A Traitor In Our Midst (I)

Lin Xiaoyan, Wen Ting, and a few other Mages, gathered at the Jinxing entrance, and they were mortified at the sight before them.

The powerful barrier that prevented outsiders from venturing into Jinxing was gone!

"They must have broken the barrier in order to escape." Wen Ting reasoned. "We will go after them."

Lin Xiaoyan raised his hand in a silent order for his men to stay put. "It's too late." He said with a sigh. "The barrier was erected with a powerful spell and cannot be dissolved so easily. Only we, the Jinxing mages, can break the barrier."

Lin Xiaoyan curled his fingers, forming a tight fist, in anger. "That could only mean one thing—there's a spy amongst us."

"I suggest we ask the Yan family for help concerning this matter." Wen Ting whispered to Lin Xiaoyan.

A contemplative look danced across Lin Xiaoyan's face as he considered his aide's suggestion.

….

Back to the youngsters. Jiang Yichen had insisted that he wanted to see where Mingyu's body had been preserved until it was stolen, and so, all four of them had gone to the Lingsi chamber.

"Mingyu's body was kept in this secret chamber, and was preserved with this ice-slab." Lin Xiaowei said as he led them to the ice-slab.

Mingyu gazed at the ice-slab with a soft expression, his chest constricting uncomfortably as emotions he couldn't fathom, flooded his senses. It was like he was being shown his grave.

Shaking his head, Mingyu suppressed the depressing emotions. Emotions led to weakness, and Mingyu had never been a slave to it.

"Did you notice anything suspicious while you were hiding?" Feng Zhenyu directed a question to Jiang Yichen.

"Suspicious?" Jiang Yichen said, giving it a thought before shaking his head. "I didn't. All my attention was on Yinzhi, right here." He turned to face Mingyu with a teasing smile, to which Mingyu responded with a judging side eye.

"Do you think Mingyu might have transferred his soul into another man's body, and came to retrieve his body?" Lin Xiaowei asked no one in particular.

"Can Transmigrators only transfer their souls into people of the same gender?" Jiang Yichen asked instead, while keeping his eyes on Mingyu, enjoying every reaction Mingyu was giving.

"Not really." Feng Zhenyu answered. "But I heard that for things to go smoothly, the best choice is for Transmigrators to pick someone similar to them. Gender, and body structure. It is advised that they should be similar."

"I see." Jiang Yichen nodded, and focused his attention back to Mingyu. "I was only asking, because I've never seen Mingyu's physical appearance. Did Mingyu have the same body structure as Yinzhi?"

What the hell is this man's problem? Mingyu glared at Jiang Yichen, giving him a silent warning.

"What nonsense are you saying?" Lin Xiaowei laughed at Jiang Yichen's ridiculous question.

"Look at him." Lin Xiaowei said, as he suddenly held Mingyu's chin, propping his head up before releasing his chin. "What kind of assassin looks this pretty and adorable?

Mingyu was caught off guard by Lin Xiaowei's touch, but he quickly nodded his head in agreement with Lin Xiaowei's words. "You are right, young master Lin. I'm sure Mingyu was a monster."

"No, he wasn't." Feng Zhenyu said, silencing the rest of them, as they saw the serious expression on his face. "He was human. Let us not belittle the dead, even if he was an assassin."

Did he just speak positively about me? A stunned look appeared on Mingyu's face as he stared at Feng Zhenyu. His chest area which felt constructed earlier on, now felt warm.

Silence reigned in the room after Feng Zhenyu spoke, with no one knowing what next to say, in order to break the awkward silence.

As if sent from the heavens, a man suddenly walked into the Lingsi chamber. "Master Zhang has requested to see you." He announced to the three young masters.

"You two should go without me." Jiang Yichen said to his friends. "That man dislikes me. I'm not in the mood for some scolding."

"Right." Lin Xiaowei patted Jiang Yichen on the shoulder. "Being here will be a lot safer for you."

"Let's go." He said to Feng Zhenyu, and they both left the chamber together with the man that had come to call for them.

Immediately they left, Jiang Yichen moved closer to the ice-slab, and felt it with his hand. "Your body was frozen here, and seeing as there is no rotting smell, your body must still be fine." He said, and faced Mingyu with a straight face. "Mingyu."

A smug smirk played on Mingyu's lips. "That's right. I am the feared Shadow Assassin." He paused, and made eye contact with Jiang Yichen in a fit of challenge, "Mingyu."

"I spent time thinking long, and hard about why you helped me, who was supposed to be a total stranger to you. Did the Yewang send you too?" Mingyu asked with a raised brow.

"No one sent me." Jiang Yichen answered.

"Then why did you help me?" Mingyu pressed on.

Jiang Yichen suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "I already told you, but I guess you did not get the message."

Mingyu scrunched his nose, trying to remember what Jiang Yichen might have told him, but the only thing that came to his mind was…

You have beautiful eyes. He remembered Jiang Yichen's words back at the Golden Lotus.

Realization dawned on Mingyu, and he scoffed. "Don't tell me… you actually fell for me?"

Pfft… Jiang Yichen laughed.

"Don't laugh!" Mingyu yelled, causing Jiang Yichen to immediately stifle his laughter. "That's the only thing that makes sense."

"I do admit repeatedly complementing your eyes. But it was because I desired something from you." Jiang Yichen stated.

"Which was?" Mingyu eyed in him in curiosity.

"I have been searching for someone who can break the sealing spell that has been placed on me. And then, I found you." He said as he moved closer to Mingyu. "Mingyu, I want you to be my master."

Unknown to the two men in the Lingsi chamber, something interesting was happening on the outside.

Lin Xiaoyan, accompanied by many Mages, on tow, strode urgently to the assembly ground, where Master Zhang and some other Mages, were already waiting.

Master Zhang immediately moved closer to Lin Xiaoyan and whispered so that no one could ear. "I heard you borrowed the Yan family's ghost bird."

"Yes, Master Zhang." Lin Xiaoyan replied.

Master Zhang's grey brows furrowed in surprise, pausing for a moment before he said, "I hope it isn't what I'm thinking."

"Sadly, it is exactly what you are thinking." Lin Xiaoyan answered as his gaze swept over the many Mages. "My intuition never fails me. There is a Transmigrator in our midst."