Making Plans

Pfft! Pfft!

A pure-white carrier pigeon flapped its wings and disappeared into a sprawling cluster of buildings.

The complex stood in a corner of Qinghe Commandery City, covering a vast area. Its buildings seemed to coil like dragons and crouch like tigers, and it was clearly no ordinary place.

The passersby nearby either looked on with envy or hurried past with their heads bowed, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.

For this was the seat of the Gui Ling Sect, the local overlord of Qinghe Commandery!

"Coo!"

The pigeon landed in a quiet courtyard within the Gui Ling Sect, where a hand as white as jade caught it securely.

"Master! An urgent report from Qingye City!"

The owner of the delicate hand untied the message from the pigeon's leg. Her expression changed at once as she turned to a pretty woman beside her whose face was half hidden behind a veil.

The woman appeared to be in her thirties or forties. She had a graceful figure and a pair of eyes as brilliant as stars, bright and enchanting, as though rippling with autumn waves. One could imagine that she had been a great beauty in her youth.

She was the Gui Ling Sect Leader, Shi Yutong—the only Martial Ancestor in Qinghe Commandery!

The highest authority in the Gui Ling Sect had reportedly left with her beloved disciple to visit an old friend. Yet now, she had apparently returned to the sect's main headquarters.

Shi Yutong, who had the air of a noblewoman, glanced at the letter. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and her voice turned grave. "Song Zhong has gone too far!"

She naturally knew that Song Zhong had lost his beloved son, and that it was only to be expected that he might act somewhat out of line.

If he had merely wiped out a few forces like the Kou Family Manor, it would have been no great matter.

But to attack an official of their own sect over nothing but suspicion—that was a serious overstep.

"Master!"

The young girl beside Shi Yutong spoke up as well. "My father..."

"Don't worry. I've already secretly ordered our people to bring Steward Lin out of Qingye City, that place of trouble. Before long, you'll be able to reunite with him here in the commandery city, Yue'er!"

Shi Yutong smiled gently.

The graceful young girl was none other than Lin Leyue, the daughter of Steward Lin, who had once been engaged to Fang Yuan.

Shi Yutong seemed in the mood to talk. She analyzed the sect's factions one by one, apparently hoping to bring Lin Leyue into this world as soon as possible. "After Song Zhong's actions this time, Elder Yan's faction won't be able to say another word. As far as I know, the Zhou family hasn't been completely wiped out. We just need to wait here in the commandery city for them to lodge a complaint, then uphold justice!"

"But even so..."

Lin Leyue seemed hesitant.

"Do you think your master is being a little too cold-hearted?"

Shi Yutong smiled faintly, her enchanting gaze turning as if she could see right through Lin Leyue.

"Leyue wouldn't dare!"

Lin Leyue hurriedly bowed in apology.

"This is what I wanted to teach you today: balance!"

Shi Yutong's voice grew slightly more emphatic. "As Sect Leader, you must learn to balance the forces beneath you! Elder Yan's faction has been rather unruly for some time. This is a good chance to strike a blow against them. And we can use their own strength against them: Elder Han, who backs Zhou Tong, will naturally step in on his behalf. We'll mediate between them and hold the power of life and death in our hands. That's the most important thing. Do you understand?"

"So you mean we shouldn't get involved lightly, but should remain high above them as arbiters?"

Lin Leyue blinked.

"Exactly!"

Shi Yutong nodded approvingly. "You're quite perceptive, child. Remember, every organization has factional strife within it. As the leader, your first priority is balance. Keep the two sides evenly matched and make them rely on us. Then we can direct them as easily as moving our own arms..."

She would never have shared this with an ordinary disciple. But Shi Yutong was raising Lin Leyue to become the sect's future leader, so she was teaching her these lessons early.

"Thank you for your guidance, Master!"

Lin Leyue knew that a mere remnant of the Zhou family meant nothing to her master. Being able to come to the commandery city was his good fortune; if he couldn't make it, it simply meant he lacked the fortune.

Now that her master had decided to intervene, Song Zhong was sure to meet a bad end.

As the Martial Ancestor who ruled the Gui Ling Sect, Shi Yutong naturally had the authority and confidence to make such a decision.

"Heh... Come to think of it, it's rather amusing. Song Zhong's son, Song Yujie, seemed to want to court you, Leyue. A toad dreaming of eating swan meat... Greedy to the end. His death was well deserved..."

Shi Yutong glanced at Lin Leyue and teased, "Our Yue'er is so beautiful. I wonder how many men you'll enchant in the future?"

"Master!"

Lin Leyue's cheeks flushed. She stamped her foot. "Even you are teasing me!"

"You've always known how to distinguish what matters most, so I'm not too worried."

Shi Yutong's expression turned solemn as she spoke slowly.

Lin Leyue had been studying profound inner arts under her, and the practice required her to preserve her feminine purity. Yet countless people both inside and outside the sect pursued her, asking only to formalize an engagement. Both master and disciple knew perfectly well what they were after.

"This world is vast! What I showed you when I took you to meet that friend was only the tip of the iceberg..."

Shi Yutong spoke earnestly. "Leyue, you were born with all your meridians open, and you have a Spiritual Moon Body. You're the perfect match for my Bright Moon Art. Your future achievements will surely far surpass mine, allowing you to reach the true Cultivation World..."

"The true... Cultivation World!"

Lin Leyue murmured, longing in her eyes.

The Pill Master friend she had visited with her master this time had opened her eyes to a whole new world.

Even rarer than the Spellcasters and Spirit Scholars of legend, Pill Masters possessed a unique skill. They could use the pillfire within their bodies to extract the essence of Spirit Materials and medicinal herbs, refining them into all sorts of spirit pills with astonishing effects.

These spirit pills contained no Pill Toxin whatsoever, and their effects were practically divine. Warriors would fight tooth and nail for any one of them.

For instance, the Condensing Moon Pill her master had obtained for her this time was perfectly suited to her constitution. It could let her progress through her Martial Arts at a tremendous pace, and when she eventually tried to break through the Three Dangerous Gates, it would even boost her chances by several dozen percent!

Before seeing one with her own eyes, Lin Leyue could never have imagined that such a wondrous thing existed in the world!

With this ability in their grasp, Pill Masters were naturally honored guests of every major force. They were fawned over and rarely offended.

The one they had visited this time even had a Martial Ancestor guarding him at his side. If Shi Yutong hadn't known him personally, he would never have agreed to help Lin Leyue.

Even so, that Pill Master was only a tiny corner of the higher Cultivation World!

Just thinking about all this made Lin Leyue's heart surge.

Even as a woman, she dreamed of scaling even loftier peaks.

"Your disciple will not disappoint you, Master!"

Lin Leyue bowed gracefully, her expression resolute.

"Haha... Excellent!"

Shi Yutong helped her up with both hands, her own eyes alight with excitement. "All you need to do now is focus on your Martial Arts. With the spirit pill's help, you'll break through the Harm Gate and develop inner force in no time. When that happens, I'll name you my Sect Master disciple directly, and no one will be able to object!"

"Besides, I'll take care of all the other worldly affairs for you!"

Brother Fang...

At that, Lin Leyue's body trembled as she thought of an ordinary young man in Hidden Valley.

Back then, her master had canceled the engagement without asking for the facts, and Lin Leyue had been powerless to resist.

But if she could do it all over again, would she truly have the resolve to argue her case?

Lin Leyue's thoughts were a tangled mess. For the first time, she felt lost...

"Qinghe Commandery City. We're here!"

A bullock cart slowly approached in the distance. Fang Yuan raised a hand to shade his eyes and gazed at the outline of the city walls, smiling.

It was his first time visiting such a large city, and he felt a little excited.

"Cough, cough..."

Zhou Wenwu forced himself out despite his illness, his face tinged with an unnatural flush. "As long as we reach the sect's main headquarters, even Song Zhong won't be able to cover the sky with one hand. But he's sure to have people waiting for me at the city gates..."

There were countless routes they could take along the way. As long as they were willing to detour, Song Zhong could never intercept them unless he was the Gui Ling Sect Leader.

But if Song Zhong guessed that Zhou Wenwu was headed for Qinghe Commandery City, lying in wait would be all too easy.

"Brother Fang, do you have a brilliant plan?"

Zhou Wenwu looked at Fang Yuan expectantly.

When he went out, Fang Yuan naturally wouldn't let people keep calling him "Layman" and draw unwanted attention.

Besides, Fang Yuan and Zhou Wenwu were about the same age. After spending time together, the two had grown familiar and taken the opportunity to change how they addressed each other.

"No brilliant plan, but I do have a clumsy one!"

A smile tugged at Fang Yuan's lips. "We pick a gate and charge through. Simple as that!"

"In that case..."

Zhou Wenwu's face twitched. He hadn't expected Fang Yuan's solution to be so simple and brutal.

"Song Zhong started all this on his own. Would his faction really dare risk the outrage of the whole world by sending people to block us again?"

Fang Yuan spread his hands. "And the commandery city has four gates. Does Song Zhong know how to split himself in two? As long as we're not terribly unlucky, we won't run straight into him..."

If the ones blocking the road were only a few of Song Zhong's disciples, Fang Yuan could deal with them with one hand.

"But what if..."

Zhou Wenwu seemed hesitant. With his revenge so close, he didn't want anything to go wrong.

"If we really are that unlucky and run into Song Zhong face-to-face, then we'll just have to fight. As long as we make enough noise, someone from the Gui Ling Sect will come to help, right?"

Fang Yuan glanced at Zhou Wenwu.

If the faction Zhou Tong belonged to couldn't even seize this perfect opportunity, then Song Zhong would have wiped them out long ago, root and branch.

"Exactly! We'll do as you say, Brother Fang!"

Zhou Wenwu gritted his teeth.

Even an outsider like Fang Yuan dared to do this. What did he have left to fear?

What Young Master Zhou didn't realize was that Fang Yuan dared to act this way only because he had Martial Arts to rely on.

Even if Song Zhong showed up, Fang Yuan could just abandon Zhou Wenwu and run.

Song Zhong still didn't know that Fang Yuan was the one who had killed his son, so he probably wouldn't chase him like a mad dog.

In fact, Fang Yuan could even hand Zhou Wenwu over to Song Zhong in broad daylight, letting him silence the witness and sealing his guilt beyond doubt!

Of course, in factional disputes like this, the worst thing an outsider can do is get involved... If I'm careless, both sides could gang up on me—or simply use me as a pawn!

With the life experience of another world to draw on, Fang Yuan saw the situation with perfect clarity. Whatever happens, I have to get out as soon as this is over and stay far away from the vortex!