Revenge

Rejected?

Wei He froze for a moment.

What he had expected to hear was tearful gratitude, eager acceptance. He had even prepared the polite pleasantries.

Nothing more than the usual formalities: "A young man knows the times," "The Wei family will not treat you poorly," and the like.

Yet Cheng Yang's "Save it for someone more suitable" was like a basin of cold water dumped over his head, choking every one of those words in his throat.

Then humiliation and fury surged up from the bottom of his heart.

Idiot!

What an utter idiot!

For the sake of momentary pride, he was willing to cast aside a bright future? Born a mere mud-legged commoner, yet he still clung to that worthless scrap of pride and refused to let go?

Wei He's face turned livid. He could not even be bothered to lift his teacup. Staring coldly at that infuriatingly calm face across from him, he lowered his voice and said, "Do you know what you have missed? I hope you will not regret today's choice in the future."

"Commander Wei's kindness is appreciated," Cheng Yang said as he rose to his feet, his tone remaining neither servile nor overbearing. "I will bear responsibility for the choices I make."

"Hmph. It had better be so."

Wei He had lost all interest in sitting across from him any longer. He waved a hand as though shooing away an annoying fly. "Before you leave, call the man outside in for me."

Cheng Yang gave a slight nod and turned to leave the room.

In the courtyard, the City Guard soldier was standing beneath a locust tree with his horse's reins in hand. When he saw Cheng Yang emerge, he raised an eyebrow.

"Commander Wei wants you inside," Cheng Yang said casually.

"Got it." The soldier answered, but did not hurry off. Tilting his head, he looked Cheng Yang over and added with interest, "I suppose you are one of the Wei family now? What does it feel like to take the surname Wei?"

"No. I refused."

"...What?" The smile on the soldier's face froze. His mouth fell slightly open, and it took him a long while to find his voice again. "You... you refused? You could enter the Five Elements Sect, and you just said no?"

"Each man has his own aspirations." Cheng Yang patted at nonexistent dust on the hem of his robe, his tone as relaxed as if he had merely turned down a skewer of candied hawthorn from a street vendor.

The soldier stared at him for several breaths. His expression slowly shifted from shock to something more complicated, until he finally clasped his hands solemnly. "...I admire you."

He meant it sincerely.

Before coming here, he had privately thought that this prodigy had some backbone. But when faced with the future Commander Wei offered him, he would probably bow his head before three sentences had passed.

Yet Cheng Yang had not only held firm—he had walked out cleanly. If it were himself, he had to admit that he could not have managed such resolve.

But admiration was admiration. He also sighed inwardly. In this world, backbone could not fill one's belly.

Opportunities came only once. Once missed, they were gone. Nor could a person walk through life with his head held high forever.

"Brother, take care of yourself." The soldier patted Cheng Yang on the shoulder, genuine regret coloring his voice.

Cheng Yang said nothing more and headed toward the martial hall. The soldier watched him leave through the side gate before turning and quickly entering the room.

"Commander Wei, that man..."

"He is an idiot," Wei He cut him off irritably.

"...He truly is an idiot," the soldier tactfully agreed.

"He refused the letter of recommendation. If he wants to enter the Five Elements Sect, he can only rely on the Ascending Dragon Conference. With his strength as a novice Flesh Tempering martial artist, what waves can he possibly stir up at the Ascending Dragon Conference? Having missed this chance, he will have to squander another four years in Qinglin County." As Wei He spoke, the anger in his tone gradually gave way to cold mockery. "Four years. How many four years does a life hold? Such fine talent, wasted for nothing."

He lifted his teacup and took a sip. The tea had gone cold, making its bitterness all the heavier.

He set the cup down and looked up at the soldier. "Enough. Let us discuss business.

"The Big-Eared Bandits outside the city have grown increasingly rampant of late. I intend to lead troops to wipe them out.

"But this is not merely the City Guard's affair. Every faction, large and small, in Qinglin County must provide men and effort as well."

"What does Commander Wei mean?"

"I do not care whom the other families send." Wei He tapped a finger lightly against the tabletop. "But Cheng Yang of the Chen Clan Martial Hall must accompany the army."

The soldier lowered his head and answered, "Yes," without feeling the slightest surprise.

Holding grudges over the smallest slight was Commander Wei's usual style. Having just been made to lose face, he immediately threw the man into the vanguard of the bandit-suppression force. It would both grind down his temperament and carry a touch of retaliation.

Cheng Yang had just refused the recommendation letter, and now he had angered Wei He again...

For dignity alone, he had forsaken his future and offended the powerful... was that truly worth it?

In the soldier's eyes, it was not worth it in the slightest. He truly admired Cheng Yang's backbone, but that was all.

Cheng Yang hurried all the way back to the Chen Clan Martial Hall. The instant he stepped into the courtyard gate, before he could even catch his breath, Chen Feiyi came toward him, his expression as heavy as clouds that had weighed down the sky all day.

"Something happened to Ge Tao."

Cheng Yang halted, the smile draining from his face. "What happened?"

"He is dead. Last night, in his own home, Ge Tao's entire family... they are all gone."

For a moment, Cheng Yang was dazed, as if something had blocked his ears. The words spun through his mind several times before they finally settled into reality.

The man who had smiled so honestly yesterday and yielded his Ascending Dragon slot to him, the man who had patted his chest and said, "Senior Brother is more suited than I am"—he was just gone?

"Who found them?" he asked in a suppressed voice.

"Lian Jingye. He usually came and went from the martial hall with Ge Tao, so he went to the Ge residence to call for him this morning. He found the door wide open, and when he went inside..." Chen Feiyi did not finish. He shook his head. "The authorities have no leads for now."

Cheng Yang clenched his fists.

His knuckles turned white, and faint creaks sounded from between his bones.

But after only three or four breaths, he forced himself to calm down. Every detail from yesterday to today began churning through his mind.

Ge Tao had transferred his Ascending Dragon Conference slot to him yesterday, then met with disaster that very night. Why had it been that night? Why after he had given up the slot?

"Master," Cheng Yang said, raising his head as his gaze darkened, "the killer was most likely after me."

Chen Feiyi had thought the same. "Whom do you suspect?"

"Only a few of us knew about the transfer of the slot yesterday.

" Cheng Yang paused. "Third Senior Brother Yang Zheng, Fourth Senior Brother Bao Shun, and two Flesh Tempering junior brothers. Fourth Senior Brother and those two junior brothers have no grievance with me, so there is no reason for them to harm Ge Tao. Only Senior Brother Yang has long been at odds with me."

"But why would he do anything to Ge Tao?" Chen Feiyi frowned. "If he was targeting you, he could have come after you directly. Why drag in a junior brother he did not even know?"

Cheng Yang fell silent for a moment.

He had no answer either. If Yang Zheng wanted to act, attacking him would have meant far more than killing Ge Tao.

Other than enraging him, killing Ge Tao served no purpose... but that was precisely the problem.

Would someone like Yang Zheng do something meaningless?

"Question them one by one," Chen Feiyi said gravely. "Before today is over, go through the movements of everyone who was present yesterday."

For the entire afternoon that followed, Cheng Yang and Chen Feiyi took turns questioning Fourth Senior Brother Bao Shun, the other two Flesh Tempering disciples, and finally Third Senior Brother Yang Zheng.

Every answer was identical: none of them had told anyone else about the transfer of the slot, all had rested in their own residences that night, and none had gone out.

Flawless.

Every answer was watertight, without a single crack to pick at.

For the first time, Cheng Yang found the matter difficult to handle. Of course, he could trust his master. They lived under the same roof and could corroborate one another. But what about the others? Bao Shun or Yang Zheng, each had possessed an entire night to do anything, and none of their accounts had any witness to verify them.

"It seems we can only wait for news from the authorities." Chen Feiyi rubbed his temples, his voice weary.

Cheng Yang did not reply.

He lowered his eyes. His palm slowly clenched and loosened, as though weighing something immensely heavy.

No evidence? Then he would not rely on evidence. If the authorities could not solve this case, he would do it himself.

Among those people, someone had to be directly or indirectly responsible for Ge Tao's death.

Cheng Yang owed Ge Tao a favor. That favor had been the Ascending Dragon Conference slot, and now it had become a debt of blood.

A debt of blood had to be repaid in blood.

He turned and returned to his room, closing the door behind him. He stood by the window for a long time.

Night seeped in through the window, blending his outline into the shadows.

In the courtyard outside, the evening wind passed through the treetops with a rustling whisper, as though someone were softly speaking words left unfinished.