In the past, Zhou Zhili definitely would’ve taken some time to think it over. After all, he’d tried to rope Su Yi in repeatedly, only for each attempt to end in failure.

This made him increasingly aware that a ‘fallen immortal’ like Su Yi would never submit to his control.

But now, setting aside the debt they owed Su Yi for saving Chang Guoke’s life, the fact that Su Yi had slaughtered three Grandmasters in the process meant that Zhou Zhili could never agree to Yu Baiting’s conditions. 

Yu Baiting watched as the prince raised his head and said expressionlessly, “Family Head Yu, there’s no harm in telling you that, in my eyes, your Yu Family’s support isn’t worth even a single one of Young Lord Su’s fingers. You and the Yu Family… had best watch yourselves!”

With that, he rose and left with a swish of his sleeves. 

Qing Jin, Chang Guoke, and Mu Zhongting immediately followed.

Inside, they just found this whole thing ridiculous. Kill Su Yi? Has Yu Baiting gone mad?

Yu Baiting watched them leave, then sat there in cold silence for quite some time.

Finally, the elderly servant beside him couldn’t help but lament, “Su Yi is just one person, but for his sake, His Sixth Highness was even willing to offend the Yu Family. How foolish of him!”

“Foolish? No, he’s quite clever.” Yu Baiting picked up the wine jug and poured himself a drink. “Su Yi is just a Qi Accumulation youth, but he managed to fight his way into the Bloodflame Wolf pack and slay their king. Not even a first-level Grandmaster like Qiao Leng could do something like that.

“But never mind that. Even… Even Elder Wen fell at his hands….” When he said this, a hint of gloom surfaced on his brow, and his heart ached.

Elder Wen was proficient in all manner of secret arts, and he was a second-level Grandmaster of the older generation. He’d always been one of Yu Baiting’s most capable supporters.

There were numerous matters that couldn’t see the light of day. Elder Wen had always dealt with them, swiftly and competently. Yet, he'd died just last night, at the hands of that young man!

Yu Baiting had examined the elder’s wounds. It looked as if the little red snake ate him alive, but in reality, the fatal blow was dealt to his soul!

Even Elder Wen’s eyes, the source of his strongest technique, the Soul-Capturing Dharma Eyes, were destroyed!

This only further highlighted Su Yi’s terrifyingness.

“Clever?” The elderly servant didn’t quite understand.

“If I had a terrifying figure like Su Yi at my side, how could I possibly be foolish enough to trade him for a little support? That would be no different from crippling myself.” Yu Baiting took a sip of wine, savoring the burn of the alcohol. “Last night, I made up my mind to stand with Xiang Tianqiu and support the second prince. I invited the sixth prince over today purely to get a sense of his attitude.”

The elderly servant’s expression shifted. “I see. Your Excellency, you made up your mind a long time ago.”

“It’s not that I made up my mind a long time ago. It’s that the message Su Yi had Qiao Leng pass on left me no other choice,” said Bai Yuting, his gaze cold and piercing. 

“What did he say?”

“He said that the next time he was in a bad mood, he’d pay our Yu Family a visit…. Heh heh, it’s been a long time since I’ve been on the receiving end of such a threat.”

“That boy is simply too brazen!” The elderly servant’s expression darkened.

Yu Baiting broke into a sinister smile, his eyes flashing and murderous. “Brazen? A young man like that? No, if he dared make such a threat, he’ll surely dare to carry it out. There’s only one way to make him give up on the idea.”

He raised the wine jug and refilled his cup, his tone level. “If we kill him, it’ll all be over.” Then, he raised the cup to his lips and drained it.

The servant said solemnly, “Your Excellency, doesn’t that mean we’ll soon clash with His Sixth Highness head-on?”

“You’re mistaken,” said Yu Baiting with a smile. “I visited Xiang Tianqiu last night precisely because I planned to borrow the second prince’s power to resolve this.”

The elderly servant’s eyes lit up. As of today, three of the provincial capital’s top factions were in the second prince’s camp: the provincial government, the Zhao Family, and the Bai Family!

All of them towered like giants.

Add the Yu Family to the mix, and the sixth prince shouldn’t even think about influencing the choice of the next provincial governor!

The best part was, the Yu Family could exploit the power of their alliance to force the sixth prince to his knees.

Once the sixth prince fell, how could Su Yi possibly escape?

“Last night, Xiang Tianqiu already agreed: so long as our Yu Family expresses its support for the second prince, they’ll help us resolve this incident,” said Yu Baiting flatly. “With a weapon like that at my disposal, it’d be a waste not to use it….”

……

“I wonder what Young Lord Su did last night to infuriate that old fogey Yu Baiting to such an extent? Did he really think I’d agree to his conditions? If so, he’s gone senile!” On his way back to the Zheng Family estate, Zhou Zhili suddenly burst into cold laughter.

The arrogance Yu Baiting displayed earlier had already infuriated him.

“Your Highness, this is actually good news for us!” laughed Mu Zhongting. “Due to this incident, although Young Lord Su has yet to officially join our camp, he might as well have, and the methods at his disposal are more than enough to make the Yu Family suffer a massive loss!"

Chang Guoke furrowed his brow. “Are you planning to use Young Lord Su as a weapon?”

His tone was chilling. Mu Zhongting hurriedly backpedaled. “Brother Chang, please don’t misunderstand. I have no intentions of exploiting Young Lord Su; I was just analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of our current situation.”

“Martial Uncle Chang is right,” said Zhou Zhili solemnly. “Young Lord Su has done so much for us; we can’t even consider using him. Once my uncle discovers his current location, I’ll be sure to pay him a visit in person and tell him about that old fogey Yu Baiting’s attitude. It doesn’t matter whether or not he agrees to help out; I guarantee I’ll stand beside him!” His words rang out, forceful and decisive.

“You’re straightforward and magnanimous, both in the face of both enmity and benevolence,” said Chang Guoke admiringly. “That’s what a man ought to be like!”

Qing Jin couldn’t help but purse her ample red lips in disdain. “Senior Apprentice Brother, you don’t know this, but Su Yi already occupies an irreplaceably lofty position in His Highness’ heart. If Su Yi were female, I’m afraid His Highness would have long since prostrated himself before ‘her’ pomegranate skirts.”

Zhou Zhili instantly felt awkward. “Martial Aunt, you can’t say that! This is called mutual respect and support. In my heart, Young Lord Su is an unparalleled and distinguished citizen, with absolute strength of character and a majestic bearing. Although I cannot reach his level, I long for it.’

But Qing Jin just rolled her eyes. “Save your words of flattery for him.”

Zhou Zhili sighed to himself. It seems that ever since Young Lord Su hit her, Martial Aunt's mouth has gotten harsher.

……

The Goldstone Pavilion. 

“Young Lord, going forward, you can use this nameplate to enjoy first-class treatment, no matter which branch of the Goldstone Pavilion you visit,” said a charming, sultry woman in a dress the color of water. She smiled gently, then handed the blue-robed youth before her a nameplate.

She was called Hua Yan, and she was responsible for the Imperatorial Provincial Capital branch of the Goldstone Pavilion. She looked roughly twenty years old, and her make-up was subtle, elegant, and effective. Her long dress was tailored to bring out her ample curves, and her long legs were smooth as jade. In short, her figure was remarkable.

Su Yi casually accepted it, then passed it to Cha Jin. “Hold onto this.”

Cha Jin immediately and carefully and deftly put it away.

When Hua Yan saw this, a hint of a strange light flickered through her pretty eyes.

Cha Jin’s good looks qualified her as a peerless beauty, and she even had a rare charm about her. Why would someone like her work as this blue-robed young man’s servant? It’s really quite surprising. 

When she recalled the spiritual weapons and materials Su Yi had just sold to them, she couldn’t help but feel curious. Just who is this boy, and where did he come from?

“If I have free time, I’ll visit again,” said Su Yi. He turned to leave.

“You’re welcome any time,” said Hua Yan with a smile as she personally showed him to the door.

Just as he was about to exit the Goldstone Pavilion, Su Yi asked out of nowhere, “You called yourself ‘Hua Yan’, like the idiom for sweet talk, ‘Huayan, Qiaoyu’. Don’t tell me you have a sister called ‘Qiao Yu’?”

Hua Yan was briefly stunned. Then, she pressed her lips into a smile and batted her eyes. “You’ve got keen intuition, Young Lord. I do indeed have a little sister called Qiao Yu.” 

Su Yi was instantly stunned. “Are you sisters by blood?”

Hua Yan laughed mysteriously. “Young Lord, if you ever get the chance to visit the Goldstone Pavilion’s Jade Capital branch, you might very well find an answer to your question.”

“Interesting.” Su Yi laughed too, then slipped his hands behind his back and sauntered off.

Cha Jin hurried after him, but inwardly, she muttered, Pretty words? Sisters like flowers? More like flowery words designed to tempt men!

But it seems the Young Lord is actually rather interested… Don’t tell me he’s interested in much older women?

If so, he really is uninhibited….

Suddenly, Cha Jin felt a bit sour and gloomy.

Meanwhile, Hua Yan watched them fade into the distance. Once they were out of view, her smile faded, and she returned to the Goldstone Pavilion. Before long, she entered a secret room.

“Miss.” When she entered, an elder whose hair was flecked with white rose to greet her. 

“Uncle Ying, can you discern these weapons’ origins?” Hua Yan took a seat, looking virtuous and elegant.

The man she called Uncle Ying had a table in front of him. Numerous weapons were laid out across its surface.

“This umbrella is called ‘Bloodpiercer’. It has a hidden mechanism, making it an extraordinary spiritual weapon. It belongs to the Grandmaster Hua Lianxiu,” he said gravely. “This pair of giant axes are called ‘the Mountain Shatterers.’ If I’m not mistaken, they belong to another Grandmaster, Ji Changhe.”

Hua Yan’s beautiful eyes were suddenly focused. “Last night, I received word from the ‘Ten Directions Pavilion’ that three of the third prince’s Grandmaster-level retainers perished deep in the mountains, about three hundred miles from the Imperatorial Provincial Capital.

“In addition to Hua Lianxiu and Ji Changhe, there was also the third prince’s strategist, Yin Tong.” Surprise suddenly rose unbidden to her face. “Don’t tell that youth we saw just now did it?”

The Ten Directions Pavilion was a mysterious underground organization, and its information network was widely renowned. Its reach extended throughout three mundane nations, the Great Zhou, the Great Wei, and the Great Qin.

The faction focused on gathering and selling all sorts of intelligence, and they published news relevant to martial artists at regular intervals. 

For example, “the Great Zhou Grandmaster Leaderboards", something the empire’s martial artists discussed with great enthusiasm, was their work.

They revised the leaderboards once every six months. They only published the names in the top hundred, and they added their own comments. These reports had an enormous influence within the Great Zhou; it was a publicly acknowledged list of the strongest experts and authority figures around. 

News of Hua Lianxiu and her two companions’ deaths came from the Ten Directions Palace, so there was no mistake.

However, Uncle Ying shook his head. “Miss, if you ask me, that boy was most likely just an intermediary. I certainly don’t think a Qi Accumulation youth like that has the power to slay three long-established Grandmasters.”

Hua Yan nodded, but inwardly, she was increasingly confused. Could a mere intermediary really travel with such a peerlessly beautiful servant? If so, just which mighty expert is backing him?

The idiom referenced here, 花言喬語, originally referred to flowery but empty prose and style without substance. It has since shifted in nuance; it’s now more often used to describe outwardly pleasing but deceptive hypocrisy. Think “flowery words and sweet talk.” 

It’s also the name of a 2006 pop song by the band “Sweety”, although I somehow doubt that’s what Su Yi is referring to.

The name Hua Yan is actually written 花顏, which is pronounced the same way as 花言, but the second character changed from “words” to “face”. So her name is more like “flowery beauty”, although if Su Yi hasn’t seen her name in writing, he has no way of knowing that. 

This could be an error on the author’s part, but it’s more likely that the author changed it on purpose, effectively naming the siblings “flowery beauty” and “sweet talk” instead of “flowery words” and “sweet talk.” No such idiom exists in any dictionary I have access to, but it’s not much of a stretch.

___

On a related note, Su Yi asked if they’re really biological sisters. That makes sense here; full siblings are generally going to share a surname, after all. 

But since it’s common to refer to non-siblings with words like “brother” and “sister”, “Is she your biological sister” is a perfectly natural follow-up question in Chinese. I often get asked that when I talk about my sister too, and my sister and I do share a family name. It really threw me for a loop the first time that happened.

___

Earlier, the text said the Great Zhou’s neighbors were “the Great Yan” and “the Great Wei.” I initially thought that “the Great Qin” was an error, but I read ahead and that’s the name the author uses in later chapters, so I’m going to go back in and adjust. It’ll be “the Great Qin” going forward.