Chapter 313: Covert and Overt Schemes

Xi Xi saw the witch doctor approaching and still instinctively dodged behind Mu Yuanzhi.

After all, seeing such a god‑pretending person late at night still made one a bit uneasy.

The witch doctor chuckled slightly and said, "My surname is Sima; Your Highness the Princess may call me whatever you like, or simply 'Hey'."

"Mr. Sima hides his abilities well," Mu Yuanzhi said, sizing up the witch doctor with a cold gaze. "How exactly did you manage that?"

"What is Your Highness the Princess asking? Are you here to treat Miss Chu Chu's illness?" the witch doctor asked, tilting his head curiously.

Mu Yuanzhi: "You know what I'm asking about."

The witch doctor looked enlightened, then laughed again: "Ah, you mean Mister Xiao's affair? Exactly, it was me."

He admitted it very openly.

Mu Yuanzhi watched warily as the strangely tall man strode a few steps toward them.

"It's actually simple—if you have a martial arts foundation and high aptitude for sudden enlightenment, you can learn it." The witch doctor smiled toward Mu Yuanzhi and added, "Even Your Highness the Princess could master it."

After all that, he still hadn't said the point—what kind of Taiji is he practicing?

Mu Yuanzhi remained expressionless, waiting for the witch doctor to continue.

"Heart Method Mantra, have you heard of it, Your Highness the Princess?"

"Naturally, all laws arise from the mind." Although Mu Yuanzhi wasn't a martial arts expert, she had dabbled a bit: "Can relying solely on the Heart Method Mantra really raise a person's martial arts to this level in such a short time?"

She didn't believe it.

"This is naturally a secret mantra, specially aimed at the current experts of the Mount Yin Sect—in other words, Young Master Jin." the witch doctor explained.

"Are you also from the Mount Yin Sect?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.

The witch doctor shrugged, noncommittal.

"What do you mean by saying that?" Mu Yuanzhi asked again.

"It's naturally to clear up Your Highness the Princess's doubts—otherwise it's a trivial matter. This mantra, I'm afraid, is known to no one else in the world today." the witch doctor said.

So this person's martial arts must be formidable too—could he even match Gu Rongjin in skill?

She certainly wouldn't ask, guessing the other wouldn't answer truthfully.

Did he come just to show off, or what?

"Mr. Sima, you didn't come just to clear up doubts, did you? What business do you have?" Mu Yuanzhi said firmly.

The witch doctor laughed again, his purple lips forming a bright smile: "There's nothing else—I really came just to clear up Your Highness the Princess's doubts."

After saying that, he turned and left: "It's dark and windy, Your Highness the Princess—better head back soon; even though it's a key part of the Imperial Garden, you should still be careful."

Xi Xi: "What a weird person—really gives me the creeps."

Mu Yuanzhi watched the witch doctor's retreating back, pondering, until the Qilin called out to her: "Senior Sister, who were you just talking with?"

Xi Xi: "That strange witch doctor!"

"What?!" the Qilin exclaimed, instantly tense: "That weirdo's shown up—what does he want?" Seeing them unharmed, the Qilin assumed nothing had happened.

Mu Yuanzhi: "He came specially to tell me that he taught the special Mount Yin Sect Heart Method Mantra to Xiao Yichen, which is why Xiao Yichen can now fight Gu Rongjin to a standstill."

"How can a Heart Method Mantra be that powerful? Is that even reasonable?!"

"Totally reasonable."

A monk, having overheard their conversation and appearing from nowhere, said:

Mu Yuanzhi doubted: "Is that really true?"

"However, the person who needs to memorize this mantra must be so familiar with this martial arts heart method that it's like breathing, and the one who needs to remember the mantra must have extraordinary talent; in theory it's sound, but in practice it's extremely difficult." the monk said.

Mu Yuanzhi: "The witch doctor just said the same thing."

Qilin: "If that's the case, he must certainly be a member of the Mount Yin Sect, a fellow disciple of Gu Rongjin!"

"Did he deliberately leak this to me just so I'd find out about it?" Mu Yuanzhi pondered.

Qilin: "So then, Xiao Yichen's skill now must be on par with Gu Rongjin's?"

Monk: "Not necessarily—perhaps he can only counter Gu Rongjin, and can't freely use the Mount Yin Sect's martial arts."

"Just being able to counter Gu Rongjin is already impressive!" Qilin said. "Otherwise, we could find someone to test Xiao Yichen further."

"First, we rule you out," Mu Yuanzhi said. "Your martial arts lineage comes from Gu Rongjin."

"Also rule out General Qi—his skills are merely average, so there's no way to test whether Xiao Yichen's strength fluctuates."

"Aside from the Grand Master, who else here is truly strong in martial arts?" the Qilin muttered, unable to think of anyone.

Mu Yuanzhi immediately thought of: "Cloud Mirror Pavilion!"

"Him? That could work."

Thus, Mu Yuanzhi made up her mind to go find Cloud Mirror Pavilion tomorrow.

As they left, Mu Yuanzhi seemed to catch a flash of splendid robes.

Blue robes—could it be the Infant Void Heavenly Son?

But when she focused her gaze, there was no one there.

Perhaps she'd misseen?

After all, it's night—misseeing isn't strange.

Mu Yuanzhi didn't dwell on it.

The Infant Void Heavenly Son purposely sought out the new emperor who had left midway, and found him in the plum grove of Shanglin Park.

At this time of year, the plum blossoms haven't opened yet; the plum trees in the moonlight stand alone, like a lonely silhouette beneath them.

"You really are here."

The new emperor turned around—different from his demeanor at the banquet earlier—and faced the Infant Void Heavenly Son with no smile, gazing coldly at him.

The Infant Void Heavenly Son didn't fabricate excuses for the new emperor's attitude; instead, he remarked intriguingly, "Back when you were in the Infant Void, you especially loved plum blossoms, always lingering in the plum grove."

"You didn't come here just to reminisce, did you?" the new emperor said with a kind smile.

"It's catching up, and also discussing state affairs." said the Emperor of Infant Void, "I, the Lonely King, have come all this way; I couldn't possibly be just here to celebrate Xiao Di's birthday, could I?"

The New Emperor seemed dissatisfied with the title used for the Emperor of Infant Void, his brows furrowed slightly, but he didn't speak.

"In these years in Infant Void, you've been able to so easily recruit troops and buy horses, build up your own power, even infiltrate back to Great Zhou—what's the reason?" asked the Emperor of Infant Void.

The New Emperor curled his lip: "Thanks, Your Majesty of Infant Void, for turning a blind eye."

"I, the Lonely King, am not someone who would make a losing deal."

"What do you want to say? Stop beating around the bush, get straight to the point."

"You were able to ascend the throne smoothly; your foundation relies entirely on me, the Lonely King—giving you a few cities is not too much, is it?" said the Emperor of Infant Void.

The Emperor of Infant Void's words caused the atmosphere to change instantly; the surrounding air seemed to solidify, and the temperature suddenly dropped to freezing point.

The New Emperor seemed to have heard an Arabian Nights tale, "Are you joking?"

"Hahahaha, naturally, is it funny?" the Emperor of Infant Void replied noncommittally.

"What do you think?" the New Emperor said, his smile not reaching his eyes.

"Cities are such important things; naturally we can't just say we'll give them away—we haven't even planned to be enemies with your Great Zhou." said the Emperor of Infant Void, "But the Lonely King indeed holds in hand many good things belonging to you and Xiao Di."