Huangxiu

Chapter 1164 devising a plan
Chu Zhiyuan returned to the Heavenly Sword Villa with a satisfied heart.

Thirty-three statues were exchanged for thirty-three merits.

Each merit point shone with golden light, like a small sun, rich and profound.

This gain, when added together, is comparable to the sum of all the gains since joining the Heavenly Sword Sect.

I never expected that a sudden flash of inspiration would lead to such a huge gain.

As soon as he returned to the villa, he found Gu Junqi and told him what had happened.

Gu Junqi breathed a sigh of relief and said slowly, "The imperial court has finally decided to take action!"

He felt that if he didn't take action soon, the people's grievances would turn into anger, and something terrible would happen.

Chu Zhiyuan said apologetically, "Uncle-Master, I have overstepped my bounds and acted on my own initiative. I am not qualified to represent our Heavenly Sword Sect."

Gu Junqi smiled: "You acted decisively and handled the situation very well... We absolutely cannot be absent from this matter!"

"The other three sects..." Chu Zhiyuan said, "I'm afraid they'll think we're meddling in other people's business."

Gu Junqi said, "If they don't appreciate us bringing them along, they're ungrateful. Xiao Chu, you did a great job this time!"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and shook his head.

"We still need to consult with the sect leader. There are also three other sects that the sect leader needs to coordinate with... Xiao Chu, you should make that trip."

"Yes," Chu Zhiyuan readily agreed.

……

Sect Leader Hall
Chu Zhiyuan looked at Lu Wanshan, who was pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back.

Lu Wanshan paced back and forth, his expression grave and his brows furrowed.

Chu Zhiyuan was puzzled.

This doesn't seem like a difficult decision; since we've already agreed, we can simply send out experts.

Lu Wanshan's appearance suggests there might be some hidden story behind it.

Lu Wanshan suddenly stopped and asked in a deep voice, "How many experts do you think we should send?"

Chu Zhiyuan said, "It's similar to last time, isn't it?"

Lu Wanshan shook his head and said, "Exorcising evil spirits is different from exorcising demons."

Chu Zhiyuan asked curiously, "What's the difference?"

“We have grudges against the Exorcism Bureau and the Demon Exorcism Bureau,” Lu Wanshan said in a deep voice. “The relationship is quite complicated.”

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Will participating in this encirclement and suppression cause conflict with the two departments?"

“A conflict is bound to happen.” Lu Wanshan snorted coldly. “Those two departments are used to vying for credit.”

Chu Zhiyuan frowned: "Stealing our credit?"

“They’ll seize any opportunity they get,” Lu Wanshan said. “This hasn’t just happened once or twice; it happens every time such an operation is launched!”

"Stealing credit..." Chu Zhiyuan frowned.

He really didn't expect the Exorcism Division and the Demon Exorcism Division to do this.

He said in a deep voice, "How should we deal with this?"

Lu Wanshan snorted, "Of course we'll meet force with force and water with water. We can't let them just snatch it away and bully us to death!"

Chu Zhiyuan nodded.

The four major sects are not to be underestimated either. Although they are not part of the imperial court, they still hold a very high status.

Lu Wanshan said, "So whenever possible, we should avoid acting with them, otherwise the grudges will only deepen."

Chu Zhiyuan said, "I told Prince Zhuang that we will be responsible for the southern route, while the other two departments will be responsible for the other three routes, and we will not interfere with each other."

"Excellent." Lu Wanshan smiled. "It's best not to hang out with them. Why didn't you say so sooner! ...I wouldn't have had to worry so much!"

He felt he had worried for nothing.

I'm still thinking about how to get along with the two companies and how to handle the grudges between them.

These are all grudges accumulated over generations, almost impossible to resolve, and can only continue to entangle each other.

Chu Zhiyuan asked, "Under these circumstances, would they still try to claim credit?"

"It's hard to say," Lu Wanshan said. "Their two departments are still quite unseemly, but it's much better than getting involved with them!"

"...Then can we take them by force?" Chu Zhiyuan asked.

He didn't say why he didn't tell his superiors, which must have been because it would have been useless to do so.

Sheltering one's own people is a basic practice, especially for organizations like this.

But since they're taking credit for our work, why can't we take credit for theirs?
“This…” Lu Wanshan frowned: “Would you have taken the initiative to rob them?… I’ve never had such an idea.”

Chu Zhiyuan said, "How about we take the initiative and snatch it from them this time?"

"It's too risky," Lu Wanshan said. Chu Zhiyuan replied, "Shouldn't we at least try testing the court's bottom line?"

Lu Wanshan frowned and pondered for a moment, then paced back and forth.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Are we just going to be bullied without being able to fight back? Without taking the initiative to attack?"

"They are, after all, people of the imperial court. If we take them by force, we are disregarding the authority of the imperial court."

"We don't need to worry about so much, do we? We're just a martial arts sect, with simpler thoughts. If they want to rob us, then we'll rob them. Who's afraid of who!"

“...The risk is too great,” Lu Wanshan said.

He still felt it was too risky and would offend a lot of people.

Not only did it offend the two departments, but many important officials in the court also viewed the Four Ministers as a threat.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "If we don't do this, they will always look down on us and not be afraid of us."

“…If they dare to make a move, we will dare to defend ourselves, but if we make the first move…” Lu Wanshan pondered, hesitating.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Even if we take the initiative, we can say that they made the first move... We will definitely have the advantage this time."

In terms of strength, the two companies are definitely superior.

However, in terms of the number of top experts, the two companies may not be stronger.

This time, only experts from within a thousand miles of the two departments were mobilized, so the number was inevitably limited.

The experts from the two departments within a mere thousand-mile radius are certainly no match for the experts from the four major sects.

"..."

Lu Wanshan hesitated, pacing back and forth with his hands behind his back, round and round.

This is a matter of great importance and cannot afford to make a mistake. Once this step is taken, there will be no going back.

Seeing his reaction, Chu Zhiyuan said, "Sect Leader, how about we set a trap and teach them a lesson?"

"We still have an unspoken understanding that neither of us should go too far."

Chu Zhiyuan frowned and pondered, "Shall we try something underhanded? Let them suffer in silence."

"How to do?"

"Spread the word that we have a treasure, the Evil Lord's treasure," Chu Zhiyuan said. "We don't have to worry about those evil spirits falling for it."

"Still using this trick?" Lu Wanshan chuckled.

Chu Zhiyuan said, "Just say that this item came from the Flying Snow Cave."

The matter of the Flying Snow Cave has not yet been completely resolved.

The experts from the four major sects have already left with the annihilation of the Myriad Blood Sect, but the legend continues to circulate and has spread from Tongyuan City.

It's estimated that this news will soon reach the capital.

It's more believable that these are treasures from the Flying Snow Cave, and they're more likely to attract evil spirits.

"...Are you trying to summon all the demons and steal their credit?"

"This doesn't count as outright robbery, does it?"

"Of course not, they came here on their own, we didn't go there... That was a pretty cunning move, brilliant!"

Chu Zhiyuan smiled and said, "This can be considered a lesson for them."

"Okay, let's do it that way!" Lu Wanshan snorted, "You little rascal, you're full of wicked ideas."

"I was angry and pushed to the limit, so I came up with this idea." Chu Zhiyuan smiled憨厚ly.

There was no trace of awkwardness between the Exorcising Evil Division and the Four Great Sects in Huang Zhengyang.

It must be said that he is incredibly shrewd and has superb acting skills.

"Where is the Jade Heaven Sword?"

"here."

Chu Zhiyuan handed over the Jade Heaven Sword.

Lu Wanshan took the Jade Heaven Sword, went outside the hall, and tossed it into the sky.

The Jade Heaven Sword transformed into a streak of light that shot straight into the sky, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Chu Zhiyuan had been using his extrasensory perception to track it. He discovered that as it rose, a strange force descended, causing it to stop instantly, hovering in mid-air, its body shimmering with a strange light.

After flashing a dozen times, it fell straight down.

Finally, it floated down into Chu Zhiyuan's hands.

At this moment, the Jade Heaven Sword has been fully restored and can be activated three more times.

(End of this chapter)