Chapter 655: Beautiful Man Strategy

Despite his complaints, Zu'an still said, "But how could those people listen to me? I can't actively reveal my connection to you." Having experienced the incident with Cheng Xiong, he knew there were too many clever people in the palace. Even a slight flaw could easily lead to irreparable ruin.

Currently, Zhuxie Chixin was searching everywhere for Yun Jianyue, and the emperor was also extremely concerned about this. He certainly didn't want to bring trouble upon himself. Furthermore, it wasn't convenient for him to meet those demonic cult captives as an Embroidered Uniform Envoy. Currently, only Yun Jianyue and her disciple Qiu Honglei knew his identity, and they were trustworthy. But the other members of the demonic cult were a mixed bag, and he wouldn't dare take the risk.

"You don't need to reveal your connection to me," Yun Jianyue said after pondering for a moment, having heard his concerns. "Just go there openly, as yourself, and say that Honglei asked you to rescue them. They will believe you."

"Why?" Zu'an asked, a little surprised.

Yun Jianyue said, "Among the captives, some know you. For example, Fire Wanderer; he even tried to capture you when you were on your way to the capital."

"Ah, so it was him." Zu'an immediately recalled how imposing it was when the Demonic Cult's Eight Wanderers were dispatched to capture him. Unfortunately, Ice Wanderer was later killed by Mosquito Taoist, and now Fire Wanderer had also become a prisoner. He wondered how the others were doing now.

Yun Jianyue continued, "There's also someone else you might have seen before in Mingyue City: Honglei's senior martial brother, Gu Yueyi. It seems he was also captured."

"Oh, that guy, I remember him." Zu'an recalled how he had once impersonated Chen Xuan to commit crimes, only to be beaten like a dog by the real Chen Xuan, like a fake encountering the genuine article.

"He's also your disciple? Your judgment in taking disciples isn't very good." For some reason, Zu'an felt a little displeased. How could such a great beauty take male disciples?

"I have many disciples like him," Yun Jianyue said, rolling her eyes. "Within the Sacred Cult, various factions are established. Naturally, I must do my best to cultivate my own direct lineage to secure my position as Cult Master. Taking disciples is one of the simplest and most effective ways to cultivate a direct lineage, so why wouldn't I?"

Zu'an couldn't help but exclaim, "It's truly pitiful to be your disciple; you use them from the very beginning. I pity my Honglei."

Yun Jianyue said calmly, "They become my disciples, and the resources they gain are infinitely better than before. What's pitiful about a mutually beneficial arrangement? Besides, Honglei is different from the others; she is my direct successor, and only she has received the true transmission of my cultivation method."

Zu'an couldn't help but roll his eyes, "That old maiden cultivation method of yours... you'd be better off not passing it on to her."

A thought suddenly struck him. The 'Heavenly Demon Charm Sound' Yun Jianyue cultivated seemed to share a name with one of Daji's skills. Was it a coincidence, or was there some connection?

Well, since they were both charm techniques, it seemed they were quite similar.

"What did you say!" Yun Jianyue's eyebrows twitched at the words "old maiden cultivation method."

Rage value from Yun Jianyue: 999999999...

Clearly, those words were too hurtful for her.

Zu'an quickly changed the subject, "Oh, right. Last time when I rescued Honglei, I also saw one of your cult's masters captured by Cheng Xiong. It seemed to be the one who was fighting the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor in the Eastern Palace."

Hearing about a serious matter, Yun Jianyue no longer bothered to be angry. She replied, "He is Sun Lüzen, an elder of the cult. He is an upright person and extremely loyal to me." As she spoke, a trace of melancholy appeared between her brows. Her direct lineage had suffered heavy losses from this assassination attempt at the imperial palace.

"That much is clear." Zu'an recalled that Sun Lüzen had had a chance to leave safely then. In the end, he was captured precisely because he tried to save Qiu Honglei from danger. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but ask, "From what I know, your demonic cult is full of masters. Why did so few people come this time?" He remembered Qiu Honglei mentioning that the cult also had a Deputy Cult Master, Left and Right Envoys, various Dharma Kings, numerous Elders, and the Eight Wanderers. For this imperial palace assassination, he felt he hadn't seen any of those Dharma Kings or Envoys.

Yun Jianyue sighed, "I've told you before that there are many factions within the cult. Although I am the Cult Master, many things cannot be decided by my word alone. Many in the cult disagreed with this imperial palace assassination attempt. Although I used my Cult Master authority to push it through, the other factions merely went through the motions. I could only make them hold back the other forces in the imperial city; for the main battle, I could only lead my direct lineage."

Zu'an couldn't help but complain, "I didn't expect that even after becoming a Grandmaster, you would still have to deal with so much frustration."

Yun Jianyue retorted huffily, "The emperor is already the most powerful person in the world, yet he still has a ton of frustrating matters. In life, how can one always do as they please?"

Zu'an glanced at her with some concern, "According to you, your direct lineage suffered heavy losses in this imperial palace assassination, and you yourself were severely injured. Will your position as Cult Master still be secure then?"

Yun Jianyue said proudly, "Since I haven't died, how could anyone else in the cult possibly overthrow me?"

Zu'an thought to himself, 'Go ahead and tempt fate. What if, after returning, you get usurped by rebels and reduced to a mere weapon? I wouldn't bear to see that.' But then he thought again: with her cultivation level, he was indeed worrying needlessly.

His attention returned to the case. "There's another troublesome matter," he said. "All the captured assassins are currently in the hands of General Guo Zhi of the Right Guard. I might not be able to access them."

Yun Jianyue snorted lightly. "Aren't you quite close with the Crown Princess? Use your charm on her and start there. You should know that Cheng Xiong belongs to Prince Qi; you're not the only one who wants to get rid of him."

Zu'an's heart stirred, and he couldn't help but laugh. "Cult Master Sister, with your intelligence and wisdom, if anyone were to marry you in the future, they probably wouldn't be able to flirt with other women."

"Get lost, I need to heal." Yun Jianyue, with a stern face, chased him away. If anyone else had said such things to her in the past, she would have slapped them to death. Unfortunately, after spending these days together, she had gradually gotten used to his habit of making random jokes. However, for the time being, she couldn't bring herself to drop the facade of a senior expert. Since she couldn't kill him, she could only chase him away.

Zu'an left the small courtyard, smiling. He didn't go to the Crown Princess as Golden Card Eleven, as Yun Jianyue had suggested. Instead, he changed into the attire of a Crown Prince's Retainer.

He made his way to the new Eastern Palace. These days, the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor was injured and couldn't give lessons, so the plump Crown Prince was delighted to play games with the young eunuchs in the palace. Zu'an glanced at them, then went to find the Crown Princess on his own.

After being announced, Zu'an entered. He found the Crown Princess leaning on her hand, staring blankly at the horizon outside the window. A gentle breeze drifted in, and he could faintly see the fine down on her face, a unique mark of a young maiden.

Zu'an secretly sighed, 'This woman must be quite mentally exhausted, having such a husband.'

He lightly coughed, signaling his presence. The Crown Princess snapped out of her daze. She crossed her hands over her lower abdomen, straightened her back, and resumed her usual elegant and dignified demeanor: "What do you want to see me about?"

Zu'an glanced around at the palace maids and eunuchs with some hesitation. "I have something important to discuss with the Crown Princess privately," he said.

The Crown Princess's brows furrowed instantly. After scrutinizing him for a while, she waved her hand, signaling the maids to leave. "If I find later that your matter is not important enough," she warned, "don't blame me for punishing you."

The palace maids and eunuchs withdrew, but the main door remained open. Clearly, it was a palace rule that the Crown Princess could not be alone in a room with another man.

"I do have something important to discuss with the Crown Princess..." Zu'an, realizing the matter was confidential and fearing eavesdroppers, stepped forward a few paces to close the distance between them.

The Crown Princess's face showed some displeasure: "What are you doing? Just stand there and speak."

'This woman is quite wary,' he thought.

Only then did Zu'an say, "Does Your Royal Highness know about the recent widely discussed Cheng Xiong case?"