Han Yu glanced sideways at ng Jueyan.
"Is there anything I can do? Even if small?"
Han Yu gave a soft grunt—amused, skeptical.
"Do you think this is a mission of rit?" he asked. "That you’ll be rewarded with fortune or glory?"
ng blinked, unsure how to answer.
Han Yu didn’t wait.
"There is no reward. No spirit stones. No contributions. This is not the work of sect disciples looking to climb ranks. This is the work of keeping sothing rotten from spreading. And that... often leaves nothing behind."
In reality it was Han Yu who couldn’t afford to reward her anything, so he was just saving his ass.
A gust of wind moved between them.
ng didn’t flinch. "Even so. I wish to help. I’m willing to accept that."
Han Yu was silent for a mont.
Then: "Good."
The single word hung in the air like a seal of approval. A contract without blood, yet heavier than iron.
He walked to the edge of the clearing, gazing into the forest beyond.
"I’ll contact you when needed," he said.
ng nodded, but then asked carefully, "How will I receive your word, Elder Yi?"
Han Yu tensed internally.
’Right... I can’t exactly have her delivering letters to Twin Leaf Peak Sect.’
He mulled it over, tapping his fingers against his arm, then turned back with a decision.
"There is an inn," he said slowly. "In the city of Dongxuan—one hundred kiloters north of the Twin Leaf Peak Sect’s territory. It’s outside their jurisdiction. A neutral zone."
He pulled out a small talisman from his robe and tossed it to her. ng caught it with both hands.
"When you need to report sothing... leave a ssage under the na ’Yin Trader’ at the Jade Plum Inn and use the talisman. Write nothing sensitive. I will find the ssage if it’s worth my ti."
ng furrowed her brows. "That close to the Twin Leaf Peak Sect? Isn’t that dangerous?"
Han Yu gave a short laugh beneath the cloth masking his face.
"There’s nothing safer than hiding under the enemy’s shadow."
ng looked at him with renewed awe.
There was sothing unshakable about him—like a ghost walking among mortals, untouched by their fear. The more she tried to understand him, the more her thoughts only deepened with unanswered questions.
"Understood, Elder Yi."
"Good," he said again, voice turning more casual. "Then we part ways here. Rest, then return to your sect as normal. Report nothing. ntion no one. If soone questions the attack or the disappearance of the disciple, say you know nothing."
"Yes."
"And if soone still tries to pry further?"
ng didn’t hesitate. "Then I’ve already forgotten."
Han Yu gave a final, slight nod.
Behind his calm exterior, a new plan was beginning to form.
The Magma Ancestor’s power... an altar yet to be found... factions splitting within the Mist Eye Sect... and the strange vial he had acquired from the altar—it was all beginning to thread together.
But to obtain the real benefits he had to untangle it first and for that he’d need ti.
Allies.
And more fools who mistook him for sothing greater than he was.
As he turned to leave the clearing, the sunlight broke through the canopy in golden spears, casting long silhouettes of the trees across the ground.
A new day had begun.
And "Elder Yi" was now very much part of a ga far larger than he had expected.
Han Yu returned to Wujing City just as the sun began to rise behind the ridgeline, its glowing light bathing the tiled rooftops in a warm orange hue. His steps were steady, but his mind raced with the events of the night.
By the ti he entered the modest inn tucked along one of the quieter streets, he had already run through the situation from every angle. The mont his room door clicked shut behind him, he let out a long breath and leaned against the wall, thinking.
’What a ss.’
But beneath the danger and uncertainty... there was opportunity.
The Mist Eye Sect’s internal power struggle, their search for the Magma Ancestor’s altar, and the very fact that ng Jueyan had accepted his identity without question—these weren’t just dangerous elents. They were leverage.
If he played this right, he could turn every piece into profit.
"This is risky," Han Yu muttered to himself, stripping off his dusty outer robe and tossing it to the side. "Way above my pay grade. Definitely not in the Pill Tester’s Job Description Handbook."
But his business senses—honed by years of street-hustling, shady deals, and resource bartering—were tingling. Tantalizingly so.
There was rit to be earned.
Not just cultivation resources, but genuine sect contribution points. Prestige. Influence. Maybe even protection.
If he could feed intel from ng Jueyan back to the Twin Leaf Peak Sect, he could appear as a valuable informant. Of course, he’d have to do it carefully—just enough to appear helpful, not enough to expose himself. After all, there were other forces in play.
That was when a troubling thought hit him.
’What if the Mist Eye Sect had spies within the Twin Leaf Peak Sect, too?’
He froze mid-step, brows furrowing. The Mist Eye Sect was powerful. Ambitious. If they were already planting moles in neutral cities and conducting covert missions... it wouldn’t be surprising if they’d infiltrated the Twin Leaf Peak Sect too.
A chill ran down his spine.
’That could explain why Murong Xie found back then.’ He thought if a foreign sect can have spies, Murong Xie could too.
He clenched his fists. The broken fang ravine’s caves—the ambush—everything had been too precise. It wasn’t luck. It was setup. He had been baited into that situation from the start.
Which ant so elders in his own sect might be working with the Mist Eye Sect... or at the very least, with Elder Wei or soone like that.
If he was going to report anything to the sect, he’d have to tread carefully. One wrong word, and the report might end up on the wrong desk—or in Murong Xie’s hands.
’Maybe... I could use those spies for my own benefit,’ Han Yu thought, rubbing his chin.
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