The City Lord and the Su Family

"Thud, thud, thud."

The knock was neither light nor heavy, perfectly measured—loud enough to be heard, but not impatient.

"Master Xuanyuan, forgive me for disturbing you so late. Su Wenyuan, the City Lord, requests an audience."

A slightly aged but robust voice came from outside the door.

Xuanyuan opened his eyes, his gaze perfectly calm, as though the silent clash just moments ago had never happened. He rose, strolled to the door, and opened it.

Standing outside was Su Wenyuan, the City Lord of Qingyang City. He had changed out of his luxurious robes of office and wore only a simple, elegant outfit. He had no guards with him—he had come alone.

Su Wenyuan's gaze immediately swept over the courtyard behind Xuanyuan. A flicker of barely perceptible surprise crossed his weathered eyes.

The courtyard was spotless. Moonlight spilled over the flagstones, and there wasn't even a trace of blood. A faint, fresh scent of grass and trees lingered in the air. There was no sign of a fight at all.

If he hadn't clearly sensed a burst of chilling energy just moments ago, followed by the sudden disappearance of another, entirely different presence, he would have thought he'd imagined it.

"City Lord, what can I do for you?" Xuanyuan leaned lazily against the doorframe, his tone flat and unreadable.

Su Wenyuan withdrew his gaze and bowed deeply to Xuanyuan, adopting the humblest posture. "Not at all. I merely sensed something unusual just now and worried for your safety, so I came to check on you."

"Oh?" Xuanyuan raised an eyebrow. "I appreciate your concern, City Lord. I was sleeping soundly and didn't notice anything unusual. Perhaps a rat got into the City Lord's Mansion and made a bit of a racket."

Su Wenyuan smiled bitterly to himself.

A rat? More