Chu Li sipped some tea and smiled, "What did Lady Siao plan to do with Gu Litong?"
"Lady Siao didn't care about him." Su Ru twitched her red lips and scoffed.
"Lady Siao felt that Master Siao was not wrong for chasing him out of the Public House. If it were not for Master Siao pressuring us, Lady Siao would've already punished him!"
"But he's still a talented one, in the end." Chu Li said, "Did we really will let him leave like that?"
"What else could we do?" Su Ru tilted her head and looked at him, "We're going to be ruthless towards him?"
Chu Li smiled as he shook his head,
"Wouldn't that be too much?" Su Ru did not believe him. She stared at him, unsatisfied, "He's already in a bad enough situation. He's almost useless for the rest of his life now and he won't be appearing in front of us anymore. He's no different from being declared dead."
Chu Li looked at her helplessly, "Chief, what do you think Gu Litong will do now that he's been chased out of the Public House?"
Su Ru laughed, "What can he do?"
"Don't forget that he's a Scribe of the West Garden. He knows quite a lot about the Public House. Don't you think that the Hu Ren's Public House will jump on such a talented person? If he wanted to join the Hu Ren's Public House, do you think that the Hu Ren's Public House would reject him?" Chu Li said.
Su Ru's smile became stiff.
Chu Li shook his head and sighed, "Gu Litong is very clear about the personality of all the officers and the people in the Public House. If the Hu Ren's Public House got him and figured out everyone's weakness and then use it against them like how I dealt with Zhou Yuting, who do you think that would be able to handle it?"
Su Ru furrowed her brows and thought about it deeply.
Xue was standing behind him, prepared to fill the teacups anytime. As she heard all of it, she furrowed her brows too. Was ending his life really necessary? Master said all of this just to eliminate the root, did he not?
Su Ru raised her head and sighed, "Seems like we'll have to go look for him."
"Hmm. He could always do something to compensate for what he's done." Chu Li nodded, "Don't just kill him off simply."
He sighed on the inside. Facing someone like Lady Siao, everything was a test. If he only cared about his own personal issues, his horizons and even bosom would drop. Lady Siao would have lost her liking to him.
Now that Gu Litong had come to this extent, his future was already stripped away. He could now only struggle at the lowest level.
He already felt much better and he did not have to do anything worse. In fact, it was a good opportunity to show how forgiving he was.
"Hah…" Su Ru furrowed her brows and shook her head, "It won't be easy to calm Master Siao down...we need Lady Siao to go and persuade him."
"Gu Litong is still a very gifted person either way. This should be dealt as soon as possible in case it drags on and brings about more problems. Hu Ren's Public House may have already taken action."
"I'll send someone now!" Su Ru quickly stood up.
Su Ru's apricot gown was floating; she used levitation and disappeared from the courtyard in the blink of an eye.
"Master, would Gu Litong really join Hu Ren's Public House? … Is he not afraid of being assassinated by the people of the Yi's Public House?" Xue asked.
"What do you think?" Chu Li smiled,"He doesn't really have a choice.
He can't really take everything into account." Xue furrowed her brows and nodded helplessly.
Chu Li shook his head, "This is why we can't look down at anyone. Everyone has their own worth."
Xue gently nodded.
"Alright, I'll start to spirit bath today. You go and prepare one wooden barrel just for it. It needs to be taller and narrower than normal barrels, allowing me to stand inside so that the medication isn't wasted." Chu Li said.
"Understood, I'll prepare it well. When's Master going to start?"
"At night."
"Understood."
She turned and left the courtyard to get people to make wooden pail.
Chu Li was not sure himself, if the medication was going to work. The cultivation of the Sentient Menace had hit a brick wall. He was itching to progress but he was unable to do anything.
When Chu Li was preparing to bathe in the evening, Su Ru came over.
She was in her apricot gown, as always, and looked rather gloomy. She pushed the door open and went straight into the pagoda.
Chu Li was squatting on the floor while checking the Glory's Will, which was growing really quickly. It grew one full inch in just a day, far beyond his expectations.
The Scripture of Life and Death was indeed mysterious, giving many plants accelerated growth rates.
As she saw Su Ru enter the pagoda without saying a thing, Xue understood immediately. She carefully served tea and gently left.
Chu Li smiled and sat to the opposite of Su Ru. He took the tea Xue had just served and sipped some of it., "Chief, who make you angry this time? Do you need me to do something?"
"You can't do anything!" Su Ru rolled her eyes at him, "We're in trouble!"
"Is it about Gu Litong Gu…?"
"Hmm, Gu Litong is missing!... I ordered people to search for him but we still couldn't find him. Someone probably brought him away!"
"Hu Ren's Public House?" Chu Li furrowed his brows.
He never thought that he actually guessed correctly. The Hu Ren's Public House was indeed quick!
"We're still unsure." Su Ru shook her head and sighed, "We were late!... It's going to be so troublesome now!"
"There are the tracing masters in the Public House, aren't there?" Chu Li furrowed his brows, "We need to find him quick. It doesn't matter if it's Hu Ren's Public House or some other force. They're definitely not friendly to us!"
"I've already sent the Tracing Masters." Su Ru pursed her red lips and scoffed,"If it really was the Hu Ren's Public House, it's going to be really troublesome!"
"If it really was the Hu Ren Public House, then we'll have to keep our eyes peeled. They shouldn't have news of this yet. I bet there's a spy amongst for the news to spread this quickly." Chu Li said.
"A spy…" Su Ru sighed and nodded, "That's for sure."
Chu Li smiled, "We probably have a spy in the Hu Ren's Public House, don't we?"
Su Ru rolled her eyes at him, "Why are you asking about this!"
Chu Li smiled, showing that he understood.
It was apparent that there was a spy network. There were links between all the Public Houses, and no one would be able to cover anything from each other. This meant that he was now in danger as well. He did not only have to be careful of the Temple of Tempest but now he also needed to be careful of Hu Ren's Public House since he had killed a master from Hu Ren's before.
Su Ru glared at him with her bright eyes. She did not even blink, her eyes were like water.
Chu Li felt a slight tinge of fear being glared at like that; He quickly shook his hand, "It has come to a stage where even I don't have an idea."
Su Ru sweetly smiled, "Chu Li, you have the most crafty of ideas. I'm sure you'll figure it out!"
Chu Li stood up and paced around for a few steps. He did not say a word.
Su Ru looked at him and suddenly felt that there was hope. Her smile became even wider. She gently prompted him, "Tell me..quickly!"
Chu Li stopped walking, "There is a risk to it."
"Ah just get to the point!" Su Ru stared at him.
Chu Li coughed lightly, "The Chief knows about the spies of the Public House, yes?"
Su Ru nodded, "Yes. I can't find them all, but I can probably find a few."
"Then we'll let these spies 'accidentally' overhear a secret."
"A secret?"
"A secret about Gu Litong. Let them know that he's hurting himself just to gain their trust."
Su Ru's eye brightened and she smiled, "You and your crafty ideas!"
"This idea might not work, but it's still better than nothing. We'll also have our spies spread information to Gu Litong that the Public House despises betrayal. As soon as they lose their worth, the consequences awaiting them would be very harsh. Hopefully, this deters Gu Litong from saying too much."
"Hmm, both can be used at the same time," Su Ru nodded.
"I actually have one more," Chu Li added.
"Tell me, tell me!" Su Ru pushed his left arm.
Chu Li smiled, "Have you ever thought about letting Gu Litong accomplish something to cover up for his faults?"
"You've talked about it already, haven't you!?" Su Ru scoffed.
Chu Li shook his head, "It's not the same thing."
"Quickly tell me then!" Su Ru rolled her eyes at him and scoffed, "Watch how I'll punish you if you keep me hanging like this!"
Chu Li quickly waved his hands as a sign of defeat. He smiled, "We actually can make Gu Litong a spy."
"A spy?" Su Ru was confused.
Chu Li nodded, "Now the fake one will become real and vice versa. It's said that the Lady from the Hu Ren's Public House is quite a great figure and she might not buy our previous scheme and trust Gu Litong more."
"Lu Yurong is indeed great." Su Ru pursed her small cherry-like lips. She shook her head, "It's rare to have someone capable of putting Lady Siao at a disadvantage!"
"If we frame Gu Litong as the spy and Lu Yurong trusts him, it would be for the best in the long run. Even if Lu Yurong was skeptical, we lose nothing." Chu Li explained.
Su Ru looked at Chu Li.
Chu Li smiled, "Do you think that I'm too heartless?"
"You treat Gu Litong as a pawn!" Su Ru shook her head, "You don't treat his life seriously!"
All of those who wielded power cared not for emotions, they only cared about what outcome benefited them the most. People around them were used as pawns. Lady Siao operated under this concept as well, but she was an Emperor's daughter born into nobility. She was given an education that centered around this idea since she was young.
"If it were someone else, I might have tried to get him back, but it's Gu Litong," Chu Li said.
He then scoffed, "I'm already kind enough to not kill him outright!"
Su Ru tilted her head and judged him, "Why didn't you deal with him earlier if you were so smart?"
She thought that Chu Li was smart. If he wanted to deal with Gu Litong, it would have been easy. What was the point of waiting until now?
"I am kind, and I want to be kind with people." Chu Li smiled.
Su Ru rolled her eyes at him.
"Okay, to be honest, he wasn't in my sights. He was just a little smart." Chu Li said.
He was actually very relaxed. He was able to read one's intrigue easily, so he decided to beat him at his own game. Since it was easy to deal with him, he could do it whenever.
But he had only planned to sprinkle a few words here and there. He had not actually planned to get involved. If Master Siao got mad, he may have gotten himself into trouble since Master Siao was the one who wielded the power of the Public House.
All these thoughts passed his head in a flash. Chu Li continued.
"Moreover, I'm not that pampered. I'm not like those tigers who can't bite. As long as he made sure there were boundaries, I would've left him alone. But since he offended Chief Su Ru, I was just unable to let that pass."
Su Ru pursed her lips and smiled. She rolled her eyes at him, "Look at you!"
As soon as Chu Li said it, she was quite happy about it. Even though she knew it was the lowest form of boot-licking.
In the end, Chu Li had actually done what he said he would do. He did not just flatter her with words and no action. He meant every word of it. Gu Litong was never even given a second thought before Su Ru was disrespected. Everything he did was to let her vent her anger.
"Alright, I'll have to report this to Lady Siao." Su Ru stood up gently.
"If Lady Siao takes your plans seriously, you'll be given credit."
"How is this a contribution?"
"Disingenuous!" Su Ru rolled her eyes at him and gently left.
Chu Li started to prepare his bath. He mixed all the herbs and began to cook it, wanting to give the effects a try.
Chu Li sipped some tea and smiled, "What did Lady Siao plan to do with Gu Litong?"
"Lady Siao didn't care about him." Su Ru twitched her red lips and scoffed.
"Lady Siao felt that Master Siao was not wrong for chasing him out of the Public House. If it were not for Master Siao pressuring us, Lady Siao would've already punished him!"
"But he's still a talented one, in the end." Chu Li said, "Did we really will let him leave like that?"
"What else could we do?" Su Ru tilted her head and looked at him, "We're going to be ruthless towards him?"
Chu Li smiled as he shook his head,
"Wouldn't that be too much?" Su Ru did not believe him. She stared at him, unsatisfied, "He's already in a bad enough situation. He's almost useless for the rest of his life now and he won't be appearing in front of us anymore. He's no different from being declared dead."
Chu Li looked at her helplessly, "Chief, what do you think Gu Litong will do now that he's been chased out of the Public House?"
Su Ru laughed, "What can he do?"
"Don't forget that he's a Scribe of the West Garden. He knows quite a lot about the Public House. Don't you think that the Hu Ren's Public House will jump on such a talented person? If he wanted to join the Hu Ren's Public House, do you think that the Hu Ren's Public House would reject him?" Chu Li said.
Su Ru's smile became stiff.
Chu Li shook his head and sighed, "Gu Litong is very clear about the personality of all the officers and the people in the Public House. If the Hu Ren's Public House got him and figured out everyone's weakness and then use it against them like how I dealt with Zhou Yuting, who do you think that would be able to handle it?"
Su Ru furrowed her brows and thought about it deeply.
Xue was standing behind him, prepared to fill the teacups anytime. As she heard all of it, she furrowed her brows too. Was ending his life really necessary? Master said all of this just to eliminate the root, did he not?
Su Ru raised her head and sighed, "Seems like we'll have to go look for him."
"Hmm. He could always do something to compensate for what he's done." Chu Li nodded, "Don't just kill him off simply."
He sighed on the inside. Facing someone like Lady Siao, everything was a test. If he only cared about his own personal issues, his horizons and even bosom would drop. Lady Siao would have lost her liking to him.
Now that Gu Litong had come to this extent, his future was already stripped away. He could now only struggle at the lowest level.
He already felt much better and he did not have to do anything worse. In fact, it was a good opportunity to show how forgiving he was.
"Hah…" Su Ru furrowed her brows and shook her head, "It won't be easy to calm Master Siao down...we need Lady Siao to go and persuade him."
"Gu Litong is still a very gifted person either way. This should be dealt as soon as possible in case it drags on and brings about more problems. Hu Ren's Public House may have already taken action."
"I'll send someone now!" Su Ru quickly stood up.
Su Ru's apricot gown was floating; she used levitation and disappeared from the courtyard in the blink of an eye.
"Master, would Gu Litong really join Hu Ren's Public House? … Is he not afraid of being assassinated by the people of the Yi's Public House?" Xue asked.
"What do you think?" Chu Li smiled,"He doesn't really have a choice.
He can't really take everything into account." Xue furrowed her brows and nodded helplessly.
Chu Li shook his head, "This is why we can't look down at anyone. Everyone has their own worth."
Xue gently nodded.
"Alright, I'll start to spirit bath today. You go and prepare one wooden barrel just for it. It needs to be taller and narrower than normal barrels, allowing me to stand inside so that the medication isn't wasted." Chu Li said.
"Understood, I'll prepare it well. When's Master going to start?"
"At night."
"Understood."
She turned and left the courtyard to get people to make wooden pail.
Chu Li was not sure himself, if the medication was going to work. The cultivation of the Sentient Menace had hit a brick wall. He was itching to progress but he was unable to do anything.
When Chu Li was preparing to bathe in the evening, Su Ru came over.
She was in her apricot gown, as always, and looked rather gloomy. She pushed the door open and went straight into the pagoda.
Chu Li was squatting on the floor while checking the Glory's Will, which was growing really quickly. It grew one full inch in just a day, far beyond his expectations.
The Scripture of Life and Death was indeed mysterious, giving many plants accelerated growth rates.
As she saw Su Ru enter the pagoda without saying a thing, Xue understood immediately. She carefully served tea and gently left.
Chu Li smiled and sat to the opposite of Su Ru. He took the tea Xue had just served and sipped some of it., "Chief, who make you angry this time? Do you need me to do something?"
"You can't do anything!" Su Ru rolled her eyes at him, "We're in trouble!"
"Is it about Gu Litong Gu…?"
"Hmm, Gu Litong is missing!... I ordered people to search for him but we still couldn't find him. Someone probably brought him away!"
"Hu Ren's Public House?" Chu Li furrowed his brows.
He never thought that he actually guessed correctly. The Hu Ren's Public House was indeed quick!
"We're still unsure." Su Ru shook her head and sighed, "We were late!... It's going to be so troublesome now!"
"There are the tracing masters in the Public House, aren't there?" Chu Li furrowed his brows, "We need to find him quick. It doesn't matter if it's Hu Ren's Public House or some other force. They're definitely not friendly to us!"
"I've already sent the Tracing Masters." Su Ru pursed her red lips and scoffed,"If it really was the Hu Ren's Public House, it's going to be really troublesome!"
"If it really was the Hu Ren Public House, then we'll have to keep our eyes peeled. They shouldn't have news of this yet. I bet there's a spy amongst for the news to spread this quickly." Chu Li said.
"A spy…" Su Ru sighed and nodded, "That's for sure."
Chu Li smiled, "We probably have a spy in the Hu Ren's Public House, don't we?"
Su Ru rolled her eyes at him, "Why are you asking about this!"
Chu Li smiled, showing that he understood.
It was apparent that there was a spy network. There were links between all the Public Houses, and no one would be able to cover anything from each other. This meant that he was now in danger as well. He did not only have to be careful of the Temple of Tempest but now he also needed to be careful of Hu Ren's Public House since he had killed a master from Hu Ren's before.
Su Ru glared at him with her bright eyes. She did not even blink, her eyes were like water.
Chu Li felt a slight tinge of fear being glared at like that; He quickly shook his hand, "It has come to a stage where even I don't have an idea."
Su Ru sweetly smiled, "Chu Li, you have the most crafty of ideas. I'm sure you'll figure it out!"
Chu Li stood up and paced around for a few steps. He did not say a word.
Su Ru looked at him and suddenly felt that there was hope. Her smile became even wider. She gently prompted him, "Tell me..quickly!"
Chu Li stopped walking, "There is a risk to it."
"Ah just get to the point!" Su Ru stared at him.
Chu Li coughed lightly, "The Chief knows about the spies of the Public House, yes?"
Su Ru nodded, "Yes. I can't find them all, but I can probably find a few."
"Then we'll let these spies 'accidentally' overhear a secret."
"A secret?"
"A secret about Gu Litong. Let them know that he's hurting himself just to gain their trust."
Su Ru's eye brightened and she smiled, "You and your crafty ideas!"
"This idea might not work, but it's still better than nothing. We'll also have our spies spread information to Gu Litong that the Public House despises betrayal. As soon as they lose their worth, the consequences awaiting them would be very harsh. Hopefully, this deters Gu Litong from saying too much."
"Hmm, both can be used at the same time," Su Ru nodded.
"I actually have one more," Chu Li added.
"Tell me, tell me!" Su Ru pushed his left arm.
Chu Li smiled, "Have you ever thought about letting Gu Litong accomplish something to cover up for his faults?"
"You've talked about it already, haven't you!?" Su Ru scoffed.
Chu Li shook his head, "It's not the same thing."
"Quickly tell me then!" Su Ru rolled her eyes at him and scoffed, "Watch how I'll punish you if you keep me hanging like this!"
Chu Li quickly waved his hands as a sign of defeat. He smiled, "We actually can make Gu Litong a spy."
"A spy?" Su Ru was confused.
Chu Li nodded, "Now the fake one will become real and vice versa. It's said that the Lady from the Hu Ren's Public House is quite a great figure and she might not buy our previous scheme and trust Gu Litong more."
"Lu Yurong is indeed great." Su Ru pursed her small cherry-like lips. She shook her head, "It's rare to have someone capable of putting Lady Siao at a disadvantage!"
"If we frame Gu Litong as the spy and Lu Yurong trusts him, it would be for the best in the long run. Even if Lu Yurong was skeptical, we lose nothing." Chu Li explained.
Su Ru looked at Chu Li.
Chu Li smiled, "Do you think that I'm too heartless?"
"You treat Gu Litong as a pawn!" Su Ru shook her head, "You don't treat his life seriously!"
All of those who wielded power cared not for emotions, they only cared about what outcome benefited them the most. People around them were used as pawns. Lady Siao operated under this concept as well, but she was an Emperor's daughter born into nobility. She was given an education that centered around this idea since she was young.
"If it were someone else, I might have tried to get him back, but it's Gu Litong," Chu Li said.
He then scoffed, "I'm already kind enough to not kill him outright!"
Su Ru tilted her head and judged him, "Why didn't you deal with him earlier if you were so smart?"
She thought that Chu Li was smart. If he wanted to deal with Gu Litong, it would have been easy. What was the point of waiting until now?
"I am kind, and I want to be kind with people." Chu Li smiled.
Su Ru rolled her eyes at him.
"Okay, to be honest, he wasn't in my sights. He was just a little smart." Chu Li said.
He was actually very relaxed. He was able to read one's intrigue easily, so he decided to beat him at his own game. Since it was easy to deal with him, he could do it whenever.
But he had only planned to sprinkle a few words here and there. He had not actually planned to get involved. If Master Siao got mad, he may have gotten himself into trouble since Master Siao was the one who wielded the power of the Public House.
All these thoughts passed his head in a flash. Chu Li continued.
"Moreover, I'm not that pampered. I'm not like those tigers who can't bite. As long as he made sure there were boundaries, I would've left him alone. But since he offended Chief Su Ru, I was just unable to let that pass."
Su Ru pursed her lips and smiled. She rolled her eyes at him, "Look at you!"
As soon as Chu Li said it, she was quite happy about it. Even though she knew it was the lowest form of boot-licking.
In the end, Chu Li had actually done what he said he would do. He did not just flatter her with words and no action. He meant every word of it. Gu Litong was never even given a second thought before Su Ru was disrespected. Everything he did was to let her vent her anger.
"Alright, I'll have to report this to Lady Siao." Su Ru stood up gently.
"If Lady Siao takes your plans seriously, you'll be given credit."
"How is this a contribution?"
"Disingenuous!" Su Ru rolled her eyes at him and gently left.
Chu Li started to prepare his bath. He mixed all the herbs and began to cook it, wanting to give the effects a try.
