Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Making Up Lies

The largest reception hall of the Star-Plucking Tower was packed to the brim.

And yet it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Shang Lian Cheng personally served tea, moving from seat to seat with forced calm. Cups clinked. Porcelain rang. The sound was the only proof time still moved.

When he finally stepped outside, he wiped a forehead that wasn’t even damp and saw a young man standing by the window.

They looked somewhat alike. Shang Lian Cheng wore rich brocade, the polish of a man who’d spent a lifetime in trade and politics. The other wore a plain blue robe and carried a clean, dustless air.

“Old Ancestor,” Shang Lian Cheng said, bowing deeply. “You’re back.”

In all of Phoenix Parasol City, only one person was called that: the Shang Family Head, Lord Shao Yang.

Shang Shao Yang nodded once. “How did it go?”

His gaze flicked toward the hall.

Shang Lian Cheng’s smile was strained. “Not bad. At least they didn’t start fighting.”

Shang Shao Yang stepped inside.

For the past two days, the Star-Plucking Tower hadn’t done business. Clerks had been so bored they could have counted dust motes. When they saw their master, they straightened immediately, pretending they’d been diligent.

“I heard Fang Xu Cheng is dead,” Shang Shao Yang said, accepting tea from a maid and sipping without expression.

Shang Lian Cheng couldn’t hide his satisfaction. “The Fang Family has no one left in charge. It’s time for them to step down from the Elders’ Council.”

Shang Shao Yang gave a perfunctory grunt, clearly uninterested.

Shang Lian Cheng took the hint and shifted quickly. “But this matter is strange.”

“Oh?” Shang Shao Yang glanced at him.

Shang Lian Cheng lowered his voice. “This morning, a pillar of lightning appeared in the mountains. Seniors from both sides rushed over and found Second Lady Hu’s lair on Phoenix Mountain.”

He swallowed. “The strange part is that when they arrived, Second Lady Hu and Fang Xu Cheng were already dead. But Young Sect Master Ling and Miss Bai were completely unhurt.”

Shang Shao Yang’s gaze sharpened. “Young Sect Master Ling claims Second Lady Hu and Fang Xu Cheng killed each other?”

Shang Lian Cheng nodded.

“And he did nothing at all. Just got lucky?”

Shang Lian Cheng nodded again.

Shang Shao Yang snorted. “Ridiculous.”

Shang Lian Cheng silently agreed. A young master who couldn’t cultivate, kidnapped by a Divine Transformation cultivator, only to emerge unscathed after a Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation cultivator died? Luck like that belonged in drunken tavern tales.

“But Young Sect Master Ling is insisting on it,” Shang Lian Cheng said. “What can we do?”

Shang Shao Yang didn’t bother digging deeper. “Let them argue among themselves. As long as the person is alive, the rest has nothing to do with Phoenix Parasol City.”

Inside the hall, a single light cough broke the silence.

“Young Sect Master,” a cold voice said, “do you have anything else to say?”

The speaker was a middle-aged man with stone-set features and a stern, severe air.

Elder Yang Xiang Tian—one of the Tai Yi Hall elders.

As soon as Ling Bu Fei vanished, Venerable Ku Mu had reported it. The Sect Master had immediately ordered Elder Yang and two Divine Transformation elders to search.

They’d searched for a full day with no leads. Then a disciple sent word: the Young Sect Master had been found.

Finding him should have been relief.

Instead, the first thing Elder Yang heard was the nonsense story Ling Bu Fei offered—two criminals fought and perished together, and he simply happened to remain untouched.

Elder Yang’s patience had snapped.

Tai Yi Hall was the Limitless Sect’s sharpest blade. When it moved, it meant something. They hadn’t come to be brushed off with a lie that didn’t even bother to sound believable.

“No,” Ling Bu Fei said, chin propped on his hand as he blew at his flower tea. “I’ve said everything that matters.”

Elder Yang’s gaze turned colder. “Do you think we’re easy to fool?”

His voice sharpened. “A Divine Transformation cultivator and a Nascent Soul cultivator fought. How did you come out without a scratch? There are clear traces of a Grand Array in that valley. You were inside it, and you weren’t affected at all?”

He leaned forward. “And Fang Xu Cheng’s Nascent Soul shattered, yet Second Lady Hu’s body was empty of her primordial spirit. Where did it go? Explain.”

“Explain what?” Ling Bu Fei scoffed, finally lifting his eyes. “Why did Second Lady Hu kidnap me? You’re not blind. I suffered plenty. How is that ‘without a scratch’?”

He flicked his gaze away in disdain. “And that Fang fellow—who did he think he was, daring to oppose the Limitless Sect?”

“As for your last question,” Ling Bu Fei continued, voice turning sharp, “she was Divine Transformation Stage. If she had a secret art to escape, what’s strange about that? How would I know where her primordial spirit went?”

He let out a cold laugh. “You people are something else. I’m the one who got kidnapped. I’m the one who nearly died. I come back alive, and you question me like I’m a criminal.”

His eyes narrowed. “What, do you think I staged my own kidnapping?”

“You—”

“Martial Nephew Yang.”

An old voice cut through the room like a knife.

In the corner, Venerable Ku Mu—who’d been meditating with eyes closed—opened them, calm and dangerous. “Second Lady Hu snatched the Young Sect Master from my hands. If you don’t believe him, are you doubting me?”

Venerable Ku Mu outranked Elder Yang. Elder Yang’s jaw tightened, and he forced his tone down. “Martial Uncle, that’s not what I mean.”

“As long as it isn’t,” Venerable Ku Mu said, voice cool. “The Young Sect Master has made it clear. There’s no need to ask again.”

His gaze swept the hall. “And remember: the Young Sect Master is still the Young Sect Master. Not some disciple under you that you can scold at will.”

The words landed hard.

Elder Yang paused, then could only lower his head. “Understood, Martial Uncle.”

With that, the interrogation ended. The hall’s suffocating tension loosened by a fraction.

You Yan—one of the Nascent Soul cultivators who’d arrived first at the valley—stepped in to smooth things over. “Since we’re already here, why not stay in Phoenix Parasol City for two days? The Star-Plucking Tower is interesting, and there’s an auction tonight…”

Elder Yang wasn’t in the mood. “You all enjoy yourselves. I’m returning to the sect.”

“Martial Uncle—”

“Wait,” Ling Bu Fei said.

Elder Yang looked like he was holding himself back from snapping. “Young Sect Master, what now?”

Ling Bu Fei straightened his sleeves with deliberate laziness. “Nothing big. Just something to inform the elders.”

His smile was bright and infuriating. “This young lord met a girl he likes on this trip. We fell in love at first sight and pledged our hearts to each other.”

He leaned back. “We’ve decided to form a bond and dual cultivate. I’ll bring her back to pay respects to my uncle.”

Elder Yang’s frown deepened. He knew exactly where Ling Bu Fei had gone on this trip, and he liked it even less.

“Miss Ji?” he asked, voice clipped. “Perching Phoenix Valley is one of our lower sects. The Ji Family isn’t strong. Is she really a match for the Young Sect Master?”

“Of course not,” Ling Bu Fei said instantly. “If I liked Ji Xing Ge, would I have waited until today?”

Elder Yang froze. “Then who?”

You Yan reacted first, remembering the valley. “Young Sect Master, you mean Miss Bai?”

“But she’s—” You Yan hesitated. “She’s from the Cinnabar Cloud Palace.”

Ling Bu Fei’s smile didn’t falter. “She hasn’t officially entered yet. She isn’t a Cinnabar Cloud Palace disciple.”

He lifted his cup as if toasting them all. “Once she marries this young lord, she’ll naturally be one of the Limitless Sect.”