Yin Wuwang said nothing. He simply gazed at that photograph, memories flooding his mind. Three thousand years ago, before he became Demon Sovereign, he had seen countless faces like this in the Demon Palace—people who smiled as they bowed to him, smiled as they made small talk, smiled as they stabbed him in the back. He had learned to distinguish real smiles from fake ones; it was a skill bought with blood and betrayal. When someone was genuinely happy, their eyes would curve, would shine, would overflow with emotion. But those who were pretending were different—their mouths could curve perfectly, but their eyes were empty, as if wearing an exquisite mask.
The Chen Wan in this photo was exactly like that. His smile was beautiful, warm, inviting—but those eyes, Yin Wuwang could see it clearly—were empty.
Xie Qingyan noticed the change in Yin Wuwang's expression and knew he had discovered something, but now wasn't the time to ask. He turned back to continue talking with the staff, asked a few more questions, then stood to leave. "Thank you for your cooperation. If you think of anything else, please contact Captain Lin."
Stepping out of the bar, the sunlight was blinding. Yin Wuwang squinted, adjusting to the light. The door closed behind them, blocking out that jumbled smell, and he finally felt more comfortable. Xie Qingyan stopped beside him, making no move to leave just yet.
"You looked at that photo for a long time," Xie Qingyan said.
Yin Wuwang didn't answer immediately. They walked slowly along the street, passing several shops. Street vendors called out their wares; cars whooshed past.
"That person's smile," Yin Wuwang finally said.
"What about it?"
Yin Wuwang stopped and turned to face Xie Qingyan. "It was fake."
Xie Qingyan's brow furrowed slightly. He too had felt something was off when looking at that photo, but hadn't been able to articulate it. "Are you certain?"
"I have seen too many people." Yin Wuwang's tone was calm, yet carried an almost imperceptible weight. "Three thousand years. What kind of person haven't I seen? A genuine smile and a fake smile are different."
"How are they different?"
"The eyes," Yin Wuwang said. "A smile can be faked, but the eyes are difficult to fake. When someone is truly happy, their eyes have light, have emotion. When someone is pretending, their mouth smiles but their eyes are dead."
Xie Qingyan was silent for a moment. "And his eyes?"
"Empty," Yin Wuwang said. "He was smiling, but his eyes were empty."
Xie Qingyan said nothing. He recalled the employees' descriptions: "Always smiling." "Never complains." "Always says it's fine, everything will work out." "Sits alone in the dark after closing." A person who always smiled, who never complained, whose eyes were empty—what did that mean? In his mind, he began piecing these fragments together; a blurry outline gradually took shape.
"Mortals' disguises are far too shallow," Yin Wuwang sighed. "In the cultivation world, a fake smile of this caliber couldn't even power a basic illusion array."
Xie Qingyan didn't respond. He was thinking about something else. Why did Chen Wan smile? Why would a person with empty eyes show a smile to everyone? Was it habit, disguise, or a form of self-protection? Perhaps he used his smile to build a wall, keeping everyone out, preventing anyone from truly seeing him. Xie Qingyan had seen this type before. Even on Canopy Peak, there were disciples like this—polite and warm to everyone, yet no one could enter their heart.
"This person..." Xie Qingyan said slowly, "is more complex than what we saw on television."
Yin Wuwang raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"In the original, the author wrote Chen Wan as both a 'scumbag' and a 'nice guy'—the two images overlapping. I always thought the author had simply lost control of the character. But now that I see it..." Xie Qingyan gazed into the distance, his eyes deep. "Perhaps it wasn't a writing error. Perhaps Chen Wan was a contradictory person to begin with."
Yin Wuwang recalled what Little Deer Assistant had said earlier—"gentle and considerate" and "a playboy who toyed with feelings." The author hadn't decided, so both were true. But what if Chen Wan had truly lived? Then perhaps both contradictory traits were real. A person could be gentle and considerate to outsiders while hurting people in romantic relationships. That wasn't contradictory—it was simply the complexity of human nature.
"This case..." Yin Wuwang said, "is getting more interesting."
Xie Qingyan turned to look at him and noticed a glimmer of interest in Yin Wuwang's eyes—different from his usual devil-may-care demeanor. When this man had spoken of "fake smiles" and "empty eyes" earlier, there had been an almost imperceptible weight in his voice. That wasn't some offhand conclusion; it was insight forged through countless experiences. Three thousand years as Demon Sovereign—how much of the darkness in human hearts had he witnessed? Xie Qingyan suddenly grew curious: when had Yin Wuwang first learned to see through such things?
"What I mean is—" Yin Wuwang's lips curved slightly. "—more interesting than I expected."
He gazed at Xie Qingyan's profile as he pondered seriously, and a strange feeling welled up within him. When Fuguang was working through a mystery, his brow would furrow slightly, his gaze would turn sharp and focused. That expression was entirely different from when he wielded a sword in the cultivation world, yet equally impossible to look away from. The old Fuguang had eyes only for the way of the sword. Now Fuguang's eyes held something else—puzzle-solving, deduction, unraveling threads. Another kind of "Dao."
"Let's go," Xie Qingyan said. "We should head back and organize the clues."
"Alright."
The two walked side by side along the street, their shadows stretching long in the sunlight. Yin Wuwang thought of what he had said yesterday: "A mere mortal case. How hard could it be?" Now he realized that mortal cases weren't hard. What was hard were mortal hearts. What did a person who always smiled hide inside? What had a person with empty eyes been through?
Yin Wuwang stole a glance at Xie Qingyan beside him. Sunlight fell on that cold profile, outlining his features with exceptional clarity. Xie Qingyan seemed to sense his gaze and turned slightly to look at him. Yin Wuwang quickly averted his eyes, pretending to look at the shops along the street.
Xie Qingyan said nothing and continued walking, but his mind lingered on what had just happened. Yin Wuwang had seen through Chen Wan's fake smile. That kind of insight didn't come from nowhere—he must have experienced something to develop such sharp perception. This man usually wore an air of casual indifference, but the occasional heaviness that surfaced made Xie Qingyan realize—he didn't truly understand Yin Wuwang.
With this person by his side, this strange mortal world didn't seem so difficult to adapt to after all. Xie Qingyan thought this to himself, yet his steps didn't slow. Their shadows overlapped and separated in the sunlight, moving ever forward.
[End of V2_Chapter 13]
Next: Time to dig deeper—starting with the mysterious woman no one remembers seeing.