Chapter 25: Plot against Zhao Fan? Court death.
The next day,
After lots and lots of rounds, and some cultivation later...
The incense had long since burned down to twisted threads, the bed of phoenix silk soaked in heavenly ruin and the weight of fulfilled sin, and Zhao Fan now sat at the edge of the ruined mattress.
His posture was upright, his robes loosely draped across his shoulders, not bothering to hide the faint glow of yang qi still emanating from his skin like heat off divine metal.
And beside him, the Immortal Master knelt on the floor with her legs folded beneath her, her bare skin flush with lingering warmth, a silken sheet wrapped around her waist like a poorly tied sash, her cheeks still blushed with shame and strange serenity.
Her eyes lowered not in fear but in obedience, the kind of quiet that follows surrender, not defeat, her jade hairpins scattered across the tiles, her spiritual core faintly pulsing with yang resonance, and behind the translucent mirror wall of the jade palanquin...
Ye Chen remained unmoving, his body curled like a discarded scroll, his breath shallow, his cheeks tear-streaked and swollen, his broken yang meridians offering no resistance, no hope, only stillness, as he watched the two like a ghost at his own funeral.
Zhao finally moved, one hand flicking, and a glowing black robe, embroidered with dragons of red flame and phoenixes of blood-gold thread, unfolded midair and landed on his shoulders with an elegance that did not belong to mortals.
He rose, towering in silence, his bare feet stepping over a trail of fallen cultivation relics and torn inner robes, until he stood before the kneeling woman.
"It seems Senior managed to touch the threshold of the Ninth stage of the nascent soul realm," Zhao Fan said sensing she was already the at peak of the eighth stage and was about to reach the ninth stage.
"It's all grace Young Master bestowed upon me, also, this one goes by the name Yi Xin Yue," She responded earnestly like a calm breeze.
"If Young Master wishes, you can call me Maid Yi, or concubine Yi too..." Her cheeks brushed like cheery blooms.
The name Senior sounds quite unholy after what they have done under the closed quarters hiding from the sun, moon, and stars.
Zhao's gaze lingered on her bowed head, the way her spine curved not in weakness but in trained submission, like a sword sheathed in velvet.
"Maid Yi, then," he said, voice indifferent, yet final, the name sealing her new identity, like a decree etched onto the stone.
Yi Xin Yue nodded, her eyes shimmering with gratitude and faint longing, "This concubine shall uphold her use. My Dao, my body; both belong to Young Master from now on,"
Zhao adjusted his robe, then glanced at the shattered incense holder.
"It seems something is going on... Tell me," He said looking at his shadow.
Li Mei, gracefully rose from the shadow.
"Forgive my presence, Young Master, however, Yesterday, Young Master Zhao Yung graced the Elder Wang with his presence, I fear, Young Master Zhao Yung is planning something sinister," She reported earnestly.
"Oh!?" Zhao Fan smirked.
That big brother of mine still has the courage to plot against this venerable one?
How laughable, have eyes but unable to distinguish the difference between mountain and sea.
Interesting... Last time, I sent him the recording of his fiancee, this time, I shall send the recording of his mother.
Zhao Fan stood with hands clasped behind his back, his hair loose, divine qi curling around him like mist as he gazed toward the rising sun.
Li Mei remained half-kneeling, eyes lowered, her blue dress fluttering like crow feathers around her pale calves, sharp and silent as an assassin's blade.
Yi Xin Yue quietly stood behind him, already having redressed in light phoenix-embroidered silks, her expression calm, her presence dignified despite the lingering pain between her thighs.
She couldn't even stand properly.
...
Zhao Fan's voice was casual, but laced with frost, "So, my dear brother dares gather allies while licking wounds left by my shadow? Pathetic... Does he truly think he can hold even a candle against me? "
"I fear there is a method... As per your command, I had installed a listening formation jade into the dead body of that dead disciple, and I heard something like a talisman that can even degrade the Holy realm powerhouse to the first stage of the nascent soul realm," She replied.
"Oh? A soul-forged talisman capable of degrading the Holy Emperor to the first stage of nascent soul realm cultivator... I fear someone else must have given it to him, so, he is a traitor to the family, hehe, dare to plot against me?" Zhao Fan's lips curved into a faint smile, eyes turning a deep red.
Snap!
Zhao snapped his finger and from within the space, a strange glass bottle descended...
"This is Trurth-speaking Gu, make sure to use them on Zhao Yung's minion and collect evidence," Zhao Fan said.
"Wonderful... With the evidence, the ancestors of the family will surely end Young Master Zhao Yung's life for going against family," Li Mei smiled.
"How naive, we aren't going to present these any evidence to family ancestors but rather to Concubine Zhu," Zhao fan simply responded.
"Concubine Zhu? No Young Master... How can we hand the evidence of Young Master Zhao Yung colliding with someone to harm you to her? She will definitely try to protect her own son," Maid spoke her mind.
"You misunderstood, If I really wanted to kill Zhao Yung, I would have long done it, I just thought Concubine Zhu could be a good puppet controlled right under my palm,"
"Concubine Zhu…" he repeated softly.
"A woman of pride and elegance… yet still a woman. A mother. And a mother will always protect her child, even when that child is not worth saving,"
Li Mei remained motionless, her head bowed. "Then Young Master intends to manipulate the maternal bond?"
Zhao nodded slowly. "Not just manipulate; hollow it out and replace it with dependence, gratitude, and desire."
Yi Xin Yue's brows twitched slightly, but she said nothing, only folding her hands before her in silent reverence.
"I understand..."
Wooosh~
Li Mei's figure vanished.
...
Zhao Fan, looked at Maid Yi but said nothing.
He recalled his father, his father is a trash cultivator, and this was a perfect opportunity to test the depth of the sea.
Not only will Zhao Fan send the recording to Zhao Yung, but also his Father.
If the father chooses to remain silent due to his lack of strength, Zhao Fan will also try to seduce his mother, and even if he speaks, so what?
In the cultivation world if you don't have strength, even a pig will pee at you, let alone your own kin.
+---+
( A/N: If you donate me castle, or just donate lots of power stone and golden ticket, I will make his father a cuck-fetish guy, after all, someone has to keep the bloodline pure, thanks for the car DebauchedSage you are THE GOAT🔥🔥)