Chapter 205: Heaven Sent You Back to Help Me

What made Ye Tinglan feel the Empire wasn't utterly ruined was that Shen Tang ultimately didn't stay the night here, proving she still had some shame.

Sleeping over at Lu Xingzhou's place in front of countless disciples would destroy the Sect Master's dignity, and it might even reach Gu Zhanting's ears. No matter how reluctant Shen Tang was to leave Lu Xingzhou's arms, she finally gritted her teeth and slipped away under cover of night.

The moment the sun peeked above the horizon, disciples began drifting in twos and threes toward the Grand Training Grounds for morning practice; Shen Tang deliberately wandered out, made a public appearance, uttered a few encouraging platitudes before slipping off again to Spirit Spring Mountain.

Upon arrival, she saw An Nuo eating breakfast from afar, while Ye Lady sat a little distance away by the pool, seemingly more interested in the water. Lu Xingzhou carried over a tray to her, acting like a servant serving his master.

The tray held only a few fruits—local specialties of Xiazhou—and Lu Xingzhou was saying: "I feel you don't eat much meat, and plain buns or wheat dishes mean little to you; fruit should suit you better."

Ye Tinglan glanced at him, and a small warmth stirred in her heart.

Even Miss Qingli never paid attention to such trivial details as what her master liked to eat—after all, such things held no significance for a cultivator like her. Yet Lu Xingzhou, having seen her eat only once or twice, had already deduced this—proof of his keen observation and genuine, meticulous care.

Though perhaps it's just a prerequisite for a sea king.

Thinking of this so-called "pity for the fair and cherish the delicate," Ye Tinglan's warmth turned to a cold sneer, and she said coolly: "Just set it down."

Lu Xingzhou didn't press; he placed it aside.

Then Ye Tinglan added: "Whether you and Shen Tang are anything more than acquaintances, you must still maintain distance."

Lu Xingzhou said: "We'll be careful. Shen Tang didn't even stay the night here…"

"Careful? With so many disciples watching yesterday, your gazes could've spun silk—do you really think no one noticed?"

Lu Xingzhou sighed helplessly: "We couldn't help it—it was beyond our control. We can't avoid seeing each other."

Ye Tinglan truly meant well, but she couldn't reveal Shen Tang's true identity, nor could she invoke the Emperor's reaction—so she could only say: "Best to see each other less."

"Not necessary, not necessary…"

To Shen Tang's ears, this was nearly explosive—how dare this woman sow discord between us? Clearly, this old hag has ulterior motives toward Xingzhou—how accurate is my sixth sense?

Shen Tang wheeled her chair like a bolt of lightning, rumbling up to them: "Master, focus on your alchemy. Whether the Sect Master and Guest Elder of Bi Sect should meet—let alone whether you can control it, even their parents couldn't interfere."

Wrong—you father truly can. Ye Tinglan glared at Shen Tang, her tone laden with implication: "Is the Shen Sect Master the sort to neglect the sect's development for romantic entanglements?"

This wasn't a test of the Sect Master's position—Shen Tang didn't know that, and replied with unshakable confidence: "The sect only grew after I got together with Xingzhou—proof that things must be improved greatly and thoroughly."

Ye Tinglan held back: "And what about Xingzhou?"

"Since joining me, Xingzhou's legs healed, his cultivation soared—so he must be improved greatly and thoroughly too."

Ye Tinglan's mind filled with ellipses. She ate the fruit expressionlessly, turned her head to gaze at the pool, and refused to engage Shen Tang further.

If your father and brothers learned that the brilliant, terrifying Princess Chaohuang was in fact a top-tier love-struck fool, they wouldn't even need to break your legs—brain damage is far worse.

Lu Xingzhou watched Shen Tang's feline possessiveness with a smile, clearly seeing her misunderstanding—but found it adorable. Only after she finished did he wheel her chair inside and whisper in her ear: "Done declaring ownership?"

Shen Tang grumbled: "Knew you two had something going."

Lu Xingzhou laughed and exasperatedly changed the subject: "Now that the sect has more people, leaving this mountain idle will surely upset many. We should use it. There's no point keeping it empty—you want to reserve a courtyard for me? Just keep the area around the pool on the summit. This pool can't be disturbed by others anyway; keeping the whole mountain is pure waste."

Shen Tang beamed: "To reserve a courtyard for you, I only needed to mark off an area. I kept the whole mountain on purpose."

"Hmm?"

"First, it's a loyalty test—our sect's composition is mixed, so I needed to see who'd jump around. Second, it's a guide: one mountain isn't enough; we must look where to expand." Shen Tang smiled: "We've annexed the Dan Ding Gang behind us—you know that? Now we have another mountain."

Lu Xingzhou didn't mention he'd already heard of it outside; he simply said: "When I arrived, I saw from above that the great array now covered one more mountain—I wondered what had changed. So it was the Sect Master's brilliant strategy—you've worked hard these past months…"

Ye Tinglan broke out in goosebumps, her gaze probing toward An Nuo—as if asking: Did your master always act this repulsive?

An Nuo, chewing a bun, nodded solemnly.

"Of course I worked hard—but I still felt uneasy." Shen Tang happily gripped his hand: "Now that you're back, I'm not uneasy anymore—finally someone to advise me." "The county seat relocation?"

"Knew you'd understand." Shen Tang beamed even brighter: "I feared triggering Father's suspicion—if he thinks this place is too good, he might have other ideas… I couldn't discuss this with anyone else. I mentioned it to Shen Qi a few times—he just drinks. I was at a loss, and then you returned—wasn't heaven sending you to me?"

Ye Tinglan shivered.

I sent you—otherwise Lu Xingzhou would still be in Pei Chuyun's bed. So am I your heaven? And you still snarl at me?

Lu Xingzhou said: "We need a two-pronged approach. First, I've already arranged for the new Prefect to downplay the spiritual energy conditions… In truth, the spiritual energy here hasn't peaked yet; even now, it's only second-rate. Reporting it as such will likely provoke no strong reaction from your father. To treat a mere second-rate spiritual mountain as a dire threat? That's a sign of weak confidence."

Shen Tang blinked: "How… how did you get the new Prefect to cooperate? Due to the previous demon incident, he was chosen very carefully—he's been here months, and we've tried contacting him. He's extremely upright."

Lu Xingzhou cleared his throat: "A former retainer of the Pei family."

"So…" Shen Tang hesitated: "Should I praise you for Pei Chuyun's good pick?"

Lu Xingzhou fell silent. You could praise him if you wanted.

Shen Tang really didn't want to praise that—her bright expression twisted into a pout: "What's the second prong? Another woman?"

Lu Xingzhou: "…"

It really was a woman.

Ye Lady is here—while she's present, her power is strongest; we must strike swiftly and establish authority.

Not daring to speak plainly with Ye Lady present, he said: "Relocating the county seat will also shift the martial world's balance. For example, the Dongjiang Gang once believed they controlled the county's core, monopolizing all resource flows—now they're stuck in a county town, their geographic significance collapsed. They'll inevitably relocate to Xiazhou, placing them directly beside us. The old feud between Dongjiang Gang and Burning Incense Pavilion will now replay between us."

Shen Tang nodded: "I've thought of this too."

Lu Xingzhou said: "I've observed that after these months, our status as Xiazhou's top sect is now widely accepted. The former Huo residence and merchant sites have become commercial districts—far greater pressure than Burning Incense Pavilion ever exerted on Dongjiang Gang. They can no longer claim to be the county's top power without confronting us—conflict is inevitable."

"Such sect conflicts rarely erupt as chaotically as Burning Incense Pavilion once did to us. Dongjiang Gang and Burning Incense Pavilion feuded for years—yet all they did was exchange false smiles when they met, maybe some minor clashes between disciples." Shen Tang lowered her voice: "Now that you're back, I have more confidence. I'm considering provoking higher-level friction—what do you think?"

Ye Tinglan narrowed her eyes.

If I recall correctly, you once teamed up with Dongjiang Gang to fight Burning Incense Pavilion. Is this sudden betrayal a trait of emperors?

Lu Xingzhou nodded approvingly: "We must act proactively. Now it's them invading our territory—we must meet them as hosts, crush them, and establish in the entire county that we are the true power."

Shen Tang asked: "How?"

"Dongjiang Gang is essentially a large escort guild and small river transport guild—handling logistics and protection. When scaled to true river transport guild levels, such services are hard to replace—but at Dongjiang Gang's scale, it's a business with no moat, easily replaceable."

"So… we just steal their business?"

"Exactly." Lu Xingzhou said: "We now have sufficient manpower. Before Dongjiang Gang fully moves in, we start offering the same services ourselves. When they arrive, they'll be the ones stealing business—we can suppress and drive them out with full moral justification. Our reason is stronger than anyone's: the old Tianxing Sword Sect operated under escort protection, but actually handled imperial merchant affairs. Others may not know about imperial merchants, but they all know our original trade was escort and transport. Now that we're stronger, reviving our roots—who can object?"

Shen Tang's eyes lit up eagerly: "Then they'll either endure being slowly crushed by us, or be driven to violence. Once they strike first, they lose public opinion—and we can replay the Burning Incense Pavilion incident."

Lu Xingzhou glanced at her, smiled, and patted her head: "You're ruthless."

Shen Tang grumbled: "Learned it from you."

"Reenacting the incident at the Burning Incense Tower will not be easy; it depends on how things unfold. They may reach out to our old enemies from before—the Cangshan Sword Sect, the Lingyun Gate, and so on... The situation is more formidable than back then, but so are we. Moreover, we now hold a greater advantage: the Prefect stands on our side... The only thing we cannot determine is whether unknown death knights will emerge from the shadows again."

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PS: Still begging for monthly votes, whimper whimper whimper~

(End of this chapter)