Do as Li Guanqi Says

With that said, Li Guanqi didn't care what the man thought. His figure flashed as he departed Donglin City. Leaving Donglin City behind, Li Guanqi did not go to East City to see Chu Yuan; instead, he returned directly to his courtyard in Xialin City. He did not even meet with Xiahou Cang. Shortly after Li Guanqi left, Chen Ce was just about to contact Chu Yuan when a transmission from Chu Yuan reached him first! "Li Congxin went to see you? What did he say?" Holding nothing back, Chen Ce told Chu Yuan everything the two of them had discussed. Yet from the jade slip, Chu Yuan fell silent for a brief moment before responding in a voice devoid of emotion, "Oh. I understand." Silence fell over the jade slip. Frowning deeply, Chen Ce muttered to himself, "He doesn't believe me? Why?" At almost the exact same time, Li Guanqi sent Chu Yuan the imagery from the shadow-casting stone depicting his earlier conversation with the man. "Castellan Chu, please don't overthink this. I merely had a casual chat with Senior Chen." Meanwhile, Chen Ce received a transmission from Li Guanqi: "Oh, by the way, Castellan Chen, before I came to see you, I also paid a visit to Castellan Chu. What he said was about the same as your words; perhaps the two of you could talk it over." Having sent that, Li Guanqi tossed the jade slip aside and stretched lazily. Knock, knock, knock! In the end, Xiahou Cang could not hold back. After turning it over in his mind, he came to find Li Guanqi, desperate to know the purpose of Li Guanqi's trip. When Li Guanqi opened the door, Xiahou Cang looked at him with some nervous hesitation. "Um... Young Master Li hasn't rested yet?" Li Guanqi smiled, naturally knowing why he had come. Sitting down in a chair, he waited for Xiahou Cang to take a seat before saying softly, "You want to know what I went to do?" Xiahou Cang nodded rather awkwardly. If Li Guanqi did not tell him, his heart would not rest easy. "Yes... I'd like to know what Young Master Li's next move is." Li Guanqi stretched, speaking with a touch of weariness. "Nothing much. I just went to plant a seed. "As for the rest, Castellan Xiahou, you needn't concern yourself. "You only need to take forty percent of Beizha City's resources tomorrow and deliver them very discreetly to East City and Donglin City in two batches. "Naturally, this requires Castellan Xiahou to make the trip in person, and you must ensure your trail is faintly exposed along the way—though without making it seem deliberate. "Once the delivery is done, you simply need to sit and stay a while longer on Chu Yuan's side in East City. "If you stay at Chen Ce's for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then stay one cup of tea's time longer at Chu Yuan's." Xiahou Cang frowned deeply, yet he did not press any further. Whatever Li Guanqi said now went. After seeing Xiahou Cang out, Li Guanqi sat upright in his chair facing the door, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Cold Soul Jade Glaze... the six cities of Dixiu Bay... I want them all!" Tonight, not one of the three castellans could sleep. Chu Yuan paced his room with a dark expression. The ordinarily poised, elegant man now had his brows knit tight, muttering ceaselessly under his breath. Over and over, he watched the imagery from the shadow-casting stone Li Guanqi had sent him. It even included the voices of the two men... Which meant the entirety of their conversation was laid bare before him. Yet the clearer it seemed... the more suspicion festered in Chu Yuan's heart! "Did they deliberately let me see this shadow-casting stone? "Did they talk about other things besides this? "Or could it be... this shadow-casting stone was made just to brush me off?" While Chu Yuan was lost in wild speculation, a transmission came from Chen Ce. "Li Congxin went to see you?" Chu Yuan was taken aback for a moment. Gripping the jade slip, he frowned and said in a heavy voice, "No! He has never contacted me." The moment he said that, he realized something was wrong. "Chen Ce, did he say something to you? "I swear, I have definitely not met him in private! He never came looking for me today either!" Inside Donglin City Castellan Manor. Chen Ce gripped his jade slip until his knuckles turned slightly white, though his tone remained calm and steady as he spoke: "Oh. Looks like he lied to me, then." By now, however, Chu Yuan had caught on! Gripping the jade slip, he spoke in rapid succession: "Chen Ce! Wake up, this is all Li Congxin's scheme! "He wants to use our mutual suspicion to drive a wedge between us!" Chen Ce chuckled softly. "I know. The two of us must absolutely stand together. "You and I must believe each other. We must never fall into mutual suspicion." Hearing this, the green-robed man finally breathed a sigh of relief. "It's good that you understand this. "That Li Congxin is too shrewd and calculating. Now that Dixiu Bay has ended up in this state, you and I must trust each other!" "Yes. We must trust each other." Putting down the jade slip after speaking, an inscrutable gleam flickered in Chen Ce's eyes! "Trust each other, huh... "Whether Li Congxin really went to see you or not, only you know in your own heart!" At this moment, though their words professed unbroken solidarity, in truth, a seed of doubt had been planted in each of their hearts! They were already beginning to contemplate how to protect themselves in this vortex! And at this juncture, neither of them dared make a move against Xiahou Cang! Once that balance was broken, neither could bear the consequences. Now, if either of them decided to strike, the other could easily ally with Xialin City! The only reason things had turned out this way was Li Guanqi, the chess player... In just a few short days, the landscape of the entire Dixiu Bay had undergone an earth-shattering transformation. And that transformation had been wrought entirely by Li Guanqi. Under such immense psychological pressure, any move related to Li Guanqi tugged at their every nerve. That night passed agonizingly slowly. Aside from Li Guanqi, who cultivated with eyes closed, likely not one of the three castellans managed to fall asleep. Early the next morning, unusual movements stirred across all three cities as they frantically dug for every scrap of information. Right up until night fell, Li Guanqi never left his room. As for the jade jar Yu Su brought, Li Guanqi merely accepted it without delivering it. There was no need to worry about Li Nanting's side, and Li Guanqi was not so depraved as to use an infant to coerce Xiahou Cang and his wife. Taking the child had merely been to instill a measure of caution in Xiahou Cang. When night fell at last, Xiahou Cang finally departed. Before leaving, however, he deployed a puppet to make appearances in the manor on his behalf, while he slipped away silently to the two cities! Yet up until the moment Xiahou Cang returned, only Chen Ce took the initiative to tell Chu Yuan that Xiahou Cang had come! Whereas Chu Yuan... Chu Yuan concealed Xiahou Cang's visit! For the resources Xiahou Cang brought were something he could not refuse. When Chen Ce heard that Chu Yuan supposedly hadn't seen Xiahou Cang, his heart skipped a beat! When Xiahou Cang arrived, he had only said he was dividing Beizha City's resources with him, mentioning nothing else. It had been the same on Chu Yuan's end. Chu Yuan had even kept Xiahou Cang for an extended stay, precisely because he wanted to know what Li Guanqi was really planning! Yet Xiahou Cang had played dumb the entire time, saying nothing about Li Guanqi and showing no haste to leave. For when Xiahou Cang went to see Chen Ce, he had already sensed from the man's words and demeanor that Li Guanqi's stratagem was taking effect. Thus, he became all the more convinced of one thing: be obedient, and do as Li Guanqi said. Seeing Xiahou Cang recount everything with excitement, Li Guanqi merely offered an indifferent smile. Such calm serenity sent a chill down Yu Su's spine... As if every single thing had been within his calculations from the very beginning!