Carp Tower was heavily guarded. Of course, a large, living human wouldn’t be able to travel freely around. The good thing was that Wei WuXian had once learnt a certain technique of the dark arts—the paper metamorphosis.
Although it was indeed useful, it had a number of restrictions as well. Not only was the time strictly limited, the paperman must also return as it were, after it had been released. There mustn’t even be a single scratch on it. If, on its way, it was torn apart or broken in any way, the soul would receive the same degree of harm—from a year of unconsciousness to a whole lifetime of lunacy. Thus, one must be extremely careful.
Wei WuXian possessed the paperman’s body. At times, he stuck to the hem of a cultivator’s robe. At other times, he flattened himself to pass through closed doors. At times, he unfolded his sleeves and looked down at the ground, pretending to be a piece of used paper, a butterfly that danced amid the night sky. Suddenly, still airborne, he heard faint sounds of crying come from below him. Looking over, he saw one of Jin GuangYao’s residences, Blooming Garden.
Wei WuXian flew below the roof and saw three figures sitting in the living room. With Lan XiChen in one hand and Jin GuangYao in the other, Nie HuaiSang cried in a drunken state, complaining about things unknown. Behind the living room was a study. Seeing that nobody was inside, Wei WuXian went in to look. Sketched designs annotated in red covered the entire desk. On the walls were the four sceneries of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In the first place, Wei WuXian didn’t intend to pay them any attention. After he glanced at them, however, he couldn’t help wanting to praise the artist’s skills. Both the colors and the brushstrokes were gentle, yet the landscapes appeared vast. Although only one scene resided on each paper, thousands of miles seemed to extend from it. Wei WuXian thought to himself that such skills were almost comparable to Lan XiChen’s, and couldn’t help taking a few more looks. Only afterward did he realize that the artist of the four sceneries indeed happened to be Lan XiChen.
Flying out of Blooming Garden, from a distance, Wei WuXian could see a grandiose five-ridged palace. The roof of the palace was covered in glazed, gleaming tiles. Outside of the palace, there were thirty-two golden pillars. The scene was magnificent. This was probably one of the most guarded areas of Carp Tower, the bedchamber of each of the LanlingJin Sect’s leaders, the Fragrant Palace.
Aside from the cultivators dressed in robes of Sparks Amidst Snow, Wei WuXian could also feel that arrays had been packed into the space above and below the palace. Flying toward the base of a pillar, also carved with the peony, he rested for a moment. He only slipped into the door slit after a while of huffing.
Compared to the Blooming Garden, the Fragrant Palace was a classical building of Carp Tower. Sumptuously ornamented, the building was almost majestic. Inside the palace, layers and layers of gauze curtains cascaded onto the ground. The beast-shaped incense burner sat on top of its stand, exuding clouds of aromatic smoke. Amid the extravagance, there was a sweet yet languid sense of decadence.
Jin GuangYao was with Lan XiChen and Nie HuaiSang in the Blooming Garden, which meant that the Fragrant Palace was empty, conveniently allowing Wei WuXian to inspect the area. The paperman flew around the interior of the palace, searching for anywhere that roused suspicion. Suddenly, Wei WuXian saw an agate paperweight on the table. An envelope was under the paperweight.
The envelope had already been opened. Nobody’s name was written on it, not even any crests. Yet, seeing from its thickness, it obviously wasn’t an empty envelope. Flapping his sleeves, he landed on the table, wanting to take a look at whatever was inside the envelope. But even as he attempted at dragging out the envelope, his “hands” holding onto the edge, the envelope remained still.
His present body was a piece of paper, almost weightless. He could do nothing to move the heavy paperweight.
Paperman WuXian walked a few more times around the agate paperweight. He shoved and kicked, hopped and leaped, yet it still refused to budge. Unable to do anything, he could only give up as of the moment, then go to check if there were any other places of suspicion. Suddenly, a side door of the palace was pushed slightly open.
Alarmed, Wei WuXian swept off the table, motionless against a corner of the table.
The one who entered was Qin Su. Wei WuXian finally realized that it wasn’t that the palace had been empty, but that Qin Su was quiet within her room.
The fact that the mistress of Carp Tower appeared in the Fragrant Palace was nothing unusual. However, right now, she looked as abnormal as one could. Her face was paler than snow, drained of all blood. Her figure was also on the verge of collapsing. She looked as though she had just received a substantial shock, like she had just awakened from a swoon and could swoon again.
Wei WuXian thought to himself, What happened? Her countenance was clearly great when she was in the banquet hall, just a while ago.
Leaning against the door, Qin Su stood blankly for a moment before she found her way over, hand on the wall. Staring at the letter under the agate paperweight, she reached for it, as if she wanted to grab it, but still took her hand back. Under the firelight, Wei WuXian could see the obvious trembles of her lips. Those elegant features could almost be described as twisted.
Out of the blue, she let out a scream, and snatched the envelope, throwing it onto the ground. Her other hand spasmed as it dug into the front of her robe. Wei WuXian’s eyes lit up, but he stopped the urge of darting over. If Qin Su was the only one who saw him, he’d be able to deal with it, but not if Qin Su shouted and brought over other people. His soul would be affected if the piece of paper received the slightest damage.
All of a sudden, a voice echoed through the palace, “A-Su, what are you doing?”
Qin Su’s head spun around. A familiar figure stood just a few feet behind her. No different from usual, the familiar face smiled at her as well.
She immediately dove to the ground, grabbing the letter. Wei WuXian could only cling tightly to the corner and watch the letter move once again out of his sight. It seemed as if Jin GuangYao stepped forward, “What’s in your hand?”
His tone was as kind as ever, as though he really didn’t notice anything, neither the strange letter in Qin Su’s hand nor the distorted expression on Qin Su’s face. It sounded like he was merely asking about a trivial matter. Still gripping the letter, Qin Su did not reply. Jin GuangYao asked again, “You don’t look too well. What’s wrong?”
His voice was brimming with care. Qin Su held up the letter and spoke through her trembles, “… I met with somebody.”
Jin GuangYao, “Who?”
Qin Su seemed as though she didn’t hear him, “This person told me a few things, and gave me this letter.”
Jin GuangYao couldn’t help but laugh, “Who did you meet with? Are you really going to believe whatever things people tell you?”
Qin Su, “It couldn’t have been a lie. Definitely not.”
Wei WuXian also thought, Who was it? He couldn’t even tell whether the person was a man or a woman.
Qin Su, “Are the things written on here true?”
Jin GuangYao, “A-Su, if you don’t let me see the letter, how can I know what’s written on it?”
Qin Su showed him the letter, “Fine. Go read it!”
In order to see the letter with clarity, Jin GuangYao walked another step forward. With the letter in Qin Su’s hand, he scanned it rapidly. His expression didn’t change at all. Not even the single trace of a shadow had fallen over his face. Qin Su, however, was almost screaming, “Speak to me, speak! Tell me that none of this is true! That all of these are lies!”