"You fool… didn't I tell you to run?" Mo Ya glared at Bai Feng, anger flaring despite the pain.
"I won't abandon you," Bai Feng said through clenched teeth, one hand on his stomach, face contorted—but his tone unshakably firm.
Goku chuckled. "What loyal young men. The brotherhood's strong with you two."
---
Bright lamplight filled the room. Goku sat at ease in a wooden chair, sipping tea. Xiao Li and the other women stood nearby, studying the two pale young men with open curiosity.
Mo Ya and Bai Feng were still reeling. They had considered themselves rare talents of the jianghu—until now. Before this man, they hadn't even lasted a single exchange. They had thought Ji Wu Ye terrifying—someone they could never defy. But this one? He outclassed Ji Wu Ye by a chasm. They could hardly believe such strength existed.
"If we die at the hands of someone like you, we'll have no regrets. Do it," Mo Ya said calmly. Life and death had ceased to matter the day they became Ji Wu Ye's killing tools.
"Do you want out from under Ji Wu Ye?" Goku asked evenly.
The two stiffened, brows knitting. "What do you mean?" Mo Ya asked.
"In my eyes, Ji Wu Ye is an ant. I can kill him whenever I wish," Goku said. "But he's still useful to me for the moment. I want you two to stay by his side—as my eyes and ears. When the task is done, I'll give you your freedom."
Their hearts jolted. They had longed to escape, but Ji Wu Ye's power made it impossible. Perhaps… this man could truly make it happen.
"What do you want us to do?" Bai Feng was the first to answer, gaze steady.
"Remain with Ji Wu Ye—until a woman named Nongyu appears. Report to me the moment she does. Then your task is complete."
Goku was deliberately delaying Ji Wu Ye's death for Nongyu's sake. In the original tale, she seemed to be sent against Ji Wu Ye by Chi Lian—but it was never explicit. Two undercover agents at Ji Wu Ye's side would guard against accidents.
"That's all?" Mo Ya searched Goku's eyes.
"That's all."
"How do we explain this mission's failure to Ji Wu Ye?" Bai Feng asked.
Goku smiled, extended a hand—and the teacup in his palm warped and flowed. In the next breath, under everyone's astonished gaze, it became Ling Ruoxi's lifeless likeness—eyes closed, with no breath.
"Ah!" The real Ling Ruoxi clapped a hand to her mouth, stunned by the sight of her own 'corpse.'
Mo Ya and Bai Feng stared, dumbstruck. A teacup transmuted into a human body before their eyes—how could such a thing be?
Even Xue Nu and Lady Ji looked shaken.
"Just a little trick that fools the eye and nerves," Goku said lightly. "It's still a teacup. Take 'her' back—you know what to do."
"Understood."
Mo Ya and Bai Feng nodded, took the puppet 'corpse,' and withdrew—hearts pounding. Freedom, long dreamed of, finally felt possible.
---
"You're going to such lengths… all for a woman named Nongyu?" Xue Nu's brows drew together; a hint of displeasure crept into her tone. In only a few days, more and more women had gathered around him.
"You'll like her when you meet her," Goku said with a small smile. "Her mastery of music is extraordinary—she can even play the Heart-String Melody."
"The Heart-String Melody?" Xue Nu's eyes brightened despite herself. "Now I'm curious."
"Goku," Lady Ji asked, "are you sure those two won't betray you?"
"They won't. That isn't who they are—and they yearn for freedom. Like birds, they want the open sky."
"Strange," Lady Ji murmured. "You've only just met them, yet you speak as if you know them well. Sometimes it feels like there's nothing in this world you don't know."
Goku only smiled.
"That technique—was it illusion?" Xue Nu asked, voicing her doubt.
"Something like that," he nodded. In truth, he had really reshaped the teacup into a puppet body—but explaining that would be troublesome.
"Can you teach me?" Xue Nu's eyes shone. She, too, cultivated arts bordering on illusion, and his display had thrilled her.
"I can't pass this particular skill on," Goku said. "But I can raise your strength."
"Raise my strength? How?" Xue Nu leaned forward, suddenly alight.
"Come here."
She stepped before him. Goku placed a hand lightly on her shoulder. A soft, pearly glow enveloped her from head to toe.
As the inner force within her surged, Xue Nu's eyes flew wide. She stared at Goku in disbelief.
Moments later he withdrew his hand. "How do you feel?"
"A-amazing… It's unbelievable. My inner force—has increased as if by a hundred years of cultivation…" Even Xue Nu, usually so composed, couldn't hold back a gasp.
Lady Ji stared, stunned; Xiao Li and the High Priestess remained serene—they already knew what Goku was.
"H-how did you do that?" Xue Nu's heart raced. In an instant, she had become one of the top masters of this age.
"I merely awakened the potential hidden in your body," Goku replied. Now, even if he wasn't around, she would not be helpless.
One by one, he drew out the latent potential of the others as well. Even the non-martial Ling Ruoxi now possessed the strength of a rare first-class expert.
The ease of it only deepened Xue Nu's wonder—and wariness. If he wished, he could forge an army of monsters overnight. Who could stand against such a man? The thought was terrifying.
"So this is what Xiao Li meant," she whispered to herself. "His status… beyond imagining."
They spent the day letting the women acclimate to their newfound power.
Night fell. Starlight glittered across the Sky—
and Goku's figure vanished from his room, headed for his promised meeting with Princess Honglian.
---
Night, in the Han royal palace.
"Your Highness, slow down. It's so late—where are you going?"
Two palace maids hurried after a laughing girl flitting down the corridor, worry written across their faces.
"Stay back! If you follow, I'll have you both beheaded," the princess snapped, halting to glare at them.
"W-we wouldn't dare! Please forgive us, Your Highness!"
They dropped to their knees at once, foreheads nearly to the floor, and didn't pursue.
"Hee-hee." Princess Honglian—the girl who would one day be Chi Lian—curled a satisfied smile and skipped away toward the far end of the gallery.
Bathed in moonlight, she reached the spot beneath the blooming jacaranda—the place of last night's appointment.
The garden was empty.
Her happy trot slowed to a walk. She looked around under the flower-laden boughs. "He… isn't here yet?"
She sat on the soft grass, cheeks cupped in both hands, eyes fixed on the path she'd come by. The bright stars shimmered; the jacaranda glowed with violet-blue fire.
"Why isn't he here… Did I come too early? Or… did he forget?"
Time trickled by with no sign of him. Worry and a pinch of disappointment crept into her gaze.
She had always been alone in the palace. Meeting that strange man had made her unexpectedly happy. With someone to keep her company… she wouldn't feel so lonely.
_____
T/N:
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