In an abandoned warehouse. The air smelled of oolong and gunpowder.
In the secluded booth of the dimly lit tea house, cloaked behind carved wooden partitions, *Leng Xuanmo* sat alone. No guards. No assistant. Just the weight of silence and intent.
A flicker of movement—and then *Mo Tianyi* emerged from the shadows, dressed in a black mandarin-collared coat. His eyes were colder than the steel beneath his sleeves, his presence soaked in dread and precision.
"Leng Xuanmo," he said, seating himself without being invited. "You must be desperate."
Xuanmo's expression remained unreadable. "You owe me."
Mo Tianyi smirked. "I paid my debts three times over."
"You breathe today because I let you."
The smirk vanished. Silence.
Xuanmo slid a flash drive across the table. "I want you to find the one they call Red Lotus."
"Red lotus? A group? Or codenames?"" Mo Tianyi asked
"Not sure. Investigation couldn't find anything"
"Erased?"
"True"
Mo Tianyi tapped his fingers lightly. "Whoever they are... they erased their trail so cleanly even the dead wouldn't remember them. You realize I might need to burn a few kingdoms to get a whisper of this ghost."
"You can burn the world if it gets me the truth," Xuanmo said coldly. "The Lu family fell by design. I want the architect. Alive."
Mo Tianyi leaned forward. "And if I find them?"
Xuanmo's gaze sharpened. "Then I bury them myself."
A beat passed before Mo Tianyi chuckled. "Very well. The Black Verdict accepts."
He rose, voice low and calm. "But understand something, Xuanmo. If Red Lotus is what I think it is... then you're not chasing a person."
Xuanmo stood as well, face stone-like. "I'm not afraid of ghosts."
And with that, they parted—one into the shadows, the other into war.
Underground Network - Sector 3, Port District, 2:17 AM*
The door creaked open into darkness.
No names. No guards. Just an abandoned incense shop near the old docks, reeking of damp wood and blood history.
Mo Tianyi stepped in. Three masked informants waited in silence — remnants of his web known as *The Silent Leaves*, loyal only to coin and his command.
He tossed the flash drive onto the table.
"Burn it into your veins," he said. "Every link. Every whisper. I want everything related to the Lu family collapse cross-checked with disappearances, off-the-record deaths, and money that vanished without trace. Use the Bone Ledger, the Red Veil, and the One-Eye network."
One of the masked ones flinched at the last name.
"Red Lotus?" he whispered. "That's taboo even here."
Tianyi's gaze sliced through the shadows. "Break the taboo. Or leave."
The room stiffened.
He continued, "Start with the Sealed Auction massacre last year. Someone wiped five high names and took nothing—except data. Find the buyer list. The Lu family's name was once whispered among them."
Another operative nodded, taking silent notes.
"And check with the Grave Tongue in the mountain shrines. Rumor said someone offered a hundred obsidian coins for a name to be erased from history. I want that name."
"And if we find Red Lotus?"
Mo Tianyi's lips barely moved. "You won't."
He turned to leave. "I will"