Chapter 77
And for reasons he couldn't explain, Ye Bai found himself following without question, completely unaware that the person walking beside him wasn't trying to make a friend.
He was trying to determine whether the successor of Endless Winter was worthy of keeping alive.
Wuming continued walking beside Ye Bai at an unhurried pace. Neither of them spoke for a while. The silence wasn't awkward. At least not for Wuming. He was simply observing. The way Ye Bai walked. The way he carried himself. The pride in his posture. The confidence that came from inheriting power instead of earning it.
Eventually Wuming spoke.
"Endless Winter is difficult."
Ye Bai immediately looked over.
"Of course it is."
Wuming nodded slightly.
"I suppose that's true. Most people wouldn't survive cultivating it."
The compliment landed exactly where Wuming intended. Ye Bai's chest straightened slightly.
"It isn't that bad."
"No?"
Ye Bai shook his head.
"The first few years are painful but after that your body adapts."
"I see."
Wuming sounded genuinely interested.
"And your clan still preserves the original cultivation grounds?"
"Obviously."
Ye Bai answered without thinking.
"The elders wouldn't allow cultivation anywhere else."
Wuming's eyes narrowed slightly.
Interesting.
So the original grounds still exist.
"They must be heavily guarded."
Ye Bai snorted.
"Not really."
Then he paused.
"...Well, not heavily."
Wuming remained silent.
The silence itself made Ye Bai continue speaking.
"The place is hidden anyway."
Hidden.
Not destroyed.
Not moved.
Wuming's fingers twitched beneath his sleeves.
Good.
Very good.
"The founder's resting place?" Wuming asked casually.
Ye Bai immediately shook his head.
"No. That's somewhere else."
Wuming almost smiled.
Another answer.
"So there are two locations."
Ye Bai blinked.
Then realized what he had just admitted.
"Wait."
Wuming continued walking as though nothing had happened.
"The cultivation grounds and the founder's resting place."
Ye Bai frowned.
"...Yeah."
"Interesting."
The conversation moved forward naturally.
Or at least it felt natural to Ye Bai.
Wuming asked about the climate.
The mountains.
The servants.
The elders.
The traditions.
None of the questions sounded important individually.
But together they slowly formed a map.
A very precise map.
By the time Ye Bai realized he had been speaking for nearly ten minutes, Wuming already knew the cultivation grounds were located beneath the eastern mountain range behind the Ye Estate, accessible through an ancestral shrine connected to a frozen cavern system known only to direct descendants.
Ye Bai stopped walking.
"...Why do I feel like I just told you a lot?"
Wuming looked at him.
"You did?"
The question sounded so innocent that Ye Bai immediately felt stupid.
"Maybe not."
Wuming nodded.
"Perhaps not."
Internally he was already reconstructing the estate's layout.
Eastern mountain.
Shrine.
Frozen cavern.
Direct bloodline access.
The Endless Winter is still there.
Good.
Very good.
For a brief moment excitement flickered through him.
Then it vanished as quickly as it appeared.
Meanwhile, back inside the Imperial Palace, the atmosphere was becoming noticeably less calm.
Several guards wearing armor embroidered with a silver seahorse crest were gathered near one of the palace courtyards. Their expressions grew increasingly anxious with every passing minute.
"Commander."
One of them stepped forward.
"We've searched the western halls, the gardens, the banquet chambers, and the eastern pavilions."
The commander frowned.
"And?"
"We still can't find the young master."
The commander's face immediately darkened.
"What do you mean you can't find him?"
The guards lowered their heads.
"He disappeared."
For several seconds nobody spoke.
Then the commander rubbed his forehead.
"This is bad."
"Very bad."
Another guard swallowed nervously.
"Sir... should we report it?"
The commander immediately turned toward him.
"Are you insane?"
The guard instantly shut his mouth.
The commander's gaze swept across the group.
"Listen carefully."
His voice lowered.
"If word gets out that the Regent Family heir has vanished during the Crown Prince's celebration, every clan in the Empire will hear about it before sunset."
The guards looked increasingly pale.
"And if anyone discovers what the young master cultivates..."
Nobody dared speak.
The commander finished the sentence himself.
"If a rumor spreads that the Ye heir is cultivating Endless Winter, every faction in the Empire will start paying attention to the Ye Clan."
Silence.
The commander clenched his jaw.
"And Clan Master Ye will skin every single one of us alive."
That statement didn't sound metaphorical.
Not a single guard doubted it.
The commander pointed toward the palace.
"Search again."
"Every corridor."
"Every garden."
"Every pavilion."
"Find Young Master Ye before the clan finds out we've lost him."
The guards immediately scattered.
Meanwhile, completely unaware of the chaos spreading behind him, Ye Bai continued following Wuming deeper into the palace grounds.
And Wuming, having already obtained most of the information he wanted, was beginning to wonder how difficult it would be to steal back one of the seven inheritances without starting a war.
Wuming thought they were finally outside the palace. The noise of the celebration had become distant and only the occasional sound of guards or servants could be heard from afar. Ye Bai walked beside him, occasionally stealing glances at him as though trying to understand what kind of person he was. Eventually the boy couldn't hold back anymore and asked, "So the thing I saw in your eyes... what was it?"
Wuming looked at him briefly before looking ahead again. "You don't know the eyes of the Xuans? Their real eye color is red. Not black. Not brown. Red. The thing you saw was Excusatio."
Ye Bai scratched his cheek. "I don't think I've ever heard of it. Well, besides that, I've never really been outside before, you know? I'm always inside the estate surrounded by strong people and elders."
Wuming listened quietly. If I kill him right now would it become troublesome? Not for me. The troublesome part would be everyone else. Ye Bai on the other hand was having entirely different thoughts. Is he interested in me? Or my power? Why does it feel like he's constantly examining me? The boy waved a hand in front of him. "Wuming? You there?"
Wuming nodded once. "Yeah."
Ye Bai brightened immediately. "Okay then tell me. Are you a good person or a bad person?"
Wuming looked at him for a few seconds before saying, "You didn't phrase that correctly."
Ye Bai frowned. "I did."
"No. You should ask, Wuming, are you a bad person for me or a good person for me. Asking me whether I'm good or bad directly isn't a wise thing, Young Heir."
Ye Bai stared at him for a moment. "Well either way answer me."
Wuming thought about it briefly before speaking. "Oh, I'm a very good person to myself."
Ye Bai laughed. "And to me?"
"Neither."
The boy blinked. "What does that mean?"
Wuming continued walking without slowing down. "If I don't kill you then I'm not a bad person to you. Therefore I'm good. If I kill you or steal from you then I'm both good and bad."
Ye Bai stopped walking entirely.
"How?"
Wuming didn't stop.
"Oh, if I steal something from you then it benefits me and harms you. Therefore it is good for me and bad for you. If I don't take it then I am good to you but bad to myself."
Ye Bai hurried after him again, now looking even more confused than before.
"But why would you steal something from me?"
Wuming finally glanced at him.
"Oh, I only used stealing to make you understand. For you it would be stealing. For me it would simply be taking back something I lent to you, Ye Bai."
The boy frowned.
Ye Bai frowned. "And what exactly did you lend me?" Wuming looked at him for a moment before shaking his head slightly. "Not you. Your bloodline." Ye Bai looked even more confused. "And what did you lend my bloodline?" Wuming's eyes narrowed faintly before a smile appeared on his face. "Everything." The answer made absolutely no sense. Before Ye Bai could ask another question, Wuming closed his eyes slightly and chuckled. "I'm kidding, my friend. Why would I steal from a friend?" His smile widened ever so slightly. "I can simply borrow it, can't I?" Ye Bai stared at him for several seconds before awkwardly nodding. "Y-yeah." Something about Wuming's way of speaking made agreeing feel like the safest option.
The two continued walking. A few moments later Ye Bai finally noticed something. The palace walls were nowhere in sight anymore. The crowds had disappeared. Even the sounds of celebration had become distant. He looked around quickly. "Wait... where are we?" He pointed behind them. "It seems we're completely out of the palace." Wuming didn't even bother looking around. "Oh?" he said calmly. "Isn't that a good thing?" Ye Bai blinked. "How?" Wuming looked at him from the corner of his eye. "We can finally have some alone time."
Ye Bai stopped walking immediately.
His instincts screamed. Every single warning his elders had ever drilled into him suddenly surfaced at once. "Are you trying to get me killed?" he asked.
Wuming didn't stop walking.
In fact, he sounded genuinely curious.
"Oh?" he said. "Why would I get you killed when I can simply do it myself?"
Then he tilted his head and looked directly at Ye Bai. His expression remained completely blank.mYe Bai felt the veins on his forehead bulge instantly.
This bastard.
This absolute bastard.
Without thinking, he lunged forward. His fist shot toward Wuming's face. Yet the moment he touched him—Nothing.
The figure disappeared like mist. Ye Bai's eyes widened. His fist passed through empty air. A voice suddenly appeared behind him.
"Boo."
Ye Bai spun around immediately and threw another punch. This time he was faster. Stronger. The force behind it was enough to crack stone. Yet the result was exactly the same. A hand caught his fist effortlessly. Wuming stood there expressionlessly, holding his punch with one hand. The impact didn't even move him.
Not a single step.
Not a single breath.
Nothing.
It was as though Ye Bai had punched a mountain. Wuming lowered his gaze toward the trapped fist before looking back at Ye Bai. "I wonder," he said calmly, "what Weiyang would do to you if he heard you were trying to kill me." Ye Bai's eyelid twitched.
Then Wuming continued.
"Or Wei Zhi."
His voice remained completely flat. "Actually..." he thought about it for a second. "Wei Zhi would probably be more troublesome." Ye Bai stared at him.
Wuming stared back. One looked annoyed. The other looked dead inside. For some reason that made the situation infinitely more terrifying. And for the first time since meeting him, Ye Bai started wondering whether Wuming had been joking at all during their entire conversation.
Ye Bai moved back a few steps and his hand instinctively fell to his left side where the dagger rested. His fingers wrapped around the handle and he pulled it out but the moment the metal left the sheath the shape began changing. The short dagger stretched longer and longer until it became a sharp curved machete shining beneath the sunlight. Frost slowly crawled across its edge. Wuming looked at it and nodded once. "There, you got a nice weapon." Ye Bai froze for a second before his face twisted. The veins on his forehead bulged and his face turned slightly red. "Were you deceiving me?" Wuming smiled. "I don't know." The answer nearly drove Ye Bai insane. He roared and rushed forward. The machete descended toward Wuming's head but Wuming simply leaned slightly and the blade missed. Ye Bai swung again and again but Wuming continued moving as though he was dancing. His hands remained behind his back the entire time. Every step landed perfectly. Sometimes he seemed to float, sometimes he seemed to fall, sometimes he looked like he was about to be hit only for the attack to miss by the width of a hair. Ye Bai increased his speed. Wuming increased his as well. Ye Bai's muscles tightened. The ground cracked beneath his feet. Wuming merely continued moving with his hands behind his back while thinking, when will he use Endless Dream? I already know where Endless Winter is hidden. I only need confirmation.
End of 77