"If we take you to the Nine Heavens, you'll lose all dignity. Will you do it yourself, or shall we?"
Lianshan Xin gave Dai Yongzhen the chance to choose for himself.
This was true mercy.
Dai Yongzhen understood, and gratitude entered his gaze as he looked at Lianshan Xin.
Everyone in the Demon Cult knew that their struggle against the Imperial Court would only end in death.
Being allowed to choose how they died was already an extraordinary act of clemency.
"I'll do it myself. As for Yueying, I'll have to leave her in your care."
Dai Yongzhen was worried about Dai Yueying, and he did not truly trust Lianshan Xin to take good care of her.
But the way Lianshan Xin had stood up for that boy deepened Dai Yongzhen's trust in him a little.
If he could show such mercy to an unfamiliar child, surely he would treat Dai Yueying, his classmate of several years with whom he shared a hint of romance, no worse?
Most importantly, he had no other choice.
Once their identities were exposed, ordinary Demon Cult disciples met only one end, unless they were elder-level figures like Thousand Faces.
"Sir, we..."
Qi Wenbin wanted to say more.
But Du Jiu kicked him, then dragged him out of the room.
Lianshan Xin did not stop Du Jiu.
He merely reflected once again that Qi Shiyun's judgment had been spot-on. Du Jiu truly had more potential than Qi Wenbin.
Outside the door.
Qi Wenbin was still voicing his displeasure to Du Jiu. "Little Jiu, why wouldn't you let me speak?"
Du Jiu pulled Qi Wenbin into the courtyard, only explaining once he had confirmed that he could no longer hear the conversation inside. "What did you want to remind him of?"
"That he shouldn't casually make an enemy of the governor's son, of course," Qi Wenbin said. "That's the governor's son!"
"Investigating the Jiangzhou Governor is one of the reasons we came to Jiangzhou this time. How do you know taking action against the governor isn't Lord Heavenly Sword's intention?"
Qi Wenbin froze.
Du Jiu said solemnly, "Brother Qi, remember, Third-Place Qi has already assigned us to Young Master Xin. Do you understand what that means?"
"It means our lives, deaths, honor, and disgrace will all depend on Young Master Xin from now on," Qi Wenbin said.
Du Jiu added, "It also means that Young Master Xin, like Third-Place Qi, has the talent to cultivate immortality. His future standing will be like hers."
Qi Wenbin nodded silently. "That's why I thought, since Young Master Xin is still young, we ought to help fill the gaps and catch his oversights. We can't let youthful hotheadedness or excessive compassion drive him to do things that hurt others without benefiting himself."
"The Nine Heavens has an ironclad rule: carry out orders from above whether you understand them or not. Brother Qi, we don't need so many ideas of our own. Young Master Xin comes from an ordinary background. He'll treasure his prospects more than we do. Besides, haven't you noticed?"
"What?"
"Young Master Xin is smarter than both of us."
Du Jiu vividly remembered every method and turn of phrase Lianshan Xin had used while disposing of the Qu Family's assets yesterday.
And today, he had suddenly become an iron-willed youth who feared neither power nor privilege?
Dai Yongzhen had been brainwashed by the Demon Cult and had grown senile. He might believe it, but Du Jiu did not.
Glancing at Qi Wenbin beside him, Du Jiu shook his head helplessly.
He felt no joy at having outperformed Qi Wenbin.
They would both be working under Young Master Xin from now on, and barring any surprises, they would partner up many times. He still hoped his partner could be a little smarter. Qi Wenbin was not his rival. His greatest problem was whether he could quickly break through his current realm.
"Brother Qi, from now on, we need to speak less, do more, and improve our strength as quickly as possible, so we don't fall behind Young Master Xin's progress. You know how quickly Third-Place Qi rose back then. Who even remembers the first two people assigned to her now?"
Qi Wenbin's expression shifted slightly. "Little Jiu, you're right. We both need to improve our strength quickly. If Young Master Xin cultivates even half as fast as Third-Place Qi, we'll probably struggle to keep up and be replaced by newcomers. Hmm? Dai Yueying is back?"
"Restrain her."
Du Jiu made the decision immediately.
At that moment.
Someone knocked on the Dai family's front door from outside.
Du Jiu opened it from within.
Dai Yueying appeared in the doorway.
And Lianshan Xin happened to step out of Dai Yongzhen's room.
Their eyes met.
Dai Yueying froze when she saw Lianshan Xin.
Seizing the opportunity, Qi Wenbin struck Dai Yueying's acupoints in a flash.
Then he tossed her straight into Lianshan Xin's arms.
"Sir, we'll leave your classmate for you to deal with. Little Jiu and I will guard the front door."
Qi Wenbin evolved rapidly.
He strove to display his loyalty and competence.
Holding the immobilized Dai Yueying with one arm, Lianshan Xin was a little surprised.
Still, he gave Du Jiu and Qi Wenbin an appreciative look each.
This saved him the trouble of explaining.
True enough, the values of his previous life still influenced him unconsciously. At heart, he respected other people.
But in fact, there was no need to explain so much to Du Jiu and Qi Wenbin.
When in Rome, he still had to do as the Romans did.
With that thought, Lianshan Xin carried Dai Yueying back into the room.
The moment they entered, Dai Yueying saw Dai Yongzhen, who had already stopped breathing.
She fell apart.
"My father..."
"He's dead."
Dai Yueying went blank. "W-why?"
"Your father was a member of the Demon Cult. Once his identity was exposed, death was his only option."
"What? My father was in the Demon Cult? That's impossible."
Dai Yueying had barely recovered before she went blank again. "How could my father possibly have been in the Demon Cult?"
She had joined the Demon Cult too, yet she had never encountered her father there.
Naturally, Lianshan Xin did not know that Dai Yueying had also joined the Demon Cult.
But that did not stop him from bluffing her. "Looks like you never saw Teacher Dai in the Demon Cult?"
Dai Yueying instinctively wanted to nod. Fortunately, her sealed acupoints prevented the movement, saving her from giving herself away.
"Brother Xin, what are you talking about?"
Lianshan Xin narrowed his eyes.
His Qi Condensation Realm cultivation was not enough for him to monitor other people's fluctuations in blood and qi at all times like Heavenly Sword.
His talent had only just activated, and it did not activate again now. It seemed to still be in its refractory period.
Yet after seeing her "biological father" dead, with every possibility that Lianshan Xin had driven him to his death, Dai Yueying was still calling him "Brother Xin."
No matter how he looked at it, that made no sense.
"Dai Yueying, when did you join the Demon Cult?"
"Brother Xin, you're making less and less sense."
"So you're not part of Blood Guanyin's branch. You belong to Thousand Faces' branch?"
Lianshan Xin was a little surprised.
If that was true, did Thousand Faces know Dai Yueying's true identity?
"Has anyone ever told you that you have an innate alluring constitution?" Lianshan Xin continued.
With her acupoints sealed, Dai Yueying could make no other movements.
But at that moment, Lianshan Xin, who had always been observant and prone to drawing his own conclusions, was ninety percent certain that Dai Yueying knew about her constitution.
And with that, he was ninety percent certain that she was a member of the Demon Cult.
Then he sucked in a breath of fragrant air.
There really are a few too many Demon Cult fiends around me. Or has the Demon Cult infiltrated all of Jiangzhou City far too deeply?
It should be the latter. I shouldn't think too highly of my own importance. The number of Demon Cult fiends around me suddenly skyrocketed after I entered the White Deer Grotto Academy's circle. It doesn't have much to do with me personally.
But with so many Demon Cult fiends in Jiangzhou, could the Jiangzhou Governor really be colluding with them?
Lianshan Xin suddenly felt that he could not entirely rule out that possibility.
His attempt to frame the governor might merely have made him a prophet.
Of course, that was a matter for later.
The immediate priority was dealing with Dai Yueying.
Placing his right hand around Dai Yueying's slender neck, Lianshan Xin asked softly, "Was deliberately getting close to me a mission the Demon Cult assigned you?"
"No... Brother Xin, it hurts. Be gentler."
Lianshan Xin did not ease up.
Smiling, he tightened his grip.
"I've already joined the Nine Heavens. I don't even need to report it to my superiors if I kill a Demon Cult member or two. Dai Yueying, do you think I'd dare kill you outright?"
As Lianshan Xin squeezed harder and harder, Dai Yueying finally surrendered under the threat of death. "It was my m-master's arrangement... cough, cough, cough..."
Lianshan Xin released his grip.
Dai Yueying immediately began coughing loudly.
"Who is your master?"
The look Dai Yueying now gave Lianshan Xin held seven parts fear and three parts hatred, along with ninety parts of deeply concealed, ambiguous desire.
"Thousand Faces."
Lianshan Xin's smile faded slightly.
It really was Thousand Faces.
Dai Yueying's identity was becoming ever more troublesome.
"Brother Xin, could you squeeze my neck again?"
Dai Yueying's words gave Lianshan Xin a fright.
"Are you sick?"
Dai Yueying blushed slightly. "I wasn't before, but just now... I suddenly felt like I was."
Lianshan Xin: "..."
Before you continue