These were probably Shi Yijian's memories. Wen Xu had no wish to pry into someone else's past. Besides... he was face-blind. A hurried glance was hardly enough for him to tell who was who, though he could see that Yijian had had a hard time growing up.
It seemed the Shi Household did indeed operate in the shadows. Once this was over, he could mention it to the sect master and have the Household investigated.
But the fleeting images soon faded, replaced by an entire forest of silent, dark trees standing tall on the deep seabed. Wen Xu could not recognize faces, and naturally could not tell which tree was Shi Yijian.
His name really did not suit him. For someone called Yijian—easy to find—he was the hardest person in the world to find.
Wen Xu simply cast down a thread of Golden Light and sent his voice straight to Yijian's ears. "Shi Yijian, follow the Golden Light out."
His voice brushed across the treetop of every tree, stirring a soft rustle. As expected, no one answered. Yijian really did treat people differently depending on who they were. He was probably disappointed it was not Chunchou.
"Did you hear that? That was Chunchou's voice. He's very worried about you."
Wen Xu knew time would wait for no one, so he patiently tried to coax him, a rare effort on his part. But his patience had limits. When Yijian still did not respond, Wen Xu changed tack. "You can't stand the thought of me rescuing you, can you?"
The words struck home. Shi Yijian gave a faint, derisive laugh. This seemed to be the first time he and Wen Xu had spoken so frankly. To commemorate it, he finally answered in a low voice. "Mm. Why did it have to be