Jiang Ce: Come Up! [Seeking Follow-up Reads]

Moon Pavilion attic.

Tang Yuehua was hung against the wall by tentacles, her toes dangling in the air, the whites of her eyes rolled back.

"Can't take it after only two rounds?" Jiang Ce's voice carried a hint of mockery.

"Teacher..." Tang Yuehua's voice was faint, her legs still trembling.

Just then, the room door was suddenly knocked upon.

Tang Yuehua's body gave a violent jolt.

"Miss, the steward is waiting for you," the voice of the guard, Tang Jiu, came from outside the door.

A pitter-patter of water seeped out from the door crack; Tang Jiu paused, feeling that something was not quite right.

"Miss, are you alright?"

"I... I am fine. You go down first, I will be there in a moment."

Tang Yuehua forced herself to remain calm, every word held tight.

Tang Jiu frowned, but ultimately followed orders and retreated.

Jiang Ce pulled out a tentacle and shook the water droplets off it, his tone teasing: "Scared like this? You've even wet yourself."

Tang Yuehua flushed bright red with shame.

"Teacher... I still have to handle matters for the Moon Pavilion..."

"No rush, let's discuss business first." The tentacles slid off her, continuing to block the sluice gate as Jiang Ce's tone turned serious.

"On the surface, the Moon Pavilion will continue to operate as an etiquette academy, but in the shadows, it will be built into an intelligence organization. With noble descendants learning etiquette before you, combined with the ability of your Noble Ring, the information they reveal will be more than ten scouts could gather."

Tang Yuehua caught her breath and nodded earnestly: "This student understands. By then, Moon Pavilion students will be spread across every major family in Heaven Dou City; information that cannot be heard at banquets will all be heard during casual chats between classes."

"The first step is to turn those around you into your own people. The two Soul Saint guards sent by your father—they are people of the Clear Sky Sect, not your people. They must be dealt with first."

Tang Yuehua was silent for a moment, then nodded.

Those two guards were loyal to the Clear Sky Sect, not to her.

"Very good, I will manipulate them now. I hunted two 20,000-year soul beasts in the Sunset Forest previously, a Nether Poison Scorpion and a Memory-Devouring Soul Spider, and obtained two skills that will come in handy."

"Paralysis Stinger: injects neurotoxins, causing the entire body to lose control and become unable to move; the duration decreases according to the opponent's strength."

"Memory Override: can erase or overwrite memories from within the last half-month and write in new ones; it will not take effect if the target's mental power is more than twice my own."

"Although this body of mine only has 25,000 years of cultivation left after splitting, it is more than enough to deal with two Soul Saints."

In the Moon Pavilion backyard, the two Soul Saint guards stood watch at the foot of the stairs.

Jiang Ce transformed into a black liquid, surging out from behind Tang Yuehua and spreading silently along the floor.

Two tentacles suddenly shot out, their tips condensing into scorpion-like tail stingers, piercing precisely into the necks of the two men.

Soul Skill: Paralysis Stinger.

The pupils of the two men shrank, and though they wanted to release their martial souls, their bodies had already completely lost control.

Their consciousness remained clear, but their limbs felt as if all strength had been drained away; they couldn't even open their mouths.

Soul Skill: Memory Override.

A moment later, the expressions of the two guards shifted from confusion to emptiness, and then from emptiness to a new sense of loyalty.

"Done. Their loyalty to the Clear Sky Sect is carved into their bones, but their attitude toward you is now correct. Your father was indeed sincere in sending them. Now that their memories have been rewritten, you can mobilize them at any time."

Tang Yuehua watched the black patterns flash across the guards' bodies and let out a soft breath.

They were, after all, the people who guarded her.

Fortunately, they weren't killed by Teacher; they had merely changed the object of their allegiance.

In the meeting hall, the steward had been waiting for a long time.

"Miss Tang, Boss Zhao is urging us again. He says if the final payment for the timber isn't cleared, he will report us for breach of contract at the auction house. Also, the stone shop in the south of the city says the Moon Pavilion's order is too small and they don't want to take it."

Tang Yuehua took the list and scanned it.

"Pay Boss Zhao the final payment according to the contract, but have all that substandard timber hauled back and replaced with new material. As for the stone shop—tell him the Moon Pavilion does not cooperate with those who look down on us, and tell him to get lost."

The steward was stunned.

Having worked at the Moon Pavilion for half a year, this was the first time he had heard the words "get lost" from this mistress.

In the past, she would bite her lip and say she would think of another way, but today she seemed like a different person.

"As for those small firms in the west of the city that are trying to take advantage of our plight, reclaim all the deposits. From today on, the Moon Pavilion will not accept any predatory quotes. If they want to cooperate, we will renegotiate at market price; if they don't, the door is right there."

The steward took the list and retreated quickly.

Tang Yuehua stood alone in the center of the empty hall, looking down at the soul power surging in her palms.

The confidence Teacher gave her was enough to let her do many things she never dared to imagine before.

But confidence alone was not enough.

The elders of the sect were eager for her to marry and form an alliance as soon as possible; in their eyes, running the Moon Pavilion in Heaven Dou City was just a waste of time.

The more they thought this way, the more she had to show them what she was capable of.

A foundation that could take root without relying on the Clear Sky Sect's signboard.

She sat at the desk and spread out the planning map.

On the surface, the Royal Etiquette Academy would continue to teach etiquette, music, and literature.

Behind the scenes, every piece of information gathered from students' casual chats during breaks and conversations at banquets would be compiled and archived.

Imperial movements, sect mobilizations, and Spirit Hall activities—these would be her trump cards at critical moments.

"Teacher, we don't have enough manpower in the beginning."

"Pick lone wolves without faction ties from the Mercenary Guild and offer them generous compensation. Use your Noble Ring to verify their loyalty—your domain can sense emotions and true intentions; you were born to screen out spies."

Tang Yuehua's eyes lit up: "I can also select a few noble children with clean backgrounds and sharp minds from the students to cultivate, then incorporate them into the middle ranks later on. As for loyalty, you can rewrite their memories, Teacher."

The Black Latex Suit tightened slightly as a reward. Tang Yuehua bit down on her pen, suppressing the strange sensation in her throat, her earlobes burning hot.

When the steward entered again, she had already filled several sheets of paper.

"The eldest young master of the Liu family in the north of the city has sent another invitation for you to attend a banquet—he's the one who tried to force a land purchase last time."

Tang Yuehua set down her pen, a cold arc curling at the corners of her lips:

"Reply to him. The Moon Pavilion is not selling land, and I will not attend the banquet. Send someone to keep watch nearby; the next time they come, it won't be with a rejection note."

The next morning, the atmosphere at the Moon Pavilion construction site had completely changed.

The steward's voice was three times louder than usual, and suppliers were called in one by one to renegotiate their contracts.

The stone merchant was kicked off the list on the spot, and small firms trying to take advantage of the situation had their partnerships severed immediately.

"The Moon Pavilion is not short on materials; it is short on people who understand the rules."

In less than a morning, the news of the re-established authority spread throughout the Heaven Dou City business circle.

In the afternoon, Tang Yuehua sat in the newly arranged intelligence room, with the steward and two Spirit Saint guards whose memories had been rewritten standing before her.

She glanced at the list handed over by the steward and crossed out two names with her pen.

"These two backgrounds are too clean—clean to the point of being unrealistic. Do not make contact until they are thoroughly investigated.

The remaining three lone wolves can be approached. Don't discuss business yet; hire them as peripheral security in the name of the Moon Pavilion and observe them for a month."

She turned to the two Spirit Saint guards: "Change into plain clothes and go to the east and west markets. Within a month, map out all information channels in the Heaven Dou City mercenary underworld. I will arrange new identities for you when you return."

The two bowed their heads in acknowledgment and exited the intelligence room.

The steward then also asked to be excused.

"Teacher, the skeleton of the intelligence network has been built, but it still lacks a core focus."

"Don't be greedy for scale when dealing with intelligence; first, master Heaven Dou City."

Tang Yuehua circled three key points on the planning map:

The noble circle, chamber of commerce movements, and mercenary missions.

"The student understands. I will start with these three areas and expand outward once I have a firm footing."

"By then, the entire intelligence network will cover the whole Heaven Dou Empire!"

"You are a teachable child; I must reward you properly."

"Mmm..."

"Teacher, I want to be on top."

"Oh?"

"Come up, freeze it yourself!"