Chapter 62: Inducement and Persuasion

The curtains drawn tightly over the windows of the room made the interior dim and hushed.

Gentle, fragrant whispers of food drifted softly through the cracks in the door.

Three meats, one vegetable, and one soup—delicacies crafted by Master Chef Xu Jiang of the Xu family estate.

Su Jinxuan’s black silk veil had been removed, her delicate, rosy eyes lowered in quiet allure, seated at a wooden table in the side chamber, delicately picking at her meal with a bamboo spoon.

Xu Yuan had only sipped from the spiritual spring yesterday during his training, and thus was not yet hungry—his face alight with amusement as he sat silently by her side.

Su Jinxuan moved with gentle care, savoring each bite like a proper lady, yet the resolve in her expression as she ate was unyielding.

As if eating her own last meal.

Since he'd brought her into this chamber, this seductive demoness had worn the look of one prepared to die with dignity.

She must be determined to hold her ground, refusing to reveal a single word.

Now, with this expression, she likely already anticipated being sealed within that hidden chamber.

But Xue Yuan didn't find this at all surprising.

If the person most dear to his heart could betray so easily, then Su Jinxuan naturally didn't belong as one of the leading heroines in Changyuan.

The inner chamber was silent, save for the occasional soft clink as bamboo chopsticks tapped against porcelain bowls.

Su Jinxuan chewed slowly, savoring every bite, and when she finished, set down her chopsticks. Her eyes swept the room, searching.

Xue Yuan casually pulled out a black silk handkerchief from his Su-mi bracelet and tossed it over:

"Here, keep it. Don't return it."

"...?"

Su Jinxuan didn't take it.

The black handkerchief drifted gently, landing upon her legs, wrapped in translucent white silk stockings.

Xue Yuan smiled calmly and said:

"Don't worry, I've never used it."

"..."

Only then did Su Jinxuan silently lift the small black silk cloth from her thigh.

Her expression was dignified, gently wiping the remnants from her lips with the cloth, when suddenly she heard:

"Ah, I've got it wrong—this black one, I think I've used it before."

"..." Su Jinxuan.

They stared at each other for two seconds.

Watching the other's chest rise and fall, their flushed, angry expression, Xu Yuan chuckled lightly:

"Don't look at me like that—just a joke. I haven't eaten a proper meal in days."

It was true.

With a spiritual spring—something akin to a pill that enables fasting—one could meditate continuously within the room, twenty-four hours a day, even without needing to go to the bathroom.

These days, Su Jinxuan had been fed this spiritual spring.

Su Jinxuan removed the black silk handkerchief from her red lips and placed it on her leg, gripping it tightly:

"Xu Changtian, playing tricks on me is quite entertaining?"

"If it weren't entertaining, why would I bother playing tricks on you?"

"..."

For a fleeting moment, Su Jinxuan felt a surge of desire to rush forward and fight this Xu Changtian to the death.

But just as that impulse rose within her,

Xu Yuan gently tapped the wooden table before him, his eyes bending with a gentle, smiling tone:

"Of course. If you weren't useful to me, I'd rather have simply killed you than play games with you."

Expression guides, compel King Xu Changge.

Tone guides, the master who kills without blinking, Zhou Da Zongshi.

"........"

Su Jinxuan's eyes flickered with panic, but it vanished quickly. She sneered:

"Then just kill me right now..."

"Stop wasting words."

Xu Yuan waved his hand impatiently. "You know I won't kill you. You have two choices now: first, send me back to the chamber and keep me locked up; second..."

"I choose one." Su Jinxuan cut in, her neck stiff.

"........"

The air remained still for a moment.

Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

He could clearly see Su Jinxuan's body trembling slightly from fear.

Their eyes met,

then,

Xu Yuan didn't evade or delay—he simply nodded:

"Alright."

His purpose had remained crystal clear throughout: to extract information about Qin Wei'jiao from Su Jinxuan.

If possible, he would go further and exploit the Black Scale Guards' findings in Jin City to turn this demon spy against him.

Since no negotiation was possible now, they would simply close the door for a while and reopen it later.

After all, he wasn't in a rush.

Gently rising, Xu Yuan stepped forward and placed a black silk ribbon upon the wooden table.

"Since you're unwilling to hear even the second option, then take it with you. But I'm genuinely curious—what is it about Mr. Qin that has made you place such absolute trust in him?"

"..."

Though she had mentally prepared herself repeatedly just moments before, the moment arrived and her steady breath began to falter.

Still, she reached for the black silk ribbon, trembling as she fastened it around her own waist, her voice cold and sharp:

"Mr. Qin has shown me boundless kindness..."

"Phew..."

Xu Yuan couldn't hold back a chuckle. "Boundless kindness?"

"What? What are you laughing at?"

Faced with the terror of returning to despair, and driven by deep respect for her benefactor, Su Jinxuan's emotions spiraled out of control.

Xu Yuan replied calmly and steadily:

"Don't get excited, Mr. Qin truly did you a great favor—after all, he killed your entire family and raised you from childhood."

"......"

Su Jinxuan remained silent for a moment, then spoke:

"Baseless manipulation and division."

"If it were truly baseless, why did you react so strongly the first time I said it on the carriage?"

"Unfounded slander is something everyone would find infuriating."

"......"

After a brief pause, Xu Yuan suddenly pulled down the black silk cloth, meeting her eyes directly:

"If it's slander, then why didn't you refute me earlier instead, choosing silence and deceit to avoid addressing the issue?"

Su Jinxuan also stared back at Xu Yuan, refusing to yield an inch:

"Everything you say is utterly devoid of actual evidence. Anyone can make empty claims. What point is there in refuting a deduction built entirely on castles in the air?"

"You are right. Back then, it truly was a castle in the air."

Xu Yuan drew a secret report from his Sumeru Ring and casually tossed it onto the table before Su Jinxuan:

"But it isn't anymore."

"..."

Staring at the cover of the secret report, Su Jinxuan's pupils contracted slightly; her gaze wavered with hesitation, yet in the end, she did not move.

She could not believe it, or rather, she was unwilling to believe it.

The wing room was cast in dim shadow, the outdoor sunlight thoroughly barred by the heavy curtains.

Silence stretched for several breaths,

Xu Yuan quietly asked,

"Didn't you want to see it?"

Su Jinxuan only quickly replied in a cold tone:

"Xu Changtian, you've gone to all lengths to stage this farce. Do you think I'll believe in your fabricated evidence?"

Xu Yuan shook his head:

"First you dismissed the lack of evidence—now that I've brought it to you, won't you even dare to glance at it?"

At this point, Xu Yuan suddenly sighed faintly:

"And Su Jinxuan, you've made yourself too important. From the fact that Qin Wei jiu refused to pass on even the basics of his cultivation technique to you, you're merely a pitiful tool in his hands. The information you possess actually touches nothing near the core. My State's intent to move against Qin Wei jiu—knowing the intelligence is merely icing on the cake."

"Oh, by the way."

Xu Yuan slowly paced back and forth in the room:

"Do you wish to know why Qin Wei Jiu refuses to pass on his techniques to you?"

"........"

Su Jinxuan's beautiful eyes flickered slightly, yet she continued to gaze steadily at Xu Yuan Mo, remaining silent.

After a pause—no one offered a response—Xu Yuan smiled contentedly, indulging in his solo monologue:

"Because he's afraid. The unpredictability of the Mysterious Soul Demon Body is too great."

"Even if you deliberately suppress the use of your innate charm ability toward those close to you, as your cultivation deepens, the natural allure of the Mysterious Soul Demon Body will inevitably affect those around you. Qin Wei Jiu himself, with his profound cultivation, remains unaffected, but his subordinates do not."

At this point, Xu Yuan offered a subtle smile:

"If even one of his subordinates, aware of your unique constitution, falls in love with you, then you might just uncover the truth from that past."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan pulled out a rare and precious text from his Xumu seal:

"This is a treatise on the Mysterious Soul Demon Body. You may read it to verify whether what I've said is true, and then decide whether to investigate the intelligence retrieved by the Black Scale Guard from Jin Cheng."

Hearing the name Jincheng, Su Jinxuan's gaze visibly wavered for a moment.

Xu Yuan gently patted her shoulder:

"I will give you half an hour. I shall return in half an hour, and if your decision remains the same, I will say no more."

With that, Xu Yuan turned and walked out of the chamber, softly closing the door behind him, leaving Su Jinxuan alone, staring blankly at the ancient texts and secret dispatches upon the table.