Chapter 186 Divine Assistance: She's gone, not dead.

"Is that so?" Mei Shiyu propped himself up and walked towards Guan Ye.

Guan Ye suddenly clenched her fist, turned to look at Mu Chenbi and said, "Whether it is true or not, my opinion alone does not count. Everyone knows that Crown Prince Chenbi is proficient in casting and is familiar with all kinds of iron materials in the world. I wonder if the Crown Prince is willing to be a witness for me, Guan Ye, and for the people who died unjustly in the Five Great Workshops?"

Mu Chenbi's handsome face twitched a few times. The truth was about to be revealed. Could he stand firmly on Guan Ye's side? He suddenly remembered what his mother had told him—

"Remember this: you are the Emperor's own son, the rightful Crown Prince of Jin. As long as you don't make mistakes or disobey the Emperor, you will sit in this position forever and will not be replaced by anyone."

—But…if you make a mistake and disobey your father, Mu Chenbi, can you still sit firmly in the Eastern Palace and not be replaced by anyone?

"You think you have a deep father-son relationship with the Emperor, but you don't know that the royal family is cold and indifferent. What they have in abundance is offspring. Under the power of the emperor, it is not uncommon for fathers and sons to turn against each other and brothers to kill each other. Just because you haven't experienced it doesn't mean it hasn't happened."

Father and son turned against each other? Brothers killed each other? Mu Chenbi sighed and smiled inwardly. He had never imagined that Mu Lexiu could take his place as the elder brother...

"A-Jiu? Is it related to Cheng'en Hall?" Mu Chenbi remembered asking his mother that day.

"In the Chengen Hall, there is a sword. It is an ordinary sword, but the Emperor loves it very much. It is as if he loves a person more than the sword."

Mu Chenbi suddenly realized something. Ajiu, who was going in and out of Chengen Hall as if she were home, and the way her father looked at her... She was her father's son, and Ajiu... could she be too?

"No need to wait for your father's summons, spend more time with him." His mother's words echoed in his ears, but the proud Mu Chenbi couldn't bring himself to take a step. Mu Chenbi firmly believed that between father and son, why such a fuss? The visitor from Canglang, the swordsman of Xingguo, he had a traceable past; his face was merely a cruel joke of fate, not something to be feared…

But... Canglang Island isn't isolated from the world. How did Guan Ye, Ma Lin... get to Canglang Island...? Ajiu... must also have a mysterious past that no one knows...

Only by avoiding mistakes and disobeying the emperor can one secure a stable position in the Eastern Palace and avoid being replaced. However, if one commits a grave error and disobeys the emperor or father, then under imperial power, fathers and sons turn against each other, and brothers kill each other. In that case, it's not just about being replaced by someone else, but about falling into hell and never being able to escape.

Mu Chenbi had enjoyed a smooth life for twenty years, never imagining he would have to make this choice today.

"I wonder if the Crown Prince would be willing to bear witness for me, Guan Ye, and for those who died unjustly in the Five Great Wards?" Guan Ye repeated.

“I…” Mu Chenbi didn’t know how to answer.

Guan Ye seemed to have anticipated his hesitation, "Do you remember when we agreed to test our swords at Wan Qixi's stall outside the Ghost Market?"

"I remember." Mu Chenbi's eyes brightened slightly. "I won't forget."

"I didn't want to go that day. But when the sword was forged, I backed down. I knew that trying wouldn't change the outcome, so I decided not to try."

Mu Chenbi asked in a low voice, "Then why did you still show up?"

“I went to keep my promise to you. You asked me outside the Ghost Market. The truth is right in front of me. How can I not be curious?” Guan Ye recalled the events of that day.

Mu Chenbi's dazed face gradually regained its composure. He was moved by Guan Ye's retelling of his words, every single one of which he had spoken that day, and Guan Ye had remembered them all perfectly. She hadn't said a single word wrong.

Guan Ye continued, "I said, we can't change the outcome of defeat; it will only make everyone more frustrated. It seems that no one cares about the truth except me..."

"I care, I want to know," Mu Chenbi interrupted Guan Ye. "This is what I said."

"You know, but what can you do?" Guan Ye stared directly at Mu Chenbi, a dark fire gradually rising in her eyes.

Mu Chenbi approached Guan Ye, "Although we are powerless to resist, as long as we know the truth, one day... one day..." Mu Chenbi suddenly burst into laughter, his rough palms pressing on Guan Ye's shoulders and stroking them repeatedly, "What if I insist on resisting it?"

"I want to know the truth, and I dare to confront it." Guan Ye raised her face. "Everyone is either dead or driven to their deaths. You have concerns, but I won't force you..."

"You're so silly." Mu Chenbi turned Guan Ye's face to face. "How do you know I'm unwilling? I, Mu Chenbi, am willing to bear witness for Guan Ye and for the people who died unjustly in the Five Great Halls. Do whatever you want, I will pave the way for you, that's what I promised you." Mu Chenbi looked down at the sword at his waist. "It's just a pity that I couldn't bring out the Twin Ye Swords. I really want to... get my sword back."

In the main hall, Mei Xiaojing had already prepared the items Guan Ye needed. Although Guan Ye could tell at a glance that the fragment in Mei Changfeng's eyes was brass, in order to have conclusive evidence, she had to verify it again using the ancient method, which was to test the object by draining water.

"Drainage test?" Mei Shiyu studied Guan Ye's movements with great interest. "In that case, everything makes sense."

Mei Xiaojing couldn't understand the reasoning behind it, and said with her chin in her hand, "My cousin likes to speak in a mysterious way. How does this make sense? Just tell me."

Mei Shiyu said calmly, “My father also told me about the method of testing objects by draining water. It was Ma Yanyu, Xiao Ma’s father, who demonstrated it to him. My father found it boring, but Ma Yanyu said that this method was ingenious and could be used in the mint. The Gongcheng Money Shop might be able to use it someday. It’s never a bad thing to have more skills. It won’t hurt to learn it.”

"Oh." Mei Xiaoqing became interested and squatted down to watch even more intently. "Then I want to learn too. Guan Ye, take it slow."

Mu Chenbi then asked, "And who taught Ma Yanyu that?"

Mei Shiyu continued, "Father said that's what he asked too. Ma Yanyu is a notorious playboy in Rongdu, skilled in eating, drinking, and having fun. He doesn't seem like someone who would learn any skills. Ma Yanyu said that the young lady from Tianhu Fang came to his house and was exchanging techniques with Old Master Ma. The young lady's brother was clamoring for fruit, so he went to bring the fruit to the young master. He was attracted by the young lady's techniques and squatted down to watch for a while." Mei Shiyu pointed to his cousin, "Xiao Jing, Ma Yanyu must have looked just like you back then."

“Miss Lu?” Mu Chenbi murmured, “Lu Chaoge.”

Mei Shiyu nodded, "When Father was alive, he often thought of Miss Lu. They were all around the same age and came from prominent families in Rongdu. Their elders had many interactions with them. Father said he asked Ma Yanyu, and Tianhufang and the Ma family were close friends. Miss Lu was a peerless swordswoman, so why didn't the Ma family ask for her hand in marriage? Ma Yanyu said that he was too weak to even hold a heavy sword, let alone ask Lu Chaoge for a hand in marriage. No matter how deep the friendship was, it would be exposed by Lu Chaoge's sword, leaving several bloody holes. That would be too tragic."

Mu Chenbi smiled and said, "You mentioned Ma Yanyu. He's quite an interesting person."

Mei Shiyu replied with a smile, "Whenever Father recalls this old friend, he also speaks of it with a smile."

"Then..." Mu Chenbi hesitated for a moment before asking, "Lu Chaoge is a noble lady from Rongdu, with extraordinary talent and beauty. Her admirers must flock to her and wear down the threshold of Tianhufang. I wonder if Miss Lu has someone she likes?"

Mei Shiyu was almost at this point when he said, "Who wouldn't admire a woman like that? Father said that Grandfather told him to visit Tianhufang more often when he has nothing to do..."

"—Is that the kind of person your uncle is?" Mei Xiaojing stared at Guan Ye, her ears also busy listening.

Mei Shiyu looked embarrassed. "Let me finish. One day, someone from Tianhu Fang came to the bank to deposit silver. Father recognized him as a swordsman who served Lu Chaoge. He asked if Miss Lu was in the bank that day, but who knew... that man's face changed drastically, his eyes filled with murderous intent, as if he wanted to devour Father. Father was so scared that his legs were trembling. Father said that Lu Chaoge has many admirers, and quite a few people covet her. Even a lowly swordsman treats his young lady as his own. If he dares to make a move on Lu Chaoge, he'll be riddled with holes..."

"What will happen then?" Mei Xiaoqing asked curiously.

"That would mean making enemies of the world, and you might not even be able to keep your success."

Mu Chenbi frowned. "Mei Junhe is a man of some stature. Even if he was young then, he wouldn't be so easily frightened by a swordsman."

“It’s because he’s someone important that I know some people and some things are untouchable.” Mei Shiyu slowly continued, “Not long after, my father heard that Lu Chaoge had met a… extraordinary person.”

"A big shot, is he something else?" Mu Chenbi's phoenix-like eyelashes fluttered, waiting for Mei Shiyu to continue.

Mei Xiaojing raised her face, "What kind of person could be more important than my uncle?"

Mei Shiyu's pale face glowed slightly. "He could get Lu Chaoge and Guan Xiaotian to study ancient methods all night long, and even made a bellows with spiral blades to melt stones for him; he could persuade Lu Chaoge to personally open the furnace to burn materials to forge swords for him. Isn't that an extraordinary person?"

Upon hearing her father's name, Guan Ye, who was in motion, suddenly froze. She had created a spiral fan to melt stone for him? White fireworks... Her father said he had seen fireworks that burned white, and that... meteorite, back then, was just a hair's breadth away from being melted.

"They...burned into white flames," Guan Ye murmured, looking up. "...to melt that stone..."

Mei Shiyu's eyes flashed with fire. "Grandpa Ma saw it too. Ma Yanyu told my father that he regretted not going to Tianhu Workshop that day. Ancient books record that when white fire rises, all things melt. When Tianhu Workshop burns with white fire, it must be forging divine weapons. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"What kind of person could persuade Lu Chaoge to forge a sword for him personally?" Mu Chenbi muttered to himself. He suddenly remembered his mother's bewitching gaze—there was a sword in Cheng'en Hall.

The emperor loved her terribly, as if he loved a person more than a sword.

Her sword, her person... the untold past in Chengen Palace... it was her.

"It's a meteorite." "It's the Chaoge Sword."

Guan Ye and Mu Chenbi opened their mouths at the same time. Although they said different things, their eyes met and their thoughts were connected. They were thinking of the same person and the same thing.

The meteorite that Father wanted to melt twenty years ago was taken to Canglang Island by Cui Jin twenty years later. What Father and Lu Chaoge didn't have time to accomplish was achieved by someone on Canglang Island... Wait! Guan Ye stood there stunned. White flames... Father and Lu Chaoge studied the ancient method of melting stones and burned them into white flames. Spiral air blowing can only gather the fire and accelerate it, but it can't burn white flames. Father didn't even know the secret of white flames... That means that only Lu Chaoge knows this method.

Then… how was the white fire of the Heavenly Furnace on Canglang Island produced? Guan Ye closed her eyes, racking her brains for the events of that day: Jiang Muyun stepped closer to the raging flames. A strong wind blew that day, and her hair was instantly burned to ashes. Jiang Muyun blew a strand of hair away, spread her arms, and plunged into the bottom of the furnace, disappearing from everyone's sight in an instant…

Under the furnace, everyone exclaimed, "Fireworks! White fireworks!" Guan Ye saw them too. This was the color that only appeared when the fire was at its peak. Her father said, "Those fireworks are like thousands of pear blossoms." Her father had only seen them once in his thirties.

The white flames dissipated, and wisps of blue smoke rose. At the bottom of the furnace, the meteorite, which had been burning for a long time without melting, mingled with Jiang Muyun's flesh and blood, melting into jet-black, blood-stained molten iron.

"It's done! It's done!"

"The furnace god has appeared, and the sword has been forged into a weapon! The furnace god has appeared, and the sword has been forged into a weapon!"

"The treasure is hidden in the furnace, and the lonely island is always bright in the night; if you want to know that the sky will shake, the sword will ring out." Pei Yuan's long roar echoed in my ears. The water test was completed. Guan Ye was panting heavily. She stood up with the crossbow fragment in her hand. Suddenly, the world spun and her legs went weak. She was about to fall to the ground.

"Guan Ye!?" Mu Chenbi rushed forward and supported her swaying body. "What's wrong with you?"

Guan Ye's face was pale, her mind still racing: Xingguo Workshop had no techniques left besides the Heavenly Furnace. Pei Chu had racked his brains for months, and if he could come up with a solution, he would never stand by and watch Pei Yuan sacrifice a living person to the furnace, especially not the woman he deeply loved. Jiang Muyun was Pei Chu's maid... serving the young master of the Pei family every day... even if she had heard Pei Chu explain the "Casting Classic," she still couldn't produce white flames...

Father said that burning a living person in the furnace is the same as burning livestock, except that the oil from the living creature is used to aid combustion, and the effect is negligible. So why... why did Jiang Muyun's throwing into the furnace melt the meteorite?

This was a question that Guan Ye had been unable to understand for a long time. She even wanted to believe that it was truly the blessing of the furnace god, or that Pei Chong's injustice had moved heaven and earth, helping Xingguofang return to Rongdu... Such absurd thoughts would make her father crawl out of the ground and slap his daughter in the face if he knew.

People tend to attribute things that defy common sense to divine intervention, but Xingguofang's journey back to the capital was fraught with hardship, and it was on the verge of utter ruin. If there truly was a furnace god, and if Heaven were truly merciful, why would it guide everyone down this path of no return?

The previously inexplicable mystery is now gradually flooding Guan Ye's mind with clues, creating a chaotic mess that is giving her a headache—when she opens her eyes, she sees white flames, and when she closes them, she sees the last thing Jiang Muyun left her.

And then there were Pei Chu's chilling words, repeated over and over again: "She's not dead. Jiang Muyun is still alive. She's gone, not dead."