Wen Li saw that her untamed, profit-driven heart had finally settled down a bit after being knocked down a peg. Reaching out, she took the tea and drank it.
“From this day forth, you are a disciple of the 108th generation of my Wuji Sect, and my, Wen Li's, fourth disciple.”
Having ambition and desire was a good thing, but this disciple, Zongzheng Huangyue, was far too driven by profit. Had Wen Li not put her through the wringer like this, she might have sold out even her own master one day.
“Yes.”
Her head bowed, Zongzheng Huangyue was surprised. Master had already accepted three disciples? What manner of people could they be?
Wen Li summoned Gu Linshu into the room and jerked her chin toward Zongzheng Huangyue.
“This is your junior sister now.”
Hearing this, Gu Linshu, who had already prepared himself mentally, raised his hand in greeting. “H-Hello, Junior Sister. I-I am your Third Senior Brother, Gu... Lin... shu.”
Zongzheng Huangyue courteously returned the greeting. “Greetings, Third Senior Brother. Senior Brother may also simply call me Huangyue.”
“Greetings, Junior Sister.”
A flicker passed through Gu Linshu's eyes. Was she trying to get on his good side? Was she afraid the other two disciples had already formed a clique?
Seated in the host's seat, Wen Li nibbled on pastries, paying no heed to their little schemes. In any case, though they were polite now, they might well be hacking at each other with blades down the road. Once all six were gathered, the days of fraternal harmony would be few and far between.
“Have you eliminated all the people you sent to kill Wangquan Sheng?” Wen Li asked.
“Yes. Once they reached Beiqiong Kingdom, I killed them all. That way, even if Wangquan Sheng wants to investigate in the future, dead men tell no tales.” All the better to frame the Saint Emperor.
Zongzheng Huangyue answered honestly. She had already developed a profound dread toward Wen Li's terrifying cunning and strategic foresight; she dared not speak falsely.
Having finished speaking, she glanced at Gu Linshu standing beside them. Dressed in white with a gentle and refined air, he looked at first glance like someone from an exceptional upbringing, kind-hearted from youth. Noticing that he showed no reaction, she figured he could still tolerate a villain like her and wouldn't shun his new junior sister for being too vicious.
This senior brother looked like an elegant, upright scholar and was likely a good person. If she provoked his dislike, it might be difficult to gain a foothold in the sect going forward. Before she knew the situation of the other disciples, it was best to get on his good side.
Wen Li glanced at Gu Linshu, who stood aloof as if none of this concerned him. “Do you have anything to say?”
“...” Put on the spot, Gu Linshu instinctively looked at Zongzheng Huangyue and blurted, “Then what about the people you brought to rescue Wangquan Sheng?”
Zongzheng Huangyue blinked, momentarily taken aback, before answering honestly, “N-No, I didn't kill them.”
Was he asking whether she killed them? Yes, that was it.
“Y-You should kill... kill them too.”
Gu Linshu, reading Wen Li's disposition, had guessed what she wanted him to say—though deep down, he truly thought so as well. Weeds had to be pulled up by the roots.
Zongzheng Huangyue froze. “...”
This senior brother looked so gentle and kind, yet his mind was even more venomous than hers.
Master didn't look like a good person to begin with, but why was this senior brother acting so demonic as well? It seemed she had truly judged a book by its cover.
She couldn't help but ask, “Though those people were assigned to me by the Saint Emperor, I have already brought them to heel and they are now my confidants. Must they truly be killed?”
It wasn't that she couldn't bring herself to do it, but rather that she loathed having no useful subordinates at her disposal.
Gu Linshu looked toward Wen Li. Seeing her watching him, he gave a soft sigh and spoke, though via voice transmission.
“You killed the people who ambushed Wangquan Sheng to silence them and shift the blame, ensuring dead men tell no tales. Even if those who went with you to rescue him have temporarily submitted to you, the moment the Saint Emperor searches their souls, the truth will come out. To you, that is an invisible, fatal vulnerability. The moment they finished doing your bidding, you should have killed them.”
Wen Li suddenly spoke up. “When you kill someone, don't tell me you just slit their throat and call it a day?”
“What... else?” Zongzheng Huangyue was only fifteen years old. Lacking real combat experience, how could she know such extreme methods?
Too lazy to teach it all over again, Wen Li waved her hand, leaving it directly to Gu Linshu.
Taking up the duty of half a master, Gu Linshu instructed Zongzheng Huangyue via voice transmission, “The most thorough way to kill someone is to slit their throat, destroy their spiritual roots, search their soul to check whether their memories have leaked, and finally destroy the physical body, burn it to ash, and scatter the ashes into a river to let them wash away. That way, no one can examine their corpse to trace any clues.”
Zongzheng Huangyue, who considered herself a villain, couldn't help clapping in admiration upon hearing this, her eyes shining with the appreciation and pleasant surprise of meeting a kindred spirit.
“Are you sure you aren't a demonic cultivator, Senior Brother? Any demonic cultivator I've ever seen would look like an upright orthodox cultivator before you.” Fortunately! She had worried that this senior brother might be a righteous sort full of boundless love and devoted to healing the wounded and rescuing the dying, which would have made him difficult to get along with.
Since everyone was a villain, things would be much easier to discuss.
“...”
Gu Linshu sorely wanted to proudly and calmly say “Thank you for the compliment” like Wen Li, but he felt his own degree of ruthlessness wasn't yet worthy of such praise. He merely darted a glance toward Wen Li.
Pointing at himself, he shook his head slightly, signaling that it had all been taught by Wen Li.
“Oh...”
Zongzheng Huangyue caught his meaning. The astonishment in her heart faded, and she quickly accepted the fact that Master was a ruthless powerhouse. Indeed.
Since Master had taken in a villain like her, the other disciples probably wouldn't be very normal either, and Master herself was certainly no paragon of virtue.
Paragons of virtue could never become truly powerful.
Afterward, Zongzheng Huangyue offered to move Wen Li to a larger main residence and find a few servants to attend to her, but Wen Li stated that she preferred quiet and told her to hurry back and eliminate the witnesses.
Duly awed by her efficient methods, Zongzheng Huangyue dispensed with any further pleasantries. Taking advantage of the dawn that was just beginning to break, she nimbly slipped back to the palace to tie up loose ends.
Just as Master said: “I can feel guilty for a lifetime, but I cannot live on edge for a lifetime. Pulling weeds up by the roots brooks no delay.”
This was truly a maxim for survival in the cultivation world!
This master was far more to her taste than Zongzheng Yingchu; here, she could actually learn something real.
...
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