Chapter 931: What do you mean?

By the small lake, beneath the snow pines, Cui Zhengxing held a newly boiled red-clay teapot, pouring snowmelt into two fresh cups, instantly filling the air with tea fragrance.

He flicked his wrist lightly, and the two cups floated to Xiang Weiyuan and Zhang Sheng before him, saying, “My Snow Peak Pine Needle is rare; drinking it helps solidify your foundation and enhances insight. Try some.”

At this moment, Xiang Weiyuan and Zhang Sheng sat before Cui Zhengxing. The words “solidify your foundation,” Xiang Weiyuan heard for Zhang Sheng. The words “enhance insight,” Xiang Weiyuan heard for himself. The objects an immortal toys with are indeed no ordinary things.

Xiang Weiyuan did not hesitate, took the tea, drained it in one gulp, and immediately felt his mind clear—he said, “Thank you, Immortal Lord.”

Zhang Sheng also drained his cup but said nothing, signaling Xiang Weiyuan to speak.

Cui Zhengxing said, “Wanyi suffered greatly in childhood; her mother died taking the tribulation meant for me. I have always carried guilt, and thus spoiled her—resulting in her current arrogance and reckless nature. If Wanyi dies, it will damage my Dao heart, so I must preserve her life.”

“But that does not mean I demand you die. I came here in person precisely to control the Life-Binding Pearl at all times; if necessary, I will retrieve it myself and not harm your lives or cultivation paths.”

This sounded plausible enough; Xiang Weiyuan said nothing, waiting for the immortal to state his price. If Immortal Cui came himself, the terms could hardly be poor.

Cui Zhengxing sighed softly, saying, “Chengxiao and Wanyi secretly gave the immortal elixir meant for Cui Yu to Lianxi, then used Xincheng’s qi fortune to replenish Lianxi’s foundation, and seized Cui Yu’s position as city lord. By the time I learned of it, the matter was already beyond repair—the battle was already over. But rest assured, I, an immortal, will not owe a junior a single elixir. Yet that elixir is rare; I still lack two herbs to reopen the furnace. I will have seven more in about a year. You must wait.”

Xiang Weiyuan said, “Immortal Lord, you overthink it. I already have another method for Cui Yu’s path, so that elixir is no longer necessary. You need not trouble yourself.”

Cui Zhengxing paused. “You have such a method?”

“A matter of chance.” Xiang Weiyuan hesitated, then fell silent. The unspoken half of his thought was: “Since the agreement is void, have the Cui family remove the boundary stone and leave.” He believed Cui Zhengxing understood the subtext—he only waited to see what price would be offered to salvage it.

Cui Zhengxing slowly finished his tea. When he set the cup down, he had already decided. “The Wood Armor boundary stone aligns well with Qingming. Moreover, Chengxiao’s placement of the boundary stone was flawed—it will inevitably clash in the future. Then let the Wood Armor stone be subsumed under Qingming as its subsidiary stone? Xincheng remains under Song-Cui. All military supplies will henceforth be procured directly from Qingming. But from now on, half of all taxes and qi fortune from the entire Wood Armor domain will be shared with Qingming. What do you say?”

This time, it was Xiang Weiyuan’s turn to be stunned. The terms were too good—better than anything he had dared imagine. The war was being fought by Song-Cui; their men were dying; yet Qingming would claim half the spoils, and Wood Armor itself would become a subsidiary stone of Qingming—no lingering threat.

Xiang Weiyuan acted instantly, bowing deeply. “Thank you, Immortal Lord! Your generosity is immense!”

Cui Zhengxing nodded. A thread of snowmelt flew from the red-clay teapot and sank into the earth below. “Wood Armor will begin merging with Qingming in three days. Full integration will be complete in eighty-one days. If there is nothing else, I depart.”

Xiang Weiyuan rose and bowed again, his posture respectful, his voice sincere: “We respectfully see off the Immortal Lord.”

Before leaving, Cui Zhengxing seemed about to speak to Zhang Sheng—but said nothing, and vanished.

…

In the city lord’s mansion of Cui’s New City, silence pressed heavily. All servants dared not even breathe loudly, let alone whisper. The Ancestor Immortal was within the mansion—nothing that happened in any corner of the city escaped his notice. Anyone who dared gossip behind his back sought death.

In the main hall, Cui Chengxiao and Cui Wanyi stood before the Ancestor Immortal, both stunned. Cui Wanyi could no longer hold back: “How could you agree to such terms?! I say—”

Crack! A thread of immortal qi appeared out of thin air and struck Cui Wanyi’s face hard! Her ageless features swelled instantly; her eyes and lips split open.

Cui Wanyi clutched her face, unable to believe it. She wanted to scream—but found she could not make a sound; her mouth had been sealed by immortal power.

Cui Zhengxing said, “Bring her away. Immediately escort her back to the main family. Confine her for ten years.”

Two maids stepped forward and dragged the struggling Cui Wanyi away.

When the room fell silent again, Cui Zhengxing spoke: “Do you know why I agreed to these terms?”

Cui Chengxiao answered humbly: “I truly do not know. Even if Xiang Weiyuan and Zhang Sheng had made up wild demands, they would never have dared ask for this.”

Cui Zhengxing said, “I did not wish to. But after watching your string of defeats, I made my decision. Today’s decisive battle—Wanyi was doomed from the start. Even if she had defeated Zhang Sheng, I would have intervened secretly to ensure she lost.”

Cui Chengxiao was truly stunned. “Why?”

Cui Zhengxing said, “Our Cui family’s cultivation method differs from Xu Wangu. Song Guo is the Cui family; the Cui family is Song Guo. Family and state are named separate, but in truth, one and the same. When Song Guo prospers, I prosper; when it weakens, I weaken. For the past century, Song Guo has flourished—music and dance everywhere, the people content, literature thriving, renowned scholars emerging endlessly.”

Logically, this should be a renaissance. Yet my cultivation base has declined. I could not understand why—until I saw your string of defeats. Fifty thousand elite troops, crushed into a snake formation by five thousand Qingming soldiers, slaughtered from head to tail! Six to seven thousand died trampling each other in panic—utterly routed! And your two commanders? One was incompetent, venting rage by slaughtering his own men. The other cared only for his own duels, fleeing the moment defeat came.”