Jiang Jinyue yanked Qi Yan off the phoenix and flew back to Heavenly Evolution Peak with him dangling from her hand, heading straight for... Qi Yan's cave abode.
It was just like coming home. She opened the entrance however she pleased-it had been her home to begin with.
"Thud." Qi Yan was tossed onto the ice jade bed. He was just about to spring up when a delicate hand suppressed him and pressed him back down.
Jiang Jinyue leaned in, grabbed his collar, and demanded fiercely, "What nonsense were you spouting?!"
Qi Yan hurriedly said, "Probably nobody heard. I was riding up in the sky, and I said it so quietly."
"You still can't go saying things like that outside."
"But I didn't do it on purpose. That really was what I was thinking." Qi Yan still looked a little bewildered. "I don't even know how you suddenly appeared in front of me. It was like a dream."
Jiang Jinyue's expression grew a little complicated too. A thin mist seemed to veil her eyes, obscuring what lay within.
I keep getting the feeling this junior brother has a secret crush on me.
First there was Yue Jinjiang, then that mysterious bond, and now he's pulling this 'missing you' business.
A secret crush wouldn't be a big deal in itself. It just proves how charming I am. I could give you a chance to be my lackey...
But what exactly do you mean by having a little nun on one side and Yun Ranyi on the other? You're even wearing your childhood sweetheart's ring, you rotten scumbag.
The more Jiang Jinyue thought about it, the angrier she became. She shook him by the collar. "Talk. What's this about a little nun?"
At such close quarters, her breath was fragrant as orchids, and her fierce little expression made her look more like a kitten baring its fangs and claws.
Qi Yan's heart inexplicably softened. He sighed helplessly. "That was just Jing Chuan running his mouth and talking nonsense. We ran into some nuns from the Dharma Mystery Nunnery on our mission and helped each other out. It was only an impromptu team-up. Fundamentally, even if they're not enemies, they're still rivals."
He then recounted everything from the beginning, putting particular emphasis on the ambusher. "If you're going to see Master this time, tell her about this too."
"Got it." Jiang Jinyue's expression grew a little more solemn. "The Dharma Mystery Nunnery... that old nun Jingkong is stubborn and inflexible. She's always disliked Master. They argued at one year's Heavenly Prefecture Immortal Gathering, and apparently they even exchanged a move before both stopping."
"That serious?"
Cultivators at the Tribulation Transcendence level were effectively nuclear weapons and generally wouldn't attack one another lightly. Once they actually exchanged a move, even if they stopped after just one, it could already be considered a very serious clash.
"Mm... but they're far apart, after all, and their spheres of influence don't clash. They simply have no dealings with each other, so you could say neither really understands the other." Jiang Jinyue pondered. "Put that way, old nun Jingkong is a little more reasonable than I imagined. Despite their mutual dislike, she actually sent people to investigate first instead of rushing to attack."
Qi Yan said, "She's one of Heavenly Prefecture's very strongest cultivators, after all. She's not an idiot."
"Speaking up for your little nun's master, are you?"
"?" Qi Yan said irritably, "Weren't you the one who praised her for being reasonable first?"
"I can praise her. You can't."
Qi Yan truly didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "All right, all right. Can we go report to Master now?"
"I'm not finished interrogating you. You think the nun matters that much?" Jiang Jinyue shook him by the collar. "Yun Ranyi is missing an earring! What exactly is that flying artifact of yours? Did you think I wouldn't recognize it?"
I'm done for.
Qi Yan gaped.
You two met?
Wait, no. This isn't necessarily more important than the nun either. Why are you acting like you've caught me cheating? You're only my senior sister...
Jiang Jinyue's gaze flickered. Clearly, she was considering the same question.
Whether this fellow had a secret crush on her or was a rotten scumbag, she had no romantic feelings for him. She simply felt closer to this junior brother whom she'd watched all along and personally brought into the sect. What did his love life have to do with her? What was she getting angry about?
Obviously, it's because I'm worried this junior brother will turn his elbow outward and side with outsiders.
Besides, just looking at that woman makes me angry.
Jiang Jinyue ground her teeth. "I already said it before. That suggestion of yours was meant to make me help her if I thought it appropriate. Now it's proven-you did it on purpose! You're siding with outsiders!"
Qi Yan froze. "You really helped her?"
"Mm." Jiang Jinyue snorted coldly. "She bought a poor mineral vein... actually, she was scammed. Ownership of the mine itself was under dispute between two factions, but she stupidly went and bought it. She handed over the money and ended up becoming the other side's target instead."
Qi Yan's first reaction was that Yun Ranyi wasn't that stupid, but he wisely kept quiet and listened as his senior sister continued.
"Sure enough, she later provoked people from Crimson Flame Valley, and a localized clash broke out." Jiang Jinyue sounded somewhat disgruntled as she spoke-Qi Yan's earlier idea had made sense. How they handled this sort of localized clash could serve as a reference for whether their methods followed demonic-path thinking, but events hadn't developed as she hoped.
The opposing faction in the clash wasn't particularly strong either. Those of the demonic path would certainly have their strongest member suppress the opposition, and might even kill people outright to establish their might. The righteous path rarely went to such extremes. Even if they dispatched a powerhouse, it might only be a show of deterrence, after which both sides would sit down to negotiate and agree on something like a contest between disciples to settle matters. If negotiations failed, they might continue by bringing in their respective backers for more talks.
Although people differed and their actions couldn't all be judged by labels, it was still a reference. In any case, it offered some clues from which to make a tentative judgment. Jiang Jinyue had really been looking forward to the Yun Clan's powerhouses going out to suppress people...
Instead, Yun Ranyi personally took some guards to negotiate with the other side, courteous and measured, an utterly textbook example of the fine upbringing of a cultivation clan.
When the first round of negotiations failed, Yun Ranyi did something else that made Jiang Jinyue's jaw drop... she sent an envoy to the nearest peripheral city of the Heavenly Evolution Sect to seek out its city lord. She told the city lord she was willing to give the Heavenly Evolution Sect ten percent of the disputed mine's proceeds in exchange for its protection of the Yun Clan, and asked him to relay this to the sect.
When the city lord opened communications to relay it to Jiang Jinyue, she was sitting up in the sky, staring in a daze.
How did watching the drama turn into a drama about me again...?
No, wait. This little bitch wants to come under us as a subordinate? The Yun Clan wants to become a subordinate clan of the Heavenly Evolution Sect? What kind of development is this...?
Only then did Jiang Jinyue realize that this was precisely the way newcomers ought to consider establishing themselves first, yet nobody had even thought in that direction.
Indeed, the Yun Clan's strongest member was only at Spirit Transformation. That was impressive for a clan, but far short of a major sect's forces. It was perfectly normal for newcomers to seek someone to rely on, so why had they subconsciously regarded them as a top-tier independent power?
Jiang Jinyue couldn't make that kind of decision, so she reported to Master. Master's answer was, "Agreed."
And so Jiang Jinyue, who had been lurking overhead and peeping like a creep ever since they were at sea, finally had her historic first meeting with Yun Ranyi.
Their first meeting took place at the city lord's residence.
"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Yun Ranyi." Yun Ranyi offered Jiang Jinyue an impeccably proper lady's greeting. "I've long heard that Young Master Jiang looks like a young girl, youthful and lovely. Seeing you today, you truly surpass your reputation."
Jiang Jinyue: "..."
Doesn't something sound strange about that?
She instinctively glanced at Yun Ranyi's figure. Those curves certainly rose and fell in all the right places.
I wonder how someone felt lying on top of her back then. Was it very comfortable?
Strange, why is she missing an earring? Doesn't wearing just one feel awkward...?
"Let's dispense with the small talk." Jiang Jinyue decided not to respond to that sort of "pleasantry" and said sourly, "You traveled all this way to Heavenly Prefecture Continent just to find someone to attach yourselves to?"
Yun Ranyi smiled politely. "We're weak. Wouldn't it be the same wherever we went...? But Young Master Jiang may have misunderstood something. We don't intend to become subordinates. We only wish to make a friend and secure protection."
It was roughly equivalent to paying protection money, with someone stepping forward to help when trouble arose. In fact, it only sounded a little better. Many subordinate clans and sects already operated this way, without a hierarchical relationship with their main sect, yet people still collectively called them subordinates and rarely distinguished between them.
After all, once they relied on someone else's protection, it would be difficult to refuse if that protector really ordered them to do something. There wasn't much difference from subordination.
Jiang Jinyue didn't particularly care which arrangement it was. What really concerned her was why Master had so readily said "agreed" when their suspected demonic-path ties hadn't even been investigated properly... After some thought, she asked, "You've been here for quite a while. Why are you only seeking protection now, instead of paying your respects to a sect beforehand?"
Yun Ranyi sighed softly. "Please forgive my frankness, Young Master... we're new here, so naturally we had to determine who was worth following first. If we encountered someone who bullied men and tyrannized women, ordering everyone about, I'd fear I couldn't even preserve my chastity."
Jiang Jinyue couldn't help saying, "Hey, and we wouldn't? Our Heavenly Evolution Sect's reputation isn't even as good as those sanctimonious Daoist sects."
"First, Sect Master Mu is a woman, and so are you, Young Master Jiang. You presumably wouldn't stand by and let such things happen."
"Then you might as well seek out the Dharma Mystery Nunnery. They'd be even less likely to stand by."
"Second..." Yun Ranyi flushed faintly, her voice growing softer. "Even if I truly had to serve someone, there is an old acquaintance in Heavenly Evolution."
Jiang Jinyue: "?"
What does that mean?
After a long moment, realization struck, and Jiang Jinyue nearly flipped the table. "Who exactly did you come here for?"
Yun Ranyi didn't clarify. Instead, she breezily changed the subject. "If Young Master Jiang feels ten percent of the mine's proceeds isn't enough, how about twenty percent?"
Who wants your lousy ten or twenty percent of that worthless mine?! Jiang Jinyue took several deep breaths, barely managing to calm herself.
Off to the side, Xiao Yuan watched sympathetically as all that breathing barely produced any rise or fall. Even a cat had more.
"Ten or twenty percent makes little difference with that poor mine of yours." Jiang Jinyue said coolly, "We only need you to do two things."
Yun Ranyi inclined her body. "Please give your instructions, Young Master."
"In this mining dispute, both the party that sold you the mine and the party that came looking for trouble afterward should now count as your enemies. We only need your Yun Clan to tie down those two factions for me when necessary."
Yun Ranyi had expected this.
If the Heavenly Evolution Sect came under attack from all sides, then however powerful Mu Xunzhen was, she could at most face off against the other top experts. Every level beneath her had its own opponents. The Heavenly Evolution Sect didn't have that many people and couldn't withstand a pack of wolves tearing at it. Mu Xunzhen would need a faction of a certain caliber to shoulder some of that pressure. On the surface, the Yun Clan was a Spirit Transformation-level faction, making it highly suitable. For that, she wouldn't keep dwelling on whether they belonged to the demonic path.
Even if they really did, Mu Xunzhen might not care under these circumstances.
And as long as they weathered this battle, her Yun Clan would be firmly established in Heavenly Prefecture. The mineral veins and other resources they could seize in the process would amount to far more than this single poor mine.
This would become a major aboveground foothold for the Extreme Dao Sect, freeing it from the predicament of operating in the shadows and being unable to control conventional resources.
If Mu Xunzhen and those other few all ended up badly wounded, the prospects would be brighter still.
"That condition is only natural. The Yun Clan is willing to hold the lands west of the Heavenly Evolution Sect for it forever." Yun Ranyi inclined her body. "May I ask what the second condition is...?"
"The second condition is to stay away from my junior brother."
Yun Ranyi's consistently calm, elegant expression finally showed a trace of astonishment.
Does your master know you're inserting a condition like that into the actual terms of negotiations between factions?