123 Every Resource Spent to Kill a Patient Enemy, Is Worth I

Zhi Rui walked back to her manor.

Since the death of the elderly maid, no one volunteered to be her servant anymore. She could just ask and some would show for the job but Zhi Rui' was too tired to care.

She reached the front of her manor and looked around at the people walking.

To a place that's usually so full of life, the people were walking and talking like corpses.

Sandworm and Blue-amethyst,on their own way, used the incident of the elderly's assassination to incite rage against the big tribes by condemning the chief alphas.

It was all done subtly and silently. Always In small groups with whisperers.

No name is ever mentioned.

From their silence alone, Zhi Rui could tell how much their emotion was being influenced. Seeing the inner struggle within each citizen. Zhi Rui nodded inwardly.

'It was the right call to let that old lady die.' Zhi Rui thought.

Although she was a bit late, Zhi Rui could've saved the woman from a fatal wound, and in a normal circumstance, she would.

But in that second where she saw the hand descending on the woman's head, two options appeared on her mind.

'Save the woman from an unreasonable leader, and acquire the people's respect.'

'Or let her die and Let the people see and feel for themselves how much the leaders feel about their people and own culture.'

It was a split second decision.

The deciding factor was that if Zhi Rui saved the woman, then the leader's transgression would be dismissed as a single problematic individual's doing.

But if she died and Fire-heart just sighed from the side, then the people would understand, how much their leaders were corrupted. and how much despise and indifference they have for the poor of their own race.

Zhi Rui delayed her jump by less than half a second, just enough to barely miss saving the woman.

The people who waited to see the chief alphas of the big tribes became a witness for everything that happened outside Zhi Rui' manor.

Now the people burned with silent rage.

As for the people who had heard Zhi Rui speaking about the current leaders ruining their culture and thought it was merely her excuse to seek power.

Now they were floored by the cold hard truth.

Now Zhi Rui could see the signs of worship and admiration on their eyes as she nodded toward them.

After passing through her door, Zhi Rui facedSandworm and Blue-amethyst sitting on cushions while drinking a cold juice.

"I didn't know this was your particular nest." Zhi Rui said.

Blue-amethyst laughed and dawned her cup.

Sandworm took it more seriously. He scrutinized Zhi Rui' expression and knew she was serious.

"The alpha's tent is considered a public place. as long as you have an issue, you can come and go as you want. that's the culture." He explained. "But if it bothers you, we won't come without permission."

"Why other people hadn't come here then?" Zhi Rui frowned and asked.

"We told them we're your trusted generals, so they usually come to us." Blue amethyst answered.

Zhi Rui sighed and walked straight to her bed.As she passed them by, her voice sounded in their ears.

"You both did well with the proliferation of rumors, but don't forget to send an eloquent warrior to deliver the supplies to the tribes we allied with from before.

From there on you don't need to do anything more, the rumor will spread naturaly."

They both nodded, two different scrolls fell in front of each other. They looked a the names and looked at Zhi Rui's back with gratitude.

'A simple manual got such feelings out of them. Those who never had anything are really easy to please...'

As Zhi Rui reached her bed her eyes half closed. When she was ready to let her body ret a voice suddenly woke her up.

"As they used to say;Don't reward pearls to pigs, give them pig feed, they prefer it this way.' "

Zhi Rui looked to her side with cold eyes.

Han Lee was looking at her with his polite smile that seemed to have been glued to his face from the day he was born.

"Pig or dog, they are mine. You don't qualify to undermine them." Zhi Rui said.

Han Lee sighed.

"After that sneak attack of yours, I reflect and concluded you're not wrong, I didn't help like a promised I would, so today, I came here to give you every information on that coming of age rite sand stele."

Zhi Rui squinted her eyes dangerously. her energy was emanating outside her body.

"I just talked about that with the siblings for the first time, a few minutes ago. You're telling me they told you about our conversation, and then you managed snuck on my bedroom before even I, who walked directly here could come?. And that screams that you're spying on me."

(Boy, tread carefully.) bianca's voice came. snapping something inside Han Lee. He grew angry and decided to just do what he had already planned.

"Zhi Rui, I'm a neutral party, not a dumb one, spying on you is common sense and also the main reason I stayed here. As for how I came to your place faster? I'm a level four cultivator, it'd be embarrassing for me to lose in speed with you."

Zhi Rui stared at his unwavering eye a for few moments, seeing no more reaction she laughed alleviating the mood.

(Good boy!) Bianca said. Making Han Lee boil inside. Her mellow voice wasn't seductive like before, now it just made him want to choke the life out of her.

"Every born child on the direct bloodline are measured for lineage resonance. If it resonates well they are invested in, if it doesn't, they are given the normal amount of resources but if they manage to become a level two body cultivator before the age of twenty, then they are qualified to visit the stele." Han Lee continued.

He looked at how Zhi Rui's eyes were concentrated on him and smirked inside. He knew that with these kinds of information that nobody was willing to share, he would be on her mind for a while.

"The promising men and women, bleed on the sand stele, it absorbs and the ancient consciousness inside awakens from hibernation. It evaluates the person by the blood and some personal questions. The consciousness then goes back to sleep and usually, a Mnemonic is left on your mind, yourecite it out loud and a book or scroll's knowledge surface on your mind."

Han Lee raised his hands in a surrender gesture. "That's all I got."

"What you received from it?" Zhi Rui asked softly.

Han Lee felt his eyes twitch, he was not expecting a soft tone from her.

"I received a scroll that taught how to control Chains, rather than killing, my fighting style became entirely based on defeating and immobilizing the enemy."

"Where's the fun in that?" Zhi Rui giggled.

Han Lee just smiled.

She squinted. "You have that detailed information, but I could've gotten it from anyone who had been there. If that's all you got, your sincerity is very weak."

Han Lee, again, threw his hands in the air exasperated "That' all I got."

Zhi Rui' stepped closer to him. "You can open a way for me to get inside the library. Or you can simply facilitate my invasion."

Her soft voice prickled his ear.

(Boy! that' your chance, she's actively seeking out for you. If you don't help her now, you won't ever get a chance with her!)

Han Lee heard it. He weighed it down against his own opposing thought.

In one part was Zhi Rui's mother who claimed to know her daughter' nature extremely well, and on another side was his own male instincts telling him

That it's bullshit, the moment he accepts Zhi Rui's request he won't have any value in her eyes.

Bianca's annoying voice kept pressuring him to accept. Han Lee was frozen looking at Zhi Rui with his polite smile.

Zhi Rui waited patiently.

He processed everything on their talk, Zhi Rui's sudden soft tone, her giggling with him and now, patiently waiting for his answer.

'She might be her mother, but I'm a man.' He thought firmly.

Han Le frowned deeply at Zhi Rui. "Me telling you about the stele was already too much. That stele is a national treasure. I can tell about it, and if you manage to get something that's your destiny, but me facilitating your entrance is just betrayal to my own people. I won't do it."

Han Lee said firmly with locked eyebrows, for not even a second he broke eye contact or trembled.

He could feel Bianca preparing to use her power to squash a vein inside his brain.

The moment Zhi Rui walk away or reject would be his end.

But contrary to Bianca's thoughts.

Zhi Rui smiled.

Han Lee could see it was a different smile, it was somewhat more genuine than before.

He stood there in a daze.

"If you have nothing more to help me with, then don't bother me. I'm tired and need to sleep."

Han Lee was still in adze as Zhi Rui threw herself on the bed wearing only the satin green robe.

He wanted to stay and question the why's and how's. But his gut told him, that if he pressed her he would lose what he just gained.

As he turned around his smile went from polite to malicious. He smirked and walked out of the manor.