The Cyan Ink Tower was located on the border between the Inner and Outer Cities, right next to the tall, white city walls. The entire structure resembled a massive golden sculpture, with layers of golden light constantly shining out from within.
This was the light from lamps reflecting off walls and windows coated in gold dust.
The building was shaped like a teapot. The entrance was at the handle, while the spout in front was a unique, semi-transparent private room.
Lin Hui arrived early the next day at nine, standing at the entrance and looking up at the Cyan Ink Tower, which was a hundred meters away inside the courtyard.
'I don't see anything cyan or inky about this place…' Speechless, he took out his invitation, slowly walked inside, and handed it to a guard.
"Someone is already in the 'Heaven and Earth' room. Please follow me." After verifying the invitation, the guard personally led the way, heading upstairs along a spiral staircase on the exterior of the first floor.
Lin Hui followed close behind. After five or six turns, they reached the third floor and stopped before a spacious, golden private room.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
The guard knocked softly and asked if it was a convenient time. After getting a response, he gently opened the door and led Lin Hui inside.
The moment he entered, Lin Hui's eyes fell upon Lin Hongzhen, who was sitting cross-legged at one end of the room.
Lin Hongzhen looked completely different from the last time they had met.
If she had still looked somewhat womanly before, she had now completely transformed into a tall, brawny figure covered in muscle.
If not for the noticeable swell of her chest, it would have been almost impossible to recognize her as female.
Fortunately, her facial features were still the same, without much change. Aside from the extra muscle, her face was recognizable, allowing Lin Hui to identify her at a glance.
"Cousin." He greeted her the moment he stepped inside.
"Come, sit here." Lin Hongzhen patted the spot beside her. "I invited a few friends today, all from the Sect. Get to know them. If you run into trouble later, you can ask them for help."
Lin Hui walked over and sat down, looking at each person as Lin Hongzhen made the introductions.
"This is Xiaoqin, whom you met last time. Her family is also very influential in the incense halls near the Sect." The first person she introduced was the girl he had met before, Xiaoqin.
She was still dressed revealingly in a white tube top and a purple leather miniskirt. Her snow-white thighs were crossed without any attempt at concealment, and she was toying with a curved dagger studded with red and blue gems.
"Hello, Sister Xiaoqin," Lin Hui said politely.
"Mm. If you need help in the future, you can go to Xiao's on Tongyou Street. It's my family's business," Xiaoqin replied, nodding casually.
"Thank you, Sister Xiaoqin," Lin Hui said quickly.
"Alright, this is Fei Wen Yi, a colleague and close friend of mine from the Sect. He's from the Fei Family in the Inner City. If you ever go to the Inner City, you can get a 20% discount at his family's chain stores," said Lin Hongzhen.
"Brother Yi!" Lin Hui greeted him at once.
Fei Wen Yi was a man with a relatively gentle appearance, and he looked a bit older than Lin Hongzhen and the others. After the introduction, he gave Lin Hui a warm smile.
"Feel free to visit the Fei Family in the Inner City when you have time. Just give them my name at the gate," he said softly.
"And this is Meng Xiao. She's also a friend of mine." Lin Hongzhen finally came to a young woman with long, slightly yellowish, and somewhat curly hair.
The woman wore a long, bright red dress. The tops of her fair feet peeked out from under the hem. She sat with her legs crossed, holding a map-like scroll. Hearing her name, she smiled at Lin Hui and nodded, which counted as a greeting.
"So now you've all met my little brother. Please look after him for me when he's in the Outer City," Lin Hongzhen said, patting Lin Hui on the back and speaking half-jokingly to the three of them.
"He's Miss Lin's brother, so of course we have to pay attention to him. Don't worry," Fei Wen Yi said with a smile.
Xiaoqin also nodded in agreement.
Only Meng Xiao simply smiled without saying a word.
Lin Hongzhen noticed her attitude and patted Lin Hui's shoulder.
"It's fine. As long as you have Brother Fei and Sister Qin, you'll be okay." Her gaze then shifted to Meng Xiao.
"What? Did you come to this banquet just to cause trouble? You see my Summoning was only low-grade and immediately decide to turn your back on our old friendship, is that it?"
The joking tone in her voice faded, replaced by seriousness.
Meng Xiao closed her scroll, a half-smile on her face.
"Since you already know, why bother saying it and humiliating yourself? Before, I gave you some face because you had the potential for a mid-to-high-grade Summoning. Now you're just low-grade… Heh."
"Sister Meng, that's not what you said when Hongzhen was running errands for you," Xiaoqin said, a look of displeasure on her face before Lin Hongzhen could even speak.
"But the errands are finished, aren't they?" Meng Xiao said with a smile.
With those words, the atmosphere instantly grew tense.
For a moment, none of the four spoke. Lin Hongzhen's expression turned cold as she stared fixedly at Meng Xiao.
"Fine. I'm worthless. I could only manage a low-grade Summoning, so I'm not worthy of being your friend, Meng Xiao."
After a long moment, Lin Hongzhen said in a heavy voice.
"If you think I'm unworthy, then why did you even come today?"
"I just wanted to see what state you were in. Now that I've seen it, I'm satisfied." Meng Xiao stood up, her smile never faltering, and ambled toward the door.
"Farewell."
"I won't see you out." Lin Hongzhen's chest heaved with anger, and she didn't turn her head.
The door creaked open, and the person slowly left. But the atmosphere in the room remained incredibly stifling.
Lin Hongzhen had originally intended to have her friends help pave the way for her younger brother, Lin Hui. She never expected things to turn out like this.
To outsiders, she had indeed achieved Summoning. But only those within the Sect knew that her Summoning was actually of the lowest grade. This had caused her physique to become imbalanced, transforming her once delicate face and figure into something extremely muscular and unsightly.
And being unsightly was a major taboo in the Rain Palace. While it wasn't enough to get her expelled from the Sect, it would be very difficult for her to get promoted ever again.
Meng Xiao had seen this and instantly became pragmatic.
"Ah Hui, you should go back. If you need anything in the future, you can look for Sister Qin and Brother Fei," Lin Hongzhen said to Lin Hui, forcing a smile.
"Okay. Take care, Cousin. You can come visit me at Qingfeng Temple when you have time," Lin Hui replied with a nod.
From the attitude of the people around Lin Hongzhen, he could tell that although his cousin seemed successful on the outside, her situation within the city was actually quite difficult.
Otherwise, that Meng Xiao wouldn't have been so disrespectful.
He hadn't eaten a bite or drunk a sip. He bowed to Xiaoqin and Fei Wen Yi, then turned and left the room.
He had originally planned to ask about the disappearance cases today, but seeing his cousin's current mood, it was clearly not the right time.
After going downstairs and passing through the first-floor hall, Lin Hui was surprised to see Meng Xiao again. The woman was holding a wine glass and talking to another woman in white.
Seemingly noticing Lin Hui's gaze, Meng Xiao turned her head slightly and glanced in his direction.
Her senses were clearly extremely sharp; she had reacted instantly to a mere glance from over ten meters away.
Lin Hui's heart tightened. He gave her a polite smile, then quickly withdrew his gaze and strode out of the Cyan Ink Tower.
Standing outside, he glanced back at the magnificent, splendid restaurant. For some reason, he felt a strange sense of unease.
He let out a breath and walked quickly toward the somewhat gloomy Xinyu Town in the distant Outer City, soon disappearing around a street corner.
By the time he got home, it was late afternoon. Lin Hui practiced the Nine-Section Swift Sword a few times before going to the shop to help out and chat with his parents.
At dusk, they closed the shop and went home. He slept until the next day. Lin Hui had just gotten up and washed when he saw his parents were already ready, opening the door to go set up the shop.
The three of them were busy for a while. When they arrived at the shop, his father, Lin Shunhe, had just unlocked and opened the door when they heard the quick footsteps of an officer approaching on the street.
A tall, heavyset officer in black with a large head and ears approached, his hand resting on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"Which one of you is Lin Hui?" he asked, his voice cold as his eyes swept over the three of them.
"I am." Lin Hui's heart leaped into his throat. Not knowing what was happening, he quickly stepped forward to answer.
"A vicious assault took place at the Cyan Ink Tower last night. Lin Hongzhen is your cousin, correct? And you were at the Cyan Ink Tower at the time, correct?" he asked in quick succession.
"A vicious assault? Yes, Lin Hongzhen is my cousin," Lin Hui replied quickly, his heart turning cold.
"She was attacked. She's critically injured and still unconscious. You need to come with me to the town's security office to give a statement," the officer said swiftly.
"What?! My cousin is critically injured and unconscious?!" Lin Hui's eyes flew wide. He had just seen Lin Hongzhen last night, and she had been powerfully built, with the sturdy posture of an iron wall.
And now… But she was a Summoning elite!
"Let's go. Stop wasting time," the officer urged, his tone quite impatient.
The news didn't just shock Lin Hui; Lin Shunhe and Yao Shan, who had been listening from the side, were also visibly shaken.
"But Hongzhen is an Elite Cultist who succeeded at her Summoning… how could she be critically injured and unconscious?? This is simply…" Lin Shunhe couldn't imagine what could have possibly made such a thing happen.
Stunned, Lin Hui followed the officer to the security office. By the time he finished giving his statement, it was nearly noon.
He walked out of the security office in a daze and looked up at the bright, clear sky. From the officer's questioning and the details he let slip, the attack on Lin Hongzhen seemed to be faintly connected to Lin Hongyu.
According to the officer, their initial suspicion was that a woman who had once been involved with the Chen Family scion Lin Hongyu was about to be betrothed to had acted in secret.
This involved the entanglements and conflicts among The Three Greats.
Just as he came out, he saw his parents waiting in a tea stall across from the security office, anxiously looking in his direction.
Seeing Lin Hui emerge, both of them were overjoyed and hurried over.
"Ah Hui! Are you alright?" Lin Shunhe asked.
"I'm fine. I just had to give a statement, that's all," Lin Hui replied. "Let's go home first before we talk."
The three of them quickly returned to their small courtyard home.
Only after they were inside did Lin Shunhe dare to speak again.
"Ah Hui, word has come from the Lin Family Mansion. Lin Hongyu was also attacked last night, but she only suffered minor injuries. An old friend of mine heard some inside information. It seems it was one of Lin Hongyu's romantic rivals who used her family's power to arrange the attack."
His father's expression was indescribably complex.
On the one hand, Lin Hongyu was the one who had stolen his son's spot, so she deserved what she got. On the other hand, her business had dragged Lin Hongzhen into it, which complicated his feelings. After all, Lin Hongzhen was good to his son, and he had a good relationship with her branch of the family. He didn't want anything to happen to Hongzhen, but now…
"If this is true, then, Mom, Dad, we should do our best not to get involved. An enemy that can strike at two targets at once is definitely not weak… How is Cousin now? Dad, did you go see her?" Lin Hui asked in a low voice.
"I've seen her. She's still unconscious. Your uncle and the others were there, so I just dropped off some restorative supplements and left. You should go see her when you have time, but remember to go when others aren't around," Lin Shunhe said in a low voice.
"Mm, I know." Lin Hui felt a pang in his heart. He had a good relationship with Lin Hongzhen and never imagined she would be dragged into this mess because of Lin Hongyu.
After composing himself at home, he quickly went out and headed to the Government Office's infirmary in town, but he came up empty. Lin Hongzhen had already been taken to the Inner City by people from the Shayue Sect to receive better treatment.
He asked about her condition and learned from the infirmary staff that things weren't looking good. His cousin's injuries were extremely severe, she was still unconscious, and it was very likely she would be left with serious, long-lasting effects.