Chapter 39: Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey

Killing the Chicken to Warn the Monkey

The master's will cannot be disobeyed by the servants. Although the four servants were obviously frightened by Ruan Ci, they could only do as told. Li Ji made the soup and served it to her with trembling hands. The two male servants also cut down the trees around the cave abode, shaved them into long poles, hung the two assassins in front of the door, and He Tong cut the throat of the second assassin, hanging him upside down to bleed, just like bleeding a chicken. The original immortal mansion's artistic conception had been completely destroyed by these two long poles.

Ruan Ci naturally didn't care about the immortal artistic conception at all. The river clam meat shrank after being boiled. The clam meat that was originally the size of more than ten people was now only enough for her to eat for two meals. She didn't eat alone, calling the four servants to drink some soup. Although the river clam had no attack means other than illusions and could be said to have only a realm, it was a Foundation Establishment stage monster beast after all. Sharing the meat soup had benefits for the four servants. Among the servants of Qi Refining disciples, few could enjoy this.

Before cultivating yesterday, after one night, she brought back a Foundation Establishment stage monster beast and two assassin cultivators. The four servants were now both respectful and fearful of Ruan Ci, and dared not disobey her orders in the slightest. Every two hours, they took turns to go outside the door to cut the wound—the Foundation Establishment stage cultivator's body vitality was already very strong. Although the Dao foundation had been eaten, there was still a breath held by the Jin Dan stage pill powder. If the wound was not cut in time, it would grow back in two hours.

The wound kept growing back and was cut again. This was naturally a painful torture, but the cultivator's trachea had been cut, and his hands were tied, so except for the 'clucking' sound in his throat, there was no way to relieve the pain. The blood flowed down along his face and hair, drop by drop, dirty and smelly. After flowing several basins of dirty blood like this, all were cleaned up by the servants. After two days like this, the sect was indifferent and had no movement. Zhang Ji couldn't hold on anymore. This morning, it was her turn to bleed. She walked to the person with a dagger, looked away, not daring to look at the messy and bloody scene. The dagger in her hand was about to touch the neck where a thin blood scab had formed again, when she suddenly burst into tears, knelt down, turned around and kowtowed to the gate repeatedly, shouting, "Miss, spare my life, Miss, spare my life! I really didn't mean it!"

Ruan Ci had a full meal and could not eat for several days. She had been working hard in the cave abode for the past two days. Hearing Zhang Ji's voice, she was not surprised, nodded and said, "Wouldn't it have been better to say it earlier? You had to endure these two days. She is also afraid, and I am also uncomfortable." She ordered the three servants to bring Zhang Ji over and interrogated her in the main room.

Zhang Ji was timid by nature, and for the past two days, she hadn't eaten or slept, looking haggard. As soon as she entered the room, she cried, "Miss, please see clearly, the slave has an uncle who originally also worked in the mountain..."

She explained the matter intermittently. It turned out that she could be listed for selection because of this uncle's care, and after entering the mountain, he took care of her everywhere, so the relationship between the two was naturally quite close. That day, she was selected into Ruan Ci's mansion. After arriving at the cave abode, her uncle also came to visit secretly and asked many questions about Ruan Ci. Zhang Ji told him one by one, and also told her uncle that Ruan Ci had caught the eye of the Purple Void Cave Illumination Heaven, originally intending to let him rest assured. Unexpectedly, there was such a change the next day. She was timid by nature, and seeing two assassins come to assassinate Ruan Ci, she was suspicious, feeling that it might have something to do with her uncle. After two days like this, her spirit had already collapsed, and she finally couldn't bear it, just seeking a disposal.

Ruan Ci asked her uncle's name, Zhang De, and learned that he worked under a True Person on Zhonglü Peak and was quite favored. But Zhang Ji didn't know the name of that True Person, so she nodded and said nothing. Zhang Ji kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "I leaked Miss's secrets, and it is only right that I die, but please Miss, show mercy and spare my family's life."

Ruan Ci sighed, "You are also a pitiful person, but the fate of your family is not something I can decide."

For Zhang Ji, not being careful in her actions and showing off the information in the cave abode to the outside was a big taboo for a servant. Ruan Ci's encounter with danger while hunting today was mostly because she leaked the information, which led to the probing. —The people in the sect already knew that the Donghua Sword Envoy was among this batch of disciples from South Zhuzhou, but Ruan Rong must be the object of attention for Xu Shaowei and others, and had already been verified in South Zhuzhou, and there was no aura of the Donghua Sword on her. Then there were only two possibilities: one was that the Donghua Sword was indeed on Ruan Rong, just using secret treasures to cover up the aura; the other was that Ruan Rong was just a substitute, and the real Ruan family bloodline had long been hidden among the other disciples, and had also obtained secret treasures that could cover up the aura.

With such a general trend, Ruan Ci was naturally among the suspects. However, she had not entered the Dao, so the attention she received should have been smaller. Zhang Ji's uncle was sent to ask questions, but brought back a message that caught people's attention, which was that Ruan Ci had already caught the eye of the Purple Void Cave Illumination Heaven. In Wang True Person's hands, there was the "Qinghua Secret News" that the Donghua Sword Envoy must cultivate. Although he was at odds with Xie Yanhuan, would he therefore cultivate the Sword Envoy even more carefully to cut off the possibility of Xie Yanhuan obtaining the Green Sword again?

With matters linked ring by ring in this way, Ruan Ci only drew successive ambushes and probes when she went out to mingle. The mastermind behind the scenes was also meticulous; the rules of the Langhuan Zhou Tian did not favor the strong bullying the weak. They first prepared an assassin at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. Since one at the Qi Refining stage has not yet officially entered the Dao, they are still mortals; if their martial arts are good enough, they can contend with Qi Refining cultivators, so it is not considered entirely bullying the weak.

Seeing that this Qi Refining cultivator could not force out Ruan Ci’s true depth, another assassin at the Foundation Establishment stage immediately stepped in. If Ruan Ci did not have the Donghua Sword on her, and she trespassed into the wild forest, she would simply die, and the sect would not care much. If she did have the Donghua Sword, how could a mortal, in a life-or-death moment, not use it? Even if she could hold out and refuse to yield even unto death, the person guarding the Donghua Sword envoy behind the scenes should have been forced out.

Ruan Ci had likely figured out all these twists and turns after observing the situation at the scene. Not long after she entered the forest, those two cultivators rushed over; they likely did not expect her to be so restless, establishing her cave dwelling on the first day and going into the forest to explore on the second. The opportunity was too good; it would be a pity to miss it. She had once seen a divine ability in "Heavenly Boat Crossing": those with great divine abilities can deposit their spiritual intent onto servants or juniors; what the latter sees is what the one who deposited the divine ability sees. Perhaps both of these cultivators had spiritual intent deposited on them, allowing them to check her quality through the eyes of the assassins.

Given the situation, if she were to turn back now, the next probe would be more hidden and more sinister, and it would be difficult to investigate which of the four servants leaked the news. She decided to play along and put on a show, acting as if the Linghua Jade Disc was her final trump card, and she performed it with great emotion. Even if the sword Qi contained within the Linghua Jade Disc were truly Donghua sword Qi, so what? This clearly looked like a magic treasure created by an expert who had channeled Donghua sword Qi into a jade disc. How could she, a mortal, accomplish such a thing? It could only be said that Ruan Ci had a close relationship with the sword envoy, likely as an intimate junior, which also paved the way for her to be close to Ruan Rong later.

As for carrying back the assassin's corpse afterward to frighten the servants and force out the leaker, there is no need to say more. Being in the game, one must borrow the momentum to guide the outcome; these were all things that should be done. Ruan Ci reflected in her quiet room, noting two things she should not have done. The first was naturally her loose tongue in mentioning the Purple Void Cave Illumination Heaven; this matter was eighty percent caused by those five words. The second was that the timing of her going out to hunt was too hasty. Having just established her cave dwelling, she went out to hunt on the second day and possessed Qi Refining cultivation; this made the timing of her opening her meridians extremely clear. Opening meridians in one night, and being able to fight a Foundation Establishment cultivator to a draw immediately after—even if this Foundation Establishment cultivator was only a servant of the sect, the disciples of the Shangqing Sect were all extraordinary, but she was still too eye-catching. This Linghua Jade Disc would likely only slightly alleviate the doubts of the crowd; she would still become a disciple worthy of long-term attention in the eyes of all the True Persons.

Past experience, if not forgotten, is a guide for the future. However, even if it happened again, Ruan Ci would likely still go out to hunt immediately; those who needed to probe would come regardless, and the feeling of being hungry was not pleasant. What she pondered was that she should be more careful with the details of her speech. Looking at it this way, it was no wonder those cultivators were all so evasive, wishing they didn't have to say a single word of truth. She hadn't even told the full truth yet and had already found so much trouble; after eating enough losses, people naturally become cautious.

Since Zhang Ji admitted to leaking the news, Ruan Ci called the three servants over and questioned them separately in private, asking them to expose whether the other two peers had passed information outside. The three of them actually vouched for each other. It was said that Zhang Ji's uncle was the one who followed the deacon delivering the monthly allowance, which was how she was able to speak with him. As for the three of them, although they had old acquaintances in the sect, they each served different masters; even if they wanted to spy on each other, how could it be so timely? Seeing Zhang Ji’s fate, the three were also badly frightened, each swearing oaths to be loyal and diligent from then on, not daring to let a single word slip out.

In fact, even Zhang Ji had no intention of harming her master; she simply did not know the dangers of the sect's turmoil. If she were a disciple of the sect, what would be the harm in boasting to relatives and friends that her master was already valued by a Cave Heaven True Person? After all, with the favor of a Cave Heaven True Person, many achievements would naturally be revealed in the future; this was not something that could be hidden. Ruan Ci did not blame Zhang Ji and also felt she was pitiful, but this girl could no longer be kept. She called He Tong and said, "Take those two people down, and together with Zhang Ji, send them back to Spirit Valley Peak. Tell the deacon on duty everything, and say that these two people wanted to harm me and were killed by me. As for this Zhang Ji, I can no longer use her. You go and ask for another maid who knows how to cook. Li Ji’s skills are not very good either; how do you find her cooking?"

He Tong was the most steady of the four servants, speaking less but always being useful. However, he was also somewhat overwhelmed by this master, Ruan Ci. The corner of his mouth twitched as he said, "For us servants, being able to enjoy spiritual food is already an unexpected joy; I can no longer distinguish the taste. Li Ji’s cooking skills are usually quite good, but cooking spiritual objects is difficult; it is indeed not something she can handle."

Ruan Ci said "Oh," and replied, "In the future, just say 'I think her cooking is quite palatable' directly; there is no need to be so polite."

He Tong bowed his head in agreement and went out to get people busy. Ruan Ci was also curious about how mortals in the Central Continent used magic tools and talismans, so she followed them out to take a look. She saw that these three all had considerable strength; even Li Ji easily pulled out the long wood, tied up the corpse of the dead assassin, bandaged the throat of the Foundation Establishment assassin, and tied them together with Zhang Ji. Then, she took out a bamboo whistle and blew it hard.

The bamboo whistle seemed silent, but Ruan Ci could hear its spiritual momentum in the field, like a copper bell being lightly struck, constantly rippling outward. Not long after, similar spiritual waves rippled from afar in the field, colliding with these ripples and canceling each other out. When Ruan Ci opened her eyes to look, she saw a spiritual goose flying from the horizon, clutching a large basket under its feet, calling out as it flew to the mountaintop and dropped the basket.

He Tong was the steadiest and volunteered to go to Spirit Valley Peak to handle the matter. Li Ji did not come out to compete at this time, helping He Tong transport the prisoner and the three corpses into the basket. This basket was extremely wide; it would be no problem for seven or eight people to sit in it. Once they were all settled, the spiritual goose dived, grabbed the basket, and flew into mid-air. Ruan Ci looked into the distance and couldn't help but say, "If the spiritual goose can't hold on tight, what happens if the basket falls?"

Li Ji still held fear for Ruan Ci and was no longer as intimate as before. She smiled carefully and said, "These spiritual geese all have Foundation Establishment cultivation and have been well-trained by Spirit Valley Peak, so nothing will ever go wrong. Young Lady, you can rest assured. In the future, if you want to go to Spirit Valley Peak, it will also be a spiritual goose picking you up and dropping you off. Don't look at the fast takeoff; sitting in the basket is very steady, and there is no discomfort at all."

Ruan Ci secretly made up her mind that unless necessary, she would absolutely not ride this spiritual goose. Her courage was not small, but it was definitely not large either. In a life-or-death struggle, she could do anything, but in daily life, she was a little afraid of ghosts and a little afraid of heights.

It would take at least several hours for He Tong to go to Spirit Valley Peak. Li Ji and Li Tong were both worried about the result, but Ruan Ci didn't care much, saying, "Spirit Valley Peak sends food and meat every few days; it's impossible they didn't see those two assassins. Since they didn't say a word, it means this matter is not something Spirit Valley Peak can decide. How this matter ends is actually not up to me."

She was right. After He Tong returned, he said that Spirit Valley Peak just took the people in and sent another maid, saying nothing else. Ruan Ci was not surprised, gave the maid the name Mei Ji, and asked her to cook the remaining shellfish meat to taste, but the taste was not to her liking, so she had to let it go.

After cultivating for a few more days, the Purple Void Cave Illumination Heaven sent someone to pick her up, saying that the True Person wanted to see Ruan Ci. Ruan Ci said to He Tong, "This is the result for us here."

Her actions in the cave dwelling naturally could not be hidden from the eyes and ears of the Purple Void Cave Illumination Heaven. The True Person did not speak, which meant that this matter should be decided by her own discretion, and also meant that her actions had not yet defied the True Person. Ruan Ci acted according to her own heart. The Purple Void Cave Illumination Heaven calling her over meant that the part of this matter that Ruan Ci could influence had ended, and the next step was a confrontation at a higher level. Regarding her actions, the True Person would have some guidance, and perhaps there would also be some instructions for her future conduct.

The deacon sent by the Purple Void Cave Illumination Heaven rode a green jade flying carriage, stopping in the air with extraordinary style. The deacon stood at the front of the carriage, his face full of smiles, about to bend over to help Ruan Ci fly onto the carriage. With a strong sound of wind, Ruan Ci jumped onto the front of the carriage herself, waved her hand slightly at him, said "How can one not get off the carriage to pick someone up?", and then ducked into the carriage herself. Only the deacon was left standing at the front of the carriage, feeling somewhat embarrassed. After a moment, he gave a self-deprecating smile, turned around, used magic power to urge the flying carriage, and disappeared in an instant.

He Tong stood in front of the cave dwelling, looking up at the trajectory of the flying carriage. After a long while, he let out a long breath, turned to the three servants, and said, "I have carefully observed the Young Lady's actions these days; they are actually very methodical. She is rough on the outside but fine on the inside, and she understands things clearly. She truly has great vision in her heart. Everyone, our time has come; we must be very careful. If we can cling to her coattails, we may not necessarily fail to soar into the sky in the future!"

Of his words, only Mei Ji had a shallow understanding. Li Ji and Li Tong, thinking of Ruan Ci’s unfathomable power, her thunderous methods, and that flower-like smile with blood on her face, all felt a chill throughout their bodies, but they couldn't help but nod in agreement. Li Ji forced a smile and said, "We should naturally be trembling and serving with care. The Young Lady is as meticulous as a hair, yet she has a lot of hidden depths. My nature is rough; please keep an eye on me and give me pointers in the future, Brother He."

Knowing that her own talents were insufficient, she willingly stepped down from the position of head servant. From then on, the servants in Ruan Ci’s mansion all took this He Tong as their leader. All matters were also very methodical, and the rules were strict, not to mention.

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Updated, sorry for the long wait, everyone! The collection has broken ten thousand, let's celebrate! But... I already updated before the extra update, so let's leave comments to send red envelopes today~~ The next extra update should be when the comments break 20k, which might be soon... maybe...

Braised pork for lunch! Yes, starting to eat home-cooked food. My dad also braised a few eggs and brought them over. The rules for southern-style braised pork are all done this way~~~

I’ve started reading "Strange Creature Witness Record." Usually, when I see a text that I think is written very well, I will follow the vine to see the author's other works.

. Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord votes or irrigated nutrient solution for me during 2020-07-29 11:58:37~2020-07-30 11:57:08~

Thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: Lychee whose account was stolen, The Delusion of Time, Yu Wanyao, Night Color Like Ink, La 1 each;

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Go for Broke 62 bottles; niiiiiii 50 bottles; Mushroom Sauce 40 bottles; A Yao, Cold Wind Sparse 30 bottles; C, Ye Yinchun Hou Chang 20 bottles; Dad, Xiao Qiao, Want to Eat Meat, Rocking 10 bottles; eureka 10 bottles; AuAg 7 bottles; Little Fatty Loves to Eat, Cat Chasing Wool Ball, Ginaaaaaa, Xunxi, Aihua, sidewalker 5 bottles; Open it, I'll count 123, aw 2 bottles; Lowering Eyes and Smiling, baby Le Yao, Laughing to Death, Morning Born My Old Friend 1 bottle;

Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!