Chapter 40
Chapter 40: Ransoming Someone at the River of Oblivion
“Would you… care about me too?”
Song Wei Chen gave an awkward laugh, not knowing what to do with herself. If a dog were coughing up blood like that, she’d still worry.
“Heh. I wouldn’t call it caring… Just say my le shan sickness is acting up. I’ll take the le shan seat—so stop drinking, okay?”
He actually set the cup down.
If she’d asked him for more than a cup—if she’d told him to drop everything and go with her—back then, he wouldn’t have hesitated for even a heartbeat.
Old memories were too heavy to carry. He shook his head and swept the stray thoughts away.
“How did it go with Gu Cang Yue?”
Zhuang Yu Heng sounded helpless. “He said he’ll give you half a day. As long as White Robe shows up, everything’s negotiable—he’ll release the person, and he’ll let you investigate freely. If White Robe doesn’t go, then you can start preparing to collect Ye Wu Jiu’s body.”
Mo Ting Feng nodded. “Compared to how he treats me, he’s already giving you plenty of face.”
“What do you mean—Gu Cang Yue grabbed Wu Jiu just to see me?” Song Wei Chen blurted, eyes wide.
“Wu Jiu ran into the case at the wrong time,” Mo Ting Feng said evenly. “He probably won’t dare do anything to him. He’s only using him to force you to show up.”
His voice was calm, but his expression had sunk into shadow. Gu Cang Yue was getting bolder by the day—bold enough to detain the Dust Warden Office’s Earth-Net Commander on a whim.
If the White Robe disappearance really was tied to him, Mo Ting Feng would personally send him into the Immortal Prison.
“How can he arrest someone just because he feels like it?” Song Wei Chen frowned. “Doesn’t anyone keep him in check?”
Gu Cang Yue was, in some sense, her big boss. Still, she didn’t want the person shielding her to be a brute who trampled rules and bullied others with power.
“The River of Oblivion is his fief to begin with,” Zhuang Yu Heng explained when Mo Ting Feng didn’t answer. “With his connections in the Upper Realm, as long as it doesn’t turn into a public spectacle, the rules are whatever he says they are.”
Song Wei Chen was still in a bloodstained inner robe. She scanned the Marrow-Cleansing Hall in a panic, spotted her White Robe draped over the screen, and rushed to change.
“Hurry, hurry!” her voice came from behind the screen, tight with fear. “If we’re late, with that crazy big brother’s personality, I’m scared Wu Jiu will get bullied!”
“This girl’s got a warm heart,” Zhuang Yu Heng said, clearly impressed.
Mo Ting Feng started to rise, but Zhuang Yu Heng grabbed his arm. “I’m warning you—if one day you really have to break the taboo, scatter your cultivation, and die, you still need to wait until I find a way to cure your devil transformation first.”
“Relax,” Mo Ting Feng said coolly. “If I’m going to die, I’ll kill you first. I’m not leaving you to devil-transform and poison the world for ten thousand years.”
Zhuang Yu Heng snorted, then smiled anyway. The two exchanged a look like old comrades sharing a private joke.
“You two can still laugh?” Song Wei Chen’s voice rose, half scolding, half desperate. “The emperor isn’t worried, but I’m about to die of anxiety over here—this White Robe eunuch!”
She barreled out after changing, grabbed Zhuang Yu Heng, and dragged him toward the hall.
Mo Ting Feng’s brow twitched. “Did you grab the wrong person?”
Zhuang Yu Heng didn’t resist at all, letting himself be hauled along, amused and curious.
“Wrong? No.” Song Wei Chen didn’t slow. “Taking Brother Yu Heng gives us better odds than you going to ‘save’ anyone. Gu Cang Yue hates you. What if you two start fighting again?”
“Exactly,” Zhuang Yu Heng chimed in, far too pleased with himself. “He hates Mo Ting Feng, so obviously I’m the more suitable choice.”
Mo Ting Feng knew she wasn’t wrong, but sourness still crept up his throat.
“Little liar,” he said flatly, “you’re afraid I’ll see you two acting sweet and expose whatever past you share, aren’t you?”
Somewhere deep down, he’d already decided Gu Cang Yue was probably the one who’d left that mark. The thought sat like a thorn.
“I’m not wasting words on you,” she snapped. “Brother Yu Heng, let’s go.”
“I’m not wasting words on you,” Zhuang Yu Heng echoed shamelessly, copying her tone. “Wei Wei, let’s go.”
He shot Mo Ting Feng a smug little look as they left.
At Cang Yue’s residence, Mo Ting Feng followed anyway. Zhuang Yu Heng had repeatedly promised Song Wei Chen he’d keep Mo Ting Feng under control and stop him from causing trouble.
It was like some strange chemical reaction. Zhuang Yu Heng coaxed Song Wei Chen the way one might indulge a younger sister, and with him as the glue, the three of them—somehow—felt less like enemies and more like a noisy, uneasy trio.
“Wei Wei!”
They waited in the main hall. Gu Cang Yue strode in at a fast pace, ignoring the other two completely. His gaze locked onto Song Wei Chen as if no one else existed.
She waved at him from afar. “I’m here! I’m here!”
Zhuang Yu Heng watched the way Gu Cang Yue looked at her, and something clicked. Did Gu Cang Yue also know she was a woman?
He glanced at Mo Ting Feng, searching his face. Mo Ting Feng gave the smallest nod.
Zhuang Yu Heng understood at once. No wonder. If that was true, then these two were never going to coexist peacefully.
“Are you alright?” Gu Cang Yue asked. He reached for her, checking her from head to toe with an almost startling gentleness. “Let me see you properly.”
“You’re acting like you’re doing repairs,” Song Wei Chen said, half laughing. “What could be wrong? I’m fine. Strong as an ox. Appetite like a horse.”
Of course she wasn’t going to tell him she’d just crawled back from the edge of death. Mo Ting Feng’s recklessness didn’t mean everyone else in the Dust Warden Office had to pay for it.
“Really?” The eyes behind Gu Cang Yue’s mask were full of doubt.
Before she could say more, he pulled her into a tight embrace.
“No.” His voice dropped. “You’re thinner. Even thinner. It’s only been a few days—what happened? Or did they not feed you?”
Off to the side, Mo Ting Feng’s shoulders went rigid. His fist clenched before he even realized he’d made it into one.
Zhuang Yu Heng saw it and immediately stepped in, tugging Mo Ting Feng behind him.
“Lord Cang Yue,” Zhuang Yu Heng said, steering the conversation back on track, “White Robe is here safe and sound. Will you honor your word and release Ye Wu Jiu?”
Gu Cang Yue finally looked away from Song Wei Chen. He gave the captain of the guard a small nod. The man left at once.
Song Wei Chen wriggled free of Gu Cang Yue’s arms. “Why did you seize Wu Jiu?”
“Because I wanted to see you.”
No excuses. No pretense. Simple—and shameless.
Song Wei Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “If you wanted to see me, you could’ve come to find me. Why drag other people into this?”
“You weren’t at the Dust Warden Office.” Gu Cang Yue’s tone was perfectly matter-of-fact. “Rather than searching for a needle in a sea of people, it was faster to make him deliver you.”
His gaze slid to Mo Ting Feng like a blade. Mo Ting Feng lifted an eyebrow and met it without flinching.
“So you were that certain she wasn’t at the office,” Mo Ting Feng said. “Was that foresight—or did you plant an informant?”
He let the accusation sharpen. “Planting an undercover agent inside the Three Bureaus is a serious crime.”
“Correct.” Gu Cang Yue didn’t deny it. If anything, he sounded amused. “I did plant one. So when the Dust Warden Official returns, feel free to kill a thousand by mistake—just don’t let a single guilty one go. I’ll be waiting for you to find a witness and charge me.”
The air turned brittle.
Zhuang Yu Heng stepped in quickly, all smiles and smooth words. “A small misunderstanding, that’s all. My lords, please don’t let it damage your relationship.”
At that moment, Ye Wu Jiu was escorted in by the captain of the guard. He froze when he saw Mo Ting Feng.
“Dust Warden Official, why are you here too?”
Then he bowed to Gu Cang Yue, polite and sincere. “I’ve reviewed most of the case files on the River of Oblivion disappearances over the years. I’ve benefited greatly. There are a few caves I’ll focus on investigating. Thank you, Lord Cang Yue.”
That one sentence made everything clear.
Ye Wu Jiu hadn’t truly been detained at all. “No White Robe, no release” had only been Gu Cang Yue’s excuse to force Song Wei Chen to appear.
Ye Wu Jiu didn’t know that, in the past few hours, he’d become a tool in Gu Cang Yue’s hands. Mo Ting Feng didn’t want him feeling guilty, so he waved him off.
“We still have important matters to discuss with Lord Cang Yue,” Mo Ting Feng said. “Go back to your work.”
Ye Wu Jiu accepted the order.
He noticed Song Wei Chen and opened his mouth as if to ask about her health, but Song Wei Chen cut in quickly, bright and firm. “Right—Wu Jiu, go. Hurry up and get back to work. We’ll talk later.”
Ye Wu Jiu’s confusion deepened, but he obeyed. He took his leave and departed at once. From the files he’d reviewed, one cave in particular had caught his attention—a place he’d specifically applied to investigate. He needed to get there as soon as possible.
Once Ye Wu Jiu was gone, Gu Cang Yue turned back to Mo Ting Feng with a half-smile, all provocation. He looked downright satisfied, as if playing the Dust Warden Official in the palm of his hand was entertainment.
“Since I am the White Robe case supervisor,” Gu Cang Yue said smoothly, “it’s only right I focus on the bigger picture and assist with all I have. Dust Warden Official, don’t project your petty suspicions onto me.”
Mo Ting Feng’s face darkened, but he couldn’t make anything of it. Gu Cang Yue was slippery, and there was no proof of detention to begin with. He could only swallow the loss.
Zhuang Yu Heng maintained the pleasant facade. “I told you it was a misunderstanding. How could the Lord of the River of Oblivion possibly detain a grievance-breaker on official duty from the Dust Warden Office? That’s definitely not Lord Cang Yue’s style.”
“Since the misunderstanding is cleared,” Zhuang Yu Heng added, “we should go. There’s a pile of cases waiting. And we shouldn’t disturb Lord Cang Yue’s cultivation.”
“Farewell,” Mo Ting Feng said coldly. “Wei Wei, we’re leaving.”
Song Wei Chen waved at Gu Cang Yue and turned to go—only to be caught from behind. Gu Cang Yue wrapped his arms around her again, firm and possessive.
“Stay,” he said quietly. “Don’t go.”