"Hall Master, I do understand your doubts. But I do feel we have some common interests. Not only in business, but also in more sensitive venues. From my information, it looks like you are extremely concerned with what happened to the Cao family. And it happens to be that so am I."
This did not make Fang Shaolon trust her more, quite the contrary in fact. But she knew what she was doing.
"Why do you think that I am that interested by this? And why are you?"
"Please, Hall Master. Did you think that I ignored where your money was going? Since you financed the Cao family to such an extent, isn't it natural that you should be concerned with their fate?" As a matter of fact, Huang Cixi had found no proof of that. She did not know where the money was being funneled to. However, she had the intuition that a good part of it was for the Cao family. That said, another part should have been used for something else as well.
"And on the reason why I am interested. Well..." For the first time, Feng Shaolong saw her with genuine emotion on her face. Huang Cixi was sincerely hesitant but she decided to go on. "You should know that my second brother has been killed. The truth is that he was killed near Baziyun City. And I am fairly certain that his death is related to what happened to the Cao family."
Huang Cixi did not really lie. And even so, she could lie without being seen through, even by someone who was used to tough negotiations such as Fang Shaolong. What had made her hesitant was the use of her brother's death. But she couldn't just tell him that Cao Yun was still alive. First of all, she wasn't sure of Fang Shaolong. And she didn't want anyone at all to hear about this, she had sworn to Xiao Xuefeng and she would keep her word.
"There is also another reason, less personal. The Wubei Sect has most likely been infiltrated by demonic cultivators. And they also tried to infiltrate the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. It is almost certain that some of them are also hidden somewhere in Baziyun City and maybe even higher. As long as we don't root them out, they will be a thorn in our side, ready to kill us just like the Cao family. Aren't those reasons enough?
"I do not pretend to know what your relation with the Cao family was. In fact, I still do not fully trust you on the matter. Yet, I am ready to put my doubts aside for now, and work with you."
"You accuse me of..." Hearing the subtext that maybe he had something to do with the massacre, Fang Shaolong lost his calm for an instant. "No... You're right to be suspicious of everyone... Miss Huang Cixi, for now, I will accept to work with you. But it doesn't mean that I trust you either."
"Hall Master, trust is not something easily earned. But I am sure that you will find me to be a trustworthy business partner."
They then discussed the fine details of their cooperation. For now, they negotiated purely financial cooperation, and an agreement to share some information, so long as it pertained to demonic cultivators or to the Cao massacre. Considering that an alliance between the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall and a great family such as the Huang family could be opposed by the kingdom, they only agreed orally, without any contract. Given the nature of this agreement, trust was of utmost importance. As such, it would take a lot of time for them to build a working relationship.
-
After she was done with Hall Master Fang Shaolong, Huang Cixi decided not to lose any time. Matriarch Huang Yufeng had invited her both officially with the access to her private library and unofficially with her telepathic message. The mere access to the knowledge of past matriarchs could be incredibly useful. Since Gui Bei had escaped his pursuers, he could become much stronger than before. Using that knowledge to increase her own strength would be a smart move. She had other possibilities but this one was the easiest. And she also had another idea, but Matriarch Huang Yufeng would have to agree with her. For that, she needed to present something with enough value.
She had thought about the 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks' but it had been entrusted to her. In a way, this made Cao Yun her teacher. And within the Hongchen Kingdom, the relation between a disciple and his master or a pupil and his teacher was sacred. Unless she had his approval, she wouldn't divulge this method. Even if the manual was easily accessible, until she decided to retrieve all those she could of course, she was still reluctant to do away with this secret. Thankfully, she had other ways to negotiate with the matriarch.
Under the pretense of accessing her private library, Huang Cixi asked an audience with the matriarch to her grandfather.
Now, she was kneeling earnestly in front of the chambers of Matriarch Huang Yufeng. For more than ten hours straight, she knelt to show her sincerity. The matriarch was not letting her kneel just out of her status. She was indeed very busy after her failed breakthrough. Fortunately, Family Head Huang Yi was a great man and was able to take care of everything in the family by himself. Still, she had to meditate on the insights from her attempted breakthrough. If she were to lose an inspiration, it might never come back.
And during her birthday, she had gotten some inspiration from the teas that had calmed down her soul. Alas, this inspiration was not that good and did not bring a lot of benefits. But that was the way of cultivation. Not every single inspiration or insight could give wonderful results. Otherwise, anyone could reach the Spirit Warrior realm. Matriarch Huang Yufeng had been stuck for a few centuries in the 8th-grade Spirit Warrior. And she had just broken through to the next level. To begin with, she hadn't had a lot of confidence in reaching the Sage realm. However, she couldn't let go of this ambition.
When she was finally done and her mind had regained its calm, she went back in the Phoenix Hall. Her chambers were in reality an entire pavilion. And the main room was the Phoenix Hall where her throne was. With her spiritual senses, she had obviously seen Huang Cixi kneeling in front of the door. Now that she was ready, the door opened.
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As soon as the door was open, it revealed the glorious figure of Matriarch Huang Yufeng on her throne. Huang Cixi kowtowed and spoke with reverence.
"This humble one salutes the matriarch."
Then, she walked up the small stairs that were beyond the door. Finally, she was in a large corridor leading to the throne which was a bit higher than the floor, with a few steps to reach it. Once again, she knelt and gave her salutations to the matriarch.
"No need to be so formal."
Just as she spoke, the door closed and she stood up from her throne. Walking down, she reached Huang Cixi who slowly got up as well.
"Walk with me."
The two women went in the direction of the inner parts of the pavilion, probably where the private library of the matriarch was.
"You've impressed me a lot with Huang Liyue. I did not think that anyone would ever convince her to hide anything from me, even for a short span of time." Hearing the matriarch, Huang Cixi was not surprised at all. Given her stature, it was obvious that she would find out sooner or later. Huang Cixi had just tried to buy some time with Huang Liyue, and maybe also test her loyalty. However, she didn't know exactly what Matriarch Huang Yufeng truly knew. Maybe she had just guessed, or maybe Huang Liyue had told her something but not the entirety.
"Matriarch, I just wanted to prove myself and I found that disturbing you during your seclusion would be rude. If ever you think that I showed defiance, please punish me accordingly."
"No need for such words. I talked with Elder Huang Jian. He will soon step down from his position. I do believe that some time away from his responsibilities will be good for him. He could maybe spend some time with Huang Lü. What do you think should happen to this former rival of yours?"
"Matriarch, this isn't my place to decide such things."
"I am not asking whether you have the authority or not. I'm asking what you would do with her if you had it."
"Matriarch, I would send her in the Sunmen Province. Sister Huang Lü seems to enjoy fighting and I do think that she has a great talent for it. We've always tried to increase our presence in the border provinces. The Sunmen Province is probably the one with the most elite fighters. I am sure that Sister Huang Lü would fit perfectly with them. Moreover, it would also allow us to show our sincerity to the Imperial City in our efforts against the demons."
"Yes... And Elder Huang Jian does have some tie in the Sunmen Province. We could send him with her as our envoy." The matriarch stopped talking for a while. "Fine. Elder Huang Jian will step down from his position in Baziyun City and he will become an envoy in the Sunmen Province to provide support to the armies there. The demons have become quite active recently. If Elder Huang Jian dies on the battlefield, his name will be honored for generations to come. And if he doesn't, he will be deemed a hero nonetheless. What are minor crimes perpetrated decades ago against such a status?"
Even Huang Cixi was surprised that her suggestion got accepted so easily. But this would indeed be perfect. Huang Lü could gain much honor and with her own father with her, she had almost no chance of dying on the battlefield. Furthermore, after fighting against the demons to protect mankind, even if the adultery Huang Jian had committed was made public, it wouldn't hurt him much.
The rest of the way, Matriarch Huang Yufeng did not speak anymore. This made Huang Cixi nervous. She wasn't sure whether the matriarch knew about other things, namely her dealings with Fang Shaolong, or not. Was she not talking because she didn't know or because she did know and was waiting for Huang Cixi to reveal it herself?
In the end, they reached the library and the matriarch broke her silence.
"Those books contain the entire knowledge of our family. They are a treasure trove of our ancestors' insights. I will give you one day to browse through all of them. Any book or manual that is in this room is available to you. But be aware that some contain knowledge that you cannot comprehend yet. Trying to grab too much at once can be a disaster. Cultivation must be a steady process. Even though you have been gifted a shortcut with the Life Boiling Cradle pill, you should not be hasty. I do believe that you have the right attitude, so I won't say more. Feel free to read as much as you want."
"Thank you, Matriarch. Do not worry. I do know when to stop."
With her mind cultivation, remembering the content of every single one of those books and manuals was quite easy. Even if she did not comprehend a manual, she could still keep it in the back of her mind and let time do its work. Besides, she had still eight chambers to energize in her Upper Dantian. With each one, the knowledge she had accumulated, even if just by remembering it without understanding it, could result in sudden epiphanies.
The entire day, Huang Cixi read every single book and manual. Some were diaries held by elders or by past matriarchs. Others dealt with political issues of all kinds. There were also treatises about art, philosophy, religion and many other subjects that were of more or less interest to her. Among those books were also discussions about cultivation, either Qi cultivation, mind cultivation, blood cultivation and even physique cultivation.
The matriarch had been right. Most of what she read made little to no sense for Huang Cixi. However, she kept on reading.
Finally, she reached what really interested her. There were many manuals about 'Nine Chambers of Life Fire' and 'Ten Thousands Fiery Wheel'. Truly, the words of Matriarch Huang Yufeng were right. That was a treasure trove. Sadly, only a tiny portion of what she read made sense to her. Even though she obviously understood the meaning of the words, it didn't mean that she understood the concepts behind or their relation with her cultivation. Without experiencing it herself, it was like someone explaining to her the color red if she had been blind all her life. Mere words could not convey it. But once a cultivator had reached a specific stage, it would make sense.
Finally, she saw a very old book that was very thin. On its cover, she read 'Fragments of Huang Baifeng'. This book was a collection of all the texts historians attributed to Ancestral Matriarch Huang Baifeng. She was the woman who had originally founded the Huang family. Regrettably the name of the volume was accurate. Ancestral Matriarch Huang Baifeng had lived more than twenty thousand years ago. Since that time, many things had happened. Especially, the Founding Era had been rather agitated. Even the first centuries of the Seven Treaties Era had been rough. Thus, many documents from these periods were either lost or fragmented.
This volume contained several texts written by various historians to try and make sense of everything. First, Huang Cixi focused on the parts from Ancestral Matriarch Huang Baifeng's hand. And they were clearly unintelligible for the most part. Huang Cixi tried to use all of her mind cultivation but she only got a tiny bit of meaning. However, she could feel that there was something deeper to it and not quite what the historians were suggesting. Most of them were trying to build context around the texts.
What Huang Cixi wanted was the profound meaning of those texts. She felt like there was something about blood cultivation or about the ancestral martial art. If only she could find the complete version that was lost to time... That was extremely frustrating as it was right in front of her but she could barely touch it with one finger. However, it didn't stop her from remembering absolutely everything her ancestor had written.