"Sir Leng, any updates?"
In a quiet little room, Leng Wuchang was sitting at a desk deep in thought when Huangpu Tianyuan came in laughing, "With Drifting Flowers Edifices under siege for three months now, small fries keep on coming. It's so boring. When will a big fish bite anyway? Sir Leng, what do you reckon that big fish is planning right now?"
After a bow, Leng Wuchang sighed, "Estate Lord, our plan and reality do not match, I'm afraid."
"Where exactly?" Huangpu Tianyuan asked.
Leng Wuchang spoke, "Our main plan to bait the aid involved faking an attack on Drifting Flowers Edifices to draw Zhuo Fan out. With Estate Lord's Nine Dragons Diamond Body, we'd catch Zhuo Fan by surprise and finish him off in one swift blow. However…"
"What?" Huangpu Tianyuan asked impatiently.
Leng Wuchang shook his head, "The way it has played out is that we've fallen for it."
"What, how?" Huangpu Tianyuan jerked.
Leng Wuchang said, "By being a borrowed knife."
Unsettled, Huangpu Tianyuan eyed him.
Leng Wuchang explained, "It may be that we predicted Zhuo Fan's aim all wrong. His vision is far wider. We thought he would protect his allies to secure his power. But with Drifting Flowers Edifices under siege for months yet there being no sign of Luo clan, it goes to show that he has abandoned them. If anything, he was counting on us to destroy Drifting Flowers Edifices for him!"
"What?"
Huangpu Tianyuan trembled, "To what end? What does he get from this?"
"Humph, plenty."
Leng Wuchang snickered, "A man without roots is the easiest to sway. Even if Drifting Flowers Edifices survived and he won in the end, Drifting Flowers Edifices, being who it is, will remain only an ally. But when Drifting Flowers Edifices falls, he'd accept the women with open arms, getting them on his side and leaving only the world for the taking. Such a cunning plan, what a twisted mind. Even I could only deduce this from the current state. Zhuo Fan is a truly diabolical mastermind.
"By my calculations, he not only wants us to destroy Drifting Flowers Edifices, but all his allies. He will then take them in like a good samaritan and they, in their moment of gratitude and weakness, will accept the conversion wholeheartedly."
Even Leng Wuchang felt cold sweat on his brow at this point.
Zhuo Fan's insidious ploys never left room for errors, using cloak and daggers to stab at his own allies through his enemies.
Even Leng Wuchang had fallen for such a mastermind's devious schemes.
[Zhuo Fan is the most dangerous ally so far!]
Huangpu Tianyuan panicked inside, "Veiled Dragon Pavilion was the first to care for the Luo clan and Zhuo Fan once had close ties with Chu Qingcheng. Is he that dead inside to throw everything aside and plot against them?"
"That's what makes Zhuo Fan such an abomination."
Leng Wuchang sighed, "A man of ambition only looks at things from a perspective and never lets some platonic relationships drag him down."
Huangpu Tianyuan nodded, "But how did he know we'd attack Drifting Flowers Edifices with the three houses?"
"Ha-ha-ha, Estate Lord, do you remember when we planned to divide our forces into three and take them all down at the same time? Who was it that proposed we attack one house at a time and bait the aid?" Leng Wuchang's eyes glinted.
Huangpu Tianyuan shouted, "Fang Qiubai!"
"Him indeed."
Leng Wuchang nodded, "I didn't think much of it at the time, figuring flushing Zhuo Fan out and removing him from the picture at the earliest was better. But now, ha-ha-ha, it has been the imperial family playing us all along."
"The emperor's involved too?"
"Yes." Leng Wuchang patted the shocked Huangpu Tianyuan.
Huangpu Tianyuan was still finding it odd, "Doesn't the emperor want us to eliminate Zhuo Fan? Why is he on his side now? Was that ruckus at the palace all an act for the Regent Estate's eyes?"
"Not at all. Estate Lord is overthinking things. Back when Zhuo Fan and the emperor had a falling out, the emperor wanted to get rid of Zhuo Fan, but also of us!"
Leng Wuchang explained with a smile, "Ha-ha-ha, here's what I think happened. The emperor had Divine Dragons come to us as helpers but used them to find our plan of attack on Drifting Flowers Edifices and gave it over to Zhuo Fan. With the prick's cunning nature, he knew that standing on the side and taking a beating will get his allies wiped out. So he attacked Hell Valley."
The emperor caught on to his action and had the Divine Dragons propose the baiting the aid plan, not to draw Zhuo Fan out but to give him time to ruin Pill King Hall and Merry Woods. The imperial family's master plan isn't to have one of us two destroyed, but to have both of us on our last leg, at our weakest. "
Leng Wuchang got the gist of it, more or less. Except for one thing.
It was Zhuo Fan's intelligence network that got wind of their plans and it was him cueing the emperor in, leaving the imperial family to be one step behind.
Zhuo Fan had complete control of the situation across the board, something the imperial family never intended to happen.
But it wasn't something one could hold against Unwonted Contriver, since the human pillars were a super secret art from Zhuo Fan's endless bag of tricks. Even if he smashed his head and combed through the gray matter, he'd still not figure it out.
Figuring as much as he did was quite commendable though.
Sighing, Huangpu Tianyuan nodded, "Damn the emperor and his sharp mind. Just how can I take advantage of you? What's the point in staying here then if Zhuo Fan is a no show? Men, everyone go back to Drifting Flowers Edifices and capture it in one move. We'll then handle Veiled Dragon Pavilion and Sword Marquise Abode the same way. We just have to be faster than Zhuo Fan. Catch him when he's down then take the emperor's head!"
"Not so fast."
Leng Wuchang said, "Estate Lord, we have to follow the emperor's intent. Or instead of watching from the sidelines, he'd see Zhuo Fan weak and help him from the shadows. That's the worst outcome for us."
"What's there to fear? With my Nine Dragons Diamond Body, the world…"
"It is for this reason that we need to exercise caution." Leng Wuchang cut him off, "Your secret is to deal with Zhuo Fan. If it comes out now, he'll place some counters and we'll have an even harder time dealing with him. Estate Lord, don't you want to take in these vagrants?"
Huangpu Tianyuan showed a wide smile, "Sir Leng, you mean…"
"Zhuo Fan's scheme is groundbreaking and ingenious. Why not apply the same idea to our side?"
With a sneaky smile, Leng Wuchang continued, "He wants us to help him get his allies in line and that's what we'll do. But won't he help us getting our own allies as well? Hell Valley's people are already homeless and can only turn to Regent Estate for shelter. That only leaves Pill King Hall and Merry Woods. Estate Lord only needs to seize this chance to subdue them and their lands for the future. Isn't it a shame to let such a prime chance go?"
Huangpu Tianyuan cackled, "Sir Leng, you're saying we should thank Zhuo Fan for giving us such a wonderful idea. We'd never thought such an ingenious trick can get us all the seven houses and without any bad blood between us either."
"Ha-ha-ha, you should show your thanks by leaving his corpse intact." Leng Wuchang smiled.
Huangpu Tianyuan laughed.
After all the talks, nothing had changed. Regent Estate's experts were still lazily waiting for the "baiting the aid" to catch something and Huangpu Tianyuan's three allies were still working their asses off attacking Drifting Flowers City.
A few more days later however, Drifting Flowers City was still holding solid, but with heavy casualties. Seven overseers had died as well.
The defenses wouldn't hold for long if this kept up.
Whoosh!
In their moment of great despair, a green jade slip flew into Grandmother's hand.
Grandmother laughed, "It's from our allies. We're saved!"
Hope blossomed.
Grandmother scanned the jade slip and froze. With a crack, the jade scattered into pieces on the floor…