Chapter 60: A True Gentleman Doesn't Speak While Watching a Game, But I Am a Petty Person

Chapter 60: A True Gentleman Never Speaks While Watching a Game, but I Am a Petty Person

Sleeping soundly until the broad light of day.

As usual, Yu Xian partook in his breakfast, spent the morning teaching Yulan and the Princess martial arts, and dedicated the afternoon to his personal hobbies, such as calligraphy, reading, and brewing wine.

By evening, he dropped by the accounting room to withdraw one thousand silver taels, preparing to go out and squander them.

Everyone else was already long accustomed to this routine.

Even Eunuch Li had begun to turn a blind eye, no longer advising the Princess to reclaim financial control.

After all, talking to her was a waste of breath.

Yu Xian would give himself a thousand taels and the Princess a hundred, and she would feel like she was the one turning a profit—how could she possibly listen to Eunuch Li's harsh words of loyalty then?

Today, however, after stepping out of the manor, Yu Xian did not immediately head toward his lovely young lady friends. Instead, he altered his appearance and entered a martial arts academy.

Ding Le Martial Arts Academy.

The "Ding" as in Ding Le, the "Le" as in Changle.

Of course, ever since he learned that his entire swordsmanship sect had joined the uprising army, Ding Le had been considering changing the academy's signboard.

Right now, he could only thank his lucky stars that he hadn't named it Changle Martial Arts Academy.

In the inner courtyard of the academy.

Ding Le dismissed his concubines and maidservants, claiming he needed to cultivate a unique secret martial art and that no one was permitted to approach. Yet the moment he stepped inside his room, a flattering smile bloomed across his face.

"Ding Le pays his respects to the senior!"

A figure clad in black robes stood with his back to him, entirely shrouded in shadow, as obscured from view as if veiled in mist.

This, however, did not hinder Ding Le's display of utmost respect and feigned ignorance.

Since Supervisor Yu was unwilling to expose his identity, Ding Le had no intention of flaunting how much he knew.

Beneath the black robes, Yu Xian treated Ding Le with neither warmth nor coldness, his voice detached and calm.

"The great secret you speak of had better be enough to buy your life."

Initially, Yu Xian had intended to ignore Ding Le completely, or even eliminate him once and for all to avoid future trouble.

Damn it, the man had even dared to try shifting the blame onto him.

However, Ding Le had dropped the name of Prince Fu.

For a man who had been dead for nearly two years to suddenly reappear—reason and emotion both dictated that Yu Xian felt it necessary to find out the truth.

After all, what if Prince Fu returned one day? How would he and the Princess account for their relationship then?

Was he supposed to say, *I didn't come to break up your family, I came to join you*?

Moreover, he did harbor a tiny sliver of curiosity regarding the situation inside the imperial palace.

After all, everyone possesses a heart for gossip.

Daring not to be careless, Ding Le gathered his thoughts and slowly began to recount:

"It all started half a month ago when my senior brother suddenly sought me out..."

"...That old monster was simply too terrifying. My senior brother is already a grandmaster at the middle stage of the Xiantian realm, and he wielded the heritage divine sword of our Changle Sword Sect, yet he couldn't even approach within three zhang of that creature.

Aside from myself, who kept a safe distance, the Dragon Gate Society sent seven grandmasters, yet more than half were killed or injured in a single encounter.

If not for the fact that the old monster seemed bound by some restriction and could not stray too far from the bedchamber, coupled with the spiritual talisman my senior brother gave me and a tiny stroke of luck, I never would have escaped."

"I have no interest in hearing about some old monster. What about Prince Fu? Get straight to the point."

"Oh, right, Prince Fu! When we entered the bedchamber, we saw a pool of blood. Prince Fu was soaked inside the pool with only his head exposed, and there was no telling whether he was dead or alive."

"Are you certain it was Prince Fu?"

"I served as Prince Fu's personal bodyguard for a period of time; I could never mistake him."

Ding Le answered with absolute certainty.

Yu Xian fell into deep thought.

Gradually, his thoughts wove together several narrative threads.

First, assuming what Ding Le said was true, the person soaking in the blood pool was indeed Prince Fu.

That would prove the Prince Fu who disappeared back then had staged a fake death. But why would a falsely dead Prince Fu secretly return to the capital?

It could only be one of two things: seeking refuge or seeking reinforcements.

If it were to seek refuge, he surely would not have abandoned his lone wife, orphan child, and boundless wealth. Therefore, the most probable reason was to seek reinforcements.

Back then, Prince Fu must have perceived something amiss and was forced to fake his death and flee to the capital for help.

However, an accident occurred along the way. Not only did Prince Fu fail to secure reinforcements, but he had also plunged himself into an even graver danger.

If so, this neatly explained the chaotic and fragile state of Prince Fu's estate back then.

Prince Fu had likely anticipated that things might not go smoothly for him in the capital.

Therefore, before leaving, he deliberately severed several of the estate's branches, allowing them to remain entangled with one another so that he could smoothly regain absolute authority upon his triumphant return.

For instance, the Princess had never controlled the intelligence network of Prince Fu's estate from beginning to start.

Such a network definitely existed.

Otherwise, where else could the Chen and Yi sisters have popped out from? They must have belonged to a private organization cultivated by Prince Fu to train all sorts of beautiful female spies.

Take the financial control of Prince Fu's estate as another example—it encompassed not only the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, but also other properties, farmland, mineral deposits, and mountain forests.

Yet from beginning to end, the Princess had merely inherited the few million taels of silver within the estate, the guards, and a loyal Eunuch Li.

As for the private armies maintained by the estate and the bureaucratic institutions serving it...

These organizations, reliant on the estate yet independent of one another, formed a crucial component of the estate's power, yet the Princess had not touched a single one of them.

Whether out of distrust toward the Princess or distrust in the Princess's capabilities—

Clearly, when Prince Fu departed, he had not entrusted the fate of the estate to the Princess.

Fake death, seek reinforcements, return triumphantly with backup, beat back the Lin family cultivators, pacify the rebellious army, and achieve everlasting glory...

This was the plan Prince Fu had charted out for himself.

Yet the reality turned out to be: fake death, rescue attempt, backstabbed and captured, soaked in a blood pool, life or death unknown...

Yu Xian quickly deduced Prince Fu's storyline.

Well, following this train of thought, Prince Fu was most likely a goner.

After all, a practice like soaking people in a blood pool reeked of demonic arts. It would be a miracle if Prince Fu, used as mere nourishment and tribute, could meet a good end.

Yu Xian felt an inexplicable sense of relief; this meant he wouldn't have to make a choice.

*"Your Highness, rest assured. I am taking very good care of the Princess, and she is happy every day. Your son is also mischievous and extremely healthy; he will surely give you plenty of plump grandsons in the future."*

As for saving the man, he definitely wouldn't do it.

The situation was already crystal clear.

The Emperor of Yue was secretly cultivating martial arts using blood relatives, which was nine times out of ten some demonic technique.

For reasons unknown, the cultivators of the Jiang family had tacitly permitted or even supported this behavior, and because of the Emperor's cultivation, they found themselves too deeply entangled to pull away.

Consequently, when the Lin family cultivators incited rebellion, the court of Yue could never mount an effective counterattack from start to finish.

With their battle lines stretched too thin, internal defenses became hollowed out, leading them to simply give up on launching sorties.

As for the Lin family, they fancied themselves advancing steadily by supporting the rebel army from behind, unaware that they were walking right into the Jiang family's trap, thereby buying the Jiang family ample time.

Yet, they must have discovered something as well, which explained why the Dragon Gate Society dispatched martial arts grandmasters to sneak into the imperial palace by night.

Both sides were scheming against each other; it all depended on which side time favored.

Interesting, truly interesting!

It was as if Yu Xian had brushed aside the fog, gaining a bird's-eye view of the turbulent and shifting situation in the state of Yue.

The Lin family plotted against Yue, pressing forward step by step; the Jiang family advanced by retreating, pulling back their fist to build up strength while waiting for the right moment.

Yet, there was still one point that puzzled Yu Xian.

On what grounds did the Lin family dare to contend with the Jiang family?

Even if the Lin family won a temporary victory in Yue, the strength of the Jiang family in Shangyang City was beyond the Lin family's ability to resist. Yue would sooner or later be reclaimed by the Jiang family.

By then, the Lin family would have gravely offended the Jiang family, courting a calamity of extermination.

Unless...

The Lin family had confirmed that the strengths of both sides were currently on equal footing.

Either the Lin family's patriarch had made another breakthrough, greatly increasing the family's strength, or the Jiang family's patriarch had suffered a mishap, weakening the Jiang family's power.

In the world of cultivation, individual might surpasses all else.

Yu Xian's spiritual sense swept across Ding Le, who stood nervously behind him, feeling as though his heart were hanging by a thread.

Unbeknownst to himself, he had already become an important bargaining chip and chess piece for both factions.

As long as Ding Le successfully transmitted the news, the Lin family would undoubtedly accelerate their plans. How would the Jiang family respond when that time came?

A tiny accident could well become the pivotal factor determining victory or defeat.

At this very moment.

Yu Xian finally experienced the feeling of watching a game from outside the board, rather than being a drifting piece tossed about by the currents of the chessboard.

So...

Did he want the Jiang family to win, or the Lin family to win?

Yu Xian pondered for a moment, and his final answer was—it didn't matter.

He cared nothing for who won or lost.

What he wanted was for this war to end as quickly as possible.

Consider it for the sake of... those commoners kneeling along the riverbanks, begging for survival, who merely wished to live a normal life.

Once his mind was made up, Yu Xian had his decision.

"Ding Le."

"Senior, I am here."

"What do you plan to do next?"

"I... I want revenge."

There was no hatred in Ding Le's voice, only overwhelming frustration.

"But I know I can never get revenge."

This middle-aged grandmaster, past forty years of age, had struggled for half a lifetime, finally hoping to settle down in peace for a couple of years, only to witness his senior brother die protecting him so he could escape.

He wanted to run away from it all.

Yet thinking of the Changle Sword Sect of his birth, his heart was filled with bitter struggle.

"You cannot get revenge, but the Dragon Gate Society can," Yu Xian said indifferently. "This time, you are the sole survivor from the Dragon Gate Society; that makes you the greatest contributor."

Ding Le shook his head. "The Dragon Gate Society is by no means a benevolent place. My senior brother was bewitched by them."

"I don't want to go back. Now, I only want to rebuild the Changle Sword Sect and pass down the heritage of my sect."

"However, I need you to transmit everything you saw in the imperial palace last night to the Dragon Gate Society. Do you have a way?" Yu Xian asked.

Ding Le replied, "My senior brother gave me a contact method for the Dragon Gate Society, but once you get entangled with them, it's hard to extricately pull yourself out."

"Give me the contact method."

"Alright."

The moment Ding Le finished writing down the contact method, a sharp pain pierced his brain, and he collapsed, fainting on the spot.

Yu Xian looked at the unconscious Ding Le, harboring a fleeting impulse to silence him permanently, but after a moment of hesitation, he ultimately stayed his hand.

Since Ding Le had already decided to retire from the pugilistic world, he would grant him a chance.

With a flip of his hand, he produced two silver needles, inserting them into Ding Le's head. Following that, he tapped him with a finger to rouse him, directly overwhelming his mind with formidable spiritual power.

"Look into my eyes!"

This was a psychological therapy method he had seen in Doctor Huang's medical texts.

In truth, it was a form of hypnosis capable of blocking out unpleasant memories to achieve a therapeutic effect.

Now that his spiritual sense had formed and his mental power crushed ordinary people, this hypnotic technique was all the more potent.

He would erase Ding Le's memories of the past two days and plant a mental suggestion compelling him to leave the capital, conceal his identity from then on, and live a peaceful life.

Two days later.

Ding Le packed up his family and left the capital, heading far away.

"Master, why are we suddenly leaving?"

Inside the carriage, Ding Le's favorite concubine asked him.

Ding Le lifted the carriage curtain, looking back at the receding gates of the capital city, his expression filled with perplexity.

"I don't know myself. I just had a feeling that staying in the capital would be extremely dangerous. Still, with your master's abilities, you won't go hungry wherever we go."

Ding Le turned back, pinched the concubine's chin, and then comfortably settled himself into the ample bosom of his concubine, speaking leisurely to the three concubines in the carriage:

"Listen up, whoever gives master a son first will be heavily rewarded!"

"Stop! Don't rush! Wait until we reach our destination! Don't strip off my pants!"

"Damn it! When a tiger doesn't make a sound, you really think I'm a sick cat? Take this, you little vixen, sword strike!"

The carriage creaked and rocked furiously as it sped along.

At the same time.

The secret liaison point of the Dragon Gate Society in the capital received a coded letter.

A short while later.

Pigeons and messengers hurried off in all directions.

Having finished all this, Yu Xian was in high spirits, flashing a wide smile up at the sky.

A true gentleman never speaks while watching a game, but I am a petty person.

(End of this chapter)