Chapter 179: Reasoning

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Though Feng Zhi’s servant is dressed in dark clothes with barely an inch of her skin exposed, Liu Jin has no problems recognizing her Qi. In the past, her androgynous appearance caused him to think of her as a man, but stepping into the True Realm has taken his sensing abilities to a new level.

“What can you tell me about your master?” He asks.

Feng Zhi’s servant does not immediately reply. She looks at him with wary eyes. Her Qi is tense, her body ready to flee at a moment’s notice.

“To think Disciple Qing detected my presence so easily… impressive.”

“You could not hide from me before I entered the True Realm,” Liu Jin points out dryly, remembering when she tried to sneak into his room to deliver one of Feng Zhi’s threats. “This much is only to be expected.”

“Indeed. You have grown greatly, Disciple Qing. However, I will not betray my master’s secrets.”

“Does that mean you can tell me things as long as they are not secret?” Liu Jin asks. He raises a finger, and she flinches. “For example, you were hiding outside Lady Ling’s mansion. Feng Zhi must have ordered you to keep an eye on Feng Hao. Am I right?”

The servant does not answer. Even her Qi goes utterly still, as if not moving could somehow make him forget she’s there.

“When you saw me leave Lady Ling’s house, you decided to follow me. Why? Did Feng Zhi tell you I merited special attention?”

Liu Jin thinks about it and nods.

“Yes, that sounds like something he’d do. He’s too paranoid.”

Of course, considering everything that has happened recently, it might be better to call Feng Zhi properly paranoid.

“Do not insult Young Master Feng Zhi!” the servant yells. Her Qi hisses like an angry cat. Steel glints under her sleeve. A dagger, most likely.

“Must you show such hostility to me?” Liu Jin wonders. He takes a single step toward the servant, and she immediately backs away. “You keep treating me like I am about to attack you. Am I that scary? People keep saying that I am. I must confess… it is beginning to hurt me.”

“I have nothing to say to you!”

“I am not forcing you to betray your master, nor do I have any interest in hurting Feng Zhi,” Liu Jin calmly tells her. “I just need you to answer a few questions. Surely that cannot hurt anyone?”

Her reply to his well-reasoned attempt to calm her down is to flee. She makes it a grand total of three steps away from him before he cuts her off, appearing in front of her in the blink of an eye. Steel flashes in the night as she draws her blade.

“Stop.”

Liu Jin brings the full weight of his Qi down on her, and she falls, unable to bear his presence. Her eyes look at him with fear, yet there is resolve behind that fear. The will to never betray her master.

Liu Jin sighs.

“I am used to feeling threatened by people much stronger than me,” he says, his lips forming a thin line. “Being on the opposite side… I cannot say I like it.”

Liu Jin releases her from his presence and offers her a hand.

“If you will not talk, at least take me to your master. Give him as much of a warning as you want. I have no intention of attacking him. Even if I wanted to, it should be clear I am not his match. If you cannot trust me, at least trust your master’s strength.”

The servant stays silent for a long while.

“Very well.”

Still, she does not take his hand.

~~~

Feng Zhi’s manor is far different from Lady Ling’s. That is not to say it is an ugly place. Nor is it dirty or rundown. As a building, it is not lacking in the slightest. It is just… sober. Quiet. There are no ornaments on the large garden surrounding the property, no flowers, and not even a small pond.

The character of its owner is not reflected at all.

Feng Zhi’s servant went inside a little over a minute ago and has yet to come out. The way Feng Zhi’s Qi spikes every now and then tells Liu Jin that Feng Zhi is already aware of his presence. He has just chosen not to come out yet.

Is he going to make him wait?

It starts as a nagging worry, but as the minutes pass, it becomes an annoying reality. Liu Jin shakes his head and crosses his arms. What exactly has he done to Feng Zhi to warrant this sort of treatment? No, the answer to that is obvious. He got too close to Feng Hao, and Feng Zhi’s protective streak is as deep as the sea.

“You have a lot of nerve.”

Feng Zhi appears before him in a blur of speed. Hair like flame and eyes like gold stand out even in the dark of the night as if they shone with a light of their own.

“You threaten my servant,” Feng Zhi says. His Qi rises just enough to be threatening without being deliberately overt. “Then you demand an audience with me?”

“Young Master, I threatened no one and kindly asked for an audience,” Liu Jin says. “If being stronger than the people I speak to is all it takes for my words to be taken as a threat, then Young Master threatens people all the time.”

“I do.”

Liu Jin is left blinking, not having expected such a blunt and easy admission.

“That’s a sad way of looking at things, Young Master.”

The narrowing of Feng Zhi’s eyes is accompanied by a slight rise in temperature.

“You mock me?”

“Young Master, there is no point in trying to intimidate me. We both know you are not going to attack me,” Liu Jin says.

“You seem awfully certain of that.” The heat rises even more. “Are you sure you wish to stake your life on that assumption?”

“Yes,” Liu Jin replies without fear, meeting Feng Zhi’s eyes. “Attacking me after everything that happened in the Dead Plains would be a horrible idea. You are not angry enough to ignore that. Could we please just talk? Or shall I cower before you for a few minutes to sate your ego, Young Master?”

If Feng Zhi’s looks could kill, Liu Jin would be fulminated on the spot. Thankfully, Feng Zhi is not that good.

Not yet.

Stolen story; please report.

“Speak,” Feng Zhi says through gritted teeth.

“I came here to ask about a woman named Yi Jiao. As I understand it, Young Master Feng Zhi has heard of her.”

Feng Zhi’s look somehow manages to become even scarier. For a moment, Liu Jin fears he might actually attack him.

“I have nothing to say to you. Leave and never return.”

Feng Zhi turns away and starts walking back into the manor. Liu Jin sighs.

“Huang Shing will surpass you.”

Feng Zhi stops.

“There is a limit to bad jokes.”

“I came here today, so Huang Shing won’t have to do it in the future,” Liu Jin says. “Please, do not bother pretending you don’t know who that is. By now, it is quite clear Young Master Feng Zhi remembers Huang Shing. I’d even dare say the Young Master has a strong inkling as to why he is here.”

“Aye, I remember him,” Feng Zhi says dismissively. “He is the fool who rejected my kindness.”

“Young Master keeps repeating that phrase. All it means is that Young Master didn’t kill him when he had the opportunity to,” Liu Jin points out. “If simply not killing someone is enough to be considered kind, then Young Master Feng Zhi truly must have led a very pitiful life.”

Feng Zhi’s Qi flares once more. Angrily, but with focus. This time, Liu Jin is forced to raise his own aura to endure its power, and even then, he’s pushed back a few yards. Still, he does not raise his arms or allow any hostility to enter his mind. If he does, Feng Zhi will have an excuse to attack.

“Huang Shing was a non-issue when he first came here. That must be what the Young Master thought,” Liu Jin keeps talking, grunting only slightly from the effort. “But that’s not the case anymore, is it? In mere months, he has grown by leaps and bounds.”