Chapter Fourteen: The First Plan
The "night" in the Demon Palace was as deep as ink, and the eerie blue demonic fire cast flickering shadows on the walls of the Purple Light Hall.
Inside the inner palace, the rough animal hide was spread out again, its crooked symbols, lines, and diagrams now more numerous, complex, and chaotic. Bai Yu and Li Yue brought back as many subtle sounds as possible from the dark corners of the Demon Palace to this sleeping quarters, preserving them as faithfully as possible.
Shang Jiuya sat on the soft couch, her face still pale in the dim blue firelight, but her eyes were surprisingly bright.
In my mind, countless fragments of information swirled and danced like a blizzard:
The exchange of benefits and mutual distrust between You Chi and Ao Li...
The close collusion and resource transfer between Guan Shanyue and Gong Liang...
The unusual activity at Jiang Zhenglu's court and the secret contact with Guan Shanyue's maid...
The violent expansion of the Seven Mu on the border and the belligerent voices within...
Eleven Niang's vicious illusions and the possible support behind them...
Chang Dong's concern for border stability and his relatively detached stance...
Xing Yuan occasionally revealed his dissatisfaction with the old order...
The predicament of Qingcheng Workshop being forced to transfer resources to various parties...
And then there are the more trivial yet sometimes crucial details discovered by the "eyes" and "ears" of the grassroots: complaints in the kitchen, discoveries in the laundry room, residual energy in an abandoned watchtower, the appearance of unfamiliar faces...
The information was plentiful, yet it remained a tangled mess, lacking any unifying thread. The enemy remained despairingly powerful, and what she possessed seemed utterly insignificant in the face of their immense authority.
A familiar sense of powerlessness crept in again, trying to drag her back into the abyss of despair.
Just then, her gaze inadvertently swept over a messy curve she had unconsciously drawn on the edge of the parchment. The shape... seemed strangely familiar.
Like... a river?
Like the River of Oblivion, with its black waves that can devour everything, Rong Jiang!
She abruptly closed her eyes, as if she could see that figure scheming step by step in the underworld. Rong Jiang survived not only because of strength, but also because of her intelligence, ruthlessness, and seizing every possible opportunity.
She exploited a loophole in the rules of the underworld...
She united all forces that could be united...
She's ruthless to herself...
She never gives up...
Shang Jiuya's heart pounded violently. She had fallen into a misconception before. She always thought about how to confront them head-on, but what she should learn was Rong Jiang's wisdom in surviving in desperate situations, and her ruthlessness in using every available factor to survive and fight back.
Her gaze suddenly returned to the parchment covered with relationships, and she began to search for the most vulnerable part of her prey like a hunter.
Her gaze was fixed on the two symbols representing Qi Mu and Shi Yi Niang. Based on the fragmented information Bai Yu had gathered, and the intense jealousy and possessiveness Shi Yi Niang had displayed during the illusion trap, Shang Jiu Ya keenly sensed an unusual relationship between the two. Shi Yi Niang possessed an almost pathological possessiveness towards Qi Mu, while Qi Mu, the violent and bloodthirsty sixth brother, seemed to enjoy this feeling of being worshipped and relied upon, perhaps even using it as a means to control Shi Yi Niang. But the key point was that Qi Mu was amorous; his female warriors, prisoners, and even the maids in the Demon Palace were all potential targets for his advances. Could Shi Yi Niang, with such a strong possessive streak, truly tolerate someone being more important to Qi Mu than her, his most beloved younger sister?
This was a crack that could be exploited, and a rough plan quickly took shape in Jiu Ya's mind, with the details becoming increasingly clear.
She suddenly looked up at Bai Yu and Li Yue, who were quietly waiting beside her. Their eyes held worry, but also a hint of expectation.
“Bai Yu, Li Yue,” her voice was slightly hoarse with excitement and nervousness, “we…can’t keep waiting passively like this.”
She drew a heavy circle on the parchment, enclosing the symbols representing Qi Mu and Shi Yi Niang.
“Our enemies are powerful, but they are not invincible.” Her gaze was sharp, flashing with a cold light. “Some are impulsive and easily angered, with excessive desires (Qi Mu). Some are narrow-minded and insanely jealous (Shi Yi Niang). Their distorted relationships and stupidity are our opportunity.”
Bai Yu and Li Yue realized that their lord seemed to have a very specific and bold idea.
“The first step we need to take,” Shang Jiuya said in a low voice, “is to plant a thorn between them, a poisonous thorn that will make them distrust each other and even turn them into enemies.”
“Qi Mu is by no means a faithful man. His romantic affairs and fickle nature are no secret in the Demon Palace.” Shang Jiuya’s gaze was sharp as her fingertips traced across the parchment, searching for possible names or clues. “We just need to find the ‘new favorite’ who has recently caught Qi Mu’s attention—it could be a beautiful female demon general he has recently promoted, a prisoner he has taken a liking to from a recent campaign, or even a maid in the Demon Palace whose appearance has aroused his interest. Find her and confirm that Qi Mu has indeed shown unusual ‘interest’ in her recently.”
She looked at Bai Yu and said, "Bai Yu, use your informants to focus on finding out about the romantic escapades within the Seven Mu Palace. Pay attention to whether any woman has recently received unusual rewards, been frequently summoned, or whether her companions are privately gossiping about her unusual relationship with the Seven Mu. We need to utilize established facts, not fabricate false accusations."
“Once we’ve identified our target,” Shang Jiuya continued, “we need to obtain a ‘token’ that can definitively link Qi Mu to this woman. Ideally, this token should be something Qi Mu bestowed upon her, or something imbued with Qi Mu’s strong magical aura—such as an ornament he gave her, a personal item he often used that might have been given to or left with the female demon, or even some kind of identification unique to his legion that can be linked to him. The key is that this thing must be genuine and withstand Eleven Niang’s secret investigation so that she can fully believe it.”
“Then,” she lowered her voice even further, “we need to make this real ‘token’ be ‘discovered’ by Eleventh Sister or her absolutely loyal informant in an extremely ‘natural’ and ‘accidental’ situation. The location must be cleverly chosen—for example, it could be dropped ‘accidentally’ in a relatively secluded corner of the garden where Eleventh Sister often goes to relax, or it could be ‘found’ and ‘presented’ to Eleventh Sister’s confidant by a seemingly greedy low-ranking servant who can operate in both places. The whole process must be done without leaving any trace of us, making it look like a chance discovery.”
"At the same time, rumors need to keep up." Shang Jiuya looked at Bai Yu. "The content of the rumors should be based on facts with ambiguous embellishment and exaggeration, rather than being completely fabricated. For example: 'It is said that His Highness Qi Mu has recently been particularly impressed by the bravery of a certain female general, and has been giving her a lot of private advice.' 'Someone saw His Highness bestow a pot of precious demon blood wine upon the newly arrived succubus.' 'The snow fox pelts that His Highness brought back from the last hunt seem not to have been put into storage, and it is unknown who they were given to.' The rumors should be vague and provide details so that the jealous Eleventh Sister can automatically match the 'tokens' she found with the 'rumors' she heard, thereby 'confirming' her own guesses."
"Timing is equally crucial," she emphasized. "It's best to choose a time when Qi Mu is briefly away from the Demon Palace due to military affairs, or when Shi Yi Niang's emotions are already fluctuating due to other minor matters. Let Shi Yi Niang discover 'evidence' and hear 'rumors,' but she won't be able to confront Qi Mu immediately. Let suspicion and anger grow wildly in her heart like poisonous vines."
"Given Eleven's twisted possessiveness and personality, she is highly unlikely to remain silent. Instead, she would directly cause trouble for that 'target'—humiliating, torturing, or even poisoning her. And this would precisely enrage Seven Mu. No matter how much genuine affection Seven Mu has for this woman, Eleven's actions against his people are a blatant challenge to his authority and a slap in his face. Especially if that female demon is one of his more capable subordinates or is currently enjoying his favor!"
"The moment their ambiguous relationship escalates into their first major conflict, a rift is created. Once the trust is breached, it will only grow wider. We can even 'add fuel to the fire' later—for example, after Qi Mu tries to appease or reprimand Shi Yi Niang, let some vague rumors about Qi Mu's 'rekindling of old feelings' or other new targets 'just happen' reach Shi Yi Niang's ears, making him think that Shi Yi Niang is unreasonable and relentless, and making her think that Qi Mu is hypocritical, deceitful, and has no sincerity."
After Shang Jiuya finished speaking, the inner hall fell into a deathly silence.
“Of course, this is just a preliminary plan.” Shang Jiuya took a deep breath. “It must undergo the most rigorous scrutiny before implementation. The target must be chosen precisely to ensure that it is Qi Mu’s true new favorite; the acquisition of the token must be genuine and the method absolutely safe; the spread of rumors must be based on exaggerated facts, not fabricated out of thin air; the timing must be just right. Every detail must be perfect, and no trace pointing to us must be left. We need more information about Qi Mu’s recent real movements, the relationships of the women under his command, and Shiyi Niang’s habits and spies to refine it.”
She looked at her two trusted confidants: "Short-term goal: continue to consolidate our own security and deepen our information network. Bai Yu, your informant network should focus on verifying Qi Mu's recent ambiguous relationships and related rewards and meeting information, as well as Shiyi Niang's daily habits and emotional cycles. Li Yue, pay attention to any abnormal transfers of Qi Mu's subordinates and Qi Mu's own travel patterns."
"The medium-term objective is this provocation plan. It is the crucial first step in creating chaos and breathing room for us. We must treat it like the most sophisticated machine, based on reality and operated covertly."
"Long-term goal: to find potential allies. Changdong, Qingcheng, Xingyuan... the direction remains unchanged."
Having finished her explanation, Shang Jiuya felt as if all her strength had been drained. She leaned back on the cushion, knowing she was playing with fire and walking an extremely dangerous path. Failure would mean utter ruin.
However, sitting idly by and waiting to die is also a dead end.
She wanted...
I'll light that fuse myself and watch them fall into disarray.
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