Ye San raised the tea cup and took a sip, his eyes somewhat evasive as he met Meng Qi’s gaze, showing a bit of the cowardly and effeminate demeanor he had displayed previously when cowering in fear beneath Meng Qi’s blade.
Yet, Meng Qi sensed that his eyes were dark and profound, like a bottomless lake occasionally rippling with faint whirlpools.
“Of course it’s about discussing allegiance to the Wang family and marginalizing the Huanhua Sword Sect,” An Shi said with a seductive smile, her chest quivering. Dressed as she was, she exuded more allure than a courtesan with her robe half-slipped, making one eager to tear off her clothes. Even Tang Ren, an old man nearing seventy, couldn’t help but steal a glance.
Meng Qi had seen many beauties and remained composed as he replied, “Why should I side with the Wang family and betray the Huanhua Sword Sect? Our Tang family has always maintained good relations with the Huanhua Sword Sect. Switching allegiances would earn us a reputation for betrayal and ungratefulness.”
An Shi’s eyes shimmered like water as she smiled, “Let’s not dwell on what Tang Wu has done that has strained relations between your family and the Huanhua Sword Sect. Let’s instead consider other matters. After the plan succeeds, the Huanhua Sword Sect’s estates, manors, and shops in Yicheng will definitely be sold at low prices. At that time, the Tang, Ye, Ling, and Wan families will divide them equally. Moreover, Second Young Master Tang will receive guidance from an expert of the Wang family’s outer realm and gain access to relevant texts. At only twenty-six years old, having already opened six acupoints and mastered the art of the blade, you might even achieve the ‘Half-Step Outer Realm.'”
“Of course, the position of family head will undoubtedly be yours.”
Once the Half-Step Outer Realm is achieved, these aristocratic families would have abundant resources for inner and outer cultivation. Reaching the Outer Realm would only be a matter of time, and with Tang Er’s youth, there would be no need for concern.
Seeing that the “Second Young Master Tang” had returned after many trials and had entered the martial arts world as a sword expert, An Shi attempted to entice him from a martial arts perspective. Meng Qi remained expressionless as he listened, since he wasn’t the real Second Young Master Tang, and thus couldn’t benefit from any of these advantages. Therefore, he could assess the situation objectively.
“Besides the estates, manors, and shops, if I sided with the Huanhua Sword Sect, I could get other benefits, perhaps even more. After all, for the Huanhua Sword Sect, the properties in Yicheng aren’t important; they are merely incidental, controlling only the waterway transportation hub. So why should I choose you?”
Meng Qi asked in a tone that emphasized family leadership and interests, his mind full of questions. Merely with such temptations, the Ye and Ling families aside, since they were already on the Wang family’s boat, why would the Wan and Tang families risk betrayal and provoke the Huanhua Sword Sect?
Tang Ren focused his gaze on his own nose, calming his inner emotions, which made Meng Qi, who noticed the movement, twitch his face involuntarily. When had his own self-control become so strong?
For him, although An Shi was seductive, she was at a distance and fully clothed, so she wasn’t overly enticing. Thus, after briefly enjoying the sight, his heart calmed, and he focused on analyzing her words, searching for any clues. Comparing himself now to the state of Old Master Tang Ren, he felt his own self-discipline had greatly improved.
Just as An Shi was about to reply, Meng Qi disrupted the rhythm by asking, “If I agree, how will you placate my second and seventh uncles? What promises did you previously make to keep them from interfering?”
Ye San smiled as he looked into Meng Qi’s eyes, “We promised your second uncle that he would become the family head and share the Huanhua Sword Sect’s assets. Your fifth and seventh uncles would each take their own branch to other parts of Zhou County, purchasing land and establishing a foothold with the Wang family’s financial and martial support, thus expanding your Tang family’s influence. Now that you are the family head, your second uncle will naturally receive what your fifth uncle had.”
“No wonder the fifth and seventh uncles would cooperate with the second uncle,” Meng Qi said, suddenly understanding, but still feeling something was off. Tang Wu could have sided with the Huanhua Sword Sect and gained far more than what he was about to receive unless he was a coward who, seeing the inevitable, chose to follow the trend. But would such a person dare provoke the Huanhua Sword Sect?
Ye San’s pupils, deep as a lake, rippled with waves, “If you’re not satisfied, the Wang family can also offer you a medicinal herb garden and a Bishui Yuantong ore mine near Yicheng.”
Bishui Yuantong was a high-quality material used to forge superior weapons. Even Meng Qi, the fake Second Young Master Tang, couldn’t help but be tempted, his mind swirling with thoughts of good deeds and merits.
Even though forging superior weapons required a skilled artisan with martial prowess and mastery over a specific flame, and was quite time-consuming, if the materials were sufficient, the Tang family’s capabilities could produce four or five such weapons a year.
Meng Qi said solemnly, “The Wang family is paying such a high price just to drive away the Huanhua Sword Sect? Even if they fully control Yicheng, it won’t compensate for their losses.”
“Haha, the Wang family has its own reasons. The gains in Yicheng in the future will be ten or a hundred times what they are now, and you will share in those benefits then,” Ye San laughed heartily.
“What kind of gains?” Meng Qi asked.
With a smile, Young Master Ye San replied, “A secret, for now, I can’t tell you, to prevent any leaks. We will swear an oath with our Yuan Shen to ensure the promises are fulfilled.”
His eyes rippled into whirlpools, deep and captivating, as if they could draw in one’s soul, “If you agree, the two maids, Ruyi and Chenxiang, will be given to you. They were born with seductive charms, and though still young, their beauty rivals An Shi’s…”
The atmosphere grew intimate, the candlelight dim, the beauty even more enchanting under the lamp, increasingly stirring the heart.
Suddenly, Meng Qi felt a dizziness in his head, his Yuan Shen instinctively projecting his spiritual power to resist an intrusion, and immediately he regained clarity.
“Hmph, Ye San, where did you learn such wicked techniques!” Meng Qi bellowed as he unsheathed the Evil Calamity.
If it weren’t for his cultivation in the Phantom Transformation Technique and the Undying Seal Method, he would have fallen into the trap just now!
Tang Ren stood up in response, his Canglan blade pointing diagonally at Ye San, its black blade seemingly rippling with water waves, the room filled with splashing sounds.
Young Master Ye San raised his head, two streams of blood flowing from his nostrils, as he apologetically said, “Second Brother Tang, please calm your anger. I was just too eager for quick success and momentarily lost my mind.”
“No sincerity! Let’s go, Grandpa Ren!” Meng Qi said, holding the Evil Calamity and heading for the door.
At the same time, he whispered through secret transmission, “Grandpa Ren, he just tried to control me with a spiritual technique! I think the Second Uncle, Fifth Uncle, and Seventh Uncle were probably the same way. Those who could be tempted and bought off were, and those who couldn’t were forcibly controlled. Later, giving them maids ensured the continuation of the spiritual control.”
“That’s why Old Er, Old Wu, and Old Qi took new maids into their chambers at this critical moment!” Tang Ren replied, filled with anger.
For a noble like the Second Master Tang, taking in a maid or concubine was normal. With the old master’s illness and the family’s anxiety, no one paid attention or suspected anything.
So that’s how it was, no wonder the four families acted in unison… Meng Qi confirmed his suspicion.
The Tang family was more complicated; with the family head in a coma, there were three people who needed to be tempted, bought off, or controlled. As for the other three families, it would be enough to influence their heads at an opportune time. The other elders wouldn’t know the truth until after they had provoked the Huanhua Sword Sect, making it impossible to turn back.
With Ye San’s friendship with the other two families’ young masters, meeting their family heads privately wouldn’t be difficult. The only problem was that if the spiritual control was too heavy, it would be obvious at a glance. If it was too light, the controlled might recover their senses shortly afterward. When had Ye San become so adept at spiritual control?
Spiritual control wasn’t omnipotent. First, it only worked on those with lesser strength. Second, during the Acupoint Opening stage, to make the controlled completely obey, they had to lose their autonomy and become like zombies, which anyone could detect. Therefore, it could only be moderate, inducing them to do things they weren’t too resistant to. Hence, Ye San could “control” other family heads to “join” the Wang family, but couldn’t make them hand over the family treasures.
Moreover, the effect of spiritual control wouldn’t last long without follow-up measures. The controlled would soon recover and realize they had been tricked. Even with the “maid” gifts, over time, either their dullness would increase, or their chances of recovery would improve. Therefore, this could only be a short-term strategy, and there was still the worry of being detected by experts or those above the Half-Step Outer Realm. There was also the concern that if they frequently interacted with the treasures, the treasures might activate themselves and expel the “external evil.”
Was Ye San not afraid of being retaliated by the clans afterward?
Moreover, such actions would have extremely bad consequences. Once the Six Ministries discovered this, they would definitely issue wanted notices, making him an enemy of the entire world. The Ye family might even be destroyed because of this. Why would Ye San dare to act so recklessly?
Unless he had something to rely on!
Unless he didn’t care about the consequences at all!
“Perhaps, he isn’t really Ye San…” Meng Qi suddenly had this realization. Otherwise, where did he get the strength to surpass all the family heads?
Moreover, spiritual techniques at the Acupoint Opening stage were extremely rare. Even Jiang Zhimi had to rely on the Phantom Transformation Technique!
“…The Wang family wouldn’t likely pay such a high price either… If the Tang and Wan families were willing to join, they would naturally be happy, sending someone like Wang Zai to stabilize the situation. But if they had to pay with a medicinal herb garden and a Bishui Yuantong ore mine, who would be so foolish?”
“So it seems, ‘Ye San’s’ plot is a one-time deal. After completing it, he will flee far away, and the promises, made in the name of the Wang family, are not to be taken seriously…”
All previous doubts were resolved, but Meng Qi still couldn’t guess ‘Ye San’s’ true intentions.
At this moment, Meng Qi was pretending to be furious as he walked out the door, with Tang Ren following closely behind.
Ye San kept apologizing half-heartedly, while An Shi maintained her smile, losing none of her allure. The two maids were like delicate dolls, showing no emotion.
Just as Meng Qi was about to reach the door, he suddenly turned around. The Evil Calamity, already unsheathed, rose with a thunderous roar, deafening to the ears.
“Attack!”
From the beginning, he had planned to strike first!
If he didn’t suddenly attack and disrupt their arrangement, would he wait for them to prepare an ambush or assassination? The blade, like lightning, was fierce and violent, seemingly unstoppable!
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