Stan looked at the cloud symbol and his breathing stopped for a split second. He looked at Feng Yongrui's face and observed him.
...Feng Yongrui wasn't lying.
This cloud symbol... how could he not know what it was?
Stan had been going to many places and visiting many areas while training himself to be stronger. During that time, how could he not know about the rumors regarding The Hidden One?
Stan eyed Feng Yongrui again, observing the latter's face and analyzing every micro expression that he had.
Feng Yongrui had always seen Stan as a younger brother, a friend and a child who did not know much about the world. But actually, it was the complete opposite.
Stan knew what he was like -- he was more mature than others. He was intelligent, shrewd, and calculating. He wasn't some naive little boy. Instead, sometimes he had the feeling that he was smarter than Feng Yongrui.
Stan clicked his tongue and looked at the cloud symbol again. Yup, it was definitely a cloud.
Stan wanted to shake his head and sigh. How could Feng Yongrui be this defenseless and simply tell him about this? Shouldn't Feng Yongrui be wary of him? This person was too trusting.
"Okay, I get it," Stan said after some time.
"So... do you have a way to sneak me into Xu Chao's mansion?" he asked.
Feng Yongrui nodded his head.
"Yup! I've prepared everything, so you don't need to worry."
"Alright. Anyway, I won't be staying here for too long," Stan said. "I just need to stay here for a while, until the time is ripe."
"Until the time is ripe?" Feng Yongrui echoed.
"Yup. I just need to wait until my preparations are ready, and then I can strike," he said.
Looking at Stan's face that was filled with coldness and determination, Feng Yongrui decided not to ask anymore. He simply led Stan to Xu Chao's mansion.
***
When the two of them arrived inside Xu Chao's mansion, Feng Yongrui entered his room carrying a small, cute, puppy. It seemed like an ordinary puppy, but if you looked closely, you would see that it had sharp fangs, just like that of a vampire's.
During the next few days, Stan stayed in Feng Yongrui's room, eating, drinking, and well, being Feng Yongrui's roommate. Just like that, the two of them passed their time pretty well.
During that time, Feng Yongrui didn't hide his "daily reports" from Stan -- well, Feng Yongrui had nothing official or important to report to his Boss, so he didn't mind if Stan read his letters...
But! Feng Yongrui couldn't help feeling embarrassed. After all, those "daily reports" of his... were written in such a flamboyant style that he couldn't help cringing.
When Stan first looked at Feng Yongrui's letter, he had a headache almost immediately.
"What... what kind of writing style is this?!" he cried.
Feng Yongrui had sheepishly looked at Stan and told him that it was his daily reports to his boss. When Stan read each and every one of Feng Yongrui's letters, he shook his head and clicked his tongue.
"Your... Master," he began.
"Boss. He's my Boss," Feng Yongrui corrected.
"...Right. Anyway, your Boss must be an amazing person," Stan commented. "To be able to read this kind of rubbish, ahem, I mean, this kind of report... he must have talent..."
Feng Yongrui: "..."
...In any case, after spending about one week with Feng Yongrui, Stan decided that he was done.
"You're leaving?" Feng Yongrui asked, feeling a little sad.
Having a puppy-vampire roommate had been really nice. It would be a pity to see him go...
"Yeah, I'm going. I might be busy for a while, so maybe I can't reply your letters," Stan told him.
"Oh... okay," Feng Yongrui nodded his head.
"...You're not asking me what I'm going to do?" Stan asked.
"Well, would you answer me if I asked you?" Feng Yongrui raised an eyebrow.
Feng Yongrui wasn't a genius, but based on Stan's behavior during the past few days, he knew that Stan was up to something important. There were also times when he was distracted, as if he was thinking about something...
"I would answer if you're the one asking," Stan replied.
"Well... what will you do?" Feng Yongrui asked.
Stan chuckled and gave a naughty grin.
"I'm going to kill someone."
Feng Yongrui didn't know what to say.
"...You're going to kill Lilith?" Feng Yongrui asked.
Stan nodded, smiling wryly.
"It's silly, isn't it?" he gave a self-depreciating smile. "All this time, I've been running away from one thing. Just because I don't want a confrontation with my sister, I've used so many excuses... I said I want to see the world. I said I want to go on adventures..."
"Actually, I just don't want to meet her," he muttered.
Feng Yongrui stretched out his hand and patted Stan's head lightly.
"Just... just do what you think is right," Feng Yongrui said, sighing softly.
"You know the word 'right' is a little weird, right?" Stan chuckled. "There's nothing about 'right' and 'wrong' here. For people like me, there's only one thing. You either win, or lose..."
"...And if you lose, you'll die," Stan added.
Feng Yongrui wasn't sure on what to say. He hadn't experienced anything that Stan had experienced, and honestly, he knew that Stan must've suffered a lot. Imagine being trapped inside a room for several hundred years, since you were born...
The boredom, the loneliness... the fear... these weren't things that he, as an outsider, could understand.
Feng Yongrui wanted to say some comforting words, but honestly, he didn't know what to say. Should he say some sappy words, or some usual comforting words like "everything will be okay"? That sounded too weird and insincere, for some reason.
In the end, Feng Yongrui could only settle with patting Stan's head for a while.
After what seemed like hours, Stan chuckled.
"...Do you like my hair that much?" Stan teased.
Feng Yongrui felt embarrassed and quickly retracted his hand.
"...You should hurry and leave," Feng Yongrui said awkwardly.
Stan laughed. "So eager to see me leave? Fine. I'm going," he chuckled.
Feng Yongrui escorted Stan away from Xu Chao's mansion and waved goodbye.
***
Feng Yongrui continued the rest of his days normally. About one month later, though, he heard news. Lilith had been overthrown by her younger brother, Stanislov, and now, he was the new Head of the Vampire Clan.
Stan had taken over the Vampire Clan in one big, swift motion. He suppressed anyone and everyone who dared to oppose him and made the elders of the Vampire Clan admit his authority.
Long story short, Stanislov was now the Head of the Vampire Clan. As for Lilith, her fate was unknown. There were rumors that she was dead, but there were also people who said she was kept in the dungeons, tortured for the rest of her life.
When Feng Yongrui heard the news, he didn't really know what to say. But he still sent a letter to Stan, congratulating him. He received a reply after two days, with Stan thanking him and telling him that if he wanted, he could come and visit him.
Feng Yongrui politely declined. While he did want to visit Stan, he still had to work in Xu Chao's mansion and listen to his Boss' orders. If he went to Stan's place and his Boss suddenly gave him orders to do something, then it would be troublesome.
***
While the Phantom Realm was (seemingly) peaceful, the Cloud Realm had been going through tumultuous waves during the past three years.
While Feng Yongrui was busy working for his "Boss", his real Boss, Chen Tengfei, didn't stay idle either.
For starters, he had been busy expanding his authority in the Cloud Realm. One by one, he got rid of his rivals and the people who opposed him.
Now, he was one of the most powerful people in the Cloud Realm. The Heavenly Immortal's children (meaning Chen Tengfei's half siblings) were no match for him.
Even the second prince (Huang Jianyu), the most talented and perfect prince in the Cloud Realm, had been defeated by him.
However, there were two things that obstructed his path to success. The first one wasn't that big, (at least, in his opinion).
There was one person in the Cloud Realm who could oppose him and get away with it, and it was Huang Cuifen, the current Heavenly Immortal's half-sister.
Unlike the Heavenly Immortal's children, Huang Cuifen wasn't naive or easy to take down. She was older and wiser than Chen Tengfei, so every time he tried to tackle her, he would fail.
There were even times when she would retaliate fiercely, making Chen Tengfei sustain losses. In short, she wasn't easy to take down at all.
The second obstacle in his way was the Phantom Realm.
After his spy, Jin Ling, stopped contacting him, Chen Tengfei knew that Jin Ling had been exposed.
Chen Tengfei had sent spies to Xu Chao's mansion several times, but each time, they would be exposed and killed. In the end, Chen Tengfei decided to kill Xu Chao.
However, every time he sent assassins to kill Xu Chao, his plans would be foiled. Not only that, but when he targeted the smaller clans, his plans would still fail!
How could Chen Tengfei stand it?
***
Stan: Oh, is this your letter to your Boss?
Feng Yongrui: Yeah.
Stan: Can I read it?
Feng Yongrui: Sure.
Stan: *reads one paragraph*
Stan: ...I give up.
***
Stan: Your Boss must be amazing since he can read this... rubbish, ahem, I mean, letter...
Feng Yongrui: =_= I heard you say rubbish.