Jiang Xue saw Li Wei put down the tablet and continue gesturing wildly. Her eyes were filled with disdain, but she deliberately feigned shock as she said:
"Yo, you've learned it? As expected of the future Young Madam of the Gu Family~"
That drawl was so cloying that goosebumps rose all over Li Wei's body.
"Can't you speak properly?" Li Wei made it clear that she was disgusted.
Jiang Xue snorted through her nose, chin raised, her voice as obnoxious as ever:
"I'm praising you. Can't you tell? I've looked at the stuff on this tablet for four years and still couldn't understand it. But you, Young Madam—five minutes? Tsk, tsk. I admire you, I really do~~~"
"Yo!" Li Wei imitated her, speaking in a bizarre, sarcastic tone. "You sound so sour. Are you envious, jealous, and resentful?"
"Envious? I'm envious of you?"
Those words were like a spark dropped into a powder keg. Jiang Xue's body suddenly began to tremble, her expression twisting viciously.
"What the hell are you? A peasant! A fake! A pitiful wretch! A scapegoat—!!! You think I'd be envious of you?!"
She roared until her voice nearly cracked, her eyes bloodshot as she glared fixedly at Li Wei.
"Why are you yelling so damn loudly?! Keep shouting and see if I don't smack you!" Li Wei was furious too. She planted her legs apart, put both hands on her hips, thrust out her chin, and prepared to unleash a barrage.
"Smack me? Who do you think you are? A scion of a prestigious clan? A martial prodigy? You're a peasant! If Liang Qiushi weren't shielding you, I could crush you to death with one hand!"
Jiang Xue took a step forward. Qi and blood churned within that thin, dry shell of a body, making her casual dress billow around her.
Li Wei's right hand braced the hidden clasp of her belt. With one opening of her pretty mouth, she unleashed a whole pool of rebuttals:
"Fuck off. You keep going on about 'peasants.' You're not a peasant, huh? You're a fucking bitch."
"Ah—! I'll kill you!" Jiang Xue completely lost her mind and lunged forward, claws and teeth bared.
The butler's expression darkened. His mental power instantly condensed as he prepared to intervene.
But—
Clang—!
Li Wei's body moved like a ghost. With a single turn, she was already behind Jiang Xue and to the side.
Accompanied by the faint whistle of a blade tearing through the air, the soft sword was pressed against Jiang Xue's neck.
Jiang Xue froze completely, a bead of cold sweat appearing on her forehead.
Even the butler, a sixth-tier expert, nearly popped his eyes out!
That footwork, that speed!
That sharpness, stripping away every unnecessary flourish and striking straight for the vital point!
It was unquestionably the Jiang Family's secret art, the Nine Moon Reflection Swords' first form, First String: Cold Pool Sinking Jade!
Though she had yet to grasp the essence of Sword Passes Without Sound, the rudiments were already taking shape in her sword speed. At this level, she had definitely entered the beginner stage!
The courtyard remained silent for quite some time. Then, suddenly...
"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"
"Haha, haha-ha, hahahahaha—"
Jiang Xue began laughing wildly as if she had gone insane, her body trembling nonstop. Frightened, Li Wei hurriedly moved the sword away slightly.
Even so, Jiang Xue's neck still brushed against the blade, leaving a thin line of blood.
Blood beads slowly seeped out, but she acted as though she felt nothing.
She laughed at first, then began crying while she laughed. Finally, she staggered back several steps and collapsed onto the wicker chair, her eyes vacant.
Li Wei was somewhat dazed. The butler seemed to be lost in thought as well. For a time, the only sound in the courtyard was Jiang Xue's mingled laughter and sobs.
At last, she had cried herself out and laughed herself empty.
She raised her head and looked at the butler, whose expression was somewhat unnatural. Mockery hung on her face as she spoke weakly:
"See that? Five minutes? Or was it four? Haha, hahahaha... Tell me, what was Liang Qiushi thinking, sending someone like this to die for Gu Jinzhi? I really want to see how you're all going to clean this up afterward. Interesting, interesting..."
After saying that, she stood and swayed toward the villa. When she passed by Li Wei, her tone was no longer quite so aggressive:
"Wait for me. I'll bandage this and come back to teach you. I'm really looking forward to it. After we return to the country, if Jiang Yao wants to 'spar' with you, don't you dare chicken out."
Li Wei opened and closed her mouth, utterly unable to understand that woman's train of thought. She turned around, intending to ask the butler what they were going to do next.
And besides, she was so hungry...
"Huh? Where did he go?"
Li Wei stood foolishly in the empty courtyard, still holding that limp, floppy sword, her face blank with confusion.
In the underground chamber of the manor, beside the secure line.
"Madam, there's something I need to report."
"Wait until I call you back."
"Yes."
Ten minutes later, the wall-mounted telephone beside the butler rang.
He immediately answered it. Liang Qiushi's voice came through the receiver.
"Speak."
"Madam, just now..."
He concisely recounted how Li Wei had entered the beginner stage of Cold Pool Sinking Jade in five minutes.
Finally, he could not help expressing his concern: "Madam, someone like this... may be difficult to control in the future."
"..."
There was silence on the other end for a full two or three minutes. The butler stood there like a wooden stake, not daring to breathe too loudly.
At last, Liang Qiushi's voice sounded again: "...Follow the original plan. Treat it as though nothing happened... Remember, once you employ someone, do not doubt them."
"Yes, Madam."
Click.
"You say this is your grandmother? Why does she look younger than your mother?"
"Stop yapping! Watch the big screen and pay attention! If you call someone by the wrong title later, bear the consequences yourself."
"Your father's surname is Tang, so why is yours Jiang?"
"The Jiang Family has always been headed by women. The children all take their mother's surname! Didn't you hear me call Jiang Xinyue Grandma instead of maternal grandmother?"
"That small round face is Jiang Yao? She's such a cute girl. How could you bear to poison her?"
"Cute? Ha. Cute with eight hundred schemes hidden in her head? I didn't poison her. She poisoned herself and framed me for it."
"What? You just let yourself be framed?"
"Heh, I only wanted to escape the arranged marriage. I deliberately went along with it."
"...You're ruthless..."
"How come your younger brother doesn't look like you? Aren't you twins?"
"Have you heard of fraternal twins, idiot?"
"Say that again!"
"...S-sorry~ Just move the sword away first..."
Dongming Province, the Dongyue Mountain region, the Liang Family's ancestral residence, rear mountain.
Liang Yuchuan bowed slightly toward the thatched hut and said:
"Family Head, the electronic image data on Li Wei has already been destroyed by hackers. All physical graduation photos have also been collected and disposed of. We found some of the storage devices that weren't connected to the network, but we can't confirm whether they're all of them."
"For this reason, network surveillance has been placed on the highest alert. As soon as any new photos or videos appear, we'll track them down and clean them up immediately."
"Her primary and high school classmates and teachers, her neighbors from the past five years, and the friends and colleagues of her father, Li Xinghai, and her mother, Wei Xiaoyu, have already had their memories related to Li Wei disrupted and faded by a Spirit Refining Realm expert."
"But... this sort of interference can generally only last three to six months, and it's unstable."
At first, no one responded. The air grew stagnant and silent, and the world seemed to freeze in place...
Until... a gentle breeze drifted by...
A clear, mellow male voice echoed from within the thatched hut.
"Those things aren't a problem. The key is her biological records. Also, her school and household registration... Fortunately, there are no physical files nowadays. It wasn't like this in my era. Otherwise, it would be even more troublesome..."
In an instant, the surrounding trees rustled, insects chirped in waves, and sparrows called out. The entire mountain forest came alive again!
"Yes! We've already arranged for people to alter her school and household registration. Everything should be resolved within three days at the latest..."
Liang Yuchuan breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly explained:
"Her biological characteristics, such as the footprints taken at birth, the iris data from the martial arts entrance examinations, access-control fingerprints, and the like, were all altered immediately."
"Mm..." The clear, mellow male voice expressed approval.
"Altering them was the right choice. Destroying them outright would have been too conspicuous... Clean up the loose ends as quickly as possible, then send her biological characteristics to the Jiang Family and have them start taking action as well."
"As long as the evidence linking her identity is made solid, what does it matter if someone recognizes her? It's not as if this world has no one who looks similar."
Liang Yuchuan: "Yes!"
"Yuchuan, you did very well this time."
"You flatter me!" Liang Yuchuan bowed again, his left hand held behind his back trembling faintly with excitement.
Before you continue