Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

The night, the moonlight cold as frost.

Qingshui County, the Night Patrol Bureau.

The merciless raindrops pattered against the banana leaves outside the house, making crisp pattering sounds, while the bright light from the windowsill cast two black seated silhouettes.

At this moment, two figures inside the room are drinking tea.

One of them is dressed as a scholar, with a tall headdress and wide belts, but the beard on his face is quite peculiar.

The other is a burly man with bushy hair and beard.

"Eunuch Wu, an urgent report has come from Yang City, the situation is critical. It's said that traces of Ghost Worship Sect followers have been discovered. Why has the eunuch been persistently preventing our capable people from investigating?"

"If we drag out the time, it will be too late. This matter requires swift and decisive action, not delay!"

"It is said that many citizens in Yang City have already been infected with the Black Seal. If the situation is left to develop, the two hundred thousand citizens of Yang City will truly be doomed."

As the current official in charge of the Night Patrol Bureau in Qingshui County, Tie Shi couldn't help but voice his question hoarsely to the 'scholar' in front of him, raising his voice by a notch due to anxiety.

"Why pursue them? Isn't it good to let that bunch of delinquents be?"

"What, Tie Shi, are you questioning me, or are you questioning the secret order from the Great Qian Cabinet?"

The 'scholar' glanced at the burly man in front of him, a chill flashing across his face. Then, recalling the entangled relationship between the Tie Family and the Night Patrol Bureau, he suddenly smiled, his icy facade melting away, and he began to enlighten:

"Tie Sir, I've come here secretly carrying a core secret order. You should know, even with ten heads, I wouldn't dare to forge a secret order from the Cabinet's core."

"The matter in Yang City, for our Great Qian, is currently not an uncommon issue. Tie Shi, your vision only sees the corner of Qingshui County, failing to consider the entire Great Qian. You don't understand the difficulties faced by the officials in the Court."

"If we invest sufficient strength, we can certainly resolve the situation in Yang City. But what about the future?"

The middle-aged scholar addressed as Eunuch Wu now laughs coldly in a duck-like voice.

"What future? What do you mean by that, Eunuch? In East Continent Hezhou, we have the Heavenly Star Sect and the Moon Concealing Sect suppressing Qi Fortune. Be it the Ghost Worship Sect or the True Blood Sect, as long as they dare to invade our territory, we should strike them down as we have done previously, without concern for the future. Could the eunuch speak more clearly?"

At this moment, faced with the explanation from the middle-aged scholar, Tie Shi showed a puzzled look.

"Heh, that's why I said you only see this corner of Qingshui County and cannot see the entire world. Well then, since you're from a Family and considering the regard I have for the Tie Chief, I shall speak a few more words."

"Times have changed, nowadays, the era has shifted."

"The Strength of the stars is waning, while the Strength of the Ghost Worship Sect and the True Blood Sect is resurging. Our Court's experts have already clarified that the old ancestors of both sects who were Suppressed yesteryear are showing signs of revival. Tell me, how should our Great Qian survive in the future?"

"Should Great Qian directly confront the Ghost Worship Sect and the True Blood Sect's edge, do you wish for Great Qian, for the sake of Heavenly Star Sect and Moon Concealing Sect, to bleed dry until its last drop?"

The middle-aged scholar looked at the puzzled Tie Shi, his voice carrying a chilling intent.

Tie Shi fell silent for a long while before lifting his head with difficulty, his voice dry:

"So... you mean to say, both the Families and Great Qian have now decisively chosen to stand with the Alien Species?"

"Idiotic!"

"Tie Shi, while brave and loyal, you lack Astonishing Wisdom. Great Qian stands with neither the Alien Species nor the Heavenly Star Sect; Great Qian only wishes to preserve our ancestors' legacy and stand with the victors."

"The current Sect Masters of both the Ghost Worship Sect and the True Blood Sect are prodigies. This is the tacit understanding our Great Qian has with them."

"We shall let them take the borderlands and let the Heavenly Star Sect fight it out with them, engage in combat until the heavens turn dark. If the Heavenly Star Sect wants us to turn against the Ghost Worship Sect, they must show sincerity and no longer dismiss us with trifles like before."

"Let me tell you, there are not only I as Special Envoys presently."

At this moment, the middle-aged scholar's face was utterly indifferent, sitting upright, he now looked like a chess player, and all living beings in the borderlands of Great Qian, mere chess pieces."

"Eunuch, can we trust the words of Alien Species?" said Tie Shi with difficulty, a hint of disbelief flashing across his face, seemingly unwilling to accept such a truth.

"Whether to believe or not, it's not your place to decide, Tie Shi. Moreover, our Great Qian naturally has obtained reliable assurances from other sources."

"If tomorrow the flags atop the walls change to the King's banners, our Great Qian on this Eastern Continent will remain unyielding, enduring for ten thousand years, Immortal."

"And if the Heavenly Star Sect prevails, we can swiftly change our stance. In return, I offer my head to the Heavenly Star Sect as a gift. It is due to us Guardian Eunuchs acting arrogantly that things have come to this."

After taking a sip of the fragrant tea on the table, the middle-aged scholar continued at a leisurely pace,

"Besides, we are not favoring either side; we are merely not helping either."

"In the future, should the Heavenly Star Sect inquire, we have our explanations ready. Regarding Yang City, did we not also send a squad to support them?"

"If we don't care or ask about anything, that's an attitude problem. But if we truly can't spare the manpower, then there's no blaming Great Qian," said the middle-aged scholar.

"You want the horse to run, but you don't want to feed the horse. There's no such cheap deal in the world."

"Eunuch, is there really no room left for maneuver? This...this will result in many deaths."

"Countless commoners will die in this catastrophe."

Tie Shi clenched his fists in his sleeves till his knuckles turned deathly white and spoke again.

This time, the middle-aged scholar, after hearing the hoarse voice of Tie Shi, also fell silent. After a long while, he raised his head and said,

"Tie Shi, perhaps... this is life."

"The commoners on the border are mere pawns, aren't we, too, just pieces pushed forward in the game?"

"Caught in the Martial World, one cannot control their own destiny!"

The middle-aged scholar put down his tea cup heavily, spilling the tea and wetting the table.

"Eunuch, the Heavenly Star Sect is not foolish. They will not allow us to waver and refuse to commit," Tie Shi rummaged through his thoughts, finally finding another reason to continue his questioning.

"Tie Shi, do you think you alone are kindhearted, caring for the people of Yang City, while I'm the heartless and unrighteous villain? I, too, come from Qingshui County. No one is devoid of emotion, but there's no choice in this matter, it's decided by the courtiers of the Court," said the eunuch.

"Let me tell you more. It's not just Great Qian acting as a wallflower; more than half of the Sects in the Eastern Continent are like Great Qian, observing from the sidelines, and some even have secret dealings with the Ghost Worship Sect."

"If you really want to be exacting, Great Qian still needs to save face."

"The Heavenly Star Sect and the Moon Concealing Sect are not gods. If a major war breaks out, then there's no need to fight at all; the entire Eastern Continent would instantly descend into chaos, with fires of war everywhere."

"Moreover, the Heavenly Star Sect and the Moon Concealing Sect have been untouchable for a long time, and the courtiers have tolerated them for a long time. This is a once-in-a-millennium opportunity," the eunuch continued.

"Of course, in order not to become the target, His Majesty has decreed that we can open the royal treasury, offering treasures, Jade Coins as rewards in private, inviting heroes who are willing to oppose the Ghost Worship Sect and the True Blood Sect to quell the turmoil."

"As long as... they are not afraid of earning fortunes without getting to spend them."

"In any case, Great Qian's elites cannot be the forerunners for others, dying in the darkness before dawn; this is our future bargaining chip with the major powers," declared the eunuch.

The middle-aged scholar looked deeply at the man in front of him, seeing his bloodshot eyes and nearly splitting corners of his eyes, and couldn't help feeling a bit of pity.

He gently patted the shoulder of the man sitting before him like a lion and said:

"Tie Shi, you are a loyal and brave man, but often, it's the loyal and brave who do not live long."

"Today, this old man gives you four words - 'Haste not; all will come round!'"

"Don't be too pessimistic. People die for wealth, as birds die for food. With heavy rewards, we can invite Loose Cultivator experts to wade through these troubled waters," the scholar advised.

"In doing so, we can justify our actions to the common folk, the Heavenly Star Sect, the Court, and even the Alien Species across the continent," continued the scholar.

"Hasn't Great Qian been saving up Jade Coins, treasures, Elixirs, and Magic Artifacts for countless years just for such a time as this?"

"So, let's wait and see, and don't do anything foolish. Being part of the Tie Family means nothing in this great upheaval!"

After warning Tie Shi once more, the middle-aged scholar swept his wide sleeves and strode out of the room, leaving Tie Shi alone in silence. With the candlelight flickering, his tall silhouette couldn't help but stoop slightly.

——

Storms brew as the wind fills the pavilion.

Today, Yang City is especially bustling.

At high noon, another troop of men gallops from afar.

The leader of the troop is thin as a stick, as if a gust of wind could snap his slender waist.

Behind him are seven or eight grey-haired Fanzi, their formation disordered, looking around as if unaccustomed to their surroundings. If Yi Chen were here, he would inevitably know that these kinds of people have a label: "slick old hands."

Of course, Yi Chen would not witness this scene, as at the moment, he has already become untraceable in the Flower Pavilion.

Though today was the day he mortgaged his estate to the three big families of Yang City, they were already hosting a banquet, naturally lacking the time to bother him with the mortgage deed.

Naturally, even if they were inclined to do so, Yi Chen wouldn't be afraid since the deed he had written that day had been tampered with in advance through a little trick of his own.

This trick is called "chemistry," a minor formula Yi Chen saw in his previous life by chance. Its function is simple; if Yi Chen's guess isn't wrong, by now, if anyone from the three big families opens the deed, they would find it completely blank, just a piece of white paper.

He had no choice, for Yi Chengzi, a prodigy of the Prison System, had his Astonishing Wisdom overflowing in his previous life. Although he didn't make use of this skill before, now it has come in handy—a case of 'a man of many talents never caught short.'