The adrenaline of their departure, a tide of power and defiance that had flooded the courtyards of the Silver Cloud Clan, vanished as soon as the doors of the Clouded Phoenix Carriage closed. In its place, a dense, luxurious silence remained, charged with a new and disconcerting tension. It was no longer the tension of a mission, but of proximity. The air, perfumed with the sharp, fresh scent of Frosty Mountain Incense, seemed to vibrate between them.
They sat facing each other, a formality that suddenly felt artificial, an obsolete protocol for two people who shared a soul. Kenji, his back perfectly straight, mentally reviewed the mission's details. His dark, analytical eyes were fixed on an invisible point, his mind a whirlwind of probabilities, risks, and countermeasures. He was the strategist in his purest form: focused, relentless, logical.
Xiao Yue watched him for a long moment, a sly, secret smile playing on her lips. Her objective today wasn't just the mission. Today was a test, a demonstration, and the first barrier she planned to dismantle was the distance between them. Distance, after all, was terribly inefficient for a date.
With a fluidity and confidence the old Xiao Yue would have never possessed, she stood up. The soft whisper of crimson silk was the only sound. Without a word, she glided across the divan and sat down beside him. The movement wasn't timid or suggestive; it was a takeover, a deliberate redefinition of their intimate space.
Kenji's train of thought came to a dead halt. The new proximity was an unforeseen factor, a sensation that refused to be classified. The warmth of her body mere inches from his, the subtle scent of jasmine emanating from her skin, the cascade of her red hair now occupying his peripheral vision... His mind frantically searched for an explanation: Was it a maneuver to optimize space and improve the carriage's stability? A security measure to facilitate communication in case of an attack? An emotional gesture whose meaning was incalculable? The absence of a logical answer left him, for an instant, completely blank, his usual stoicism cracked by an almost imperceptible fissure.
She was the one who broke the silence, her voice a melodic whisper with a hint of mischief.
"Well, I believe our 'announcement' has had the desired impact. The market is certainly... volatile," she said, using his own words like affectionate darts. "What's the next step in the plan, Kenji?"
It took him a second to answer, the time his mind needed to reorder itself and recover his composure.
"The primary objective of the mission remains the acquisition of the alchemical assets. However, the strategy has changed. We have shifted from a covert operation to a show of force. This drastically increases the risk of a direct confrontation. You must be prepared for a hostile environment."
Xiao Yue moved a little closer, her shoulder almost brushing against his, her voice losing its playful tone to become firm, a promise of steel wrapped in silk.
"Don't worry, Kenji. Today, you are the brains. I am the muscle," she said, and with that simple phrase, she redefined their alliance. "No one will touch you while I'm around."
The weight of the gold pouches they carried, hidden in a secret compartment of the carriage, seemed to grow lighter.
The Clouded Phoenix moved through the upper districts of Golden Carp City like a phantom of ebony and silver. The roar of the lower markets was replaced by the civilized murmur of old wealth. Xiao Yue pushed aside the heavy crimson silk curtain and looked out.
For the first time, she didn't see the city as a foreign or threatening place. With her new power, with Kenji by her side, she saw it as a territory to be conquered. She saw the elegant, curved roofs that looked like frozen waves in a sea of gray tiles; the white jade bridges that crossed canals of tranquil water; the orderly bustle of merchants and nobles. And for the first time, she felt a pang of belonging, the ambition of a queen contemplating her future kingdom.
"It's beautiful," she murmured, more to herself than to him.
She leaned forward to point out a three-story pavilion with eaves that mimicked the wings of a crane, and in that moment, Kenji's universe contracted to a single point of focus. The discreet yet suggestive V-neck of her crimson dress, an elegant cut that hinted at more than it showed, became the center of his cosmos. His mind, which a second before had been analyzing trade route efficiency and the structural weaknesses of the city walls, went blank.
The sight was overwhelming. The curve of her chest, the jade-like skin that seemed to glow with its own light, the elegance of the cut that framed her collarbone... It was an overload of beauty for which his mind had no defense. He forgot to breathe. His analytical ability, the engine of his power, had stalled.
Xiao Yue, now an expert at reading the micro-expressions—or lack thereof—of her consultant, noticed his prolonged silence and the fixed direction of his gaze. A sly, slow, and triumphant smile spread across her lips. She leaned forward a little more, deliberately, pretending to get a better look at the building.
"Have you found a... 'point of interest,' Kenji?" her voice was a sweet melody, laden with mischief. "Analyzing the architecture of my dress?"
Kenji started, as if shaken from a trance. Caught. His mind scrambled for a logical response, an evasion, a plausible denial. It failed spectacularly. He opted for the only path left to him: the truth, albeit wrapped in his own strange formality.
"My apologies," he said, and his voice sounded a bit tighter, a little less controlled than usual. "I experienced a... sensory overload. The aesthetic perfection of your... attire... is of such a high caliber that it impairs my ability to think. You are... you are utterly beautiful."
The word "beautiful," spoken with Kenji's clumsy yet brutal sincerity, was more effective than any poem, more potent than any declaration of love. Xiao Yue's heart did a flip, a joyous acrobat in her chest. The empress's armor she had built melted away in an instant, replaced by the pure, radiant joy of a girl who has received the compliment she most longed for, from the only man whose opinion truly mattered.
A genuine, happy, and sonorous laugh burst from her, filling the silent carriage with a music Kenji had never heard before. It was not the laugh of a satisfied partner or a triumphant warrior. It was the laugh of Xiao Yue. And for Kenji, that sound became a new kind of information, one he didn't want to analyze, but simply... register. The man of absolute logic had just been defeated by simple beauty, and in his defeat, they both found a strange and perfect victory.
The Golden Carp Guild's Auction House was not merely opulent; it was intimidating. It was a temple to power and money, a den of sharks where fortunes and destinies were bought and sold with the strike of a gavel. Columns of black marble polished like mirrors supported a ceiling so high it seemed to have stolen a piece of the sky. Guards in gleaming, helmless silver scale armor—a sign that their personal power was recognized and feared—flanked an entrance through which a steady stream of powerful figures flowed: elders from minor sects in modest robes but with dangerous auras, merchants whose silk was worth more than a year's harvest, and nobles with cold gazes and deep pockets.
The air here was not that of a market; it was one of power. A cold, calculating power, where every smile was a negotiation and every silence a threat.
The Clouded Phoenix carriage, a symbol of power in its own right, stopped before the main entrance. The mere sight of its emblem—the swirling silver cloud—and its white jade frame prompted an instantaneous silence. The Guild guards, whose faces were usually masks of arrogance, showed a forced deference, clearing a path, their minds racing to identify which member of the reclusive main family of the Silver Cloud Clan it belonged to.
Kenji descended first. He played his role to perfection. In his sober, unadorned charcoal silk robe, his face a mask of efficient neutrality, he looked like the personal assistant to some unimaginable power. He walked with measured steps to the carriage door. He did not hurry. He did not look from side to side. His calm was, in itself, a statement of power.
He stopped and opened the door.
It was then that the scene slowed to a painting. The bustle at the entrance died completely. An absolute, expectant silence fell over the place.
The first thing the crowd saw was a boot. A delicate, crimson silk boot that emerged from the doorway and rested on the carriage's jade step with the grace of a maple leaf falling on fresh snow. Then, the dress emerged. A cascade of liquid fire, a red so deep and vibrant it seemed to have a life of its own.
Finally, she stood in her full glory.
The morning sun drew sparks from the silver pins in her red hair and made her golden eyes look like two miniature suns. Her jade-like skin, the bearing of a queen, the aura of controlled power that wrapped around her like an invisible mantle... everything about her screamed nobility, strength, and an exquisite danger.
The disciples from other sects waiting outside held their breath. The merchants forgot their business. The guards, men hardened by a thousand battles, suddenly felt clumsy, like raw recruits in the presence of a legendary general. The impact of her appearance was a dull, silent blow that left everyone breathless.
This was not the forgotten daughter of the Silver Cloud Clan. This was a goddess descending to earth.
In the minds of everyone present—the guards, the merchants, the servants, and the nobles—a single question, a collective whisper that echoed in the absolute silence, took shape like a silent thunderclap:
Who is she?