Chapter 31 Part 2

Before leaving, Ding Zhuo turned back to look at the mess in the room. "In these next six or seven days, I hope Junior Sister will also take good care of herself. Try to control your temper and avoid getting injured in fights—unless Junior Sister looks down on me."

Ding Zhuo left.

Chang Ning could no longer hold it in and burst out laughing.

Cai Zhao: ...

Hearing the commotion, Furong came over to replace the teapot. As she left, she swept her eyes over the mess in the room, a look of clear condemnation in them.

The door was closed once more.

Cai Zhao sat down in annoyance. "These last two days have been unlucky. Everyone is blaming me for something."

Chang Ning was in a better mood now, and his demeanor had softened. He personally poured a cup of tea for Cai Zhao and said with a smile, "Zhaozhao, don't be angry. Everyone is actually treating you like an adult. Since you're no longer a child, you should naturally be more magnanimous."

Cai Zhao scratched her small ear. "I started it just now. I was wrong."

Chang Ning smiled with the relieved look of a proud father. "Our Zhaozhao is truly magnanimous."

After their bout of foolishness, the two finally had a chance to talk in detail.

"Don't you find today's events to be full of strange points?" Chang Ning slowly approached, holding a tall glass candlestick. In his loose robes and sash, his movements were graceful, casting the elegant silhouette of a handsome young master from a chaotic world on the side wall.

"Wh-what strange points?" Cai Zhao was a bit mesmerized by the shadow.

"Why exactly did the Demonic Cult invade the Qingque Sect today?" Chang Ning placed the candlestick on the table, his brow furrowed. "Could it really just be for revenge for the Wu brothers? Since when did the Demonic Cult become so benevolent?"

Cai Zhao came back to her senses. "Ah, why? Of course, it was to kill my master. It just so happened that the Wu brothers also wanted to kill my master, so it was a perfect match."

Chang Ning shook his head slightly. "Then why did the Demonic Cult want to kill Song Yuzhi?"

"Perhaps that was just the Wu brothers' own idea, and the Demonic Cult wasn't aware."

"For Wu Gang to have learned Netherworld Cold Qi, the Demonic Cult must have invested a lot in him. The entire affair was also meticulously planned. Although Song Yuzhi is exceptionally skilled, he has not yet reached his peak. Was it worth putting so much effort into him? With that kind of effort, they would have been better off assassinating the Six Sects' masters for a better result."

Cai Zhao had a headache. "You're just trying to say that the Demonic Cult had no need to kill Third Senior Brother. What's so important about that?"

"Zhaozhao, you should learn to think things through." Chang Ning sat down at the table. "The strangest part of this matter is that the Demonic Cult acted with extreme precision and ingenuity, yet their motive was too simple and crude."

"For instance, you exhaust your efforts, spend a great deal of money, and even sacrifice several lives just to travel a thousand miles to buy a piece of satin to make clothes. Granted, the fabric is good fabric, but in the end, it's just a piece of clothing. Is it worth it?"

"From Luo Yuanrong causing a scene on the day of the ceremony, to the Wu brothers getting injured and staying behind, coordinating with the Demonic Cult's ascent up the cliff from the inside, and then splitting their forces to create a diversion—all of this had to be calculated without the slightest error, especially today. Even the timing had to be perfect, otherwise the number of people ascending the cliff would not have been enough to create such a big commotion."

"To go to such great lengths just to assassinate Sect Master Qi? Then why not do it when Sect Master Qi was down the mountain a few days ago? It would have been much easier then. But the Demonic Cult insisted on forcing their way up Myriad Waters Thousand Mountains Cliff, storming Twilight Palace, and then fighting head-on, only to have someone assassinate him? Isn't that gilding the lily?"

"Thirty-five experts, that's no small force. With the same level of planning and manpower, they could have assassinated the sect master of any of the Six Sects of Beichen."

Cai Zhao lifted her face and closed her eyes, recalling today's events—Wu Xiong revealing the dagger behind Qi Yunke, Wu Xiong striking Song Yuzhi at close range, the four gray-robed men hiding behind the pavilion to ambush passersby...

"You're right." She opened her eyes. "The whole thing was meticulously planned. The assassination of Master and the assassination of Third Senior Brother were not the Wu brothers' own ideas, but were foreshadowed in advance."

Chang Ning: "What have you thought of?"

"What Wu Gang shouted before he died today made me think that Yin Dai might have offended more than just one or two people," Cai Zhao said. "Could it be that someone in the Demonic Cult also bears a grudge against Old Sect Master Yin and is deliberately seeking revenge?"

Chang Ning nodded. "That is possible. But why didn't this person kill Madam Sulian and her daughter as well? They are also Old Sect Master Yin's bloodline."

"Because this person knows full well that Madam Sulian and her daughter have no abilities. Without my master and Third Senior Brother to support them, they'll be at the mercy of others."

Chang Ning frowned. "That's hard to say. The Yin Family has quite a few privately-retained expert guards, not to mention the Yin Family's power outside the sect. However, your point has some merit. Eliminating the strong ones and leaving the Yin mother and daughter to suffer slowly does seem like the Demonic Cult's style."

"Actually, everything we're saying is just speculation. Who can know the truth?" Cai Zhao's mouth was dry, and she poured herself a full cup of tea. "Storybooks say that in situations like this, you look at who benefits the most, and that person is the mastermind!"

Chang Ning smiled. "Then the mastermind is you, Zhaozhao."

Cai Zhao nearly spat out her tea and coughed repeatedly. "You, don't talk nonsense! How could it be me?!"

Chang Ning walked around the table and gently patted the girl's back. "If Song Yuzhi can't recover, Sect Master Qi will naturally have to choose another disciple to be his successor. Who do you think will fill the spot? Naturally, it will be Dai Fengchi."

"Do you have eyes?" Cai Zhao wiped her face with the back of her hand. "The position of Sect Master goes to the most capable. Although Senior Brother Ding is fourth, his martial arts are better than Second Senior Brother's. Of course, it should be his turn."

"That's where you're wrong." Chang Ning smiled. "I know you've always looked down on Dai Fengchi, thinking he doesn't train properly and just follows Qi Lingbo around all day—but he wasn't always like this. Song Yuzhi's talent is extraordinary; one day of his practice is worth ten days of others'. Dai Fengchi clearly entered the sect earlier than Song Yuzhi and is also older, yet in just a few short years, he was left far behind. That's when Dai Fengchi lost the will to train diligently."

"But Ding Zhuo is different. His aptitude is only a tiny bit better than Dai Fengchi's. He has only achieved what he has today through diligent and arduous training. When his opponent was Song Yuzhi, Dai Fengchi could readily accept his fate. But when his opponent is Ding Zhuo, how could Dai Fengchi be willing to concede?"

"In addition, Madam Sulian and the Yin Family's power will surely support Dai Fengchi with all their might. Who will end up with the position of Sect Master is still very much uncertain."

Cai Zhao listened, entranced. "...My heavens, I thought that among fellow disciples, whoever had the higher skill would become the Sect Master."

Chang Ning shook his head meaningfully. "Do you think it was easy for Sect Master Qi to become the chosen successor back then? If he had only been a move or two better than Qiu Renjie, would Yin Dai have given up his beloved disciple whom he had raised with his own hands? It was only when he saw that all seven of his disciples combined were no match for Sect Master Qi that Yin Dai gave up, and incidentally, got his daughter a new fiancé."

Cai Zhao was stunned for a long while before she said, "Then what does this have to do with me?"

"If the position of Sect Master is inherited by Ding Zhuo, you probably wouldn't have any objections. But what if it's Dai Fengchi?" Chang Ning raised an eyebrow.

Cai Zhao slammed her hand on the table and gritted her teeth. "I'd rather be the Sect Master myself than let him have it! After my aunt passed away, I haven't been as diligent, but if I just grit my teeth and put in some effort, rolling Second Senior Brother on the ground like dough would be no problem at all. It's better than letting him sit in the Sect Master's seat and cause trouble for other sects!"

Chang Ning let out a light laugh. "You see? In the end, won't the position of Sect Master fall to you?"

Only then did Cai Zhao realize what he meant. She said helplessly, "But I didn't assassinate Third Senior Brother, nor did I collude with the Demonic Cult."

"Nonsense, of course I know that," Chang Ning scoffed.

"In any case, I just can't figure out why the Demonic Cult would go to such great lengths to assassinate Sect Master Qi and Song Yuzhi within the sect. What is their ultimate goal?" He fell into deep thought.

"Actually, you were right," Cai Zhao suddenly said after a moment of silence.

Chang Ning was startled. "What did you say?"

"I said, you were right." Cai Zhao said, "I haven't apologized to you yet."

Chang Ning was slightly surprised.

"Regarding today's events, Third Senior Brother actually misjudged the situation. As soon as he heard the horn blow, he assumed that since Myriad Waters Thousand Mountains Cliff is easy to defend and hard to attack, it must be a major offensive from the Demonic Cult. Therefore, he arranged for a maximum defensive posture."

Cai Zhao paused. "Who would have known that the Demonic Cult villains would disregard their own lives and go straight for Twilight Palace? Third Senior Brother's arrangement actually dispersed our manpower, giving the Wu brothers an opportunity. And me, I was being clever for my own good too. If I had insisted on going to Twilight Palace with Third Senior Brother, I might have been ambushed by the Wu brothers as well."

"On the contrary, Brother Chang, you." She looked at the tall young man behind the dim candlelight. His features were blurred behind the halo of light, leaving her only with an impression of strong, self-confident composure.

"You sensed something was wrong from the very beginning and insisted on first investigating the mystery of the enemy's invasion before making arrangements—just as you said, some people will always die, but it's better to eliminate the hidden danger as early as possible."

Chang Ning said softly, "Is Zhaozhao blaming me for being indifferent to human life?"

Cai Zhao shook her head. "My aunt used to say that in this world, those who can accomplish great things are often ruthless—I suppose Brother Chang is such a person."

Although the girl said this, there was not the slightest trace of frustration or regret on her face. Instead, there was a kind of open-mindedness that came from understanding the ways of the world.

—So what if she was soft-hearted? So what if she couldn't accomplish great things? That was just the person she was.

Chang Ning slowly pressed his hand against his heart, feeling that unfamiliar warmth and softness again.

At that moment, the aroma of food drifted in from outside.

Cai Zhao's eyes widened, as if her entire being had come alive.

Chang Ning particularly liked this joyful look on her face and couldn't help but smile. "Thank heavens the Demonic Cult villains didn't smash the kitchen. We can finally have dinner."

Cai Zhao smiled. "No matter what profound and unfathomable plans the Demonic Cult has, let's eat first. It can't be that we're the only unlucky ones. When the Demonic Cult goes crazy, they definitely won't just strike once and then stop. We'll know their intentions eventually."

Perhaps it was from spending too much time with Chang Ning, but Cai Zhao had also picked up the habit of being a jinx.

The next morning, before Cai Zhao had even rubbed the sleep from her eyes, Fan Xingjia rushed over to report bad news.

—The parties from several sects that had left to return home after the ceremony had all been ambushed and attacked by the Demonic Cult.