Chapter 1 Quiet

The ward was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

It was as if time had frozen.

The long leaves in the vase by the window no longer swayed, and the flicker-free white light fell on the faces of the two figures, one standing and one lying down. The two men looked at each other in silence, like strangers despite being father and son.

"I came... to see you."

Zhao Qi raised his hands somewhat helplessly, then let them fall again. He came empty-handed because he knew... his father lacked nothing.

"Sit."

Having just finished communicating with the Zhongzhou Council, Zhao Xilai's thoughts were in chaos. He took a deep breath and gestured for his son to find a place to sit. The ward was large, but Zhao Qi sat on the edge of the bed.

In fact, he hadn't come with nothing...

He had brought a necklace.

The necklace was inside his lapel, and he could take it out with a simple reach. Zhao Qi's fingers began to tremble. Just being close to his father... filled his heart with "awe" and "fear."

"I'm glad... you could come to see me."

The old man looked at his son meaningfully, but there wasn't much joy in his tone.

Zhao Qi forced a smile.

He wanted to say something, but countless thoughts jammed in his mind for a moment. What was this... was it small talk, or encouragement? In an instant, his thoughts were pulled back to a long night many years ago, when he was still a child. His father was already standing at the highest point of the Great Capital. He ran desperately, hoping to get a little bit of praise.

But it was a pity.

That cold, aloof figure wasn't like his father, but a majestic mountain. No matter how hard he tried, that distant, ethereal man wouldn't reach out to him.

Praise? Recognition? Encouragement?

His childhood was only filled with loneliness and failure.

A voice slowly sounded, like a bolt from the blue, shattering Zhao Qi's chaotic thoughts.

"The Free Auditorium incident... was that you?"

Zhao Qi's pupils constricted. He turned his head with clumsy acting, looking at his father blankly.

The old man said softly, "Lu Nanzhi's spirit was exiled... To do this in a Dreamless-shrouded auditorium, Xiao would have to release the permissions for the mental link. As far as I know, you're the only one who can move freely."

Cold sweat appeared on Zhao Qi's forehead.

His smile was a little stiff. "Father... what are you talking about?"

"About a year ago, a mysterious person from the Old City District contacted you anonymously. With the help of that mysterious person, you began to cooperate with the Nanwan faction and successfully completed several transactions... Within the Hua Zhi board of directors, some people began to look at you with new eyes." Zhao Xilai lowered his eyebrows slightly. "I paid attention to these businesses. I have to say that what you've accomplished is remarkable. Ye Ningqiu, who has always been unyielding, is willing to lower her head in negotiations and sacrifice most of her interests in order to seek cooperation with Hua Zhi. These transactions shocked the entire senior management... At that time, Xiao Cui asked me to investigate the identity of that 'mysterious person' in detail."

"But I didn't do that."

"Not because I only care about profit... but because you are my son." Zhao Xilai said calmly, "No one knows you better than I do. You have never been a hero, let alone do anything risky. You can't ride the waves, and you can't cause any great disasters. If there are no accidents... you'll probably be a coward for the rest of your life."

Those words were painfully truthful, and even cruel.

The smile on Zhao Qi's face disappeared little by little.

He looked at his father, wondering what kind of person... would say such things to his own flesh and blood.

A coward...

A coward...

Who would willingly be a coward?

"Last month, you hid alone, actually because you were beaten." Zhao Xilai said lightly, "You didn't dare to use healing-type sealed items because you were afraid I'd find out... You swallowed your teeth after they were knocked out. What is that if not being a coward?"

Zhao Qi was stunned.

"You didn't dare to publicize it... because you were afraid that something more serious would be revealed." The old man's words were like knives, scraping at Zhao Qi's heart. "No revenge, just because you have no evidence. It happened in the Old City District, where there are no Heavenly Eyes deployed. You were unlucky to be taught a lesson. Since you can't find any evidence, you can only let it go."

The man sitting on the edge of the bed, clearly still young, was incredibly useless. He slumped his shoulders, lowered his eyes, and his voice became lower and lower. "Did... Liu Yi tell you?"

The old man said calmly, "Did she need to say it? How could anything in the Great Capital be hidden from me?"

"The person who has been silently supporting you is 'Xiao.' In those businesses, the concessions made by Ye Ningqiu were not miracles, but simply because she was also Xiao's puppet." There was no disappointment in Zhao Xilai's tone, just the usual calmness. "So... all of this can be explained. The ultimate goal of the Changjiu Foundation is to dilute the power system of the Great Capital District, starting with the councilors and gradually disintegrating the two huge groups. It's not enough to just mentally manipulate one person, even if that one person is very important."

"Xiao wants you to take over Hua Zhi."

Zhao Xilai looked at his son. "Supporting you is... the simplest and most direct method."

Not contacting Lu Nanzhi was because contacting Lu Nanzhi was too dangerous. Madam hated the Changjiu Foundation. Once seduction failed, Xiao would suffer devastating blows.

Similarly... within the Hua Zhi faction, who was more suitable to contact than Zhao Qi?

There was no one.

However, Xiao's biggest miscalculation was that he overestimated Zhao Qi's ambition and his courage.

"That night, the night you were beaten... you went to the Old City District to find Xiao." Zhao Xilai's words no longer contained any questioning or rhetorical intent. He directly stated the truth that Zhao Qi had concealed, bit by bit. "He gave you mental sealed items... and it wasn't the first time. Nanzhi suffered from 'insomnia' for a while. Crow's rage was also related to that matter. He was looking for the culprit. You should be glad you didn't leave any evidence."

"Otherwise... he really would have beaten you to death."

At this moment.

Zhao Qi felt something crack in his heart.

He looked at his father... and felt that it was not just a mountain pressing on his heart for many years, but also a cage. His father saw everything that happened in the Great Capital. Everything he did could not be hidden from his sight. Those little tricks and petty thoughts were just things he didn't want to point out.

"Yes..."

Zhao Qi slowly stood up. He smiled and confessed, "I did the Free Auditorium incident."

After saying these words, the heavy stone in his heart was lifted in an instant.

A sense of relief.

"You wanted to kill Lu Nanzhi and inherit Hua Zhi." The old man looked at his son, still without much expression.

"No..."

Zhao Qi felt that his whole body had become lighter, and his fingers didn't seem to be shaking anymore. He reached out and took out the necklace inside his lapel.

"I used this sealed item..."

Zhao Qi looked at the necklace as if possessed, and murmured, "Just wearing it for a short while, the consciousness will be forever... exiled."

"Exiling the spirit, how can that be considered... killing?"