Chapter 236: Counterintelligence Strategy

The Meeting Hall of the Hundred Spirits Gate.

Guangdong Ren was seated at the head of the table, with Li Haifeng to his left and Feng Yue to his right.

“Madam Feng, congratulations! Your Celestial Star Sect now has another Core Formation cultivator. However, Huang Mazi is not someone who acts without personal gain, so you should be cautious. It would be troublesome if he turns out to be a spy sent by the State of Chu. Huang Mazi is a lone wolf with no family or attachments, which means he has few reservations when acting. As for the grand-nephew he mentioned, who knows if that’s even true.” Guangdong Ren offered a well-intentioned warning.

“Friend Guang, rest assured. Fellow Daoist Li and I have discussed this. The news of Huang Mazi becoming a guest elder of our Celestial Star Sect will quickly reach the State of Chu. We’ve also prepared some ‘dirt’ to implicate him fully. Once that’s done, Huang Mazi will either commit to us or be forced to leave the Six States. Of course, if true conflict arises, we’ll put him on the front lines, but we won’t actually trust him. He’ll be like Wang Huashan for the Three Sects of Medicine King Valley—just a pawn to be used.”

Guangdong Ren nodded with a smile. Su Cheng entered, respectfully announcing, “Master, the banquet is ready.”

Su Cheng hesitated briefly, his lips moving almost imperceptibly. Guangdong Ren furrowed his brow and instructed Su Cheng, “Take Fellow Daoist Li and Madam Feng to the banquet first. I have some minor matters to attend to and will join you shortly.”

Li Haifeng and Feng Yue exchanged curious glances, wondering what urgent matter Guangdong Ren needed to attend to. Despite their curiosity, they maintained their composure and followed Su Cheng out.

No sooner had they departed than Ye Tong entered, escorting Wang Changsheng.

“Junior Wang Changsheng pays his respects to Senior Guang,” Wang Changsheng declared, bowing respectfully without delay.

“Dispense with the formalities and state your request quickly! I don’t have much time to spare.” Guangdong Ren sounded impatient; had he not made a prior commitment, he wouldn’t have bothered to see Wang Changsheng at all.

“This junior has long admired Fairy Wang of Wang Family Fort and boldly asks Senior Guang to act as a matchmaker. The Wang family would be eternally grateful and swear undying loyalty to the Hundred Spirits Gate.” Wang Changsheng stated solemnly.

“Wang Family Fort? Are you referring to Wang Huashan’s clan?” Guangdong Ren immediately grew interested. To preserve his family's lineage, Wang Huashan had left a small number of his clansmen behind before retreating to the State of Chu. The Five Sects of Wei had always intended to use these remaining clansmen to instigate Wang Huashan, who was a notoriously fickle individual and easily swayed by sufficient benefits. However, before they could act, a war erupted between Wei and Shu. This was quickly followed by the invasion of Wei by the State of Chu and the Three Sects of Medicine King Valley, causing the matter to be shelved.

Wang Changsheng's request immediately sparked a bold idea in Guangdong Ren.

“Exactly. This junior has long admired Fairy Wang, and I hope Senior Guang will grant my wish.”

“Very well, I agree to your request. Disciple-nephew Ye, please escort him to his quarters to rest.”

“Yes, Uncle-Master Guang,” Ye Tong responded, leading Wang Changsheng away.

In the Earthfire Hall, Li Haifeng and Feng Yue stood near a large red cauldron, in which a substantial amount of food was being cooked. Neither of them had much appetite, each lost in their own thoughts.

“Fellow Daoist Li, Madam Feng, my apologies for the wait,” Guangdong Ren said as he entered, a wide smile on his face.

Feng Yue offered a slight smile and inquired, “Friend Guang, is there some good news? You look quite pleased.”

“Good news, indeed—wonderful news, in fact! It’s great news for all Five Sects of our Wei State.” Guangdong Ren then recounted Wang Changsheng’s visit.

“Friend Guang, Wang Changsheng asking you to be a matchmaker—what kind of good news is that? Do you believe Wang Huashan would defect to us simply because the Wang and Wang families intermarry? Even if he wished to, he couldn’t. According to reliable intelligence, Wang Huashan is under house arrest and cannot leave the Heavenly Cloud Mountain Range, let alone establish contact with us.” Feng Yue said dismissively.

Li Haifeng pondered for a moment before remarking, “Friend Guang, are you planning to leverage this marriage?” He had considered a similar idea previously, but the outbreak of war had forced him to shelve it.

Guangdong Ren smirked triumphantly. “Precisely. This marriage must happen, and the grander the wedding, the better. We are treating Wang Huashan’s relatives who remained in Wei State so well, while the Three Sects of Medicine King Valley have him under house arrest. Don't you think Wang Huashan might harbor other thoughts? And how do the Three Sects of Medicine King Valley perceive Wang Huashan now?”

“Friend Guang, are you suggesting we ‘borrow a knife to kill’? The Three Sects of Medicine King Valley surely wouldn’t go so far as to kill Wang Huashan over this, would they? The Wang family has, after all, always stood with them. If the Three Sects killed Wang Huashan, who would ever dare to cooperate with them again?”

“Chen Hongtian and his peers aren’t that foolish. Killing Wang Huashan would be cutting off their own arm. But if they don’t kill him, would they dare to place him in a position of power again? If hostilities erupt, we merely need to spread rumors that we are planning to overthrow the Three Sects of Medicine King Valley. Whether they believe it or not, this will undoubtedly deepen their suspicion of Wang Huashan. If they send Wang Huashan to the front lines, won’t they fear him defecting during battle? If they keep him in the rear, at least three Core Formation cultivators would be required to watch him, preventing him from colluding with us from within. Regardless of how the Three Sects of Medicine King Valley react, we stand to gain.”

Beyond these strategic considerations, Guangdong Ren also harbored his own personal agenda. The earlier attack on the Hundred Spirits Gate by Qu Xiong and his two associates stemmed from the fact that the Hundred Spirits Gate possessed only a single Core Formation cultivator. After Wu Zifeng fell in battle, Guangdong Ren accepted Su Cheng as a disciple, but Su Cheng's cultivation progress was slow, and changing his cultivation method was ill-advised. He urgently needed external support from Core Formation cultivators. By arranging this marriage for Wang Changsheng, he hoped to leverage Wang Ruyan's relationship with Wang Huashan in the future to turn Wang Huashan against his current allies and draw him to the Hundred Spirits Gate’s side, thereby securing a larger share of future benefits for the gate. While the Yellow Saint Palace had taken in several Wang family disciples, none had yet reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and their standing was inferior to Wang Ruyan's.

“This plan is good, but I believe the Wang family’s influence is too minor. My young disciple, Zhao Yunshan, is a man of upright character; let him marry Wang Ruyan! This way, Chen Hongtian and his peers will be even more wary of Wang Huashan. And if they were to kill Wang Huashan, I would have a perfect pretext to deal with the Three Sects of Medicine King Valley.” Li Haifeng had considered this approach long ago, but at the time, Wei State had just been secured, and the populace was still unsettled. Before a few years of peace had even passed, conflict broke out between Wei and Shu, causing the matter to be put on hold. The direct grandson of Li Qingshan marrying Wang Huashan's grand-niece could leverage this relationship in the future to turn Wang Huashan. And if the Three Sects of Medicine King Valley were to kill Wang Huashan in their fury, it would be even better, as the Yellow Saint Palace would then have a clear justification to absorb the Wang family's forces.

Guangdong Ren inwardly cursed him as an ‘old fox’, yet maintained a displeased expression as he said, “Fellow Daoist Li, I have already promised my young disciple. I neglected to mention that I just accepted him as a nominal disciple. Surely, my nominal disciple marrying Wang Huashan’s grand-niece carries sufficient weight, wouldn’t you agree, Madam Feng?”

Feng Yue’s beautiful eyes swept between them, and she said with a charming smile, “Fellow Daoist Li, there’s an order to things. I believe the marriage should proceed between the Wang and Wang families as planned. Of course, Fellow Daoist Li’s disciple could certainly marry another female member of the Wang clan.” She was unwilling to see the Yellow Saint Palace gain too much dominance but also wished to avoid offending Li Haifeng, thus offering a compromise.

Li Haifeng naturally didn’t believe that Guangdong Ren had taken Wang Changsheng as a nominal disciple, but he wasn’t inclined to cause a dispute with Guangdong Ren over such a minor detail, so he agreed.

“Fellow Daoist Li, Friend Guang, I suggest we personally travel to the State of Chu and propose the marriage directly to Wang Huashan. This would force him to declare his position, and we could observe his reaction. I am eager to see the expressions on Chen Hongtian’s face and those of his peers when they learn of this. If we approach him ourselves to propose, wouldn’t the Three Sects of Medicine King Valley become even more suspicious of Wang Huashan?” Feng Yue stated with a wry smile.

This way, even if Wang Huashan doesn't overtly break with the Three Sects of Medicine King Valley, they will certainly never trust him again. With the Hundred Spirits Gate and Yellow Saint Palace marrying into the Wang family, killing Wang Huashan would only give both sects a perfect pretext for action. Yet, if they don’t kill him, they wouldn’t dare to heavily rely on him and would constantly have to guard against him. It's truly killing two birds with one stone.

“This plan is excellent; let’s proceed with it.” Both Guangdong Ren and Li Haifeng found the suggestion appealing and agreed to it.