Ji Yuluo was soaked through.
The innkeeper led her to a private room and provided a clean towel. Ji Yuluo hadn’t been in the rain for long, so she casually dabbed at the ends of her hair, glancing out the window from time to time. From here, she could see an alley where a horse was tied under a thatched roof, shaking the rain from its head.
Before long, the horse’s owner arrived.
Huo Xian removed his cloak, letting the water pour off it onto the floor. His clothes underneath were not completely wet, and he casually wiped himself as he walked over.
Ji Yuluo tilted her head and looked at him, recalling how he always appeared drenched on rainy days. She couldn’t help but ask, “Why don’t you ever use an umbrella?”
Huo Xian sat down and reached for the cup of tea she had been drinking, moistening his throat before saying, “Holding an umbrella by oneself is dull. It’s much more interesting when a beautiful woman gives you one.”
As he walked over, he had glanced at Ji Yuluo’s shoes, which were stained with rain and mud. That type of mud wasn’t found around here but was common in the southern alleys, specifically near Lou Panshun’s courtyard.
Lou Panshun must have come to take Ji Yuluo away.
He couldn’t help but admit that he was genuinely concerned about this little disciple, considering he had risked exposure to protect her with an old item…
Huo Xian asked, “And you? What are you doing here?”
Ji Yuluo glanced at the cup he was holding and mimicked his teasing tone, saying, “Me? I came to bring you an umbrella. Thoughtful, isn’t it?”
Huo Xian nodded, “Thoughtful. No one is more thoughtful than you. I’m truly moved.”
Ji Yuluo smirked lightly. She found that Huo Xian could be annoyingly smooth-talking, yet he was like Liu Xiahui1Liu Xiahui (柳下惠), also known as Zhan Huo (展获), was a respected scholar and official during the Spring and Autumn period in ancient China. He is best known for his extreme virtue and moral integrity, especially his legendary self-control. The most famous story about him, which has become an idiom in Chinese culture, highlights his ability to maintain propriety and virtue in a situation that would test most people’s restraint., able to stop himself even when things got heated. He was impossible to seduce.
She crossed her arms and leaned back slightly, “If you’re moved, don’t just say it. Answer my questions, and we’ll call it even for the umbrella. How about that?”
Huo Xian laughed, “Some people are really cold-hearted. Just an umbrella, and you want to extract information from me? Tell me, what are you up to this time?”
Ji Yuluo lifted her eyes slightly and asked, “Last time you said you didn’t want to leave the capital because you couldn’t part with its wealth and splendor. You said that power was more enticing than money and that, as the head of the North Zhenfu Division, you could practically control everything outside the palace. Was that really the reason?”
The smile on Huo Xian’s lips froze for a moment. He took a sip of the gradually cooling tea and replied, “Why? Isn’t that enough?”
Ji Yuluo rested her chin on one hand, gazing at him, “I’m just curious. What’s it like to control the North Zhenfu Division? Is it truly satisfying? I’ll never have the chance to be a corrupt official, so tell me, Lord Huo.”
On such a rainy day, she wouldn’t have come for no reason. She must have gotten some information and was using her charm to get more out of him. Huo Xian became wary and said, “The North Zhenfu Division… mainly handles arrests and interrogations. Most cases in the capital fall under our jurisdiction. The Jinyiwei don’t care about evidence; guilt or innocence is decided with a single stroke of a brush. If we want someone dead, they die. During raids, we can even take some bribes; officially, we answer only to the emperor, but in reality, he often listens to me more. The Eastern Depot is our only other authority, but Zhao Yong is my godfather, so even the depot officials have to give way to us. And also…”
Huo Xian spoke slowly, and Ji Yuluo listened intently, “If we can decide who dies, we can also save someone secretly, like the Grand Secretary Xu, who should have died long ago, but was saved?”
Huo Xian’s expression gradually changed. Meeting his heavy gaze, Ji Yuluo said, “Since being a villain is so interesting, why do you want to support Prince Ning? Maybe I should ask you, Lord Huo, what it’s like to be a saint?”
Their eyes locked, and sparks flew.
Suddenly, the room became silent and empty, and even the sound of the rain seemed to echo.
Huo Xian’s gaze slowly lowered, stopping at the tea with floating foam. His mouth straightened, then slowly curved into a smile. He picked up the teacup, then put it down again. “Your intelligence is frighteningly accurate. Why don’t you ask your informants if they’d like to join the Constabulary? With a salary, of course.”
Ji Yuluo asked, “Follow you?”
“Follow me.”
“To rebel with you?”
Huo Xian paused, neither admitting nor denying it. He simply said, “How could it be called rebellion? If it weren’t for the Eastern Depot’s interference, Prince Ning would have ascended the throne long ago. Restoring order isn’t rebellion. That’s too harsh.”
“But hearing ‘restoring order’ from your mouth is truly alarming. Lord Huo, you keep your secrets well, playing both sides so skillfully.”
Huo Xian said, “I’m just fulfilling a trust.”
Ji Yuluo raised an eyebrow, “So you do keep your promises.”
“Of course,” Huo Xian looked at her, “I promised to hand over Zhao Yong to you, and I meant it.”
Ji Yuluo picked up a small fan from the shelf, meant for scholars to play with. She was obviously not one of them; she treated the fan as a hairpin, twirling it in her hand. “Is this your pledge?”
Huo Xian pretended to be humble, “Yes, I’m scared of you.”
His voice had a hint of an indistinct smile, but his tone was utterly sincere, the deliberately lowered voice was enticing. Though they were separated by a table, Ji Yuluo felt a tingling in her ears, and with a soft “clack,” the fan flew out of her hand.
He stirred up emotions that lurked in intimate corners, reminding her that handsome men were trouble, just like beautiful women.
Ji Yuluo suddenly understood why she could never see through Huo Xian’s facade. His years of disguise had become second nature, a part of his character. For instance, Shen Qingli said he didn’t smile often and was solitary, yet he could casually crack jokes and make flirtatious remarks. Otherwise, how could he fool someone like Xiao Yuanting, a true playboy, or deceive Zhao Yong?
To walk with a demon, one must become a demon themselves.
Thus, she couldn’t see the youthful pride Shen Qingli described in him, for it had long been ground to ashes in the daily grind, transforming into the greed in his brows, the key that let him infiltrate enemy ranks alone.
The fan lay at her feet. Huo Xian walked over, bent down to pick it up, but Ji Yuluo stepped on the fan handle suddenly. “This pledge isn’t enough. I can kill Zhao Yong easily. Why should I go to such lengths for you?”
Huo Xian didn’t withdraw his hand or rise. He just looked up at her, his eyes meeting her amber pupils, which seemed to contain a glass lamp. He said, “You once said the dark prison was damp and foul, without light. At that time, I thought, if someone had given you a lamp, would it have been better?”
Ji Yuluo’s hand at her abdomen clenched, her jaw tightened.
Huo Xian lifted her foot and took the fan, standing up, “I don’t know who told you about Prince Ning, but you and that person might have misunderstood. I’m not as kind as you think. You asked me what it’s like to be a saint. I don’t know. I’m not a saint.”
“Do you know what Zhao Yong saw in me? My potential for evil.” Huo Xian’s lips curved, but he did not smile. “Long before I noticed him, he was already eyeing me like a tiger. I didn’t choose him; he chose me. The late emperor saw this undercurrent long ago. Desperate, he saw it as an opportunity. He pushed me toward Zhao Yong like a madman, planning my path but leaving no way out. In the end, the emperor died easily… Look at these hands. I’ve killed too many people—colleagues, mentors. Some were wicked, others truly innocent. They struggled and stared at me in disbelief as they died. At first, I couldn’t sleep, haunted by nightmares of vengeful spirits. But eventually, I really—”
“Really, began to feel pleasure.”
The smell of blood excited him. He began to enjoy the torture and killing in the imperial prison, relishing that world where he answered to no one. He thought more than once that there was nothing wrong with colluding with Zhao Yong. If he was to bear the infamy, he might as well embrace it fully. What did the late emperor’s wishes have to do with him? Regardless of whether a tyrant or a wise ruler sat on the throne, officials and commoners alike were bound by imperial power and had to kneel. Why strive to replace a tyrant with a wise ruler? Why not let everyone go mad together?
A saint wouldn’t waver, nor would a saint have evil thoughts. But he was more like a demon with one foot in hell, shackled by rules and constraints, numbly following the late emperor’s wishes.
Huo Xian handed the fan back to her and said, “I was forced into this mess, forced to root out evil and seek good. A person like me has nothing to offer, but preserving a few loyal officials like Xu He is rare. If you had met him seven years ago, he would have protected you and your brother. Now it’s too late, but when this world is overturned and cleansed, we can at least tell that little girl from seven years ago that reporting to the authorities wasn’t wrong, and the Qiao family’s inherent goodness wasn’t wrong either.”
The glass light in Ji Yuluo’s eyes seemed to shatter into thin light. She turned her head to look at the rain outside the window, pressing her lips together. This person…
Ji Yuluo felt an undercurrent in her heart, stirring so much that her chest felt a bit heavy and painful.
Suddenly, her vision darkened.
Huo Xian reached out to cover her eyes, his rough palm warm and humid. After a long time, even the rain had lessened. Ji Yuluo slowly relaxed her body, leaning back against Huo Xian. This meant she had withdrawn the knife she had placed at his neck. Huo Xian sighed and leaned in to whisper in her ear, “You don’t seem like you came to give me an umbrella. It’s more like you came to send me off, which is quite frightening.”
“…”
Ji Yuluo pushed his hand away and looked back at him, mocking, “Really? What were you thinking when you first stayed silent?”
Huo Xian looked at her reddened eyes and nose, his gaze lowering as he half-jokingly said “Murder. To silence you.”
