"Why..." Ling Yunhe seemed to have lost all strength in his body, not even summoning his magical treasure. He stared blankly at the two people before him. "Yun Fei... Fellow Daoist Tian... Why..."
"Second Brother, didn't you say it yourself?" Ling Yunfei looked at him, his gaze steady and unwavering. "Before interests, bonds of fellow disciples, bonds of brotherhood—they're all insignificant. Even if unwilling, one can't help but be swept along."
"..." Ling Yunhe stared fixedly at him, not blinking. He said softly, "Then... are you willing?"
"..." What answered him was Ling Yunfei's silence.
Ling Yunhe sighed deeply. These past days, he had felt unhappy, but today, for the first time, he felt despair.
"Fellow Daoist Tian, what about you? The conflicts within our Jiuyan Sect should have nothing to do with you, right?"
"It has nothing to do with me," Tian Zhiqian still did not look up, keeping his gaze lowered on the jade plate in his hand, his voice indifferent. "It's just that Yun Fei offered reasonable terms."
"Terms..." Ling Yunhe murmured the word, looking at Tian Zhiqian, then at Ling Yunfei, revealing an expression that was both like crying and laughing. "What terms?"
After a long silence, Tian Zhiqian took a deep breath, raised his head, and looked calmly at Ling Yunhe. "You don't need to know what terms. You just need to know that Yun Fei is more generous than you. That's enough."
"..." Ling Yunhe gritted his teeth and continued asking, "Was I not generous to you? We've been friends for a hundred years. Where have I ever treated you poorly?"
Tian Zhiqian sighed, looking at him with a gaze mixed with sympathy and pity. "Ling Yunhe, you've always thought yourself very successful, haven't you? You have talent, background, the favor and nurturing of elders, and the envy and admiration of fellow cultivators of your rank... Unfortunately, you've never known just how much of a failure you are as a person."
"...I truly don't know," Ling Yunhe murmured. "I really don't know where I wronged you, to make you treat me like this."
"Heh." Tian Zhiqian showed a mocking smile. "True, you've always regarded me as your closest friend. But you, towards those close to you, always habitually neglect them. Take this time, for example. How many treasures did you use to invite those people? And to invite me? Just a single sentence. You're always having your closest people help you with this and that, yet you never once think of giving us anything in return. You are indeed generous and trustworthy towards others, but what about towards us? Apart from taking, you never know how to give."
"..." Ling Yunhe stared blankly at this person before him—the friend he once considered closest and most reliable, the friend he would unhesitatingly turn his back to, the friend he relied on in life-and-death crises. Suddenly, he felt that this person who was speaking eloquently with a mocking face was someone he didn't recognize at all.
"Yun Fei, what about you? Do you think the same way?" He shifted his gaze to Ling Yunfei, asking lightly.
Facing this question, Ling Yunfei finally dared not meet his eyes directly, lowering his gaze. "...We both come from the Ling Family's collateral branches. From the moment our Spirit Roots were tested, we've cultivated and grown up together. Second Brother, your Spirit Root is better than mine, your Comprehension higher, your cultivation always faster than mine. As for me, my talent can only be considered decent, and my Comprehension is far worse than yours... All these years, if not for you, perhaps I'd still be at the Foundation Establishment stage, unable to advance to Core Formation before two hundred years of age."
"Since that's the case, why are you treating me like this?" Ling Yunhe stared at him intently. "Have I given you little?"
"Not little," Ling Yunfei raised his head, curling a smile, though there was no mirth in his eyes. "But, Second Brother, I don't want to always follow behind you, waiting for your handouts."
"..." Ling Yunhe looked at Ling Yunfei, not blinking, not speaking.
Ling Yunfei sighed softly and continued, "Second Brother, you have indeed been very good to me. But you... have never placed me on the same level as yourself. For nearly two hundred years, you've always seen me as that Little Six who followed behind you, snot-nosed, calling you 'Second Brother'... You never tell me anything. When you pretended your cultivation had greatly declined, you didn't tell me, letting me be kept in the dark like an outsider. When you planned to come to Carefree Valley, you didn't tell me. If I hadn't insisted strongly, you wouldn't have brought me at all. You have the God-Restricting Bead, you have the Favor-Repayment Token—I knew nothing about any of it... Am I really your most trusted brother? You have so many secrets, you never tell me. You make so many decisions, you never ask for my opinion."
At this point, Ling Yunfei gave a bitter laugh, turned his gaze aside, his eyes revealing determination and resolve. "For nearly two hundred years, I don't want to be that Little Six who follows behind you, snot-nosed, calling you 'Second Brother' anymore."
Ling Yunhe closed his eyes, only opening them when the moist feeling at the corners was gone. He said lightly, "I told you before, within the Jiuyan Sect, within the Ling Family, being able to cultivate purely is a kind of happiness. Since you've hidden your light for so many years, don't you understand this principle?"
"That's your thinking," Ling Yunfei said coldly. "Second Brother, have you noticed you've made another mistake? You always impose your own thoughts on others, never considering that others' thoughts might differ from yours. You're a prominent figure, a favored son of heaven, so you can nonchalantly say you don't want it, you only want the happiness of pure cultivation. But have you ever thought that the reason you can be so melancholily radiant is because you possess everything?" His voice rose, the muscles in his face twitching. He struggled to balance his breathing before continuing calmly, "You never asked me if I wanted it, yet you presumptuously decided what I should be given. This is what you consider being good to me..."
"..."
Ling Yunfei showed a faint, cold smile. "What, nothing to say, Second Brother?"
After a long while, Ling Yunhe said softly, "I truly have nothing to say, Yun Fei. You are indeed no longer that Little Six who followed behind me, snot-nosed, calling me 'Second Brother.' It turns out, I never knew you at all. I have nothing to say."
"Good, then you—"
"However," Ling Yunhe raised his voice, looking coldly at Ling Yunfei, "I want to know, what benefit does killing me bring you? For you to painstakingly scheme and even take the trouble to win over Tian Zhiqian, there must be a great benefit, right?"
Ling Yunfei gave a light laugh and said coldly, "That, you don't need to know."
"Clang—" The longer of the Pair Flying Swords let out a clear ring, flashing with snow-bright light as it stabbed toward Ling Yunhe.
"Clang!" A crisp, clean sound of impact rang out. Ling Yunfei's long sword was knocked back by a surge of spiritual qi.
Seeing who had made the move, Ling Yunfei's expression changed drastically. "You..."
Mo Tiange waved her hand, retrieving the Heaven-Earth Fan, and smiled slightly. "Fellow Daoist Yun Fei, you're too impatient. How could you forget there are outsiders here?"
Ling Yunfei looked at Mo Tiange and Tian Can, a fierce expression appearing on his face. Fortunately, Tian Zhiqian pulled him at this moment, allowing him to calm his expression and speak evenly, "Fellow Daoist Qin, this matter is my Ling Family's internal affair. I hope you won't interfere."
Mo Tiange said lightly, "Other people's business, I can't be bothered to interfere. But this matter, I must interfere." Seeing Ling Yunfei's shocked and angry expression, she laughed. "Has Fellow Daoist Yun Fei forgotten? I came here because I made a deal with Fellow Daoist Ling. The final payment hasn't been received yet. How can I let Fellow Daoist Yun Fei kill my debtor?"
After she finished speaking, Ling Yunfei's expression had turned to astonishment. He was stunned for a moment before saying, "Fellow Daoist Qin, you've already taken the Favor-Repayment Token. What more do you want? If you want something, just take the token to the Jiuyan Sect. Someone will handle it for you."
Mo Tiange's expression remained unchanged, still smiling as she said, "Fellow Daoist Yun Fei, what Fellow Daoist Ling promised me is a great secret. I don't want to tell a second person."
"..." Ling Yunfei was speechless for a long time.
"Yun Fei, she just wants to help Ling Yunhe, deliberately finding an excuse. Don't let her lead you by the nose," Tian Zhiqian reminded him in a low voice beside him.
In response, Mo Tiange merely waved the Heaven-Earth Fan in her hand, smiling without speaking, neither confirming nor denying.
Seeing her behavior, Ling Yunfei's expression darkened. "Fellow Daoist Qin, you should think carefully. Do you really want to fight us?"
Mo Tiange sighed. "If Fellow Daoist Yun Fei doesn't kill my debtor, I don't want to interfere in outsiders' affairs either."
"You—" Ling Yunfei gritted his teeth, swallowing his anger, and looked toward Tian Can, who stood to the side with arms crossed, seemingly watching a show. "Fellow Daoist Tian Can, what about you? I can make a guarantee: as long as you don't intervene, whatever Ling Yunhe promised, I will fulfill according to the agreement. Moreover, I will even provide compensation."
Tian Can lifted his bamboo hat slightly, revealing a pair of pitch-black eyes. A flicker of mockery passed through them. "Fellow Daoist Yun Fei, how can I believe you'll keep your promise? If you go back on your word afterward, I'll have no recourse."
Ling Yunfei's gaze deepened. "I'm killing Ling Yunhe tonight. Both of you are witnesses. Isn't that enough?"
"Heh heh," Tian Can chuckled softly, his tone flippant. "What kind of leverage is that? Ling Yunhe was killed by you. If that gets out, does it affect you? If you dare kill your own blood brother who is deeply favored by the elders, it means there's sufficient benefit, and moreover, you've found a powerful backer. By that time, even if the whole world knows you killed Ling Yunhe, what can they do? There were even rumors that Ling Yunhe plotted against the Ling Family's Eldest Young Master, who was also competing for the Sect Leader position. Didn't he live just fine before this?"
"..." Ling Yunfei was once again speechless. Tian Zhiqian looked at his expression, frowned, then bowed with a smile to the two. "Fellow Daoists, please stop joking. What benefit does interfering in this matter bring you? On the contrary, if you two agree not to interfere, then after killing Ling Yunhe, his belongings will be divided equally among the four of us. How about that?"
"This..." Ling Yunfei was about to say something but was immediately stopped by a look from Tian Zhiqian. Tian Zhiqian, smiling, looked at them, waiting for their answer.
Mo Tiange lightly tapped the Heaven-Earth Fan, not speaking for a long time, as if thinking. As for Tian Can, he lifted his hat as if he hadn't heard, lowered his head, and continued watching the show with arms crossed, even shifting his weight to the other foot to stand more comfortably.
"Equal division..." Mo Tiange turned to Tian Can, smiling. "Fellow Daoist Tian Can, how about this: the two of us join forces, kill them, then kill the defenseless Ling Yunhe, and divide all the belongings equally. How about that?"
Tian Can seemed to think for a moment, then nodded. "A good idea, Fellow Daoist Qin. That way, not only do we have two fewer people to share with, but we also get two extra shares of loot."
"You—" Ling Yunfei couldn't hold back, looking at them with a cold laugh. "Do you think that if you join forces, you can truly defeat us?"
Tian Can sighed, looking sympathetically at Ling Yunfei. "I say, Fellow Daoist Yun Fei, of course I know you've hidden your true strength. But are you really sure that you and this person"—he lifted his chin toward Tian Zhiqian, his gaze contemptuous—"can defeat us?"