Shangguan Cangxing

With reason, righteousness, and benevolence all on his side, and official backing behind him, Fang Yunhua honestly could not see how he could lose this round.

"I'll make the arrangements right away."

Lin Yi asked no further questions. He understood better than anyone that time was money now. Earlier, speaking from the An Prince's Mansion's perspective, he had raised concerns about crises that might erupt in the future, but now he knew that even a formidable expert within the Beggar Gang had agreed to Mount Hua's plan.

He would no longer say anything about this being a trifling sum of money.

After all, who in this world would complain about having too much money? And Fang Yunhua's introductory gift to the entire An Prince's Mansion had genuinely delighted him. It was practically money lying on the ground for the picking, and all they had to do was put in a few words.

Moreover, with his keen political instincts, Lin Yi had already realized that this was also an opportunity to weaken the Beggar Gang, the greatest gang under heaven.

The imperial court needed the martial world, but it did not want that world to grow so powerful that the storms it stirred could shake the whole land of China. And while Fang Yunhua's plan appeared to be aimed at reviving Mount Hua and taking revenge, it actually aligned even more closely with the political interests of the entire empire.

"Troublesome fellows like you are the last people I want to deal with."

Shangguan Cangxing, who had listened throughout, sat straight down in the seat Lin Yi had vacated. Fang Yunhua could not help giving him another look. He knew very well that court-affiliated powers like the An Prince's Mansion placed the greatest importance on protocol.

The freedom with which Shangguan Cangxing behaved now made it clear that he held a very special position within the mansion.

"Actually, I originally came to the Capital City to have a fight with you."

Shangguan Cangxing grinned, revealing stark white teeth.

Fang Yunhua frowned slightly.

"At my age, there's a limit to how strong I can be. Surely there's no need to put me in my place through force?"

Shangguan Cangxing shrugged.

"We're dealing with a martial sect, after all. Letting our fists do the talking is one way to communicate. It would also give you a little demonstration of the An Prince's Mansion's strength.

"It would be an exaggeration to call it showing you that beyond every sky lies another sky, and beyond every master stands another master.

"As far as I know, there isn't a second expert like the Demoness of the Emerald Sea even in the imperial palace."

"What about experts on Stone Guanyin's or Xue Yiren's level?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Right. I don't know exactly how strong those two are. But I can tell you that the imperial court does have some experts on the level of the heads of the Seven Great Schools."

"Like you?"

In a fight to the death, Fang Yunhua was confident he could put up a fight against him. After all, he wielded a sword; his whole approach was that as long as he was not killed outright, he still had a chance.

But in a sparring match, he could only resign himself to a beating. The gap in their raw stats was plain to see, unless his Mingyu Skill could advance two levels in the next few days. Internal cultivation, however, was a matter of slow, patient grinding.

Besides, Gu Long's World rarely offered the various treasures and lucky encounters that boosted internal power in the neighboring Jin Yong setting. Yet even without such obvious external windfalls, Fang Yunhua no longer felt quite so wary of Yuan Suiyun, whom he had expected to be his greatest enemy after awakening his memories.

Because it was no longer very likely that the man could replicate his original storyline.

Withered Plum had been so easily lured away by him because Mount Hua had been steadily declining at the time. Although she was an excellent teacher, she was a complete novice at developing a sect. All she could do was collect rent from the few plots of land the sect owned, and on top of that, her standards for accepting disciples were harsh.

That had left her career at a bottleneck, and so the old tree had blossomed anew.

But now, Withered Plum's career had only just begun its upward climb. This was the time to work hard. Once Mount Hua's influence spread across Shaanxi, Henan, and Shanxi, she would probably be so busy she could not even squeeze in time to sleep.

Who the hell had time for romance then!

Love, my ass-let your mother sell fried dough twists!

As his wandering thoughts finally bounced back, Fang Yunhua looked at Shangguan Cangxing, who was shaking his head with a bored expression.

"No fight, then?"

"There's no need to fight."

"You can make that decision?"

"Of course."

"But I'm still a little curious about your strength."

"Hmm?"

Shangguan Cangxing gave Fang Yunhua a sidelong look. It was the first time he had seen someone volunteer to get beaten up.

Fang Yunhua, however, waved a hand and said,

"What I mean is, there may be a few things I need your help with next."

Shangguan Cangxing keenly picked up on the key words in that sentence.

"A few... things?"

"Let's start with the first. To ensure the plan goes smoothly, we need to tie up the loose end involving Nangong Ling's elder brother. I don't trust a softhearted fellow like Chu Liuxiang to handle it. Besides... I've never underestimated anyone, whether it's Chu Liuxiang or Wuhua."

"Wuhua?!"

Fang Yunhua had not mentioned Wuhua's name earlier, so Shangguan Cangxing was quite surprised. Putting that together with the information Fang Yunhua had already given him, a cold sneer appeared on his face.

"That damned Jap never gave up his villainous ambitions. One sent to the Beggar Gang, the other to Southern Shaolin. In time, one would become the chief of the greatest gang under heaven, and the other the head of the greatest sect under heaven. That deliberate sacrifice of his was quite a bargain.

"Damn those two fools, Ren Ci and Tianfeng, for letting themselves be used!

"They scattered their kindness blindly and ended up leaving such an enormous threat hanging over our land.

"Right, since you've already contacted Dai Duxing, then Southern Shaolin..."

"I haven't told them yet." Fang Yunhua found Shangguan Cangxing very much to his liking. He, too, thought Ren Ci and Tianfeng were simply two fools whose kindness had been exploited, but given his position, he could not say such things carelessly.

"We need to wait for events to unfold. Someone has been keeping watch over there all along. Once Fragrant Marshal Chu drives Nangong Ling to his death, it should be about time."

"Will everything really go that smoothly?" Shangguan Cangxing looked at Fang Yunhua.

Fang Yunhua nodded without hesitation.

"From beginning to end, what traps those two with no way out is their own nature. Nangong Ling's hunger for power outweighs everything else, so he'll keep gambling with his life, gambling again, and gambling yet again. Everyone knows a gambling dog ends up with nothing.

"As for Wuhua... with his intelligence, he should already have noticed a few things. That means he has to cut off any leads that could work against him.

"At the same time, he's too confident. He likes handling everything personally-or rather, he trusts other people too little. That means his insistence on doing everything himself will instead become the pit that drags him into the abyss.

"Of course, the key to my confidence that everything will go smoothly is still Fragrant Marshal Chu.

"Even if he realizes I'm using him, the case is already unfolding smoothly. He won't simply lose his temper and abandon it out of concern over me.

"He'll pursue it even harder, pressing Wuhua so closely that even if Wuhua discovers my existence, he'll struggle to free himself up completely.

"Still, this is the Wonderous Monk Wuhua, after all. We should be a little more cautious with him. I'll discuss that in greater detail with Steward Lin later."