old lord's death, especially the precise circumstances under which this relic was left behind. Perhaps within that report, we may uncover a clue."
"What are we waiting for? The report is in that old fox Michel's hands. Luo Dong, send someone at once!"
Seeing Robert's mind wholly absorbed by his father's relic, his spirit aflame, Luo Dong sighed with relief and did not entrust the task to others. He went himself to the Seminary. Half a day later, he returned with the detailed account of Luo Xiong's final moments.
When the thunderbolt struck, Luo Xiong had been by the Deadwater Lake, questioning several foreign tribesmen. Suddenly, a bolt descended from the heavens, piercing his chest. The others were too occupied fending off the storm to aid him, and could only watch helplessly as Luo Xiong toppled into the waters.
Yet in that moment, the tribesmen witnessed something even more bewildering. Gravely wounded, Luo Xiong did not seek escape, but instead slashed open his own chest with his crimson saber, deepening his wounds!
Did he, unable to endure the agony, seek a swift death? The thought had barely crossed their minds when Luo Xiong, in a gesture beyond all comprehension, cast aside his blade, thrust his hand into his chest, and seized something within. He hurled the object ashore and cried out in haste: "Tell the Seventh—use this to open the City Lord's Manor—"
With a final splash, his words unfinished, Luo Xiong sank beneath the lake. The tribesmen did not hear the rest, yet knowing the influence of the Yalan Church, they hastened to bring word to Michel in Moonwatch City.
Indeed, not a single one of the fifty thousand troops survived; the report Michel received owed everything to those tribesmen.
Reading this account, Robert and his retainers stared at one another in speechless dismay. Luo Dong sighed. "Alas, the old master departed too swiftly, leaving even his last words unfinished. 'Open'? Open what, indeed?"
Robert turned the jade in his fingers, pacing the hall. Suddenly, he lifted his gaze to the bewildered faces before him. "Whatever it is, Father used the word 'open.' That means this jade must be a key—of that there can be no doubt. Am I right?"
Luo Dong's eyes lit with sudden insight. "Exactly! If this jade is a key, then his unfinished words surely meant that it unlocks something within this manor. Beyond that lock lies a secret he never had time to reveal!"
Robert nodded, holding the jade aloft between two fingers. "Then, my friends, search the manor for a lock to match this key. Judging by its size, the hole cannot be thicker than a finger's width."
The retainers conferred a while, then shook their heads. The elder ones said, "My lord, we have lived in this manor for decades, yet never have we seen such a lock."
"Whether you can imagine it or not, you will find it. Father would never leave behind something useless!"
Robert's gaze hardened; he struck the table. "Luo Dong, summon all trustworthy retainers. Search every corner of the manor. Break what must be broken, dig as deep as you must, but find that lock!"
With Luo Dong's command, the household sprang into action. Their search was relentless; even thick walls suspected of hiding secret compartments were torn down.
Yet by midday, the manor had been scoured from end to end. A few suspicious lockholes had been tested, but none matched the jade.
Unwilling to relent, Robert barked, "Luo Nan, divide a force and search the barracks, the church, the brothels—every place my father frequented!"
Luo Nan hesitated. "My lord, if the search expands across the city, Michel will surely inquire. For you to scour the city so soon after receiving the relic—it will proclaim to him that the relic hides a great secret."
Robert smirked, tugging playfully at Luo Nan's beard. "My dear Sir Luo Nan, go ahead and search. If Michel or anyone asks, tell them this: Father departed too suddenly, leaving many family matters unresolved. What we seek is the final strike of our clan's secret art—the Bloodflame Blade. Do you understand?"
Luo Nan laughed. "My lord is wise. The Bloodflame Blade is the Luo family's private inheritance; even Michel will not dare pry further. Come, men, with me—search the city!"
Watching Luo Nan's retreating figure, Robert sighed inwardly. Only now did he truly feel the weight of Moonwatch City pressing down upon his shoulders. His father was gone; the burden was his alone.
Deep into the night, the search continued, yet message after message brought only disappointment. A day's labor yielded nothing. Robert sat in the ancestral hall, his brow knotted, the jade clenched in his hand. This hall, dedicated to his late mother's spirit, was the only part of the manor left untouched; even in his urgency, he could not desecrate her shrine.
But he had searched it himself, and found nothing.
At that moment, Luo Dong entered, carefully bearing the newly crafted spirit tablet of Luo Xiong. He bowed low before Robert. "My lord, though the old master's remains have not yet been recovered, his spirit tablet and a temporary tomb must not be neglected. Will you lead the household in honoring his return?"