People's Hearts (III)

"All of you, rise."

Amid the clamor, excitement and grand display, Ye Jinyu spoke calmly.

Led by Ye Guyi, Ye Jinyu entered the garrison residence.

The banquet hall.

Its winding passages opened onto a brilliantly lit banquet, with white jade steps and green jade tables, luxury taken to the extreme.

The music of strings and woodwinds flowed melodiously. The dancers' figures were graceful, their every frown and smile and movement elegant. Perhaps because of their dancing, strands of black hair fell between their snow-white, rounded breasts. Their movements drew the eye and stirred the senses.

It was quite distinctive of the Qingyu Ruins Realm.

Spiritual delicacies were served in an unending stream, and seated on both sides were people of great power and standing in the Qingyu Ruins Realm.

They chatted and laughed, a scene of perfect harmony.

Ye Jinyu sat upright in the seat of honor, expression calm, toying with a green jade wine cup. Ye Jinyu's gaze drifted over the people below, and the corners of the mouth curved slightly upward.

Then Ye Jinyu gently set down the cup. Everyone present was watching this young master.

The twelve Cloud Guards, their flying-fish robes trailing behind them like brocade-clad figures moving in secret, stood guard in concealed places at the front and rear of the hall.

Clad in a black robe, Xu Feng stood behind Ye Jinyu like a shadow, drawing no attention as he observed the many faces among the guests.

His hands were hidden behind his back. Faint traces of the aura of the Calamity-Escaping Wind, which scoured and washed over the soul, seeped from his eyes, becoming wisps of black smoke that slowly rose.

Ye Guyi sat in the first seat on the left, smiling and raising his cup to Ye Jinyu from time to time.

In the first seat on the right, Zhao Yuan, head of the Zhao Clan, wore a broad smile, but deep in his eyes lurked a trace of tension that was difficult to detect.

"Young master, this is Qingyu Spirit Marrow Wine, a specialty of our Qingyu. Please, young master, have a taste." Zhao Yuan rose, personally carrying a pot of wine and filling Ye Jinyu's cup.

The wine was blue-green, with spiritual light faintly flowing through it. It gave off a strange, fresh fragrance, an eerie blend of the vitality of plants and a trace of scarlet.

Ye Jinyu picked up the cup and swirled it gently, looking down and examining the wine carefully, but did not drink.

Ye Jinyu merely said, "I have heard that this spirit wine of the Qingyu Zhao Clan is all the rage among our Ye Clan. Quite a few people can't stop praising it..."

"But when I looked through the records of Qingyu, I found that the Zhao Clan had ties to that True Person Qingyu from four hundred years ago. You aren't using this to preserve the Yu Clan's bloodline, are you...?"

At the first half of the remark, Zhao Yuan's face lit up with joy, his eyes and brows brightening. But at the words that followed, his expression changed drastically and turned deathly pale. He hurriedly replied, "Young master, you praise us too highly... Young master, please allow me to explain. Our Zhao Clan were originally slaves tending the Yu Clan's Spirit Plants. Only through the compassion of our master clan did we come to be what we are today. How could we possibly harbor any longing for our former masters...?"

"We are a lowly clan and have already betrayed the Yu Clan. Naturally, we must be ruthless with them and make a clean break when the time comes. The only path for us now is to serve our master clan with loyalty."

"Is that truly so?" Ye Jinyu chuckled and set down the cup. "You certainly have a way with words, Clan Head of the Zhao Household."

Zhao Yuan's heart was uneasy, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He did not know what this young master meant and could not help speculating as Ye Jinyu spoke such baffling words.

Ye Jinyu looked away from him and turned to the dancers in the hall.

Ye Guyi clapped his hands.

The music of strings and woodwinds suddenly changed.

Two women who looked alike walked gracefully forward. Their figures were especially striking, and they were fair-skinned and beautiful, with a faint hint of shyness. They seemed unwilling, but had no choice but to come out and perform.

They had an air about them that would stir anyone's pity.

A closer look revealed that they were Zhao Yuan's daughters, Zhao Qiwei and Zhao Qiyu.

Zhao Qiwei wore a goose-yellow gauze dress, while Zhao Qiyu wore a blue-green jacket and skirt. Both women were exceptionally beautiful, and their graceful dancing drew the attention of everyone at the banquet.

The beauty mark at the corner of Zhao Qiyu's eye looked like a drop of solidified amber in the candlelight.

As the dance reached its climax, the two women spun lightly, as nimble as swallows. Their gauze skirts fluttered, offering glimpses of calves as fair as jade. Their faces were flushed, and their hair fell somewhat disheveled over their full breasts. With a touch of shyness, they seemed to resist even as they welcomed attention.

Some Ye Clan stewards at the banquet were already watching with burning eyes and whispering among themselves. Others went so far as to cheer inwardly, envy rising in their hearts.

Ye Guyi's son, Ye Anlan, sat silently at the far end, drinking by himself. He glanced over from time to time, then smiled as he let it go.

Yu Qinglin, who was waiting to die in that spiritual garden three years ago... was it really you who let him go?

Ye Guyi noticed and tapped lightly on the table.

Then, holding his wine, he spoke in a low voice to Ye Jinyu in the seat of honor. "Young master, these two beauties of the Zhao Clan are the most outstanding beauties in the Qingyu Ruins Realm. The Zhao Clan has raised them in seclusion for eighteen years, hoping only that you might favor them.

"More precious still, they possess Azure Wood Spirit Bodies, which are also of great benefit to cultivation."

"Oh?" Ye Jinyu smiled faintly. "Such beauties, are they? And such fine prospects for cultivation..."

Ye Guyi gave Zhao Yuan a meaningful look.

Zhao Yuan hurriedly replied, "It is my daughters' honor to dance for you, young master, and the honor of our little Qingyu clan as well. If you do not disdain them, we would gladly let them serve at your side. Even becoming your concubines would be a tremendous blessing..."

As Zhao Yuan finished speaking, Zhao Qiwei, in the goose-yellow dress, faltered and nearly fell.

Ye Jinyu gave a soft laugh and threw the green jade cup to the floor, spilling the spirit wine everywhere.

The banquet fell abruptly cold.

Zhao Yuan immediately prostrated himself and remained kneeling. The Zhao Clan sisters did the same.

But among the guests, the pupils of the five Qingyu clan heads and quite a few Ye Clan stewards turned murky. Their minds sank into a stupor, and their souls became like turbid wind.

"Burn my flesh and blood, destroy my own body, ah!"

"Ye Clan brat, we of Qingyu will never be slaves!"

"Qingyu has suffered under the Ye Clan for too long! We shall give our lives for righteousness!"

"Clan Head of the Zhao Household, why haven't you made your move?!"

"The two beauties of the Zhao Clan are mine, mine!"

"At Qingyu's summit, I stand above the world! With me, Anlan, here, Qingyu will never overturn the heavens!"

The clan heads and Ye Clan stewards fell into infighting, and even Ye Anlan joined them. In an instant, they were fighting.

The Cloud Guards remained unmoved. Wind still streamed from Xu Feng's eyes, curling upward.

This was Turbid Bi Wind.

A Purple Mansion method, it worked silently, reaching into the mind.

Ye Guyi, too, could not contain his shock as he looked at Ye Jinyu.

Then he cursed inwardly. Bastard, you've made me lose face.

Ye Jinyu merely chuckled, watching the chaos with a certain pleasure at toying with people's hearts.

"How dare you!" Ye Guyi pinned Ye Anlan down with one palm, then shouted.

Wind Gang and wind Sha abruptly grew dense.

Gang wind crushed a thousand mountain peaks; Sha wind struck swiftly and shattered the stoutest defenses.

This was Wind Crushes Mountains.

The five clan heads were pinned firmly to the floor as boundless wind Sha pressed down on them and Gang wind tore at them. Almost in an instant, they were drenched in blood, yet they could not stop struggling.

The murkiness in their eyes grew thicker.

"Someone, quickly protect the young master!"

Zhao Yuan shouted this almost at once.

But the moment the words left his mouth, Zhao Yuan immediately prostrated himself, cold sweat pouring down his face and his heart turning ice-cold.

The shock sent a stabbing pain through his soul, and the green jade at his waist shattered instantly.

"Clan Head of the Zhao Household, why were you not plunged into that deep murkiness at the very first moment... and why did you still remember to declare your loyalty? It seems it was an obsession buried deep in your very marrow and soul..."

Ye Jinyu looked at Zhao Yuan, who lay trembling and shivering on the floor, as though looking at a dead man.

The voice was soft, but exceptionally cold.

"As the saying goes, one who plots deliberately against the unsuspecting can make even a Purple Mansion wary... Yet I never expected... that you had such a method, Clan Head of the Zhao Household."

"I don't recall our Ye Clan ever giving anyone in this Qingyu Ruins Realm a means to resist a life-bound Divine Ability. Even our Ye Clan's garrison fell victim to the Divine Ability at the first moment..."

"Someone, seize the entire Zhao Clan."

Three days earlier, at the Qingyu Zhao Clan.

Zhao Qiwei, in goose yellow, sat before her dressing table, her pale face reflected in the mirror.

"Sister..." Her voice trembled. "This time... will he...?"

"Shut up."

Zhao Qiyu, with the beauty mark by her eye, stood by the window with her back to her younger sister. She still held herself straight, and her blue-green gauze dress glimmered softly in the candlelight. But a closer look would have revealed her right hand trembling slightly at her side.

"Father told us to serve him well and conduct ourselves properly." Zhao Lingqi's voice was cold, as though she were trying to convince herself. "We must win the young master's favor. When the time comes..."

"But that was bought with the lives of the Yu Household! I don't know why they have to be so cruel, torturing the Yu Household bit by bit and killing them." Zhao Qiwei suddenly grew agitated and turned around, her eyes already red.

"Couldn't our Zhao Clan treat them well? Four hundred years ago, how close our clan and the Yu Clan were! Our ancestor went to great lengths to save the Yu Clan... Yet now our generation uses them as a means to curry favor with the superior clan and advance ourselves."

"And Brother Qinglin... when we were little, we even... Three years ago, he said he would definitely come back for us."

"Zhao Qiwei!"

Zhao Qiyu spun around, crossed to her sister in a few strides, and seized her wrist. "Listen carefully. From now on, you are not allowed to mention the name 'Yu Qinglin' again!"

"The Yu Household is a sinful clan, a pack of lowborn wretches, material for our Zhao Household to brew wine with!"

"Do you understand? You must remember it, hold it firmly in your heart. No matter who asks, you must engrave it in your heart."

Her nails nearly dug into her sister's flesh.

Zhao Qiwei sucked in a breath from the pain but did not dare pull away. At last, tears rolled down her face. "But, Sister, you weren't like this before... You even secretly brought Brother Qinglin medicine for his injuries. You clearly..."

"That was before!"

Zhao Qiyu released her hand. Her chest rose and fell a few times before she lowered her voice. "Before was before, and now is now. Qiwei, remember this: you mustn't even keep those words in your heart."

Knock, knock...

Suddenly, a knock came at the door.

A maid's voice came from outside.

"Young ladies, the master ordered us to bring you this Azure Nether Jade... He instructed that you must wear it when the time comes."