This Fish Must Be Caught Slowly, and the Bait Scattered Slowly

This Fish Must Be Caught Slowly, and the Bait Scattered Slowly "...He will beg Castellan Xiahou to grant him an audience." As soon as the words left his mouth, not to mention Xiahou Cang — even Yu Su felt that Li Guanqi was talking in his sleep. What Li Guanqi had done so far, all his schemes and stratagems, could shift everyone's attention away, but only for a brief while. Once everyone's attention had been drawn elsewhere, it could buy Xialin City a little room to breathe. But what mattered most was still an alliance between one power and another. Right now Li Guanqi had fallen out with East City, and Beizha City, proud in its self-regard, naturally disdained any cooperation with Xialin City. The bond between the two southwestern cities was solid as a fortress wall; Beizha City had only to go seek out East City and Donglin. It could certainly find allies to join with — so why would it come looking for Xialin City? By now, even Yu Su felt Li Guanqi was talking in his sleep. Li Guanqi let out a sigh, passed by the woman's side, and walked straight toward the man standing at the study door. He stepped forward. Now Li Guanqi's face was only three cun from Xiahou Cang's! Holding the storage ring in his hand, Li Guanqi spoke in a calm voice. "Either you trust me." "Or I hand the thing back to you and leave Xialin City at once." Xiahou Cang hesitated, his eyes drifting involuntarily to the woman before him. Yu Su nodded. She would not choose to turn Li Guanqi away at the door! Xiahou Cang hesitated a moment longer, then drew a deep breath and nodded. "I'll still choose to trust you." Li Guanqi sneered inwardly, feeling more than ever that the man before him was very much like Ran Shiming... He could see only the trifling gains right in front of him and nothing of what lay further off, and his judgment in using people was utterly wretched. Li Guanqi sidestepped into the study and casually tossed the shattered teacups out the door. Once the two of them were inside the room, Li Guanqi had Xiahou Cang raise a barrier, just in case. The man's brows were tightly knit, but he did as he was told. The moment the barrier's array curtain rose, Li Guanqi pulled out two jade slips and slapped them onto the table. Before Xiahou Cang could even react, Yu Su shot to her feet, her beautiful eyes glinting as she picked up the jade slips and examined them closely. "These are... these are the private jade slips of the Castellan of East City and the Castellan of Donglin City!!" The woman spun around to look at Li Guanqi, her eyes narrowing in thought. "Everything before this... was all an act put on for outsiders!! Young Master Li actually reached an agreement with those two cities??" Xiahou Cang's heart lurched at that, and he could not help exclaiming. "Really??" "Hahahaha!! If Xialin City truly is allied with those two cities, then we need fear nothing from the southwestern pair!" Yu Su's eyes flickered. She did not know what circumstances Li Guanqi had been under at the time. But she was certain that even if she had been the one to try such a thing, she could never have talked Chu Yuan and Chen Ce around so easily!! Both of those men were shrewd as demons, far beyond anything Xiahou Cang could be compared to. Having worked all of this out, the woman's admiration for Li Guanqi deepened a few degrees more. "Quickly, Xiahou, make preparations. We'll meet Huyan Lie in secret!" Li Guanqi gave a slight nod. So this woman really was clever. "Hm? Why meet him in secret?" Looking at the man's utterly baffled face, Yu Su was even a little angry. Li Guanqi simply watched the scene with a smile. This was exactly what happened when a clever person talked with someone not so clever. In the eyes of the clever one, the less clever one was no different from a fool — so much so that he could not even be bothered to explain much. Realizing this, Xiahou Cang felt a flush of awkwardness and hurried off to prepare things himself. After the man left, Yu Su sat down across from Li Guanqi and spoke in a calm voice. "Is Young Master Li planning to use Huyan Lie as a hidden piece?" Li Guanqi set down his teacup and gave a light nod. "The same thing does not play the same role when it sits out in the open as when it stays beneath the table." Yu Su quietly drew a sharp breath at those words, silently resolving to give Xiahou Cang a good talking-to later and make certain he never angered the young man before her. The corners of Yu Su's mouth curved upward, and she said softly. "Young Master Li's depth of mind truly leaves this little woman in admiration." Li Guanqi picked up one of the jade slips and said quietly. "Senior Chu, I'd trouble you to call Huyan Lie over to Xialin City for me." "Remember to have him conceal his movements. He must not be exposed." Chu Yuan's voice came quickly from the other end of the jade slip. "Understood." "Tonight at the Hour of the Tiger, Castellan Chen and I will come to see you together!" Li Guanqi questioned Yu Su with a look — had the fake rift been properly finished? One look was all it took; the woman understood at once. As she nodded, she reached out, dipped a finger in the tea, and wrote on the table. "Not today. Tomorrow!" Holding the jade slip, Li Guanqi said softly. "Senior Chu and Senior Chen, do not be impatient. Who knows how long today's talk with Huyan Lie will run — could you come tomorrow at the Hour of the Tiger?" There was a silence from the other end before the quiet reply. "Very well." After setting down the jade slip, Li Guanqi's eyes narrowed slightly, and his hand tapped absently at his knee. Then he rose and paced, murmuring under his breath. "With the minds those two have, they're bound to suspect why I put them off just now..." "No... that rift has to be finished today!" "The two of them are very likely to slip into Xialin City today and start searching." "Yesterday's change at the patrol camp was subtle, but obvious enough all the same. It can't be hidden!" Yu Su's expression shifted at that. Even she only knew the general area of the exact spot; back then Li Guanqi had not even specified that it be placed by the patrol camp. He had only pointed out a rough location within that area — and Li Guanqi had not even gone over there to look today. A single sweep of his divine sense as he stepped out the door, and he had found the problem!! At that moment, watching the young man pace the room with his hands clasped behind his back, a chill of belated fear ran through Yu Su. She merely imagined it: if Li Guanqi ever moved against them, would they have the ability to strike back? She didn't know... or rather, Yu Su did not dare think about it at all! "My lady, Young Master Li, the secret chamber is ready." Xiahou Cang's form twisted as he appeared in the room. Seeing Yu Su's grave expression, he asked quietly. "My lady, what's wrong?" The woman, her face a little pale, shook her head, then rose and said gently. "It's nothing. I'll go rest for a while." "Xiahou, help me back to my room." Though Xiahou Cang had no idea what was going on, he obediently supported the woman and set off toward the sleeping quarters. Li Guanqi paid the two of them no mind. Yu Su certainly had something she wanted to say to Xiahou Cang. As for himself, Li Guanqi was considering how to handle what came next. On the surface, Xialin City still stood alone; the relationship between East City and Xialin City could not be exposed at this point. At the same time, to make the two southwestern cities wary of Xialin City, there was no choice but to let Huyan Lie's Beizha City play its part. So long as the two of them kept things ambiguous, the two southwestern cities would be wary. Or else, before that, have East City and Donglin City step forward and declare that the two of them were already allied. In that case... the two southwestern cities would inevitably force Xialin City and Beizha City into joining forces. Without that, there was no three-way standoff. If Xialin City and Beizha City fought on alone, they would inevitably be nibbled away. Only... If that were all there was to it, the situation would become rather complicated. In Li Guanqi's plan, there should be only two so-called 'alliances'. One led by Xialin City, gathering East City and Donglin. The other being the two southwestern cities, plus Beizha City, which had 'broken off talks' with Xialin City. Three against three on paper, but in truth, with Huyan Lie as their inside man, it would instantly become four against two. Still... On Li Guanqi's chessboard, every black piece would be eaten up, one by one!! Li Guanqi sat in his chair, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward. "This fish... has to be caught slowly, and the bait scattered slowly too."