Scheming Kids
Ye Mei has no idea what Wuxie is up to.
She and that blonde took a pill that made them faint later.
What is she up to?
He has to remain vigilant, and fast.
He kept an eye on the missy and watched.
'Dumb pieces of trash.' The Hidden Cloud Peak disciple muttered to himself as he stood at the entrance to the quarters, his eyes fixed on the naive sacrifices who were oblivious to the certain death that awaited them at the end of their disillusioned good fortune, as they trudged out to suffer further torment.
'Do we just send these two to the Elder?' A few Hidden Cloud Peak disciples walked over and kicked at the unmoving pair lying on the ground asked easily. Ye Mei had to hold his urge for murder...
'Just send them up, I did not expect that there to be such weak ones among the sheep that would succumb to the torture on the very first night. They're sure out of luck.' Without feeling any pity for the pair, two Hidden Cloud Peak disciples carried Qiao Chu and Wuxie, moving deeper into the peak.
As they made their way in, the disciples paid no attention to the injured pair and handled them roughly. After some time, they came before the same building that Qiao Chu and Wuxie had sneaked into last night.
The doors to the building were open and the guards at the doors allowed the disciples in without stopping them when the guards saw them carrying the two injured over their shoulders.
After they entered, Qiao Chu and Wuxie were thrown like sacks onto the hard floor.
With a boom, the doors to the building were then closed.
Qiao Chu lay flat on the ground, his face stuck to the dirty floor, his pale face in a grimace.
Will somebody tell him what was happening to him?
Why did he suddenly faint? What scared him more was that after he collapsed, he had remained conscious, and heard every single word of the conversation between the senior disciples. And no matter how hard he tried, he could not move a finger.
He had remained conscious, and his half closed eyes had allowed him to see everything that was going on. But he just could not...move!
What kind of an elixir did Wuxie give him? Why is he in such a state?
As Qiao Chu was feeling helpless and confused on the hard floor.
Time passed, before the doors to the building were opened again. The sun shone in through the doors and lit the dim room with its light. A crooked figure shuffled to stand before the doors into the room, the light shining behind him.
'Stay alert and watch carefully, I do not want any disturbances.' An evil chilling voice was heard, one that made anyone feel like they were dipped into the icy cold water of a winter lake.
Before the comforting sunlight could warm the cold hard floor, the doors to the room were shut tight once again!
The sharp jingle of bells sounded in the ears of Wuxie and Qiao Chu, and the sound gradually came closer to the two figures lying motionless upon the ground. The jingles of bells beat at their thumping hearts, its rhythm in tandem with their heartbeats.
Ke Cangju stood, his back hunched and his eyes narrowed as he stared at the two youths, his darkened lips curled in a cruel arc. He shook his hands and two lengths of chains slipped out from his voluminous sleeves. He secured the chains around the bellies of Qiao Chu and Jun Wuxie, and dragged the unconscious pair towards the underground chamber.
In the deep underground chamber, the nauseating smell of blood permeated throughout, mixed with the strong smell of herbs that assaulted one's sense of smell.
The crisply clear jingle of the bells followed Ke Cangju as he shuffled forward, and the two Hidden Cloud Peak disciples who were busying themselves within the underground chamber immediately dropped the tasks at at hand and went up to Ke Cangju when they heard him coming.
'Master.' The two disciples bowed respectfully.
Ke Cangju released the chains around Wuxie and Qiao Chu and said to the two disciples: 'Bring them over.'
'Yes, Master.'
The disciples picked up the two youths and carried them over to the raised wooden platforms at the side.
Two loud thuds sounded as the youths were thrown carelessly upon the wooden boards.
'Clean them up properly. I have new drugs to test on them.' Ke Cangju let out a spine chilling cackle as he turned to walk further inside.
Within the dimly lit underground chamber, the torches flickered, and the pretty faced youth hung from the wall, his face pale. He was not moving, and it seemed as though he could be dead.
Ke Cangju lifted a water scoop from a bucket and splashed it heavily upon the youth.
The icy cold water woke the unconscious youth and he raised his head slowly, his eyes glinted with a trace of hatred, the tiny teardrop mole below his eye showing clearly on his face.
'I can see you are still very spirited. That's good. Let's play a different game today.' Ke Cang Ju cackled maliciously, and pulled a thin cane from a bucket filled with a black gooey liquid. The cane was soaked through with the black liquid and it glistened darkly within the dim firelight, and thorns were embedded throughout its length.
This youth was from the previous batch of new recruits brought into the Hidden Cloud Peak last month. All the others from the same batch that had been brought in had already died under his hands. This youth had possessed exceptional life force and his vitality had far surpassed all the others. Even after more than two weeks' torture, he had remained alive.
The cane soaked in the poisonous black liquid was slashed upon the youth's tall slender body, every stroke left glaringly gashing red wounds as the thorns dug into his flesh. The black poison liquid stuck to the wounds and the red bloody gashes soon turned a dark purple.
'This is the poisonous cane that grows only on the Eastern Spirit Mountain, I collected and immersed them in the juice of the Heart Eroding Grass. The poisonous cane's barbed hooks might be sharp, but were rather brittle. They break off easily after just a few uses and lose its effectiveness. But when it is soaked in the juice of the Heart Eroding Grass, it hardens and strengthens the barbed hooks, making them unbelievably strong and increases its poisonous qualities greatly." As he continued lashing, Ke Cangju was immersed in his 'teaching' as he rattled on with his hoarse voice.
'The best thing about it is, the poison is not lethal enough to kill, but will induce unbearable pain and agony in the human body. The wounds it leaves behind will feel like thousands of ants biting away at the flesh. Hua Yao, have you remembered everything your Master had so painstakingly prepared for your lesson today?' The cane slashed mercilessly within the dim chamber, and Ke Cangju's eyes grew crazed, his face contorted in glee, and his breaths grew shorter as he got more and more excited.
The youth took on the slashes without uttering a single sound with his head lowered, as he clenched his jaw tight. Within the pair of pretty eyes, they did not show any trace of fear or terror, but flashed with a chill and showed defiant calm.
The endless cracks from the cane echoed throughout the underground chamber while the two disciples outside lowered their heads as they began to 'prepare' the two newly arrived sacrificial sheep.
'That kid in there can really take it, he's actually still alive!' One of the disciples said indifferently, having gotten used to the daily tortuous experiments that happened daily in the underground chamber, and Hua Yao was the only one to still survive after more than ten days under the malicious hands of Ke Cangju. Before him, none had managed to last that long.
Forget ten days, none had lasted more than even five days! Basically, any of the new recruits sent here mostly die in three days and even if they miraculously survived, an outcome worse than death awaited them. Their vision and voices would be snatched away from them, becoming blind and mute, unable to utter a single word of protest or curse and immersed in the urns that were filled to the brim with poison. Death was actually a relief for these people.
'I took a look at him earlier this morning, he would not last much longer.' The other disciple replied without any expression.
'I wonder how long these two sheep here would last, two days? Or three days...this kid here had looked rather thin, but he is actually rather muscular.' The disciple exclaimed as he cut up Qiao Chu's clothes. Under the tattered tunic, his firm muscular chest glistened under the dim flickering torches, as the disciple admired for a little longer before he reached out his hand and stroked Qiao Chu's chest when he could not resist it any longer. The disciple, absorbed in his admiration and the feeling that lingered on his fingertips, had not noticed that the sacrificial sheep that laid there, had seemed to shiver from his touch.
The other disciple pouted at his partner's luck as he stared at the petite and skinny specimen of a boy before him, and was about to begin with his task in disdain.
'I don't know about yours, but this one here, should be lucky if he could even last through today.'
As he spoke, he picked up the blade, raised his hand and was about to cut through the clothes when his hand was back in mid action.
The disciple froze, the shock paralyzing him a moment, as he looked in disbelief at the small hand that was gripped on his wrist!
That hand, belonged to the little brat that lay before him.
'Die.' Wuxie who had been unconscious just a second ago suddenly snapped her cold and chilling eyes open, and used her Shuisi poison on the men, and used another poison after that made them turn black and look like withered husks. She then woke up Qiao Chu.
'Waaaah! He touched my chest! He touched my cheeeest!' Qiao Chu wailed, and Wuxie had to bonk him. 'Ow!'
'Quiet! There's a maniac next door whacking Hua Yao!' Wuxie hissed in reminder and Qiao Chu went meek instantly. 'Honestly, the guy you got must be a cut-sleeve. These people here must be real sickos.' she shuddered. With the two disciples dealt with, Wuxie and Qiao Chu proceeded deeper into the underground chamber.
In there, the 'lesson of the day' for Hua Yao was still ongoing, with Ke Cangju 'teaching'. Totally immersed in his instruction of his students, he suddenly noticed a reaction for his student. The pretty youth under torture finally raised his head, his eyes bright, staring straight in front of him.
'Finally? You've reached your limit?' Ke Cangju cackled, and his evil laughter echoed in the underground chamber. All this time, Hua Yao had not shown the slightest reaction to the numerous torture inflicted upon him, but finally, his eyes had changed. Did this mean that the boy can finally no longer bear up under his ingenuity?
'If you beg me, I might just consider lessening your agony. After all, a disciple like you, is someone I greatly favor.' Ke Cangju sneered with a cackling laugh. He absolutely loved it when he saw these beautiful blooming flowers of youth, struggle to live and succumb in the end under the torment of his making, to wilt and finally die.
When pain and fear overtook them, especially when their fair supple flesh of youth were torn and shredded, it had always made excitement surge up within and gave him a twisted sense of satisfaction.
Hua Yao was undoubtedly, among all the 'disciples' he had recruited, the one who had the most outstanding looks. When he had first laid eyes on this pretty youth that stirred his heart, his soul had roared to rip apart the pretty face before him, to use poison to rot the bones beneath those distinctly sharp and prominent features, to destroy and grind into the mud, the beauty that was shamelessly being flaunted, stinging his eyes and gnawed at his soul.
'Too slow.' The pretty youth, with a trail of blood flowing down the corner of his mouth, said suddenly, slowly.
Ke Cangju paused, not understanding what Hua Yao had meant by those words.
'I thought you were enjoying what the hideous monster had specially prepared for you.' A clear carefree voice suddenly sounded out behind Ke Cangju!
Ke Cangju turned immediately and looked in puzzlement at the two youths standing just steps away from him!
Weren't these two boys unconscious and barely alive just moments ago?
'Yucks! At this close distance, your face looks absolutely ugly and disgusting!' Qiao Chu held his hand to his mouth in mock terror, taunting the shocked Ke Cangju.
'Ugly!? Who are you calling ugly? You imbecile!' Ke Cangju's face contorted in rage.
All his life, Ke Cangju had absolutely hated anyone to talk about his looks. And because of that, he had hated any male he came across who were blessed with good looks, and not even children, were spared from his wrath!
This pipsqueak here, dared to call him ugly to his face!?
He could not wait to shred him into a thousand pieces!
Ke Cangju made his move immediately, unable to contain his rage, as three dark cold glints shot towards Qiao Chu's vitals!
At the same moment that Ke Cangju made his move, streaks of silver flashed and stopped the three dark glints in mid flight!
Clink! Clink! Clink!
Three clinks sounded successively!
The moment the silver streaks had clashed into the dark glints, three black needles and three silver needles clattered to the floor, glinting under the flickering torches.
Ke Cangju's eyes widened in amazement, staring in disbelief at the unremarkable youth before him.
His poison needles had never failed him before, even when he had used them on an unsuspecting indigo level spirit user and taken him down. But this youth here actually stopped all three of his poison needles after he made his move!? What surprised him more was after he saw that the silver needles that had stopped his dark poison ones were smaller in weight and size!
He had shot out the needles discreetly without holding back. How did the youth detect and reacted within the split second to stopped his dark needles in their tracks!?
He squinted to take a good look at the youth, and that look gave him a great shock when he realized the youth standing at the side was the very same youth that he had snatched right from under Mu Chen's nose!
Ke Cang Ju hated good looking youths, and the better looking they were, it brought about a greater hatred. Hence, every month, when he picked from the candidates who failed to be accepted into the Qing Yun Clan, he had always chosen the slightly better looking ones. He usually did not pay attention to ones like Wuxie, small in build, facial features though delicate, but not outstanding. He had forcibly snatched Wuxie from right under Mu Chen's eyes because he hated Mu Chen's youth and his good looks, but was unable to do much more against Mu Chen, when they were both Elders of the Qingyun Sect.
Compared to Wuxie, the tall slender youth standing next to him looked more appetizing to Ke Cangju, as he stirred a greater amount of hatred within, with his better looks.
But he smelled something or rather, a scent forced its way into his nose. 'Gah!'
'Ugly in life, you'll be ugly in death, too.' Wuxie smirked cruelly as in her hand, were small leather bottles filled with her poison and it was where the green smoke was coming from, as well as the purple, white, and brown one. Suddenly, Ke Cangju let out a silent gasp of pain, before he began twitching and flailing violently. 'The disciples you've tortured to death...you'll feel their pain. You can scream, but nobody can hear you! Heeheehee! And the fun part? You cannot do a thing! You'll just twitch like fish out of water, can't even use Ki! Am I not a better poisoner than you?'
Hua Yao and Qiao Chu decided she was scarier.
'You're a poisoner?' Qiao Chu gulped.
'Well, I'm a Pharmacist. It'd be weird if I can't make poison.' Wuxie snorted as she corked back her bottles. 'You can stop playing pretend now and get down from there, Hua Yao.' Hua Yao snorted as he freed himself and seeing how he did so shocked Ke Cangju.
'Er if you poisoned him, how come he's still alive?' Hua Yao pointed out.
'Well, that can be credited to his cultivation, whatever heck his rank is...but that's the best part.' Wuxie chuckled. 'The stronger you are, the worser the pain is, to the point you'll go insane. Heart rate will rise until eventually...' Ke Cangju fell dead, blood coming out of his mouth. 'Your heart explodes from within.'
'Scary~' Qiao Chu shivered. 'You're actually armed to the teeth!'
'Hua Yao, hand.'
'Eh?' he gave her his hand and she took it to feel his condition by touching his pulse.
'...your body's a mix of poisons and you're still alive...had it been me or Qiao Chu, we're long dead from this!' Wuxie frowned as Qiao Chu looked at her in horror. 'Bailian, Floral Form.' she called out Bailian who came out in his flower form, filling the foul-smelling chamber with his fragrance and overpowering the smell of death within.
Her familiar is a plant-type. This, the two boys noted.
'Yes Master?'
'Hua Yao will have to take seven petals from you to purge his blood of various toxic concoctions.' Wuxie told him. That basically revealed her abilities. 'Bear with it, OK?' she told Bailian kindly.
'This is gonna be ouchie, but OK~' Bailian shook, as if terrified. 'Who's who?'
'Me.' said Hua Yao, reaching to pluck petals as gently as he could since apparently, getting plucked hurts as per pluck, the flower meeps.
'So you clearly chose being a pharmacist because of your familiar...' Qiao Chu mused, amazed.
'Pretty much...Bailian's petals purges our blood of all impurities and poison.' said Wuxie. 'Your body will force everything out through the pores of the body. An unpleasant experience, particularly the worser off you are...' Hua Yao groaned in resignation. Well, he's hurt for days, what's a few more? '-but when you're all clean, you'll feel clean inside, and it'll be easier to make ki flow into the body with better control that benefits cultivators...as long as you don't have bad vices like smoking and alcoholism or eating fatty food...' she snorted. 'If you're such a person, poor Bailian's treasure petals will be wasted.'
'I'm not such a person at least.' Hua Yao snorted as he ate the petals. It tastes sweet!
Bailian turned into a pointy-eared baby in a red dudou and nothing else, sniffling.
'Waaaah! Maaaasteeeer!' Bailian cried, floating to Wuxie for comfort, making the boys choke. Its true form is a freaking baby?!
'Alright alright...' Wuxie clearly treats her familiar well, comforting him like she would a kid brother who cried from an ouchie. 'You've done well, Bailian.'
The boys have no idea what to say at this point, too dumbstruck.
There really was a good reason why the flower from before talks childishly...
'Well Hua Yao, shall we play dress up and pretend?' Wuxie smiled. 'You'll be Ke Cangju for a while, until you guys get what you want. It seems this disgusting creature has a lot of benefits off of Qin Yue and he must have played a role for Qin Yue in why he is so favored.'
'Hmmm, we wonder about that too.' said Qiao Chu with a frown.
Wuxie took out her cosmetics set as Hua Yao shifted his bones to have his body semble that of Ke Cangju's, but his looks were impossible...somewhat...to completely change, and that was where Wuxie comes in. Hua Yao unwillingly memorized Ke Cangju's hideousness that was of great help in impersonating the despicable man.
'Come on, it's time you go look at your Hidden Cloud Peak, Elder Ke.' Wuxie cast a glance at Hua Yao, mischief written all over her face.
His Hidden Cloud Peak? Hua Yao smiled, marveling at the kid, Wuxie's ingenuity who had changed the leadership of the Hidden Cloud Peak without anyone of the Qingyun Sect finding out. He started to believe Wuxie's words when she had said she wanted to kill a few people in the clan. With such intellect and skills, she might just be capable of it.
Two Hidden Cloud Peak guards were standing outside the building and leaning lazily against the wall when the doors suddenly opened and they scrambled to stand at attention.
'Ke Cangju' stepped out from behind the doors with his hideous face sinister and the two guards hurriedly greeted him with their heads lowered, and they were shocked when they suddenly noticed two figures following behind the Elder.
Were those two not the very same sacrificial sheep sent within just hours ago? Why are they walking out from the building unscathed?
It was known that every sheep sent within had not ever walked out alive before, and they would only be carted out after their lives had expired and buried under the herb beds.
Things were different today!
The two disciples' puzzled looks displeased Ke Cangju and he narrowed his eyes, staring coldly at the two offending disciples before he said in a sinister tone: 'Stare again and I'll have your eyes gouged.'
The two disciples shivered and quickly averted their eyes from the other two figures who followed behind the Elder, and kept their thoughts to themselves.
Ke Cangju's moods were extremely unpredictable and killed without discretion. If anyone of them angered him, even as disciples of the Inner House of the Hidden Cloud Peak, they were not spared from his wrath.
Once the two nosy disciples seemed to realize their place, Ke Cangju shuffled off with a dark face and made Qiao Chu and Wuxie follow him. Before he left, he left instructions to the two shivering disciples guarding the building.
'Go deal with the fertilizer in the basement.'
Hua Yao brought Qiao Chu and Wuxie to Ke Cangju's living quarters, and they passed many Hidden Cloud Peak disciples along the way. They all bowed in obeisance without exception, and seemed to have lost any traces of the arrogance and sneering complacency that was seen in their attitudes within the disciples' quarters earlier. They fawned and adulated deeply and quickly stepped out of Ke Cangju's way. Their eyes had then showed astonishment when they subsequently noticed the two figures, Wuxie and Qiao Chu following right behind their Elder Ke.
Wuxie and Qiao Chu had put on a duet performance of them falling in a dead faint earlier that morning and the Hidden Cloud Peak disciples recognized the two actors involved. They had thought they would never see their faces before them again, but who would have thought, barely two hours later, they now found the two youths still very much alive before their eyes, and even holding on to the tailcoats of Elder Ke!
In name, Ke Cangju was the Master of those disciples, but none of them within the Hidden Cloud Peak dared follow Elder Ke all over the place.
Elder Ke's unpredictable temperament was well known within the Qingyun Clan. Except for a short period of time daily where Elder Ke made an appearance when he handed out his instructions for the day, he had absolutely hated to have any disciples being around him at any other time.
Needless to say, having two of them dogging him throughout the mountains.
What did those two brats do to impress Elder Ke so? They should have on their way to become fertilizer for the herbs by now, but they had somehow managed to come out of the underground chamber alive and well?
That had never ever happened before in the Hidden Cloud Peak!
Under the puzzled stares of the disciples, Hua Yao led Qiao Chu and Wuxie into Ke Cangju's living quarters brazenly.
Ke Cangju's quarters was extremely spacious and luxuriously fitted. Within the whole of the Qing Yun Clan, the only place more spacious and luxurious was the quarters of the Sovereign, Qin Yue himself.
Within the courtyard, several grey robed servants were sweeping the floor with their heads lowered. They had not noticed the entrance of Hua Yao and the two disciples, and they only raised their heads when Hua Yao stood right before the servants.
Qiao Chu gasped loudly when the servants raised their heads.
Their faces, were no longer what he would call a face. Except for their eyes and mouths, nothing else could be differentiated from the faces. The faces looked as if they had been burned by fire, the flesh were all scarred and twisted. The lips had been cut, and half their mouths sewn together, leaving only a small gap open. Their ears and noses had also been removed, their heads deliberately smoothed out to become like a featureless ball.
If Ke Cangju's face was thought to be hideous, he had made his servants' faces to be downright revolting.
'These people...' Qiao Chu was shocked by these horrifying looking servants.
'They were previously disciples of the Hidden Cloud Peak, and they offended Ke Cangju. They were then brought here to his living quarters to serve as lowly servants.' Hua Yao said, reverting his voice back to his original clear and youthful voice. They cannot hear, nor speak. Hence, you do not have to worry that they will divulge anything of us. In their eyes, I am Ke Cangju.' Hua Yao said bitingly.
Wuxie looked at the faces of the servants and she could not find any signs of awareness. Qiao Chu's and Hua Yao's exchange did not seem to have been heard. They only widened their eyes in fright at the sight of Hua Yao, and shivered like mice before a cat, their fear of Ke Cangju, painfully obvious.
'That despicable Ke Cang Ju, really deserved to die.' Qiao Chu said, suppressing his anger. There really was a reason why Wuxie called this place 'Death Peak'. Aspiring Disciples who end up here, have no future here at all. Either death or disfigurement, unable to go home ever again. So their fates danced on being picked by other elders. And even then, what else happens?
The three of them entered the room, and Hua Yao searched the wardrobe for a clean suit of clothes to change into. Ke Cangju only had clothes of a dark shade and did not find one that suited his taste.
In Ke Cangju's study, there were many medical books. From the worn and tattered state of the books, their pages had been obviously well flipped. The most worn ones of them were several books on poisons. Wuxie flipped through them quickly and threw them in a corner.
'So Brother Hua can even change his voice? I had not known about that, this is a first.' Qiao Chu was sitting on a chair at the side, and suddenly remembered that when he had heard Hua Yao speak earlier, his voice had been exactly the same as Ke Cangju's.
Hua Yao did not answer him and turned to Wuxie: 'What do you want to do next?'
Wuxie's objective was not in conflict to theirs, but they were still different after all.
'Why don't you tell me what are your intentions instead? I made mine clear you know.' Wuxie walked to the side and sat down slowly, feeling their cooperation had been rather smooth so far. Hua Yao and Qiao Chu exchanged a glance for a moment before Hua Yao finally said: 'We need to find a map. I had initially suspected the map to be in Ke Cang Ju's hands, hence, I got myself admitted to the Hidden Cloud Peak as a disciple to find it. But I had just searched the premises here and did not find anything. If I am not wrong, the map should be with Qin Yue at the moment.' Hua Yao continued to explain.
'I'll kill them, and you'll look for the map.'
'...' Qiao Chu was speechless at Wuxie's nonchalant tone when speaking of committing cruel murder and blatant thievery.
Wuxie was being just too calm about it!
'When do you intend to make your move?' Hua Yao asked.
'Not right now. After all, I am eyeing the whole Qingyun Sect.' Wuxie shrugged. 'I'm here for a few people so I need to know who's in my way or not first before I move.' She was in no hurry to make her move yet as the Qing Yun Clan was huge after all. Even for her, to wipe them out in its entirety would not be a simple task. It would not be too hard to just kill Qin Yue, or the Elders, what was difficult to achieve was to send the whole Qingyun Sect into the abyss at the same time.
The Qingyun Sect's Inner House had disciples totaling near a thousand, and they are spread all over the Cloudy Peaks with the twelve individual peaks also housing disciples who resided in their summits. If they were to stir the hornet's' nest and kill Qin Yue, it would drive the other Elders into action, and Wuxie might not be able to get out of it in one piece. Moreover, she still did not intend to spare anyone of them.
People might call her cruel or even vicious, it did not matter.
The disciples of the Qingyun Sect were not innocent in her eyes, considering what they did in her house!
Qin Yuyan had been determined to obliterate the whole of the Qi Kingdom just for the Soul-Stabilizing Gem, and she had not bothered to concern herself about the innocence of the people and the commoners.
Wuxie's point of view, anyone who harmed her grandfather and uncle would pay the price with their lives. And her vengeance would not only be upon the mastermind, but onto any persons involved or linked to it!
She wanted the whole Qingyun Sect to disappear from the face of these lands at the same time, and she needed a little more time to prepare for it.
'Ke Cangju and Qin Yue enjoyed an exceptional relationship. With this appearance, I might be able to gather important information.' Hua Yao was extremely pleased with the way things are going for them. If not for Wuxie, he would not be able to disguise himself as Ke Cangju so completely. Killing Ke Cangju would have been easy for him, but he would not be able to substitute himself for Ke Cangju's double, and Wuxie had helped them solved a thorny issue for them.
'If there is anything you need from us, just let us know. As long as it is within our capabilities, we will give it our best shot.' Hua Yao said.
'Qin Yue trusts Ke Cangju a lot, and gave him great autonomy and authority. Ke Cangju loved poisons to the point of obsession, and I think if he were to ask to be allowed to choose suitable candidates to help him from the other peaks, Qin Yue would not reject him.' Wuxie told him with an innocent look on her face. 'Elders then gets annoyed...'
Hua Yao's eyes brightened, 'I am sure now, you meant every word you said when you said you wanted to kill a few people here.'
What they don't know, is that she wants EVERYONE here dead.
Qiao Chu stared puzzled at Jun Wuxie, and then turned to stare blankly at Hua Yao, scratching his head to show...that he really could not keep up with the conversation!
'Wait wait wait wait!' Qiao Chu said suddenly, 'Can you guys be a little more straightforward, and spare a thought for this not so intelligent mind?' Yes, he had to admit, he was not as meticulous in thought as Little Wen or Brother Hua. He had lost himself somewhere in the conversation and the other two had babbled on happily leaving him confused.
'You finally admit you are lacking in the intelligence department?' Hua Yao asked wickedly.
'You think everyone's like you and Little Wen? Talking in riddles and expecting everyone to understand you.' Qiao Chu retorted.
Hua Yao sighed and started to patiently explain: 'Huang Huiwen's intention is to create a division among the Qingyun Sect. Qin Yue favors Ke Cangju and allows him to act with impunity within the Qingyun Sect. We saw that as a fact when Ke Cangju could get away with snatching disciples favored and picked by Mu Chen right before his very eyes. Although Ke Cangju was highly arrogant, he was not stupid. He might have suppressed the Cloud Treading Peak blatantly, but he kept his hands off the other peaks. Because of this, the other Elders chose not to see Ke Cangju's vile actions. And what if Ke Cangju were to suddenly decide not to be so discreet and abuse the indulgence Qin Yue allowed him onto the other Elders. It would be our guess that the Elders of the other peaks would not take it lying down.'
Qiao Chu was suddenly enlightened, 'So, what Little Wen meant was that the other Elders would only know too well what Ke Cangju needed their disciples for, and if he were to blatantly go seize disciples from the other peaks, and the purpose was for the testing of poisons, it would definitely anger the other Elders. Am I right?' He finally understood what was going on.
Wuxie nodded and continued for Qiao Chu's benefit: 'Having had your own disciples taken away forcefully and showing their own Elders of their peaks being completely unable to protect them would be as good as slapping the faces of the other Elders. No matter how patient and benevolent they might be, none of them would be able to swallow the insult. And if Qin Yue were to insist on taking the side of the Hidden Cloud Peak, the other peaks will feel the injustice and react, and by that time, the Qingyun Clan would not be as harmonious as before.'
Stirring up conflicts between the Elders and Qin Yue was just an appetizer. What she wanted went way beyond just internal conflicts within the Qingyun Sect.
'How do you know that Qin Yue will allow Ke Cangju to do as he likes? He isn't that dumb is he? He should be able to see that Ke Cangju's actions would result in great discontent from the Elders of the other peaks.' Qiao Chu tried to reason.
'He will.' Jun Wu Xie said softly. Other people might not know of the inner workings within the Qingyun Sect. 'If he does not, Ke Cangju would drag his name into the mud.'
'What does that mean?' Qiao Chu asked curiously, and even Hua Yao looked questioningly at Wuxie.
'Ye Mei, got anything good?' Wuxie called out as Ye Mei appeared by her side.
'The reason Qin Yue was able to become the Sovereign of the Qingyun Sect was all due to Ke Cangju's poisons.' he began. If Ke Cangju had not helped him poison the former Sovereign, the Qingyun Clan would have fallen into Mu Chen's hands.' Wuxie narrowed her eyes as a chill flashed briefly within. Now why does this feel familiar...?
Oh yeah, her own situation as a Princess. The 'other' Beiyue told her she was poisoned and made ill. So her nasty family took everything from her!
The Sovereign of the most revered clan throughout the lands, killed his own teacher, usurped the position of Sovereign. Such a crime, even for Qin Yue, would be devastating if pinned on him.
'When Ke Cangju had helped Qin Yue seize the leadership of the Qingyun Sect, he had naturally kept close to himself a hidden hand against Qin Yue to prevent him from burning all bridges after he assumed the leadership as the Sovereign of the sect. With this hold over Qin Yue, Ke Cangju forced Qin Yue to accede to his demands and was helpless against Ke Cangju's vicious and malicious deeds within the Hidden Cloud Peak as Ke Cangju held knowledge of events that could turn Qin Yue's reputation beyond redemption. I found incriminating proof and its in my possession.'
'Holy smokes! We can pull this off!' Qiao Chu exclaimed in glee.
This secret hidden within the Qing Yun Clan, shocked Hua Yao and Qiao Chu. They both knew that Qin Yue had used underhanded means to ascend to the leadership position in the Qing Yun Clan, but they had not expected him to have employed such an extreme and despicable method by murdering your own Master!
In their worldly view of things, there was nothing more despicable than killing your own Master.
If word of this got out, Qin Yue would not only lose his position as the Sovereign, he would be cursed and spat upon wherever he went throughout the lands.
'With that information in hand, it is little wonder you were so sure Qin Yue would accede to such atrocious demands.' Qiao Chu almost clapped for Wuxie then, they obtained such shocking secrets that could hold Qin Yue by his throat?
Wuxie continued to say: 'Ke Cangju had kept evidence of Qin Yue's murder of the former Sovereign, and Qin Yue had always wanted to find it, but to no avail. We might not know where and what the evidence is, but that would not stop us from threatening Qin Yue with this information devastating to him since Ye Mei found it for us.' Qin Yue would be forced to submit to their threats, without knowing that Ke Cangju had actually been replaced secretly.
Hua Yao nodded, understanding fully what Wuxie meant.
'We'll carry it out just like what you have said, let's go stir up some chaos within the Qingyun Sect!'