Not only was Rong Ji struggling to process this, but the System was also in over its head.
From the moment Sang Ruo stepped forward to kill Mei Thirty-Seven, the System’s logic had crashed: 【What? What just happened?】
“Mei Si isn’t a fool. Between the incident at the City Lord’s Manor involving her secret subordinates and our previous movements, it was impossible for her to remain oblivious,” Sang Ruo explained distractedly, allowing Rong Ji to wipe the blood from her face. “So I guessed she was getting restless and would definitely send someone to test the waters.”
Rong Ji gently finished cleaning the blood and withdrew her hand, deep in thought. “In other words, Mei Thirty-Seven was a disposable pawn from the start?”
Sang Ruo felt a slight itch where Rong Ji had touched her. Her throat moved as she straightened up.
After a moment, she said indifferently, “The fact that Mei Si was recruiting me was never something that should have been brought out into the open.”
And once it was revealed, it meant certain things had to be made clear.
Rong Ji fell silent. She turned her gaze slightly toward the spot where the conflict had occurred. The Divine Attendants moved quickly; Mei Thirty-Seven’s body had already vanished, and the blood had been washed away, leaving only a few damp patches on the ground.
In Mei Si’s eyes, her power far exceeded Sang Ruo’s. This move was likely intended as a warning over the treasures and a probe of Sang Ruo’s limits. In her estimation, the most likely outcome was that Mei Thirty-Seven would be detained a pawn, yes, but one that could perhaps be retrieved once the main goal was achieved.
That was Mei Si; in her eyes, everything was expendable, yet she always harbored a sliver of wishful thinking.
But she never expected Sang Ruo to be the type to flip the entire chessboard at the slightest provocation.
Just like the treasures. Just like Mei Thirty-Seven.
Sang Ruo had killed her outright, showing zero hesitation in tearing off the mask of civility. The two sides were bound to come to blows eventually; this incident was simply the perfect fuse.
What surprised Rong Ji, however, was that Sang Ruo hadn’t killed everyone.
Having reached this point, Rong Ji felt a trace of melancholy. She knew those Divine Attendants weren’t necessarily evil people; they were simply pieces trapped in a game beyond their control. For reform to happen, sacrifice and bloodshed were inevitable, but when the moment arrived, she still wasn’t ruthless enough. She hoped the bloodshed could be kept to a minimum.
Could it be that Sang Ruo took my feelings into account?
“What’s going on? What happened?”
Lan Nineteen and Jilan walked out from the inner room.
Rong Ji snapped out of her thoughts, smiled, and gave a brief summary of what had just transpired. Perhaps she was overthinking; Sang Ruo always had her reasons for the way she worked, and she would simply have to watch and see.
Lan Nineteen listened, feeling bewildered by the rapidly shifting events. “So what do we do now?”
Sang Ruo said leisurely, “We wait.”
“Wait?”
Sang Ruo turned, her sleeves fluttering slightly. She condensed black energy into birds, and countless ravens flew out toward the boundaries of the Divine Court.
Rong Ji: “This is…”
“Messaging.”
She used these ravens to send instructions to her subordinates within the city. Taking advantage of Mei Si’s slow reaction and the delay in information, she would strike them while they were off-guard.
It was a bright, sunny day. The citizens of Ganmu City went about their lives as usual—vendors calling out, people shopping. They had no idea that beneath this peace, in the shadows of the city and within the Divine Court, the clash between two powers had begun.
Sang Ruo had already mapped out Mei Si’s hidden influence in the city. She ordered her subordinates to uproot them one by one, leaving nothing behind. Simultaneously, her forces within the Divine Court quietly infiltrated Mei Si’s sleeping quarters.
While the outside was in chaos, Rong Ji’s small courtyard remained quiet, isolated from the turmoil. Sang Ruo told Lan Nineteen and Jilan to stay inside and not come out for any reason, leaving only the two of them in the yard.
Rong Ji tapped her fingers rhythmically on the table, glancing outside from time to time, which caught Sang Ruo’s attention. Realizing she was a bit high-strung, Rong Ji smiled. “I originally thought I’d wait until Mei Si ordered you to attack me to give her a real shock.”
She said this to distract herself, but as the words left her mouth, she felt a genuine sense of regret. How interesting it would have been to see Mei Si completely blindsided. “Won’t all those preparations go to waste now?”
“They won’t go to waste,” Sang Ruo replied, a dark, unreadable glint in her eyes.
“Hmm?”
“Change always happens faster than planning. Besides… it’s not like we can’t use them.”
Just as she finished speaking, the gate was kicked open with a bang. A tall, broad-shouldered figure stumbled in. It was a man.
The members of the Divine Court were all female; no man should have been there. Rong Ji stood up warily, but upon closer inspection, she realized the man looked familiar. His face was swollen from a beating, but his original features were still recognizable. It was the man who had been kicked out of the City Lord’s Manor two days ago—
“Helian Yun? How did you…” Rong Ji frowned.
Helian Yun saw Rong Ji and, seeing her stand up, assumed she was welcoming him. Moved, he stepped forward for a hug, only to be subtly blocked by Sang Ruo.
Sang Ruo called out softly, “Young Master Helian.”
Helian Yun instinctively stopped, then regained his senses and glared back at her in fury. That day at the City Lord’s Manor, he had limped home, and the more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. The Divine Attendant who blocked him had a very distinct, familiar voice. He just hadn’t made the connection because of his initial assumptions.
Who else could it be but this cursed woman? He felt a phantom ache all over just looking at her.
But now was not the time for petty grudges. He turned back to Rong Ji, speaking with heartfelt emotion: “You finally wrote to me. I wanted to come see you, but they kept blocking me. I saw something was happening outside the Divine Court and used the chaos to slip in. Are you alright?”
Rong Ji looked at Sang Ruo’s back.
Writing a letter? She had never written a letter. The fact that Helian Yun could get in now meant someone had intentionally let him in.
Seeing no response from Rong Ji, Helian Yun’s affectionate eyes drooped piteously. “Why didn’t you say a word for me two days ago? Do you know what happened to me afterward…”
Sang Ruo interrupted him: “Let’s save the reminiscing. The grand plan is nearing completion. The High Priest asked you here to share in the joy of victory.”
“Huh… what?” Helian Yun realized what she meant and was stunned.
The High Priest and the others had actually taken down Mei Si?!
Mei Si was quite unscrupulous in her dealings; she had “flipped” both Sang Ruo and Helian Yun but never told them about each other. So, in Helian Yun’s eyes, he—the spy—had just been sitting around doing nothing, excluded from the inner circle and beaten for no reason, only to be suddenly told: Your boss is finished.
Helian Yun panicked. Mei Si knew all about him. It would have been fine if he hadn’t shown up, but now that he was here, Mei Si would definitely remember him. If she exposed him during a confrontation, he would be…
What “joy of victory”? This felt more like the gates of a prison.
He swallowed hard and asked, “So… that person, Mei Si… will she be brought here?”
Sang Ruo nodded as if it were obvious. “Of course. Don’t you hate her? The High Priest decided to give you a chance to vent. Why? You don’t look very happy.”
Helian Yun forced a smile. “Happy! Of course I’m happy! I’m just so surprised the High Priest remembered me.”
Sang Ruo said, “Naturally. The High Priest values old ties. Even though you weren’t of any help at all, she still keeps you in mind.”
Helian Yun thought: I’d rather she didn’t!
Rong Ji’s lips twitched as she turned her head away slightly.
Stay calm, stay calm, Helian Yun told himself. He still held a sliver of hope: Mei Si was, after all, the actual ruler of the Divine Court. It hadn’t been that long; she surely couldn’t be defeated this easily…
Footsteps sounded outside the gate. Helian Yun turned to look. Because he had kicked the door open and forgotten to close it, he had a clear view of the figures approaching.
Several tall women wearing bamboo-leaf masks walked in, dragging a thin, elderly woman. Her face was bloodied, likely from the preceding skirmish.
Who else could it be but Mei Si?
The last bit of hope in Helian Yun’s heart went snap and vanished.