The final discussion came to an end.
Silence settled over the Council Hall once more.
Xiaoyu slowly rolled the last scroll closed before lifting her gaze across the hall.
"If there are no further matters..."
"This meeting is concluded."
Every elder immediately rose to their feet.
One after another, they cupped their fists respectfully.
"We respectfully send off the Sect Master."
Xiaoyu acknowledged them with a slight nod.
Without another word, she descended the stone steps beneath the council seat.
Shen Wei silently followed a respectful distance behind.
The enormous wooden doors opened.
Warm afternoon light spilled into the hall.
Moments later...
The Sect Master disappeared beyond the corridor.
Only after the doors closed once again did the solemn atmosphere finally begin to relax.
The elders slowly gathered their scrolls.
Quiet conversations naturally followed as they walked toward the exit.
"I must admit..."
One elderly man stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"The Sect Master handled today's council better than I expected."
Another elder nodded in agreement.
"He listened to every opinion without allowing the discussion to lose direction."
"More importantly..."
"He reached a decision without favoring anyone."
A third elder remained unconvinced.
"One successful meeting changes nothing."
"The sect is still facing a crisis."
No one argued.
Instead...
Another elder spoke calmly.
"No."
"It changes nothing."
"...But it changes our expectations."
The group gradually disappeared down the stone corridor, their voices fading into the distance.
Not one of them claimed the Sect Master had already proven himself.
Yet...
Neither did anyone continue calling him incapable.
For the first time since the succession...
Hope had quietly begun replacing doubt.
—
Li Jianghong waited until the elders had left before gathering the remaining scrolls from his table.
Among them rested a thinner bundle tied neatly with dark blue silk.
The witness statements.
He tucked them beneath his arm and quickened his pace.
By the time he stepped outside...
Yuchen had nearly reached the end of the corridor.
"Sect Master."
Xiaoyu stopped.
Turning around, she found Li approaching with measured steps.
Shen Wei instinctively shifted a few paces backward.
Close enough to remain on guard.
Far enough to allow official matters to be discussed.
Li extended the bundle.
"I copied the witness statements."
"There wasn't enough time to discuss them during the meeting."
"I thought you'd want them tonight."
Xiaoyu accepted them.
For a brief moment...
Neither spoke.
Both knew these papers represented more than testimony.
Every statement...
Every contradiction...
Every forgotten detail...
Might be the thread that unraveled everything.
Xiaoyu looked at the stack in her hands before raising her eyes once more.
"...You've worked hard."
Li blinked.
The words were simple.
Yet...
For reasons even he couldn't explain...
They felt strangely familiar.
Almost...
Like something he had heard many years ago.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"So have you."
Silence returned.
It wasn't awkward.
Nor was it warm.
It was the quiet understanding shared by two people carrying the same burden.
Li lowered his voice slightly.
"We're getting closer."
Xiaoyu's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.
"You think so?"
Li nodded.
"I don't know why..."
"But the more evidence we gather..."
"The more it feels like someone wants us to see only half the truth."
Xiaoyu's fingers tightened around the documents.
That feeling...
She had sensed it as well.
Every clue seemed connected.
Yet every connection stopped just before revealing the complete picture.
Almost...
As though someone had deliberately arranged them that way.
"I'll review everything tonight."
Li inclined his head.
"I'll continue with the remaining witnesses tomorrow."
The two exchanged a final nod.
No unnecessary words.
None were needed.
Some understandings no longer required explanation.
Li watched the Sect Master disappear into the distance before releasing a slow breath.
"...You're changing."
The words escaped almost unconsciously.
Whether he meant Yuchen...
Or the distance between them...
Even he wasn't certain.
—
"Li!"
A familiar voice called from behind.
Li turned.
A smile appeared almost immediately.
"Tianyu."
Unlike the restraint he carried around nearly everyone else...
There was no need for formality here.
Tianyu walked over with his usual composed expression.
Yet there was something noticeably lighter in his eyes.
The two stopped before one another.
Then, without ceremony...
They clasped each other's forearms.
A greeting they had shared countless times before.
"It really is you."
Li chuckled softly.
"I was beginning to think the Council intended to keep you outside forever."
"They nearly did."
Tianyu smiled.
"A few more assignments and I might have forgotten what the sect looked like."
Li laughed.
A genuine laugh.
One rarely heard these days.
"Impossible."
"You'd probably start lecturing the disciples outside the mountain as well."
Tianyu shook his head helplessly.
"I don't lecture."
Li raised an eyebrow.
"No?"
"I advise."
"...That's called lecturing."
"It isn't."
"It is."
For the first time in many days...
The heaviness surrounding Li seemed to lift.
Even if only briefly.
As they continued walking together through the mountain path...
Their conversation became more relaxed.
"So..."
Li glanced sideways.
"How was the journey?"
"Long."
"I expected that."
"The Council kept changing the route."
"They did."
Li folded his arms.
"I heard they sent you to inspect three outer branches."
"Four."
Li stopped walking.
"Four?"
Tianyu nodded calmly.
"They added another halfway through."
Li stared at him for a moment before letting out an exaggerated sigh.
"...I'm glad it wasn't me."
A rare smile tugged at Tianyu's lips.
"I thought you liked investigating."
"I do."
"But climbing mountains four times?"
"I'll gladly leave that to you."
The two laughed quietly.
The sound echoed gently beneath the bamboo leaves lining the stone path.
For a brief moment...
It almost felt like the sect had returned to peaceful days.
Eventually...
Li's expression softened.
"I'm glad you're back."
The words were simple.
Completely sincere.
Tianyu looked at him.
"So am I."
There was another short silence.
Comfortable.
Natural.
The kind shared only between people who had spent years fighting, training and growing together.
Li finally spoke again.
"...You missed quite a lot."
Tianyu nodded.
"So it seems."
Li lowered his gaze.
"Things became... complicated."
"I can tell."
Tianyu's eyes drifted unconsciously toward the direction the Sect Master had disappeared.
His footsteps slowed.
"...Li."
"Hm?"
For the first time since returning...
Tianyu hesitated.
There was something he wanted to ask.
Something that had remained in his mind since the council meeting.
What happened between you and Yuchen?
The question reached his lips...
But never left them.
He looked at Li's tired face.
At the exhaustion hidden beneath his calm smile.
Then...
He quietly swallowed the question.
"...Forget it."
Li studied him for several moments.
Then smiled knowingly.
"You almost asked something."
Tianyu gave a helpless smile.
"...Was it that obvious?"
"You've never been good at hiding your thoughts from me."
A soft laugh escaped Tianyu.
"So I've been told."
Li nudged his shoulder lightly.
"When you're ready to ask..."
"I'll answer."
Tianyu looked at him.
"...Thank you."
Neither spoke further.
Some questions simply needed more time.
As they continued walking...
Tianyu's thoughts quietly drifted back toward his younger brother.
The meeting.
The investigation.
The strange understanding between Yuchen and Li.
Nothing made sense.
Yet...
Something had undeniably changed.
...What happened while I was away?
The question lingered quietly within his heart.
—
Night gradually descended over Heng Ming Sect.
Back inside the Sect Master's residence...
The hidden stone door slowly slid shut.
The secret investigation room fell into silence.
Candles flickered gently against the walls.
Sheets of paper covered nearly every available surface.
Maps.
Witness statements.
Sketches.
Timelines.
The mysterious symbol.
Names connected by thin strands of red thread.
Xiaoyu placed today's reports upon the table before stepping back.
Her eyes slowly traveled across the wall.
Everything she knew...
Everything she suspected...
Everything she still couldn't understand...
Was gathered inside this room.
"No..."
She murmured quietly.
"I'm still missing something."
She walked closer.
Her gaze stopped upon the copied symbols.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Each had been discovered separately.
Each seemed meaningless on its own.
Yet...
They felt connected.
She copied them onto a fresh sheet of paper.
Then began arranging them.
Minutes passed.
Nothing.
She frowned.
Then...
An idea surfaced.
"What if..."
"They aren't symbols?"
She marked each one as a point instead.
Connected them with careful strokes of ink.
Stepped backward.
Tilted the page.
Still nothing.
She rotated the paper.
Again.
Nothing.
A third time.
Her breathing suddenly slowed.
"...This..."
Her eyes widened.
The shape...
It looked familiar.
Not the symbols.
The pattern they formed.
Without hesitation she crossed the room and retrieved an old map of Heng Ming Sect.
She laid it beside her drawing.
Compared the two.
They didn't match.
"...No..."
She turned the map.
Still wrong.
She turned it once more.
Then...
Everything aligned.
One point after another.
Almost perfectly.
Her heartbeat quickened.
The final mark...
Rested directly over one location.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she read the tiny characters written beside it.
Bamboo Courtyard.
At that very moment...
Zichen's voice echoed clearly within her mind.
"Whenever Father compared you to Tianyu..."
"I'd always find you in the Bamboo Courtyard."
Xiaoyu froze.
Her gaze remained fixed upon the map.
Her lips parted ever so slightly.
"...Yuchen..."
"Were you really hiding there..."
Her eyes slowly lowered toward the final point marked upon the route.
"...or was someone waiting for you?"