I’ll Definitely Play the Stand-in Villain

Chapter 21: Investigation

Meanwhile, deep into the night, when all was silent.

The Wu Residence was far from peaceful.

Wu Ruyue sat before her bronze mirror, grooming herself.

Reflected in the mirror was her peerlessly beautiful face—without any powder, her shoulders sharp as if carved by a blade, her black hair loosely draped over them.

Compared to her usual self, her eyes and brows carried less sharpness and more softness.

“If what Shen Yanzhou said was true, then Shen Tian’s trip to the Imperial Capital must have another purpose.”

“On the way, he told me that he came to the capital to find an old acquaintance, though they had never met. He could only rely on a token in his hand to search.”

Wu Ruyue pondered as scenes from the day replayed in her mind.

She had known Shen Tian for nearly a year—their bond was deep.

If not for the shocking information Shen Yanzhou had revealed today, she might never have suspected Shen Tian so easily.

Moreover, the most crucial point was that Shen Yanzhou had produced a personal decree from the Demon Suppression King, even revealing many secrets never known to the world.

Such honesty—did he not realize that if those secrets were made public, the Demon Suppression King’s glory could be overturned in an instant?

“It’s this late already. Shen Tian should have gone to rest.”

Thinking so, Wu Ruyue lightly put on her outer robe, stood up, and gazed out the window.

The courtyard room where Shen Tian stayed was not far from hers.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Wu Ruyue softly blew out the candle in her room, pushed open the door, and prepared to walk in that direction.

“Hm?”

But just as she left her courtyard, a faint sound reached her ears.

She froze briefly, then her eyes flashed sharply.

Quickly restraining her breath, she hid herself behind a nearby rockery.

By the faint moonlight, Wu Ruyue soon saw clearly the figure who had just closed a door and leapt lightly onto the courtyard wall—it was none other than Shen Tian.

She was all too familiar with Shen Tian’s aura.

Yet now he wore a scarf that concealed his face and seemed to have altered his height and form slightly using some cultivation art.

“This late at night, Shen Tian is sneaking out of the Wu Residence—what is he planning to do?”

“Moreover, when he moved just now, the flow of inner energy around him surged like waves. That’s clearly the power of someone in the Sixth Rank, Sea-Cleaving Realm.”

Wu Ruyue’s heart trembled.

She had always thought Shen Tian was only in the Seventh Rank, Blood-burning Realm.

She never imagined he had already broken through to the Sixth Rank—it had just never been revealed.

If she had not seen it with her own eyes tonight, she would never have known.

At that moment, Wu Ruyue recalled the words Shen Yanzhou had spoken during the day: Shen Tian’s return to the capital with her was just a pretense; in truth, his stay at the Wu Residence had another motive.

All those words he had said along the journey—how much of them were true, and how much false?

What else was he hiding from her?

“Shen Tian, if you truly are a hidden agent of Beiyu’s Ancestral Spirit Underworld Path, don’t blame me for disregarding our past friendship.”

Wu Ruyue took a deep breath, her gaze turning cold.

Without hesitation, she gathered her aura and leapt lightly onto the eaves like an agile cat, silently following after Shen Tian from afar.

……

“Never would I have thought—the Demon Suppression Prince’s Mansion plans to form a marriage alliance with the Marquis of Divine Might’s Residence. That Zhao Qingchan would fall into the hands of that wastrel Shen Yanzhou?”

Shen Tian, having altered his physique and bone structure, easily vaulted over the walls of the Wu Residence.

With a special scarf covering his face, only his eyes were visible, cold light flickering within them.

He had never met Zhao Qingchan, but he had heard of this proud daughter of heaven.

Not that he had any desire to possess her—but a worthless fop like Shen Yanzhou being allowed to wed her? Wasn’t that only because of the Demon Suppression Prince’s backing?

In Shen Tian’s mind, everything that man had—should have belonged to him.

That wastrel had stolen far too much from him.

It was time that stain be wiped clean from the world.

“That day won’t be far. Once I reclaim everything that was mine, those who caused me to suffer and wander shall drown in rivers of blood.”

Shen Tian took a deep breath and quickly steadied his mind.

Over the past two days, he had already investigated the Wu Residence’s patrol routes thoroughly.

By this hour, Wu Ruyue should have been asleep.

With his cultivation level, he could leave unnoticed.

“This jade token… they said it could reveal the truth of the Demon Suppression Prince’s Mansion incident from twenty years ago.”

“That night, when the Princess Consort gave birth, the mansion was attacked by an unknown enemy. A great fire almost burned a hundred acres of courtyards and pavilions to ashes…”

In Shen Tian’s hand was a slightly damaged jade token.

A faint chill emanated from within, seeping into his organs and meridians—into his very soul.

He needed to uncover the truth of that year.

In that great fire—had the Demon Suppression King’s heir been switched?

How had he been found by his master along the way, saved, and then raised within the Pure Tranquility Pavilion to cultivate and grow?

All these mysteries—he had to uncover them himself in the Imperial Capital.

“That mysterious person who gave me this jade token in the Southern Border—could he have been the Demon Suppression King himself?”

“If it was him, then he must know the truth of that night better than anyone.”

Shen Tian’s mind churned with thoughts, completely unaware that a figure was silently shadowing him from the dark alleyway at a distance.

……

On the western side of the Imperial Capital, within a quiet courtyard, Fu Yuying, the Saintess of Luofu Cloud Cavern, was reading the secret report sent from her sect.

Her slender fingers crumpled the specially-made letters.

“Shen Tian’s past is indeed suspicious. Although he carries a sword case, in the Southern Border he never once drew his blade.”

“Furthermore, before his training there, no one knew where he came from. His past seems shrouded in mist.”

Beside her, Chu Xiuer couldn’t help but ask, “Elder Sister, do you truly believe the words of that wastrel?”

Fu Yuying shook her head.

“It’s not belief—it’s deduction based on countless traces and clues. He didn’t lie to me.”

Chu Xiuer fell silent.

With her mind, it was difficult to grasp all the hidden intricacies.

Yet to think that Shen Yanzhou, the Demon Suppression King’s heir known to all of the capital, was merely a stand-in—it was too unbelievable.

“Saintess, the watchers outside the Wu Residence report that a figure secretly left the estate at midnight.”

At that moment, a masked shadow silently leapt into the courtyard, kneeling to report.

Fu Yuying nodded, a trace of expected calmness in her beautiful eyes.

The day she had learned from Shen Yanzhou’s own lips that the true heir was Shen Tian, she had immediately ordered people to keep surveillance over the Wu Residence.

“Where did he go?” Fu Yuying asked.

After midnight, the city was under curfew.

Patrol squads and watchmen roamed every street and alley.

For someone to move at such an hour—it was undoubtedly suspicious.

“‘Our people only dared to tail him from the shadows, for fear of alerting the patrols or the night watchmen.

From the looks of it, that figure seems to be heading toward Wufan Market,’” the kneeling man reported.

“‘Wufan Market has always been a place of chaos and mingled crowds within the Imperial Capital. If that figure truly was Shen Tian, as the real heir, what business could he have there?’”

Fu Yuying fell into thought.

After a moment, she turned to Chu Xiuer beside her, giving a brief order, before deciding to go there personally.

The Imperial Capital was filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons—among the night watchmen were martial cultivators skilled in both the physical and spiritual paths.

If she were to send Chu Xiuer or others to follow, she could not feel at ease.

……

“Heard there’ve been rats sighted in the Eastern Palace Martial Treasury a few days ago?”

“That’s under the jurisdiction of the Chilin Guards. Has nothing to do with us. I’d wager some official’s pockets ran dry—just doing a little “side business.”

“‘Hah, less talking, more patrolling.’”

At the entrance of Black-Clad Alley, several soldiers dressed in dark armor followed behind a night watchman with a bronze gong at his waist, lanterns in hand, chatting idly as they made their rounds through the streets.

As the Imperial Capital of the Great Qian Dynasty, Yujing City naturally had excellent security.

Even the pleasure quarters filled with music and laughter would close promptly at curfew.

Aside from a few noble scions relying on their ancestral privileges to wander about, the patrol guards rarely encountered any real trouble.

Notably, one of those troublemakers was often none other than the Demon Suppression King’s heir, Shen Yanzhou...

Other than that, the guards simply patrolled nightly, clocked out on time, and collected their monthly wages of a few taels of silver and a couple of stones of rice—an enviable post by any measure in the capital.

In other cities, disturbances by sect disciples or demonic cultivators at night were common, and patrol casualties were frequent.

If one managed to advance and become a night watchman, however, the salary and treatment were altogether different.

Yet to qualify as a night watchman, one not only needed a spotless background but also cultivation at the Eighth Rank, Bone-tempering Realm.

That threshold blocked many, for even reaching that realm meant one could serve as a private guard to noble families in other cities—living well, eating richly, and treated as an honored guest.

Hidden in the shadows, Wu Ruyue suppressed her aura, listening absentmindedly to the idle chatter of the patrol guards.

“Rats in the Eastern Palace Martial Treasury…” Could they have meant her father?

Still, the evidence had already been destroyed.

Shen Yanzhou would not deliberately deceive her on such a matter.

Her father, after all, was an official.

Handling a few minor aftereffects shouldn’t pose a problem.

Suppressing the flicker of guilt in her heart, Wu Ruyue realized she was no longer as filled with righteous zeal as before—she had knowingly broken the law.

“‘The direction Shen Tian is heading in… seems to be toward Wufan Market.’”

Wu Ruyue lifted her gaze to the deep night sky, thinking silently.

Wufan Market, the largest trading district in the western Imperial Capital, housed the headquarters of countless trade guilds.

Anything circulating in the city—from cultivation manuals and rare herbs to ores and precious treasures—could be bought there.

Even items strictly forbidden by imperial decree could be found in its black markets.

Thus, the place was a den of dragons and snakes, filled with hidden experts.

Even the Chilin Guards were wary of investigating too deeply, as sect disciples, martial wanderers, and envoys from vassal states all gathered there.

If she were to go, with her cultivation level, it would be difficult to remain concealed.

Why would Shen Tian go to such a place at this hour?

Wu Ruyue’s brows furrowed tightly.

……

As night deepened, the outskirts of Wufan Market were cloaked in darkness.

But beyond its inner walls, faint lights flickered from courtyards, buildings, and alleys.

Though the Great Qian Dynasty enforced a curfew, many palace procurement agents still came to the major markets at night.

Even the families of high ministers, bearing special tokens, could roam freely to shop in the grand merchant pavilions.

Avoiding patrols and night watchmen along the way, Shen Tian finally reached Wufan Market.

Removing the scarf from his face, he now appeared with a slightly sallow complexion, an ordinary visage, and a more robust build.

The inner market was bustling with people—palace maids and eunuchs with purchase lists in hand, chatting as they walked.

Here, no one cared who Shen Tian was.

Whether he had slipped past the patrols or held a hidden identity, no one dared pry.

Shen Tian knew well that revealing his face here made him less suspicious.

Earlier that day, under the pretext of familiarizing himself with Yujing City, he had done some scouting and realized that the pattern carved on his jade token resembled the insignia of a particular establishment.

That was why he had come straight to Wufan Market.

“‘Tianji Studio—knows Heaven above, understands the Underworld below.’”

“‘Interprets Yin and Yang, discerns the Five Elements; sees the sun and moon within one’s palm, holds Heaven and Earth within one’s sleeve.’”

“‘Such bold claims—can they truly possess such abilities?’”

Before long, Shen Tian arrived at Tianji Studio, located on the western side of Wufan Market.

Even at night, dim lights glowed within, and a slightly yellowed banner hung by the door.

Taking a deep breath, Shen Tian studied the faint patterns on the banner, then compared them to those on his jade token.

Finally, his suspicions were confirmed.

He entered through the main gate, passed through a modest courtyard, and lifted the curtain of the inner hall.

Behind the counter sat a young girl with twin buns, dressed in coarse linen robes.

Her dark eyes shone brightly as she read a book aloud, the nearby candlelight reflecting beautifully in her gaze.

“‘Huh? How did Master know someone would come tonight?’”

“‘Master, Master! The person you were waiting for has arrived!’”

The girl looked up and, seeing Shen Tian enter, gasped in surprise.

Quickly putting down her book, she skipped toward the inner room.

Shen Tian quietly observed the famed “Tianji Studio” of the Imperial Capital, said to be connected to the Heavenly Secrets Daoist of the True Martial Temple—known for reading the secrets of fate itself.

Others, however, dismissed it as a fraudulent front exploiting the Daoist’s name.

Yet, for such a place to stand firm for years in a city teeming with hidden powers, it clearly had some substance.

And for them to have foreseen his arrival tonight? It seemed Tianji Studio truly possessed some skill.

“‘Keep your voice down, keep your voice down. I’m not deaf… though one day, you’ll certainly deafen me, girl…’”

Just then, a lazy voice accompanied by a yawn echoed from within.

An old man emerged, half-asleep, donning his outer robe as he came out.

His hair bun was slightly undone, as though freshly roused from bed.

Speaking, he retrieved a pair of round ivory spectacles from a small box and put them on, which lent him a hint of scholarly grace.

Shen Tian watched him with a doubtful gaze.

Once the old man had put on his glasses, he studied Shen Tian carefully.

The faint smile at his lips quickly vanished as his eyes flicked toward the young girl, before he slowly said, “‘Young friend, visiting so late—what brings you here? Seeking fortune, destiny, opportunity… or perhaps, your origins?’”

Shen Tian instinctively wanted to say “origins,” but before the words left his lips, he changed his mind.

Extending the jade token, he said, “I’m here to find someone.’\”

At first, the old man had paid Shen Tian little mind, judging from his plain appearance.

But the instant his eyes fell upon the jade token, his expression changed drastically.