CHAPTER 124 —
For all that Dong'er and Ye Lanchen had said, Tang Kexin still found it faintly unbelievable that she was, at this very moment, about to meet the elusive head of the Suo Yan Sect. The notion felt almost absurd. The Sect Leader was a figure spoken of in hushed tones, a man shrouded in rumour and mystery — someone whom even the most powerful nobles could not easily summon.
And yet here she was.
The room she entered was dimly lit, the lantern's glow soft and steady. A man sat within, dressed entirely in white. His face — every inch of it, even the eyes — was concealed behind a silver mask. The mask was crafted with such precision that not even the faintest outline of his features could be discerned. The room itself was cleverly designed: from within, he could see her clearly, but from the outside, no one could see his eyes at all.
It was exactly as the hearsays described.
A silver mask.
A presence steeped in mystery.
But why — why would the Sect Leader of the Suo Yan Sect wish to see her?
More baffling still, the moment she had arrived, the man who greeted her had immediately known her purpose and had brought her straight to this room. If the Sect Leader was so easily accessible, then where was the impenetrable secrecy that Dong'er and Ye Lanchen had spoken of?
Tang Kexin pushed the door open fully.
The masked man lifted his head.
He regarded her in silence, watching her stand at the threshold without stepping inside.
"Do you intend to come in," he asked, his voice drifting through the mask like a low ripple of sound, "or remain standing there?"
Tang Kexin blinked.
She had not expected him to speak so suddenly — nor to say something so… peculiar. She had come from outside; naturally she intended to enter. What sort of question was that?
But she realised, belatedly, that she had indeed been standing there for far too long.
She stepped inside.
The man's gaze followed her movements. Though she could not see his eyes, she sensed a faint shift in the air — a flicker of something she could not name.
"You are the head of the Suo Yan Sect?" she asked, her tone calm but edged with doubt. Everything about this encounter felt too simple, too convenient, too unlike the rumours.
"You suspect me?" he replied, his voice rising and falling with a faint, almost amused cadence.
Tang Kexin's eyes narrowed.
The voice was wrong.
Not wrong in tone — it was smooth, controlled, and carried a quiet authority — but wrong in authenticity. It was too even. Too measured. Too deliberately modulated.
He was disguising his voice.
"If I doubt," she said lightly, "is that not normal? No one has ever seen the Sect Leader's true face. Should I believe your identity simply because of a mask?"
A faint sound drifted from behind the silver — a soft, almost imperceptible chuckle.
He lowered his head, picked up a cup of tea, and said, "If you doubt, you may leave."
Tang Kexin stared at him.
Was this truly the Sect Leader of the Suo Yan Sect?
He was nothing like the cold, ruthless, untouchable figure she had imagined. He was… almost conversational. Almost teasing.
Almost human.
She stepped closer.
He reached into his sleeve and withdrew a small object — a token of dark metal, engraved with intricate patterns that shimmered faintly in the lantern light. He placed it on the table between them.
"A token of the Suo Yan Sect?" she murmured.
She had never seen one before. She had no way of knowing whether it was real or fake.
"Real?" she asked. "Or fake?"
The man's lips twitched beneath the mask.
"The Suo Yan Sect's tokens are unique," he said. "No one would dare forge one. Not even with ten lives to spare."
Tang Kexin raised a brow. "That powerful?"
He did not answer.
She continued, "I heard that the Sect Leader is nearly impossible to meet. That even the four great protectors rarely see him. Yet I walk in here and meet him immediately. Does that not seem… unusual?"
Her tone was mild, but her meaning was sharp.
The man tilted his head slightly.
"So," he said, "you came here to find fault?"
Tang Kexin almost laughed.
"Find fault? I am merely cautious. I am a weak woman — how could I dare cause trouble at the Suo Yan Sect's doorstep?"
The man's voice lowered. "Miss doubts me because she believes it was too easy to see me."
Tang Kexin did not deny it.
He paused.
Then, in a tone that was almost philosophical, he said, "Have you never heard of fate?"
Tang Kexin stared at him.
Fate?
From the Sect Leader of the Suo Yan Sect?
She had expected coldness, ruthlessness, perhaps even arrogance — but not this.
Not cryptic musings about fate.
And certainly not the faint warmth she sensed beneath his words.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
She took a slow breath.
"Does the Sect Leader," she asked quietly, "know His Highness?"
The man stilled.
It was subtle — a slight shift of his shoulders, a faint tightening of the air — but she felt it.
He did not answer.
The mask hid his eyes, but she sensed the flicker behind it.
She pressed on.
"This is all too strange. Too coincidental. Too… convenient. The Third Prince told me the Suo Yan Sect would be here today. He told me the exact time. The exact place. And now, the Sect Leader himself appears to meet me?"
Her voice softened.
"Is that not odd?"
Silence.
The man did not move.
Did not speak.
Did not breathe.
Tang Kexin felt her pulse quicken.