12. Who’s Using Whom?
The coup was silent, yet logical.
A tide of people quickly occupied the main streets and military garrisons, and even the black-clad swordsmen’s strongholds were swiftly cleared.
It wasn’t even curfew time, and it was the Emperor’s birthday.
The blue-robed cultivators acted openly, in front of the common people, then announced the crimes of those they had overthrown.
Specifically, that they were the masterminds behind the recent massacres, and that the Emperor, due to his indulgence in demonic arts, had used the nation’s luck for his own nefarious purposes.
Although the people weren’t fools and knew what to believe and what not to believe, when the blue-robed cultivators connected this to the recent disasters and presented it as the State Preceptor’s view, everything changed.
Thanks to Baili Yue, the State Preceptor’s reputation among the people was quite high. Since he had personally confirmed it, the credibility of this claim soared.
This was why the Star Pavilion’s reputation had risen so quickly.
After all, they had struck first, dragging Baili Yue down.
This series of attacks had left the unprepared Baili Yue completely defeated.
“Do I have any connection with a demonic sect Young Palace Master like you?”
Gong Yiling rubbed her small hands, then, with a hand chop, knocked out the Baili Yue who was about to escape. “This young lady has a principle in life. I only do what I see fit.”
“When I first met you, I didn’t think you would be a suitable friend. I thought so then, and I think so now.”
“And by the way, let me tell you one more thing.”
At this point, Gong Yiling glanced at the steadily rising reputation of the Baiyao family and finally revealed a satisfied smile.
Qiu Shui and Chuyue, they did a great job.
“You thought you were using me, but wasn’t I using you too, Miss Yue?”
At this moment, a woman in luxurious clothes slowly walked in from the door. Her appearance and demeanor were top-notch, and more importantly, she was a familiar face.
A very, very familiar face.
Leng Yuli.
She was now wearing the same clothes as the “Gong Yiling” who had left the table earlier.
—
—
“This is…?”
But when Leng Yuli woke up, dazed, she saw Gong Yiling scrutinizing her.
Her gaze was so intense, as if she were comparing their figures.
Unsettled, Leng Yuli, between the choices of slapping her or hiding under the covers, decisively threw a pillow at Gong Yiling.
Finding a third option was also a way out.
“What are you looking at!?”
“Ah!” Gong Yiling, after removing the pillow, chuckled. “Nothing. I was just thinking about how to spend tonight.”
“???”
Was there a strange double meaning in that sentence?
“Tonight?” Still groggy, Leng Yuli didn’t quite get it and almost started kicking and punching her.
But just then, the frozen scene began to move again.
Leng Yuli suddenly remembered everything that had happened before she fainted.
“The black-clad swordsmen…” She immediately sat up. “It was those black-clad swordsmen!”
“The black-clad swordsmen?” Gong Yiling suddenly realized she was talking about her attacker and couldn’t help but ask, “So far away, and you saw his face?”
“Are you underestimating a blacksmith’s eyesight?” Leng Yuli said, her hands on her hips. “Although it was a bit far, I saw it clearly. They were the black-clad swordsmen, and his eyes were familiar.”
“Familiar?” Gong Yiling stroked her chin.
For Yuli to find him familiar, and with his attire being the same as those black-clad men—who else would wear black in broad daylight? Wasn’t that just making himself a more obvious target?
“And the arrowhead.” Although she didn’t have it with her, she recalled the image from that brief moment. “I’ve studied it. The arrowhead is identical to the ones specially made by Haifeng Hall.”
The arrowhead?
Come to think of it, after Leng Yuli was attacked, she had been more concerned about the poison than the origin of the arrow.
And afterwards, she never thought a small arrowhead could be a clue.
“If it’s related to Haifeng Hall…” Gong Yiling replayed all the events of the past few days in her mind, and a name popped up.
Yue Huasheng.
Yes, if it was him, then there was no coincidence. He could have easily set up an ambush on their path.
As for why he would do it…
“Yuli.” After a long thought, Miss Gong suddenly looked up and said seriously, “There’s something about you I want to tell you.”
“About me?” Leng Yuli asked, puzzled. “What could it be?”
“This is about your parentage, but I’m not sure. I’ll tell you if you want to hear it. If not, then I won’t.”
Hearing Gong Yiling’s words, it seemed this matter of her parentage might completely shatter her previous understanding.
She wasn’t a fool. She immediately understood.
“Am I not… a member of the Leng family?”
Gong Yiling nodded silently. “Yes.”
Hearing this, although a ripple of emotion spread through her heart, she wasn’t as shocked as she thought she would be.
After all, she had always felt it.
She had no memory of her mother, and her father treated her like a disposable tool. Only her grandfather, who was kind to her, treated her with a strange reverence.
This family didn’t feel like a family. That’s why she, a noble young lady, hadn’t developed a spoiled personality, but was more like an ordinary girl.
Now that Gong Yiling had pointed it out, she was curious about what shocking secret she would reveal.
