Hong Yi answered calmly, no longer wearing the timid, trembling look he'd had the first time he met Hong Xuanji, when he'd hardly dared breathe. As he approached the main residence's gate, he saw Steward Wu waiting there, motionless as ever, his face as expressionless as if it had never known emotion. Hong Yi let his spirit drift out and rise higher and higher, wanting to see just how high he could ascend now. The vigorous red glow of blood and qi kept him from making out anyone inside the main residence. Hong Yi nodded, steadied himself, and smoothed his clothes, tugging out every wrinkle. Only after making sure he was presentable did he speak from outside the door. "Father, your son Hong Yi pays his respects." As Hong Yi surveyed the scene below, he suddenly spotted several strange shadows flicker through a corner of the street outside the Marquis Mansion. "Get out of here!" The study instantly grew so stifling it was hard to breathe. "Our last attempt to assassinate Hong Xuanji failed at the final moment, and we even lost two incense hall masters. The Patriarch is furious this time. We must succeed." Yin spirits feared light, the very opposite of physical bodies. "When we came here, we swore an oath to give our lives for the faith. None of us must cling to life or fear death. Once dead, we'll surely return to the Vacuum Homeland." Hong Yi excelled at reading people's expressions and discerning their thoughts. But as he looked at Hong Xuanji's back, he truly couldn't guess what his inscrutable father was thinking. "If he really means to kill me and take my books, then I'll fight for my life. Better to die than fall into a villain's hands." Hong Yi made up his mind, sprang to his feet, and headed for the Marquis Mansion's main residence. Hong Yi thought of the horse Lightning Chaser. The barrage of questions startled Hong Yi so badly that his whole body jolted. But he had cultivated his spirit to the Day Wanderer realm and had experienced many visualization methods. His mind was firm; after that first shock, he immediately calmed down and answered respectfully. "Young Master Yi, we're here. Go on in." The night was deep and still, the moon hidden, not a breath of wind. Hong Yi hurriedly lowered his spirit and cautiously crept closer. He heard a few faint words, quiet as ants crawling. "Hmm? What's that?" Hong Xuanji spoke slowly, then suddenly barked the final words. "Something's wrong!" Hong Yi carefully recalled his father's tone in the study and suddenly felt he'd grasped something. "Father spoke calmly, but there was a bone-deep chill in his voice. He was suppressing his killing intent. Could he really want to beat me to death?" "Father actually summoned me to the study. That seems unusual. What does he want?" Though his mind was full of questions, Hong Yi could only move on, following Steward Wu step by step toward the Langhuan Library. "You dare to make excuses?" Hong Xuanji's voice was calm, yet carried a deep, bone-chilling coldness. "The Marquis Mansion has its rules. Household law is like national law. You've broken three: First, you shouldn't have brought anyone into my study. Even if Princess Zhennan summoned you, you should have done everything you could to refuse and asked your eldest mother to send someone to escort her. Second, you shouldn't have practiced martial arts in secret. Third, you shouldn't have argued so boldly in front of me." "Who gave you the nerve to enter my study? And I told you not to practice martial arts. Why did you keep at it in secret? Who taught you? Hmm?" "Princess Zhennan was visiting the residence and specifically asked me to show her around, so I took the liberty of leading her to Father's study. The Marquis Mansion treated Princess Zhennan with courtesy, as was only proper. I thought Father wouldn't blame me once he learned what happened. As for practicing martial arts, I didn't. I happened to read about the arts of archery and horsemanship and was inspired, so I bought a bow and learned to shoot. I didn't want to become one of those soft-boned scholars who couldn't even lift a chicken." "Go check on that horse. Oh, and in an hour, I'll have to get up and feed it. It needs a mash of eggs and soybeans, too. What a wasteful extravagance." "Young Master Yi, the Marquis wants you to see him in the study." "Forget it. If it's a blessing, it won't be a disaster; if it's a disaster, there's no escaping it. I suppose this is the price of having been too happy. Fine, I'll go. I'll just have to take a beating under household law. At least I'm strong now, so I shouldn't be beaten to death. Though... it's hard to say. All the servants in the Marquis Mansion, including those who carry out punishments, belong to Lady Zhao. If they secretly strike to kill, my life could be in danger." "Hong Xuanji is a formidable martial artist, and the mansion is full of experts. We must proceed carefully."... A cold voice came from the library. The study, on the other hand, was usually where guests were received and confidential business discussed. A moonless, windless night was perfect for Night Roaming. Hong Yi sat on his bed, silently circulating his spirit. His mind kept returning to the scene in the study that evening. Although Hong Xuanji hadn't carried out the household punishment and had let him go, Hong Yi still had a premonition that his words concealed murderous intent. If Consort Yuan weren't coming to visit tomorrow and hadn't mentioned him, Hong Yi suspected his father would have beaten him to death under household law right there. Looking down, Hong Yi saw that the main residence was still wreathed in blazing red light: his father's vigorous blood and yang energy, which no evil spirit or monster could approach. At the study door, Steward Wu stopped and spoke to Hong Yi. But Hong Yi could see everything around the Marquis Mansion, including the distant streets, clearly. The strange shadows were dressed just like the Wusheng Dao and Zhenkong Dao priests who had tried to assassinate Hong Xuanji that day. After Hong Yi entered the study and stood before him, Hong Xuanji suddenly unleashed a string of questions like a thunderstorm, making his hair stand on end. "You want me to meet you in the study? Not the main hall?" Hong Yi was taken aback. He couldn't make head or tail of it. When Hong Xuanji reprimanded someone at home, there were rules for that, too. He always did it in the main residence's hall, to show the gravity of household law and the severity of its rules. "But if you attach your spirit to the sword, when the gunpowder explodes, your spirit will be blown to smithereens as well." Sure enough, his spirit rose more than ten zhang before the pressure grew so heavy he couldn't ascend any farther. Hong Yi stopped there. Even at that height, he could just barely see the whole Marquis Mansion. "It's fine. The Patriarch bestowed the Explosive Flame Talisman Sword this time. The Purple Thunder Gunpowder on it was specially refined by Fangxian Dao. The Patriarch used his tremendous power and a brush that could pierce metal and stone to write on the sword, making the gunpowder seep into its body. You'll draw attention when you come out to assassinate Hong Xuanji. I'll secretly send my spirit out and attach it to the sword, then drive it to kill him. He'll surely catch it with his hand. I'll unleash its power at the last moment, and the sword will explode. The Explosive Flame Talisman Sword is immensely powerful. Once it goes off, it'll blow the whole house apart. Hong Xuanji won't survive." "Any one of these three offenses would get you beaten to death in my household. But I'll set all three punishments aside for now. Consort Yuan is coming to the residence tomorrow to visit her family. She heard of you from Princess Zhennan and Princess Yongchun and wants to meet you. If I beat you to death today, I would be going against Her Ladyship's wishes. So, as I said, we'll settle accounts after the imperial examinations. If you pass, your status will soar and you'll become a successful candidate in the imperial examinations. I won't be able to punish you as I please. If you fail, you know what will happen." Hong Yi shook his head, steadied his unsettled spirit, and sent it out to roam again. Hearing that his father, Hong Xuanji, had returned to the residence and wanted to see him, Hong Yi was startled. An urge surged through him to leap onto a horse and flee the Marquis Mansion at once. Though Hong Yi sat motionless, countless thoughts raced through his mind in an instant. "Come in." "Yes." Hearing this, Hong Yi knew he'd made it through another ordeal and felt a weight lift from his heart. He bowed, then left the study. As soon as Hong Yi came over, Steward Wu spoke. "Maybe it was just my imagination? Even if Father is a stern, unfeeling master of the Cheng-Zhu school, I'm still his son. If he killed his own son, he'd earn a reputation for lacking compassion. I hope my instincts are wrong. I hope I'm mistaken—better yet, completely wrong." This was also a rule among the nobles of a marquis's household: the study was an important place, off-limits to idle visitors. After leaving, Hong Yi thought that though Hong Xuanji had scolded him harshly, it had been all thunder and no rain. Yet the world was vast, and no matter how he thought it over, he had nowhere to go. "After all, I'm his son. Though born of a concubine, Father must know full well how much I've suffered all these years. He's been protecting me in secret. He scolded me fiercely just now, but he still didn't enforce the household punishment for real." To a yin spirit, the darker the night, the clearer everything appeared. Moonlight was like a thick fog, making everything hazy. Hong Yi's heart trembled. He stepped forward, pushed open the door, and entered. Hong Xuanji still wore his golden crown and brocade robes, his back turned to Hong Yi. He didn't turn around.
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