The following morning, within the divine palace of the Red Moon Sect, the Bukke Clan Head and his son faced their visitors with utter bewilderment. After a long silence, Bukke Balu shook his head. "A female student named Fanli? I don't know her, let alone have any reason to assassinate her."
Yejia took a step forward and whispered, "Father, Fanli is the lady I danced with at the wedding."
"You danced with many people. How am I supposed to remember?"
"I clearly only danced with one person at the wedding."
"Hah! You brat, you never do any proper work. There are too many girls. Even if you only danced with one, in my eyes, they’re a crowd. And in my memory, they all look the same. With so many girls, how could I possibly remember!"
Seeing his father’s disdainful expression, Yejia realized his father wasn't annoyed with him, but with the two soldiers standing before them. They wore identical red-and-gold uniforms, and their swords bore an emblem of an eagle spreading its wings against a moon—the mark of the Holy City Red Guards. If the moon behind the eagle were replaced by waves, it would be the emblem of the Federal Legion. Regardless of the branch, their supreme leader was the Dictator.
The Holy City Red Guards were the praetorian guard of Saint Yejiana. They could bypass all ruling classes and clergy to directly execute tasks assigned by the Dictator. To prevent them from overstepping their authority too often, the Dictator rarely gave them missions. This time, he had assigned them a task that was merely to investigate whether the assassination attempt on a female student was related to the Bukke Clan.
This made Bukke Balu very displeased.
Firstly, this girl named Fanli was still very much alive. Secondly, the Red Moon Sea had never truly belonged to the Holy City Party.
The Red Moon Sea had always maintained a neutral status. They had only just begun to subtly show an inclination toward the Holy City Party, and yet the other side had already pulled something like this. He couldn't help but suspect that the young Dictator was either applying malicious pressure or was simply too self-important.
Regardless, the Bukke were descendants of a branch of the Sect Gods. And what was Su Shiye? A green boy of just over two hundred years who had won a few battles and inherited an Etheric Body—did he really think he could declare himself King of the World? It seemed the Red Moon Sea had been too humble, leading him to look down on them so much.
However, compared to Su Shiye, he wanted to belong to the Storm Party even less.
Having dealt with Clan Head Gasi for most of his life, he had had enough of that man’s way of doing things. And that man’s son, raised in luxury since childhood, was even worse than his father. They were currently at a disadvantage in their struggle with the Holy City Party and were still so aggressive; if they ever gained control of Saint Yejiana, their eventual downfall would be absolute.
Bukke Balu didn't care if the Light Sea was a single entity or split into countless small territories. As long as the Red Moon Sea remained whole and maintained its position as the strongest economic region second only to Saint Yejiana, he could remain entirely uninvolved.
Therefore, since they were all ambitious wolves, it was better to side with the stronger one.
Su Shiye was quite annoying, but it was undeniable that he was indeed very strong.
The Holy City Red Guards naturally couldn't read his emotions and continued their relentless questioning. "Then, Clan Head Bukke, is this matter related to Mr. Bukke Ni?"
"Son, go call your cousin-uncle. Let them talk amongst themselves." Having said that, Bukke Balu left the parlor without looking back.
Ten minutes later, led by Yejia, Bukke Ni slowly swam into the parlor while tidying his thinning hair with a comb. Hearing the same question, he shook his head and tucked the comb into his pocket. "I have absolutely no idea who this Fanli you’re talking about is."
"Are you certain?"
"What would I gain by killing her?" Bukke Ni gave a helpless smile, then suddenly seemed to remember something. "Wait, is this just because I said there was a suspect? I only felt that although my wife’s emotions were fluctuating, there was no reason for her to commit suicide."
"Are you certain this matter has nothing to do with you?"
"I only want to find out the cause of Luweiya’s death. Why would I kill a witness to silence them? It’s illogical. Do you suspect I killed her?" Luweiya was Miss Bubble’s real name.
"We haven't ruled out that possibility."
"Lord of the Deep Blue, what would be my motive for killing her?" Bukke Ni, usually unshakeable, was uncharacteristically flustered. "To marry another woman? Luweiya already didn't mind my affairs; you all know that. With a wife like that, I couldn't be happier. How could I bear to kill her?"
Yejia nodded and said, "My cousin-uncle is right. Cousin-aunt’s lifespan was much shorter than his; he had no motive to kill her."
The Captain of the Holy City Red Guards frowned. "Wait, Mr. Bukke Ni, you said your wife had emotional fluctuations? Why? Is it related to her death?"
Bukke Ni shrugged. "Just some bickering between husband and wife. It was nothing more than her feeling I didn't love her enough. It’s unrelated to the case. I just don't think she had any reason to commit suicide."
"Why did she feel you didn't love her enough?"
"I told you, I had an affair."
"Didn't you say she didn't mind your affairs?"
"Sorry, I used the wrong word. It’s not that she 'didn't mind,' but that she didn't 'strongly object.' Is that better?" Bukke Ni was nearly driven to frustration by this robot-like officer. "When a woman hears you’ve had an affair, regardless of whether she agrees to it or not, she is inherently unhappy, right? But some women tolerate it, and some don't. Luweiya was the type who tolerated it. Can you understand that now, Officer?"
Evidently, the robot-like officer did not understand. He understood neither the man nor women.
"Then please state the identity of your mistress."
Bukke Ni wanted to bang his head against a wall. "Does this have anything to do with the female student you’re asking about?!"
"We are merely following orders to investigate the full context of the case."
At that moment, Bukke Balu walked back in from the corridor. "Let me say a few words. You should know the purpose of us hosting this grand wedding, and the Dictator knows as well. No one expected this to happen. There is no need to trouble the Dictator to personally look into this. We will handle the local criminal cases of the Red Moon Sea ourselves."
To his surprise, the Captain of the Holy City Red Guards acted as if he were deaf, turning back to Bukke Ni. "So, the identity of your mistress is?"
Bukke Ni gave up. With a *smack*, he slapped his wrinkled forehead. "Fine, I’ll tell you. But I hope you’ll promise me not to make things difficult for her. I trust in the Dictator’s character."
"As long as it is unrelated to the case, we naturally won't trouble her."
After Bukke Ni spoke the woman’s name, Bukke Balu glanced at Yejia. Yejia smiled. "I was just looking for some fun. I don't know anything."
"Don't 'look for fun' with that kind of woman again," Bukke Balu said coldly.
"As you command, Father," Yejia said with a beaming smile, his true feelings unreadable.
After the Holy City Red Guards left, Bukke Ni also went to the algae garden to rest, exhausted. Bukke Balu sat in a high-backed chair, his tail fin shimmering with golden light as it fanned slowly and rhythmically. "Su Shiye suspects the person who killed Luweiya is within our clan."
"How is that possible?" Yejia was stunned for a moment, then said in confusion, "Even if it were someone from our clan, so what? When it comes to killing, he’s far more expert than we are. Would he really care about this trivial mess in our Red Moon Sea?"
Bukke Balu shook his head, gazing at the thin, crimson willow coral in the room. His fingers tapped gently on the armrest of the chair as he fell into a long silence. After a while, he still looked troubled. "He definitely isn't trying to manage Luweiya’s affairs. He has another purpose. But I can't figure it out."
"I’ve figured that part out. He’s protecting that girl named Fanli."
"Why?" Bukke Balu looked up at his son. "What is Fanli’s identity?"
"That, I don't know. It’s just my intuition."
Bukke Balu looked away dismissively. "Your intuition is entirely about protecting women; you don't keep anything serious in that head of yours. Do you think Su Shiye is like you? You remember better than I do how he became the Dictator, don't you, Professor Bukke?"
"I said it was just intuition, Father. It might not be accurate."
It really was just intuition.
His intuition told him that Su Shiye wasn't protecting Fanli, but rather Fanli’s physical shell.
This shell was the only clue to the original soul. Only while the body remained alive could Su Shiye find the true soul and deal with the original owner personally, ensuring that the Holy City’s military secrets would not be leaked.
***
Xinghai didn't understand why Fanli could talk continuously about an interesting topic for five minutes when he walked her home, yet avoided him like the plague at school. But he received her signal and didn't speak to her much at school, nor did he sit beside her in class unless she requested it. After school, they agreed to meet in a place near the school where there were no students, and then he would escort her back.
One day, after Xinghai walked Fanli home, her other roommates were out. Only Mrs. Hong was home, taking care of the child. She invited Fanli to eat with her, but she seemed preoccupied, sighing several times with reddened eyes. When asked what had happened, she only shook her head and remained silent.
Fanli recalled the intimate scene between Mr. Hong and the younger sister from before and said softly, "Um... is it that your husband and the girl upstairs are too close, and it’s bothering you?"
"The girl upstairs?" Mrs. Hong was stunned. "Of course not. She is my best sister; she is just as important as my husband."
"Doesn't it make you sad that your best sister and your husband get along so harmoniously?"
"Of course not. We’ve been married for many years and have always trusted each other. Besides, because she spends so much time taking care of my baby, she hasn't had the chance to have her own. She’s the one who deserves the most sympathy. That’s why I haven't even planned to tell her about the bad things that have happened."
"Ah, she’s married too?"
"Of course she’s married!" Mrs. Hong spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but her next sentence confused Fanli. "Would she be with us without a proper title?"
"...With you?"
Mrs. Hong smiled slightly and took a photo frame from the cabinet, placing it before Fanli. In the photo, Mr. Hong stood in the middle
