Accident I

Azure Ink Tower stood at the boundary between the Inner City and Outer City, right beside the tall, snow-white city wall. The entire building resembled an enormous golden sculpture, with layer upon layer of golden light shining out from within.

That was the light cast by lamps onto walls and windows coated in gold powder.

The whole building was shaped like a teapot. Its entrance lay at the teapot's handle, while the spout in front was a unique semi-transparent private room.

At nine the next morning, Lin Hui arrived early. Standing at the entrance, he raised his head and gazed toward Azure Ink Tower more than a hundred meters away within the compound.

There's absolutely no clue where the azure or ink is... Speechless, he took out his invitation and strolled inside, handing it to the guard.

"The Heaven and Earth private room already has guests who arrived early. Please come with me." After verifying the invitation, the guard personally led the way, following the winding staircase around the outside of the first floor upward.

Lin Hui followed closely behind. After circling five or six times, they reached the third floor and arrived before a spacious golden private room.

Knock, knock, knock.

The guard knocked softly and asked whether it was convenient for those inside. Only after receiving a response did he gently open the door and lead Lin Hui in.

The moment he entered, Lin Hui spotted Lin Hongzhen sitting cross-legged at one end of the room.

Compared to the last time they had met, Lin Hongzhen looked completely different.

If she had still retained some semblance of a woman before, then now she had thoroughly turned into a towering, muscular brute.

If not for the obvious swell of her chest, it would have been almost impossible to recognize her as female.

Fortunately, her facial features remained largely unchanged. Aside from the extra muscle, her looks were still there, allowing Lin Hui to recognize her at once.

"Cousin," he greeted her immediately upon entering.

"Come, sit here." Lin Hongzhen patted the spot beside her. "I invited a few friends today. They're all from the sect. Get to know them—if anything happens later, you can seek their help."

Lin Hui walked over and sat down, looking over each person as Lin Hongzhen introduced them.

"Xiao Qin. You met her last time. Her family is also highly influential within the incense altar near the sect." The first person introduced was the girl Xiao Qin, whom he had met before.

She was still dressed scantily, wearing a white bandeau top and a purple ultra-short leather skirt. Her snowy thighs were openly crossed, and she was currently toying with a curved dagger embedded with red and blue gemstones.

"Hello, Sister Xiao Qin," Lin Hui said politely.

"Mm. If you need help in the future, go to Xiao's Shop on Tung Oil Street. It's my family's business." Xiao Qin casually nodded and replied.

"Thank you, Sister Xiao Qin," Lin Hui quickly said.

"All right, this is Fei Wenyi, my colleague and close friend in the sect. He comes from the Fei Family of the Inner City. If you enter the Inner City in the future, you can get twenty percent off at his family's chain stores," Lin Hongzhen said.

"Brother Wenyi!" Lin Hui hurriedly greeted him.

Fei Wenyi was a man with a comparatively gentle appearance. He looked somewhat older than Lin Hongzhen and the others. After the introduction, he gave Lin Hui a warm smile.

"When you have time, come visit the Fei Family in the Inner City. Just give my name at the door," he said softly.

"And this is Meng Xiao. She's my friend too." Finally, Lin Hongzhen came before a young woman with long, slightly yellowish and curled hair.

The woman wore a long scarlet dress. The pale tops of her feet peeked out beneath the hem as she sat with her legs crossed, holding a scroll resembling a map. Hearing this, she smiled and nodded at Lin Hui in greeting.

"You all know my little brother now. Take care of him when he's in the Outer City," Lin Hongzhen said half-jokingly, patting Lin Hui's back.

"Since he's Miss Lin's younger brother, we naturally have to give him some thought. Don't worry," Fei Wenyi said with a smile.

Xiao Qin nodded as well, indicating her agreement.

Only Meng Xiao merely smiled without saying a word.

Seeing her attitude, Lin Hongzhen patted Lin Hui's shoulder.

"It's fine. With your Brother Fei and Sister Qin around, there won't be a problem." Her gaze shifted to Meng Xiao.

"What? Did you come to this banquet today just to smash the place up? The instant you saw that my Invocation was low-grade, you turned your back on our old friendship?"

The teasing note in her voice faded sharply, replaced by seriousness.

Meng Xiao closed the scroll, a smile that was not quite a smile appearing on her face.

"Since you know perfectly well, why say it aloud and humiliate yourself? Before, it was only because you had mid-to-high-grade Invocation aptitude that I gave you some face. Now you're merely low-grade... heh heh."

"Sister Meng, that wasn't what you said when Hong Zhen was handling matters for you before," Xiao Qin said unhappily before Lin Hongzhen could speak.

"Wasn't the job completed?" Meng Xiao said with a smile.

As soon as those words left her mouth, the atmosphere froze slightly.

For a time, none of the four spoke. Lin Hongzhen's face darkened as she stared fixedly at Meng Xiao.

"Fine. I'm incapable. My Invocation can only be low-grade, so I'm unworthy of being your friend, Meng Xiao."

After a long while, Lin Hongzhen spoke in a low voice.

"Since you think I'm unworthy, why did you still come today?"

"I merely wanted to see how you were doing. Now that I have, I'm satisfied." Meng Xiao rose to her feet, her smile unchanged as she slowly walked toward the door.

"Farewell."

"We won't see you out." Lin Hongzhen's chest heaved with fury, but she did not turn her head.

The door creaked open, and Meng Xiao slowly left. Yet the atmosphere in the private room remained unbearably oppressive.

Lin Hongzhen had originally intended to invite her friends to pave the way for her younger brother Lin Hui, but she had never expected this mess to erupt.

To outsiders, she had indeed received an Invocation. Yet only those within the sect knew that her Invocation was actually of the lowest grade. This had caused her body to become distorted, turning her once delicate face and figure exceptionally strong and unsightly.

And ugliness was especially taboo in Yugong. Though it would not get her expelled from the sect, it would make advancement extremely difficult.

Meng Xiao had seen this clearly, which was why she had turned so pragmatic in an instant.

"A-Hui, you should go back. If anything happens later, you can seek out your Sister Qin and Brother Fei." Lin Hongzhen forced out a smile as she instructed Lin Hui.

"Mm. Take care of yourself, Sister. When you have time, come visit me at Qingfeng Temple." Lin Hui nodded.

From the attitudes of those around Lin Hongzhen, he could also tell that although his cousin appeared glamorous on the surface, her situation in the city was not easy.

Otherwise, Meng Xiao would not have been so unwilling to give her face.

Without eating or drinking anything, he cupped his hands to Xiao Qin and Fei Wenyi, then turned and left the private room.

Originally, he had wanted to ask about the missing persons case today, but seeing his cousin's mood, it was clearly not the right time.

After going downstairs and passing through the first-floor hall, Lin Hui unexpectedly saw Meng Xiao again. She was holding a wineglass and speaking with another woman in white.

Perhaps noticing Lin Hui's gaze, Meng Xiao turned her head slightly and glanced over.

Her senses were clearly extremely sharp. Even from more than ten meters away, she reacted almost immediately after just one look.

Lin Hui's heart tightened. He gave her a polite smile, then withdrew his gaze and quickly walked out of Azure Ink Tower.

Standing outside, he turned back to look at the magnificent, resplendent restaurant. For some reason, he felt an inexplicable discomfort in his heart.

Letting out a breath, he strode toward the somewhat gloomy Xinyu Town in the Outer City and soon vanished around the end of the street.

By the time he returned home, it was already well into the afternoon. Lin Hui practiced the Nine Section Fast Sword several times before going to the shop to help watch the storefront and speak with his parents.

At dusk, they closed up and returned home. After sleeping until the next day, Lin Hui had only just finished washing up when he saw that his parents had already gotten ready and gone out to open the shop.

The three worked together for a while. When they reached the shop, Lin Shunhe had only just unlocked the door and pulled it open when they heard a constable hurrying over from the street.

A tall, burly constable in black, fat-faced and big-eared, approached with one hand resting on the hilt of the blade at his waist.

"Who is Lin Hui?" His voice was cold as his gaze swept over the three of them.

"I am." Lin Hui's heart jolted. Not knowing what had happened, he hurriedly stepped forward.

"A vicious assault occurred at Azure Ink Tower last night. Lin Hongzhen is your cousin, right? You were also at Azure Ink Tower at the time, right?" he asked two questions in succession.

"A vicious assault? Yes, Lin Hongzhen is my cousin." Lin Hui's heart went cold as he hurriedly answered.

"She was attacked and is now seriously injured and unconscious. You need to come with me to the town security office and make a statement." The constable spoke quickly.

"What?! My cousin is seriously injured and unconscious?!" Lin Hui's eyes widened instantly. He had only seen Lin Hongzhen last night; she had still been built like a fortress of bronze and iron, radiating strength.

And now... she was an Invocation elite!

"Come on. Stop talking nonsense." The constable urged impatiently.

This news did not only shock Lin Hui. Lin Shunhe and Yao Shan, who had heard it beside him, also looked deeply shaken.

"Hong Zhen is an elite sect disciple who successfully received an Invocation... How could she actually be seriously injured and unconscious? This is simply..." Lin Shunhe could not imagine what could have caused such a thing.

Lin Hui followed the constable to the security office in stunned silence. By the time he finished making his statement, it was nearly noon.

He walked out of the security office in a daze and raised his head to look at the bright, clear sky. From the constable's questioning and what he had revealed, Lin Hongzhen's assault seemed vaguely connected to Lin Hongyu.

According to the constable, their preliminary suspicion was that a woman who had once been involved with the Chen Family Main Clan descendant Lin Hongyu was about to become engaged to had secretly made a move.

This involved entanglements and conflicts among the Three Greats.

The moment he came out, he saw his father and mother waiting in the tea stall across from the security office, anxiously looking this way.

When they saw Lin Hui emerge, both were overjoyed and hurried over.

"A-Hui! Are you all right?" Lin Shunhe asked.

"I'm fine. It was just a simple statement. Nothing happened," Lin Hui replied. "Let's go back first and talk there."

The three quickly returned to their small courtyard together.

Only after entering did Lin Shunhe dare speak again.

"A-Hui, word has come from the Lin Family Compound. Lin Hongyu was also attacked last night, though she only suffered minor injuries. One of my old brothers heard some inside information. It seems one of Lin Hongyu's love rivals used her family's power to mobilize killers."

There was an indescribable complexity in his father's expression.

On one hand, Lin Hongyu had stolen his son's place, so it served her right if something happened to her. On the other, her matter had implicated Lin Hongzhen, leaving him conflicted. After all, Lin Hongzhen had treated his son well, and the main branch was on good terms with him. He did not want anything to happen to Hong Zhen, but now...

"If this is true, then Father, Mother, we should avoid getting involved as much as possible. The other side managed to attack both targets at once, so their power is definitely not weak... How is my cousin now? Father, did you visit her?" Lin Hui asked in a low voice.

"I did. She's still unconscious. Your eldest uncle and the others were there too. I left some nourishing supplements and then went away. Go see her when you have time, but remember to avoid the others," Lin Shunhe said quietly.

"Mm, I understand." Lin Hui also felt rather upset. He had a good relationship with Lin Hongzhen. Who could have expected Lin Hongyu to drag her into this and let things reach such a point?

After sorting himself out at home, he quickly went out and headed to the official medical hall in town. However, he arrived too late—people from the Sha Yue Sect had already taken Lin Hongzhen to the Inner City for better treatment.

He asked around and learned from the medical hall staff that the situation was not good. His cousin's injuries were extremely severe, and she remained unconscious. There was a strong chance she would be left with serious aftereffects.