CHAPTER 15 :
The Obsidian Figure
Creaaak—
The door slowly opened.
A figure dressed entirely in black stepped into the room, his lower face concealed beneath a dark cloth.
The chamber itself was swallowed by darkness, illuminated only by faint strands of moonlight spilling in through the window.
He moved forward in silence.
The black robes blended almost perfectly with the shadows, making him appear and disappear whenever the moonlight brushed across his figure.
At the far end of the room stood a small throne-like chair beside an exquisitely decorated table.
Before it—
the man in black halted.
Someone was already seated upon the throne-like chair, hidden beneath the veil of shadows. In one hand, he lazily spun a jade brush; in the other, he held an open book.
The jade brush reflected the pale moonlight, glimmering softly with every turn, as though a lone star had fallen into his hand.
Only after a long moment did the seated man speak. His voice was calm and unhurried, carrying a strange pressure within the quiet room.
"Did you obtain what I asked for?"
Silence lingered briefly before the man in black lowered his head.
"I did… here."
He stepped forward and respectfully handed over a scroll.
The man took the scroll and spoke slowly, his voice calm within the silent darkness.
"It won't be long before he awakens."
The man in black remained silent. He merely stared at him without moving, his gaze cold and unreadable beneath the black cloth.
The man holding the jade brush slowly rose from the small throne-like chair and stepped into the faint moonlight.
Tap… tap…
His footsteps echoed softly through the quiet room.
As he walked forward, the moonlight gradually revealed his appearance. First came the black boots beneath his robes, then strands of reddish-brown hair that shimmered beneath the pale glow—sometimes red, sometimes brown, depending on how the light touched them.
And finally—
his face was revealed.
It was Shen Hua Lan.
A faint smile rested upon his lips, gentle and calm. He walked toward the large windows where moonlight spilled into the room like flowing water. Beyond the windows lay a silent night scenery, half buried in darkness, half illuminated beneath the silver glow of the moon.
The moon hung high in the night sky.
Under its pale radiance, Shen Hua Lan's features appeared softer and softer, almost unreal.
The man in black stepped forward and stopped beside him. His voice remained controlled and emotionless.
"Remember our deal. When the time comes…"
He paused briefly.
"You will die."
"I know."
Shen Hua Lan's reply was gentle, almost indifferent, as though he had long accepted such an ending.
The man in black said nothing further. His figure silently retreated into the darkness before disappearing completely, as though swallowed by the shadows themselves.
Silence returned to the room once more.
Shen Hua Lan stood quietly by the window, moonlight falling across his figure.
After a long while, his gaze slowly shifted toward the table hidden within the shadows—toward the scroll resting upon it.
Even giving my life… would never be enough.
That was the thought lingering within Shen Hua Lan's heart as he stared silently into the darkness.
* * *
"Your Highness… here."
An attendant stepped forward respectfully and handed a scroll to Arata.
"Hm?" Arata raised a brow slightly as he accepted it. "What's this, Yao Ge?"
As he slowly unrolled the scroll, Yao Ge lowered his head and replied,
"It is the list of everyone who attended His Highness Shen Hua Lan's banquet that day."
Arata's movements paused briefly.
"The banquet…" His eyes narrowed faintly. "You mean the day that corpse appeared?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Yao Ge answered respectfully.
Arata glanced at the names written across the scroll before looking back at him.
"But why are you giving this to me?" he asked calmly. "I don't recall ordering you to make such a list."
"Of course, Your Highness did not order me to make such a list," Yao Ge replied calmly.
He paused briefly before continuing, "It was Attendant Fei Ling, who serves His Highness Shen Hua Lan, that instructed me to deliver it to you."
"Shen Hua Lan?"
Arata's brows twitched violently.
"What exactly is that man trying to make me do now?" he exclaimed irritably.
Yao Ge remained composed as ever and continued speaking,
"Attendant Fei Ling also passed along a message from His Highness Shen Hua Lan."
He lowered his head slightly and repeated word for word:
"The corpse is not in a condition to be sent over. If you wish to examine it personally, the doors of my residence are open for you."
The more Arata listened, the more violently his eye twitched.
Yet when his gaze finally dropped onto the fully opened scroll in his hands—
his expression darkened even further.
The scroll was densely packed with names.
One after another.
Endlessly.
There were at least over three thousand names written on it.
For a moment, the air around Arata seemed to grow colder.
"He expects me to go through all of them…?" Arata's gaze darkened. "Not even in your dreams."
A faint surge of force gathered in his hand as he almost tore the scroll apart.
"Your Highness! Please—don't!" Yao Ge hurried forward, barely managing to stop him in time. "If you tear that, it'll be reduced to hundreds… no, thousands of fragments!"
Arata exhaled sharply, forcing himself to release his grip.
"…Why did he have to invite so many people to that banquet?" he muttered coldly, eyes scanning the dense list of names once more.
For a moment, silence settled. Only the sound of paper shifting filled the space.
Then—
Arata's expression subtly changed.
"…Song Qiao."
His voice dropped low, almost like a blade sliding from its sheath.
Yao Ge stiffened. "Song Qiao?" He quickly repeated the name, then his eyes widened in realization. "Your Highness… you don't mean that Song Qiao?"
Arata's eyes narrowed.
"That's right," he said flatly. "The same Song Qiao—the man who once committed mass slaughter."
A cold silence followed his words.
"And yet," Arata continued, his tone turning even colder, "he was declared innocent."
"Your Highness… Song Qiao… he… he is also Your Highness's student!" Yao Ge's voice trembled as he spoke.
Arata's gaze remained calm, almost indifferent.
"Being my student doesn't mean he has nothing to do with the killings," he said flatly, letting out a faint sigh. "What is he doing here?"
* * *
"Ah!"
Shen Hua Lan's voice rang out lightly, almost amused.
"I knew you would come… I just didn't expect you to find his name so quickly."
Arata's eyes narrowed. "How could I not? You deliberately wrote his name in different ink and enlarged it, as if afraid it wouldn't stand out."
"Fufu…"
A soft laugh escaped Shen Hua Lan as he hid the lower half of his face behind his folding fan. He closed it with a gentle snap and stepped forward.
"Listen, Shadow Controller," he said lazily, though his tone carried a strange weight. "I never intended to make you recall your painful past… that past filled with sorrow, agony, and grief."
Shen Hua Lan continued speaking, his tone shifting into an exaggerated sadness, as if he were deliberately performing the role of a grieving man. His expression changed in an equally theatrical way, each movement slightly too precise to feel natural.
He spoke slowly, pausing at just the right moments, like someone reciting lines from a play.
"Would you shut up already?" Arata said coldly.
Shen Hua Lan paused mid-expression and looked at him.
For a brief moment, Arata thought, If I hadn't stopped him, he would've gone as far as squeezing out fake tears.
Shen Hua Lan's sorrowful expression vanished in an instant. Like flipping a mask, he replaced it with a bright, almost cheerful smile.
"O-kay~" he replied in a light, musical tone.
Arata's eye twitched slightly.
Someone really should give him an award for this performance.
Shen Hua Lan clapped his hands together.
"Now, Shadow Controller," he said with a wide, enthusiastic smile, "why don't you ask me why I wrote his name?"