Chapter 225 - That Year, the Ideals of a Group of People (2)

“What is it?” A mildly annoyed voice immediately sounded beside him. Lou Ji appeared at his side, wrapped in a heavy outer robe.

Xu Yuan smiled faintly. He had seen this method of erasing one’s presence before, back when Si Ziyu used it. “Do you still have any human-skin masks?”

Lou Ji frowned. “You want to give one to that man called Bai Zhao?”

Xu Yuan nodded. “Yes.”

“Ah...” Lou Ji let out a delicate sigh, clearly reluctant, but agreed all the same.

“Changtian, you really are a spendthrift. But what can I do when you call me Big Sister?” As she spoke, Lou Ji took an iron box from her Sumeru Ring.

Xu Yuan accepted it, and Lou Ji casually reminded him, “Changtian, the world is vast. There’s no need to leave a potential threat alive.”

Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment, then smiled and shook his head. “I know. But I’m not cold-blooded enough for that yet. He’s no different from Zhou Xiaohe. He rendered us a service.”

Xu Xinyao followed silently behind him, biting her lower lip as she stared at his back with a complicated look in her eyes.

Before long, several soldiers escorted Bai Zhao over.

Yuan Hao tactfully remained some distance away, gazing wistfully at the prosperous streets of Myriad.

The moment Bai Zhao, a middle-aged man with half-gray temples, saw Xu Yuan, he instinctively started to kneel. He stopped himself at the last second and asked quietly, “You wished to see me?”

He had not knelt, nor had he addressed Xu Yuan as the Third Young Master.

As always, he knew exactly where the line was.

Xu Yuan said nothing. He simply handed him the box.

Lou Ji watched with a pained expression and muttered under her breath, “People who don’t manage a household never understand how much firewood and rice cost...”

Xu Yuan gave the old woman a sidelong glance.

Lou Ji snorted softly and turned her face away. Investing something so valuable in an insignificant nobody was a losing proposition, and she was not pleased about it.

Xu Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked at the bewildered Bai Zhao. “You should know what’s inside this box.”

Bai Zhao had seen the box before. He had also heard what the breathtakingly beautiful woman beside the Third Young Master had said. His voice trembled slightly. “A... mask.”

Xu Yuan smiled faintly. “Then what is your choice?”

Bai Zhao dropped to his knees after all. His entire body shook as he knelt before Xu Yuan. “What virtue or ability does this Bai possess to deserve such kindness from you...?”

Xu Yuan looked down at him, his voice calm. “Bai Zhao, you’re a clever man. You should understand what putting on this mask means.”

“I understand...”

“Then your choice?”

Bai Zhao said nothing. He lowered his head and gave Xu Yuan a solemn bow.

“Bai Zhao died today. Think of a new name for yourself and leave. In a little while, someone will arrange new work for you.” Xu Yuan smiled. Then he waved the man away and continued down the road with Yuan Hao and Xu Xinyao.

Lou Ji did not follow. She remained beside the kneeling middle-aged man and asked gently, “You were called Bai Zhao, correct?”

“Bai Zhao is already dead, my lady.” His forehead remained pressed against the ground. He did not dare look up. By now, he had more or less guessed the identity of the woman accompanying the Third Young Master.

“It seems you’ve guessed who I am?” Lou Ji asked with interest.

“Lady Lou Ji,” he replied quietly.

Lou Ji folded her arms beneath her chest and spoke at an unhurried pace. “Very clever. Since you know who I am, there’s no need for me to say much more. Work hard, and whatever you do, don’t disappoint Changtian.”

With that, her presence vanished.

A long time passed before Bai Zhao slowly rose and looked toward the figure at the center of the distant group. His fists clenched tightly.

Only after Xu Yuan had gradually disappeared into the distance did he bow deeply once more.

ᯓ➤

After walking for a while, Xu Yuan glanced sideways at Lou Ji and said with a smile, “Big Sister, don’t look at me like that. If we’re taking over the local businesses, we’ll need someone who knows the territory to guide us, won’t we?”

Lou Ji sighed airily. “What would a mere gang leader know about running businesses?”

Xu Yuan looked rather surprised. “You haven’t read Bai Zhao’s file?”

Lou Ji shrugged, and the ample wickedness beneath her clothes swayed along with the motion. “Your big sister is a very busy woman. My subordinates handle trifling matters like that.”

Xu Yuan chuckled. “He really is only a gang leader, but he managed to hide more than 3,000 men without attracting attention. That means he must have greased palms in several of the nearby major commanderies and knows the local situation well.

“Besides, Bai Zhao ran a merchant guild 15 years ago, and it wasn’t a small one. Unfortunately, he reached his hands beyond his proper territory, so the other powers swallowed the whole thing. After that, he behaved himself and settled for running an underground gang.”

Without cultivation or powerful backing, the more wealth a man possessed, the healthier and more tempting a leek he became in the eyes of sects and great clans.

Lou Ji chuckled when she heard this. “You plan to put him in charge of the merchant guilds we’re taking over?”

Xu Yuan shook his head. “Of course not. At most, I’ll give him a deputy position and see how he performs. There’s no way I’d hand him that much authority right away. But with a local snake like him around, the people Old Master Hua sends over should have a much easier time.”

Lou Ji smiled sweetly. “The way you handle things resembles your father in his younger days.”

Xu Yuan smiled. “Thank you for the compliment, though being compared to him somehow leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”

“Oh?” Lou Ji’s smile grew even brighter. She hooked her arm through his. “It seems our Changtian has rather grand ambitions.”

Xu Yuan shrugged, then asked, “Big Sister, I’ve always wondered. With a personality like yours, why have you remained under my father all these years?”

In several of Azure Point’s storylines, Lou Ji had taken her own life after Xu Yinhe died. And she had not been the only one. Hua Hong. Zong Qingsheng. Bai Dai...

These high-ranking figures in Azure Point had all calmly chosen death after learning of Xu Yinhe’s passing, as though they had finally been released from some lifelong burden.

In Xu Yuan’s memories, his father had usually been little more than a silent, faintly smiling figure seen from behind.

Lou Ji considered the question seriously. Her eyes lowered as she murmured, “There were many reasons, I suppose. I respected your father’s character, admired his methods, and looked up to his talent. But more importantly, he carried our ideals upon his shoulders.”

Xu Yuan fell quiet for a moment. “Ideals... a peaceful and prosperous age?”

“Yes.” Lou Ji released his arm and stretched languidly in front of him, then raised her eyes toward the sky. “That was how it began. Now, perhaps we simply want to see how far he can lead us. People change, after all.”

Xu Yuan suddenly fell silent.

Lou Ji tilted her head and leaned closer, smiling playfully. “Feeling the pressure?”

Xu Yuan rolled his eyes and joked, “Of course I am. Given the choice, I truly wouldn’t want to inherit this whole mess. It’s far too exhausting.”

Despite the joking tone, Lou Ji went silent.

Seeing her expression, Xu Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly. He suddenly realized that, as the foremost figure of the Blackscale Guard, Lou Ji might already have sensed that something was wrong with Xu Yinhe’s health.

And his careless joke might just have confirmed her suspicions.

Their eyes met, but neither said anything.

Lou Ji smiled and tapped him lightly on the head, acting as though nothing had happened. “You performed quite well this time. As your examiner, Big Sister is very satisfied.”

Then she looked toward the mountain gate of the Myriad Manifestations Sect.

When she turned back, her gaze was unusually gentle. “Changtian, you succeeded.”

As her words fell, an aged voice drifted slowly from within the town. “Young Master, this old man has come to honor our appointment.”