Chapter 86: Eighty-Sixth Day of Being a Salted Fish

“Who knows what you’re thinking.”

This was a conversation Ying Xun had anticipated. From the moment he saw the news on StarNet, he knew that when he finally met Geshu Ming, they would almost certainly end up discussing this matter.

“Avenging Lu Yuan? Sounds nice.” He didn’t need to think to use his prepared lines. Ying Xun took the opportunity to calm his emotions as much as possible, taking another swig of wine.

This time, his movements were considerably more graceful.

Wiping his mouth, he chuckled. “You say that as if you didn’t have a grudge against Lu Yuan yourself. Still, watching you two fight like dogs was quite entertaining – and I made a fortune in the process. My thanks for that.”

“Is that so?” Geshu Ming smiled nonchalantly, her voice cool.

“Of course,” Ying Xun replied, though he was slightly distracted.

With his emotions leveled, he didn’t have time to reflect on his previous performance, nor to feel regret for that momentary slip of composure. His entire mind was focused on one question –

What was Geshu Ming trying to do?

Ever since Geshu Ming left the First Legion, Ying Xun had not had any face-to-face contact with her. He had only heard that she was highly capable; despite her youth, she never showed weakness when facing the older generations of other families. The Geshu Family had flourished under her leadership. But the version of her in Ying Xun’s memory was still the girl from five years ago – a crisp, sharp young woman in military uniform.

Back then, although Geshu Ming’s brilliance was already showing and she was famous for her flawless calculations, she was nowhere near as…

Elusive and unpredictable as she was now.

Geshu Ming watched his reaction, her eyes narrowing slightly, making the misty purple within them seem a bit deeper.

She stood up, retrieved two wine glasses from a nearby shelf, and sauntered back to place them on the table. Then, she took the wine jar from the slightly stunned Ying Xun and filled both glasses.

“Since you don’t believe that… let’s try a different angle.” Geshu Ming shoved a glass into Ying Xun’s hand, forcing a toast with him before sitting back down composedly and taking a sip.

Ying Xun was now fully alert, his mind racing through the possibilities of what Geshu Ming might say next.

Would she continue the topic of the poisoning? Or keep talking about the Command Ship losing control? Or perhaps…

Geshu Ming said, “Even if you don’t believe me, you should believe Lu Yuan. The fact that I could get in here proves he still trusts me – trusts that I won’t make a move against you.”

…Lu Yuan?

Ying Xun’s pupils constricted sharply.

Across from him, Geshu Ming, who had held the initiative and had been deliberately testing him, suddenly showed a look of clear shock.

Her fingers tightened abruptly, the wine glass trembling slightly in her palm. When she spoke again, her voice was noticeably unsteady: “So it’s true. You also think Lu Yuan might still be alive.”

…

“…Heh.”

Ying Xun began to laugh.

Geshu Ming had revealed such a glaring opening; if he couldn’t react to that, he wouldn’t be who he was.

So, the thing Geshu Ming wanted to know was actually this.

It turned out he wasn’t the only one who suspected Lu Yuan was still alive.

Geshu Ming watched his smile and took a deep breath. Her eyes were quietly veiled by a layer of mist.

She didn’t know how many times she had rehearsed these few sentences to Ying Xun in front of a mirror, nor how many times she had simulated this exchange.

Three sentences to confirm three things.

First, Ying Xun had personally witnessed Lu Yuan’s Command Ship lose control. Given his abilities, and his reverence and loyalty toward Lu Yuan, the fact that he hadn’t saved him was enough to prove that under the circumstances at the time, there was virtually no possibility of Lu Yuan surviving.

If there had been even a shred of hope, Ying Xun would have seized it. If he hadn’t, he certainly wouldn’t be sitting here drinking with a clear conscience.

Second, the news of the Emperor’s critical illness wasn’t leaked by Ying Xun, but Ying Xun knew – or had guessed – who they were.

Ying Xun was a notorious riddler. Geshu Ming understood his temperament… she had even figured it out quite thoroughly.

If he had leaked the news himself, or if it had nothing to do with him, he would likely have flatly denied it or simply admitted it – just to keep the other party guessing whether he was telling the truth or lying, trapping them in a logical loop.

But this time, Ying Xun had completely bypassed the question of the online news, and hadn’t even answered whether he knew about Geshu Ming’s poisoning.

Only an ambiguous situation would make him choose this kind of evasive response.

Furthermore.

The person who leaked the news – or rather, the person most suspicious in Ying Xun’s eyes – was likely someone he knew. He didn’t know how they planned to play out the rest of the act and didn’t want to ruin their plans, which was why he was being so vague.

Perhaps it was the very people about to return home with her: Geshu Qing and those two others named Siming and Zhu Rong.

The origins of these individuals were highly suspicious. The fact that they had orchestrated such events was even more intriguing. That Ying Xun was willing to cooperate with them only raised further questions.

And then there was the final point…

Geshu Ming realized that Ying Xun actually suspected Lu Yuan might still be alive!

Ying Xun should have been the person most certain of Lu Yuan’s death.

But if he were truly certain Lu Yuan was dead, his reaction to her final sentence should not have been shock, no matter how one looked at it.

Anger, disdain, or even surprise would have been explicable. Only shock defied all logic.

…Did this mean there really was a possibility that Lu Yuan was still alive?

“You also think Lu Yuan’s hand is visible in all this, don’t you?” Geshu Ming asked suddenly.

Ying Xun spread his hands. “I never said that.”

“I just feel that Lu Yuan might not necessarily stay dead,” he sighed, draining his glass in one gulp. “Even in a situation where death is a certainty, I always feel Lu Yuan might find a way to break through. He is Lu Yuan, after all.”

He looked at Geshu Ming and gave a mocking snort. “As for you, why are you probing into this? Surely it’s not…”

Just as he was about to voice a cynical speculation, the image of Geshu Ming’s slight trembling and the mist in her eyes flashed through his mind. He forced himself to swallow the rest of the sentence: “Surely it’s not because you want to kill Lu Yuan a second time.”

Ying Xun actually knew how deep the friendship between Geshu Ming and Lu Yuan had been. Even though Geshu Ming had once plotted against him, Lu Yuan’s subordinates had never doubted the sincerity of that bond.

But that was precisely why they could not forgive her.

A friendship like that had still proven inferior to the lure of self-interest. Geshu Ming was simply too cold-blooded.

Yet, in this moment, Ying Xun could not bring himself to use that bond to wound her again.

He knew very well that even if Geshu Ming had trapped and used Lu Yuan, she could never have truly wanted him dead.

“…” Geshu Ming shook her head, offering no reply.

Closing her eyes, she began to mentally deduce the entire sequence of events. “…No, I can feel Lu Yuan’s traces in all of this.”

“The appearance of Geshu Qing’s trio – and the fact that they found you with such precision; the news of the Emperor’s critical illness leaking onto StarNet; my personal arrival here to see you. And perhaps… Nan Mu’s return to the country. Nan Yingzhe seeking an alliance with me.”

“That playlist Nan Mu posted on StarNet is also very strange,” Geshu Ming added after a pause.

“The Imperial family is falling into chaos, while we are all reuniting… and the cause and key to everything lies with those three.

“They come from… the Galactic Center? Or somewhere else? They have a deep understanding of the laboratory, yet they don’t seem like people who came out of one.”

“…” Ying Xun was momentarily speechless, staring at Geshu Ming.

As if sensing his gaze, Geshu Ming’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Don’t look at me like that. You never saw what Lu Yuan was like when he first came out of the Research Institute – I doubt Lu Yuan even knows himself. Even if he did, he would never have told you.

“Those two children… they’re one thing, but that man called Siming is far too silver-tongued. He couldn’t possibly be someone who spent a long time in the Research Institute.”

Geshu Ming laughed softly. “Therefore, it is highly likely they are Lu Yuan’s people!”

She was becoming visibly excited, unable to contain herself.

“…” Seeing her joy, Ying Xun finally couldn’t help but ask, “How much certainty do you have in this deduction?”

Though he had thought the same, and though he desperately hoped it was true – even harboring his own delusions that Lu Yuan might be alive – the facts remained.

Not a single clue was definitive.

This was less a logical deduction and more a work of fiction.

“None at all,” Geshu Ming said with a smile.

“You…” Ying Xun gave a bitter laugh. “I didn’t know you were this kind of person.”

In his memory, Geshu Ming’s temperament had always been the most rigorous and cautious of them all.

Ying Xun had never imagined that Geshu Ming would become this happy over an ethereal fantasy that lacked even a shred of evidence.