Marquis Wu's Estate

Chu Ning paid no attention to the crowd's attitude. He was used to this sort of arrogance from the powerful, but Xie Mingli's attitude still caught him slightly off guard.

As he stepped into Marquis Wu's Estate, the instant his foot rose, the coarse hemp beneath his boot brushed against the raised star patterns on the stone. The Star Track, outlined in gold thread, seemed to come alive, swirling beneath his feet into a resplendent galaxy.

At the end of the steps, sixteen coiled-dragon pillars supported a gilded dome. Every dragon's whisker was adorned with pigeon-blood stones, while their eyes were luminous jade discs presented in tribute by the northern desert. Even in broad daylight, they glimmered with a faint blue radiance.

"Mind your step, Young Master Chu." Qin Henian's hand, withered like a dead branch, suddenly stretched across his path. Only then did Chu Ning notice a crack barely an inch wide on the right side of the third step. The old steward lightly tapped the fissure with the toe of his deerskin boot. "A tenant slipped here last month. Blood seeped into the sunken-star patterns and took three days of scrubbing to clean."

When they passed through the ceremonial gate, twelve bronze water clocks roared at once. Massive mechanisms drove fine-iron gears into motion, and water thundered through channels inlaid with gold. Under the sunlight, it reflected a bloody hue.

Only after looking closely did Chu Ning realize that the bottom of the channel was densely paved with red chalcedony, carved into the forms of three thousand kneeling servants holding tribute trays.

On the spirit wall before the main hall, a complete Map of the Nine Provinces had been inlaid with mother-of-pearl and obsidian.

When Chu Ning approached, the mountains on the map suddenly rose, and the rivers actually began to flow.

It turned out that tens of thousands of thin sheets of lapis rock were rising and falling under the mechanisms' control. Each one was engraved with the amount of field tax in tiny fly-head script.

"This is my brother's favorite view." Xie Mingli's skirt brushed across the white jade floor tiles. Sealed beneath the tiles was amber-colored pine resin, and closer inspection revealed the corpses of Spiritual Beasts preserved inside in all sorts of poses. "What do you think, Young Master Chu? How does it compare with the refugee quarter outside?"

His tone was calm, yet carried a hint of mockery. "The corpses in the refugee quarter are tossed into the mud and left for crows to peck at, while the corpses of Spiritual Beasts here are sealed in amber for people to admire."

He paused, and an enigmatic smile appeared at the corners of his lips. "It could be considered another kind of 'dignity.'"

A slight movement flickered through Xie Mingli's eyes, as though his answer had not surprised her. She gently raised a hand and brushed her fingertips over the mountains and rivers inlaid with mother-of-pearl. "The living are ultimately more useful than the dead."

Chu Ning sneered. "What a pity that the people who get to live are usually few."

Xie Mingli glanced sideways at him, her gaze profound. "You care about this?"

Chu Ning withdrew his gaze and slowly said, "I didn't used to."

His tone was flat, but Xie Mingli heard the sharpness hidden beneath his words.

He looked toward the map and said slowly, "Not until one day, when I became one of the people in the refugee quarter."

Xie Mingli did not answer. She only watched silently as the map continued to rise and fall.

Standing beside Xie Mingli, Chu Ning slowly shifted his gaze away from the map and fixed his deep eyes on her.

His tone was calm, but carried a hint of probing. "The day before yesterday, you said your brother was waiting for you at home. Now that you've returned today, why haven't I seen him?"

The fingertips that had been stroking the map paused slightly.

She was silent for a moment, then gently caressed a raised obsidian mountain range with her palm. Her voice was faint. "He truly has been waiting for me all this time."

Chu Ning raised his brows slightly, faintly sensing something deliberate in her tone.

"But he has already been waiting for five years."

Five years?

Chu Ning's gaze tightened slightly. He faintly caught the scent of something unusual.

He did not question her at once, instead waiting quietly.

Xie Mingli slowly withdrew her hand, as though weighing her words. Only after a moment did she speak. "Five years ago, he took Marquis Wu's personal guards deep into the Northern Border, searching for something..."

Her voice was extremely soft, as though afraid of disturbing some sleeping secret beneath this magnificent estate.

"But he never came back."

Chu Ning's gaze sharpened instantly.

"His life or death is unknown?"

Xie Mingli nodded lightly, her eyes still fixed on the map.

"With my brother no longer holding down Marquis Wu's Estate, its power was devoured by the various sects, and its influence steadily declined."

Her tone remained flat, but deep in her eyes, Chu Ning saw a restrained sharpness.

Xie Mingli slowly turned around and finally looked Chu Ning straight in the eyes. Her gaze was as calm as an icy lake. "So this time, I must win the Azure Cloud Arena."

Chu Ning narrowed his eyes and watched her quietly.

"I want everyone to know—" She spoke each word distinctly. Her voice was no longer even, but carried an undeniable sharpness and pride. "Even without Xie Jinghong, Marquis Wu's Estate still has me, Xie Mingli!"

The atmosphere froze in an instant.

Sunlight reflected a golden gleam in her eyes, like a drawn blade, its cold edge forcing its way into view.

Chu Ning raised his brows slightly and studied her expression carefully.

After a long while, he suddenly chuckled. His tone was laden with meaning. "So you want to use the Azure Cloud Arena to wash away Marquis Wu's Estate's decline?"

"That's right." Xie Mingli neither dodged nor avoided his gaze, answering frankly.

Chu Ning slowly walked to the map and casually tapped the Northern Border region with his fingertip. "Unfortunately, your opponents aren't merely the people on the arena."

Xie Mingli was slightly taken aback, then narrowed her eyes. "What are you trying to say?"

Chu Ning's smile faded. His tone was calm, but carried a trace of icy coldness. "The Heavenly Thunder Sect, the Cold Mountain Sect, the Li Fire Palace, and even some people from your own Marquis Wu's Estate may not want you to win."

A chill flashed through Xie Mingli's eyes before she returned to her composure.

"You think I don't know?" she said slowly. "All these years, every step I took, someone wanted to make me fall."

Chu Ning chuckled softly, his gaze meaningful. "You're certainly frank."

Xie Mingli looked at him, then suddenly smiled faintly.

"Young Master Chu, since you know all this, are you still willing to enter Marquis Wu's Estate?"

Her tone was half-mocking and half-smiling, with a hint of probing. "Or have you already prepared yourself to be swept into this vortex?"

At that moment, the atmosphere grew even more delicate.

Chu Ning did not answer at once. Instead, he slowly raised his hand and gently brushed his fingertips across the Map of the Nine Provinces.

He looked at the border line outlined in obsidian across the Northern Border.

"I'm more curious," he said in a low voice, "what exactly did your brother go looking for five years ago?"

Xie Mingli's eyes paused slightly.

After a moment, she softly uttered a few words:

"The Northern Border Military Manual."

Chu Ning's pupils contracted slightly.

He suddenly remembered the six blood-red words he had seen on the Lightning Pattern Ring of a Heavenly Thunder Sect disciple:

"Jinghong appears, and the Azure Cloud is thrown into chaos."

This Azure Cloud Arena was far more than a simple arena competition.

And Xie Jinghong's disappearance might not have been a disappearance at all.

He was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled lightly. "It seems this Azure Cloud Arena will indeed be interesting."

Xie Mingli casually untied her cloak and ordered, "Steward Qin, arrange a place for Young Master Chu to stay."

Qin Henian nodded slightly. His gaze swept over Chu Ning without revealing a trace of emotion, and his voice was warm yet carried a hint of coldness. "Young Master Chu has come from far away. We naturally ought to treat him well."

Yet his footsteps led toward the estate's most remote covered courtyard.

Chu Ning lifted his eyes toward the secluded courtyard. Its vermilion doors were worn, and even the copper ring was covered with a thin layer of dust, clearly showing that no one had lived there for a long time. The moss beneath the dripping eaves was mottled, its damp darkness glimmering faintly.

"This, then, is Young Master Chu's residence." Qin Henian smiled and made an inviting gesture.

"It is quiet enough." Chu Ning smiled noncommittally and stepped into the courtyard. His fingertip gently brushed over the crack in the doorframe, and his eyes darkened slightly.