Hou Niao looked at Yu Zhengxing in puzzlement. "What do you mean? We have an undercover agent in the Qin Sect?"
Yu Zhengxing laughed and scolded him. "Stop judging everyone by that Minister of Justice Prefecture mindset of yours. Let me tell you, playing those games between Xiuzhen sects really doesn't accomplish much. Some things can work perfectly well when done openly. Sneaking around the way you people do only makes a mess of them."
"There's no undercover agent, and no need for one! The Minister of Justice Prefecture wouldn't let us use their precious darlings anyway. It's simply a tacit understanding between friends on a particular matter, a consensus.
"Remember, even though you belong to the Minister of Justice Prefecture, do less of that sneaking around. What's wrong with being open and aboveboard? It solves problems just as well."
Hou Niao's eyes widened. "One moment you're sending me to steal a treasure, the next you're bragging about being open and aboveboard. That mouth of yours really..."
Yu Zhengxing was unperturbed. "I'll say it again. That isn't stealing. It's putting a treasure where it belongs, to benefit the entire Northwest. Tell me, wouldn't that sort of theft be worthwhile?"
Hou Niao smiled wryly. "Please, go on."
Yu Zhengxing said, "I've been in contact with the Qin Sect and Yue Sect for years, trying to gain their support for the shelterbelt. Although most cultivators disapprove of taking such a risk, believing it means throwing already scarce resources into the water, some discerning people have seen its benefits. So my efforts haven't been entirely fruitless.
"There's more to this struggle between Qin and Yue over the Water Spirit Pearl, too. Since the Yue Sect has always been on good terms with the mainstream Daoist sects of the southeast, it holds a certain