“Impossible! I can play along, feign compliance, and endure humiliation, but I will never yield to a man. I will only have men yield to me. If I like someone, he must belong to me alone. If anyone dares to make me a member of a harem, I will kill him.”
As Zongzheng Huangyue spoke, her expression darkened, her eyes flashing with a ruthless glint. Her tone was firm and disdainful.
“What’s the point of fighting over a man? Snatching a man’s status and resources is far more interesting.”
She knew it was impossible for Wen Li to be unaware of her temperament, yet her master had asked anyway...
Master had said that her original destiny was to be hated by Wangquan Sheng after she sent people to push him off a cliff and humiliated him by breaking their engagement. Later, he would grow powerful and join forces with Zongzheng Yuanling to kill her in revenge. Now, Wangquan Sheng had been deceived by her and given the bone ring; it was only natural for him to have a good impression of her. Yet, Master had specifically asked if she would compete with Zongzheng Yuanling for him in the future.
Master wouldn’t say this for no reason.
The variable lay in Wangquan Sheng’s affection for her. He was the key. Her destiny would change based on his changes. But if she remained firm in her convictions, would it still happen?
It seemed Master wasn’t worried about her own will, but rather feared she would be influenced by something and stop being the Zongzheng Huangyue she was. For example...
Her heart sank as she looked at Wen Li, her expression solemn and probing.
“Master, if there ever comes a day when I truly act as if I can’t live without Wangquan Sheng or any other man—no matter what is influencing me—I want you to break my legs or use a Soul-Locking technique on me. Whatever it takes, do not let me degrade myself like that.”
She carefully observed Wen Li’s expression and saw a flash of surprise in her eyes, which gave her the answer she needed. Her eyes trembled as she knelt on both knees, her gaze unyielding.
“If it makes things difficult for Master, I am willing to go out and strike Wangquan Sheng right now. I would rather have him hate me and return to our original destiny. I can still beat him this time.”
She would rather openly forge a grudge with Wangquan Sheng and fight him to the death in the future than be shackled by some irresistible force that would make her act out of jealousy as some man’s woman. Her ambition was in the cultivation world, not in romantic entanglements.
She had crawled out of a blood pool filled with ten thousand corpses not to become someone’s Dao partner, but to kill everyone who treated her as an object or a puppet. She did it to become the Saint Emperor of the Eastern Province.
“...”
The air around them grew still.
Hearing this, Wen Li’s eyes flickered, but she remained silent for a long time.
【Host, this villain is way too smart. Are you sure you didn’t tell her anything else?】 the System couldn’t help but chime in.
Wen Li replied, “Didn’t you say this disciple’s intelligence borders on the demonic and that you were afraid she’d sell me out? Can’t you tell she figured it out herself?”
The System sighed. 【Host, since she figured it out on her own, I suppose this doesn’t count as a system violation.】
Wen Li said indifferently, “The Heavenly Dao hasn’t reacted, which means it’s fine.”
“What, don’t you trust me?”
She looked down at the tense girl, stepped forward with a soft sigh, and helped her up, enunciating every word.
“I told you, I can take you with me to defy the Heavenly Mandate and turn the tide of destiny. No matter who it is, as long as you are my disciple, I will never let you be restricted by anyone. Although I have concerns, as long as I am here, you have nothing to fear.”
“Master...”
Zongzheng Huangyue’s dark pupils trembled as she stood up, a lump forming in her throat.
Wen Li placed a hand on her shoulder, her expression profound. “No matter what you’ve guessed, don’t try to probe so easily in the future.”
She would let her know what she wanted her to know; if she didn’t want her to know something, she wouldn’t give her the chance to guess.
Releasing the shackles appropriately was enough for someone this intelligent.
“...”
Zongzheng Huangyue pursed her lips, nodding after a moment of daze.
***
Late at night.
Inside an inn.
“Hey, hey, hey, Shao Jing, let me go first! I can’t take it anymore, I’m about to burst!”
“Ah, it’s killing me! I’m about to burst too! Gong Xu, get lost! Give the latrine to me!”
“It’s all Dai Shen’er’s fault! She just had to eat that stinky tofu. That little workshop definitely wasn’t clean!”
“Oh? Was it crap you were snatching from me when I was eating it then? Now you know it wasn’t clean! Keep it down! If we wake the Fifth Elder, we’re finished!”
These five familiar faces were the Danfeng Valley disciples who had previously been imprisoned in the Moquan Sect dungeon with Gu Linshu. They rushed down the stairs and bolted toward the latrines behind the inn.
Unfortunately, there were only two stalls. After a scramble, two of the five got in. The remaining three clutched their backsides and looked at each other. Since there were no secluded bushes around, they immediately hopped over the wall to find another toilet.
The alleyway in the back had two paths, so the three split up. Gong Xu, having the keenest nose, headed down the left alley with wild joy on his face.
“Heh, there’s a smell of waste on this path. There’s definitely a latrine here! Let them pull it in their pants!”
The faint, putrid smell in the air was strangely reassuring, making him certain there was a latrine nearby.
He ran dozens of meters and turned to see a crude little grass hut with the words “Latrine” hanging crookedly on it. His eyes lit up.
Placing his hands on his waistband, he immediately charged inside.
“Ah—!”
A scream was cut short in his throat; a second later, there was silence.
Wen Li, who had blocked her sense of smell, still had two wads of paper stuffed up her nose, just in case. She tossed aside the thick wooden club in her hand and clapped the dust off as she looked at Zongzheng Huangyue.
“There, one of them is isolated. Carry him away.”
They would interrogate him somewhere else; this place was disgusting.
Stinky tofu plus laxatives—even if the target thought the taste was weird while eating, they wouldn’t suspect a plot.
Fearing no one would know there was a toilet here and that her stakeout would be for nothing, she had even scattered a prank powder that mimicked the smell of waste in the alley.
“...” The method was toxic, but effective.
Zongzheng Huangyue, who had been waiting with her in the toilet for half a shichen, was already numb. She silently hoisted the unconscious Gong Xu, who had almost fallen into the pit, onto her shoulder. She carefully stepped behind Wen Li, terrified of stepping on something.
No wonder. No wonder Gu Linshu had looked at her with a mix of hesitation and pity when she was leaving the pharmacy with Master. He had even told her to remember the rules of respecting one’s master and not to be rude.
He had looked as though he were afraid she would try to betray her master.
Her previous image of her master as a profound and mysterious figure was crumbling; she needed time to readjust.
Sigh. Master was terrifying when she was serious, but she was even more frightening when she wasn't.
To save time, Wen Li performed a Soul Search on Gong Xu right there in the nearest alley. Within two minutes, she tossed him back into the toilet and erased his memory of being knocked out.
Unexpectedly, Gong Xu was a restless sleeper. Even though he was on the ground, he managed to roll over twice in a row, falling directly into the pit. He woke up instantly.
“Ugh! Why am I in the pit? Help! Guagh! Help me!”
“BLEUGH!!!”
Rate on N.U.
