Concealing her assets?
Xu Yuan's expression turned rather peculiar as his gaze drifted toward the perky, voluptuous swell beneath the purple-veiled woman's robes.
If Bai Muxi was hiding her true scale the way Li Qingyan did, the sheer magnitude would be unimaginable...
Cough. Just a joke.
Reining in his wandering thoughts, Xu Yuan stood nearby and watched the scene unfold, having no intention whatsoever of stopping Li Qingyan.
Watching women fight was always entertaining.
Naturally, that was only under the condition that it did not drag him into it.
Still, what kind of performance was this?
An overbearing primary wife putting a disobedient, meek little maidservant in her place?
Yet the truth was that he and Bai Muxi were entirely innocent. Earlier, he had done nothing more than tap her chest, pat her head, and pinch her cheek.
Besides, Xu Yuan hardly believed Li Qingyan would make such a fuss over him teasing a maidservant.
Back before Beifeng City had fallen, he had gone with Li Junqing to visit brothels, and she had never uttered a word of complaint.
Which meant...
Was Li Qingyan referring to the matter with Li Xing?
Watching Bai Muxi pinned against the wall by the princess, a flicker of intrigue flashed in Xu Yuan's eyes.
Looking back in hindsight, the timing Bai Muxi had chosen to speak up had indeed been somewhat odd.
Before she spoke, the atmosphere inside the stone hall had already been abundantly clear—starkly divided, even.
Among the subterranean city's four high-ranking leaders:
The purple-veiled Chief Arbiter had pledged her loyalty; Qin Yuan and Yi Kui had been brought to heel like dogs; and Li Xing had been thoroughly isolated, needing only a beheading to finish the job.
Anyone with a shred of sense should have seen what he was doing.
Dividing and conquering his subordinates.
An obedient dog received not only bones, but also meat.
A disobedient one would not even get scraps.
Yet in the face of such a clear situation, Bai Muxi had made a choice that she knew could yield no result.
She had spoken up to ask for a bone on behalf of the only intractable dog in the room.
In truth, that by itself meant little.
Whether in his past life or this one, Xu Yuan's impression of Bai Muxi had always been that of a gentle, quiet woman, and at times he could even catch traces of Xu Xinyao's disposition in her.
Thus, he had not thought too deeply about her act of pleading for Li Xing's cultivation manual.
After all, by the terms of their initial agreement, he was indeed supposed to provide Li Xing with a technique.
Yet what happened afterward?
Bai Muxi, who had just pleaded on Li Xing's behalf, never spoke another word once Qin Yuan made his move.
From the moment Li Xing was ambushed by Qin Yuan until he was incinerated to charcoal by those black flames, a span of over a dozen breaths had passed.
So long as Xu Yuan gave the order to halt, Li Xing would have suffered grave injuries, but given a Grandmaster's immense vitality, he could have easily survived.
Yet Bai Muxi had made no further plea. She had simply stood aside, watching with cold detachment as Li Xing burned to a crisp in agonizing pain...
Her words, therefore, had been deliberately spoken to direct his attention onto Li Xing.
Amidst the unbroken silence of the passage, Xu Yuan strolled over between the two women. He raised a hand and patted Li Qingyan's wrist where she gripped Bai Muxi's throat, motioning for her to let go.
Li Qingyan kept her grip on Bai Muxi, whose fair, tender neck already bore an unhealthy flush of red marks.
"What? Feeling protective?"
Xu Yuan glanced at the princess, his tone laced with helplessness. "A clever woman knows how to play dumb. Couldn't you learn a thing or two from others?"
Li Qingyan tossed Bai Muxi aside like discarded baggage. Glancing at the woman on the floor, she turned her gaze back and said coolly, "This princess is Li Qingyan."
"..."
Xu Yuan rolled his eyes at this self-important woman, turning his gaze toward the pitiable Bai Muxi collapsed on the floor.
"Cough... cough... haah..."
Slumped on the ground, Bai Muxi rubbed her throat and let out a series of deliberately hushed coughs. "Young Master..."
"Shut up."
"..." Bai Muxi closed her mouth.
Squatting down before her, Xu Yuan scrutinized her soft, delicate features as he asked, "You wanted to kill Li Xing?"
"..." Bai Muxi's frail movements froze.
"If you still choose to lie at a time like this, then you aren't clever—you're foolish."
After a few breaths of silence, Bai Muxi lowered the hand rubbing her neck. She slowly lifted her eyes and said softly, "Yes. Muxi did want him dead."
Xu Yuan stroked his chin in thought. "Why?"
Bai Muxi's eyes curved slightly, her voice crisp and melodious. "Because he harbored improper desires toward Muxi, and his possessiveness ran deep."
Xu Yuan gave a wry chuckle. "Just that? What does that have to do with me?"
Her slumped posture shifted forward slightly until she knelt upright upon the ground, resting her hands against her full thighs. Her bright eyes remained fixed on the man before her. "Muxi has already entrusted everything to Young Master—whether this cultivation, her very life, or even this passable body. When someone covets what belongs to the Young Master, Muxi naturally had to eliminate him."
"Hahaha... Well said..."
Xu Yuan let out a low laugh. Glancing toward Li Qingyan beside them, he asked with a smile, "Princess, do you mind if I take on a maidservant?"
A smile played in Li Qingyan's phoenix eyes. "Not within this underground palace. You are the commander-in-chief; this princess will abide by all your decisions."
"Part of the plan, is it?"
Xu Yuan muttered under his breath, giving an indifferent shake of his head. Turning back toward Bai Muxi, he chuckled softly. "Those words touched me, but they aren't enough."
"Not enough?" An immaculate flicker of confusion passed through Bai Muxi's expression.
Xu Yuan wagged a finger before her eyes, then pointed it at himself.
"I already made my stance on subordinates clear. As long as someone is useful, I will use them even if they despise me to the bone. You shouldn't be incapable of understanding that."
With that, his tone turned a shade colder.
"Tell me the real reason."
After a moment of silence, Bai Muxi exhaled softly, the look in her eyes growing tranquil.
"It seems Muxi truly cannot hide anything from Young Master. If truth be told, it was because of Li Xing's disposition.
"Ever since he was young, Li Xing was fiercely competitive. He loved fighting and striving to surpass others, loved measuring himself against anyone, and loved brooding after defeat. Because of this temperament of his, the Seven Cities Alliance once paid a terrible price.
"For the survival of the subterranean city's people, the odds were high that he would compromise, but given his character, there remained the possibility that he would not."
"So..."
A hint of amusement surfaced in Xu Yuan's narrow eyes. "You used what I was going to say to bait Qin Yuan into directly striking Li Xing dead?"
From their brief encounter, Xu Yuan had already grasped the general temperaments of the individuals involved.
Qin Yuan needed no elaboration—he was a ruthless man, rational to the point of being cold-blooded.
Yi Kui fell short in comparison; her will was not steadfast. When confronted with despair, she would simply give up, fully indulging in carnal pleasures while refusing to take risks.
Xu Yuan had managed to discern these traits in a short time.
As the supreme authority of the subterranean city and someone who had worked alongside the three of them for decades, Bai Muxi understood them far better than he did.
"Yes."
Bai Muxi did not deny it, her voice gentle and even.
"Qin Yuan is rational to an absolute extreme. With you present, Young Master, one only needed to provide him with an excuse, and he would never permit an uncertain variable like Li Xing to remain alive."
Xu Yuan's gaze grew slightly animated as he stared at her, as if looking upon a rare treasure. "And at the same time, you could keep yourself entirely out of suspicion?"
"Rulers rarely take a liking to women around them who are overly calculating."
Bai Muxi's voice was gentle and unhurried. Her snow-quiet, beautiful face dipped slightly. "It is only a pity that Muxi overestimated herself. Her Highness is far cleverer than I."
"You certainly did overestimate yourself."
Li Qingyan suddenly let out a faint laugh from the side. Looking down at Bai Muxi, her gaze held amusement. "This princess could not care less about your scheming. If your scheming could train him properly, this princess wouldn't even mind collaborating with you."
"..."
Xu Yuan's eyelid twitched. Just as he was about to make a sharp retort, the scene unfolding before his eyes made him freeze.
Li Qingyan took a step forward and leaned down. Her fair, slender hand reached directly into the purple-veiled neckline clinging to Bai Muxi's full, perky bosom.
Then, she began groping around.
Bai Muxi remained kneeling on the ground without resisting, allowing the other woman's hand to rummage inside. A blush flushed her cheeks, though whether it was genuine emotion remained anyone's guess.
Xu Yuan gave a dry cough.
"Cough. Qingyan, what are you looking for? How about letting me help—"
"Shut up."
Li Qingyan shot him a cold backward glance before pulling the Blood God Stone jade pendant out from the slightly parted, tender expanse. Holding it in her hand, she turned a chilly smile toward Bai Muxi.
"Earlier, I couldn't sense it. But after absorbing those pieces of fungal armor in the secret chamber, this princess suddenly discovered that this Blood God Stone jade pendant can influence the consciousness of those wearing blood armor to a certain degree.
"Chief Arbiter, concealing this matter... just what were you planning to do?"
Chapter 285