The side hall chosen for the "private conversation" was small, austere, and windowless.
Incense burned in the corners, its smoke forming thin, pale lines that rose straight up, as if afraid to spread. A single round table sat in the center, flanked by two chairs. No guards were allowed inside. No servants. Only two men.
Xu Yuan.
And Shen Zhen of the Heavenly Law Sect.
The heavy door closed behind them with a soft *thud*.
To the outside world, it sounded like courtesy.
To Xu Yuan, it sounded like a lid settling onto a coffin.
He walked to the chair opposite Shen Zhen and sat down, posture relaxed, hands folded loosely in his lap. His expression was open and respectful, the picture of a junior willing to be taught.
"Elder Shen," Xu Yuan said, "I hope you are not injured. The incident with the Eye of Measured Sin… shocked us all."
Shen Zhen did not sit.
He stood with his back half-turned, as if studying the faint patterns on the wall, though his attention was clearly elsewhere.
"For a tool like the Eye to shatter," Shen Zhen said slowly, "there are only three possibilities."
Xu Yuan fell silent, eyes attentive.
"One," Shen Zhen raised a finger, "the target's karmic burden has reached a level that distorts the reading. A walking calamity, the kind that stains an era. Two, an outside power interfered—something that refuses to be measured. And three…"
He turned, at last, to face Xu Yuan.
"Three, both of these are present at the same time."
The candlelight caught his eyes, and for the first time, they looked truly sharp.
Xu Yuan's heartbeat did not change.
Inside, Fang Yuan's presence stirred faintly, then went still again.
*You've seen this pattern before,* Xu Yuan thought. *You broke their toys once already, didn't you?*
Outwardly, Xu Yuan let a trace of worry show in his brows.
"Elder Shen suspects… my brother Xu Feng?"
Shen Zhen watched him carefully.
"Tell me, Crown Prince," he said, "what do *you* suspect?"
Xu Yuan lowered his gaze, as if troubled.
"Xu Feng is impulsive," he said slowly. "Ambitious. He has… made contact with certain sects in secret. His hands are not clean. That much is obvious."
It was not a confession.
It was bait.
Shen Zhen's eyes narrowed the slightest bit.
"You say this freely."
"I am Crown Prince," Xu Yuan said, voice soft. "My duty is to the kingdom, not to any single person. If First Brother endangers the realm, I cannot ignore it."
For a moment, the hall was quiet but for the faint crackle of the candle flame.
Then Shen Zhen sat down.
"Very well," he said. "Let us speak plainly, Your Highness. Whatever shattered the Eye when it touched Prince Xu Feng is not something we can ignore. The Heavenly Law Sect does not tolerate seeds of calamity in positions of power."
He leaned forward.
"I intend to investigate your brother. Thoroughly. If he is merely stained with sin, we will cleanse him. If he is more than that… he will be removed."
Xu Yuan's eyes flickered with perfectly measured distress.
"Removed…?"
"Executed," Shen Zhen said, without flinching. "If necessary."
Silence.
On the surface, Xu Yuan's face tightened, his hands curling slightly on his knees—just enough to show a noble younger brother struggling between love and duty.
Inside, his thoughts were cold lightning.
*You want to cut my brother for me? And you think I will resist, so you can test my 'righteousness'?*
*How convenient.*
But convenience was not trust.
And a blade that swung once at Xu Feng could just as easily swing later at him.
"Elder Shen," Xu Yuan said quietly, "Xu Feng is reckless, but he is still my brother. I cannot agree blindly to his death on the basis of a shattered tool. There must be… undeniable proof."
Shen Zhen's gaze sharpened.
"And if I obtain such proof?"
Xu Yuan met his eyes.
"If," he said, "you truly find that Xu Feng has become a threat to the kingdom, then as Crown Prince, I will do what must be done—no matter how painful."
This time, Shen Zhen did not look away.
For several breaths, neither man spoke.
Then Shen Zhen's lips curved in the faintest hint of a smile.
"You are different from most pampered heirs," he said. "You speak of killing your own brother with less hesitation than most speak of disciplining a servant."
Xu Yuan let his shoulders sag slightly.
"That is not something to praise."
"On the contrary," Shen Zhen said. "For those who rule, sentiment is a luxury. Many wear righteousness on their tongues and rot in their hearts. You… are at least honest with yourself."
He tapped a finger lightly on the table.
"The Eye may have fractured when reading Prince Xu Feng, but it did not react so when it touched you. That alone makes you… interesting."
Xu Yuan smiled faintly.
"I am honored to have piqued Elder Shen's interest."
"In the Central Continent," Shen Zhen continued, "there is a saying: 'Heaven's chains are strongest on those who never question them.' You, Crown Prince, look at chains and immediately think about where to cut."
*You have no idea,* Xu Yuan thought.
Aloud, he said only:
"In times like these, hesitation kills."
***
A brief, heavy quiet settled over the room.
Then Shen Zhen shifted topics with the same smoothness he had used when first greeting the king.
"There is another matter," he said. "One that concerns you directly."
Xu Yuan inclined his head.
"I am listening."
"When the Eye examined you," Shen Zhen said, "it saw something… unusual."
A faint, cold tension ran through the air, like the tightening of a bowstring.
Xu Yuan's expression remained composed.
"Unusual in what way?"
Shen Zhen's fingers brushed the table's edge.
"It is difficult to describe. Most souls are… noisy. Even the righteous carry threads of fear, guilt, desire. They vibrate under the Eye's gaze, even when their karmic record is clean."
He paused.
"You, however, were still. Too still. Like a pond with no wind. No ripples. No… *weight.*"
Xu Yuan said nothing.
He heard the soft rustle of Fang Yuan's presence at the edge of his consciousness—alert now, like a hunter staking out a blind corner.
"In some ways," Shen Zhen went on, "you registered as… *less* than ordinary. Yet at one precise point, the reading inverted. A density so great the tool could not parse it. Like a black stone at the bottom of that still pond."
He lifted his gaze.
"That is why the Eye wavered," he said quietly. "Not because of obvious sin. Because it saw something it could not categorize."
Xu Yuan let a hint of unease show.
"…Is that dangerous?"
"Dangerous to whom," Shen Zhen countered, "is the real question."
He studied Xu Yuan's face closely.
"The Heavenly Law Sect has long experience with cultivated masks, false virtues, even demonic disguises," Shen Zhen said. "We have seen monsters wrapped in light and saints hiding rot. But you… do not fit these patterns."
He leaned back slightly.
"So I find myself curious, Crown Prince Xu. What is it, exactly, that you hide at the bottom of your still water?"
Inside, Xu Yuan considered several answers at once.
Confession. Denial. Anger. Fear.
He dismissed them all.
Instead, he sighed softly.
"Elder Shen," he said, "have you ever considered that some of us simply… cut away what others cling to?"
Shen Zhen's brow rose.
"You speak of emotion."
"I speak of noise," Xu Yuan answered. "Fear. Guilt. Useless regret. They cloud judgment and slow the blade. For the sake of my family and kingdom, I chose to… silence them."
He lifted his eyes, letting a hint of cold honesty show.
"That stillness you saw is not an illusion," he said. "It is discipline."
A long breath slipped from Shen Zhen's lips.
For a moment, he looked almost… tired.
"You speak of cutting away your own heart like it is nothing."
Xu Yuan's voice remained calm.
"A heart that hesitates can kill more people than a merciless decision."
Silence settled again.
Then Shen Zhen chuckled quietly.
"You are either the most dangerous man in this palace," he said, "or its only hope."
He rose.
"In either case, we will continue this discussion after we complete our preliminary investigation. For now, know this: I will pursue the truth about your brother. Do not interfere openly. It will only complicate matters—for both of us."
Xu Yuan stood as well, bowing.
"I understand."
Shen Zhen walked to the door, hand resting briefly on the handle.
Without turning, he added:
"And if, at any point, you recall… *unusual* experiences, strange dreams, whispers from nowhere—anything that might explain that black stone at the bottom of your soul—tell me."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Righteous or not, the Heavenly Law Sect rewards cooperation."
The door opened.
He stepped out.
The door closed.
Xu Yuan remained standing in the empty hall, the candle flame trembling slightly in the draft.
He said nothing for a long time.
Then, in the depths of his mind, he spoke without moving his lips.
*You heard him.*
There was no immediate reply.
Fang Yuan's presence lay quiet, like a coiled snake pretending to be a rope.
Xu Yuan's gaze cooled.
*That moment, when the Eye touched you—you moved.*
A faint, indifferent thought brushed across his consciousness at last.
*I reacted to an old annoyance. Reflex.*
*You broke their toy,* Xu Yuan thought. *And in doing so, you painted a target on Xu Feng. Was that also reflex?*
No answer.
Only stillness.
Then, very faintly:
*If his sins are enough to break him from a single push, he was never worth keeping.*
Xu Yuan's lips curved in a humorless smile.
*On that, we agree.*
He walked to the door, hand resting on the wood.
*But understand this, Fang Yuan,* he added silently. *My brother is mine to use or discard. Not yours. Interfere again without my consent, and I will dissect that seed you left, even if it shatters my own soul.*
This time, the silence that followed felt heavier.
Then:
*Threats already? You move quickly.*
Xu Yuan opened the door.
*I do not threaten,* he replied. *I state future facts.*
Outside, the corridor was busy again—guards, servants, distant echoes of ministers arguing in hasty whispers about the shattered Eye.
A maid approached, bowing nervously.
"Your Highness, His Majesty requests your presence in the inner study. He… he seems very troubled."
Xu Yuan's expression softened instantly.
"Tell Father I am on my way."
The maid hurried off.
Xu Yuan straightened his robe, smoothing away an imaginary wrinkle.
His steps toward the inner study were measured, his pace neither hurried nor slow—the walk of a reliable son going to comfort a worried king.
Yet in his eyes, hidden beneath the gentle calm, a new, sharper light had taken root.
*The Heavenly Law Sect wants to use me to cut my brother.*
*Fang Yuan has shown the first hint of his fangs.*
*The King will soon ask which side I stand on.*
Xu Yuan's lips curved very slightly as he approached the study doors.
*Good,* he thought.
*Let them all come closer.*
*It is easier to cut a throat when the prey leans in to whisper.*