Onmyoji

White Tiger raised an eyebrow slightly, having guessed Chen Guan's line: "Azure Dragon Token?"

"Mm."

Chen Guan flipped the token over.

"You said before that in the Returning Source Group's Four Symbols, the Azure Dragon seat was still empty. So who exactly is the Azure Dragon? And why is this token missing a corner?"

White Tiger dropped his playful tone: "The Azure Dragon's surname is Liu."

Chen Guan looked up, a vague sense of unease creeping in: "Liu?"

"Right."

White Tiger said, "As for which Liu, I don't know."

Chen Guan frowned: "You don't know?"

"I really don't know."

White Tiger answered candidly, with a hint of helplessness.

"Simply put, it's merit-based selection. So I've been waiting all these years, waiting for him to stand out on his own."

Chen Guan was puzzled: "But why does it have to be someone surnamed Liu? If we're talking about excellence—setting aside everything else—Guan Jinyue was brought up before by both Beidou and others, yet she got rejected. Isn't she good enough?"

Granted, compared to the older generation, Guan Jinyue might seem less accomplished since she's from the newer generation.

But as far as Chen Guan knew, the three publicly acknowledged sons of the richest man, the Liu family, couldn't hold a candle to Guan Jinyue.

If Guan Jinyue ever found out she'd been outdone by those three, she'd probably be pretty upset.

"Well, about that..." White Tiger let out a dry chuckle. "I don't know either—that was Beidou's call. Though I do have a guess. Apparently, in the previous generation, back when Zero and the boss hadn't become the new leader yet, the Azure Dragon was indeed a member of the Liu family."

Chen Guan finally got it: "So it's hereditary?"

"Hereditary?"

White Tiger scratched his hair awkwardly. Kid, you've hit the nail on the head.

Strictly speaking, among the current members, only he and Chen Guan had no connection to the original generation at all.

He got his position because the previous White Tiger was a hopeless mess and left a vacancy, while Chen Guan—well, Chen Guan earned his way in on his own.

That said, rumor had it the first generation was a yin-yang master, and Chen Guan was quite good at being sarcastic and snarky while also being something of a teacher, so he counted as a yin-yang master too.

But White Tiger wasn't going to tell Chen Guan that.

"Long story short, the previous Azure Dragon did have the surname Liu, but the Returning Source Group doesn't have a rule about passing positions down by bloodline."

"The Azure Dragon Token chooses its holder. After the old Azure Dragon died, the token became damaged, and that missing corner has never been found."

Chen Guan looked down at the token.

"Does the missing corner affect how it works?"

"Greatly."

White Tiger said, "A complete Four Symbols Token set, combined with the four on Beidou's side, can open part of the Returning Source Group's old vault. But as it is now, this Azure Dragon Token is damaged—at best, it counts as half a ticket."

Baal commented from within the mental space: "Your organization is pretty entertaining. Vacant positions filled by guessing, broken tokens waited on by hoping, and the boss relies on self-scrolling through subordinates to keep things running.

"I don't remember it being this shabby before. How did it get so slipshod? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Looks like the generational gap really hit hard. I guess Beidou's the only one left from back then."

Chen Guan ignored Him. It was clear Baal only had a half-baked understanding of the Returning Source Group's affairs.

After all, Baal wasn't a demon with much curiosity. He knew a lot simply because He'd lived long enough—others studied history, while He witnessed it, and even became its creator at times.

Baal kept rambling: "Though, come to think of it, it's strange. They were all stronger than the last, yet they all died without a trace. Did they ascend to godhood? That doesn't add up. Beidou, the strongest of them all, refused to ascend—so why would the others be in such a hurry to fly up? Who's up there waiting for them?"

Hearing Baal's words, Chen Guan had meant to ask about the previous Azure Dragon's cause of death.

But before he could speak, White Tiger's voice turned heavy.

"Don't get involved in the Liu family's affairs."

Chen Guan paused for a moment: "I'm grounded right now."

"Grounded might work on other people, but does it work on you?" White Tiger shot back.

Chen Guan thought it over.

Yeah, hard to argue with that.

White Tiger continued: "The Liu family's Azure Dragon struggle isn't some school competition. People die in it."

This time, he wasn't joking.

"The Liu family still looks respectable on the surface—Liu Chengjun, the eldest, has a great public reputation, but underneath, he's arrogant and self-opinionated. The second son is invisible, and as things stand, he's already dropped out of the succession race."

"As for Liu Feiyu, at the academy, he just comes off as a somewhat dim-witted young master." White Tiger gave a faint smile here, one stripped of its usual flippancy: "But if you actually take them at face value, you won't be far from death."

Chen Guan looked up: "Is Liu Feiyu dangerous too?"

"In the Liu family, any child who's survived this long—none of them are pushovers."

White Tiger said, "Liu Xiao had his birth mother pulling strings for him. The other kids survived on their own merits after being born. After all, besides the legitimate children, there are plenty of illegitimate ones too."

Chen Guan didn't respond. Honestly, his impression of Liu Feiyu's strength wasn't all that deep.

As for danger, Liu Feiyu didn't strike him as particularly threatening.

Compared to people like An Changqing or Long Ao, he seemed more like a figure propped up by his family's prestige.

White Tiger guessed what he was thinking.

"Remember one thing: being able to play the fool in a big family all this time without getting crushed—that in itself is a skill."

Chen Guan looked at the Azure Dragon Token: "The old Azure Dragon was connected to the Liu family. So does the Returning Source Group not interfere with the Liu family's infighting?"

"The Returning Source Group isn't their ancestral hall. At most, Beidou might step in, since it was his old friend's matter. Not my business."

"Also, the reason the Azure Dragon seat could go to a Liu family member was because the previous Azure Dragon had an exceptionally strong constitution, and the other candidate at the time didn't seize the opportunity. It wasn't because of the surname. And the token's still in your hands right now, which means no one in the Liu family has truly been able to claim it yet."

White Tiger paused, then added: "Oh, one more thing—Southern Dipper is backing Liu Feiyu. He apparently calculated that Liu Feiyu has the best odds."

Chen Guan had already thought this villain organization couldn't get more slapdash.

Now he realized it could.

Vacant positions, a chipped token, candidates fighting among themselves, and the higher-ups just sitting back to watch the drama.

Baal summed it up from the mental space: "This organization hasn't fallen apart mainly because the individual members are strong enough to hold it together."

Chen Guan didn't contradict Him. Correct, accurate, right on the nose.

White Tiger was still going: "Southern Dipper backing Liu Feiyu doesn't mean Liu Feiyu is safe. That guy plays his own game. Does he guarantee that whoever he helps will come out on top? Not necessarily."

White Tiger's voice dropped low: "Anyway, remember this—stay out of the Liu family's business."

Chen Guan gave a quiet "mm."

"Alright, nothing else on my end, I'll hang up now—I've got some things to take care of."

A faint clicking sound came from White Tiger's side, and he added one last note: "Remember, focus on your classes at Huaqing. Don't make An Changqing and the other kids worry about you, and don't make me, your boss, worry about you either."

The connection cut off.

The watery sheen on the Black Tortoise Token faded, returning to its ancient, unassuming form.

The room fell quiet again.

Baal fanned the flames from the mental space: "And the boss couldn't resist guilt-tripping you at the end. You should really go give him something extra to deal with."

Chen Guan ignored Him as usual—just the standard cold treatment. He stared at the Azure Dragon Token on the table, his gaze turning heavy.

The Liu family.

Just then, a knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.