Persuasion

Because the window curtains were drawn shut, the entire room was rather dim. Whiffs of savory food drifted gently through the crack under the door. Three meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a soup—delicacies prepared by the head chef of Jingjiang Xu Manor. The black silk ribbon blindfolding Su Jinxuan had already been removed. Her alluring, peach-blossom eyes cast downward, she sat beside the wooden table in the wing room, picking at the food in small bites with bamboo chopsticks. Xu Yuan had taken only a sip of spirit spring water during his cultivation yesterday and was not hungry yet, so he sat quietly beside her with an amused expression, waiting for her to finish. Su Jinxuan's movements were slow and gentle, chewing and swallowing deliberately like a lady of high birth, yet the expression on her delicate face was resolute. Like someone eating their last meal before execution. Ever since he brought her to his wing room, this succubus lady had worn that very expression of being prepared to face death heroically. He figured she was probably determined to remain stubborn to the bitter end, refusing to reveal a single shred of information. Judging by her current look, she was most likely bracing herself to be thrown back into that secret chamber. Xu Yuan was hardly surprised by this, however. If she could so easily betray the benefactor she held most dear, Su Jinxuan naturally would not deserve to be one of the female leads in *Cangyuan*. The wing room was quiet, save for the occasional clink of bamboo chopsticks tapping against porcelain. Su Jinxuan ate slowly and thoroughly until she was done, laid down her chopsticks, and glanced around. Xu Yuan casually retrieved a black silk handkerchief from his Sumeru ring and tossed it over. "For you. No need to return it." "..." Su Jinxuan did not catch it. The black handkerchief drifted down, landing squarely on her thighs, which were clad in translucent white silk stockings. Xu Yuan gave an indifferent smile. "Don't worry, I haven't used it." "..." Only upon hearing that did Su Jinxuan pick up the modest black handkerchief from her lap in silence. Maintaining a dignified expression, she was dabbing gently at the corners of her lips when she suddenly heard: "Ah, grabbed the wrong one. Looks like I've used this black one before." "..." Su Jinxuan froze. After locking eyes for two seconds, seeing her chest heaving as she fumed, Xu Yuan chuckled. "Don't look at me like that. Just a joke. I haven't eaten a single proper meal these past few days." That was the truth. With the spirit spring water—which functioned much like inedia pills—he could stay holed up in his room cultivating round the clock, without even needing to relieve himself. These past days, Su Jinxuan had also been sustained on this spirit spring water. Su Jinxuan pulled the black handkerchief away from her crimson lips, balling it tightly in her lap. "Xu Changtian, is toying with me that amusing?" "If it weren't amusing, why would I toy with you?" "..." For a fleeting instant, an urge welled up within Su Jinxuan to lunge forward and fight Xu Changtian with her life. Yet the moment that impulse flared, Xu Yuan tapped lightly on the wooden table before him, his eyes curving into a pleasant smile as he said, "Of course, if keeping you alive weren't useful, I'd actually prefer to just kill you outright rather than toy with you." Expression guidance: Xu Changge, the King of Posturing. Tone guidance: Grandmaster Zhou, who slaughtered without batting an eye. "..." A flicker of panic darted through Su Jinxuan's eyes, but it vanished almost instantly. She sneered coldly, "Then kill me already." "Save the nonsense." Xu Yuan waved his hand with a touch of impatience. "You know I won't kill you. You have two choices right now. First, I send you back to the secret chamber to stay locked up. Second—" "I choose the first," Su Jinxuan cut in, stiffening her neck. "..." The air fell silent for a beat. Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. He could clearly see her body trembling faintly with fear. Their gazes met. Then, without arguing or haggling, Xu Yuan simply nodded. "Fine." His objective had been crystal clear from start to finish: extract information about that Qin Weijiu from Su Jinxuan. If he could take it a step further, he would use whatever the Black Scale Guards uncovered in Jincheng to turn this succubus spy. Since she was not willing to talk now, he would just lock her up for another stretch before trying again. He was in no rush anyway. Rising slowly to his feet, Xu Yuan walked up to her and laid a black silk ribbon on the wooden table. "Since you don't even care to hear the second option, put it on and let's go. Though I'm truly curious—what makes you trust that Mister Qin so deeply?" "..." Though she had repeatedly braced herself mentally just moments before, now that the moment was here, Su Jinxuan's steady breathing began to fray. Even so, she picked up the black silk ribbon, and as her trembling hands tied it over her eyes, she said in a cold voice, "Mister Qin's kindness to me is as weighty as a mountain—" "Pfft—" Xu Yuan could not hold back a burst of laughter. "As weighty as a mountain?" "What... what are you laughing at?" Between the terror of returning to despair and her reverence for her benefactor, Su Jinxuan's composure was beginning to unravel. Xu Yuan replied unhurriedly, "Don't get agitated. Mister Qin's kindness toward you truly is as weighty as a mountain—after all, he slaughtered your entire family, then raised you from childhood." "..." Su Jinxuan fell silent for a moment before speaking. "A crude attempt to sow discord." "If it were truly crude, why did you react so strongly back in the carriage when I first said it?" "Anyone would be infuriated by baseless slander." "..." After a brief contemplation, Xu Yuan reached out, pulled down the black silk ribbon, and looked straight into her eyes. "If it was slander, why didn't you refute me then? Why choose silence and lies to dodge the question instead?" Su Jinxuan stared back at Xu Yuan, refusing to yield an inch. "Everything you said is completely devoid of actual evidence. Anyone can make empty claims. What point is there in refuting a castle in the air?" "You're right. Back then, it truly was a castle in the air." Xu Yuan produced a secret report from his Sumeru ring and casually tossed it onto the table before Su Jinxuan. "But not anymore." "..." Looking at the cover of the secret report, Su Jinxuan's pupils shrank slightly. Hesitation flickered in her eyes, yet in the end, she did not move. She could not believe it—or rather, she refused to believe it. The wing room remained dim, the sunlight outside shut out by the curtains. After several seconds of silence, Xu Yuan asked softly, "Aren't you going to read it?" Su Jinxuan merely said in a swift, cold voice, "Xu Changtian, after going through all the trouble to stage such a performance, do you really think I'd believe your fabricated evidence?" Xu Yuan shook his head. "First you complained there was no evidence. Now that I've found it for you, you don't even dare glance at it?" At that point, Xu Yuan let out a soft sigh. "Besides, Su Jinxuan, you think too highly of your own importance. Judging by how Qin Weijiu wouldn't even teach you a cultivation method, you're merely a pathetic tool to him. The information you possess doesn't touch on anything core. If my Chancellor's Manor wants to move against Qin Weijiu, what you know would only be the icing on the cake." "Oh, right." Xu Yuan paced leisurely around the room. "Do you want to know why Qin Weijiu refused to teach you a cultivation method?" "..." Su Jinxuan's beautiful eyes flickered faintly, but she continued staring at Xu Yuan in silence. After a few beats without a response, Xu Yuan was quite content to carry the one-man show. "Because he didn't dare. The Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique carries far too many uncertainties. "Even if you deliberately rein it in and avoid using your physique's talent on your own people, as your cultivation advances, the natural allure of the Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique will still influence those around you. Qin Weijiu's cultivation is profound enough to keep him unaffected, but the same can't be said for his subordinates." Here, Xu Yuan gave a slight smile. "If even one subordinate in the know fell in love with you because of your physique, you might learn the truth of what happened back then." As he spoke, Xu Yuan retrieved another precious ancient text from his Sumeru ring. "This is an ancient record on the Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique. You can see for yourself whether what I said is true before deciding whether to read the intelligence the Black Scale Guards brought back from Jincheng." At the mention of Jincheng, Su Jinxuan's gaze visibly wavered. Xu Yuan patted her shoulder gently. "I'll give you an hour. I'll return in an hour. If your decision remains the same, I won't say another word." With that, Xu Yuan turned and walked out of the wing room, pulling the door gently shut behind him, leaving Su Jinxuan alone to stare blankly at the ancient book and secret report on the table.