"Brother Qi, pick out the items on this list first."
"Brother Jiu, you gather the things on this one."
After Qi Shiyun left, Lianshan Xin called Qi Wenbin and Du Jiu into the storeroom and handed each of them a slip of paper.
Qi Wenbin took his slip and glanced at what was written on it, puzzled. "These are all sword-forging materials and precious medicinal ingredients. Brother, what do you need all this for?"
Lianshan Xin did not keep them in the dark. After all, Qi Shiyun had already told him that these two would become his trusted subordinates in the future.
"The items on your slip, Brother Qi, are prepared for Lord Heavenly Sword."
"And what's written on yours, Brother Jiu, is for Tanhua Qi."
"First, we pick out what they need. Then we choose whatever we like and can use for ourselves."
"Lastly, we bring the brothers outside in so everyone gets a share of the wealth."
"Of course, we must leave at least half behind."
Qi Wenbin and Du Jiu were both surprised and overjoyed.
Du Jiu asked quickly, "Did Tanhua Qi agree to this?"
Lianshan Xin shook his head and replied solemnly, "Tanhua Qi knows nothing about this. Everything is entirely my own doing and my own idea."
Enlightenment dawned on Du Jiu. "Young Master Xin, this was my idea. It has nothing to do with you."
Lianshan Xin sighed with admiration inwardly. No wonder Qi Shiyun had said Du Jiu was more gifted than Qi Wenbin.
The difference was plain to see.
Qi Wenbin was a beat behind, but he caught on quickly and chimed in at once. "It was a joint idea between Xiao Jiu and me."
"All right, that's enough. This was my idea," Lianshan Xin said, cutting short their display of loyalty. "Go get the gifts for Lord Heavenly Sword and Tanhua Qi ready first. If the sky falls, I'll be the one holding it up."
He was different from Qi Shiyun; a man needed self-awareness.
With Qi Shiyun's current standing, she was entitled to keep black gloves to handle her dirty work.
Lianshan Xin was not there yet.
At the very least, he needed to officially join the Nine Heavens, receive the Qi Condensation Pill, and become the designated Chosen Son of Heaven for the Heaven's Chosen lineage before he had the standing to groom such operatives.
Until then, he had to treat Du Jiu and Qi Wenbin as brothers.
And even afterward, he would still need to treat them like his personal secretary and chauffeur.
"I'll go see how Chairman Qu is doing."
Lianshan Xin was eager to silence the man.
However, he soon discovered that Qi Shiyun had already taken care of it for him.
"A stubborn, unrepentant Demon Cult scoundrel deserves nothing less than death by anyone's hand."
Watching Qi Shiyun sever Chairman Qu's head with a blade, Lianshan Xin suppressed the nausea rising in his stomach and voiced his concern. "Tanhua Qi, won't executing Chairman Qu on your own without reporting to Lord Heavenly Sword displease him?"
Tanhua Qi raised a finger and explained, "First, I am the successor to the Heaven's Chosen lineage. Lord Heavenly Sword only has the authority to mobilize me, not to dictate my actions. The nine lineages of the Nine Heavens do not answer to one another; we only cooperate."
Lianshan Xin made a mental note of this fact.
"Second, Chairman Qu had to die, for reasons you already know."
"This student intended to do it personally, without troubling you," Lianshan Xin said earnestly. "There was no need for such a trivial matter to dirty your hands."
Qi Shiyun patted his shoulder and said calmly, "There is no need to demean yourself so much. Once you enter the Heaven's Chosen, you and I will be fellow Daoists, supporting each other in mutual aid and trust. There are many things you don't understand right now, but once you truly master the Dragon Supporting Art, you will naturally see what I mean."
Though the Dragon-Supporting Immortal Art was treasonous to the highest degree, the caster and the recipient formed a relationship of genuine mutual assistance and shared fortune.
Of course, the drawback was that if one fell, both died.
That was why, whenever a master of Heaven's Chosen suffered misfortune through the dynasties, some prince, imperial duke, or princess was invariably confined to the Court of the Imperial Clan or met a sudden, violent demise.
These were indeed matters Lianshan Xin would only come to understand in time.
For now, he simply felt Qi Shiyun's sincerity in winning him over.
"You must prepare yourself mentally. There is a ninety percent chance Chairman Qu never revealed the news of the Thousand-Year Snow Lotus, or the Qu family would have been wiped out immediately. But there remains a ten percent chance that the secret leaked. If that is the case, the Demon Cult Leader may learn of it, and you will become a thorn in his side."
Lianshan Xin nodded quietly and gave an easy smile. "When soldiers arrive, generals block them; when water rises, earth dams it. Tanhua Qi, this student is in no position to overthink it."
"Well said. Knowing when to act decisively is a talent in itself."
The affinities between people were truly curious things.
Qi Shiyun found Lianshan Xin increasingly to her liking, reaffirming her conviction that she was a genius with an eye for hidden gems.
"I'll leave the Qu family matter to you for now while I go report to Lord Heavenly Sword. Once you finish wrapping things up here, head home."
"Milady, what if the Demon Cult villains double back for a surprise attack...?" Lianshan Xin asked with a hint of concern.
Qi Shiyun chuckled. "If Thousand Faces had that kind of nerve, why would he still be hiding? Stirring up more trouble only to provoke the Nine Heavens into deploying heavy forces—is he tired of living?"
Heavenly Sword was merely one of the Nine Heavens.
If Heavenly Sword truly could not control the situation in Jiangzhou, more than just Heavenly Sword would arrive from the Nine Heavens.
"Rest assured, the sky won't fall."
Qi Shiyun inspired an immense confidence in Lianshan Xin. He did not know where her absolute assurance came from, for the reasoning she gave did not strike him as entirely foolproof.
Even so, he was not about to question her decision.
After seeing Qi Shiyun out of the Qu estate, Lianshan Xin glanced around the perimeter. Spotting nothing unusual, he turned back inside.
A sizeable crowd had already gathered in front of the estate gates.
Yet with members of the Nine Heavens maintaining order, the onlookers outside remained orderly.
Lianshan Xin showed himself openly, with no intention of concealing his identity.
He had to climb upward anyway, so why pretend to be ordinary?
In his experience, unless his enterprise collapsed midway before bearing fruit, everyone surrounding his parents would treat them with respect as long as he remained standing.
Ten years ago, the people around him had treated him according to his parents' status.
Ten years later, it was time for them to treat his parents according to his own.
***
After Lianshan Xin's figure disappeared from view, a man and a woman drew back their gazes from a windowside table on the second floor of a tavern two streets away from the Qu estate, completely unnoticed by him.
The woman frowned and asked, "Master, do you think this could be a trap? Qi Shiyun discovered your body double, yet she hasn't ordered a citywide search. It seems very strange."
"It isn't strange at all."
Sitting across from her was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man who would fade into any crowd in an instant.
The man took a sip of liquor. As the bitter brew slipped down his throat, he coughed softly, spitting up blood.
He raised a hand to ward off the woman's concern, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a clean white handkerchief, and said calmly, "Don't worry, it won't kill me."
"Master, do you believe Qi Shiyun was truly foolish enough not to think of searching the entire city? Or does she simply not dare to?"
"Neither."
The man smiled faintly. "Qi Shiyun is afraid of what she would do if she actually caught me."
The woman was taken aback. "Master, I don't understand."
The man explained, "The Nine Heavens consists of nine lineage traditions, and beyond those nine lineages, there are three major factions. The largest among them leans toward maintaining the status quo. Another dislikes conflict and consists of recluses within the Nine Heavens who rarely enter the mundane world. Neither of those two factions is an enemy of our Sacred Cult. Only the weakest faction is our true foe."
"Which faction is that?"
"The young faction within the Nine Heavens, and Qi Shiyun is one of its foremost figures. The defining traits of this faction are youthful arrogance and exceptional genius, yet they have not yet seized the power to overturn the world, nor have they carved their names into the jianghu or the history books."
At this point, the man let out a soft sigh. "Yet these people are no longer willing to wait. Young soldiers long to win glory."
Chapter 16