“Xiao Jin, what are you doing? Why haven’t you issued a clarification statement yet?!” Long Yiming’s frantic voice boomed through the phone. He had been running around in circles dealing with the fallout. Seeing no response from Jing Pei for hours, he finally called in desperation. In the eyes of the public, staying silent for this long was practically an admission of guilt. Regardless of whether she was truly the Information Broker or not, denying it immediately was the only sensible move!
“I did post one,” Jing Pei replied casually, scissors in hand. “It got blocked immediately. Not a single person saw it.”
She omitted the detail that her supposed clarification had consisted of a single punctuation mark—a lone period.
Still, this was clearly Jiang Qing’s handiwork. Whether he had planted moles inside the social media platforms or hired top-tier hackers, he had effectively stripped her of her public voice. Every minute her denial was delayed only added weight to his accusations.
Long Yiming felt his blood pressure spike. “Why are you only telling me this now?!”
“Well, the enemy came with full force. Saying anything wouldn’t do much good anyway. Besides, even if a clarification went through, those who doubt me wouldn’t believe it.”
She was, after all, the Information Broker. And she really wasn’t the original Long Jin. Any explanation she offered would have flaws, and the public would seize on those flaws to tear her apart. Why waste time playing a losing game?
“What… what are you doing over there? What is that sound?” Long Yiming caught the rhythmic snip-snip coming through the receiver.
“Oh, the flowers and shrubs in my courtyard are growing wild. I’m just trimming the branches. Strong growth is nice, but if you don’t prune away the extra shoots, the main flowers won’t bloom properly.” With a sharp snip, she clipped off a thick rose stem heavy with lush leaves.
Chu Xusheng stood beside her, swishing his scorpion tail in earnest effort as he tried to copy her technique. Jing Pei occasionally glanced over, pointing out which branch he should cut next.
Long Yiming nearly spat blood. “At a time like this, you’re out there tending plants with Chu Xusheng?! Do you have any idea how many calls I’ve taken today? My hand is cramping!”
“What else can I do? How about I send a potted plant to your office? Looking at greenery helps calm the mind.”
Calm the mind, my foot! Long Yiming felt like his soul was about to leave his body.
“Let me figure out a way forward. Just don’t move recklessly,” Jing Pei said, sensing how agitated he was.
Despite their panic, the Long family had no choice but to hold their tongues. They still held on to a sliver of hope that Jing Pei might pull off another miracle and resolve this crisis cleanly, just as she had done every time before.
Yet night fell without a word from her.
Early the next morning, Jing Pei received another call.
“Family Head Long, considering how chaotic things have been lately—with Atavist families suffering heavy losses left and right—we’ve decided to move this year’s Great Families Conference forward to tonight. Please make sure you attend on time.” The speaker was the head of a prominent clan.
The Atavist Great Families Conference was an annual gathering where family heads and representatives from across Hualan gathered to discuss major affairs. Normally held in the middle of the year—like the previous conference where Jing Pei had subtly clashed with the Peacock Family Head—this one had been abruptly moved to the beginning of the year, entirely without the Long family’s knowledge.
To claim this had nothing to do with Jiang Qing’s video would be stupid.
But since the other families stood together, the Long family had to go along with the majority unless they wanted to cut ties with the whole Atavist community.
A trap of a banquet.
Jing Pei thought of Wu Ying. A quiet realization washed over her: the time had come. She had long sensed this moment, and now she was about to lose her friends.
What would Tao Ying think? What about Wu Ying? And the others?
Jing Pei thought it over calmly, without showing any emotion.
Suddenly, her phone rang again.
The caller ID displayed Tao Ying’s name. Jing Pei answered, steeling herself for an interrogation.
“Xiao Jin, don’t go to that meeting! It’s a trap!” Tao Ying’s soft, endearing voice came through the line.
Jing Pei paused, caught off guard.
“They believe what Jiang Qing said in that video. They want to force you to admit you’re the Information Broker so they can vent their anger on you. Ah Yin says they’re like greedy wolves looking to tear off a piece of the Long family’s flesh!”
The unexpected concern left the usually quick-witted Information Broker speechless. Jing Pei’s eyelashes fluttered. After a long moment, she softly asked, “Is that so? Did Liu Yin say that?”
“Mhm!”
“You don’t think I’m the Information Broker?”
Tao Ying paused before answering softly, “So what if you are? Even if you really are the Information Broker, I know you’d never harm us like they say. Xiao Jin is the best. I like you so much.”
Because Tao Ying and Liu Yin spent most of their time attached at the hip or sleeping, they had very few friends. Most people found them distant and difficult to approach, treating them almost like ghosts. But Jing Pei was the only person who spoke with them naturally whenever they were awake, making them feel completely at ease.
If Tao Ying were standing in front of her now, she would probably lean against her like a cuddly pet.
“…I see. That really surprises me. What did Liu Yin say?”
“Ah Yin said I’m very good at judging people’s character!” Tao Ying’s tone brimmed with pride; Jing Pei could practically picture her chin held high and chest puffed out.
Leaning against her headboard, Jing Pei let out a quiet laugh.
Shortly after hanging up with Tao Ying, Tang Qiaoqiao called.
“The old fools in our family insist on holding this conference. You’d better not show up… Hmph, don’t think I’m doing this for you! I just don’t want extra work on my plate!” her voice came through with her usual stubborn pride, her twin pigtails practically bouncing through the speaker.
“Got it. Thanks, Qiaoqiao. You’re wonderful,” Jing Pei replied with a warm smile.
“W-Who asked for your praise!” Tang Qiaoqiao hung up in a panic.
After that, Jing Pei received two more calls from other young family heads, both warning her to stay away from tonight’s ambush.
This was no small matter. Although many Atavist families had undergone major shakeups—replacing older leaders with younger ones—not all of the new heads were close with Jing Pei or shared absolute trust in her. Pressure from the older generation had tipped the scales, and the conference was set in motion under the community’s usual majority-rule principle.
The few friends she had could only offer warnings, urging her to skip the gathering.
That evening.
The venue was the same grand hall as the previous year. The outer lobby served as a lounge for lower-ranking family members to drink and chat, while true decisions were reserved for the inner hall.
Only tonight, the doors to the inner hall remained closed.
The lobby and second-floor balconies were packed with people, all looking down at the central floor. Almost everyone had arrived, yet the true star of tonight’s gathering was nowhere to be seen.
“Did she chicken out? Too scared to show up?” someone mocked.
“Serves her right! Remember how arrogant she used to be? She was always the one flipping tables over. Now that she’s the item on the menu, she’s terrified.”
“Sounds like an admission of guilt to me. She must really be the Information Broker,” another concluded.
“Hmph, don’t act like she’s stupid. Who in their right mind would walk straight into a trap?” Tang Qiaoqiao stood with her usual group, while Chen Mo chimed in with his sharp, sarcastic tone.
Nobody in the room had dressed up in formal evening gowns or tight suits tonight. The combat-ready attire made their intentions crystal clear.
“An innocent person wouldn’t fear a trap. If she’s clean, what does she have to hide?” a young man countered.
Tang Qiaoqiao’s brows flared in anger. “Liu Kuang! At school, you were constantly begging Xiao Jin to give you pointers, and now you turn around and slander her? If she’s not clean, then you’re just a hypocritical snake!”
Regardless of whether Jing Pei was the Information Broker, she had never mistreated a single classmate at the Zodiac Academy. Whenever someone asked for her guidance—whether in theoretical studies or combat training—she had never refused. She had even saved several students during field missions, and Liu Kuang was one of them.
Liu Kuang’s face turned red. He protested, “Am I supposed to throw common sense out the window over a few small favors?!”
Tang Qiaoqiao’s eyes flashed with rage. She despised ungrateful cowards above all else and stepped forward, ready to beat him senseless.
The lobby quickly descended into chaos as people scrambled to pull them apart or take sides. Only the Wu and Tao family contingents remained completely unmoved.
Suddenly, a shift in the air swept through the room as the heavy main doors swung open.
As if sensing something, everyone turned toward the entrance.
A slender, graceful figure stepped into the hall. Her pitch-black hair was tied into a high ponytail, cascading down in natural, loose waves. Framed by her radiant complexion, a pair of dark, feline eyes sparkled with playful intelligence—a gaze so captivating it outshone every piece of jewelry in the room.
“My, did I miss the fun?”
Not only had she shown up, but she also looked entirely relaxed and radiant. There was not a trace of the anxiety or panic they had expected from someone exposed.
Silence fell over the room. Shocked gazes quickly turned hostile, casting a heavy, suffocating pressure across the hall.
Liu Kuang and a few classmates who shared his stance winced with guilt before forcing themselves to stand tall.
Standing among the Wu family clan, Wu Ying folded her arms, her brows furrowed tight.
Tao Ying, who hadn’t expected Jing Pei to show up alone without even bringing Chu Xusheng along, blinked her sleepy eyes in surprise. She took a step forward, only for her family members to pull her back.
“Long Jin, you finally decided to show up,” someone called out.
“Pardon me for making you wait. I do prefer grand entrances,” Jing Pei said with a calm smile.
Her calm expression and casual arrogance rubbed many of the older members the wrong way, bringing back bitter memories from the past.
They remembered how she had forced them to spare Zhang Simiao, how she had coerced them at her birthday banquet into surrendering their stolen shares of the Qiu family assets, and how her maneuvers regarding Liu Yin had stripped them of power, turning them into laughingstocks before the government… Old grudges resurfaced all at once, kindling a desire to tear her apart.
How dared she speak to them with such attitude?!
“Long Jin, now that you’re here, let’s cut the nonsense and get down to business.”
“You’d better explain everything Jiang Qing exposed in that video, or don’t expect to walk out of here in one piece tonight!” an older man barked, stepping out from the crowd.
The moment his words landed, the heavy doors behind Jing Pei slammed shut with a sharp thud. Dozens of sharp, predatory eyes locked onto her, weapons half-drawn.
“Ah. So this isn’t an Atavist Great Families Conference after all,” Jing Pei remarked, sweeping a calm gaze across the room. “It’s a trial.”
“That’s because no one has answered all the questions about you! Even Master Wu is dead! Who knows who’ll be next? Explain yourself! Start with this: How can a girl raised in a remote village act like a high-society lady? You’re so different from the person your neighbors described that you seem like a completely different person!”
“Don’t think you can wriggle your way out of this tonight, Long Jin! Prove your innocence!” They pressed forward, their voices sharp and demanding.
“Hey! What right do you have to speak to her like that?!” Tang Qiaoqiao shouted, stepping forward again. “The burden of proof lies on the accuser!” She was seething inside. Why did Xiao Jin come tonight of all nights? Isn’t this just walking into her own execution?!
“Exactly! And since when do former family heads get to speak for the current leaders?” Chen Mo added with a scowl. He too couldn’t fathom why Jing Pei had walked into this trap after receiving Tang Qiaoqiao’s warning.
The man who had spoken first was indeed a former family head who had been forced to step down during Jing Pei’s birthday banquet. His face twisted with embarrassment and hatred. If not for her, he wouldn’t be standing here subjected to the insolence of juniors!
“Evidence? Isn’t her own father’s statement evidence enough?! Aren’t the testimonies of her hometown neighbors evidence?! We’re giving her a chance to explain herself, unless you can explain it for her!”
Tang Qiaoqiao and Chen Mo fell silent, unable to refute the point. They turned their gazes to Jing Pei, hoping she had come prepared with a bulletproof defense.
Surrounded on all sides, Jing Pei stood at the center of attention. The gazes fixed on her were heavy with malice, like predators watching a trapped prey before moving in for the kill.
“Since you’re all so eager to know, I’ll tell you,” Jing Pei said, letting out an elegant, serene smile that seemed to look down on everything around her. “That’s right. I am the master of the Puzzle Intelligence Agency. I am the Information Broker.”
Silence filled the hall. Even the former heads who had been shouting at her fell silent, stunned.
Miles away, Jiang Qing was watching the livestream through a covert camera feed. He had expected her to attend—after all, skipping the meeting would have been a clear admission of guilt.
He had anticipated a smooth, deceptive speech from her, which he planned to tear apart piece by piece using pre-recorded evidence, exposing her lies before the world. He had no solid proof, but he knew how to manipulate public sentiment to force the title onto her.
Yet he never imagined she would simply admit it without a single defense.
His expression froze mid-smile.
“What?” the organization’s high-ranking members standing behind him gasped. “Long Jin really is the Information Broker?! She admitted it!”
“How… how does she dare?!”
Indeed, how did she dare admit it so openly?
What was she planning?
“She admitted it?!”
“Did she really just confess?!”
After a brief, suffocating silence, the hall erupted into chaos. Even Tao Ying and Tang Qiaoqiao stared at Jing Pei with wide eyes, completely speechless.
Wu Ying’s fists clenched so tight her knuckles turned white, her proud eyes swirling with pain and anger.
“Long Jin!” The elders of the Atavist families snapped back to reality, pointing trembling fingers at her. “You really are that Information Broker! You manipulated us all this time! Who are you really?! What is your true goal?!”
“If you don’t give us a satisfactory answer today, don’t dream of leaving this hall alive!”
The sound of unsheathing weapons rang out across the room, the scent of gunpowder and Atavist energy filling the air. Conflict was on the verge of exploding.
“How rude,” Jing Pei remarked quietly, her voice calm despite standing at the center of the storm.
“Why should we show politeness to a snake like you?! Cut the talk and spill everything!” The former family head who had spoken earlier stepped forward, his face contorted with grotesque hatred.
His words shocked many in the room. Even for a bitter former leader, addressing a current family head with such vulgarity crossed a line.
“Oh?” Jing Pei glanced at him casually as she walked toward a plush leather sofa near the center of the room. “You’re the former head of the Feng family, aren’t you? No wonder you hate me so much. Ever since your nephew took over, all your illegal side businesses got shut down. And you’re terrified he’ll find out that you engineered the murder of his parents years ago just to steal the leadership position. To butcher your own brother and sister-in-law so ruthlessly… you really are worse than a beast.”
Dead silence fell over the hall.
Jing Pei reached the sofa and sat down with leisurely grace. Surrounded by standing figures, her seated posture gave her the aura of a queen resting on her throne.
She rested her chin on her hand, her dark eyes glittering with amused mockery as she stared at the former Feng Family Head.
Cold sweat poured down the man’s face. He felt every gaze in the room lock onto him like hot needles—the most terrifying of which came from his own nephew, the current Feng Family Head.
No one had expected Jing Pei to drop such a devastating bomb without warning. A dark family secret that the former head had spent decades burying, and a truth the current head had spent fifteen years trying to uncover, was laid bare in a single sentence.
“You… You’re spewing lies! I didn’t!” the former head shrieked, his voice trembling as he made a desperate attempt to deny it. But his pale, terror-stricken reaction gave the game away to everyone present.
“It seems you don’t understand how I operate,” Jing Pei said softly, her smile widening. “At the Puzzle Intelligence Agency, there is no secret too deep to uncover.”
The former Feng Family Head lost his mind. With a bloodcurdling roar, he lunged toward Jing Pei. Yet Jing Pei didn’t even move an inch, her smile remaining perfectly serene.
Before the man could reach her, another heavy figure intercepted him mid-air, slamming him into the marble floor with a bone-crushing punch.
The current Feng Family Head—taller, stronger, and far more powerful than his disgraced uncle—overpowered him instantly. A single strike shattered the older man’s jaw. Before he could recover, the nephew pinned him down, his fists raining down with ferocious, grief-stricken rage.
Blood splattered across the polished floor alongside broken teeth.
After a brief, violent commotion, the Feng family members dragged the half-dead former head out of the hall, leaving behind an eerie silence.
The remaining crowd stared blankly at the blood-stained floor, then turned their wide, terrified gazes back to Jing Pei.
“My apologies for the mess,” Jing Pei said smoothly, smoothing down her skirt. “Though I believe I’ve reminded you all before—I care a great deal about my face. Anyone who refuses to give me face will end up losing both face and standing.”
