Chapter 394: Holding and Manipulating

Chapter 394: In the Palm

At this moment, Huangfu Qing cared not a whit about being mistaken for a warming maid by Tang Wanzhuang and Cui Yuanyang.

What business was it of theirs how well I, Yihuo Snake and Shihuo Boar, got along? Besides, he was treading a path that made my heart flutter and my soul soar.

She turned her head, kissing him with deep emotion, murmuring, “Do you… want me?”

As she spoke, she took his hand and placed it on the heaving peaks of passion: “Are you truly only concerned with business? Here we are, alone, man and woman, in this room…”

Zhao Changhe was dumbfounded, his hand numb and heart aflutter, at a loss for words.

You were just hitting me—this shift is too fast…

“Uh… isn’t this place a bit inappropriate?” Zhao Changhe asked awkwardly. “You, you came on business too. Shouldn’t we, uh, talk about the Yang family’s affairs?”

“You talk of business with your lips, yet your hand seems quite pleased, doesn’t it? Why is this place unsuitable? Are they nearby? Let them come and see—it’ll drive her mad.”

“…No, this is the Yang residence, with eyes and ears everywhere… You’re an imperial consort, after all. If we’re discovered…”

“What a coward.” Huangfu Qing pouted, though inwardly she knew it wasn’t the right place. She sighed with a hint of regret: “Does it still hurt? I held back a bit… At the time, I was angry that you were flirting with others.”

“Uh, uh…” But I’m still flirting now, aren’t I? Nothing’s changed…

Seeing Zhao Changhe’s dazed expression, Huangfu Qing chuckled: “Alright, alright. Let’s talk about the Yang family. The Venerable didn’t really want you meddling in this at first… The Blood God Sect has become yours, and now the Yang family is leaning toward you—it feels like we’re being poached. Of course, if you’re one of us…”

Zhao Changhe quickly said, “I really am one of us!”

“The Yang family’s matter actually starts with Xia Longyuan.” Huangfu Qing said leisurely, “The emperor openly and secretly suppresses the great clans—it’s normal. The Cui, Wang, and Yang families were all prepared for it. Normally, such suppression wouldn’t go too far, as long as you still want the realm stable…”

Zhao Changhe twitched his mouth. Old Xia’s problem was that he didn’t care about stability at all.

So behind this suppression of the great clans, something must have gone wrong.

The confusion over why the Wang family dared to raise the banner early—maybe we can find some clues here?

Huangfu Qing lowered her voice: “The most precious thing in a great clan’s heritage is its spiritual artifact, from which all traditions flow. Whether the Wang family has also encountered trouble, we don’t know yet. But one of our high-ranking members successfully infiltrated the Yang family and learned by chance that the Yang family’s sword may have lost its spirit. The Yang family’s decline is directly linked to this.”

Zhao Changhe’s heart skipped a beat.

This wasn’t just about the Yang family—the Cui family’s Qinghe Sword was the same. But Old Cui had hidden it well, and Xia Longyuan had given it a cover with the aura of Longque, so the outside world didn’t know.

No, wait—back when the Cui family was in turmoil, Cui Wenjue had tried to use this to overthrow Cui Wenjing. At the time, I suspected how Cui Wenjue knew the Qinghe Sword had gone wrong. The answer was…

Sure enough, Huangfu Qing said: “After we learned of the Yang family’s situation, we tried to figure out what was happening with the Cui and Wang families. Coincidentally, Cui Wenjue was ambitious, so we hinted to him that the Qinghe Sword might have problems. He used that to make his move, and we could observe and confirm. But you ruined it, didn’t you? Infuriating…”

She grabbed his hand and threw it aside—no more touching.

Zhao Changhe was both amused and exasperated.

So that incident with the Cui family was exactly the classic plot of a martial arts wanderer running into a demonic cult seductress scheming in the shadows—only now did he know.

These seductresses only stirred things up from behind; they never got personally involved.

“Even though you ruined that plan, we could still deduce that the Cui family’s sword must have suffered the same fate. But since Cui Wenjing had already attained the third secret vault before the sword spirit dispersed, the Cui family could still hold on—better than the Yang family.” Huangfu Qing smiled slightly, even raising her voice maliciously: “A sword spirit doesn’t just vanish on its own. Its dissipation must have a cause.”

Not sure if Cui Yuanyang overheard, Zhao Changhe squeezed Huangfu Qing to signal her to keep her voice down.

Huangfu Qing, flushed from his grip, said resentfully: “Now you’re bullying me, are you? Go squeeze them instead!”

Zhao Changhe stammered: “Let’s talk business, business. Be good, okay?”

Huangfu Qing pouted: “Do I need to spell it out? Are you brainless? Outsiders have no right to touch these ancestral divine swords of the families… If only one family had trouble, it might be their own problem. But if all have trouble, who could it be?”

Only Xia Longyuan, of course. He was probably the only one who could freely touch every family’s divine sword.

The sword spirit didn’t dissipate on its own—it was tampered with by Xia Longyuan.

This analysis might be more reasonable than Old Cui’s theory that the sword spirit was disgusted with their actions and left on its own. Or perhaps both factors were at play.

From Zhao Changhe’s understanding of sword and blade spirits, they could indeed go on strike if dissatisfied with their master’s behavior—Longque’s attitude toward Xia Longyuan was a classic example; it clearly no longer acknowledged him. But whether a strike could lead to dissipation seemed to lack a direct causal link. If Xia Longyuan had applied some kind of operation, that would complete the logic.

Huangfu Qing continued: “But the sword spirit hasn’t completely perished. If it had truly died, the sword itself would have shattered, or at least rusted and dimmed. Yet each family’s sword hasn’t shown such signs—it’s merely lost its spirit, while its sharpness remains top-tier in the world… According to our Venerable’s analysis, it’s more likely that the sword spirit has fallen into a deep slumber. To awaken it, there are probably only two ways…”

Zhao Changhe interjected: “I only know one: let it feel a master’s intent that perfectly matches it, just like when it was first born.”

That was what the Cui family hoped for—the orthodox method of reviving the sword spirit.

And the Yang family…

“Correct.” Huangfu Qing said: “The Yang family’s Lianshan Sword embodies heaviness, steadfastness, and unyielding integrity. How many people today can match such an intent? If they rely on awakening it naturally, they might wait until the Yang family is gone. So we offered them a solution…”

Zhao Changhe was speechless. So this birthday banquet was also your behind-the-scenes scheming? It’s like wherever the protagonist goes, he runs into the demonic cult’s plots.

But now she was his wife… so he had to help: “What solution?”

“Healing.”

Zhao Changhe: “?”

“After you gave the Death… Black Tortoise Venerable the Return Spring Art, we came up with this plan… Although none of us, including the Saintess, can master the Return Spring Art, we could analyze that the method of returning spring not only heals the body but also the soul. A sword spirit is a kind of soul.”

Zhao Changhe knew better than anyone that the Return Spring Art could indeed heal souls—he was already using it in his treatment of Tang Wanzhuang, though his skill was still poor.

“Since none of you can use the Return Spring Art, how can you heal it?”

“Idiot. Healing souls isn’t limited to the Return Spring Art!” Huangfu Qing said: “The Yang family, under the pretext of a birthday banquet, also widely invited famous doctors, claiming that Yang Jingxiu’s cultivation had gone slightly awry and needed examination. Once they find someone with a method to heal souls, supplemented by the Yang family’s own extensive collection of soul-nourishing herbs, the sword might just be saved.”

So that’s why Ying Wu said the Yang family had Yinghun Grass—they placed great importance on such soul-healing items and had gathered them extensively, which Ying Wu learned about.

Thus, the demonic cult’s scheme this time wasn’t villainous—it was quite righteous.

Though their ultimate goal was villainous—to ally with the Yang family in rebellion… But if the Yang family’s Lianshan Sword’s trouble was caused by Xia Longyuan, then the Yang family’s rebellion would be beyond reproach.

“So what are you and Tang Wanzhuang doing at the Yang residence?” Huangfu Qing laughed: “Want the Yang family to help you fight Maitreya? Or at least watch over Jiangbei while you fight Maitreya, so the Wang family doesn’t stab you in the back? Good idea, but the Wang family is well-prepared this time. Wang Daozhong might actually be able to help. What can you do?”

Zhao Changhe’s expression was very strange. After a long pause, he said: “If I manage to solve this matter, would you think I’m poaching from you?”

Huangfu Qing said indifferently: “If you truly consider yourself a member of the Four Symbols Sect, then whether it’s the Blood God Sect or the Yang family, how is that poaching? Even if you want to play with the chief minister’s noble daughter… we’ll only help you.”

“…Is that so?” You say you’ll help me, but why did you throw my hand away again?

Huangfu Qing glanced at him sideways: “What help can you offer? Just your Return Spring Art, which can only treat minor wounds and resist poison?”

Zhao Changhe was silent for a moment: “What if I really can?”

“Compared to the Wang family succeeding, of course I’d rather our Four Symbols Sect succeed ourselves. If you really can, it’ll be a great merit. I’ll reward you…” Huangfu Qing’s voice turned silky: “And if you can also manage to put them in your palm, the reward can be whatever you desire…”