The Imperial Capital's Deception

"We've talked about all sorts of factions, now it's time to talk about your family's internal affairs."

"Don't rush, I was just about to get to that."

Si Nan Yuan pondered for a moment, as if organizing her thoughts, then slowly began to speak:

"First is the current family head, Lord Si Nan Zheng, who is 49 years old. By rights, this age isn't considered old at all, but he's been in poor health for a long time, plagued by various illnesses, and doesn't have much time left. While it might not be proper for me to speak ill of my own master... any fool knows there's no future in following a dying man, so the elders have all flocked to the young masters they support, with only a handful of confidantes remaining by the family head's side. Thus, although the family head's residual authority remains, the actual power he wields is diminishing day by day..."

Is that what they call a hero's twilight?

"Then there are the four young masters. The eldest son is named Si Nan Xing, 27 years old, and unmarried. If we're talking about overall quality, he's undoubtedly the strongest. He's a very steady person, extremely rational in his actions, and can handle all sorts of troublesome family matters with perfect order. Elder Hong once told my master that he privately admired him the most. However, compared to the second and third young masters, the eldest son lacks a certain ruthlessness, which sometimes prevents him from winning out against them, making his faction weaker than the second young master's."

A standard 'big brother' type, huh...

"Second young master Si Nan Feng is 25 years old. Of the four, his faction is the largest, with nearly half the elders supporting him. While the second young master's intellect can't compare to the eldest son's, he is absolutely the most fierce and domineering among the four. 'Those who obey me prosper, those who defy me perish; I would rather kill a thousand by mistake than let one escape' is a true reflection of his personality. Although he can seem a bit brutish, many elders support him precisely for that reason. Another characteristic of his is his lecherous nature; no woman he fancies can escape him. You must be extremely careful about this."

Holy crap... isn't this a standard 'Dragon King' protagonist? And the arrogant, domineering, brainless kind I hate the most. If I were to be... XX by someone like that... I don't even want to think about it.

"As for the third young master Si Nan Ganming and the fourth young master Si Nan Cheng... outsiders always say the Si Nan Family is 'four sons vying for power,' but it should really be 'three sons.' Only those with outstanding probing Supernatural Abilities are qualified to inherit the position of family head, and the third young master's ability is of a different kind."

"So the third young master isn't actually participating in the power struggle?"

"Quite the opposite. The fourth young master is universally acknowledged as weak and incompetent, very indecisive in his actions, and has been extremely dependent on the third young master since childhood, so... I don't need to say the rest, do I?"

Si Nan Ganming wants to put Si Nan Cheng on the throne as an obedient puppet so he can be the one pulling the strings from behind the scenes. So, in reality, only Si Nan Xing, Si Nan Feng, and Si Nan Ganming are vying for power... It feels like good material for a BL novel.

"Oh, right. Si Nan Ying mentioned she has an older sister?"

"Indeed, the eldest young lady is named Si Nan Xiao, a top student at the Central United Academy."

"Sounds impressive. How's her influence within the family? Does she have... any ambitions?"

"Are you worried she'll use the second young lady like the third young master? There's no need to worry about that. She... how should I put it, she's a very quiet person and doesn't get involved in the power struggle. You'll understand when you meet her."

A quiet person? Come to think of it, Si Nan Ying did say something like, "I'm different from my sister; I can't stand places full of books where you can't even speak loudly," before. Could it be that her sister, like me, enjoys spending time in the library? If that's the case, maybe we'll get along well.

A twilight family head, a steady eldest son, a domineering second son, a shrewd third son, a weak fourth son, a quiet eldest daughter, a dazed second daughter, a vast family, and countless factions...

For some reason, I'm starting to feel a little excited.

"Xiao Ye, Xiao Ye, we're here! It's this... Ahh!"

Ah, I tripped. Fell on flat ground.

"Don't rush me... I'm pulling!" I grunted, yanking out the scabbard that was stuck in the car door. Inside, of course, was the Charging Blade that had served me so well. Ever since the Beast Tide incident, I haven't let it out of my sight, just in case.

What's in front of me... a bamboo forest?

Tens of thousands of emerald bamboo stalks grew densely, forming a verdant wall that stretched as far as the eye could see. What surprised me was the height of these bamboos. The tallest I'd seen on Earth was only about ten meters. As far as I know, the tallest, the Yunnan giant bamboo, can reach thirty to forty meters. But the bamboo in front of me must average over forty meters in height, the same height as the Imperial Capital's city walls!

The Si Nan main family must be behind this impossibly large giant bamboo forest. It's hard to believe the Si Nan Family went to such lengths to cultivate this wall-like bamboo forest just for landscaping. There must be some hidden secret here...

"Welcome back, Second Young Lady, Elder Si Nan Hong, Captain Si Nan Yuan. Vehicles are prohibited from this point onwards, as per the old rules. We ask for your understanding." A group of people dressed in the same silver-grey uniforms as the guards approached. The man leading them wore a blue-grey uniform like Si Nan Yuan, so he must be a captain as well.

"Thank you for your hard work, Captain Si Nan Xiang. Let's go," Si Nan Yuan said.

"This must be..." Si Nan Xiang noticed me. I quietly pulled the brim of my hood lower, almost covering my entire face.

"Liu Ye, whom we mentioned during our contact, the young lady's new companion," Si Nan Yuan introduced.

"A pleasure to meet you, Miss Liu. Welcome," Si Nan Xiang said as he extended a hand towards me.

I reached out and grasped his hand lightly. In that instant--

"!!"

An astonishing heat surged from his hand. My palm instantly felt intensely hot, as if I'd plunged it into countless burning, tiny needles. It was incredibly uncomfortable.

This guy is testing me! If it were me a month ago, I would have been terrified, but now...

Blood suddenly seeped from my hand and, with a thought, condensed into countless extremely fine granular blood crystals. The crystals had countless sharp edges, and the moment they touched his skin, they pierced it!

In less than two seconds, we released our hands. My hand turned bright red, and he had several shallow cuts on his, but they were minor injuries.

"What's wrong, Xiao Ye? Stop dawdling," Si Nan Ying called out to me from ahead. From her perspective, my handshake with Si Nan Xiang probably looked normal...

"Forgive my rudeness, but I simply had to test the capabilities of the confidante the Second Young Lady chose for herself for the first time," Si Nan Xiang said softly, bowing his head slightly.

Is it really just curiosity... How am I supposed to know which young master you're loyal to?

As if sensing my doubts, Si Nan Yuan next to me said softly, "Don't worry, Si Nan Xiang belongs to the Guardian Team and reports directly to the current family head. He won't be biased towards any other faction. Besides, I know Si Nan Xiang well; he's not a wicked person."

Hearing her say that, I finally felt at ease. I nodded at Si Nan Xiang and hurried to catch up with Si Nan Ying.

"How is her strength? You're best at gauging other people's abilities, aren't you?"

"It was just a handshake, so I couldn't tell much, but... she's probably above both you and me."

"Is that so... That's good then."

"By the way, is she really as beautiful as you said? The upper half of her face is covered by her hat, and the lower half is hidden in shadow. I can't see anything."

"You don't need to worry about that. She's no less beautiful than Haoyue Tartaglia, anyway!"