Rumours

Li Huan's breath caught in her throat, and her steps faltered. The familiar, intrusive sensation of the voice swirling through her mind gripped her once again. Her fingers twitched, longing to open her phone and type, to give in to the voice's command, but she forced herself to swallow the rising panic.

Still, she had to write—otherwise, the day would be horrendous.

The hallway blurred as she struggled to focus, the voice's words echoing louder in her mind. "Zhao Mingyao... still waiting..." It was almost as if the character were real, alive, and waiting for her to write his next chapter—his next moment.

She pressed on, heading to her class. As she reached the door to her homeroom, she paused, wondering if anyone else could hear it too. Would they notice the weight of her thoughts, the tension the voice created? But, as always, the world around her remained blissfully unaware.

Taking a deep breath, she slid the door open, the voice still whispering at the edge of her thoughts, urging her to do what it wanted.

Li Huan walked to her seat, fighting a silent battle she couldn't let anyone know about. She plopped down and tried to focus on the ongoing lesson.

She could see the math teacher explaining concepts, but the voice barely let her hear the teacher's words. It grew louder and louder, driving her to the edge of madness, until she suddenly shot up from her seat and shouted, "Enough of this!"

The entire classroom froze, all eyes on her. Scanning the room, she saw nothing but perplexed faces staring back at her. Without another word, she turned and hurried out, heading straight for the nurse's office.

"If the voice won't stop, I might as well continue," she muttered, quickening her pace.

Upon entering the office, she told the nurse she wasn't feeling well and went straight to one of the beds, closing the privacy curtains behind her. Then, reaching for her phone, she opened the app and prepared to write.

"Now, where were we?" she thought, searching for the last point in her story.

She read the previous paragraph:

Tears streamed down her face as she broke into sobs. Before Chen could respond, Mingyao turned and ran. Outwardly, she cried; inwardly, she smiled.

She had captured his attention. Now, it was time to push her plan further.

"Ah yes, it was time for the rumor to be used to manipulate events," the voice narrated, as it always did.

Li Huan slipped into that strange state again—where she was both herself and not herself, shaping a world from her imagination yet feeling as if she were merely discovering something that already existed.

It was now the third day since Mingyao had gained her female form.

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Mingyao ran toward the Yin Lian Pavilion, just ahead of the river, with Chen Xiao following closely behind. Just as they neared the entrance, Mingyao slow down naturally, allowing Chen Xiao to catch up.

"Lady Shen, it doesn't matter if you are a courtesan at Yin Lian Pavilion. What matters is what's in your heart," Chen Xiao said desperately, his voice carrying to the sizable crowd of onlookers. "I know what's in mine."

"Master Chen, you must be joking. I am only a courtesan, a woman of low birth, yet you speak of matters of the heart? Is it truly your heart speaking, or is it another part of you?" Mingyao scoffed, turning toward the entrance while Chen Xiao still held onto her hand. "It's well known that you're a playboy."

"Lady Shen, it's not like that—"

But Mingyao was having none of it. "Goodbye, Master Chen." She tried to pull her hand away, but Chen Xiao still held onto her wrist his grip locking it.

"I said, goodbye, Master Chen."

This time, she yanked her hand harder, and Chen Xiao finally loosened his grip, allowing her to escape. Without another word, Mingyao ran inside the pavilion, leaving Chen Xiao standing outside, unsure of what to do next.

Mingyao walked through the pavilion and headed straight to her room.

A short while later, the same woman who had served her in the morning arrived with another round of delicacies. Mingyao had spent the day snacking on street food and initially considered sending the woman away. But the enticing aroma of the dishes changed her mind.

"I always have room for more food," she muttered under her breath.

She glanced at the lavish three-course meal before her: an appetizer of pickled vegetables, century eggs, and tofu; a main course of steamed fish, braised pork belly, stuffed crab shells, bird's nest soup, and lotus leaf sticky rice. For dessert, there was Osmanthus cake, paired with a jar of plum blossom wine.

Despite having eaten earlier, Mingyao's chopsticks worked on the food with lightning speed—only to be caught off guard once again by Yue Ying's sudden appearance.

"Are you done, Master?"

Mingyao leaned back slightly, wiping her mouth clean with a cloth. Her gaze on Yue Ying as she gave her next directive.

"How fast can you spread a rumor?" She folded the cloth neatly, placing it aside.

"Very quickly, Pavilion Master. What rumor would you like to spread?"

"I want word to spread that Master Chen has fallen in love with a courtesan from Yin Lian Pavilion and is willing to do anything to marry her." Mingyao's fingers tapped lightly on the table, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

"As you command, Pavilion Master. Anything else?"

"Were the tails following me and Chen Xiao dealt with? I hope you didn't do anything to them." Mingyao leaned forward, her fingers drumming on the table.

"I wanted to, but I refrained so as not to alert them to our presence. However, had they posed any threat to you, we would have eliminated them without hesitation."

"Thank you for your concern, Yue Ying." Mingyao spoke with a slight nod "So, did you let them be? I'd love for them to be followed so we can trace them back to their master."

"I anticipated as much, so I ordered two of the shadows to follow them discreetly."

"Nice, Yue Ying. You know me well." Mingyao smiled leaning back relaxing. "I assume their master is the Chen heir, but it doesn't hurt to confirm. We may have a hidden enemy."

Mingyao's gaze drifted toward the window. "Any luck with the old divination master?"

"Not yet, Master, but soon."

"Take your time, but don't take too long. I really need his help." Mingyao sighed softly, then stood up and began pacing around the room. "That's all for now—you can leave. Oh, one more thing. When Mo Yan returns, send her to me. I have a task for her."

"As you wish, Master."

"Also, before I forget, there was a strange scent around Chen Xiao and the courtesans near him. I might be overthinking it, but it could be a type of poison." Mingyao paused as she thought of the incident. She walked over to a nearby table and picked up a delicate vial, turning it in her hands. "Can you have someone look into it?"

"As you wish, Master. I will send someone to investigate Anything else?"

"Not at the moment. I've been overexerting myself these past three days, so I'd like to take a nap. If you don't mind, no disturbances, please."

"Noted. I will take my leave now."

And just like that, Yue Ying was gone.

The stage for Mingyao's plan was now set. She had undoubtedly ignited a conflict between the Chen brothers—or at the very least, escalated the tension between them.

According to Mo Yan's intelligence, the Chen brothers had never been on good terms, but the situation had worsened recently when Mr. Chen, one of Xianyang's most revered gentry, suddenly became hedonistic. Mingyao had deduced that something had happened between the brothers that turned Chen Xiao into the fool he was now. From the poem she had deciphered, it was clear a lover had been taken from him.

The main reason Chen Yichen had his eyes set on that gambling house was also because of a woman. If this turned into a battle over love, Chen Xiao's pacifist nature would have to take a backseat. After all, he knew just how painful it was to lose love—he would never let it slip from his fingers again.

All she had to do was let the Chen brothers fight each other while she slipped in unnoticed, seizing their wealth and power from beneath them. The gambling house was merely a means to an end.

Mingyao lay down, ready to drift into sleep, but a gnawing thought refused to let her rest.

Yue Ying had challenged a sect backed by a grandmaster. Currently, they lacked the power to fight such a figure, even if they wanted to. Yes, Yue Ying was strong—but against a grandmaster, she was nothing more than an ant waiting to be crushed.

That thought jolted Mingyao from her lazy state. She needed to cultivate quickly, to grow stronger—fast. She had done it once; she could do it again.

Sitting up, she once again attempted to cultivate her Supreme Yang technique—the Scarlet Dragon's Sun. But, just like before, her internal energy became chaotic, and she spat blood.

What was the problem? She had never experienced this before.

Then, a decade-old memory surfaced—one of Mingyu, his master, and Yue Ying. At one point, Yue Ying had also attempted to cultivate the Scarlet Dragon's Sun, only to discover that her body was incompatible with Supreme Yang energy. Instead, she cultivated the Supreme Yin technique—Frozen Moon Empress.

Could Mingyao's body now also be incompatible with Supreme Yang?

Sitting up once more, she attempted to channel Yin energy. To no one's surprise, her internal energy remained stable.

"It looks like I'll have to cultivate Yue Ying's Supreme Yin technique," she muttered.

She got comfortable and tried to recall the cultivation method from memory. Slowly but surely, she could feel it working. Mingyao was ecstatic—until a sudden wave of qi disrupted her focus.

The ground trembled, dark clouds gathering outside. The air grew electric. Thunder rumbled, and lightning streaked across the sky. Yet, no rain fell. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the storm dissipated.

Mingyao's heart sank. That was no ordinary storm.

"I guess Yue Ying's challenge has been answered," she murmured.