Volume One, Chapter 19: I Have a Prophecy

Night Fusang did not allow Xiao Wo Gu to follow; instead, she instructed him to take his sister to stay at the Princess Chang’s residence.

She returned to Changqing Courtyard in a daze, her eyes reddened and heavy with sorrow. Kneeling before Night Fusang, she pleaded, “Young master... I did not mean for this to happen.”

It was in the east wing room that she had disclosed the location to Ye Wanqing, nearly binding the young master to a woman of ill repute.

Their deaths became the source of her torment. Night Fusang’s face was pale, as if submerged in a cold, sinking swamp with no escape. Gazing down at her, an uncontrollable flicker of murderous intent crossed her heart. “Leave at once. You are no longer needed in Changqing Courtyard.”

Previously, she would not have minded, regardless of whether Manman had betrayed her under duress or for other reasons.

But now, she loathed this betrayal with a burning intensity.

“Young master, it was Manman who wronged you. The eldest miss and the others threatened my mother! Manman did betray you, but in the end, my mother still passed away!” Manman knelt, bowing her head repeatedly, tears streaming uncontrollably. “Now, I have only you, young master! I do not ask for your forgiveness in this life—only that you let me stay by your side to atone!”

Suddenly, Night Fusang threw a teacup at Manman’s forehead. Manman trembled but closed her eyes without flinching. The teacup merely brushed past her hair.

Closing her eyes briefly, Night Fusang spoke in a low, clear voice, “Manman, do you know why I gave you a new name?”

Manman’s eyes were bloodshot as she shook her head, still kneeling.

“Lost on a misguided path, a long and winding road,” Night Fusang said without looking at her, her gaze fixed on the distant pavilion by the winding stream. Her voice was serene, like snowflakes falling softly.

From afar, Ning Zhen watched, her eyes fixed on the gray-clad, graceful figure ahead. The usually carefree and unrestrained black hair now seemed tinged with a different aura.

Night Fusang sneered coldly.

Her words applied to both herself and to others.

Her phoenix-like eyes grew colder, as the image of a woman in pale green silk appeared in her mind. She seldom used the word 'elegant' to describe a woman—except for one.

“Er Ning, if you desire the power of court and country, I will grasp absolute power.”

“If you seek to climb to the heights of the martial world, I will be the sword that causes your downfall.”

Turning again to Manman, Night Fusang rose with a profound, bone-chilling calm in her eyes. “Manman, this is your last chance. If there is one more mistake, I will kill you with my own hands.”

“Thank you, young master... thank you for not holding past grievances against me!” Manman’s face brightened suddenly, tears of joy streaming down her flushed cheeks. “From now on, Manman will obey only you!”

“Your forehead is wounded. Go and get it treated.” Night Fusang frowned slightly as she looked at the bloodstain there.

***

Ning Zhen also noticed the young master’s unusual behavior today. Normally, he would sit if possible, never standing, and lie down if possible, never sitting—utterly carefree and indulgent. But now, he seemed imbued with a deeper, quieter calm.

“Ning Zhen, investigate who bought that hairpin with the dangling ornament,” Night Fusang instructed.

Sitting before her desk, she swiftly sketched a complex and exquisite hairpin with her brush.

After giving her orders, Night Fusang left the residence, effortlessly shaking off the few tails trailing her. She entered a tailor’s shop and purchased a black dress, donning a black straw hat that concealed her entirely.

If Xiao Mingyue were here, she would notice that Night Fusang’s attire was identical to Yan Li’s.

At the west gate of the city stood an unassuming ancient tower, yet only the nobility and the powerful could enter—those with wealth or influence.

Calmly, Night Fusang handed over the waist token representing the Regency Prince’s mansion, which she had secretly taken from Jingzhi, to a pageboy who led her to the “Heaven” chamber. “Guest, please come in.”

“Such a prestigious chamber is open? I wonder which noble or powerful figure has arrived!” whispers rippled below.

“I am here to auction an item,” Night Fusang called after the page.

The page quickly summoned the steward. “Miss, perhaps you could show it to the old man for appraisal.”

“This item cannot be appraised—it is a peace talisman.” Night Fusang’s voice was deep and serene. “My divination, three wishes, worth a thousand gold coins.”

“May I ask, miss, do you have a reputation among the martial world’s fortune-tellers?” The steward hesitated. No one had ever auctioned a divination before, especially not from someone representing the powerful rather than the underworld.

Night Fusang’s voice remained composed. “I am one of the chief envoys of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion, Yan Li, known in the martial world as the Gentleman Thief.”

The steward relaxed at hearing the first part but frowned upon the nickname. “I have heard of Envoy Yan Li, heir of Master Yan, but the title ‘Gentleman Thief’ is unfamiliar.”

“I only want to know if you will do this business or not,” Night Fusang’s voice turned icy.

“Yes.” The steward made a resolute decision. The Celestial Secrets Pavilion had been in hiding for ten years; its first appearance at their Yun family’s ancient tower was a profitable opportunity.

As the auction began, voices clamored fervently until the jade girl announced, “The item up for auction is not a physical object but the peace talisman of one of the Celestial Secrets Pavilion’s chief envoys, Yan Li, known as the Gentleman Thief.”

A murmur of astonishment spread.

“A divination auction? Truly unprecedented in a century!”

“Since it’s from the Celestial Secrets Pavilion, it must be rare. But what is this ‘Gentleman Thief’ nonsense? Could it be a scam?”

***

While the crowd whispered skeptically, a window in the Heaven chamber opened. Those below looked up to see a slender woman in black, her body wrapped tightly. Her clear, deep voice fell like jade dust, commanding a timeless authority: “I have a divination to avoid disaster, fulfill wishes, and ascend the azure clouds.”

“The divination is for those destined; those without fate cannot obtain the peace talisman.”

With that, Night Fusang closed the window and muted herself.

“A divination with three wishes, starting bid thirty gold,” the jade girl announced. The crowd erupted again.

“Thirty gold? Who’d be foolish enough to pay that? Anyone who bids is a sucker!”

“Think it’s worth a thousand gold? Such superstition and fraud! Those who can divine the world are always detached from fame and fortune. There has never been an auction for divinations!”

From within the Heaven chamber, a clear and resonant male voice rang out, “Light the heavenly lamp.”

“Your Highness, this is likely a fraud,” a veiled woman behind the man whispered. “Rumor has it that the Celestial Secrets Pavilion’s lowest-profile envoy is indeed Yan Li, always clad in black with a covered face, never so ostentatiously.”

In the dim light, the man wore pure white robes, his appearance like a celestial deity reaching for the moon, the one known for his ethereal beauty and slender grace.

Unfortunately, he was confined to a wheelchair.

“To have the ability to divine the world yet live in seclusion—is that not also a kind of deception? That position belongs to the Regency Prince,” the man’s melodious voice was gentle as jade. “I have not heard that he has taken a beauty from the Celestial Secrets Pavilion.”

“...Your Highness, you have never even met her, so why claim she is beautiful?” the woman frowned slightly.

“Beauty is a feeling.” The man smiled faintly. “Light the lamp.”

Just when everyone thought no one would be foolish enough to believe, the Heaven chamber gave them another small shock.

“The Heaven chamber has lit the heavenly lamp!”

Night Fusang ignored the noisy crowd as she sat calmly inside, her slender, cold-white fingertips flipping several white jade coins. When the last coin stood upright on the desk, a ripple passed through her phoenix eyes. Swallowing the blood rising in her throat, she said faintly, “A divination with three wishes holds celestial secrets. The first is the peace talisman. I warn you, young master: a dragon lies hidden in the abyss and cannot be respected by one alone; a twin-flowered blossom cannot survive if one petal is lost.”

The man’s eyes narrowed slightly but then he smiled softly. “Miss Yan Li, you speak of three wishes. Does that mean you still lack my three wishes?”