The new quarters were a cage wrapped in silk.
Jue Xuanyi walked through corridors lined with servants. The whispers had died, replaced by stares that followed his every step. Word had spread fast. The hidden prince was no cripple, he was a Saint. A good looking one at that.
Old Maid Chen walked three steps behind. Close enough to observe. Far enough to pretend she wasn't a leash.
"The Grand Elder arranged these chambers personally," she said as they approached ornate double doors. "He wishes to know how you spend your time, Young Master."
Translation: surveillance.
Jue Xuanyi smiled. "How thoughtful of Grandfather. He wants to see if the monster he's created knows when to groom himself."
Chen's expression didn't flicker. "The Grand Elder thinks only of your wellbeing."
"Of course."
The doors opened. His new chambers were lavish. Jade furniture, silk curtains, a bed large enough to drown in. Spiritual formations hummed in the walls, maintaining perfect temperature and qi density.
And ever watching.
The Formation Master's voice cut through his thoughts. "Wait! Observation arrays. In the walls, under the bed, even in the fucking teapot. The old bastard is thorough"
"Your bed has listening formations," the Schemer Supreme added. "Grandfather's watching you sleep."
The War Devil's rage was a physical heat in his mind. "Burn it. Burn it all!"
Jue Xuanyi walked to the center of the room and sat. "I think I'll read a boring cultivation manual tonight. Very thoroughly. Perhaps aloud."
Chen lingered at the threshold. "Will the Young Master require anything else?"
"Privacy would be lovely."
She bowed and left. The doors closed with a soft click.
Silence.
The silence deepened, then from the shadow pooled like water, a figure knelt.
"Ying Wuhen." Jue Xuanyi didn't turn his head. "You left my shadow the moment I stepped out of seclusion."
The figure rose. Black robes, face hidden behind a featureless mask. "There are always eyes that wait for the dark, my lord."
"Report."
"Blood Moon Pavilion is restless. A talented assassin named Liang Chen has been asking questions about missing persons. His inquiries are… persistent."
Interesting. The servant girl's brother.
"Monitor him. If he approaches the truth, ensure his investigation conveniently leads him to the Blazing Sun Sect's doorstep. Let the righteous sects deal with their own shadows."
"As you command."
"The conference?"
"Seven fiancées confirmed attending at different times. Dossiers prepared. Sixteen targets identified among the younger generation." Ying Wuhen produced a small spatial ring. "Everything you requested, my lord."
Jue Xuanyi took it. "The Devil Court?"
"Operations proceed. The Western Devil Lands remain stable. Your investments in the Merchant Alliance are yielding returns. The seeds planted in the Beast Valley are beginning to sprout." He'd been building an empire from his cage. Piece by piece. Agent by agent.
"Good. Continue as planned. And Ying Wuhen?"
"My lord?"
"Next time, don't leave blood on my windowsill."
The shadow didn't answer. Then it was simply gone, dissolving like a bad dream at dawn.
Alone again.
Jue Xuanyi stood and walked to the window. The clan grounds sprawled below, massive and ancient. Somewhere out there, his mother tended her garden. His father planned strategies. His grandfather calculated angles.
And in three days, the real game began.
He turned away from the window and headed for the door. Chen would be waiting nearby, but that was expected. He'd learned long ago how to move through a prison pretending to be a palace.
The gardens were silent except for wind through lotus blossoms.
His mother stood among white flowers, no longer in formal robes. Just silk and simplicity. When she saw him, something broke in her expression.
She crossed the distance in three steps and pulled him into an embrace. Her arms tightened as if she were afraid he would be gone. The usual politics and masks were irrelevant. There was only a mother holding her son.
"Xuanyi." Her voice was thick. "Twenty years."
He let himself sink into it. Just for a moment.
When she pulled back, her golden eyes were wet. She studied his face like she was memorizing it. "You look so much like your father. But your eyes…"
"I have your eyes, Mother."
"One of them." She touched his cheek. "The left. The one that still has warmth."
He didn't know what to say to that.
She guided him to a stone bench beneath a flowering tree. They sat, For a long moment, neither spoke. The garden breathed around them.
"Are you afraid?" she asked finally. "Of the conference? Of what comes next?"
"Should I be?"
"Most would be. Unveiling yourself to the world. Facing the tournament. Meeting your fiancées for the first time."
"I'm not afraid of strangers, Mother."
"And your grandfather?"
He paused, choosing his words. "I respect him. I understand him."
"That's not the same as trust."
No. It wasn't.
She didn't push. Instead, her fingers found the jade pendant around his neck. The lotus blossom she'd given him so long ago.
"You kept it."
"Always."
Her eyes filled again. She blinked the tears away but they refused to obey. "The cultivation world is cruel, Xuanyi. The conference will have enemies wearing friendly faces. Your fiancées don't know you. Some will be hostile. Some will test you."
"I know."
"And your grandfather…" She hesitated. "He loves you. But he fears the cost of those years of isolation, what you became, and the horror of what you will be."
That landed heavier than expected.
"I won't disappoint him."
"That's what worries me." She took his hands. "You're too perfect, my son. Perfection makes people suspicious. It makes them wonder what you're hiding."
He met her eyes. Saw himself reflected there. The smile was a flawless mask, the careful construction of a lifetime of deception.
"When you smile like that," she said softly, "your eyes don't follow."
He froze.
She didn't press nor accuse. Just looked at him with a mother's knowing gaze.
The silence stretched.
Finally, she stood. Pulled him up with her and embraced him again. "I'll see you at the conference," she whispered against his shoulder. "Make me proud."
"Always, Mother."
She held on a moment longer. Then let go.
He walked back through the garden. Didn't look back. Knew she was watching until he disappeared from sight.
Mother. The only person he didn't want to manipulate. The only person who saw past the mask regardless. A dangerous combination. How easily her presence softened the blade inside him.
She was the only lock his clever fingers couldn't pick, because she had given him the key twenty years ago and he never had the heart to give it back.
"…She knows something is different," the Nameless One murmured as he reached the corridor. "She just doesn't know what."
Old Maid Chen was waiting at his door. "Did you enjoy your visit with the Mistress, Young Master?"
"Very much. She worries about me."
"A mother's love is precious."
"Indeed."
He entered his chambers and closed the door.
Alone.
He moved to the far corner, pressed a tile that looked no different from the others. A section of floor lifted, revealing a hidden compartment Ying Wuhen had left.
Dossiers. Dozens of them.
He pulled them out one by one, spreading them across the low table. Faces. Names. Cultivation levels. Known techniques. Destinies.
The first was stamped with a crimson lotus.
Du Qianmeng. Poison Valley Witch. Peak Nascent Soul.
He read the details. Poison cultivation specialist. Known for creative cruelty. Engaged to him for political alliance. Never met. Likely hostile.
He set it aside and reached for the next. Then the next. Protagonist after protagonist. Fiancée after fiancée. Each one a thread in Heaven's grand design.
Each one his to claim or destroy.
The Fate Weaver's voice hummed with pleasure. "So many destinies to rewrite."
"So many fortunes to steal," the Merchant King added.
The War Devil just laughed.
Jue Xuanyi leaned back and stared at the ceiling. At the observation formations he knew were watching. Recording this moment.
Let Grandfather watch, this devil fears none.
Let him see his grandson studying like a dutiful prince preparing for a tournament.
He wouldn't see the real preparation happening in shadow and silence.
Three days until the conference. Three days until the world met the Calamity it had been dreading.
Jue Xuanyi smiled and gathered the dossiers.
Time to go shopping.