Unexpected Incident I

Azure Ink Tower stood at the boundary between the Inner City and the Outer City, pressed right up against the tall, pristine white city wall. The whole building resembled a massive golden sculpture, layer upon layer of golden light continuously shining out from within.

It was the light of the lamps reflecting off walls and windows coated in gold powder.

The entire building was shaped like a teapot. The entrance was at the handle, while the spout in front formed a unique semi-transparent private room.

Lin Hui arrived early at nine the next day. Standing at the entrance, he raised his head and gazed at Azure Ink Tower, a hundred meters away across the courtyard.

"There's absolutely no blue or ink to be seen anywhere..." At a loss for words, 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 follow me." After verifying the invitation, the guard personally led the way up the spiral staircase along the outside of the first floor.

Lin Hui followed close behind. After circling around five or six times, they reached the third floor and stopped 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 with the last time they had met, Lin Hongzhen looked completely different.

If she had still retained somewhat of a womanly appearance last time, then now she had utterly transformed into a tall, muscular brute covered in muscles.

If not for the obvious swell of her chest, it would have been nearly impossible to recognize her as a woman.

Fortunately, her facial features remained much the same. Other than having a little more muscle, she still looked like herself, allowing Lin Hui to recognize her at once.

"Cousin," he greeted her the moment he entered.

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

Lin Hui walked over and sat down, looking at them one by one as Lin Hongzhen introduced them.

"This is Xiao Qin. You met her last time. Her family also holds considerable influence at the incense altar near the faith's territory." The first person she introduced was the girl Xiao Qin, whom he had met before.

She was still dressed scantily, in a white tube top and a purple miniskirt. Her snow-white thighs were crossed and raised without the slightest concealment. At that moment, she was idly playing with a curved dagger studded with red and blue gemstones.

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

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

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

"Alright, this is Fei Wenyi, my colleague and close friend within the faith. 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 quickly greeted him.

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

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

"And this is Meng Xiao. She's a friend of mine as well." Lastly, Lin Hongzhen stopped before a young woman with slightly yellow, wavy long hair.

The woman wore a long scarlet dress. The pale tops of her feet peeked out from beneath the hem. With one leg crossed over the other, she held a map-like dossier in her hand. Hearing this, she smiled at Lin Hui and nodded in greeting.

"You all know my little brother now. When you're in the Outer City later, help me look after him," Lin Hongzhen said half-jokingly as she patted Lin Hui on the back.

"Since he's Miss Lin's little brother, we'll certainly pay attention to him. Don't worry," Fei Wenyi said with a smile.

Xiao Qin nodded as well, agreeing to it.

Meng Xiao alone 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 any problem." Then her gaze shifted toward Meng Xiao. "What? Did you come to the banquet today just to cause trouble? The moment you saw that my Calling aptitude was low-grade, you immediately turned your back on our old friendship?"

The joking note in her voice faded considerably, replaced by seriousness.

Meng Xiao closed the dossier, her face taking on a smile that was not quite a smile.

"Since you know perfectly well, why say it aloud and humiliate yourself? Before, I gave you some face because your Calling aptitude was mid-to-high grade. But now, you're only low-grade... Heh."

"Sister Meng, that wasn't what you said when Hongzhen was handling matters for you before," Xiao Qin said with a displeased expression before Lin Hongzhen could speak.

"Weren't those matters already taken care of?" Meng Xiao said with a smile.

As soon as those words fell, the atmosphere froze slightly.

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

"Fine. I'm useless. My Calling aptitude is only low-grade, so I'm not worthy of being your friend, Meng Xiao."

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

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

"I only wanted to see what state you were in. Now that I have, I'm satisfied." Meng Xiao stood up, her smile unchanged, and slowly headed for the door.

"Farewell."

"No need to see you out." Lin Hongzhen's chest heaved with anger, and she did not turn around.

The door creaked open, and Meng Xiao slowly left. Yet the atmosphere in the private room remained just as stifling.

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

To outsiders, she had indeed received the Calling, but only those within the sect knew that her Calling was actually of the lowest grade. This had left her body grotesquely unbalanced, turning her once-delicate face and figure into something immensely brawny and ugly.

And ugliness was deeply taboo in Yugong. While it would not go so far as to get one expelled from the sect, advancement would become exceedingly difficult.

Meng Xiao had seen this clearly, which was why she had instantly become so pragmatic.

"A-Hui, you should head back. If you need anything in the future, you can look for Sister Qin or Brother Fei," Lin Hongzhen said, forcing out a smile as she reminded Lin Hui.

"Mm. Take care, Sis. Come visit me at Qingfeng Temple when you have time," Lin Hui said with a nod.

From the attitudes of those around Lin Hongzhen, he could tell that although his cousin looked glorious on the surface, her position within the city was actually far from easy.

Otherwise, Meng Xiao would not have been so openly disrespectful.

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

He had originally wanted to ask about the missing-person cases 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 spotted Meng Xiao again. She was holding a wine cup and speaking with another white-robed woman.

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

Her senses were clearly exceptionally sharp. From more than ten meters away, she had reacted at once after merely being looked at.

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

Outside, he turned back to look at the resplendent, lavish restaurant. For some reason, an inexplicable discomfort rose within him.

Letting out a breath, he quickly headed toward Xinyu Town in the somewhat shadowy Outer City, soon vanishing around the end of the street.

By the time he returned home, it was already late afternoon. Lin Hui practiced the Nine Section Fast Sword a few times before going to help watch the shop, where he could also chat with his parents.

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

The three of them busied themselves together for a while. When they reached the storefront, Old Man Lin Shunhe had just unlocked and opened the doors when they heard a constable approaching swiftly along the street.

A tall, burly constable in black, fat-headed and big-eared, came close 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 hurried forward to answer.

"A vicious assault took place at Azure Ink Tower last night. Lin Hongzhen is your cousin, correct? And you were at Azure Ink Tower at the time too, correct?" he asked in quick succession.

"A vicious assault? Yes, Lin Hongzhen is my cousin." Lin Hui's heart turned grim as he hurriedly replied.

"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 said briskly.

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

And now... she was an elite who had received the Calling!

"Come on. Quit talking nonsense," the constable urged impatiently.

The news did not only shock Lin Hui. Lin Shunhe and Yao Shan, who had heard it beside him, were equally stunned.

"Hongzhen is an elite sect disciple who successfully received the Calling... and she was actually seriously injured and left unconscious? This is simply..." Lin Shunhe could not imagine what could possibly have caused such a thing.

Still reeling in disbelief, Lin Hui followed the constable to the security office. By the time he had finished his statement, it was already close to noon.

He walked out of the security office in a daze and looked up at the bright, clear sky. From the constable's questions and what he had revealed, Lin Hongzhen's attack seemed faintly connected to Lin Hongyu.

According to the constable, their preliminary suspicion was that a woman who had once been involved with the Chen Family's main-branch son—the man Lin Hongyu was about to become engaged to—had secretly made her move.

It involved tangled conflicts and grievances among the Three Greats.

The moment he stepped out, he saw his father and mother waiting anxiously in the tea stall across from the security office, craning their necks in this direction.

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 and talk."

The three swiftly returned together to the small courtyard at home.

Only after they entered did Lin Shunhe dare speak again.

"A-Hui, word has come from the Lin Family estate. Lin Hongyu was also attacked last night, though she only suffered minor injuries. An old brother of mine heard some inside information. It seems one of Lin Hongyu's romantic rivals used her family's power to arrange killings."

Old Man's expression was indescribably complicated.

On the one hand, Lin Hongyu had stolen his son's quota, so it served her right if something had happened to her. On the other hand, her troubles had dragged Lin Hongzhen into it, which made his feelings complicated. After all, Lin Hongzhen had treated his son well, and he had a good relationship with the eldest branch. He did not want anything to happen to Hongzhen, but now...

"If that's true, then Father, Mother, we should avoid getting involved as much as possible. For them to attack both sides in one stroke, their power definitely isn't weak... How is my cousin now? Did you go see her, Father?" 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 gifts and departed. Go see her when you have time, but remember to avoid the others," Lin Shunhe said quietly.

"Mm, I understand." Lin Hui felt awful as well. He had a good relationship with Lin Hongzhen. Who would have thought she would be implicated by Lin Hongyu, until things reached this point?

After composing himself at home, he quickly headed out for the official medical hall in town as well, only to find nothing there. Lin Hongzhen had already been taken to the Inner City by people from the Sha Yue Sect 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 had remained unconscious the entire time. There was a strong chance she would be left with serious lasting complications.