Mei Hengkong shook his head again. "No. Hongyi would gain nothing from a war with outsiders. I have someone else in mind, but I would rather not name him."
Feng Luotian watched his master hesitate, then asked, "First Elder?"
"How did you know?" Mei Hengkong stared at him.
"You would be most reluctant to accuse your own family. Someone with access to that room must have helped them reach Nefarious Valley. Yue'er probably doesn't even know it exists. Uncle Mei has no reason to destroy the city he rules, and neither does Aunt Mei. That leaves your younger brother."
Mei Hengkong said nothing. His silence was answer enough.
Luotian had expected it, yet hearing his own suspicion confirmed gave him no satisfaction. The First Elder he remembered had spent his life making armaments for the clan. He could picture the man at his forge far more easily than he could imagine him conspiring with the Yin Clan.
"What happened to him, Master?" he asked. "There must be a reason you suspect him."
