A Choice

"My opinion?" Xu Yuan was somewhat surprised she would ask him this. Glancing at her, he found it slightly amusing. "My opinion is that you had better not go." "Hmm?" Su Jinxuan blinked her eyes twice. "...Why?" "Because you're too stupid." "..." Su Jinxuan was struck speechless. "Ah, I don't mean that as an insult. I'm merely stating a fact." "..." The rise and fall of Su Jinxuan's chest sped up slightly. Xu Yuan glanced at her and gave a soft chuckle. "See? You're angry already, and you make no effort to hide it. How can someone with your temperament possibly act as an inside agent?" "I'm only—" Su Jinxuan parted her lips to retort, but Xu Yuan cut in before she could finish. "I bet you want to say that getting angry when insulted is only human nature, or perhaps that there's simply no need to hide it in front of me. Right?" "..." Su Jinxuan pressed her red lips shut. Seeing this, Xu Yuan smiled and shook his head. "Looks like I guessed right." Su Jinxuan pursed the corners of her lips. Meeting her gaze, Xu Yuan suddenly smiled and raised a hand to pat her delicate shoulder. "..." Su Jinxuan was unaccustomed to such sudden intimacy. Ever since they had left that secret chamber, this was their first physical contact in over a month. Xu Yuan merely treated it like patting a subordinate on a project in his past life, continuing in a casual, conversational tone: "You don't know how to conceal your emotions, and your thoughts are far too easy to read. I know you might be in a relaxed state right now, but if you were truly cut out to be a double agent, you would never have a single moment of relaxation again. Your cultivation level dictates that even when you are entirely alone, you have no way to confirm whether someone is watching you." Saying so, Xu Yuan looked back at Zhou Chen trailing some twenty meters behind them and spoke softly: "Recognize him?" Su Jinxuan followed his gaze and hesitated slightly. "The guard who follows you every day, Zhou Chen. He should be an expert." Xu Yuan grinned. "Not a guard—a guest elder. A third-rank Grandmaster who walks the martial path. Do you know that Zhou Chen can hear your heartbeat clearly from dozens of meters away? If he channels his cultivation art, that distance could be even greater. Qin Weijiu won't be any weaker than him. During your conversations, if you touch upon sensitive topics and your heartbeat quickens even a fraction, he'll hear it plain as day. Su Jinxuan, do you understand what that means?" While not strictly mind-reading, a racing pulse during certain topics was more than enough to arouse suspicion. Su Jinxuan clenched her fists, her heartbeat gradually steadying. "I... I should be able to overcome that." Xu Yuan withdrew his hand and nodded slightly. "Fine, let's assume for now that you can. Then let's move on. Once you become an inside agent, every single thing you do—every word you speak—must be carefully weighed, and every potential consequence thoroughly considered. Some details might seem trivial to you, things you'd mention casually, but that's only because your information is incomplete. A stray remark slipping from your lips could blow your cover if overheard. Spoken without intent, heard with suspicion." With that, Xu Yuan gave Su Jinxuan a deep look. "Just like how you previously revealed your connection to Qin Weijiu to me in the carriage. If you hadn't told me that, I would have had no idea there was any relationship between you two, let alone ordered the Black Scale Guards to investigate the matter. To you, it seemed completely natural, yet to someone else, it was information worth suspecting." As his words fell, silence descended between them. It was now the dead of winter, and scattered frost flowers had already formed over the surface of the manor's lake. "Is your opinion... that you don't want me to go?" Her voice carried a faint trace of probing. "It's not that I don't want you to," Xu Yuan corrected her without hesitation. "It's that I don't believe your current abilities are up to serving as an inside agent. When the time comes, not only will my investment go down the drain, but you might even be turned against me." "..." A flicker of inexplicable disappointment crossed the succubus's lowered eyes. After walking some distance in silence, seeing that she still kept her head down without a word, Xu Yuan hesitated, let out a long breath, and suddenly spoke: "Su Jinxuan, Ying'er went to see you before, didn't she?" "..." Su Jinxuan's pupils shrank slightly, and she immediately looked up. She realized he was referring to Ying'er approaching her earlier about acting as an inside agent. If he already knew what decision she had made, why ask her again? The disappointment hidden in the depths of her eyes vanished, gradually replaced by a suspicion: *Did this guy just play me?* "Don't look at me like that." Xu Yuan sighed and rubbed between his brows. "I imagine Ying'er already explained the full situation to you. I can now offer you two choices again." Su Jinxuan looked at him in surprise. "This is your only chance to back out." Xu Yuan stared intently into her peach-blossom eyes and, beneath her gaze, raised a single finger. "Option one: you can continue staying by my side like this, and depending on the situation, I will provide you with a cultivation art suited for the Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique. Mind you, I said a cultivation art, not a secret art. With that cultivation art and your Bewitching Soul Fiend Physique, your cultivation speed won't necessarily be slower than mine. Naturally, you should know what you'd have to pay to get such an art. But this way, you'll at least be safe, and once your cultivation rises, you'll have plenty of opportunities in the future to personally slay your enemies." "..." Su Jinxuan fell silent for a couple of seconds before speaking softly: "And the second?" Xu Yuan lowered his hand and smiled lightly. "Everything proceeds as planned under the direction of the Black Scale Guards. But in your current state, acting as an inside agent will most likely end in exposure. Even with training from the Black Scale Guards, I doubt your odds of survival are high." At this point, he looked up at the boundless blue sky. "I've already told you my reasons. I trust you can judge for yourself. The same words apply: you can deceive me in matters like this, but never deceive yourself." It felt like a split second, yet also an eternity. Two choices, two paths. The first was to become his subordinate. The second remained a cooperation. The quiet manor seemed to hold nothing but the faint sound of their footsteps. Taking a deep breath, she slowly exhaled. Su Jinxuan gazed at the courtyard in the distance, her fingers tightening around the hem of her qipao. Her voice was very soft: "I... I still choose the second." The sky was an azure blue, the sunlight cascading down like a waterfall. Looking at her flawless profile, Xu Yuan shook his head gently and said no more. The gap between the two choices was glaringly obvious; he had assumed she would pick the first. Yet she had still chosen the second. It was somewhat unexpected, yet entirely understandable. Pride. To him, it was merely an offhand gift and an investment. To her, however, it was a colossal debt of gratitude she could never repay in a lifetime. He sighed silently in his heart. Looks like another female lead was about to bite the dust. Just as he had said, he truly had no faith in Su Jinxuan's prospects as an undercover operative. He really did despise high-risk investments after all. Without another word, the two quietly made their way into Xu Yuan's pavilion. Yet for some reason, the succubus put extraordinary effort into their cultivation session today, carrying on until late into the night before finally concluding.