"Huh? Didn't Lan Yin say he was a commoner? How did he get to know someone as important as the Pavilion Master?" Ning Rongrong asked, uncertain and a little annoyed.
You little liar, Tang Yin. You used a fake name to trick me in Sword City, and you already knew important people in Heaven Dou City, yet you said you'd never been here and wanted to look around.
Especially since they'd spent so much time together lately, and Tang Yin still showed no sign of recognizing her. That made her even more displeased.
Sure, when she'd sneaked into his home, she'd been a disheveled little beggar. So what? He was still in the wrong.
"Then thank you, Crown Prince Brother."
Ning Rongrong giggled, then her eyes darted about. "By the way, Crown Prince Brother, is Lan Yin still at Moonlight Pavilion?"
"Of course. But Brother Lan is still inside Moonlight Pavilion, talking with Sect Master Tang. Judging by the looks of it, they won't be finished anytime soon."
There was no way Xue Qinghe could miss Ning Rongrong's little scheme, so he tried to dissuade her. "Besides, Moonlight Pavilion has already closed its doors and isn't receiving guests."
At his words, Ning Rongrong let out an "Ah," her little face full of indecision.
She wanted to see Lan Yin right away, but didn't want to just barge in, especially not somewhere as tangled in connections as Moonlight Pavilion.
"Rongrong, it's already late. Since that boy Lan has important matters to discuss with Sect Master Tang, we shouldn't disturb them. Besides, you've had a long journey and ought to get some rest," Chen Xin said at just the right moment. He would have preferred the two of them not see each other at all.
Ning Rongrong looked at Chen Xin, then out the window at the darkening sky. She knew Sword Grandpa had a point. Though she was itching to go, she still nodded obediently. "All right... Then, Crown Prince Brother, Rongrong will come visit another day!"
"Better to seize the day than choose another. Why not stay at the Crown Prince's Mansion tonight?"
After all, she was his teacher's daughter, and she had Sword Douluo Chen Xin with her. Xue Qinghe also wanted to use Ning Rongrong as a pretext to invite Chen Xin to the Crown Prince's Mansion.
Having a Titled Douluo renowned across the continent as an ally would greatly enhance his standing in the empire.
"Your Highness, our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has its own properties in Heaven Dou City. There's no need to worry about accommodation," Sword Douluo Chen Xin quickly cut in.
He didn't understand all the twists and turns, but he had always kept Sect Master Feng Zhi's words in mind: apart from him, the teacher, the other members of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could associate with the Crown Prince, but must not grow close to him.
"Crown Prince Brother, you're busy with state affairs every day. Rongrong..." Ning Rongrong also looked hesitant, carefully trying to refuse.
Although he was Father's disciple, Father always told her not to get too close to the Crown Prince, in case she got caught up in the royal family's struggles.
"Don't worry. I am, after all, the teacher's disciple. If I ignored the teacher's daughter when she came to Heaven Dou City, wouldn't people say I, the Crown Prince, failed to respect my teacher?"
Xue Qinghe teased her half-jokingly. Seeing that Ning Rongrong still hesitated, he added another enticement. "Besides, Rongrong, don't you want to find that Brother Lan?"
"I'll have someone keep an eye on Moonlight Pavilion. Once Brother Lan and the Pavilion Master are done talking, I'll invite him to the mansion."
Ning Rongrong, who had been about to refuse, brightened at once. That changed everything.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin, standing beside her, was utterly helpless. Dealing with these nobles was such a nuisance, all those twists and turns made him want to run his sword through hundreds of them and leave them full of holes.
Now that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe had gone this far, and Ning Rongrong was such a useless ally, forgetting her father for a pretty face, there was nothing he could do.
Moonlight Pavilion, inner chamber.
The air was filled with the delicate scent of sandalwood.
Candlelight flickered, illuminating the aunt and nephew sitting across from each other.
"...So, at the old man's insistence, I had no choice but to leave Nuoding Academy." Tang Yin's voice was steady as he told Tang Yuehua everything that had happened recently, holding nothing back.
As Tang Yin spoke, a trace of anger appeared on Tang Yuehua's otherwise calm face.
"How could he be so heartless to his own children, tearing you and Third Sister apart!" Tang Yuehua's voice trembled with suppressed emotion.
The fact that Tang Hao had forced Tang Yin to leave Third Sister instantly brought to mind the year Tang Hao had abandoned her and their eldest brother, Tang Xiao, for Ah Yin. The three siblings had been so close.
Tang Yuehua felt as though she had suffered Tang Yin's pain herself. At last, she couldn't hold back, and a tear slid down her cheek.
"He's still the same... Always the same!" Tang Yuehua's voice suddenly rose, laden with years of resentment and heartache.
"Back then, he left with Ah Yin and vanished without a trace, leaving all of us worried sick! Later... later, when trouble struck, he disappeared without a trace again, even when the sect was in danger... And now he's driven you out all by yourself."
Her emotions slipped out of control. The mask of cool composure shattered completely, revealing the grievance and anger of a younger sister beneath.
She grieved over what her brother had done to his son, and hated his heartlessness and avoidance. He had never considered how his family felt.
Tang Yin sat quietly, making no excuses for Tang Hao. He himself had never thought much of Tang Hao anyway.
In Tang Hao's heart, all that mattered was revenge against Spirit Hall, then the Clear Sky Sect. His children truly meant nothing to him.
If it hadn't been to get Third Sister back onto the original story's main path, Tang Yin wouldn't even have wanted Tang Hao to know that she had Twin Martial Souls.
If Tang Hao discovered it, that would mean she'd become a tool for his revenge against Spirit Hall and his return to the Clear Sky Sect.
Third Sister had the Clear Sky Hammer, so her identity could easily be recognized. It was perfectly reasonable to show some value so Tang Hao would be willing to protect her from the shadows.
But Tang Yin was different. As long as he didn't go looking for trouble with the handful of people known to the continent's top powers, generally no one would bother investigating his identity.
And now he had come to see Tang Yuehua to resolve the last hidden risk.
That was his household registration in the empire, and the record in Spirit Hall's Spirit Master Handbook.
The former was his official identity; the latter was the "ID card" of the Soul Master World.
"Good boy, you've been through a lot."
After a long while, Tang Yuehua had calmed somewhat. She gazed at her nephew, whose eyes were so composed, full of tenderness.
She had never married, and so had no children of her own.
Her brother had gone far away, and the sect had shut itself off from the world. Though Moonlight Pavilion was full of guests and renowned far and wide, inside, she was all alone, keeping this place of chill and solitude.
But Tang Yin's arrival today brought her the comfort of blood ties she had not felt in so long.
Looking at the maturity in Tang Yin's eyes beyond his years, the heartache she felt for him and her urge to protect him with everything she had nearly overflowed.
She took a deep breath and pressed down her surging emotions, her eyes once more clear and sharp.
"Xiao Yin, you're right to be concerned. Your household registration and Spirit Hall's records are the two most immediate hurdles in your way."
Her voice had returned to its usual steady, measured tone.
"Your household registration will be easy enough to handle. The people who come and go at Moonlight Pavilion are all high-ranking figures in the empire and their children. Getting this done will be a piece of cake."
"As for the Spirit Master Handbook..." Tang Yuehua paused thoughtfully.
The Spirit Master Handbook was entirely managed by Spirit Hall. Even the two great empires would have great difficulty interfering. But this was her nephew's first time asking her for help, so naturally she couldn't refuse.
As it happened, someone close to Archbishop Salas in Heaven Dou City was an acquaintance of hers. She could invite her to Moonlight Pavilion one of these days.
Tang Yuehua had already made up her mind. Her confident smile returned as she turned to look at Tang Yin.
Tang Yin had just told her about Twin Martial Souls. She hadn't expected that he and Third Sister, brother and sister, would both have Twin Martial Souls.
And when she learned that she was the first person, apart from Third Sister, whom he had told, the trust he placed in her intoxicated her all the more. Ever since she was little, the sect members had mocked her because she couldn't break through to level ten.
"Xiao Yin, can you let your aunt see your Martial Soul?" Tang Yuehua's eyes gleamed with a peculiar light.
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