They were all crammed around the little tea table in Linyue's chamber again. At this point, her chamber had basically turned into the unofficial headquarters. Tea, secrets, and occasional chaos seemed to be its specialties. Nobody questioned it anymore. Maybe because they all knew Linyue was far too lazy to hold meetings anywhere else. And honestly? It was true.
Shen Zhenyu cleared his throat. "I received news from Soup Man."
He Yuying glanced up with one eyebrow raised. "So we've agreed that's his name now?"
Song Meiyu nodded seriously. "Right, I already forgot his real name. He did tell us, right? Or… did he not?"
"He did," Linyue said without looking up from her tea.
Song Meiyu leaned across the table, eyes sparkling with mischief. "Do you remember it?"
Linyue took a slow, deliberate sip of tea. "I try not to."
Song Meiyu gasped as if she had just uncovered a terrible scandal. "Wait. Did the Demon King get jealous?"
Linyue didn't respond. She didn't deny it either. She just took another sip of tea while the others stared at her with growing suspicion.
Shen Zhenyu, completely ignoring the nonsense, added in his usual quiet tone, "Mu Tianyi. That's his name."
Song Meiyu blinked a few times. "Ohhh, that does sound familiar. I feel like I've heard it somewhere."
He Yuying didn't even bother to look up. "Yeah. You definitely heard it. He told us. Directly. With his mouth."
Song Meiyu crossed her arms and pouted. "Well, I don't remember boring names. He should've stuck with Soup Man. It's iconic."
Shen Zhenyu gave her a long, quiet look that screamed tired. Then he said, "Anyway, he told me something interesting."
That got everyone's attention instantly.
Song Meiyu nearly fell out of her chair as she leaned forward. "What is it? What is it? Tell me now or I'll explode."
He Yuying muttered under his breath. "We can only hope."
Shen Zhenyu, unfazed as usual, went on in his calm voice. "The angry cabbage case didn't start in the East. Or the North."
Song Meiyu blinked. "Huh?"
Shen Zhenyu's eyes swept over them all, his expression steady. "It started in the capital."
There was a collective gasp led enthusiastically by Song Meiyu, who looked like someone just revealed her favorite character had been secretly evil all along. "What??? How come?? We didn't hear anything!"
Shen Zhenyu nodded. "Exactly. Soup Man has people in the capital. According to him, someone is covering it up. That's why no one knows. But his people saw it themselves. A person eating a meat skewer suddenly turned and stabbed someone with the stick. Just like that."
He Yuying blinked. "Meat skewer? Such a tragic end for a good snack."
Song Meiyu whipped her head toward him, glaring. "That's your takeaway?"
Shen Zhenyu went on, unbothered, "So they tried to trace the earliest case. It happened almost a month ago. The first one was a young woman. She was a painter."
Song Meiyu clutched her teacup. "A painter? What happened to her?"
"She went missing," Shen Zhenyu replied. "Just vanished. And the cases after hers… the angry cabbages all went missing too."
Linyue's brows drew together as her voice turned thoughtful. "So someone is really trying to cover it up."
Song Meiyu tilted her head, clearly baffled. "But… why? Isn't it better to warn people?"
Shen Zhenyu shrugged. "Most likely they didn't want to cause panic."
Linyue, quiet and thoughtful as usual, added, "Could be. But with everything that's been happening lately… it might be more than that."
Shen Zhenyu's expression darkened. His voice lowered. "Yes. And we don't know what it is."
The room fell silent. Even the sound of tea being poured seemed loud.
Then Song Meiyu whispered, eyes wide, "What if the painter is still painting? But now her art moves and bites people."
He Yuying turned his head toward her slowly. "You read too many storybooks."
Song Meiyu jabbed a finger at him without hesitation. "You too."
He Yuying raised one eyebrow. "I read cookbooks."
Song Meiyu nodded. "So your food might bite people instead."
Before that could turn into a debate, Linyue cut in, "Brother Zhenyu, actually… I need help from Soup Man."
Shen Zhenyu's eyes shifted to her, his tone instantly attentive. "What kind of help?"
Linyue folded her hands neatly on her lap, her gaze steady. "Since he has so many connections, I wonder if he can find information about someone from hundreds of years ago."
Shen Zhenyu blinked. "That's a long time ago. Who?"
"Qi Heng," she said softly. "My master."
The room went quiet. Even Song Meiyu, who usually couldn't stay quiet for long, stayed still with her teacup halfway to her mouth.
"I already asked Shu Mingye to help," Linyue went on. "But it's difficult, as expected. Maybe Soup Man can help. He might find something the rest of us can't."
Shen Zhenyu nodded. "I understand. Do you still suspect your master?"
Linyue lowered her eyes to her tea. She stared at the pale surface for a long moment before speaking. "I'm not sure. But, he's the only one I know who could've done all of this. The timing matches. Six years ago, Soup Man's father died. Master was there. The scroll Princess Han found in the north… he was there too. Then the Crimson Bloodroot in Lingxu. He was there again. And the Dream Star Leaf, it was likely made using an array. He's the only one I've known who can still use arrays that perfectly. I really don't want to believe it's him. But there's just too many things I don't know about him."
Her voice didn't break, but something heavy lingered in her words.
Shen Zhenyu leaned back and spoke in his usual calm tone. "Alright. You don't need to worry. We can hire Soup Man to investigate. No matter how expensive it is."
Linyue looked up and gave him a soft smile. "Thank you. And… maybe add something about forbidden techniques or arrays. If possible, I'd like to know more about that too."
Shen Zhenyu stared at her for a moment, a thoughtful frown on his face but he didn't question her. He just nodded slowly. "Alright."
Linyue smiled again, small but sincere. He always understood without her having to explain everything. That was probably why he was one of the few people she trusted to sit in her room uninvited. …Well, that and the fact that she was too lazy to kick them out.
When the sky grew dark and the stars started peeking out one by one, Shu Mingye finally arrived at Linyue's chamber. The second he stepped inside, the three people still in the room turned their heads at the exact same time to stare at him. It was almost unsettling.
Song Meiyu, of course, was the first to speak. She grinned wide. "Well, I already disturbed you two this morning. I should leave now before I make it worse."
Shen Zhenyu and He Yuying didn't bother with goodbyes. They stood up in quiet agreement and followed her lead. But Song Meiyu, being Song Meiyu, couldn't resist yelling over her shoulder as she rushed out, "Don't worry! I won't disturb you two tomorrow morning!" Then she disappeared.
Linyue muttered, "What about late night? Or dawn?"
Shu Mingye chuckled softly and closed the door. He walked straight to her and flopped into her arms.
"Did you get bullied again?" Linyue asked, not even trying to push him away.
He wrapped his arms around her and let out a long, dramatic sigh. "She just asked me to help her with some things."
"What things?" she asked, suspicious.
Shu Mingye waved a hand lazily. "Well… this and that. Something about moving furniture, sorting medicinal scrolls, and pretending to be a very polite version of myself."
Linyue stared at him. "Then, are you okay?"
"Of course." He straightened his back and put on a proud expression. "Such small things. How can it stop me?"
He said this while still half-melted against her like a tired dumpling. It was not convincing at all. Linyue raised an eyebrow. "You're clinging to me like a stubborn seaweed."
Shu Mingye hummed, completely unbothered. "That's because you're sweet, and comfortable, and soft. Especially the soft part."
She rolled her eyes but didn't bother pushing him away. Instead, she reached up and patted his head slowly.
Shu Mingye closed his eyes and smiled, fully content. Finally, peace. No angry cabbages. No dramatic masters. No loud companions. Just him and his Pie. In one smooth motion, he lifted her gently, carrying her sideways.
Linyue was used to this by now. Being carried, manhandled, and hugged like a pillow… typical Shu Mingye behavior. He placed her softly on the bed and lay down beside her, wrapping his arm around her like it was his full-time job. Which, emotionally, it was.
Then, out of nowhere, he asked, "Pie, do you want to have the wedding here or in Shulin?"