Leave no trace behind

"Brother, you are finally here. Close the door behind you and join me please?" Xiao Lan did not look at his brother when he entered. Xiao Fai had a habit of being nervous in front of the people he trusted, so Xiao Lan didn't think much of his nervous smile.

"Are you alright? I heard about the demonic array you faced. You should not have been anywhere close to that thing risking your life in that form" there was a hint of scolding in that voice but overall his brother sounded relieved.

It warmed Xiao Lan inside to have such a caring brother. He had seen what such relationships did in historical texts and other kingdoms. Most royal siblings did not have a good relationship due to the competition for the throne but their family was different.

Xiao Lan had no need for the throne even when he was the better-suited one so they had a compromise where Xiao Fai acted as the emperor while Xiao Lan ran the kingdom without the official burden of representing it.

Also, the love and mutual respect between them was something most families envied but even they had their problems.

Like right now when Xiao Lan felt as if he could not read his brother fully. The body language of the other screamed that he was uncomfortable in this room.

"I'm quite alright though the array turned out not to be fully demonic in nature. It was a Byakko that was summoned but it was corrupted. I won't be able to tell you anymore till Fu Hua wakes up" Xiao Lan observed the other's expression.

He saw those serious eyes widen in genuine surprise and then dart from him to the body occupying the bed in a swift motion and then back at him. Then a horrified expression filled his brother's face before he had a sword pointed at the bed.

"Xiao Lan, get away from that traitor. I won't let him hurt any more than he already has. Guards, come quick" Xiao Fai worked quickly but Xiao Lan was even quicker. As soon as he had seen his brother's face twisted into recognition, he had acted and muted the room.

No noise would reach outside and no one would disturb them at all.

"I'm more than aware that this is Fu Hua. How curious that he turned out to be alive when I specifically gave the orders to have him killed. Why is he alive again?" Xiao Lan asked his brother in the calmest of his voices.

His brother broke out in a sweat and his eyes darted to the side in an almost ashamed expression. Xiao Lan felt bad just for a few seconds before his eyes hardened back to his usual self.

"You organised his execution so how come he survived?"Xiao Lan's voice had a bite to it now which made the emperor flinch. Good, let him be uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, the day of his execution was a little stressful and it was raining and I might have made a promise or two to Lu Lian and well, I made a mistake? I thought Noble Lee would be able to handle it all" Xiao Lan went quiet.

This one sentence had solved a lot of the mysteries that had plagued him till now. How had Xiao Lan ended up surviving? How he had ended up with Noble Lee? It was all beginning to come together finally.

Now all he had to do was to question Noble Lee behind his purpose and things would go back to normal. He would finally be able to have Fu Hua leave him forever or keep him as a pet to make him repay Xiao Lan and the nation of Hua.

"I see. I'll ask Noble Lee for his reasons then. I'm sorry to disturb you if you were busy brother" the elder gave him a nod before he took the hesitant step outside. It was clear that he didn't want to leave Xiao Lan alone with Fu Hua at all.

Xiao Lan saw that hesitation and gave the other a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, he doesn't recognise me as Xiao Lan. For him, I'm Xiao Ran, a distant cousin on my mother's side who was adopted into the family recently. Besides, his power is still bounded and the captain commander is here too so I'll be alright" not to mention, Xiao Lan could take care of himself just fine.

He had been cursed not crippled and even then he could defeat anyone.

"Alright, I'll trust your judgement for now. But if he did anything that comes off as suspicious do tell me and we'll hang him in real this time" the thoughts brought a pang inside Xiao Lan's heart which he suppressed.

Fu Hua was no one to him now and he should not feel anything at the thought of killing him off. In fact, Xiao Lan would do that as soon as everything was resolved and he got a reason out of Fu Hua.

Then he got the worst news of all in a span of a few minutes.

"Your majesty, we need to make a report. Noble Lee was found dead outside the demonic array we were cleaning. He was poisoned by the demonic miasma and died as a result" Xiao Lan threw the nearest vase at the wall in his rage.

His one and the only lead went off and killed himself. Now, what should he do? Fu Hua was not likely to tell him anything on his own so Xiao Lan had been counting on Noble Lee's input. But now he was dead by his own mistake.

"Don't move the body. I'll be there to check myself" Xiao Lan would check for himself if the other was dead or not and he would get his answers, even if he had to get them out of a dead body. Xiao Lan had his ways to get them, ways he was not really proud of but he did have them.

He was no longer the native and soft boy of before after all. Maybe he never had been and Fu Hua's betrayal had just brought that part out in him.

Outside, the emperor gave a small smile as the soldier passed him off in a hurry. He waited to hear the expected words and he knew Xiao Lan was pissed by the news. The vase had been unexpected but Xiao Lan had always been a little volatile in his nature.

"Your highness, should you not leave now?" the captain commander asked Xiao Fai with a narrow pair of eyes. He did not like how this person just pretended to be someone who he was not.

"I was just catching my breath after the shock I felt. Don't you feel shocked too, Commander?" The emperor's concerned expression seemed almost fake to the commander but he could not really comment on it.

After all, he did not really know the other all that well and it could be his natural expression as well. He was not really in a position to ask here at all.

As for the emperor? He could not be any more satisfied with the result. With Noble Lee dead, none of the people who could spoil his secrets lived any longer. Only the shadows knew his secrets now and they would not betray him.

No, the emperor had far too tight a hold on them for them to be anything but loyal to him. His mind ignored the part where it had happened once, the betrayal of the shadow and it had been Fu Hua who had been the trigger.

But it had been a long time ago and things had changed now. The sun that burned the showers was no longer there. It had turned into ashes and withered away over time. Now only the embers remind and those seemed to also be burning out of the warmth.

No, he had far too tight of a hold on things to let things spring out of his grasp.

"Have you cleaned up after yourself?" Xiao Fai asked once he felt safe enough to call forth the shadow out. The person bowed at him but something seemed different in his body language right now.

"Yes. Things have been taken care of. Noble Lee had been disposed of" Xiao Fai wanted for more to come but the other did not say anything and disappeared back into the shadows. What was wrong with these shadows now to make them behave like this all of a sudden?

He had made sure to beat the disobedience out of them but it looked like they had not been through enough. It cannot be Fu Hua? He had made sure that the connection between them had been snapped thoroughly before he had made use of the other.

Really, what was going on here? Looked like another headache was going to make its way to the emperor before he could relax.

The slave in charge of the clean up just rolled his eyes at the display. Really, nobility and their problems. Can they not be more aware of where and how they are moving? Their dirty feet were leaving footstep marks all around and now the slave would be the one to be punished.

That night, the slave was disposed of as well and was never heard from again.