Chapter 11
The day slowly passed. Morning became noon. Noon became evening.
And now—
under the soft orange glow of sunset, a young scholar sat calmly inside a teahouse opposite the Dong family manor.
He looked handsome but not excessively so. Just enough to appear refined.
His clothes were clean and decent, fitting the image of a scholar from a middle-class family.
Nothing about him stood out. Nothing seemed dangerous.
Yet—
his eyes had observed the Dong manor for nearly two hours without missing a single detail.
The guards, the patrol routes, the servants the hidden watchers disguised as civilians. Even the nearby alleyways and rooftops. Everything had already entered his memory.
Inside his mind, the system finally couldn't hold back anymore.
"Host… what exactly are you doing?"
Ryo calmly took another sip of tea.
The fragrance was average.
The quality mediocre.
Still drinkable like hot water with some leafs.
The system continued complaining.
"First you used Transformation Jutsu to sneak into the city."
"Then you beat up local thugs and took their money."
Ryo corrected casually,
"I borrowed their money."
"You knocked one unconscious using a brick."
"He resisted the borrowing process."
"…That is called robbery."
Ryo ignored the accusation.
The system continued:
"After that, you bought clothes, wandered around the city for hours, and now you're sitting here drinking tea while staring at the Dong family gate like a suspicious stalker."
"So again…"
"What are you doing?"
Ryo smiled faintly.
"System…"
He placed the teacup down gently.
"You still have so much to learn."
"…I suddenly don't feel happy hearing that."
Ryo looked toward the massive Dong family manor across the street.
"Silly system."
"Before entering a house...always find the exit first."
The system became silent. It knows Uchiha Ryo will say something shocking.
Ryo continued calmly.
"That saying means you must understand the surroundings before making a move."
"The Dong family isn't weak."
"There are guards everywhere inside the manor."
"Even outside…"
His eyes glanced toward several random pedestrians.
"…there are dozens of hidden personnel disguised as civilians."
The system immediately scanned again.
Then—
"…Oh."
Ryo smirked slightly.
"If I forcefully attack the manor now, I'll pay a heavy price."
"So instead…"
A dangerous smile slowly appeared on his face.
"…I'll use 5,000 years of ancient Chinese scheming strategy."
The system became cautious.
Whenever Ryo smiled like this, someone's life expectancy usually decreased.
"What strategy and what scheme?"
Ryo calmly answered,
"Borrowing a hand holding a knife to kill."
The system immediately corrected him.
"…Host."
"It's called 'Borrowing a knife to kill.'"
Ryo shook his head.
"No."
"I'm borrowing the hand which is holding the knife too."
The system suddenly had a bad feeling.
A very bad feeling.
Ryo leaned slightly against the chair and began explaining casually as if discussing the weather.
"For an jin's sake, I'll kill Dong Ji."
"Then frame the Dugu family."
The system froze.
Ryo continued smoothly.
"A prestigious families people dying is very damaging to it's reputation. So the Dong family will try to uncover the true culprits. Then i just have to show them that a core member of Dugu family had bad relation with Dong ji and after some time Dong Ji died."
"Then the Dong family and Dugu family will become neutral friends to enemy."
"The Prime Minister, Yan Pei, will either try to calm the conflict…"
"…or secretly benefit from it while pretending neutrality."
His fingers tapped lightly against the teacup.
"Then…"
"I'll create further conflict between the Dong and Dugu families that benifit Yen pei and the puppet emperor."
The system finally understood where this was going.
And honestly it was terrifying.
"Although both families are corrupt…"
Ryo smiled gently.
"…they'll unite immediately if their family interests are threatened."
The gentleness in his smile completely failed to match the content of his words.
"But during the conflict…What happens if both families realize Prime Minister Yan Pei gained the most from their fighting?"
The system silently answered in its mind:
Civil war.
Ryo's smile deepened.
"And then…What happens if they later discover evidence suggesting Dong Ji's death…"
"…was actually Yan Pei's scheme from the beginning?"
The system felt a chill.
Even though it technically had no body.
"…That's evil."
Ryo looked mildly surprised.
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"…Host, you're smiling while trying to politically destroy three major powers."
"And?"
"I'll give the puppet emperor some schemes with which he can surprase those 3 factions for short time."
The system wisely surrendered.
After a brief silence, it still pointed out a flaw.
"However…"
"Dong Ji's death alone won't be enough to make both families truly go all out."
Ryo looked disappointed.
"Who said only Dong Ji would die?"
The system: "…Ah."
"The Dong family has eighteen grandchildren."
"The Dugu family has five."
Ryo spoke while calmly drinking tea.
As if discussing market vegetables.
"Right after Dong Ji's death, if three or four Dong grandchildren die…"
"And the others survive assassination attempts…"
His smile widened slightly.
"Then the next day two Dugu grandchildren die afterward."
The system remained silent.
"See. You understand it."
Ryo nodded slightly.
"Now the math is mathing."
The system: "….."
At this point, it genuinely started wondering whether the real villain of this world had just arrived.
Finally, it sighed.
"…Fine."
"Do whatever you want."
Ryo smiled peacefully.
"I will."
The system quickly changed the topic before another noble family mysteriously lost half its bloodline.
"Anyway, Host…"
"You should probably start revising for the Imperial Examination."
"There are only six days left."
Ryo's expression instantly stiffened.
The atmosphere itself became depressive.
"…Exam. Aaahhhhaaa!"
The system immediately felt danger.
Emotional danger.
Ryo slowly placed the teacup down.
Then looked toward the sky with tired eyes.
"…I crossed worlds…"
"…fought wars…"
"…I crossed worlds again…"
"…and somehow…"
He closed his eyes briefly.
"…I still ended up studying."
The system almost laughed.
Almost.
After a long silence, Ryo finally sighed.
"…Fine."
His eyes became serious again.
"Let's see what An Jin actually learned."
"I can't exactly submit a blank paper."
The system immediately replied,
"With your personality, I honestly thought you might."
Ryo calmly stood up.
"…Don't tempt me."
And with that—
the future disaster of the Dong family walked away from the teahouse…
to go study for exams.
A truly tragic fate.
Chapter End