Chinese animation: Starting with Bad Guys

Han Fei, dressed in purple, walked with a seemingly unhurried gait, but deep in his eyes lay an undisguised weariness and a hint of sharpness that was barely perceptible.

Beside him stood Princess Honglian, a radiant beauty in a vibrant red dress.

As soon as Honglian entered, her bright, lively eyes darted around, searching for a certain figure without any attempt to hide it. Finally, her gaze settled on the person in the main seat, and a bright, slightly mischievous smile immediately bloomed on her small face.

"Hey! We meet again!" Honglian skipped forward a few steps, her voice clear and bright, trying to get the attention of the person in the main seat. "This princess came to see you today especially!"

Qin Chuan remained seated, his black robes flowing silently, like an unchanging rock.

He toyed with a black chess piece of unknown material in his hand, his gaze fixed on the chessboard-like void, ignoring Honglian's lively greetings as if she were nothing more than an insignificant breeze.

He exuded a low-pressure aura that kept strangers at bay, even more so than usual.

Nongyu stood not far behind him, holding a guqin, her expression gentle and calm, yet carrying a hint of barely perceptible worry.

Yan Lingji, dressed in a fiery red dress, stood at her sides with her hands at her sides, her eyes lowered and her expression like solidified flames, yet she could sense the unusual mood of her master.

Han Fei shook his head helplessly and cupped his hands to Qin Chuan: "Brother Qin, Miss Nongyu, and this fiery girl. Honglian is mischievous, please forgive her."

His gaze swept over Qin Chuan's calm yet deep and cold profile, then over Nong Yu and Yan Ling Ji, finally lingering for a moment on Yan Ling Ji's powerful and dangerous attire.

"Han Fei has come here on important business and would like to ask Brother Qin for his advice."

"Hmph! Pretend you can't see this princess!"

Honglian was annoyed by Qin Chuan's disregard. She put her hands on her hips, pouted, and looked like a cat with its fur standing on end.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Why are you giving me the cold shoulder!"

She deliberately raised her voice, trying to penetrate that invisible ice wall.

However, Qin Chuan remained unresponsive, not even lifting his eyelids. His fingertips continued to caress the cold chess piece, as if all his thoughts had sunk into that empty void.

There, the lingering coolness of the palm and the last trace of phosphorescence in the air remain from the early morning when the figure of the purple-haired silver butterfly vanished.

Honglian stomped her foot in anger, then walked half a circle around Qin Chuan's low table, trying to "study" him from different angles, muttering to herself all the while:

"What a blockhead! Cold and hard! Hey! You cold-faced guy! Didn't you hear me?"

After receiving no response several times, frustration made her face scrunch up. "Ice block face! Yes! Just a big ice block!"

This title was completely confirmed in her mind.

Han Fei was helpless against his sister's antics, so he could only speak again, his voice low and tentative:

"Brother Qin, the situation in Xinzheng changed drastically the night before last. A shocking incident occurred at the residence of Left Sima Liu Yi, rumored to be a revenge killing. Immediately afterwards, devastating news arrived from Xueyi Fort: Blood-Clad Marquis Bai Yifei was dead..."

His gaze was fixed on Qin Chuan. "Brother Qin, it seems you didn't sleep well that night either?"

You could hear a pin drop in the flower hall.

Nongyu's fingers tightened slightly as she held the zither.

Yan Lingji's lowered eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.

Honglian also stopped muttering for a moment and curiously pricked up her ears.

Qin Chuan finally raised his eyes.

Those gazes were like two bottomless, icy pools, the bottom of which seemed to be frozen with eternal ice, carrying a chilling emptiness and alienation as they met Han Fei's probing gaze directly.

He put down the black piece in his hand, making a crisp yet unusually cold "tap" sound.

A single word, clear and calm, yet colder than ice, carrying an indifference that crushes everything, as if merely stating a trivial matter unrelated to oneself.

This frank, almost cold, admission struck Han Fei's heart like an invisible thunderbolt!

His smile froze completely, and his pupils contracted instantly! Even with all his clever schemes, he never expected Qin Chuan to admit it so readily!

This is not only an admission of murder, but also an admission of his terrifying ability to kill the Blood-Clad Marquis in the most heavily fortified fortress in South Korea and escape unscathed!

At this moment, this terrifying power is shrouded in an unsettling silence.

A tremendous shock and a chilling sense of the game suddenly spiraling out of control instantly swept over Han Fei.

He clenched his fist under the table, his nails digging deep into his palms, barely managing to maintain a semblance of composure. Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He keenly sensed that Qin Chuan's current state was more unfathomable and elusive than ever before.

That emptiness was more unsettling than any oppressive force.

Honglian's almond-shaped eyes widened in shock, and she covered her mouth tightly with her small hands. She looked at Qin Chuan, then at her Ninth Brother, her face filled with shock that seemed to say, "Oh my god, he really admitted it," and a hint of barely perceptible... awe?

"Ice Face...you...you..."

She couldn't find the right words for a moment.

After a brief silence, Han Fei took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his turbulent emotions and unease.

He gave a wry smile, a smile that carried an unprecedented solemnity and a hint of barely perceptible apprehension: "Brother Qin... indeed, you speak your mind."

He paused for a moment, gathered his thoughts, and decided to stop making any pointless probes, stating his purpose directly: "Han Fei has come here to..."

"You want to borrow Wei Zhuang."

Qin Chuan interrupted him directly, his voice still calm, yet carrying an all-knowing understanding and a hint of barely perceptible weariness, as if saying another word would be a burden…

"Go see Ji Wuye. Make an example of him to force him to transfer military funds."

Han Fei's words caught in his throat again, and his eyes widened even more.

He felt as if he were completely naked in front of this man, with no secrets whatsoever!

He really didn't want to completely fall out with Ji Wuye right now.

He only wanted to take advantage of the chaos and pressure brought about by Liu Yi's death and the sudden death of the Blood-Clad Marquis, and use Wei Zhuang's intimidation to visit the General's Mansion, ostensibly to "seek advice" on the military pay case, but in reality to put pressure on him.

He forced Ji Wuye to hastily transfer the hot potato of military funds amidst great anxiety, revealing a weakness, and then he tried to take it back midway!

This was originally a strategy he had painstakingly devised—"beat the grass to scare the snake out of its hole"—but Qin Chuan saw right through it in a single sentence!

And this was under the circumstances where the other party was in such a "bad" mood!

Qin Chuan turned his gaze to the window.

Wei Zhuang had already stood there with his arms crossed, his Shark Tooth Sword resting against his leg. His short, silver-gray hair gleamed coldly in the sunlight. His sharp eyes swept over Han Fei with a hint of scrutiny, and then glanced at Qin Chuan, who sat in the main seat with a somber expression.

"Take him there."

Qin Chuan spoke to Wei Zhuang in a tone as if he were instructing him on a trivial matter, implying that he wanted to end the conversation as soon as possible.

Wei Zhuang nodded slightly, without saying anything more, but simply gestured to Han Fei with his eyes: Let's go.

Han Fei's heart was once again filled with turmoil, mixed with a trace of relief.

Although Qin Chuan was in a terrible mood, he still saw through his purpose and handed over the key executor, Wei Zhuang, to him!

This insight and control, as well as the "support" given even in this situation, left Han Fei feeling both shocked and burdened with a heavy sense of pressure and... an indescribable gratitude.

"Thank you very much, Brother Qin!"

Han Fei suppressed his complex emotions, solemnly cupped his hands to Qin Chuan, said no more, immediately stood up, and followed Wei Zhuang's figure, quickly leaving the flower hall.

"Hey? Ninth Brother! Wait for me!"

Honglian instinctively wanted to follow, but was stopped by Zi Nu, who had just arrived, with a smile:

"Your Highness, the General's Mansion is not a place for sightseeing. Why don't you wait here, listen to Nongyu's zither music, and taste the newly made pastries?"

Honglian watched Han Fei and Wei Zhuang's disappearing figures, then glanced at the man in the main seat, a black-clad "ice block" with an aura of "keep away," who still treated her like air. She puffed out her cheeks in anger, like a squirrel with its belly full of food.

"Hmph! Fine, ignore me then! Ice block! Big ice block! Silent gourd!"

She sat down angrily to one side, picked up a delicate pastry that Zi Nu handed her, and took a big bite, as if she were biting into someone's flesh.

But her bright, lively eyes would always unconsciously glance at Qin Chuan.

The less he received a response, the more unfathomable his indifference and strength became, along with the strange emptiness he felt at that moment, as if he were isolated from the world.

Instead, it acted like a huge magnet with mysterious cracks, firmly attracting the unruly princess's curiosity and a strange...desire for challenge.

"Ice Face... what are you thinking?"

She chewed the pastry vigorously while muttering to herself, not even tasting what it was like. She only felt that the "ice" seemed to concern her more than the pastry.

Time flowed through the Purple Orchid Pavilion. Nongyu's zither music flowed like a clear spring, carrying a soothing rhythm, attempting to dispel the midday heat and the invisible low pressure in the flower hall.

Honglian was initially angry, but gradually she was drawn in by the music and calmed down. She rested her chin on her hand, but her gaze still occasionally drifted towards Qin Chuan, with a look of inquiry and a hint of obsession that she herself was unaware of.

Yan Lingji stood still like a solidified flame, sensing her master's unusually deep voice.

Qin Chuan was like a cold, black iron statue, only occasionally stroking the black chess piece with his fingertips, and his movements were even slower than before, as if the chess piece was the only medium connecting him to some vanished phantom.

Even as the sun began to set and bathed the flower hall in a warm golden hue, it could not dispel the chill that had settled between his brows.

The beaded curtain was lifted again, and Han Fei and Wei Zhuang appeared at the doorway.

Han Fei's face showed obvious fatigue, but his peach blossom eyes shone with an irrepressible excitement, as if he had just experienced a perilous game that he ultimately won.

Wei Zhuang remained aloof, a fresh scratch appearing on the scabbard of his Shark Tooth Sword, and a lingering, sharp killing intent emanated from him.

Han Fei walked up to Qin Chuan, his voice hoarse with excitement, yet deliberately lowered, his eyes gleaming:

"The military pay has been intercepted en route! We have all the evidence, both witnesses and physical evidence! We'll just have to report it to Father at tomorrow's morning court! Ji Wuye has been thoroughly humiliated this time, and he'll probably be in a lot of trouble for a while!"

He paused, his voice carrying the exhilaration of finally seizing the initiative, "My father is furious. The military pay case must be thoroughly investigated. I, Han Fei, will undoubtedly take on the position of Minister of Justice!"

Qin Chuan finally looked up from the chessboard and glanced at Han Fei.

His gaze was calm and unwavering, as if Han Fei's victory was already within his expectations, leaving no ripples in his eyes. The somber sense of emptiness did not dissipate because of the news.

Qin Chuan's voice remained calm, devoid of any emotion.

He put down the chess piece and turned his gaze to Yan Lingji, who was standing to the side.

This action seemed to have exhausted his last bit of patience.

Qin Chuan spoke, calling out the name directly, his voice carrying an undeniable sense of finality.

Han Fei paused slightly, suppressed his excitement, and asked seriously, "What are your orders, Brother Qin?"

He keenly sensed that Qin Chuan just wanted to end the conversation as soon as possible.

"Now that you are in charge of the Ministry of Justice, your eyes and ears will be all over Xinzheng." Qin Chuan's voice was clear and indifferent, like an ice bead falling to the ground. "Find someone for me."

The moment Yan Lingji heard the words "searching for someone," her body jolted violently!

She suddenly looked up, her eyes, which had burned with either fire or ice, now filled with unbelievable astonishment as she stared intently at Qin Chuan!