Chapter 40: Who Is in Favor, and Who Is Opposed? (Part II)

"Brother Ding?!"

Consultant Ding, who had not long recovered from his injuries, remained expressionless as he slowly lowered his hand. It was he who had just used his sword qi to cripple one of Yan Hongfei’s legs. The gap between a congenital martial artist and an acquired one was vast, and since he had launched a sneak attack, there was no room for error.

"Old Yan, Supervisor Yu is acting for the safety of the entire Prince’s Mansion. Why bother being the one to stick your neck out?"

He and Yan Hongfei were friends—good friends, at that—but after Yu Xian had approached him a few days prior and revealed his deepest secret, he had decisively surrendered and joined his cause. He had already surrendered several times before, so one more time didn't make much difference.

"Do not ask any more questions, or you will die."

Consultant Ding’s lips moved slightly, his voice as faint as a mosquito’s, yet exceptionally clear. Yan Hongfei bowed his head and fell silent.

Consultant Ding then spoke in a loud, resonant voice: "I, Ding Le, believe my conscience is clear, and I trust that Consultant Yu would never wrongly accuse an innocent person. I shall set the example by taking this poisonous pill first!"

He snatched the "Seven-Day Life-Ending Pill" that was still hovering in mid-air and swallowed it in one gulp.

"Everyone, I have already taken the poison. If death is to come, I, Ding Le, will be the first among you to face it. Supervisor Yu, please grant another pill so that I may give it to Consultant Yan, so I can take him away to tend to his wounds."

Yu Xian gave Consultant Ding a long, deep look but said nothing, merely flicking another poisonous pill toward him.

Consultant Ding’s heart jumped into his throat; he knew he had deviated from Yu Xian’s plan and risked infuriating him. However, Yan Hongfei was his brother-in-arms, a man with whom he had fought side-by-side; he could never bring himself to take his life. Not only would it betray his conscience, but it would also ostracize him from the pugilistic world—what trust could be placed in a man who would backstab his own dearest friend? Thus, he chose to take the risk.

"Many thanks, Supervisor Yu."

In front of everyone, he fed the poison to Master Yan, then helped him up and walked out.

As soon as they cleared the gates of the Prince’s Mansion, Yan Hongfei couldn't help but grab Consultant Ding’s arm and ask, "Brother Ding, what on earth is going on?"

Consultant Ding sighed. "Old Yan, I was saving your life just now. Let this leg be a lesson to you. When we were younger and roaming the martial world, whenever we couldn't beat someone, we even crawled between their legs; what is there to be too proud about now? You have no idea how terrifying Supervisor Yu truly is."

Yan Hongfei rubbed his injured leg and said bitterly, "What exactly does this Supervisor Yu want?"

"Since the Prince died, everything in the mansion has changed. The Princess trusts Supervisor Yu implicitly; I hear she has even let the young Prince take him as his master. Today, Consultant Yu seized the opportunity to take control of the Consultant Pavilion. We are all under his thumb now. I fear the mansion will belong to the Yu family from here on out."

Consultant Ding shared what he knew, offering some consolation: "Supervisor Yu’s strength is terrifying; even I am no match for him in a single exchange. Just think of it as finding a new backer. With the current turmoil, it’s not necessarily a bad thing."

Though, even now, Consultant Ding couldn't fathom how the Prince had died before he, a mole, had even made a move. But remembering the erratic nature of those cultivators and the fire spell that had been cast upon him without hesitation that day, he felt resigned. In their eyes, he likely didn't even count as a human being; they didn't need to inform him of their actions, nor did they care if he was exposed—they didn't even bother to use control methods on him, as they deemed him unworthy.

"Sigh, I suppose that’s all we can do," Yan Hongfei lamented. "It’s just that this Supervisor Yu is too overbearing, not giving us any warning or time to prepare. I fear there will be quite a bit of blood shed inside today."

Inside the courtyard, the guards had already surrounded the consultants of the Pavilion. No one thought they were joking. If even Consultant Ding, a Heaven-tier consultant, had knuckled under, how could they possibly hope to outmatch a martial arts grandmaster? Consequently, more and more consultants voluntarily requested to take the medicine, praying that it was truly just to root out a mole, even if they didn't believe that excuse themselves.

Yu Xian accepted them all, one pill per person, while sighing inwardly. "Yulan, oh Yulan, I have broken my vows for your sake."

Originally, he had avoided all karma, dodging trouble whenever possible and fleeing thousands of miles at the first sign of danger. Now, he was actively involving himself in the power struggles of the Prince’s Mansion, controlling lives with poison and inviting future disasters, all to seize control of the mansion as quickly as possible.

With Yulan’s help, he didn't have an urgent need for cultivation resources. But Yulan was different. To ensure her cultivation did not regress, or even to continue progressing in this mundane environment, she required various resources. Otherwise, in ten or eight years, as her bones aged and her vitality waned, her cultivation would slow down—and once you fall behind by a day, you fall behind forever. By then, he would still be in his prime, while Yulan would be withered and old.

Damn it, how could he bring himself to stay with her then? And what about his own cultivation progress? The moment he imagined himself having to struggle with an old woman just to keep his cultivation advancing, a murderous intent welled up in him. Until he found another daoist partner, anyone who dared to hinder Yulan’s cultivation would die!

As for why he didn't just take Yulan to the cultivation world: it was the same old reason—the cultivation world was full of sharks, and he was but a small shrimp who couldn't withstand the slightest storm. In the mortal realm, even if his progress was slower, it remained within his control.

With over thirty consultants from various professions under his thumb, he would have countless eyes providing intelligence and extracting mundane resources. If it weren't for the prestige of the Prince’s Mansion, capturing them would not have been so easy.

In the end, eight consultants remained unmoved, including Xia Zhu, all of them prepared to hold out against Yu Xian to the bitter end.

Yu Xian said blandly, "Are you not afraid of death?"

Xia Zhu sneered, "They may fear you, but I do not. If you dare touch a single hair on my head, my uncle will report you to the imperial court, and not even the Princess will be able to protect you."

"Oh? And might I ask who your uncle is?"

"The Censor of the Censorate, Xia Shiming!" Xia Zhu tilted his chin upward.

Yu Xian nodded. "It seems you are indeed involved in the assassination of the Prince. Guards, feed him the pill and throw him into the dungeon. We shall wait for his uncle to come and retrieve him."

If the court didn't even care that a Prince had been murdered, then something must be horribly wrong with them; what did a few small actions in the Prince’s Mansion matter compared to that?

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"No! No! Mmph, mmph..."

A guard grabbed Xia Zhu’s jaw, dislocating it, and forced the poisonous pill into his mouth before dragging him away.

"And you?" Yu Xian swept his gaze over the others.

The remaining seven consultants immediately changed their tune: "Supervisor Yu has sharp eyes; you would surely never wrongly accuse us. We shall take the medicine."

"You aren't being forced?"

"Not at all!"

"That is good." Yu Xian stood up and cupped his hands. "The Prince and I were close friends; this assassination must be solved, so I must ask for your patience. During the investigation, there may be some requirements of you; I ask for your cooperation and understanding. Once the truth comes to light, I shall apologize to you all personally."

"We will certainly cooperate!"

"Please rest assured, Supervisor Yu."

"We understand."

They spoke in unison.

"Then you may disperse." Yu Xian waved a hand, looking bored. "I actually thought I would see some blood."

The group felt a chill in their hearts and scrambled to take their leave. This Consultant Yu had seemed so gentle before—they had even shared drinks together—so how had he suddenly changed? Could it be that the Prince’s death had truly unhinged him?

Regardless, the urgent priority was to return and find someone to try and neutralize the poison. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but since taking the pill, he felt as if his entire body was wrong.