NOVEL NEXT 66: Expectations (II)
In the heart of Xianxi Province, two female cultivators met in the private room of a well-known inn used by cultivators. Even with faces covered in veils, their radiance wasn't hidden. However, the entranced men didn't dare make a move, no matter how drunk they were.
The purple cloud on the sleeves of the first woman, coupled with her piercing gaze, had them thinking twice before they breathed near her. So, even if the second woman had kind eyes and an approachable ambience, they dared not move from their spot and shrank behind their wine cups.
"No matter where we go, it's the same dirty eyes." The woman with the purple cloud on her sleeves grunted when they reached their private room.
"Well, it is in the nature of men to chase beautiful women. Like bees to flowers." The second spoke, taking a seat on the plush cushion opposite her companion. "Not everyone is a well-behaved gentleman like Senior Li."
"You sure like to talk a lot about him, Gu Fe… On second thought, where the fuck is that bastard off to while I am running around like a headless chicken here? Does he take me, Qian Yun, as a joke?!" She broke into a hysterical fit, stomping on the ground. Luckily, she held back or the inn would've collapsed with everything within a 10-mile radius.
"Surely not. Brother Li is just busy with some things, that is why he sent me to help with the preparations." Even Gu Fe didn't know what Muchen was up to at that moment; however, she knew he wasn't wasting time.
"That is what worries me." Qian Yun sat down next to Gu Fe. Her eyes locked with the woman in a serious gaze. "Why have you, of all people, joined in?"
"You do live up to your name of the No Manner Qian."
"What?!"
"Well, the reason I decided to join…"
"Hey! Don't just gloss over that first bit! Who dares to call me that?!" Qian Yun protested.
"I joined because I have something to gain from this endeavor." However, Gu Fe continued undeterred. "The family that kicked me out, I want them to thank me for my generous help in dealing with their dark history. I want them to bow their head to the one they discarded and revel in their inner turmoil as they rot within their shame and disgrace."
"Are you…… alright in the head?" Qian Yun grimaced.
"Do you think the sane can survive this world?" Gu Fe asked, but then shook her head. "Let's get to the main subject. How's the search progressing?"
"It is… bad actually." Qian Yun also shifted gears. "No matter where we look, there isn't any trace of them buying supplies. Not even in the remotest mountain villages or the black market, it's like Gu Changge and his force don't rely on food from the outside."
"You suspect self-sustenance then?" Gu Fe asked.
"Even that will have its limits. To go against the major sects at once, they'd need a sizable force, to feed and arm them, they'd need a lot of land, and it's not like they can make weapons from dirt. We've already scouted such possible locations in our territory, you've done your due diligence in Azure Sky Sect's territory, 90% of the Frozen Flower Sect's territory is not suited for agriculture, and the remaining is under heavy supervision… That only leaves us with two places." A frown formed on Qian Yun's forehead.
"The Temple in the west and the Hundred Sect Alliance of the north." Gu Fe closed her fan and set it on the table. "Intruding on the Temple's territory is not possible, but I doubt they'd let any demonic cultivators gather. They hate them the most, since they live by karma."
"That leaves us with the Hundred Sect Alliance… Their case is trickier than the Temple." Qian Yun sighed.
After witnessing the meteoric rise of Azure Sky Sect as the fourth major sect, the minor sects around the continent came together and formed their own union in fear of getting crushed between the four giants. That's why they were more territorial than the Temple when it came to major sects.
"If we try to force things, they'll make a scene and alert the enemy. Why does doing good have to be so hard!" Qian Yun huffed in anger, biting into the dumping like a fierce tiger.
"Good is subjective. To us, it may look like we are doing good, but if the masses raise arms, it makes us the wrongdoers." Gu Fe said, in this case, the Hundred Sect Alliance had the masses in spades.
"That sounds like something a Demonic Cultivator would say." Qian Yun said.
"Oh my, I have been caught! What shall I do?" Gu Fe swayed, shedding fake tears with fabricated panic.
"Knock it off."
Qian Yun scoffed and drank her tea, oblivious to the sharp eyes on her companion. Since their secret meeting started, Gu Fe couldn't wrap her head around one thing.
Why hasn't Li Muchen told them about Gu Changge's base in Jinxiu plain?
Brother Li isn't one to chase glory… if someone else has a higher chance of catching Gu Changge, I am sure he would share the information. But he had kept Qian Yun in the dark, but told me about it, then sent me to meet with Qian Yun. A dim light appeared in Gu Fe's dark, abyss-like eyes. She opened her fan and hid the smile on her red lips. I see, this is a test to see if I can understand his plans.
Muchen told Gu Fe his plans, but he had kept his thought process and reasoning hidden. He sent Gu Fe to Qian Yun with that information as a means to test her decision-making and morality. Qian Yun knew that an attack would happen at the Eastern Martial Meet, and she worked towards preventing the attack by finding the enemy force before it happened.
However, Li Muchen already planned to let the attack happen so he could catch the hand in the shadows, Gu Changge. Even if it came with risking the lives of innocent youngsters, he was willing to take that gamble.
Now, he wanted to know if Gu Fe shared the same sentiment in both heart and mind.
Gu Changge, my father, is cautious by nature. He already expects the sects to look into food supplies all over their territory in hopes of sniffing him out. However, his army consists of Jiangshi, the undead; they do not need food. Even then, he should've left some traces and dogs in the Hundred Sect Alliance's territory as an alarm of the sects closing in. It would be better if no one fell for it. But that isn't what you want, is it, Brother Li? Gu Fe looked at the mumbling Qian Yun, almost with a hint of mischief in her eyes. You need someone to fall for the meticulous trap prepared by the Gu Changge and give him a false sense of control.
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The disciples, Qian Yun, Gu family, me, and even Gu Changge himself, we are all pieces on your chessboard. She snapped her golden fan shut, a grin splitting her face. Just who are you playing against? What do you plan to achieve? I can't wait to find out.
"Why are you snickering to yourself like that?" Qian Yun, finally noticing Gu Fe's behavior, tilted her head.
"Interesting, so interesting…" However, Gu Fe's eyes burned purple. Her gaze was so passionate that even the people on the other side of the wooden wall in front of her felt a chill creeping up their spines.
"She's finally lost her marbles…" Qian Yun jumped to the other side of the table and hid behind a pillow.
"Please don't treat me like a pervert. Even I have a heart, you know?" Gu Fe chuckled, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "I was a little too excited after putting the pieces together. Would you like to hear?"
"I am tempted to say no." Qian Yun placed the pillow on the wooden floor and sighed. "But it seems too important to miss out on."
"As Brother Li said, you have nice instincts." Gu Fe conjured a stack of papers from her storage ring and slid it across the walnut table, "This is all the suspicious transactions that have happened in the Hundred Sect Alliance in the past year, farmers, hunters, mountain villages, peddlers, merchants, smugglers, and even sects trying to make a quick buck, it's all here."
Qian Yun looked through the papers with keen eyes, and with each turn of the page, her eyes turned colder. Although not said outright, the transactions showed missing and stolen goods with little to no effect on the people involved. Worst yet, the local sects did nothing to investigate further, and all cases closed in rapid succession, with no traces of the wild animals and bandits that caused the damage all over the territory.
"The sects up north have allowed the Demonic cultivators to live in their shadows… Have they gone insane?!" Qian Yun shook in anger, holding herself back from ripping the papers to bits.
"The north never forgot the purge of Jinxiu plains, even if the major sects did it with good reason. To them, the destruction of their economy's crown jewel is evil. They still hold grudges over the two sects up north, almost major sects, the orthodox alliance eradicated for colluding with the Demonic Sects." Gu Fe said, her expression between a scoff and sheer indifference. "That is why they allowed the remnants of the Demonic cultivators to fester in their territory till they launched an attack on the Genius generation, the Battle of Jingyuan pass, hoping that the attack would destroy the major sect's future potential."
"But the damage stayed at a minimum because Han Yue and Li Muchen held on till help from the sects arrived." Qian Yun remembered the gruesome sight because she too witnessed it first-hand. That terrible battle still sent chills down her spine.
"After that, the major sects entered the north again with force and flipped the entire place on its head. Every Demonic cultivator and the people who helped them were publicly executed. That's how the unorthodox sects, who used to hold 30% of the continent's territory, became a shell of their former self in a mere decade." Gu Fe shook her head, almost in pity. "Now, some of the Hundred Sect Alliance have allowed the defanged beast, the demonic cultivators, to regrow their fangs. While the orthodox sects have gotten used to peace, the Demonic cultivators have changed their method of attacks. The caravan attacks and the recent happenings in the Gu Family, for example."
"They want to create a divide between the Major Sects and pit them against each other… Those bastards want to kill using a borrowed knife." Qian slammed the table with her fist, turning it into dust. "Even though I don't like praising that bastard, Li Muchen did good catching things early on."
"Indeed, it's almost like he knows what the future holds, or as he says it, guiding the enemy down the path most advantageous to oneself." Gu Fe smiled, remembering the first time she heard him say that.
"It's creepy, right?" Qian Yun pointed out.
"But I find it rather attractive." Gu Fe tilted her head.
"There's something seriously wrong with your head, like real serious."
"Leaving that aside." Gu Fe stood up from her seat. She wanted to end this meeting early today. "I have some connections up north. I can open routes to the suspicious areas, what do you say?"
"You can?"
"Well, nothing money can't do."
"Please do so, we can't let them go through with their plan." Qian Yun said, her eyes resolute. "I'll storm the place myself if I have to."
"Well, I can't say no after seeing you so passionate." Gu Fe chuckled behind the fan.
Brother Li, it's no good that you have all the fun. So, I'll have some too. Gu Fe left the inn with a jolly mood.
Seven days remained till the start of the Eastern Martial Meet and the final confrontation with Gu Changge.
***
Chen Zhipeng's Personal Lab, Chrysanthemum Peak.
In the glorified warehouse littered with all types of artifacts and trinkets, Chen Zhipeng sat in front of a puppet. However, under the cold blue light of the overhead bulb wasn't a puppet made of metal and wood, but one made from spasming red flesh and pure white bones.
With every stab of Zhipeng's silver needle, the flesh on the puppet's forearm twitched, the muscles contracted, and the fist closed. When he moved the needle to the palm, each prick to the designated acupoint moved the fingers and thumb. The toes moved the same way, and so did the facial muscles.
"The movements imprinted in the core are responding to physical stimuli. Now, for the mental ones…" Zhipeng, with dark circles under his eyes, yawned. He cared not for the drool on his lips and the lack of focus in his eyes. He continued to complete his commission, full of passion and determination. "Connection, Initiate!"
Strings of Qi jumped from his body and attached to the skinless puppet. Twelve strings of Qi, each landing on the proper meridian and allowing the flow of Qi between him and the puppet.
Chen Zhipeng examined himself from the puppet's eyes while also looking at the puppet himself. The two viewpoints that used to give him nausea at first had become second nature now. Confirming the proper functioning of the eyes, he moved to test the next part.
"Man, you look handsome even when tired. The dark circles and messy clothes just aren't enough to hide your excellence!" Li Muchen's voice came from the puppet's mouth.
"I know you'd get it one day, partner, ehehe!" Chen Zhipeng chuckled by himself for a good minute before moving to the movement test.
He found his joy in this after working nonstop for the past weeks. Li Muchen wasn't satisfied with the metal puppet because catching it was much easier for high-ranking cultivators, which became even more evident after Mingzhu saw through him at a glance.
So, Chen Zhipeng and Li Muchen racked their brains to make the near-perfect puppet, one indistinguishable from a normal human. The answer came with the question. Make the puppet with a human.
Using samples from Li Muchen's body, Chen Zhipeng grew muscles, tendons, nerves, bones, and even organs, thus creating a Li Muchen that replicated the insides of the real Li Muchen. The only thing missing was a brain, but the control terminal was to take its place.
"We even fitted it with a barrier that reflects Qi sense like a normal cultivator would. It is, without doubt, our best piece!" Chen Zhipeng admired the puppet after fixing a copy of Li Muchen's skin on the puppet.
"I don't give out compliments to others often, but my partner is one fine-looking man." Chen Zhipeng nodded smugly in front of Li Muchen's naked puppet.
After a quick stretch and a gourd of water later, Zhipeng looked at the dim corner of his lab. The real Li Muchen floated in a glass chamber, submerged in a crimson liquid. He had been in there for a week, taking in oxygen from the metal tube inside his mouth.
"Wake up, Partner, we have to show the world our masterpiece." Chen Zhipeng cracked his neck and turned around, his eyes holding the soul of a craftsman. "Onto the next one I go!"