“Convinced him?”
A moment later, Yu Lin’an came out of the small courtyard and met Sang Chu at the corner, who had been quietly waiting.
Frowning, Sang Chu asked, “Did you talk him around?”
“It’s not that easy.”
Yu Lin’an reached up and touched his neck, letting out a sigh.
“What did he say?”
“He asked me if I wanted to die.”
Sang Chu stared at Yu Lin’an in silence.
After a moment, he asked, “And then?”
Yu Lin’an spread his hands honestly and said, “I said I didn’t. So I came out.”
If it hadn’t been for Ye Zhuxu stepping in at the last minute, the commander position this time would’ve likely gone to Sang Chu.
To reach such a position, one must’ve seen and handled all kinds of things—but now, looking at Yu Lin’an’s face and thinking about what Ye Zhuxu did tonight, plus the fact that their team was composed of such elite members—Sang Chu found himself at a loss for words.
Internal strife, external threats.
Everything still felt directionless.
Sang Chu felt like he was commanding a ship full of holes—he wanted to patch things up, but didn’t know where to start.
Try to plug one hole, and when you lift the board, you find the whole deck is rotted through.
“Still, things went better than I expected tonight.”
Yu Lin’an grew serious and said, “It’s just… with Ye Zhuxu overseeing the Tower, and from the looks of things now, no matter the situation… it’s unlikely he and Su Lingxi can work together peacefully.
And there’s no way he’ll follow her orders. So the coordination between our team and the Demon Suppression Bureau… that’s up to you.”
Sang Chu’s expression darkened.
Yu Lin’an looked toward the small courtyard, silent for a while.
Since he didn’t come for answers, and was fated to get none, then why did Ye Zhuxu come?
He thought—maybe to say goodbye.
Fourteen years is a long time.
Exhausting.
Even the most stubborn people eventually want to let go.
He and Su Lingxi were both people who had walked out of the memories from fourteen years ago.
Over the years, Yu Lin’an believed he’d grown a lot.
Before coming, he had mentally prepared himself, telling himself it would be enough if Su Lingxi was still alive, safe, and well.
But the moment he actually saw her—that cold vigilance, the fake official tone laced with guarded indifference—still triggered a sharp, inexplicable ache in him.
That was why he’d been the first to question her motives last night.
And if even those who’d moved on reacted like this—
Then what about the ones who never moved on?
It would take time.
Yu Lin’an told himself.
***
At midnight, Su Lingxi and Xiliu left the Demon Suppression Bureau and detoured into the palace.
Entering the palace at night required an imperial summons. Su Lingxi was an exception.
Xiliu presented the jade token and her waist badge to the palace guards.
The guards wouldn’t dare stop her, though duty demanded they still ask, “Where is the lord going?”
“To the Archive Pavilion,” Xiliu replied calmly.
“To verify some matters concerning demons.”
The guard returned the badge and opened the gate to let them through.
On the way, Su Lingxi kept her lips pressed together, her brows furrowed.
After the initial anger and shock, she quickly calmed herself and began analyzing the current situation one piece at a time.
The moment her eyes met Ye Zhuxu’s, she had sensed something odd—indescribably odd.
Now, thinking back, she understood why.
In his gaze, there was a hidden, distorted hatred—a hatred so intense it seemed he wanted to grind her bones to dust and drink her marrow.
Su Lingxi couldn’t imagine what kind of emotional debt she had left unpaid to provoke such a disaster.
She had made many enemies.
But she had also reconciled with many. If she wanted to, she had countless ways to help others let go of grudges—honest talk, meeting them where they were, even lowering her head if needed.
Whatever it took to achieve her goals—those were minor things to her.
But this time was different.
To her, no matter what happened in the past, no matter who was involved, whether love or hate—it was over.
She thought that before the top-ranking demons resurfaced, the Southern Institute should handle direct contact with Floating Jade’s team.
She had originally planned to extract some information from them through interaction, but now that had to wait.
She had more important things to do in the meantime.
***
The Archive Pavilion was located on the southern side of the palace, holding more than six million books and occupying a large area.
Books, being of the wood element, were prone to fire, so water was used to counterbalance them.
Thus, the walls and eaves of the building were painted black to represent water in the Five Elements.
Aside from the main building, a dozen smaller pavilions extended upward with the terrain.
These remained unoccupied year-round, not even lit at night.
It was said that these were built for mysterious Elders.
Some veteran cultivators, after earning great renown, chose to become royal Elders to protect the emperor and the royal family.
Especially after the chaos of the late emperor’s death fourteen years ago and the regime change three years ago, more elderly cultivators had stepped up to prevent further turmoil.
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