Chapter 156: Chapter 156

Shen Xiuhan’s face twitched twice. He looked thoroughly exasperated.

Staring at this bewilderingly mercurial young man, he snapped:

“Let me finish talking!”

Zuo Muxian fell quiet at once. He sat back down on the stone bench like a well-behaved child, hands on his knees, grinning at Shen Xiuhan.

Shen Xiuhan rubbed his temples and exhaled a weary breath, then spoke evenly.

“I’ll be going to Dongyi Island as well. I don’t need you to kill Duan Xiao — just keep him pinned down. Because I need to get onto that island and search for something.”

He chose not to hide this much — it was impossible to anyway.

But he didn’t say what, exactly, he was searching for.

Zuo Muxian was a perceptive man. He asked nothing, only furrowed his brow slightly.

“And Gao Fu?”

“Gao Fu…”

Shen Xiuhan pondered for a beat, then raised his eyes.

“I have a way to draw him out. When the time comes, whether you take him alive or kill him — that’s your call.”

“But there’s one thing: the commotion will almost certainly alert Duan Xiao. Once he notices, he’ll leave the island to investigate. I need Brother Zuo to hold him off the island and buy me time.”

Zuo Muxian considered this, then nodded.

“I’m fine with that. The question is you — how confident are you that you can lure Gao Fu out?”

“…Completely.”

Zuo Muxian’s expression stilled. For the first time since entering the courtyard, the easy calm in his eyes gave way to genuine gravity. He spoke with the weight of a vow.

“Then do what you must. You have my word: until you’ve withdrawn safely, Duan Xiao will not set foot on Dongyi Island.”

“Good!”

The boulder in Shen Xiuhan’s chest crashed to the ground. He let out a long breath, then asked:

“Brother Zuo is decisive! When do we move?”

“It’s already late. Rest tonight, settle your mind. We’ll set out tomor—”

Zuo Muxian’s words were cut short by a rapid patter of feet from outside the courtyard gate.

Then Shen Momo burst in — twin-bun pigtails bouncing, a tuft of cowlick sticking straight up, little cloth satchel on her back — charging into the yard like a tiny general.

The little girl had spent the whole day at the tutor’s. Now that school was out, the instant she spotted Shen Xiuhan, her round eyes lit up like lanterns.

“Gege!”

She shrieked, broke into a sprint, and threw herself into his arms.

Shen Xiuhan laughed, scooping her up. One hand cradled her small body; the other smoothed down the errant cowlick.

“Momo, were you good at the tutor’s today? How many new characters?”

“The teacher taught three today! Momo knows twenty-seven big characters now!”

The little girl beamed, gesturing excitedly, showing off like she’d brought home a treasure.

“The teacher said I learn fast and gave me a piece of sweet sesame candy…”

She dug into her satchel and produced a chunk of sesame taffy, holding it up to Shen Xiuhan’s face as though presenting a royal gift.

“Gege, eat!”

Shen Xiuhan smiled and shook his head.

“I don’t need it. The teacher gave it to Momo, so Momo eats it.”

The little girl didn’t argue. She stuffed the candy into her mouth, cheeks bulging like a squirrel hoarding nuts.

Two chews in, her face went blank. She’d caught a glimpse of the other figure in the yard.

A man in moon-white robes, strikingly handsome, staring at her.

“Huh?”

Momo cocked her head, words muffled around the candy. “Such a pwetty big gege!”

Zuo Muxian gazed at her. Something distant surfaced in his eyes. After a moment, he murmured:

“Brother Shen… is this…?”

“My little sister. Shen Momo.” Shen Xiuhan’s voice was gentle.

Zuo Muxian stared at Shen Momo’s innocent, beaming face. He was motionless for several full breaths.

Then, as though waking from a trance, he flicked his sleeve — the motion so subtle it was nearly invisible — and a small porcelain vial appeared in his palm.

The vial was pure white, no thicker than a thumb, its mouth sealed with red silk. Clearly no ordinary thing.

He managed a smile, leaned down until he was at Momo’s eye-level, and spoke softly.

“Little Momo, do you want to learn martial arts?”

“Yes!”

Momo nodded at once, not a shred of timidity, her milky voice ringing loud and clear.

“Momo’s gonna learn characters, then train with Auntie Mei, and when I grow up I’m gonna help Gege beat up the bad guys!”

“Very good… you’ve got spirit.”

Zuo Muxian held the vial out to her, his voice quiet.

“This pill is called the Pure-Source Dark-Essence Body-Forging Pill. It cleanses the meridians, strips the marrow, and refines the body’s innate constitution. A gift for our first meeting.”

The Pure-Source Dark-Essence Body-Forging Pill?!

The name alone said it was extraordinary.

Zuo Muxian didn’t wait for Shen Xiuhan to refuse. He stepped forward and pressed the vial into Momo’s small hands.

Momo held the vial, blinking in confusion, and looked up instinctively at Shen Xiuhan.

Seeing his nod, the little girl broke into a delighted grin. She tucked the vial into her satchel with the utmost care, then straightened her back and announced in a clear, piping voice:

“Thank you, Pwetty Gege!”

Pwetty Gege…

The words seemed to stir something from the past.

The smile faded slowly from Zuo Muxian’s lips. A complicated light passed through his eyes.

Nostalgia. Melancholy.

And something else — something he couldn’t quite name.

He drew a deep breath, rose, and turned to Shen Xiuhan. His voice had changed — steady, grounded.

“Brother Shen, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to wait until tomorrow.”

Shen Xiuhan blinked.

“What do you say we go right now?”

Shen Xiuhan looked into those eyes. He didn’t hesitate. He bent, set Momo gently on the ground, and patted her head.

“Go find Ma.”

Then he waved toward the kitchen.

Behind the half-open door, Madam Zheng and Liang Xiuhe had been peeking and craning for quite some time.

Madam Zheng still clutched a spatula; Liang Xiuhe’s apron was dusted with flour. Both wore expressions caught between alarm and fascination.

Seeing Shen Xiuhan’s gesture, Madam Zheng set the spatula down, hurried out, and took Momo’s hand.

“Momo, come — let’s go to the kitchen. I’ll steam you an egg custard.”

Momo went along obediently, but after two steps she turned back and waved a tiny hand at Zuo Muxian.

“Bye-bye, Pwetty Gege!”

Zuo Muxian watched her go. His lips moved, but no sound came. He only gave a small, quiet nod.

Once they’d disappeared into the kitchen, Shen Xiuhan faced Zuo Muxian, his voice firm.

“If Brother Zuo has made up his mind, then I’ll follow where you lead.”

“Then let’s go!”

Without another word, the two strode out the courtyard gate.

Dusk had fallen. Candles and lanterns flickered to life along the lanes.

By the time they reached the West Market wharf, night had fully closed in.

The river stretched black as ink. Only a few distant fishing boats showed pinpricks of lamplight, their reflections swaying on the water.

The wharf stalls had long since shuttered. A few crooked benches stood in the night wind, lonely and abandoned.

Shen Xiuhan found a black-canopied boat along the bank. The boatman was an old fellow, pushing fifty, who flatly refused to go anywhere near Chenjian Wu’s territory. He’d take them as far as Yunyi Island and no further.

That was fine.

Yunyi Island was only a few li of open water from Dongyi Island. With their cultivation, skimming across the surface, they’d cover the distance in the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

The boat pushed off. Its prow split the water with a soft, rhythmic splash.

Inside the cabin, a single oil lamp swung in the draft, casting wavering light across both their faces.

Shen Xiuhan sat on one side of the hold. Zuo Muxian leaned against the opposite wall, arms crossed, eyes half-closed.

Since leaving the Shen courtyard, Zuo Muxian hadn’t spoken a word.

The warmth and banter from the yard had vanished entirely.

Shen Xiuhan thought for a moment, then broke the silence himself.

“Brother Zuo, that pill…”

“It’s nothing.”

Zuo Muxian waved a hand without opening his eyes.

“I’ve carried it for years. It was meant to be a birthday gift for my sister. Now… there’s no use for it anymore.”