Chapter 55: Persuading Scholar Cai

However, in the simulation, Cai Xueshi successfully entered the National Teacher Palace, so he should have a Spirit Bone, right? "Do you have an invitation?" asked the doorman in front of the Cai Xueshi residence.

"I do not, but you can go and report to Cai Xueshi that Ruan Xing is here to visit; he will see me," Ruan Xing said confidently.

Even if only for the sake of his granddaughter, Cai Xueshi would not dare refuse to see her.

Not long after, the doorman returned and led Ruan Xing inside.

Cai Xueshi was watching the fish by the garden pond with his granddaughter; he leaned half-way against the pavilion railing, supporting his granddaughter with one hand while scattering a large handful of fish food with the other, "Here, here, how lively, all coming over to eat. Nannan, look, are these little fish pretty?"

The little girl only watched the rippling water surface with calm eyes as the little fish scrambled to feed.

She looked like an exquisite crystal doll, unable to understand the significance of Cai Xueshi bringing her to see these things, merely being led passively by Cai Xueshi.

Ruan Xing stepped forward and said, "Greetings, Scholar."

Cai Xueshi's movements paused; he put the fish food back into the tray and turned his head, "I wonder what business Gang Leader Ruan has with me?"

"Nothing much, really. Just passing through the Capital and thought of you, an old acquaintance, so I came to visit and touch base." Ruan Xing walked brazenly to the middle of the pavilion and sat down. Seeing the table was empty, she clicked her tongue and said to the servant waiting nearby, "What are you standing there for? Serve tea."

The servant glanced at Cai Xueshi, and only after receiving his nod did he go to prepare tea and snacks.

Cai Xueshi snorted, "What? Think this is your own home? I have no 'base' to touch with you, no need for that."

"Just showing some concern. Hey, how is your Nannan doing? Have you gone to see the National Preceptor yet?"

Ruan Xing asked with a look of curiosity.

Hearing this, Cai Xueshi's expression collapsed, turning gloomy, "You know the answer, yet you ask."

Fine, this old man still thinks she has a connection with Hongtou Daoren, but Ruan Xing truly doesn't understand. The method Hongtou Daoren used to make puppets came from the *Nether Ghost Record*; the book only wrote about puppet materials and refining methods. But Ruan Xing doesn't have the old man's memories, so how would she know how an old mortal without any cultivation managed to refine so many useless puppets?

Besides, the book didn't write any way to restore a puppet to its original state either.

However, looking at Cai Xueshi's expression, Ruan Xing could guess it certainly wasn't a good result. Ruan Xing continued, "Since the National Preceptor can't solve this problem either, why don't you think of another way? Isn't her soul still there? In the future, you could find her a new physical body and raise her from scratch; isn't that better than holding onto this empty shell? You wouldn't only care about this empty shell just because it shares your bloodline, would you?"

"Of course not. Do you have a way?" Cai Xueshi was somewhat moved, but remained skeptical.

"I can't do it, but the National Preceptor might be able to. However, the matter of Possession is shocking; the National Preceptor might not be willing to help you. It would be better for you to do it yourself. Isn't the National Preceptor recruiting disciples? If you enter his sect and cultivate with devotion, one day you will achieve your wish," Ruan Xing said with a smile.

"Possession!?" Cai Xueshi was shocked for a moment, then fell silent for a long time, "I am already sixty-seven years old. I don't know how many years I have left to live; how could I learn even a fraction of the National Preceptor's skills?"

"No matter, sixty-seven is the perfect age to strive," Ruan Xing said sincerely. "Cultivation has its own methods for extending life; otherwise, why do so many retiring officials go to the National Teacher Palace? Could it really be to clear their hearts and see through the mundane world? You are a man of this age, you should know what they are all after."

The older people get, the more they fear death, especially those who have struggled for half a lifetime and attained high positions. He lacks the courage of his youth, and while enjoying wealth and status, he worries even more about not being able to enjoy such good days.

Although Cai Xueshi is not as paranoid as those people, he also worries that there will be no one to look after his little granddaughter after he dies, so naturally, he wants to live a few more years.

Weighing both sides, he actually felt that what Ruan Xing said made quite a lot of sense.

He suddenly gave a fake smile, "You are so young, yet so sinister and ruthless; I fear you also came here through Possession?"

Ruan Xing smiled, "You guess?"

On the surface, Cai Xueshi is a kind old man who dotes on his juniors, but in reality, he has spent half a lifetime drifting in the imperial court and is not a charitable or loving character. Even if he thinks Ruan Xing is a case of Possession, he would let this matter rot in his stomach and not speak of it; instead, he would trust Ruan Xing even more, because this way, he has one more glimmer of hope to save Nannan.

He hesitated for a moment, lowering his head in thought.

Seeing this, Ruan Xing did not urge him. Just then, the servant brought the tea and snacks. She flicked her finger across the slightly hot rim of the cup, brushing away the curling white smoke, "Once you go to the National Teacher Palace, you will understand that everything I said is not a lie. Moreover, I will disguise myself as a servant and go with you. If you have even the slightest doubt, you can report me to the National Preceptor at any time. I won't bother you any longer, farewell."

"I see, you just want to use me to enter the National Teacher Palace, right?" Cai Xueshi suddenly understood Ruan Xing's intention.

"That's right," Ruan Xing admitted generously. She propped her chin on her hand, leaned forward against the table, and took a light sip of tea, "But this does not conflict with you saving Nannan. You could call it, a win-win?"

Cai Xueshi snorted coldly, seemingly angry as he flicked his sleeves and turned his head away.

"Hmph, see the guest out!"

But Ruan Xing understood that this attitude meant he had agreed; he just felt he was too old to conspire with her and couldn't bring himself to admit it.

She smiled indifferently, stood up, and reminded him, "I'll come find you in a few days, don't forget."

The servant led her out of the Cai residence gates once again.

With nothing to do, Ruan Xing returned to the inn first, because she still had one thing that needed to be solved: the problem of Sword Lai.

Sword Lai's strength is actually of no use after reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, but for now, Ruan Xing cannot do without him. In the simulation, if it weren't for Sword Lai, Ruan Xing would have died at least dozens of times more. However, Sword Lai's strength is growth-oriented; he can learn Ghost Cultivator techniques on his own, and in the future, when she has spirit materials and treasures, she can re-refine and upgrade him.

After all, Sword Lai is a puppet made using Ghost Cultivator methods. Although he is skilled in the art of concealment, if he were to board the carriage of a Golden Core True Person like the National Preceptor with her, he would still be discovered.

Fortunately, Sword Lai can cross the mountain passes alone. Firstly, the border barrier only guards against living things; Sword Lai himself is no different from a rock—no breathing, no heartbeat—so the barrier naturally cannot stop him. Secondly, the Monster Beasts in the mountains and forests have no interest in his unrotting corpse, and they cannot see through his concealment. Sword Lai can move freely between the Cultivation world and the Mortal Dynasty without any effort.

If it weren't for the fact that Ruan Xing couldn't just off herself to practice Ghost Cultivation, she would have wanted to practice this Ghost Escape technique. Moreover, the content recorded in the *Nether Ghost Record* is quite substantial, and it contains many very profound types of spells. Although Ruan Xing cannot practice them directly, she can use them as a reference once she enters the path of Cultivation in the future, drawing inferences from them.

Wait, if this Ghost Cultivator technique is so powerful, how did it end up in the hands of Hongtou Daoren?

Ruan Xing suddenly realized: could this be a golden finger prepared by the Heavenly Dao's will for the female lead through the hands of Hongtou Daoren? So even if she killed Hongtou Daoren early, the female lead would still obtain this *Nether Ghost Record* in some other way in the future? Then it might be better to just give it to her; perhaps she could even make the female lead owe her a favor. She remembers that this female lead is the type who repays every grievance and every kindness.

She has already warned the female lead to keep her eyes open when marrying. If she still walks the old path as in the original plot, then Ruan Xing has no choice but to give her the technique in advance so she can take fewer detours.

Ruan Xing asked the waiter for paper and pen, wrote a letter to Hu San to explain some things, and then had Sword Lai go to the cave to bring back the forty thousand taels of silver notes and the original copy of the *Nether Ghost Record*.

Anyway, his Ghost Escape is fast. When she leaves with the National Preceptor in a few days, she will have Sword Lai follow her across the mountain passes by following the direction of the mental link in his puppet essence. This will also make it convenient for her to take the silver she earned through the Red Head Gang in the future.

It brings in twenty thousand taels of profit every year, after all. Even if she only takes half, that is ten Low-grade Spirit Stones, enough to buy several bottles of Gathering Qi Pill for cultivation.

Once Sword Lai returned with the silver notes and the secret manual, Ruan Xing sought out Cui Yurong for help, "I know it's hard to exchange large amounts of silver at the bank, so I have to trouble you for this. Sixty thousand taels in silver notes, please exchange them all into gold and silver. Also, take this as a gift; you can read it like a storybook, just burn it once you've memorized it, and don't let anyone else know."

Gold and silver in this dynasty only go out and never come in. Even with many gold and silver mines, it is not enough for circulation. No wonder large transactions mostly use silver notes, because within the entire dynasty, the amount of gold and silver is limited. Every so often, they are taken out by the National Preceptor's disciples, and naturally, less and less remains.

"Miss Ruan saved my life. Now that I have no way to repay you, I am already ashamed enough. How can such a small matter be considered helping?" Cui Yurong took the secret manual and the silver notes, looking somewhat ashamed.

"As for this book, since it is a gift from Miss Ruan, I will naturally read it every day and cherish it well."

"As you wish, just don't let anyone else see it," Ruan Xing waved her hand.

It wouldn't matter to Ruan Xing if others saw it, but if the male lead saw it, it would matter to the original female lead. He might worry that the female lead is a vengeful ghost and directly beg the National Preceptor to scatter her soul.

Wouldn't the plot collapse completely then?

It's hard to say if it's good or bad, but theoretically, Ruan Xing hopes the plot collapses. She doesn't want to be dragged into things unknowingly and become cannon fodder, especially since she doesn't know the subsequent plot and has no way to avoid it even if she wanted to.

Yet she also doesn't want the female lead, with whom she has had interactions, to end up with such an outcome.

However, within two or three days, Cui Yurong delivered all the gold and silver. It was hard on her to run around for her father's case and still be able to help her exchange the silver with such efficiency.

Among them were over four thousand taels of gold and over twenty thousand taels of silver, stored in a wooden chest five feet square. She took fifty taels of gold for herself to put in her bundle, had Sword Lai carry two hundred taels of gold, and deposited all the rest into the Simulator.

There's no helping it; things like gold and silver are too inconvenient to carry. It's a pity the Simulator can only be topped up and cannot be withdrawn, otherwise, it could be used as a portable storage space for money.

Ruan Xing sent the Sword off to depart for the border, while she packed a small bundle and went to the Cai residence, waiting to move into the National Teacher Palace with Cai Xueshi; she did not know when the National Preceptor would leave, so she would have to ask Cai Xueshi later.

At this moment, Cai Xueshi was full of doubt about life; he had not finished digesting the information he received from the National Teacher Palace even after a day and a night.

"You must have done this on purpose," Cai Xueshi said resentfully. "I never knew that Cultivation actually existed in this world."

"Don't blame me for not telling you; the main thing is that I wasn't sure how many people in the court knew about this matter, and knowing who can and cannot be told is a science in itself. You are experienced in the officialdom and should understand more than I do. What if I had told you in advance, and it instead made the National Preceptor suspicious of your source of information and your motives? Caution is the parent of safety, after all."

This place's control over Luoqi Pill is too strict; if she did not have the Simulator to simulate the Cultivation world from within it, she might never reach Innate in this Mortal Dynasty in her entire life.

Therefore, Ruan Xing felt that since they were already controlling Luoqi Pill, they would likely also control the news of Cultivation; in all probability, only some clans and royal families with long-standing heritage knew a thing or two.

The imperial examination is prevalent here, and Cai Xueshi is not from a noble clan, but rather climbed up step by step through his own efforts; it is normal for him not to know, and it would be abnormal if he did. Based on this consideration, and also because she was too lazy to explain, Ruan Xing did not tell the whole story.

"It is precisely because I have learned about it that I find you even more unfathomable. I even feel fortunate now that I did not blame you in a fit of anger back in Jiangning City; it turned out to be my correct decision. If I had harbored murderous intent toward you back then, I fear not only would I have failed to take Nannan away, but these old bones of mine would have been left behind as well, right?" Cai Xueshi shook his head and smiled bitterly again and again.

Ruan Xing thought to herself, that is not necessarily true; at that time, she had not yet reached Innate and was still a vulnerable individual—how could she have resisted Cai Xueshi's Qianling Guard?

However, she would not take the initiative to expose her own weaknesses. The old man's imagination was quite good, so she would not shatter his illusions; the more he imagined, the more help he might be able to provide in the future.

"Let's not mention the past. Lord Cai, did the National Preceptor say when we will set off for the outside world?"

Cai Xueshi thought for a moment, "It is probably... the National Preceptor said there is one last disciple in the sixth month, and after he says goodbye to his family, he will leave the National Teacher Palace."

The sixth month... that leaves only a few days.

Ruan Xing's mood became relaxed and happy, "Then will Lord Cai also say goodbye to your son and daughter-in-law before entering the National Teacher Palace?"

"I... probably don't need to." Cai Xueshi's expression became desolate. "My son is also stationed elsewhere; the monarch's orders are hard to defy, and he cannot return to the capital before his term expires. Ever since the matter with Nannan... I have had almost nothing to say to them. Now that I am taking Nannan with me, it goes without saying."

"Hm?" Ruan Xing was surprised. "Isn't it said that one must sever ties with the mortal world and cannot bring along relatives?"

"The National Preceptor said... Nannan does not count as a relative." Cai Xueshi looked at the quiet Nannan, his gaze complex. "He said Nannan is no different from a pen, a piece of ink, a set of tables and chairs, or a knife."

She does not even need to occupy a quota for a servant.

Ruan Xing's gaze also carried a trace of pity, "Speaking of which, I still do not know the names of you two."

"My name is Cai Wen, and Nannan's formal name is Cai Jiao."

(End of this chapter)