"Madam, I've returned."

Just as the woman retracted her gaze from the banquet hall, a female disciple of the Ten Cauldrons Sect suddenly approached her.

"Ah Mei, how are things in the hall?" the woman asked quickly.

"Madam, things took a rather unexpected turn," the female disciple said, catching her breath.

"Alas!" Hearing this, the woman named Ah Lian sighed. "I really shouldn't have come."

The Third Elder must have been thoroughly humiliated by Fu Yong.

Seeing her mistress's misunderstanding, the female disciple hurriedly explained, "Madam, that's not what happened. The young man the Third Elder brought with him used a fascinating technique to conjure a hotpot. All the ingredients were incredibly rare and priceless heavenly treasures. It left all of us disciples completely stunned… everyone was practically drooling. Then Sect Leader Fu showed up. He didn't say much to the Third Elder; he just sat down and started eating…"

"Eh?" As Sect Leader Fu's wife, Ah Lian was surprised. She murmured, "That must be just another one of his tricks to vex the Third Elder! It has to be. First, he lets them go hungry, and the moment they make something delicious, he shows up to eat it…"

"It wasn't quite like that," the disciple named Ah Mei interjected. "Sect Leader Fu genuinely loved the food. I saw saliva glistening at the corners of his mouth. He ate with such relish… and he even agreed to lend the young master the Huo Yun Furnace without a moment's hesitation."

"Eh?"

Ah Lian was stunned again.

This doesn't sound like Fu Yong at all. Could there be some kind of plot hidden within this?

"Actually, the Sect Leader was tricked by that young master…" Ah Mei added.

Ah Mei then recounted the details of how Fu Yong had been maneuvered into agreeing to lend Su Xuan the furnace.

Afterward, Ah Lian's eyes and mouth slowly widened. "How clever!"

"Madam…" Ah Mei said, "to be honest, if I were the Sect Leader, I would have agreed too, even without the clever trick. It's hard to refuse after eating someone's food, and that hotpot was truly divine. It had…"

Ah Mei began to recite the list of Su Xuan's ingredients as if they were priceless family heirlooms. As she listened, Ah Lian couldn't help but gulp.

「The night grew deeper.」

The hotpot feast in the main hall had long since concluded.

THUD!

Fu Yong sat in his study and slammed his fist on the desk.

He was furious! He was full of regret!

Such a simple, crude little trick, and he had brainlessly fallen for it! It was as if someone had casually dug a pit, told him to jump in, and he had done so with a grin!

But, thankfully…

Fu Yong rubbed his face hard with his palms. Although he had agreed to lend Su Xuan the furnace, he hadn't specified *when*. There was still room to maneuver, plenty of time for him to…

Xie Cheng, now that you're on my turf, I'll make sure you're utterly disgraced and regret this for the rest of your life!

Fu Yong sprang to his feet and walked out of his study.

"Ah Lian, you have a strange look on your face."

Fu Yong hadn't gone elsewhere, heading straight for his wife's room.

Ah Lian was watering a pot of flowers. The flowers didn't actually need watering; the soil in the pot was already oversaturated.

"There's nothing strange about my expression," Ah Lian said, putting down the watering can. She looked up at Fu Yong. "You, on the other hand, my dear husband, are looking rather radiant."

"Heh!" Fu Yong said brazenly. "I ate the fine delicacies they deliberately showed off. It'd be stranger if I *didn't* look good!"

"My husband, you rarely visit my room at night," Ah Lian glanced at the darkening sky outside. "What brings you here tonight?"

In truth, she and Fu Yong had slept in separate rooms for many years. Ever since that incident, they had never shared a bed again. To outsiders, they appeared to be a harmonious couple, with the sole regret being that they had no children…

"Of course, I'm here on business." Fu Yong sat down, eyeing the woman who had grown old and faded for him. "You always say I don't trust you, but you should know full well why, shouldn't you? Xie Cheng was fond of you back then, wasn't he? And you weren't averse to him, were you? If I hadn't stepped in, the two of you would have ended up together, isn't that right?"

"Sect Leader Fu," Ah Lian's tone turned cold. She glided to the doorway and gestured for him to leave. "Don't you have many official duties to attend to?"

"This *is* official business," Fu Yong stood up, his voice ominous. "I've always wondered, when I'm not with you, do you think of him? Perhaps you think of him even when I'm right beside you! Do you regret it? Do you regret choosing someone like me? In your heart, he must be better than I am, right? My mind is in such chaos over these things that I can't even focus on what's important!"

The woman remained standing at the door, not saying a word.

She understood perfectly well. No matter what she said next, it would ignite the fury of the man before her. She was about to become a pitiful little flower caught in a raging storm.

"Why the silence? Are you admitting it?"

Even though she remained quiet, the man pressed on aggressively.

"My husband, we…" the woman looked up, her eyes brimming with tears as she gazed at him. "We're both old now! Do you still need to doubt me like this? I have given my entire life to you!"

"Is that so?" Fu Yong took a step toward his wife. "If you truly want to put my mind at ease, then agree to do one thing for me."

"I can't refuse, can I?" The woman's back was pressed against the wall.

"That's right."

"Then say it," she muttered.

The woman lowered her head, her gaze fixed on the floor.

At that moment, she desperately wished she could become a tiny ant, silently scurrying away through the cracks in the floor, never to return.

"It's simple." Fu Yong took another step forward, placing his hand on her shoulder. "Tonight, go and see Xie Cheng. Have a casual chat with him, and then leave."

"Is it really that simple?" The woman lifted her head, large tears already rolling down her cheeks. "Am I to understand that you want me to go and seduce the Third Elder of the Nine Cauldrons Sect?"

SLAP!

The man swung his hand, slapping her hard across the face.

Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

"Shameless thing!"

"If you don't do as I say, I will tell everyone what you did. You know the consequences!"

Leaving her with that threat, the man strode out of the room.

Staring at the empty doorway, the woman clutched her cheek and murmured, "What good would revealing that incident do you? Aren't we family? How could you possibly escape unscathed?"

「That night.」

A layer of dark clouds cloaked the sky above the Ten Cauldrons Sect, and the temperature dropped abruptly.

At the sect gate, the disciple on duty pulled his collar tighter and yawned.

But he didn't see a shadowy figure, phantom-like and silent, flit from a large, nearby tree and head deeper into the Ten Cauldrons Sect.

The figure carried with them a hint of murderous intent.

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