Shen Qingci agreed with a nod, turned around, and walked toward the entrance of the Dharma Academy. After taking a few steps, she turned back and waved to her senior sister.
Chi Yuan stood in place, waiting until her little junior sister's figure disappeared into the gates before summoning Frostchill and flying back to Wanjian Peak on her sword.
The main hall was almost full. Shen Qingci found her own futon and sat down.
From behind her, Gu Qingyi leaned forward, sized her up from head to toe, and asked in a low voice, “Senior Sister Shen, you weren't injured on this mission, were you?”
“No,” Shen Qingci said, pulling a few jade slips from her storage ring and placing them on her desk. “With Senior Sister by my side, how could I get hurt?”
Gu Qingyi nodded in relief, then transmitted her voice directly: “Senior Sister Shen, the main branch sent me some news. Did you run into Lu Beichen in Xiange City?”
Shen Qingci's brow furrowed slightly.
The intelligence network of the Southern Region Gu family was indeed swift. It had barely been any time, yet they had already received the news.
“Yes, we ran into him.”
Gu Qingyi carefully weighed her words before speaking. “Senior Sister, during the midday break, please join me in a private room on the second floor of the Dining Hall. I have prepared a small gift that I hope both you and Senior Sister Chi will like.”
Unable to fathom the Gu family's intentions, Shen Qingci simply agreed calmly. “Alright.”
At noon, the bell rang, signaling the end of classes at the Dharma Academy.
Just as Shen Qingci stood up, Gu Qingyi was already waiting for her at the door.
The two walked side-by-side toward the Dining Hall, with Zhao Yu and the other three following from a distance. Seeing Gu Qingyi's solemn expression, they exchanged looks and refrained from stepping forward to interrupt.
Zhao Yu tugged on Chen Zian's sleeve and whispered, “Senior Sister Gu's expression looks like she has serious business to discuss. Should we still follow?”
Yin Ruozhuo had already turned a corner and headed toward the first floor, tossing back a line without turning his head: “Whatever Senior Sister Shen and Senior Sister Gu are discussing is not for our ears. Let's be sensible and eat on the first floor.”
“Alright.”
Zhao Yu agreed and led the other three into the main hall.
A moment later, inside a private room on the second floor, Gu Qingyi raised her hand to cast a sound-insulating restriction. A few plates of pastries and two flasks of spiritual dew were simply arranged on the table.
Without beating around the bush, she got straight to the point. “Senior Sister, when you first joined the Azure Cloud Sect, you must have already seen through the internal chaos of the sect.”
“The current Sect Master occupies a high position but does absolutely nothing. Ever since the sect's Body Integration ancestor fell, he has been completely unable to keep the regional factions in check. Filled with suspicion, he only knows how to target and suppress the Wanjian Peak lineage.”
“If not for Sword Venerable Jinglian single-handedly holding everything together, the Azure Cloud Sect would have dissolved long ago.”
She looked up, her gaze landing directly on Shen Qingci. “Furthermore, not long after you left Qinghe County, Mr. Nan accompanied Ancestor Tinglan to reclaim the surname 'Shen'.”
“And next to the signboard of the Nanxing Artifact-Refining Workshop, a new plaque reading 'Northern Region Shen Family' was hung.”
“This matter has spread like wildfire along the trade routes of the Southern Region.”
Shen Qingci's expression remained calm. “So, the Gu family wants to take advantage of the Azure Cloud Sect's internal strife to seize some benefits?”
Gu Qingyi didn't try to hide it and nodded straightforwardly. “We did have that intention. However, after learning that you were at the Azure Cloud Sect, the main family withdrew all of their people.”
Shen Qingci leaned back against her chair, her fingertips lightly tapping on the table.
Junior Sister Gu's words were tantamount to a direct admission that the Gu family indeed harbored designs on the Azure Cloud Sect.
But the fact that they withdrew their people so decisively showed that the Gu family's high-level leaders feared her background—no, it wasn't just fear, they wanted something from her.
“Junior Sister Gu, your status is probably not as simple as just a young lady of a Gu family branch, is it?” Shen Qingci asked.
Gu Qingyi fell silent for a breath, then smiled.
This smile was entirely different from her usual gentle appearance in the Dharma Academy; it carried a sharp edge unique to the descendants of great families.
“My great-grandmother is the only Void Refining Elder in the Gu family's branch lineages. My lineage can be considered the leaders among the branches, but we still have to bow our heads before the main lineage of the main family.”
Shen Qingci understood.
The great-granddaughter of a Void Refining powerhouse was indeed an intimidating title on the outside. But Gu Qingyi had just specified that she was from a 'branch,' not the 'main lineage.'
In great clans, the gap between a branch lineage and the main lineage was sometimes wider than the gap between master and servant.
She sneered, her voice laced with mockery. “The sect still has several Grand Supreme Elders presiding over it. The Gu family is quite bold, aren't they?”
Gu Qingyi calmly poured her a full cup of spiritual dew. “Senior Sister, for a great family, if there is a piece of fat meat lying right beside them, swallowing it would expand the family's power several times over.”
“It just so happens that this meat has exposed its flaws, and the one in charge is a fool. Anyone would be tempted.”
Shen Qingci picked up her cup, took a sip of the spiritual dew, and swallowed it unhurriedly.
“You're right. If I were sitting in the seat of the Gu family patriarch, I wouldn't be able to suppress that thought either.”
She set down her cup and looked up at Gu Qingyi, her eyes filled with scrutiny.
In the original novel, the Gu family was written as being detached from worldly struggles, peacefully guarding their own small corner of the Southern Region.
Now, it seemed that was merely a superficial illusion glimpsed from the male protagonist's perspective.
Their peace was only because there had been no conflict of interest yet.
Once they caught the scent of blood, which great family wouldn't pounce on it?
“However...” Shen Qingci's tone suddenly shifted, her aura flaring out. “A mere Azure Cloud Sect isn't enough to catch the eye of the Northern Region Shen Family.”
Gu Qingyi's eyes flickered.
“If I were truly to make a move, my first choice would never be this place, but rather the deeply rooted Cangwu.”
Gu Qingyi naturally understood the underlying meaning in her words.
She leaned forward slightly, adopting a pleading posture as her tone softened. “The main family just sent word, and didn't I come find you immediately to discuss it, Senior Sister?”
Shen Qingci swept her gaze over the tight restrictions around them, raising an eyebrow to tease her. “You dare to privately discuss the Sect Master on the sect's own turf? Aren't you afraid of the news leaking and bringing disaster upon yourself?”
Gu Qingyi's eyes curved, revealing unhidden envy. “The secret guard by Senior Sister's side is at least at the Soul Transformation stage, right?”
“With that senior here, the Sect Master won't be able to detect anything happening in this private room.”
She paused. “I'm not afraid of Senior Sister laughing at me, but in my generation, my great-grandmother has over sixty grandchildren.”
“Even though I am the great-granddaughter of a Void Refining Elder, I am not highly valued within the branch lineage. The strongest secret guard I can mobilize is only at the peak Golden Core stage.”
“If I hadn't been fortunate enough to meet you at the Dharma Academy, with my status, I wouldn't even be able to touch the fringes of the sect's top-level situation.”
With just a few words, she had laid bare the truth.
Shen Qingci understood.
Gu Qingyi's position within the Gu family's branch was far less stable than she usually let on.
Being the great-granddaughter of a Void Refining Elder sounded intimidating, but when split among over sixty grandchildren, the resources allocated to each person became quite thin.
However, her friendship with Shen Qingci had caught the attention of the main family.
“So the Gu family is using you to show goodwill, but they actually want to test the Shen family's depth?” Shen Qingci pierced straight to the core of the matter.
“Yes,” Gu Qingyi admitted frankly. “The entire Southern Region knows that the Shen family is about to enter the mortal world, but no one is sure if you are merely dipping your toes in or if you intend to stir up the clouds and rain across the Four Regions.”
“The Gu family has been rooted in the Southern Region for tens of thousands of years. We do not dare to take sides lightly, so we can only test the waters cautiously.”
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