Loud Conspiracy

Second floor of the Heart-Calming Pagoda.

After bringing Lin Qingyan down the stairs, Gu Chengyin went to the desk and picked up the dossier lying on it.

As he handed it to Lin Qingyan, he said, “Auntie, I’ve finished reading this dossier.”

Lin Qingyan accepted it, her expression suddenly turning solemn. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, “And?”

She did not finish the question, but Gu Chengyin understood her meaning perfectly.

She was asking: Are you confident? Can you win? Will you be in danger?

Gu Chengyin merely smiled faintly.

“Don’t worry, Auntie. Judging from the information in this dossier, I’m practically guaranteed to win.”

Hearing this, Lin Qingyan’s shoulders visibly relaxed.

Even so, she added another reminder—not out of doubt, but out of habit.

Although she knew that Gu Chengyin was far more intelligent and thorough than she was, there were still things that needed to be said.

“That’s good. But Chengcheng, you mustn’t let your guard down. The information in this dossier isn’t entirely accurate.”

“After all, as Golden Core cultivators, they’re bound to have a few hidden trump cards.”

Gu Chengyin nodded, his expression becoming more serious.

“Mm, I know.”

Of course he knew.

Although the dossier of the Celestial Master’s Residence’s honored retainers listed a great deal of information, it was not updated in real time.

Over the long years of cultivation, what those Golden Core retainers had accumulated, hidden, or kept in reserve—

unless they were willing to disclose it themselves, outsiders would have a hard time seeing the whole picture.

After all, no one would truly hand over all their trump cards honestly.

That would be no different from being a fool, let alone these Golden Core retainers of the Celestial Master’s Residence.

Every one of them was an old fox who had cultivated to the point of becoming a spirit. They had hidden far more than they ever revealed.

Still, Gu Chengyin had never intended to rely entirely on the information in the dossier.

He had read it mainly to gain a rough understanding of the situation and ensure that he knew what he was dealing with.

As for how he would fight once they truly crossed hands, that would depend on his ability to adapt in the moment.

Real combat depended on genuine skill, not empty theorizing.

“I’ll take the dossier back first.”

Lin Qingyan raised the dossier toward Gu Chengyin in indication, then turned and walked toward the stairwell.

Gu Chengyin watched her back disappear down the stairs, listening as her footsteps traveled from the second floor to the first.

They went from clear to indistinct, then finally vanished altogether outside the Heart-Calming Pagoda.

He stood there for a moment before heading up the stairs toward the third floor.

Gu Chengyin did not walk quickly. In fact, he could even be said to be moving slowly. His boots struck the steps with a rhythmic, faint tapping.

The sound echoed through the narrow stairwell, serving as a clear announcement:

I’m coming up.

After rounding the final bend, the third floor came into view.

Gu Chengyin immediately spotted Luo Zhao and Shangguan Yunying.

The two of them were huddled together, their heads nearly touching, like two sparrows whispering on a utility pole.

Luo Zhao was sitting sideways. One hand was braced on the bed while the other gestured at something, her lips moving rapidly.

Her voice was lowered to a whisper, quiet enough that only Shangguan Yunying could hear.

Shangguan Yunying leaned slightly toward her, bringing her ear closer to Luo Zhao.

Every so often, she nodded. Then, from time to time, she would furrow her brow, her expression as focused as if she were listening to matters of national importance.

They were far too absorbed.

So absorbed that they failed to notice Gu Chengyin standing at the top of the stairs. So absorbed that they did not even hear his footsteps as he came up.

It was only when Gu Chengyin stepped onto the final stair, producing a sound slightly heavier than the ones before it, that Luo Zhao’s voice abruptly stopped.

Shangguan Yunying’s hand froze as well.

The two of them turned toward the stairwell almost simultaneously.

The change in their expressions upon seeing Gu Chengyin was practically textbook.

First came blankness. Then panic. Then the guilty look of people insisting, We didn’t do anything.

Finally, they both shifted their gazes away—one looking out the window, the other staring at the ceiling.

It was as though the view outside and the ceiling had suddenly become the most fascinating things in the world.

Watching this scene, Gu Chengyin let out a deep sigh inwardly.

Sometimes he wondered—though only in his thoughts, never aloud—

whether it was the political struggles and factional intrigues of the imperial court, or the approaching Taihe Battle, these matters that seemed perilous beyond measure to outsiders were actually not all that difficult in his eyes.

Political struggle was nothing more than a contest of interests. It came down to whose methods were harsher, whose mind was sharper, and who could clamp down on their opponent’s throat at the critical moment and refuse to let go.

As for the Taihe Battle, that was merely a contest of strength. It depended on whose comprehension was greater, whose Dao heart was stronger, and who could make the correct judgment in an instant when life and death hung in the balance.

Gu Chengyin was completely confident in all of that.

But these women…

Gu Chengyin’s gaze moved from Luo Zhao’s face to Shangguan Yunying’s, then back from Shangguan Yunying’s to Luo Zhao’s.

Leaving Lin Qingyan aside, just these two alone were more troublesome than the other.

One appeared cold and aloof on the surface, yet was a kaleidoscope of emotions inside. It was impossible to tell which side of her was the real one.

The other appeared gentle and dignified, yet the word “wild” seemed carved into the depths of her soul. At any moment, she could blurt out something so brazen that it would leave people dumbfounded.

They each had one head, two arms, and two legs. So how could they possibly be this troublesome?

Gu Chengyin sighed inwardly once more, though his expression remained impassive.

He stepped into the room. Once his feet touched the carpet, they no longer made a sound.

When he reached the edge of the bed, he did not sit down immediately. Instead, he first looked around.

The blankets were still piled in the corner of the bed, and the spot where Luo Zhao had been sitting was still slightly askew.

A comb lay beside Shangguan Yunying’s hand. Presumably, she had used it while helping Luo Zhao tidy her hair earlier.

Everything remained just as it had been before their scheming began.

Only the guilty expressions on the two women’s faces were silently proclaiming to the world:

We’re planning to do something bad.

Gu Chengyin sat down at the edge of the bed in front of them and said, “Auntie went to return the dossier.”

Luo Zhao and Shangguan Yunying instinctively exchanged glances, then quickly looked away again.

Like two startled rabbits, they each withdrew into their own burrows.

Gu Chengyin’s gaze swept back and forth across their faces.

He did not rush to speak. He simply watched them.

Luo Zhao’s ear tips were still red. The flush had not faded since earlier, burning stubbornly along the rims of her ears like two tiny flames.

Shangguan Yunying was much calmer, but her fingers were unconsciously rubbing the cuff of her sleeve, round after round, as though tracing some invisible pattern.

Gu Chengyin noticed every one of these little movements.

Then he spoke, his tone casual.

“You two aren’t plotting how to get revenge on Auntie, are you?”

The moment he said this, Luo Zhao and Shangguan Yunying’s expressions froze simultaneously.

Then the two of them exchanged a glance, and both saw the astonishment in the other’s eyes.