“The rapid rise of a power is always built on the exploitation of several other smaller powers.” Mu Yuan stood up. “However, Palace Master, you really don’t need to worry. The Silver Whip Sect has fallen to such a state that if you save them, they will be extremely grateful; if you ignore them, they will not pose any threat.”
"How do you plan to save them? Pay off the Silver Whip Sect's debts, and then let us exploit them?"
"It's not exploitation, it's control. Although the Palace Master may not agree, this is the best way for us."
"No, I agree. Let's do as you say."
The next day, Mu Yuan sent someone to Moon Valley.
A few days later, the man returned and reported that Shangguan Tou said that it was no problem to repay the debt for the Silver Whip Sect, but the Palace Master had to personally take charge, otherwise Moon Valley would not acknowledge the debt.
72
Upon hearing this news, Xuezhi immediately intended to refuse, telling Valley Master Shangguan to do as he pleased. Liuli said that many sects, including Wudang, had made similar statements in similar situations before. But when Mu Yuan actually took action, the opponent was quickly dealt with.
So Mu Yuan followed them to Moon Valley.
A few days later, Mu Yuan's first negotiation with someone ended in failure.
Xuezhi said, "Since that's the case, let's just leave it alone."
Haitang said that the Palace Master could actually take a look at this matter, since Lin Yuhuang was the Second Valley Master of Moonrise Valley, only temporarily back at Chonghuo Palace. The relationship between the two sects should be the easiest to reconcile. Haitang also talked a lot, saying that Shangguan Tou came from a prominent family and Moonrise Valley was powerful, so forming an alliance with them would definitely be beneficial.
After listening silently, Xuezhi only said three words: I'm not going.
Since Xuezhi disagreed, Haitang said no more. Liuli, however, was more gossipy and came to ask Xuezhi, "Two years ago when you were in seclusion, I heard Zhusha say that you went to see Young Master Shangguan. How come you turned your back on him so quickly?"
Zhu Sha's big mouth. Xue Zhi really wanted to slap her to death.
However, Xuezhi only replied with four words to Liuli's answer: "It's none of your business."
This time, however, only two of the four guardians went, bringing along two new apprentice guardians, Yanhe and Shengxiao. To prevent the guardians from neglecting to train their disciples, the Chonghuo Palace elders had abolished the tradition of selecting guardians directly from among themselves. Once an elder guardian reaches forty or gets married, they will step down and let their apprentice take over, with a portion of the apprentice's earnings automatically going to them. The head guardian, Haitang, earns more than the others, so to ensure a good future, she chose the fifteen-year-old Yanhe as her apprentice, intending to train her from a young age. Haitang is a diligent and capable woman, but unfortunately, the Yanhe she raised is a little girl with a head full of rosy dreams.
Upon hearing Liuli ask Xuezhi, Yanhe rushed over to ask Xuezhi if she knew Shangguan Tou and whether he was as handsome as the rumors suggested. Hearing others say he was handsome only fueled Xuezhi's anger, and she immediately turned around and told someone to inform Yue Shang Valley that Chonghuo Palace was no longer involved in the matter.
Two days later, at dusk, Xuezhi got up and returned to Chonghuo Palace.
Before they even left the inn, the waiter ran over and said it was getting dark, and it would be better not to leave the city; it was chaotic outside and deserted at night. Xuezhi laughed and said that Luoyang was deserted at night—nonsense. She then led the people from Chonghuo Palace out.
The sky gradually darkened.
Xuezhi left the city gate and boarded a carriage, heading towards Dengfeng. Then, to her surprise, she found the road deserted. Feeling something was amiss, she suddenly heard the clatter of hooves behind her. Before she could even peek out to see what was happening, the carriage was violently rammed, almost overturning. Xuezhi, already in a bad mood, nearly went out to punch someone after the impact.
But as soon as his head poked out, the other two, riding tall black horses, each held a gleaming, icy throwing knife high above their heads in one hand and gripped the reins tightly with the other, galloping forward with all their might.
It moved with lightning speed.
Four throwing knives were flung from the two men's hands.
The horse in front continued to run, but the person fell down.
Xuezhi quickly poked her head out and asked Mu Yuan, who was riding a horse outside, "What happened?"
"The person in front is the enforcer of the Silver Whip Sect, and the two behind him are Han general and Shi Jue from Moonrise Valley."
"Moon Valley? They're hunting down the Silver Whip Sect members?"
"yes."
Why didn't you tell me sooner?
"Since the Palace Master doesn't plan to go, it's best to know less about these things. These past few days, Moonrise Valley has been cleaning house at Silver Whip Sect. The people at the top were all planning to abscond with the money, but they were caught by Moonrise Valley and killed almost one a day. So at night, no one dares to come out in this area."
"How could this happen?" Xuezhi murmured. "Shangguan Tou isn't that kind of person."
“He’s not that kind of person; he’s just the master who raises those kinds of people.”
"...Take me to Moon Valley."
Author's Note: A lovely update early in the morning!
Because it was discovered that many children were waiting for scenes of abuse.
But this is a love story, how can it be angsty?
Give up on this idea as soon as possible. I know many of you are little Ms, and some even claim to have been influenced by me.
However, under my guidance, you will definitely like my writing.
I genuinely want to stick to a non-angst-filled storyline, and that's for sure. I'll see it through to the end! My eyes radiate love!
He climbed over and quietly started playing games.
73 74 75
73
They hurried towards Moonrise Valley. After chatting with Mu Yuan for a while, Chong Xuezhi learned that Shangguan Tou had actually had a rather unlucky two years. The disciples of Moonrise Valley had spread rumors that Shangguan Tou had been dumped by the woman he liked and had no more interest in womanizing, focusing all his attention on managing and developing the sect.
However, once you're truly in the martial world, it's impossible to remain completely clean and innocent. Especially for someone like Shangguan Tou, who is both famous and has an astonishing background, the kinds of people he deals with are all sorts of people.
As Yue Shang Valley grew powerful and Shangguan Tou rose to prominence, his elder brother and sister-in-law in the capital became scapegoats.
A year ago, Shangguan Tou offended a junior disciple of some sect, a figure of considerable influence in Luoyang, though not as cunning as Shangguan Tou. Unable to eliminate him, the disciple went to Chang'an and planted explosives, reducing Shangguan Tou's elder brother's residence to ruins. Although Shangguan Tou's elder brother was only a fifth-rank civil official, he was still the son of the Imperial Preceptor and the elder brother of the first-rank official Shangguan Tou, so naturally, the matter caused a huge uproar.
Upon hearing this, Shangguan Tou discovered the culprit within half a month. It turned out the man lived in Dadu (Beijing), his father was a minor county magistrate near Dadu, but his uncle was the governor of Luoyang. It was only later that Shangguan Tou learned the reason for the man's hatred: Shangguan Tou had absorbed the man's sect, and their sect leader, the man's idol, had committed suicide in despair. Unable to approach the Imperial Preceptor's residence, the man targeted Shangguan Tou's brother and sister-in-law, leading many members of his sect to spread rumors about Shangguan Tou, killing any men they encountered in Yue Shang Valley and gang-raping the women.
Shangguan Tou had two bombs made, one large and one small. The small one was placed in front of the door of each person's house and detonated gently. When they all ran over to see what was happening, the large one was then detonated.
What followed was nothing but a world of crimson, true bloodshed.
Afterwards, Shangguan Tou seemed to have lost control and actually ordered his men to storm into the Luoyang government office in broad daylight, killing several people. However, he failed to eliminate the prefect who turned a blind eye to his nephew's murder.
Since then, Shangguan Tou's personality has become less flamboyant than before, but the things he actually does are hundreds of times more flamboyant than when he was a child.
From then on, no one who hated Shangguan Tou dared to risk their lives to provoke him.
After learning his lesson, Shangguan Tou recruited a group of extremely capable people. Two of them are now famous throughout the land.
A man named Han Jiang, a twenty-seven-year-old murderer whom Shangguan Tou had redeemed from a prison in the capital, had already committed numerous murders while imprisoned. Rumor had it that he was put in there by the Minister of Justice as a form of torture. When Shangguan Tou attempted to get him released, many people questioned whether he had gone mad. This man was a top-tier criminal, and even Shangguan Tou himself had to go to great lengths to redeem him. Before his imprisonment, Han Jiang had had many women, but to him, women were merely tools, serving no purpose other than satisfying his desires. Therefore, in his view, beating women was simply as straightforward and justifiable as repairing a tool.
Han Jiang was an extremely fierce and belligerent man. Not long after his release from prison, a passing carriage splashed mud onto Shangguan Tou's trousers. Chang'an was known as the place with the most hidden talents in the world, and Han Jiang, before even having eaten a single meal outside of prison, stopped the carriage. The driver got out, and without a word, Han Jiang punched him, exaggeratedly as if in a play, causing the man to collapse and lose consciousness. Later, soldiers arrived and arrested him, Shangguan Tou, and others, taking them to the yamen. Several hours later, when the wounded man awoke, he asked who had hit him, and the man kept pointing at Shangguan Tou. It turned out he couldn't recognize anyone else.
The other was named Shi Jue, a true seventeen-year-old boy. Weighing only two hundred pounds, with a massive height and broad build, and utterly devoid of conscience and cold-blooded ruthlessness, no one would associate him with the word "boy." Shi Jue loved money more than anything and was ruthless towards his family. At the time, he was the leader of a small sect. When Shangguan Tou said he could make money by following him, he didn't even say goodbye or wish everyone well, and immediately ran off with Shangguan Tou. Some people secretly said he shouldn't be called Shi Jue, but rather Shi Mi (meaning "stingy"). He didn't care what others said, but if given money, he could chase someone from the South China Sea to Suzhou. It's said that when his mother asked him for thirty taels of silver, he refused. But when Shangguan Tou ran out of money while traveling and asked him for more, he immediately pulled out three hundred taels.
Han Jiang and Shi Jue were very different, but they had three things in common: First, they were ruthless killers; second, they were cold-blooded and indifferent, yet loyal to Shangguan Tou like dogs; and third, they were both physically imposing. Standing together, Shangguan Tou, with his perfect physique and tall stature, was the smallest of the three.
Shangguan Tou often waved a fan and spoke gently and humorously. As others said, his appearance and behavior were those of a true noble young master.
Those well-versed in the ways of the world say that people like Han Jiang and Shi Jue are like Tibetan mastiffs—fierce and terrifying, recognizing only one master, but never able to become the leader.
The true boss is always all smiles. But when it comes to violence, he's a thousand times more ruthless than a Tibetan mastiff.
Xuezhi always believed that after two years of seclusion and arduous cultivation, she would be able to easily defeat Shangguan Tou upon emerging from seclusion.
But she seems to be wrong.
In the real world of martial arts, it's not simply a matter of who has the best martial arts skills to rule and dominate.
74
Moreover, after hearing about Shangguan Tou's affairs, she actually felt somewhat sad. But only for a moment, she realized that her womanly compassion had almost harmed her again, and she immediately snapped back to her senses, already at the entrance of Moon Valley.
Because of the explosive increase in population within two years, Moonrise Valley is no longer as sparsely populated as it once was; instead, it's bustling like a powerful clan. If it weren't for the fact that some of the people inside wield weapons, Moonrise Valley, with its islands covered in purple thorns and surrounded by the Clear River, would look like a secluded paradise.
Enter through the south-facing entrance and announce your arrival. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, someone will come and say that the Valley Master invites the guests in.
The Bauhinia flowers are in full bloom, and the red peonies are in deep bloom.
Xuezhi led all her disciples across the long bridge.
The river was filled with light boats, and the people in them all looked at the people on the bridge with respectful eyes.
Central Town Star Island.
Aside from the increased number of Bauhinia trees around the area and some slight expansion of the buildings, there haven't been many changes. From here, you can also see Suixing Island to the southeast, as well as the most exquisite building on the island, Shangguan Tou's bedroom. Amidst the dense flowerbeds and under the shade of the trees, a stone table, three stone benches, a pebble path on the lawn, and the three characters "Qingshen Tower" on the pavilion—all remain exactly the same as they were two years ago…
The urge to back down grew stronger and stronger.
But standing outside the door, one could already see the figures in the main hall. So familiar, yet so terrifying.
Xuezhi suddenly realized that facing the past honestly was not as simple as she had imagined.
Shangguan Tou was smiling and talking to the Han general next to him, but when he glanced over, he saw her.
As he stepped across the threshold, Chong Xuezhi, with an unnatural smile on her face, was almost unrecognizable to him.
Having been deeply hurt by Chong Xuezhi, and having gone from doting on her to falling in love, and then to feeling guilty, Shangguan Tou's conscience tormented him for two years. After all, he rarely touched such innocent young girls. After Chong Xuezhi went into seclusion, Shangguan Tou became much more cautious in his interactions with women, and many rumors circulating in the martial arts world were merely remnants of the past. Thinking back carefully, he could count the number of women he had actually been with on two hands in the past two years. It was indeed Chong Xuezhi who led him away from the harem and back to his profession, but two years had passed, and he had seen countless people. To say that he still harbored feelings for that young girl he had once considered marrying, or that he still had the passion of those days, would certainly be a lie.
Originally, he intended to mend his relationship with his sister, take better care of Chong Xuezhi, and make up for his mistakes from back then.
But at this moment, he completely forgot what he wanted to say and what kind of smile he intended to show.
Even a man like Han Jiang, whose conscience was devoured by wolves, couldn't help but have his eyes fixed on Chong Xuezhi.
Xuezhi stood on the deep red floral carpet, not daring to look directly at Shangguan Tou, and felt somewhat helpless.
No matter how powerful she is now, or how much people in the martial arts world praise her stunning beauty, the fact that she was taken by Shangguan Tou, and the fact that she gave her first time, which she valued so much, to the person in front of her... can never be erased.
But none of these are reasons.
She knew she was nervous and was trying her best to hide her feelings. But she still felt regret. The days when she used to cling to Shangguan Tou, acting spoiled and calling him "Sister Zhaojun," and when time seemed unbearable whenever he wasn't around, were truly gone forever.
If she hadn't acted so impulsively back then, perhaps their relationship would still be the same as before. Even if they were just siblings, even if there were no hugs or kisses, even if she had to continue watching him with other women, secretly feeling heartbroken for a long time... at least she could stay by his side.
Thinking of this, Xuezhi had the urge to beat herself up again.
How could she have those girlish fantasies that only people like Feng Zi should have?
Xuezhi immediately looked up and smiled slightly at Shangguan Tou:
"Valley Master Shangguan, I am truly sorry for not arriving immediately a few days ago. I wonder if it is still possible to discuss the Silver Whip Sect matter now?"
Shangguan Tou was somewhat lost in thought.
"Um."
"We wish to repay the debts of the Silver Whip Sect. What does the Valley Master think?"