Sudden Authority

"People always tend to imagine others the way they picture them in their own minds." A breeze drifted through the pavilion. Yuan Hao glanced sideways at the koi in the pond, his voice gentle and slow. "Just as before meeting you, Third Young Master, I had expected you to be rather more ostentatious." With that, Yuan Hao bowed deeply toward Xu Yuan with hands clasped in salute. "Without the Third Young Master's permission, Yuan took the liberty of deploying troops into the city. I beg for the Third Young Master's punishment." "..." Xu Yuan glanced at him, sat down slowly on the stone stool across from him, and shook his head. "A general in the field may decline imperial orders if the situation demands. Commander Yuan, tailoring your decisions to local conditions was the right call. Besides, my thoughts align with yours, Commander Yuan—why would I punish you?" Yuan Hao dropped his formal posture and sat down casually opposite him, a hint of surprise in his eyes. "Your thoughts align with mine?" Looking at Yuan Hao, Xu Yuan directly stated his attitude regarding the matter: "I don't believe the upper echelons of the Wanxiang Sect have any intention of repenting." Yuan Hao's eyes narrowed slightly, the corners of his lips curving upward. "The Third Young Master speaks truly. Only slaughter can stop slaughter; only by killing until they are terrified can this problem be solved." "Stopping slaughter with slaughter?" Xu Yuan traced the rim of his cup, raised it to take a light sip, and then reflexively glanced at the warm flagon before him. This wine was actually the lowest-grade yellow wine, bitter and astringent on the tongue. Seeing his gaze, Yuan Hao explained softly, "A minor personal quirk of mine. Back when I was down and out, I drank nothing but this. Now, drinking fine wine feels unnatural to me." Understanding dawned on Xu Yuan. He downed the yellow wine in his cup, then shifted the conversation: "By that logic, Commander Yuan's corpse pyramid back then was also about stopping slaughter with slaughter?" "..." Yuan Hao also downed his cup in one swallow. Looking at Xu Yuan, his voice was very soft: "No. "That, too, was merely a minor personal quirk of mine." "..." Silence. Xu Yuan let out a sigh and chuckled. "It seems rumors do hold some truth after all." Yuan Hao grinned. "Yet the Third Young Master does not match the rumors at all." "Perhaps." Xu Yuan shook his head, lingering no further on the topic, and steered things back on track: "Commander Yuan, although the residential quarter in Pingshui Bay is large, hiding the daily needs of thirty-five hundred men cannot be easy. Roughly how long will it take for the army to assemble and reorganize?" "Three days at the earliest, five at the latest." Hearing this, Yuan Hao also reined in his smile. As he spoke, he glanced toward the courtyard gate. "However, the Third Young Master need not worry about this. Bai Zhao has already arranged everything. Every courtyard housing soldiers has been stocked in advance with more than a month's supply of dry rations and water." "To be so meticulous, the man is indeed quite a talent." "He is indeed very capable," Yuan Hao agreed readily. Xu Yuan paused for an instant, then suddenly asked, "You investigated him beforehand, didn't you?" Yuan Hao looked slightly surprised, but nodded nonetheless. "I did. After all, if he betrayed us, the elite forces brought into the city could easily be lost here." "And?" Xu Yuan asked. "Is the Third Young Master planning to promote him?" Yuan Hao asked. "It would be a pity for a capable man to die here in Wanxiang City," Xu Yuan replied. Yuan Hao weighed his words for a moment, then lowered his voice: "Though we had intelligence from the Black Scale Guards, I still arrived early and observed him from the shadows for over half a tenday. Bai Zhao held two secret meetings—one with the sect, one with the yamen. Nothing out of the ordinary, merely that his ambition for power runs rather strong." Pausing, Yuan Hao added with a low chuckle, "Moreover, his daughter was brought over specifically over the past two days." Xu Yuan listened closely, his expression placid. Seeing this, Yuan Hao asked, "It seems the Third Young Master already knew?" "He laid it on a bit too thick, so I saw through it." "Does the young master still intend to employ him?" "Why wouldn't I?" Xu Yuan answered with a question of his own. The image of the man coaxing his daughter rose in his mind, and he smiled. "It is inconsequential. This Pingshui Gang only possesses a facade of prosperity; any truly influential figure in Wanxiang City could consign him to ruin. After being cautious for decades, it would be fake if he didn't want to climb higher. "Besides, if it weren't for power, I would be suspicious of him instead. "Bai Zhao has likely been here for nearly thirty years. To expect someone who has operated independently outside for decades to remain unconditionally loyal—Commander Yuan, do you think that's realistic?" "..." Yuan Hao did not answer. Xu Yuan could speak so casually, but he could not simply chime in on such matters. Xu Yuan realized this as well. Pouring himself a full cup of yellow wine, he raised it and smiled: "Bai Zhao's Pingshui Gang hit its ceiling in Wanxiang City a decade ago. If it grew any larger, either the government or the Wanxiang Sect would have cracked down on him. Wanting to climb higher is a good thing, and gambling with his kin shows boldness. Given his cultivation, he is bound to lack the nerve to betray us. When you withdraw, Commander Yuan, you can bring him along." Cups clinked, drained dry. After a quiet moment, Xu Yuan asked: "All right, let's talk about the plan." Yuan Hao's calloused finger tapped lightly on the stone table. Instead of answering immediately, he asked first: "Third Young Master, what are your thoughts?" "My thoughts?" Xu Yuan was slightly surprised. It seemed that although Yuan Hao relished killing, his political awareness was rather sharp. Pausing, he asked in turn, "What orders did my father give you?" Yuan Hao stared at Xu Yuan and uttered a single sentence: "The Lord Chancellor stated that the Third Young Master is in full authority over this matter." "..." Hearing this, Xu Yuan froze. He reflexively glanced sideways toward the Wanxiang Sect's mountain gate, then turned back and asked uncertainly: "What do those words mean?" Yuan Hao said softly: "Literally what they say. "The Wanxiang Sect's mountain gate sits beside the Duanhai Waterfall, adjacent to Wanxiang City. If you merely wish to intimidate them, Third Young Master, I will deploy outside the city in formation and feign an assault. If you wish to teach the Wanxiang Sect a lesson, Third Young Master, I can breach Wanxiang City. And if you wish to eradicate the sect, Third Young Master..." At this point, Yuan Hao smiled—a very clean, hearty smile. "I can ensure not a fowl or dog remains in the Wanxiang Sect. "That is the Lord Chancellor's meaning." "..." Xu Yuan's brain short-circuited for a second. What was going on? Hadn't the communication earlier implied he was just coming here to negotiate? He was familiar with that sort of thing; in his past life at the old man's company, he had taken part in plenty of consultations and talks with other firms. Now, holding the moral high ground and backed by military coercion, anyone with a pulse ought to be able to strike a deal. Yet hearing Yuan Hao's words now... Had he just become a field army commander? Was the old man not worried he would botch it completely? Was his Chancellor father cranking the difficulty straight to maximum on him? Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan did not speak immediately. He poured himself another cup of yellow wine and drank it down. Silence reigned within the pavilion. Yuan Hao waited quietly for Xu Yuan's orders, while Xu Yuan drank cup after cup of the low-grade yellow wine before him. Having finished the flagon of warm wine, Xu Yuan exhaled a breath of turbid air and gave a low laugh: "Commander Yuan, you seem very keen for me to choose the latter." Yuan Hao smiled faintly and said without the slightest concealment: "Naturally. An opportunity to slaughter a sect doesn't come by often." Xu Yuan rose slowly. Having adjusted his mindset slightly, his voice was very soft: "If necessary, I will let you do just that." Yuan Hao licked his lips, grinned, and stood up to clasp his fists. "Yuan Hao awaits the young master's command."