After a moment's thought, Xu Yuan did not refuse Xu Xinyao's request. Glancing over at the sect disciples who looked as though they wanted to devour him alive, he said softly, "Suit yourself. But I suggest you make it quick. If you delay too long, knowing your character, you'll probably regret it later."
He did not trust that flock of sect disciples, so naturally he wouldn't explain the reason again.
A flicker of doubt showed in Xu Xinyao's beautiful eyes. She said softly, "All right. I only need to let Ziqing and the others know what to do next."
Xu Yuan shrugged, signaling that she could go.
Xu Xinyao pondered for a second, then turned and walked toward the sect disciples.
The tense, sword-drawn atmosphere hanging over the official road dissipated somewhat.
Standing where he was, Xu Yuan studied the striking assortment of sect disciples.
After a dozen or so breaths, Xu Yuan suddenly asked in his mind, "What are their cultivation bases like?"
After a brief pause, the Saint's remnant soul replied, "Aside from the two who spoke to you just now, most are in Body Integration, and a few are in Soul Condensation."
Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow, sweeping his gaze across their faces. "All quite young. Cultivation like that must make them standouts even within their sects. Looks like my fourth sister only associates with geniuses and scions of privilege, rather than taking in just any trash."
The Saint's remnant soul chuckled, speaking teasingly, "Hardly trash, indeed. But boy, I thought you were going to kill that fellow."
Xu Yuan froze for an instant, then glanced at Li Zhonghua, who was busy apologizing repeatedly to Xu Xinyao. "Kill Li Zhonghua?"
"Naturally," the Saint's remnant soul said.
Xu Yuan shook his head slightly. "Why would I kill him? Aside from putting Xu Xinyao in an awkward spot, what good would that do?"
The Saint's remnant soul chuckled. "Didn't you find him terribly noisy?"
"Noisy, certainly," Xu Yuan agreed. "But this wasn't a duel where blades have no eyes. A third-rank Grandmaster this young is almost certainly the chief true disciple of some major sect. Everything requires a legitimate pretext. Even if Xu Changge were here, at most he'd have beaten him half to death. Why would I do something that brings a hundred harms and not a single benefit?"
Pausing, Xu Yuan glanced at the pitch-black soul ring on his finger.
"Back there, if I hadn't struck the old man and the burly fellow with the Meishen Dao Charm first, those three Wanxiang Sect sleeper agents would've nearly overturned our boat in the gutter. Third-rank Grandmasters who wield Dao Charms are never easy to deal with.
"Even if we managed to kill them in the end, how much soul power would you have left, old man?
"Why on earth would I do something that brings a hundred harms and not a single benefit?"
As his words fell, Xu Xinyao, clad in blue robes with eyes gentle as water, had already turned and was walking toward him.
It seemed she had taken his words to heart; she had simply settled everyone's emotions, briefly arranged their itinerary for after her departure, and returned to his side.
"Third Brother, let us go."
Xu Yuan looked her up and down, asking, "You still intend to keep traveling with them?"
He had heard their conversation just now; Xu Xinyao had told them to return to Huanglong Market and wait for her.
Xu Xinyao nodded. "Father promised me."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan stared at her for a few breaths, then shook his head slightly without pursuing the matter. "Can you fly?"
In Cangyuan, this "former female lead" before him had not been weak in direct combat—she was quite formidable through the early and mid-game, not to mention her attainments in array formations.
Xu Xinyao gave a slight nod. "My boots are engraved with a levitation array. I can fly, but not for long—"
"Don't resist."
Cutting her off halfway with a wave of his hand, Xu Yuan didn't even look back at the sect disciples. He simply swept out the Saint's soul power to lift his fourth sister, then said to Ran Qingmo beside him, "Let's go."
Ran Qingmo nodded slightly. "Mm."
With that, three figures rose straight into the air, speeding toward Shengshan County.
Along the way, Xu Xinyao asked Xu Yuan many questions, but Xu Yuan ignored her entirely, just as Ran Qingmo had ignored him on their journey earlier.
Gentle by nature, Xu Xinyao took no offense. Instead, she switched to voice transmissions, sharing the sights and experiences from her travels: from the suffering of the common folk to amusing anecdotes along the road, friends she had made, and even some pursuers who caused her distress.
Naturally, Xu Yuan still paid her no heed.
As they drew nearer to their destination, however, Xu Xinyao's words grew sparser. It was not because of Xu Yuan's cold shoulder, but because the surrounding terrain was becoming increasingly familiar.
She realized that where they were heading was Shengshan County, and she faintly began to understand why her third brother, who had remained silent the whole way, had struck her earlier.
A day later, they reached their destination.
The Illusory Mist Grand Array of Shengshan County still stood like a natural chasm across the edge of the Wanxing Mountain Range. Xu Yuan brought Xu Xinyao straight to the Wanxiang Sect's array control node.
It was another moonless night. In the pitch-black mountain woods, a resonant beast roar could occasionally be heard.
Landing at the entrance to the cavern housing the control node, Xu Yuan still said nothing, merely glancing sideways at the silent Xu Xinyao.
Xu Xinyao kept her head lowered. Strands of soft hair drifted down past her temples, concealing her expression.
Without a word, she walked quietly into the cavern.
Xu Yuan did not follow. Watching her slender figure vanish into the gloom, he gave an enigmatic grunt, then ambled over to the cavern entrance and sat leaning against the stone wall.
He had not closed his eyes for two days and two nights. The moment he stopped circulating his cultivation technique, an overwhelming wave of exhaustion washed over him.
Ran Qingmo sat quietly beside him, removing her veiled hat. Her clear, serene eyes gazed out at the surrounding dark woods as she spoke softly: "Xu Yuan..."
"Hmm?" Xu Yuan murmured drowsily, eyes still closed.
Ran Qingmo said softly, "Your sister is actually quite nice."
Xu Yuan muttered, "How so?"
Ran Qingmo thought for a moment before replying in a low voice, "I heard about her reputation when I was traveling the world before. Before I came down from the mountain, Master said I should learn from her."
Xu Yuan chuckled softly under his breath. "Your master sounds like a sensible enough person."
A faint smile touched the corner of his lips. "Though the sects certainly ought to hope the imperial court has more people like her."
Ran Qingmo pondered this, unable to make sense of it. "Why?"
"Because if there were more people like her, my father's plans would run into constant dead ends, and everyone could coexist in peace."
"Mm..." Ran Qingmo thought about it, then asked, "Isn't coexisting in peace a good thing?"
"Of course it is," Xu Yuan said, slowly opening his eyes. "No one wants war. Not even my father. Those who truly wish for war and revel in it are all madmen."
Hearing the subject turn to this, Ran Qingmo's eyes flickered, and she asked in a low voice, "Then... why does your father want to make a move against the Sword Sect?"
Looking at her beside him, Xu Yuan's expression softened slightly. "Ran Qingmo, what do you think of the Wanxiang Sect slaughtering an entire city?"
Ran Qingmo fell silent for a few breaths before saying in all seriousness, "It makes me angry."
Xu Yuan smiled faintly and nodded. "Indeed. Anger. Anyone with a shred of humanity would be furious seeing such a thing. That's four hundred thousand lives..."
At this, Xu Yuan paused for two seconds, his tone shifting with complicated nuance.
"Four hundred thousand seems like a vast number, but in truth, it's really nothing. The year before last, during the demonic beast tide, Ziyue County was breached, and over three hundred thousand died. Did you know about that?"
Ran Qingmo shook her head honestly. "No."
Xu Yuan continued, "Three years ago, when the demonic beast tide broke Chengqing County, over five hundred thousand died. And the worst of all—nine years ago, when Xichen Commandery fell, nearly two million perished. You didn't know about any of that either, did you?"
"..."
Ran Qingmo said nothing, only shaking her head.
She did not read gazettes or internal briefings; her life was dedicated solely to cultivation.
All the information she had came from what her master told her.
Xu Yuan sighed. "Four hundred thousand is merely a drop in the ocean for the whole of Great Yan. And the figures I just quoted were only round numbers.
"Along the hundred-thousand-li frontier of the Wanxing Mountain Range, the piecemeal casualties each year are hard to tally, but they easily exceed the population of an entire Shengshan County.
"Remember, that's every single year."
"..." Ran Qingmo pressed her crimson lips together.
Xu Yuan showed no intention of stopping. Pointing toward the northwest and the north, he continued in a weary tone: "Ran Qingmo, Great Yan's borders don't stop at the hundred thousand li of the Wanxing Mountain Range. There is the desert in the northwest, and the frigid wastes of the north. Heh... ever since Great Yan formally went to war with the northern Barbarians, over five million people have died there. Beyond that, along the coastal defense line stretching nearly two hundred thousand li to the east, wokou pirates are running rampant.
"Compared to the casualties in those places every year, one Shengshan County really is nothing."
Ran Qingmo lowered her gaze slightly, her voice barely audible: "Xu Yuan... do that many people really die every year?"
"Recorded in the Chancellor's Manor internal briefings," Xu Yuan sighed again, speaking in a languid cadence. "And the casualties along the borders are only the lesser part. The lion's share is within Great Yan itself. Aside from the seven or eight affluent provinces, you've seen what the rest of the land looks like. All of this stems from the sects leeching resources dry, draining the imperial treasury until local governments can no longer afford the expenses to suppress demonic beasts.
"Of course, from your sects' perspective, you could view this as the bitter fruit of an obstinate imperial court clinging to power, occupying posts while doing nothing and refusing to yield.
"Yet no one truly wants Great Yan to be impoverished and weak. After all, only when Great Yan flourishes can the court, the sects, and the noble clans hold even greater power and influence."
"..." Ran Qingmo's chest rose and fell slightly.
With a helpless look in his eyes, Xu Yuan murmured, "Ran Qingmo, now do you understand why my father wants to move against the Tianyuan Sword Sect? He isn't targeting the Tianyuan Sword Sect specifically; he wants to eradicate all the sects under heaven. Your Tianyuan Sword Sect merely bears the brunt because it stands at their head."
Silence. Outside the cavern, the night was utterly still.
After a long silence, Ran Qingmo spoke softly: "Xu Yuan... telling me all this, aren't you afraid I'll tell my master and the others?"
Xu Yuan raised a hand and flicked her forehead.
Ran Qingmo looked at him, puzzled and completely unfazed.
"..."
Xu Yuan quietly withdrew his throbbing fingers and cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Aside from the last point, the upper echelons of the sects know everything I just mentioned.
"As for that last point, nobody believed it before, and even fewer people would believe it if you told them now. After all, word that you've been sticking by my side the whole time has probably spread across every sect in the world by now."
The black coiled-dragon carriage representing the direct lineage of the Chancellor's Manor was far too conspicuous, and Ran Qingmo's signature attire—all in black, accompanied by an ink-black sword—was uniquely recognizable. Ordinary disciples might not know, but the true leadership undoubtedly recognized this precious disciple of the Sword Sect's old master.
It was essentially a case of mud in the crotch—no matter how she tried to wash it clean, it looked like filth.
Ran Qingmo sat upright beside Xu Yuan in silence. After a while, she seemed to realize something was amiss. "Xu Yuan, if your father intends to do that sort of thing, why is your sister doing the exact opposite?"
"That is simply her nature," Xu Yuan said without hesitation, glancing toward the cavern. "She's far too gentle and kind. She always wants a solution where no one has to die. But where in this world does such an ideal exist? When it comes to interests, who would ever concede?"
With that, both fell silent.
Time flowed quietly by.
The Saint's remnant soul suddenly spoke in Xu Yuan's mind: "Boy, your father certainly knows how to scheme."
"How so?" Xu Yuan asked.
The Saint's remnant soul sighed with a touch of admiration: "To be frank, this old man doesn't know much about the world today. But your father, as a pillar of the court, secretly plots to destroy the sects while letting your sister roam free on her travels—isn't that simply dangling deceptive goodwill in front of them? Coupled with other imperial decrees and policies, the sects probably believe your Chancellor's Manor is looking to compromise, don't they?
"Tsk, tsk... Striking with thunderous force just when the sects think you will never make a move. A brilliant ploy indeed."
Hearing this, Xu Yuan felt a slight twinge of surprise.
For Old Man Luo to deduce such a conclusion from so little information showed that his ten thousand years had not been lived in vain.
Still, Xu Yuan merely replied in a low voice: "Old Man Luo, you're mistaken. This is the path Xu Xinyao chose for herself.
"At most, it's a happy accident. And her actions are merely icing on the cake for my father's plan."
Over the past decade or so, imperial decrees directed against the sects had mostly been loud thunder with no rain.
A while back, rumors had even spread across several provinces surrounding Jiangnan Prefecture about a policy allowing locals to govern local lands.
Ten years ago, such a thing would have been unthinkable.
After all, Xu Yinhe had held power for decades, enduring immense hardship to purge the sect factions from local governments across Great Yan.
By now, the path for sect disciples to serve as imperial officials had virtually been severed, yet recent court decrees seemed to hint at reopening that door.
Examples of such measures were too numerous to list.
Compared to these deceptive policies, Xu Xinyao's goodwill toward the sects really was nothing more than icing on the cake.
Having said that, Xu Yuan suddenly realized enough time had passed. It was time for him to go inside and properly straighten out the muddled thinking of his fourth sister.
Rising slowly, Xu Yuan said to Ran Qingmo beside him, "Ran Qingmo, wait here. I need to go inside and have a word with my fourth sister."
Still lost in thought over Xu Yuan's earlier words, Ran Qingmo merely nodded gently. "Mm, all right. I'll wait here for you."
Looking at her slightly knitted brows, Xu Yuan reached out and ruffled her hair.
"Don't dwell on it too much. The conflict between the sects and the imperial court is fundamentally irreconcilable. It can only be rebuilt once destroyed."
Chapter 153