[Prime Minister's Residence · Flower Hall · 5-7 PM]
Silk and bamboo music drifted through the air. Wine cups clinked and conversation flowed.
The Prime Minister's residence was hosting a banquet tonight, packed with guests. Ostensibly, it was to celebrate the birthday of Zhou Yanling's mother. In truth, Zhou Yanling wanted to use the occasion to win over court officials and consolidate his power.
The flower hall was lavishly decorated with silk lanterns and fresh flowers. Servants moved silently between the tables, refilling cups and clearing plates. It was the kind of display that spoke of wealth and influence—a reminder to everyone present of exactly who held power in this court.
Yin Wuwang sat among the guests, watching coldly as official after official fawned over Zhou Yanling with obsequious toasts. These same people had kept their distance from the Prime Minister in court just days ago. Now that the storm seemed to have passed, they came crawling back to wag their tails.
A bunch of fence-sitters. He sneered internally. In the cultivation world, this kind of spineless behavior would get you killed. Here, it's apparently called "political wisdom."
"Duke of Zhenguo, why aren't you drinking?"
Zhou Yanling approached with a wine cup in hand, all smiles, as if the friction of the past few days had never happened.
"This Duke doesn't hold his liquor well." Yin Wuwang replied mildly.
"The Duke jests." Zhou Yanling sat down beside him and lowered his voice. "I hear the Duke appeared at the Ministry of Justice prison late at night a few days ago?"
Yin Wuwang's heart clenched, but his expression remained unchanged. "This Duke went to investigate a case. Is there something wrong with that?"
"Investigate a case?" Zhou Yanling smiled meaningfully. "The Duke is a military man. Investigating cases doesn't seem to fall within the Duke's purview, does it?"
"This Duke doesn't like it when people silence witnesses." Yin Wuwang said coldly. "Does the Prime Minister have an objection?"
The smile on Zhou Yanling's face stiffened for a moment before returning to normal. "The Duke misunderstands. This old minister is merely concerned for the Duke, worried that the Duke might be used by someone."
"Used?" Yin Wuwang raised an eyebrow. "Who could possibly use this Duke?"
"The Regent." Zhou Yanling lowered his voice, a gleam flashing in his eyes. "This old minister has heard that the Duke has been getting quite close to the Regent lately?"
Yin Wuwang's heart rate spiked, but his face remained cool. "The Prime Minister certainly has well-informed sources. However, this Duke getting close to the Regent? The Prime Minister must have heard wrong."
He picked up his wine cup and took a deliberate sip, using the motion to buy himself a moment to think. The wine was excellent—probably worth more than most commoners earned in a year—but it tasted like ash on his tongue.
Stay calm. This is just mortal scheming. You've faced down armies. You can handle one nosy old man.
"Is that so?" Zhou Yanling smiled. "But this old minister heard that the night the Duke went to the Ministry of Justice, it was the Regent who sent someone to notify you. If you weren't on intimate terms, why would the Regent bother to inform the Duke?"
Yin Wuwang's gaze darkened.
The Prime Minister was indeed investigating his relationship with Xie Qingyan. It seemed that night's events had already attracted attention.
"The Prime Minister is overthinking." He said mildly. "The Regent notified this Duke simply because the case involved the imperial examinations. As a military official, this Duke has a duty to maintain order in the capital. The Regent requested this Duke's assistance, and this Duke naturally obliged."
"I see." Zhou Yanling's smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "However, this old minister has also heard that the Duke seems to... have quite a favorable impression of the Regent?"
Yin Wuwang's heart lurched.
This old fox is probing me.
"Favorable impression?" He let out a cold laugh. "Is the Prime Minister joking? This Duke and the Regent are mortal enemies. Back when the late Emperor was alive, the Regent tripped this Duke up more than once. This Duke still resents him—where would any favorable impression come from?"
The lies flowed smoothly enough. After all, the original Duke of Zhenguo really had been enemies with the Regent. Yin Wuwang was just playing the role he'd been assigned.
But it still feels wrong, he thought. Pretending to hate Fuguang. Speaking ill of him. Even knowing it's an act, the words taste like poison.
"Is that so?" Zhou Yanling stared into his eyes. "But this old minister noticed that when the Regent was attacking me in court the other day, the Duke didn't seem to be... gloating?"
Yin Wuwang's heart tightened.
This old fox observes carefully. He really hadn't shown any gloating that day—because all his attention had been on Xie Qingyan. He hadn't even thought about acting.
"This Duke simply couldn't be bothered to care." He forced himself to remain calm. "The Prime Minister and the Regent fighting has nothing to do with this Duke."
"True enough." Zhou Yanling nodded, then suddenly changed tack. "However, Duke, the Regent is an extremely calculating and ruthless man. This old minister would advise the Duke to keep your distance from him, lest you be used without even knowing it."
Yin Wuwang almost blurted out: "Fuguang isn't that kind of person."
The words were already forming on his lips. Three thousand years of watching Fuguang from afar—three thousand years of knowing exactly who he was, what he valued, how he treated friend and foe alike. How dare this mortal insect speak of Fuguang as if he were some common schemer?
Little Deer Assistant 9527's voice exploded in his mind: "Warning! The Duke of Zhenguo and the Regent are enemies! If you defend the Regent, your alliance will be exposed! The world will shake! Collapse risk rising!"
Yin Wuwang's entire body jolted. He snapped back to his senses.
That was close! He had almost said it!
His hand, which had been reaching for his wine cup, trembled slightly. He clenched it into a fist beneath the table, using the pain of his nails digging into his palm to ground himself.
He drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and said coldly: "The Regent is indeed excessive. At the last court session, he rebuked this Duke in front of all the officials. This Duke hasn't forgotten that."
Satisfaction flickered in Zhou Yanling's eyes. "It seems the Duke is a sensible man."
"This Duke has always been sensible." Yin Wuwang picked up his wine cup and drained it. "Thank you for the reminder, Prime Minister."
Zhou Yanling nodded with a smile, rose, and walked toward other guests.
Yin Wuwang sat alone among the banquet guests, his back already soaked with cold sweat.
That was close... so close... He celebrated wildly in his mind. I almost exposed everything! That old fox's probing was even more vicious than I imagined!
Around him, the banquet continued as if nothing had happened. Music played. Laughter echoed. Officials competed to flatter the host. None of them had any idea that a Demon Sovereign had just narrowly avoided blowing his cover in their midst.
Three thousand years of cultivation, and I nearly got done in by a single mortal's word trap. He couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity of it all.
He picked up his wine cup and took another gulp, trying to calm himself down.
Fuguang was right. We need to be careful. That old fox is already suspicious of us...
And I need to be more careful about my reactions. When it comes to Fuguang, I lose my composure too easily.
[After the Banquet · Outside the Prime Minister's Residence]
Yin Wuwang walked out of the Prime Minister's residence. The night wind hit his face, clearing his head somewhat.
The stars overhead were bright and cold—nothing like the endless darkness of the demon realm, but beautiful in their own way. He paused for a moment, letting the clean air wash away the stench of politics and scheming.
What had just happened was far too close. If Little Deer hadn't warned him in time, he really would have blurted out those words.
Fuguang isn't that kind of person...
Just thinking about it made him shudder. If he had actually said it, Zhou Yanling would definitely have suspected their relationship. Who knows what chaos would have followed. The mission would have been compromised. The world might have started to collapse. And worst of all—he would have put Fuguang in danger.
I can't let that happen. I won't.
"My lord."
A guard's voice came from behind him.
Yin Wuwang turned. The guard handed him a slip of paper: "From someone at the Regent's residence."
Yin Wuwang took the paper and read it by moonlight. A single line was written on it—
"How was the banquet? Anything unusual?"
Looking at that familiar handwriting, warmth flooded his heart.
Fuguang is worried about me.
The brushstrokes were elegant and precise—exactly like the man who had written them. Xie Qingyan's calligraphy was famous throughout the cultivation world, a perfect reflection of his character: controlled, refined, flawless. Yin Wuwang had collected samples of it over the centuries, though he would die before admitting that to anyone.
He pulled a charcoal pencil from his robes and wrote on the back of the paper: "All went smoothly. The old fox probed me. I handled it well."
After writing, he hesitated for a moment, then added another line: "You had someone watching me?"
It wasn't really a question. Of course Fuguang had sent someone. That was just who he was—meticulous, thorough, always three steps ahead.
The guard took the paper away.
Moments later, a reply arrived.
Yin Wuwang unfolded it. Only four characters—
"Just in case."
He stared at those four characters, and the corner of his mouth curved upward involuntarily.
Just in case... Fuguang says cold things, but secretly sends people to protect me.
This is so like him. Never admitting he cares. Always wrapping concern in practicality.
But I see through you, Fuguang. I've been watching you for three thousand years. I know what your "just in case" really means.
He tucked the paper into his robes, right next to his heart, and mounted his horse.
The streets of the capital were quiet at this late hour. Most citizens had already retired for the night, leaving only the occasional patrol of city guards and the distant barking of dogs. Yin Wuwang rode at a leisurely pace, in no hurry to return to the empty Duke's residence.
Fuguang sent someone to watch over me.
He was worried.
About me.
The night wind brushed his face, but his mood was unexpectedly light.
[Regent's Residence · Study · The Same Time]
Xie Qingyan received the reply and read it. His brow relaxed slightly.
Yin Wuwang had returned safely without giving anything away.
He dropped the paper into the brazier and watched it turn to ash.
Yin Wuwang... is more cautious than I expected.
He had assumed that loose mouth of Yin Wuwang's wouldn't be able to keep secrets. The Demon Sovereign he had known—or thought he had known—was all fire and fury, charging into battle without strategy, relying on brute force to crush his enemies. That Yin Wuwang would surely have given everything away within minutes of the Prime Minister's probing.
But he hadn't.
He had navigated the conversation skillfully enough to escape unscathed. It seemed Xie Qingyan had underestimated this Demon Sovereign.
Perhaps I've underestimated him in other ways too.
Outside the window, night deepened. Moonlight flowed like water.
Xie Qingyan sat alone in his study. Suddenly, he recalled what Yin Wuwang had said during the day—
"I've seen too much of this kind of thing. Those cultivators, those mortals—they don't even know why they're fighting, yet they get swept up in it and die. I despise that."
He paused, momentarily stunned.
So Yin Wuwang had thoughts like these too.
All these years, they had been sworn enemies, rivals—yet they had never truly understood each other. Now, having entered this world together, fighting side by side, he was discovering—
This former enemy might not be what he had imagined.
But what does it matter? He told himself. We're here to complete a mission. Whatever I'm discovering about Yin Wuwang—it's irrelevant. When this is over, we'll go back to being enemies. That's how it's always been.
That's how it has to be.
He shook his head, dismissing the thought, and lowered his gaze to continue reviewing documents.
The candle on his desk flickered, illuminating his cool profile.
What he didn't know was that at this very moment, across the city, Yin Wuwang was also awake—not lost in contemplation, but standing in his armory, running his fingers across the hilt of a sword.
The Prime Minister wants to play dirty. Yin Wuwang's eyes gleamed in the darkness. Fine. I've been playing nice because Fuguang asked me to. But if those prisoners die tonight...
He lifted the sword from its rack. It had been a long time since the Duke of Zhenguo had personally drawn blood.
...then nice time is over.
[End of Chapter 20]
Next Chapter Preview:
The Prime Minister makes his move. False evidence. A demand for the military tally. And a Regent who seems to side with the enemy.
When Fuguang appears to betray him, can Yin Wuwang trust in what he cannot see?
Chapter 21: The Dramatic Debut of the Key Prop: The Military Tally