?”What?!”

Do Bishui looked at his subordinate with annoyance after the latter whispered into his ear.

“What is it? So noisy. Can’t you play a game in peace?”

A calm and peaceful voice spoke in a slightly admonishing, with a hint of lament tone. A slender hand placing a white stone on the board filled with black and white.

“Ah… my apologies Tower Master, it’s just more trouble… ah, excellent move as always”

Do Bishui immediately bowed his head as he shooed away the subordinate and moved his gaze to the board.

“Trouble? After we warned them?”

Gu Zhen slightly raised his eyebrow in surprise, causing the man in front of him who was about to place a black stone on the board to freeze.

“Ah, no, not after. It happened simultaneously with the attacks in Fantian and Tingren Kingdom. It is not something on a big scale, just a small plan your humble subordinate came up with”

“Hoh, one of your little schemes? Hah, that’s why I told you to ask me for advice. Go on, make your move”

Gu Zhen waved his hand in a relaxed manner.

“Ahahaha, it is just as Tower Master says, I should have discussed it before… then, allow me”

Do Bishui made a complaisant smile, then resuming his motion and placing his stone.

“And what is that move exactly?”

“Pardon me? Ah, this is my foolish strategy to try and put this area under pressure while keeping this…”

Do Bishui started vaguely pointing different areas of the board.

“Not that, your scheme. If he hit it at the same time with the other two targets it means insignificant as it may or may not be in your eyes, it is something he considered important enough to cut at”

Gu Zhen cut in with the same tone of voice and expression, but a bead of sweat appeared on Do Bishui’s forehead. The Tower Master’s hand then took a white stone and placed it on the board.

“…ah, of course, my apologies Tower Master… of course you meant that. The scheme was of little significance, I just planted a person in the Great Seductress’ Sect a long time ago, and helped him rise to the position of the Vice Palace Master.

I even hired Bahshi Assassins to eliminate his predecessor… anyway, that person was slowly corrupting the sect as we did with many others.

I foolishly thought it was worthwhile to try even if you said that the Great Seductress doesn’t care about her sect and therefore it was useless to waste time and effort on a sect that wouldn’t surmount to anything anyway…”

As Do Bishui talked he gradually relaxed, even looking at the board and putting his hand into the bowl of black stones, but as he raised his hands and saw the eyes staring at him, he stiffened.

“Are you saying… you had an active network of people in the sect that Troublemaker appeared from, and that now became a centerpiece of his play against us, this whole time? And did not notify me?”

Gu Zhen’s tone, expression, mannerisms stayed absolutely the same, but Do Bishui started profusely sweating as his eyes filled with horror. He moved on his knees back a few steps, and prostrated with hurry.

“M-my apologies T-Tower Master. I beg of you to forgive this foolish one… I-I will make up for it-…”

“How?”

“…”

Do Bishui slightly raised his head to look up, seemingly not understanding the question.

“How are you going to make up for it? Is your network still in place?”

The white-haired and bearded man in leather crown hit the floor with his forehead once more, as tears started appearing in the corners of his eyes.

“Forgive this lowl-…”

“Answer the question”

“N-no… there was a purge in the sect of the Great Seductress… some young couple that my subordinate was pressuring led the elders and disciples who did not side with us and… and crushed them.

As you know most people there are Dual Culivators, and don’t really have much brawn… but, it… it was a gruesome fight with surprising fighting prowess from the other side, and the Great Seductress used the Grand Formation in the end to crush the man I sent…”

“So you are saying that you lost the one decent card you were able to prepare for me over the years”

Gu Zhen stated while nodding.

The old man who was pressing his forehead on the floor clenched his teeth as memories of people dying in flames flew through his mind. The man in front of him never showed any different demeanor before incinerating someone, so it was hard to tell his fate as mere moments stretched into hours as he awaited the judgement.

His only hope was in the fact that he was one of the more useful people, with cultivation in the Essence Awakening Realm.

“Haa~ I lost interest, we will continue the game later”

A voice resounded along with the sound of clothes as the Alchemy Tower Master rose from the sitting mat.

“Thank you… thank you for your leniency and generosity Tower Master… Hiiek!!!”

As the man continued bowing and then went up to hurriedly leave, the subordinate that earlier whispered the news into his ear and was standing by closer to the entrance suddenly went up in flames with agonizing screams while Do Bishui shrieked in horror.

“Remember this kindness, Bishui. There are only so many times I can overlook things”

Gu Zhen did not turn to face him, looking out through a large window that took up most of the wall they played by.

“Y-yes, Tower Master. This lowly servant of yours will carve it into his chest. I thank you for the kindness and magnanimity”

“Go”

As Do Bishui bowed to Gu Zhen’s back silhouette while a man was rolling on the ground in final throes of agony not far from him, issuing horrendous noises and nauseating smell of burning flesh, the Alchemy Tower Master only nodded without turning, and the old man hurriedly left the room as the screams of the man on fire gradually died down along with any signs of movement.

—

A day prior, as Wu Long was discussing their upcoming plan of the attack on mercenaries in Tingren with Old Man Zhao and Liang Yuhan as well as contacting Crown Prince to prepare for the Imperial Edict, Palace Master Lian Zhiqiu stood in her study, overlooking the sect.

“Why is there no response?”

She asked in a dissatisfied voice.

“It has only been a day or two, Palace Master. Give it some time”

An older woman, with wrinkles starting to show on her once pretty face and grey hair, stood not far behind her. This was Hai Luan, elder Hai’s wife and Lian Zhiqiu’s right hand who usually moved in the sect’s shadows. She was one of the women in the minority who chose to give way to natural aging along with her husband.

Though Elder Hai was once a lot more handsome, and her pretty looks were very ordinary in comparison, she was able to get him with the help of the Great Seductress, becoming her faithful follower ever since.

“Hmph, I think you were wrong. Sending that formation with that timing is just too obvious. Those kind of tactics wouldn’t work on him like on your husband in the past.

He’s different than those men I helped girls around the world get. Besides, it is not like I am trying to seduce him. I just want him to feel a bit guilty for dumping everything troublesome on me and-…”

As Lian Zhiqiu spoke, her communication jade lit up and her eyes glowed with childish excitement and anticipation.

“Haha, you were right, it is him”

She exclaimed as she took up the jade, and confirmed the one who sent the message was Wu Long. But as she heard the message, her face first revealed a triumphant joy and then gradually became serious.

Finally, a slightly evil smile with a sharp look in her eyes appeared on her face.

“Haha, Luan. It is time. Tell your husband to get the couple Wu Long took in, it is time for that Xia Jung to rise to the occasion”

She said with a chuckle, and Hai Luan nodded with her gentle expression turning into a serious one.

As she exited the room, Elder Hai joined her.

“Is she not mad at me anymore?”

“She’s not. It’s handled”

“Whew, thank you honey. As I thought I can always rely on you when it comes to Palace Master’s unreasonable anger”

“Hm? How was it unreasonable?”

Hai Luan stopped her steps to look at her husband with a raised brow.

“Huh? Well… I wasn’t the one who made her angry…”

“You were there when it happened, weren’t you?”

“Well… I was?”

Elder Hai became slightly puzzled. But the eyes of his wife clearly implied that the fact he was present when she got angered and reported to her the reason she became mad, justified her being angry at him.

‘What in Heavens kind of logic is this?!?!’

He inwardly exclaimed, but chose to remain silent from years of experience as they went to prepare everything per the orders.

New novel chapters are published on .𝒎