I stared at him for a long moment, lips trembling.

  “You… just said… on me?”

  “Mm.” Big Brother nodded, expression warm yet firm.

  “That jade pendant looks like ordinary Shoushan stone. But inside the bottom layer is the National Pacification Seal, carved with the Nine-Five insignia. There is only one such piece in the world.”

  I: “……”

  “Our Nangong forces split into three routes to mislead the court and cover your escape. Now that you still have the pendant, your mission is considered complete.”

  My throat seized.

  The sip of wine I just swallowed lodged halfway down—I nearly sprayed it all over his face.

  “I… I messed up.”

  He was arranging the map when his hand froze mid-fold.

  “You said what?”

  I whispered like a dying mosquito, “I messed up.”

  His eyes finally lifted, narrowing.

  “Say it again.”

  “I… I gave it away. That day. For someone’s birthday. I just… casually gifted it.”

  My brother’s gentle-breeze face instantly switched to thunderstorm season.

  “Gave. It. Away?”

  “…Yes.”

  “To. Whom.”

  I took a guilty half-step back. “A friend.”

  He inhaled slowly. “What kind of friend?”

  “…A guy.”

  His eyebrow twitched. “Which guy?”

  I whispered, “Lian.”

  “Who?”

  “…The Blood Lotus Sect Leader. Lian.”

  Three seconds of dead silence.

  Even a pine jay in the distance choked mid-caw.

  My brother shot to his feet.

  “You gave the National Pacification Seal—to the Blood Lotus Sect Leader?!”

  “……Yes.”

  “And you even… celebrated his birthday?”

  I nodded. “…Held a banquet.”

  “Are you INSANE?!”

  I waved frantically, “I didn’t know he was Blood Lotus back then!”

  A vein started twitching in Nangong-bo’s temple.

  He looked like he was fighting the urge to cough up blood.

  “You still dare say it out loud? You gave it to a man?”

  I wilted further. “Don’t be mad. Actually he used to… used to serve in our manor…”

  “What position?”

  I swallowed.

  “…Pet.”

  “Pet?”

  “No. A… male pet.”

  “……”

  Even the air vibrated with despair.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  The system, having pretended to be dead for a while, finally popped out:

  【Warning: High-pressure emotional zone detected. Suggest host immediately reduce verbal output to prevent escalation into ‘Nangong Domestic Physical Education.’】

  I had already backed behind a tree, hugging my wine pouch like a shield.

  “Don’t be mad … He’s actually… not a bad guy. He even saved my life…”

  He let out a laugh so cold it cut bark.

  “Saved you? You’ve just sold out half the Nangong Manor! Do you know the royal family already suspects we hid the seal? That’s why they’re hunting us to extinction! And you—

  you delivered it straight into enemy hands! The next step is them killing you to silence the trail!”

  “I didn’t know it’d turn out like this!!”

  My voice cracked. “I just wanted to give him a gift! Who knew he’d take it seriously?!”

  “Of course he took it seriously.”

  He gritted each word, jaw tight.

  “You gave him the National! Pacification! Seal! If he didn’t take it seriously, I would be offended for him!”

  I: “……”

  “Did you tell him the pendant’s secret?”

  “No no, I only just learned myself! I only told him… it was my most precious thing…”

  “……”

  His face froze over like winter frost.

  “You do realize what that sentence means to a male conc—no, to any man, don’t you?”

  “So… he was touched?”

  “He is done being touched—he’s probably out gathering troops to rebel!!”

  My legs gave out and I sat on the dirt with a wail.

  “Don’t kill him—he’s honestly pretty nice! I know I was tricked, but… but it was… voluntary!”

  “You’re still defending him?!”

  I covered my face. “I’m so mad at myself too!!”

  The system sighed:

  【Ding—Plot Update: Nangong First Young Master has decided to personally hunt down the Blood Lotus Sect Leader. Host must intervene immediately, or your previous ‘romantic investments’ will be incinerated.】

  I gritted my teeth, lunged forward, and wrapped myself around my brother’s leg.

  “Bo!!Just trust me this once! Give me a little time—I swear I’ll get the seal back and deliver it to you myself! If not, I’ll crawl back with it in my teeth!”

  He lowered his head, clearly unconvinced, but asked, “You’re sure?”

  “I! Am! Sure!”

  I thumped my chest.

  “Lian may be temperamental, sharp-tongued, armed with too many blades—but he’s honorable and keeps his word! I said I can get it back, so I will—”

  He snorted.

  “A man who can beat you into the ground and still have you clinging to him—why do you think he’ll listen to you?”

  I straightened my spine, righteous as a martyr.

  “I’m betting he has some conscience left! And—

  I can’t always rely on others to save me. I’ll take it back myself!”

  I was so impassioned I almost convinced myself.

  Bo was silent for a long, long moment.

  Then he finally relented.

  “…Fine. I’ll give you five days.”

  “Five days is enough!”

  I nearly raised my hand to swear again.

  “If I can’t get it back in five days, you can chop off my leg!”

  He ignored that and added coldly:

  “If you fail, I’ll personally wipe out Blood Lotus Sect.”

  My scalp cracked open from fear.

  “Don’t! What if you actually lose to him?!”

  He lifted a brow.

  “Then I’ll drag him to the grave with me.”

  The system’s voice chimed in:

  【Ding—Side Quest Updated! “Return of the Seal” unlocked. Difficulty: SSS.

  Time limit: 5 days.

  Goal: Retrieve the National Pacification Seal from Lian without losing limbs, head, or life.

  Failure consequence: Host physical disappearance OR Lian’s social death. One will occur.】

  I: “…Why isn’t my brother’s social death an option?”

  System:【He would dig you out of the grave to continue educating you. Not recommended.】

  I decided survival was my top priority.

  So I suggested,

  “Bo, maybe you should go into hiding for now. I’ll sneak in, grab the thing, and sneak back out. Frontline combat is… not ideal for your age.”

  He narrowed his eyes.

  “I’m thirty-two.”

  “But just now when you sat down, you looked seventy.”

  He raised a fist—

  I immediately bowed and fled.

  “Understood understood! I shall go fix this mess!!”

  By the time I sprinted back to camp, the forest edge was wiped clean.

  Trees splattered with blood, bodies strewn like bean curd slices.

  Hua sat cross-legged beneath a trunk, tapping his shoe sole with his folded fan, wiping blood off his blade as if polishing lacquer.

  Lian stood on the slope above, red robes flying, back to me.

  “Where is he?” he asked without turning, voice cold as an ice cellar draft.

  Hua clicked his tongue.

  “You think I know? Your runaway little lover disappeared right after the fight. Did someone kidnap him again?”

  I yelled, “Don’t accuse innocent people! I didn’t run—I went for a… walk!”

  Both men turned to look at me, their expressions identical:

  Ah, a ghost crawled out of its grave.

  Lian frowned.

  “You weren’t here.”

  “I was! I just—just—”

  I swallowed, forcing a grin so wide it hurt.

  “I just figured the West Altar traitors were too weak to warm you two up, so I—didn’t want to interrupt!”

  Hua eyed me suspiciously.

  “That wine smell on you—where exactly did you ‘walk’?”

  I clutched my chest and coughed.

  “The flowers by the road were… intoxicating.”

  Lian walked slowly down the slope, eyes locked on me.

  “There is something on you.”

  My eyes darted.

  “…N-no. Nothing.”

  And I immediately forced a bright smile.

  “Let’s discuss happier topics! For example—what’s for dinner tonight?”

  Hua: “You.”

  Me: “?”

  Lian stopped in front of me, expression dark.

  “You look guilty. Like you’re hiding something important.”

  I froze.

  A chill shot down my spine.