Chapter 144: Seriously, There Isn't Any

Su He saw that the two of them were getting more and more out of hand, so he quickly put down his chopsticks and stopped them, saying, "Alright, what are you two doing?"

"Ask him!" Shattered Jade turned her face away, huffing with anger. The more she thought about it, the madder she got. How could he actually dare say such a thing?

Huai Yin pursed his lips and said disdainfully, "Some people are simply unreasonable, no need to pay attention to them. Let's talk about something else instead—how did you end up fighting someone?"

Su He looked between the two of them, instantly losing his appetite. He casually shoveled a few bites of rice into his mouth to make do, then said, "I ran into a masked person."

"A masked person?" Huai Yin was startled.

"Mn."

"Did you manage to figure out their background or martial style?"

"No." Su He shook his head. Catching sight of the restaurant waiter coming down from upstairs, he gestured for him to clear the table.

Once the waiter had removed the leftover dishes, Su He said, "Let's go upstairs and talk."

"Very well." In truth, Huai Yin did not really want to be in the same room with everyone right now; he always felt a subtle and inexplicable awkwardness.

Yet since Su He had spoken, he could not refuse. To do so would only arouse suspicion.

Therefore, he gave Shattered Jade a push and said, "Let's go."

Shattered Jade jerked her shoulder, pulling away from his palm, and walked briskly up the stairs ahead of them.

Huai Yin looked at his empty palm, wondering why his heart suddenly felt somewhat hollow as well, almost as if he had run into a ghost.

Realizing that Su He was waiting for him, he said ruefully, "That little girl's temper is growing bolder by the day."

"You, it's not like you don't know Jade's temperament; why bother teasing her? Of course she's thin-skinned and will get angry with you." Su He waited for him to catch up, and the two of them ascended the stairs together.

"Hehe, let's not talk about this, let's not talk about it." Huai Yin hastily brushed it off and changed the subject. Glancing back down toward the waiter, he said, "Why didn't you just tell the waiter to have a fresh meal prepared and sent to Steward Zou? Why go to all the trouble of picking through these leftovers and having them served to him?"

Su He placed his hand on the railing, walking up slowly as he replied, "They were already prepared and warm, and he is injured while running about on external business. Ordering a completely fresh meal would waste a considerable amount of time. It is better to pick some of these to send to him so he can make do for now."

"You really do treat him as one of your own. I just wonder if he treats you in the same manner."

"Mn?" Su He paused in his steps, looking slightly stunned before smiling. "My very life was preserved entirely thanks to him; how else could he possibly treat me?"

Huai Yin froze. He had anticipated that once Su He learned of this past event, he would treat Zou Jiren differently, but he had not expected Su He's response to be so straightforward.

It seemed he could not make a move against him for the time being; he would have to look for another way.

Su He walked to the corner and, seeing that Huai Yin had not followed, asked, "What is it? Are you troubled by something? Or could it be, Brother Huai, that you hold... a different view of Jiren?" That thought darted through his mind like lightning, too fast to catch.

Huai Yin snapped back to reality and hurriedly conjured an excuse, saying, "It's nothing. I was just thinking that that girl will surely go complain to Que Yunzi, and there's no telling how the old man will deal with me later."

"Is that all?" Su He let out a breath, thinking his previous thought must have been a mere illusion. He said, "If the senior reprimands you, just bear with it. Jade is not your average young woman; she won't bicker with you endlessly."

"Hey, listen to you! Making it sound like I'm the one bickering with her?" Huai Yin stepped forward and gave Su He a light punch, cursing outwardly while plotting inwardly.

Su He caught the punch with his palm, defusing the force with clever leverage, and smiled. "Alright, alright, it was my fault for speaking wrongly. Immortal Huai, with your great magnanimity, please don't take it to heart."

"Go on, go on! How did I end up making such a disastrous friend like you?" Huai Yin made a shooing gesture, waving his sleeves repeatedly with a flurry of slaps.

With that, conversing as they went, the two of them arrived at Zou Jiren's room.

Que Yunzi had just finished treating his wounds and was about to apply the medicine.

Seeing this, Shattered Jade hurried outside to wait. When the rustling sounds inside faded and Que Yunzi gave her the signal, she blushed and stepped back into the room, though as she passed Huai Yin, she treated him to a fierce glare.

Her piercing gaze made Huai Yin covertly peek at Que Yunzi's expression, terrified that the old man would suddenly fly into a rage.

Que Yunzi raised an eyebrow, sweeping an unfriendly gaze over the two of them before tossing a blood-stained cloth into a bronze basin, where it landed with a splash.

He spoke in a strange, mocking tone, "Oh? Kid He, instead of eating your meal, why the rush to follow that ungrateful wretch up here? Didn't you see that someone isn't welcome here?"

Whether intentional or not, as soon as those words fell, Huai Yin's heart gave a violent thump. Even Yun Xingyu and Zou Jiren could not help lifting their eyes to look at Huai Yin.

Huai Yin let out a few awkward hums and feigned composure, saying, "I know you care deeply for someone, old man, but you still have to let me plead my case, right? Even a death row inmate guilty of monstrous crimes gets to utter a few last words before the end. No matter how biased you are, you still have to listen to me."

With that, he nudged Su He with his elbow. *Hey, hurry up and say something, or the old man is going to eat me alive!*

"Girl, come here." Que Yunzi beckoned to Shattered Jade, gesturing for her to stand by his side while glaring at Huai Yin until his eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

These two people clearly had nothing to do with each other, yet they acted closer than actual kin. Who was this farce supposed to impress?

Shattered Jade naturally obeyed, calling out sweetly, "Grandfather."

Hearing that made Huai Yin shudder involuntarily. *Ew... these two are truly terrifying.*

Su He opened his mouth to speak, but Que Yunzi ruthlessly cut him off with another glare, gesturing for him to stay put on the sidelines.

Helpless, Su He could only pat Huai Yin's shoulder to tell him to look after himself, then walked straight to the bedside and asked Zou Jiren, "How is it? Are you feeling better?"

"It's already much better." Zou Jiren replied. Seeing the piles of food stacked high on the table, he was momentarily left speechless.

Men sometimes had few demands and certainly did not care to put on airs for no reason. But once they recognized genuine kindness, even a single cup of plain water was enough to warm them for a lifetime.

"Go and eat something. I originally wanted to ask the waiter to prepare a fresh meal, but then I realized going back and forth would take too long. You'll just have to make do with this."

"It's no trouble at all. This is already more than enough." Zou Jiren nodded, then got up and sat by the table to eat.

Su He sat beside Yun Xingyu, watching Que Yunzi rake Huai Yin over the coals. It was the same old commotion, yet viewed with an entirely different flavor.

As for what that flavor truly was, only they knew in their hearts; outsiders could never guess.

After tearing Huai Yin to shreds verbally, Que Yunzi finally decided to let him off the hook—not because he thought Huai Yin had behaved well, but because Su He had come upstairs so quickly, which meant he must have urgent business to discuss with everyone. A proper beating of the drum was enough; there was no need to dwell on it endlessly.

Huai Yin secretly let out a long breath. He had somehow muddled his way past this obstacle.

Thus, returning to his usual familiarity, he found a seat for himself.

"Speak then. You brat, leaving your meal unfinished to run up here—what urgent matter do you have?" Que Yunzi rolled up his sleeves, pulled one foot up onto his lap, and lowered his gaze to admire his own straw sandals.

Although they were quite "breezy," they were woven from immortal grass, making them exceptionally comfortable. Well, the truth was simply that he couldn't get used to wearing cloth shoes.

Su He covered his sleeve and gave a light cough to clear his straying thoughts, saying, "Senior has discerning eyes; nothing can be hidden from you. I came here regarding two matters."

"Which two?"

As soon as those words dropped, not only Que Yunzi looked puzzled, but even Yun Xingyu raised his head, fixing an unblessedly open, scrutinizing gaze on Su He.

"First is the masked person. This person's cultivation is unfathomable. Judging by our exchange, they are most likely an enemy rather than a friend."

"What masked person? Why is this old man a bit lost?" Did he guess wrong?

He immediately exchanged a quiet glance with Yun Xingyu.

Yun Xingyu lowered his eyelids slightly, deciding it was best to first hear what else Su He had to say before making a judgment.

Que Yunzi slowly pulled his thoughts back and resumed picking at his bird's nest of hair.

Su He continued, "Given this person's cultivation, combined with the clues Jiren discovered in the northern part of Zhou Village, this junior has a bold guess."

"Hold it right there." Que Yunzi suddenly raised a hand to stop Su He, saying, "This old man understands your meaning, but what exactly did Jiren find in the north that led you to such a conjecture?"

"It happened like this..."

Since Que Yunzi had asked, Su He recounted the intelligence Zou Jiren had gathered, telling it to everyone point by point.

Upon hearing this, Que Yunzi fell into an immediate, heavy silence.

It was just as the saying went: whatever one fears the most comes to pass.

The atmosphere in the room instantly turned subtle.

Yun Xingyu took the rare initiative to speak, measuring his words deliberately. "Although everything sounds reasonable, without solid evidence, it remains nothing more than speculation. Surely you don't intend to persuade the Brave King with this?"

Su He shook his head slowly. "That is precisely what troubles me. Leaving aside the truth of this matter, even if the conjecture is correct, capturing such a person will be no easy task."

"How do you plan to resolve this?" After a long silence, Que Yunzi finally wore a grave expression.

"I have no plan for now."

Huai Yin's eyes shifted slightly, revealing a friendly smile. "Why don't we see if First Highness's side yields any new clues? The Auspicious Brocade Palace cannot detain people indefinitely, or he won't be able to answer to the Dipper-Tracking Tower. To put it bluntly, even under the guise of protecting a witness, he cannot lock up Qingchen forever. If we are anxious about this, I'm afraid someone else is even more anxious than us."

Hearing this, Zou Jiren swept his gaze over everyone in the room, then lowered his head to shovel more rice into his mouth, not uttering another word.

Yun Xingyu and Que Yunzi both remained silent after hearing this. Seeing the situation, Shattered Jade jumped in to say, "That's right! Even though the bad guy is bad, what he says makes a lot of sense. No matter what, Sister Di is safe for now."

Although she had no idea what riddles the men in the room were speaking in, driven by her private bias, she could not help speaking up for Huai Yin.

Huai Yin seized the momentum to add, "Am I right or am I right?"

His words were clearly aimed at Su He. After all, despite the many people present, Su He was the one who made the decisions.

Su He was silent for a long time before finally letting out a sigh and nodding. "Indeed. In that case, I will make another trip to the Auspicious Brocade Palace tomorrow."

Hearing Su He's agreement, Huai Yin felt a heavy stone lift from his chest. He stood up and said, "Then it's settled. I'll go out and look around elsewhere to see if there's any way I can help."

Then, turning to Shattered Jade, he said, "Let's go, my esteemed ancestor."

Shattered Jade glanced at Que Yunzi and said reluctantly, "Grandfather, Jade will come visit you again soon."

To be frank, every time Huai Yin called her his ancestor, his attitude wasn't exactly pleasant. Yet every single time she heard it, a trace of inexplicable sweetness bloomed in her heart.

Que Yunzi nodded, telling her she could go whenever she pleased. She was welcome to visit him whenever she missed him.

Once they had walked far away and their presence completely vanished, Que Yunzi slanted his eyes at Su He and said, "Everyone's gone. Aren't you going to speak plainly?"

Su He paused for a moment before letting out a helpless laugh. "Senior, please forgive this junior for not understanding your words."

"...... You're playing dumb with me?"

You brat, you're getting bolder by the day... aren't you?

"I truly am not. Senior has treated this junior with kindness as heavy as a mountain; how could this junior harbor any other intentions?"

"To hell with your kindness as heavy as a mountain! Which of you fellows isn't capable of splitting mountains and cleaving cliffs? What's a mountain's weight of kindness? You just move it aside!" Que Yunzi's beard trembled as he spoke.

"Senior..."

"Are you going to talk or not?"

"I truly have nothing else to say."

"......"

Que Yunzi had not expected that even with such heavy pressure, Su He would stubbornly refuse to budge.

He could not help feeling immensely puzzled: what on earth was this kid plotting?