All the hardships Lance Quinn has endured over the years—Storm Cloud Bu and Vincent Su have seen it for themselves. Hearing him speak like this, neither of them could bring themselves to blame him any further. The burden Lance carries is simply too great...
One man shouldering the weight of the Former Dynasty’s imperial clan, another surviving in a world of blades and shadows, living through one scheme after another—this kind of suffering is beyond imagination, and not something ordinary people could bear. Just watching from the sidelines, Storm and Vincent worry for Lance; how much worse must it be for Lance himself?
Storm Cloud Bu and Vincent Su feel for Lance Quinn, but all they can do is sympathize. They can help ease his worries, but they can’t do anything for Ninth Royal Uncle. He sits at the very top, facing endless hidden attacks—he can rely on no one but himself.
Seeing Lance Quinn’s dark expression, Vincent Su quickly changes the subject and brings up business: "Lance, General Warren Yu sent word from his side. On Snow Peak in Northlyn, he’s found signs of someone’s footprints. He’s personally climbed Snow Peak several times to investigate, but each time the person managed to shake him off. Warren suspects whoever is on Snow Peak is tied to the Former Dynasty, and hopes you can send someone to help him."
General Warren Yu is a military man, skilled at commanding troops, but his personal combat ability can’t match those top jianghu experts. Searching Snow Peak for someone isn’t something that can be solved just by numbers.
"People from the Former Dynasty?" Lance Quinn mulled over the words. Warren Yu isn’t one to make wild guesses—if he says this, he must have proof.
Thinking of that thunderbolt earlier today, Lance Quinn vaguely felt that perhaps Heaven really does have a plan: "Storm, Vincent, have you noticed? Ever since Serena Feng stepped out from the boudoir and into the public eye, people and secrets tied to the Former Dynasty keep surfacing, and our work has gone much more smoothly. It’s like she carries some invisible force that draws these buried truths into the open."
Normally, Lance Quinn would never say something like this, but today, for some reason, he felt certain things were somehow linked to Serena Feng. He doesn’t believe in ‘destiny,’ but some things really do seem like only ‘destiny’ can explain them.
Lance’s words sent Storm Cloud Bu and Vincent Su into deep thought. Their eyes met in midair, faces suddenly changing as they blurted out together: "Could Serena Feng be the Heaven-Mandated King of Phoenixfield that the Phoenixfield clan prophesied?"
"Heaven-Mandated King of Phoenixfield?" Lance Quinn shook his head in disagreement. "Impossible. The King of Phoenixfield’s title passes through men, not women. Serena Feng absolutely can’t be what the Phoenixfield clan meant by the Heaven-Mandated King. Besides, what is ‘destiny,’ anyway? As long as you succeed, that’s destiny."
If the Phoenixfield clan could truly see ‘destiny,’ how could they have watched their own destruction and done nothing? Don’t waste time on things that don’t exist—I make my own fate, not Heaven. If I really believed in destiny, then what am I doing now? The Lan clan’s downfall, in their mouths, was just Heaven’s will.
Lance Quinn said this to remind Storm Cloud Bu and Vincent Su not to chase after supernatural explanations—there’s nothing in this world that can’t be changed. He was also telling himself: don’t get lost in talk of ‘destiny.’ He can’t afford to stumble; if he falls, he’ll never get back up again.
"You’re right. If we did everything according to destiny, we wouldn’t need to do anything at all. Even if destiny exists, we should defy it." Storm Cloud Bu’s gaze was deep, a mysterious light flickering in his eyes, as if he was seeing someone else through Lance Quinn.
Lance Quinn vaguely understood Storm’s thoughts. Beneath the mask, a faint smile appeared on his handsome face. His goal achieved, he dropped the topic and returned to business: "If Warren Yu is suspicious, this is no small matter. Storm, send Brandon Bu to help Warren Yu investigate what’s happening on Snow Peak."
Lance Quinn never sends two decision-makers to the same place. Even if he dispatches someone, that person will follow Warren Yu’s orders—this is his way of showing respect.
"Brandon Bu? Is he up to it? Maybe I should go instead? If I do, I’ll follow Warren Yu’s orders." Storm Cloud Bu knows Lance Quinn’s rule: every mission has only one leader. That way, those below won’t be pulled in different directions.
"No need. You stay in the Imperial Capital. Unless something unexpected happens, things are about to get very lively here." Beneath the mask, Lance Quinn’s lips curled into a subtle, meaningful smile at Storm Cloud Bu.
Bao’er is in the Imperial Capital. If he sends Storm Cloud Bu away, who will stay with Bao’er? When Bao’er is hurting, who will comfort her?
He wants to use this chance to let Bao’er see his true self. The Bao’er she knows is only Lance Quinn, but that’s not really him.
If Bao’er is going to marry him, she won’t be marrying Lance Quinn, but the famous Ninth Royal Uncle—a cold, ruthless, and distant man who would sacrifice anyone if necessary. If Bao’er is going to marry him, she has to understand his identity: he can never live as a jianghu wanderer.
Of course, there was no need to explain any of this to Storm Cloud Bu. As long as he understood, that was enough.
Vincent Su vaguely grasped Lance Quinn’s intentions. He wanted to say something, but Lance caught him first—with a cold glance like a knife, Vincent silently lowered his head.
Fine. He knew nothing. Storm Cloud Bu probably didn’t mind being outmaneuvered by Lance Quinn anyway—one is willing to plot, the other to be plotted against. Why bother playing the good guy? Instead of worrying about all this, it was better to focus on real business. In fact, he was the only man left here still thinking about business.
"How should we handle Prince Damien of Southlyn and Su Wan? Ninth Royal Uncle snubbed Su Wan so publicly today; when Prince Damien arrives in Eastlyn, he’ll surely use it as an excuse to provoke him. Remember, when he built his underground palace in Eastlyn, it was destroyed by Ninth Royal Uncle—and he nearly lost his life to him as well. With his vengeful nature, he won’t let this chance slip by." Kingdom and beauty: the kingdom comes first, beauty second. With a kingdom, what beauty can’t be had? Vincent wanted to say this, but seeing Lance Quinn’s cold, hard face, he swallowed the words.
No matter what, he always kept Lance Quinn and Ninth Royal Uncle separate—just as Lance Quinn insisted. Only by treating them as two distinct people could they avoid giving themselves away.
"It was a serious mistake that Ninth Royal Uncle didn’t kill him when he had the chance, but there’s no use talking about it now. Prince Nathan of Southlyn is the only one who can deal with Prince Damien. With Nathan’s patience and skill, Damien won’t last long."
As for the Southern Lyn Su Clan, their power is great, but their ties to Lyndaria and Southern Lyn are too complicated. Even marrying Su Wan wouldn’t guarantee their full support. Rather than accept Su Wan’s alliance, it’s better to win over Night City. The Night City Ironroot Cavalry is far more valuable to us—after all, empires are won by force, and armies matter most.
Rejecting Su Wan may have been a little rash, but Ninth Royal Uncle will do his best to minimize the fallout. At worst, he’ll just have to put in a little extra work to find Su Wan a suitable ‘home’...