Li Yunxiu looked at Qianqian, but directed her question to Wang Yu. "Who is she, and why does she know about All Streams Returning to the Source?"
Wang Yu sighed. "She doesn't just know about All Streams Returning to the Source; she knows who I really am."
Li Yunxiu's heart skipped a beat. Then she saw Qianqian link her arm through Wang Yu's, giggling playfully. "Oh, so Brother Yu hasn't told this old woman about me yet! Brother Yu really is so good to me!"
Li Yunxiu glared at Wang Yu. Wang Yu spread his hands. "The thing is, telling you wouldn't have helped anyway."
Li Yunxiu countered, "How do you know it wouldn't have helped?"
Wang Yu nodded. "She's with the Demonic Cult."
Li Yunxiu's heart thudded heavily once more. In just a single instant, even Qianqian's motive for meddling in the manor's affairs became crystal clear to her.
"You want to seize the nest and raise an army in rebellion!"
"Don't make it sound so unpleasant," Qianqian said with a giggle. "We call it rising up in righteous rebellion for the people to eradicate the tyrannical Jin."
Li Yunxiu stared at Qianqian, and Qianqian looked back at Li Yunxiu.
Li Yunxiu made no further attempt to probe whether Qianqian was truly certain of Wang Yu's identity, because whether she was or not, doing so offered no benefit to herself.
She merely said, "The Prince of Zhenxi's Manor will not willingly be a pawn of the Demonic Cult."
"Nor will the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor willingly be a pawn of the imperial court," Qianqian replied with a grin.
Both women knew that exposing Wang Yu's identity would do neither of them any good.
Li Yunxiu certainly did not want the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor to fall apart and force the imperial court to cast its gaze back toward the Northwest, while the Demonic Cult clearly had no wish to lose a force they could exploit.
"In that case, may the best win," Li Yunxiu said coolly.
Qianqian raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you, Elder Sister?"
"You won't." Li Yunxiu shook her head with a faint smile. "Killing me wouldn't do you any good either."
Li Yunxiu genuinely wasn't afraid of Qianqian moving against her. The reasoning Wang Yu had laid out when stopping Zhao Rong and Zhao Siqi before was clear enough; she did not believe Qianqian was ignorant of it.
If Li Yunxiu were murdered, the emperor would suspect the manor of rebellion and expose Wang Yu's true identity, causing the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor to instantly become an uncontrollable force.
Although it was hard to say who would ultimately profit, a period of chaos and severe weakening was guaranteed, and it might even give the Black Qiang an opportunity to invade the Central Plains and pillage.
Rather than that, it was far better to keep Li Yunxiu alive, control Wang Yu, slowly infiltrate, and eventually seize control of the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor.
What was more, Wang Yu was clearly an exceptional partner. In just half a year, he had produced three new things—perfume, blast furnaces, and liuli—which could increase the manor's annual revenue by a million taels.
This was hard silver and gold, enough to fund a major military campaign for an army of fifty thousand.
"Elder Sister truly lives up to being the female top scholar—most formidable," Qianqian praised. "When it comes to managing the manor, Little Sister still has much to learn from you."
Li Yunxiu smiled faintly. "If Little Sister wishes to learn, Elder Sister will certainly teach you with all her heart."
The two women exchanged glances and smiled at each other, as if lightning sparked between them in the air.
The next moment, both women turned away. Li Yunxiu strolled out the door, while Qianqian drifted out through the window.
"Hey, wait!" Wang Yu raised a hand. "You two are done talking, but what about me? You ruined my good fun and bumped off my present for tonight, so what am I supposed to do?"
Li Yunxiu turned around to shut the door. "Figure it out yourself."
Qianqian pulled the window shut as well, her laughter trailing off into the distance. "You have your hand."
Wang Yu: "..."
"Just you wait! Sooner or later I'll pin both of you under me and give you a thorough lashing!" Wang Yu grumbled as he climbed into bed.
***
The next morning, without Meng Zixiao to spar with, Wang Yu could only practice his fundamentals alone. Afterwards, he prepared to head to the liuli workshop to see if the craftsmen had made anything new.
Before he could step out of the manor, however, Zi Ling intercepted him and dragged him to the rear hall to see Li Yunxiu.
"What is it?"
"Can't I send for you if there's nothing wrong?"
"When have you ever sent for me when there was nothing wrong?"
"I never did before, but does that mean I can't send for you now just because nothing's wrong?"
Wang Yu looked at Li Yunxiu in astonishment. "Since when did you learn to babble nonsense?"
Li Yunxiu rolled her eyes at him. "I don't have time to waste words with you. I called you here to ask about Qianqian."
"Didn't we finish talking about that yesterday?" Wang Yu asked.
"How does yesterday count as finished?" Li Yunxiu said with dissatisfaction. "Which branch of the Demonic Cult does Qianqian belong to? What other informants does she have in the manor? To what extent has the Demonic Cult established their presence across the three Northwestern prefectures?"
Li Yunxiu looked at Wang Yu. "How could I ask her these things? Naturally, I have to ask you!"
Wang Yu held out his hands. "What's the use of asking me? I don't know either."
Li Yunxiu's voice pitched an octave higher. "You don't know? You don't even know which branch of the Demonic Cult Qianqian belongs to?"
Wang Yu nodded. "I don't."
Li Yunxiu nearly lost her composure, on the verge of being exasperated to death by Wang Yu. "You spend every day with Qianqian! Before, you didn't know her family name, and now she's figured out your entire identity, yet you don't even know which branch of the Demonic Cult she's from?"
Wang Yu raised a hand. "I know she cultivates the Mysterious Maiden Classic, and her sect sisters cultivate the Plain Maiden Classic. One requires emotion without desire, while the other requires desire without emotion."
Li Yunxiu's eyebrow twitched. "The Channü Sect!"
Wang Yu let out an exclamation. "You know it?"
"I should have known earlier. The Channü Sect, a branch of the Demonic Cult, consists entirely of female disciples. Every single one is bewitching and exudes endless charm, looking like fairies, but everything they do is the work of demonic enchantresses.
"What Mysterious Maiden Classic and Plain Maiden Classic? The rest of the martial world calls these two arts the Demonic Maiden Heart-Capturing Great Art and the Channü Soul-Hooking Secret Art. If they don't ruin a man's future, they take his life.
"They either toy with the feelings of young heroic talents before kicking them aside, leaving them utterly ruined and dispirited, or they directly pluck the Yang to nourish the Yin, treating all kinds of martial heroes as medicinal tonics, draining them dry until nothing is left but medicinal dregs."
Li Yunxiu fixed her gaze on Wang Yu. "She has her sights set on you now. Have you fallen for it?"
Then she saw Wang Yu stroke his chin, deep in thoughtful contemplation. "If one could combine both arts, extract the best of each, and rework them into dual cultivation of Yin and Yang, wouldn't that offer the best of both worlds and let one enjoy supreme earthly bliss?"
Li Yunxiu was struck speechless and rolled her eyes at him. "Although the Demonic Cult behaves devoid of human decency, the cult has never lacked top experts. Every generation produces martial Grandmasters or even Great Grandmasters.
"The Channü Sect is foremost among them. Could they not have thought of what you're imagining? Yet centuries have passed and it remains the same, showing that these demonic arts simply cannot be altered."
Wang Yu chuckled slyly without replying.
Just because others couldn't do it didn't mean he couldn't—after all, he had cheats!
In truth, ever since Qianqian first mentioned the Mysterious Maiden Classic and Plain Maiden Classic to him, he had considered the matter. Still, bringing it up would have to wait until he and Qianqian developed a closer relationship; otherwise, rashly asking for her sect's secret manuals would probably get him slapped to death by her.
"However, Qianqian belongs to the Demonic Maiden branch, which is better than the Channü branch after all. At least your life won't be in danger, and as long as you don't fall for her, there's nothing she can do to you."
Li Yunxiu said faintly, "Just beware of her introducing one of her sect sisters into the manor."
Wang Yu couldn't help but grimace, recalling how Qianqian had warned him against buying an unblemished courtesan from a brothel. It seemed even the Channü Sect's own members viewed their counterparts as monsters and scourges.
Was that really necessary?
Then he heard Li Yunxiu ask, "In that case, you don't know anything about her informants in the manor or the operatives the Channü Sect has planted in the Northwest?"
Wang Yu shook his head. "No idea."
Li Yunxiu waved a hand. "Then you may leave."
Wang Yu: "???"
***
"Master!"
Inside Hongyan Pavilion, seeing a moon-white graceful silhouette drift into the room, Qianqian immediately bowed in greeting.
Entering the manor in broad daylight without anyone noticing—such was the power of a martial Grandmaster!
"Have you discovered anything?" Zhuang Muyu stood on the second floor of Hongyan Pavilion, her gaze turned toward the western sky and clouds.
Qianqian looked at her master. Although she had been with her master for seventeen years, Zhuang Muyu's appearance had never changed—still gifted with skin like snow, jade-like bones, and graceful, alluring elegance.
"No," Qianqian replied. "Zhao Zheng never passed All Streams Returning to the Source down to Zhao Yu. Neither he nor Zhao Rong knew that Zhao Zheng had once plundered the master heritage manual of the Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea."
Zhuang Muyu's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "All Streams Returning to the Source was Old Man Xingxiu's lifelong endeavor, renowned for fusing techniques of the same origin. By all reason, it should be the key to Flowing Fire Reflection harmonizing metal and fire. Why would Zhao Zheng not pass it down to Zhao Yu? Could he have already deduced Flowing Fire Reflection to the Great Grandmaster realm?"
Qianqian shook her head. "Likely not. Disciple inspected the manual Zhao Zheng hid in the main quarters; the eighth tier remains an incomplete text, mostly comprised of conjectures and speculations, with no trace of All Streams Returning to the Source."
Zhuang Muyu pondered for a moment. "How strange. How did the Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea react?"
Qianqian answered, "A few days ago, an apprentice of the Twin Stars of the Xingxiu Sea slipped into the manor, attempting to capture Zhao Yu and interrogate him about the manual's whereabouts. But Li Yunxiu discovered her, and Disciple killed her."
Zhuang Muyu turned back to face Qianqian. "You revealed yourself?"
Qianqian stepped forward with a grin. "That Zhao Yu isn't content to be a pawn of the imperial court either. Cooperating with us benefits him as well. If things succeed, he'll be the emperor of a new dynasty—why wouldn't he be willing?"
Zhuang Muyu smiled faintly. "Not bad. He has a bit of cleverness and knows how to adapt to the situation, without the arrogance spoken of in rumors."
Qianqian nodded. "He does possess some capability, and he has produced quite a few new things."
As she spoke, Qianqian retrieved several bottles of perfume from a nearby drawer and presented them to Zhuang Muyu. "This is orchid perfume and plum blossom perfume, especially fitting for Master!"
"How thoughtful of you." Zhuang Muyu took them, opened a stopper, and inhaled the scent. Then she asked Qianqian, "How does he wish to cooperate? Is he willing to employ our cult's people in the three Northwestern prefectures?"
Qianqian paused, then recounted what Wang Yu had told her. "It isn't convenient for him to fall out with Li Yunxiu right now, but he is willing to let our people enter the three prefectures and even the military. However, so as not to destabilize his foundation, our people cannot be mediocre."
"There is indeed some sense to that." Zhuang Muyu thought it over. "To think he isn't arrogant at all, but rather quite capable."
At this point, Zhuang Muyu's eyes brightened, and she snapped her gaze toward Qianqian, her eyes gleaming. "You've taken a liking to him and want him to assist your cultivation?"
Qianqian gave a charming laugh and asked in return, "May I not?"
"You may, of course you may." Zhuang Muyu nodded, then emphasized, "Yet remember well: you may feel passion, but you must never lose your chastity. Only then can you ultimately transcend emotion and attain the Dao. Otherwise, forget about becoming a Great Grandmaster—you wouldn't even have any hope of becoming a Grandmaster. You are a once-in-a-century genius of our Xuansu Sect; do not lose your virtue and trap yourself."
"I understand. Rest assured, Master," Qianqian assured her, patting her chest.
Next, Zhuang Muyu instructed Qianqian to continue searching for All Streams Returning to the Source, stated that she would arrange for capable cultists to enter the three Northwestern prefectures to join the military and serve in administrative posts, and then drifted away once more.
Watching her master depart into the distance, Qianqian breathed a slight sigh of relief. From beginning to end, she had not uttered a single word about Wang Yu's true identity.
Chapter 48