Meiren Dan smiled at Xie Man. "What did he come here for?"
Xie Man said, "He came to look at Floral City's records."
"Records..." Meiren Dan peered into the distance. Over the recent years, people had started paying attention to Lu Yin. They were well aware that Lu Yin had been reading various clans’ records. Was he trying to use those to understand Crimson Starshade? "Is that all?"
Xie Man's gaze flickered. With Meiren Dan's eyes on her, she did not dare to conceal anything. "He- he also asked about Sect Master Jiu Wen."
Meiren Dan did not understand. "What about Sect Master Jiu Wen?"
"His disciples..."
Meiren Dan's expression changed as she stared at Xie Man. "You told him?"
Xie Man immediately knelt. "Please forgive me, Master. This disciple did not say anything. Truly, I did not!"
Meiren Dan let out a breath. "If you did not say anything, what are you afraid of?"
Xie Man let out a helpless sigh and explained what had happened. Meiren Dan listened quietly and then said, "He already knew before he asked you. This is not your fault."
Xie Man also knew that, but that old fox Elder Qiu stubbornly refused to admit anything. "And what of Sect Master Jiu Wen?"
Meiren Dan replied, "It has nothing to do with you, and it has nothing to do with either of us. Since Lu Yin wants to look into this, he will learn what he wishes sooner or later. We are not responsible for him learning about this, and it is enough that we do not bring it up on our own. There is no need to go out of our way to conceal this for that man."
Xie Man exhaled. "Yes."
Meiren Dan looked into the distance. Why was Lu Yin investigating that matter? How had he learned about it? It was impossible that Elder Qiu would have brought it up on his own. Even if the man had a hundred times more courage, he would never dare. Throughout the entire civilization, the only one who would dare to tell Lu Yin about this matter was Ji He.
Did Ji He meet Lu Yin again?
Elsewhere, Elder Qiu arranged Lu Yin’s next visit. "Next we will go to-"
"City Lord Wei’s city."
Elder Qiu froze. "What?"
Lu Yin said, "Which city did the man that I stomped to death oversee?"
"Shanfeng City."
"Then we will go there."
Elder Qiu did not know why Lu Yin wanted to visit Shanfeng City, but the old man only needed to lead the way.
Shanfeng City was a great distance from Floral City, but for people like Lu Yin and Elder Qiu, the journey did not take long. Even crossing an entire universe would not take long.
At this moment, snow was falling in Shanfeng City. The city was very quiet, though there were occasional sounds of crying.
When Lu Yin and Elder Qiu entered the city, the people they saw were either hurrying along with lowered heads, or hiding in their homes and not daring to come out.
It did not take long to learn the reason; the entire city was mourning City Lord Wei’s death.
Lu Yin found it strange. "This isn’t dispassion. Why are people mourning for him?"
Elder Qiu explained, "Although our entire civilization cultivates the Path of Dispassion, less than one in a thousand can truly perfect it, perhaps even fewer. Many people merely pretend to be emotionless, trying their best to appear dispassionate, but they are not truly without emotions. The ones who are crying for City Lord Wei should be his family."
Before long, the two arrived at the city lord’s manor. There was no longer any crying; it was replaced by the clamor of arguing.
The two men did not draw any attention. There was no one at the entrance, and inside, it was quite noisy.
"The title of city lord should be mine! I am the eldest son. The legitimate eldest son!"
"Hmph! Your mother cannot even pass through the door, and yet you call yourself the legitimate eldest son? Get lost, bastard!"
"What did you say?"
"If you have the guts, let’s go! Today, I will make sure that you don’t leave here alive!"
Inside the manor, while some were paying their respects, others were watching coldly. Aside from one crying woman, no one was actually grieving.
There were two young men, each leading their own group to confront one another. There were even a few members of the older generation who had joined in to support one or the other. They were a single step away from fighting.
When a cough rang out, it was like thunder across flat ground, echoing in everyone's ears and leaving them shaken. From the direction of a courtyard, a middle-aged man walked out. Everyone immediately bowed. "Lord Hui."
"Greetings, Lord Hui."
"Greetings, Lord Hui."
The moment the middle-aged man arrived, the scene was brought back under control. Everyone faced him and bowed, with no one daring to raise their heads.
Lu Yin and Elder Qiu stood at the edge of the crowd. The old man quietly explained, "That man is named Hui Kai, another disciple of Immortal Bing Xu, as well as City Lord Wei’s junior."
Lu Yin watched with interest. He had not expected to encounter such a scene. This was actually much more convenient for him. But how had this man emerged from inside the courtyard?
Lord Hui walked to the mourning hall. He faced the memorial tablet of City Lord Wei, paid his respects, and then turned around to look at the two arguing young men.
The two faced Hui Kai but did not dare to raise their heads.
"With my senior brother deceased, Shanfeng City should have a new city lord. In principle, the legitimate eldest son should inherit the title."
Hearing this did not make the eldest son happy. Instead he clenched his fists, because he already knew that Hui Kai supported his second brother.
"But the legitimate eldest son does not have proper standing, and his claim is not justified. Although our Crimson Starshade follows the Path of Dispassion, we still honor tradition and law. The position of Shanfeng City Lord will be given to Wei Song. Does anyone object?"
Wei Song was City Lord Wei's second son, while the eldest son was Wei Qi.
No one dared to object to Hui Kai’s announcement. The elders of Shanfeng City all bowed in unison.
"No!" Wei Qi lifted his head to shout at Hui Kai. The people behind him immediately tried to drag him away.