"Young Master, you're back!"
Seeing Qian Yu appear before her, full of life and energy, Lüzhu was overcome with delight.
Ever since the young master had left, she had been worried every moment.
Now, at last, she could set her mind at ease.
In Lüzhu's heart, she didn't care about any so-called plans or revenge. She cared about only one thing: the young master's safety.
In a way, Lüzhu treated Qian Yu like a younger brother. After all, she had raised him herself.
But she remembered her place and didn't dare overstep by so much as a hair's breadth.
"I brought you a present. Hurry up and chew it down."
When Qian Yu saw Lüzhu, some of the tension in his mind eased. Then he took out the Ink Jade Divine Bamboo.
"Young Master, can I eat this?"
Lüzhu stared at the enormous bamboo shoot in her hands, completely bewildered.
It stood a full half-meter tall, and the young master was telling her to eat it raw.
She couldn't make sense of it.
"When has the young master ever led you astray? Go on, chew it first."
Qian Yu replied with a smile.
Lüzhu stopped questioning him. She peeled it and began eating it raw.
She had expected it to taste awful, but the tender bamboo shoot inside was delicious. As soon as it reached her stomach, it turned into a stream of warmth that instantly flowed through her body.
Lüzhu knew at once that this was something extraordinary.
She hurriedly finished eating, then circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill to refine that surge of power.
An hour later, Lüzhu finally opened her eyes.
Her entire being had undergone a transformation.
Lüzhu had never been unattractive. After all, she would never have become his maid if she were. She had always been the delicate, genteel sort.
After eating the Ink Jade Divine Bamboo, Lüzhu's figure had grown more slender and graceful. She was now like a green lotus, emerging from the mud unstained.
"Young Master, what exactly was that?"
"Why have I changed so much?"
Lüzhu was thrilled.
She could feel that the change wasn't limited to her figure and bearing.
Even her Soul Power had reached level 40.
On top of that, she could sense that something else had changed, though she hadn't figured out what yet.
"Show me your Martial Soul!"
Seeing Lüzhu's delighted expression, Qian Yu smiled too, but said nothing more.
Lüzhu then summoned her Martial Soul.
"My... my Martial Soul evolved!"
Looking at how completely different her Emerald Jade Bamboo had become, Lüzhu could barely contain her emotions.
Her life and everything she had came from the young master's father. She had always worked hard at cultivating, but with an ordinary Martial Soul and only Innate Soul Power level 5, she could never catch up to those geniuses, no matter how much of her free time she spent training.
Repaying his kindness was out of the question.
And yet, after eating a bamboo shoot whose name she didn't even know, her Martial Soul had evolved.
It had evolved into a truly powerful Martial Soul.
It didn't take much thought to realize how hard it must have been to obtain something so extraordinary.
And the young master had given it to her.
This was something that could make a Martial Soul evolve!
There had never been a single generation on the continent that could make a Martial Soul evolve like this.
"Not bad. It's evolved into Ink Jade Bamboo, which is already a high-tier Martial Soul. And judging by the look of it, it isn't far from advancing further."
"With a little more good fortune and some more life essence, it can evolve into the top-tier Martial Soul, Ink Jade Divine Bamboo, without any trouble."
Qian Yu examined Lüzhu's evolved Martial Soul and was quite satisfied.
After all, it wasn't a true Immortal Herb. Otherwise, Lüzhu's Martial Soul would already have evolved into Ink Jade Divine Bamboo.
Martial Souls on the level of Immortal Herbs were among the very best.
Chrysanthemum Douluo relied on his Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum Martial Soul. It was said that his Martial Soul wasn't even a true Immortal Herb, but a mutation.
Even so, it had supported him in becoming a Titled Douluo—a level 95 Titled Douluo, at that. That showed just how much it was worth.
One had to remember that most Titled Douluo in this era were formidable figures.
"Alright, steady your emotions. Spend the next few days cultivating. Once you've mostly refined the medicinal properties, I'll take you Soul Hunting."
Seeing Lüzhu's eyes grow misty with tears, Qian Yu immediately cut off her emotions.
He really didn't like scenes like that.
"Young Master, I promise I won't disappoint you."
Lüzhu answered firmly, then returned to her room to cultivate in earnest.
But this time, Qian Yu surprisingly didn't cultivate. Instead, he began preparing to stir up another wave of public opinion.
Since he'd come across something this interesting, he might as well give it a push.
Let the news of Dugu Bo's death break.
But the blame for his death couldn't be allowed to fall on Spirit Hall.
The people of the Clear Sky Sect would have to be the heroes.
Hadn't someone criticized Dugu Bo for being a butcher?
Then let's spread that accusation even further.
Once public opinion grew too overwhelming to suppress, the people of the Clear Sky Sect could step forward as heroes.
Heroes who had slain the menace that was Dugu Bo.
Naturally, Qian Yu wouldn't appear in person. He would leave it to Xie Yue.
And even if Xie Yue took action, he wouldn't show his face.
Countless people wanted to stir things up in secret. Qian Yu only needed to point them in the right direction. Maybe someone would help push things along for him.
And that someone might well be one of Yu Xiaogang's people.
The reason was simple: they shared the same goal.
They also wanted to ruin Dugu Bo's reputation.
No matter what, Dugu Bo was a Titled Douluo, and a living one at that. Even if people resented him, they wouldn't spread such claims lightly under the circumstances.
After all, the slightest misstep could bring the flames down on them.
As soon as Qian Yu entered the city, he could tell there was far too much talk about Dugu Bo.
Clearly, something was wrong.
His job was to show them how to fight a war of public opinion.
The method was simple: people loved to raise someone up as a god, and they loved to drag that god back down into the dust.
Dugu Bo wasn't a god yet. No one had exalted him. Attacking him right off the bat wouldn't do any harm.
First, they had to praise him, portray him as a man of great principle, make him seem flawless. Even if he slaughtered a city, it had only been to wipe out the evil Spirit Hall. Everything he did was utterly selfless.
Once they had raised Dugu Bo all the way to the altar, they could start digging into his flaws and every last stain on his record, then swiftly drag him down.
No ordinary person could withstand scrutiny under a magnifying glass, let alone someone like Dugu Bo, whose temperament was already erratic and who killed at the drop of a hat.
"Xie Yue, I'll leave this to you. Don't get too involved. Once you've started a trend, withdraw."
"Come back and keep improving your strength. That's what matters."
Qian Yu then explained the general plan to Xie Yue.
After hearing Qian Yu's plan and all the details behind it, Xie Yue remained silent for a long time.
He suddenly realized that compared to Qian Yu, he was nothing but an idiot.
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