Chapter 11
Lou Yuqing stood in the first section, flipping through jade slips one after another.
After a while, she set them down, her fingers pausing mid-motion as she summoned the system panel.
She nodded, deeply satisfied.
After all that effort—carefully listening, patiently waiting, enduring endless scraps of half-useful chatter—she had finally scraped together ten thousand points.
For the sake of big gossip, she had deliberately held herself back.
Now… it was time to cash in.
Her gaze shifted.
Lou Yuqing frowned slightly at the name at the very top.
Cen Xiaoyun?
She had been in the Enforcement Hall for quite some time now, yet she had never heard that name before.
Strange.
The Enforcement Hall wasn’t a place ordinary people visited. Aside from enforcement disciples and offenders, outsiders rarely came near.
So who exactly was this person…?
Knock, knock, knock.
The sound of knocking broke her train of thought.
Without even lifting her head, Si Nidie called out while still copying, “Come in!”
Someone came to the observation room?
Lou Yuqing blinked, curiosity sparking. She slipped toward the doorway of the first section and peeked outside.
That was unusual.
Disciples usually went straight to the Enforcement Hall—they had no reason to linger in the observation area.
The door creaked open.
A beautiful woman stepped inside.
Her lips curved in a perfectly measured smile—gentle, warm, effortlessly likable at a glance.
Lou Yuqing’s gaze dropped unconsciously to the seashell necklace at her throat.
Could this be Cen Xiaoyun?
With a gossip value of twenty thousand… she must be hiding something big.
But in the next moment, the woman stopped a short distance away and spoke politely,
“Hello. My name is Song Li. I’ve come to retrieve a jade slip from the third section, under the Sect Leader’s orders.”
Lou Yuqing blinked.
Ah.
So not Cen Xiaoyun.
Song Li lifted a token and presented it.
The token was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, triangular in shape, its surface dark and lustrous like black jade. Four bold golden characters gleamed across it—
Song Li nodded, her tone sincere. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Si Nidie led her to the entrance, then stopped. “Go in on your own. There are protective arrays inside—if someone with ill intent enters, they’ll be attacked. But with the Sect Leader’s token, you’ll be fine.”
Song Li inclined her head and stepped forward.
The moment she crossed the threshold, the restriction recognized the token and let her pass.
Inside, rows of jade slips hovered quietly in place.
Her gaze fell on them—
—and something flickered in her eyes.
A faint, carefully concealed joy.
When Si Nidie returned, Lou Yuqing was already waiting.
“Senior Sister,” she asked casually, “do you know someone named Cen Xiaoyun?”
The system panel still hovered faintly in her mind, the name glowing insistently—proof that the person had been within a one-mile radius.
Si Nidie paused, frowning. “Never heard of them. A friend of yours?”
Lou Yuqing waved it off with a small laugh. “Just asking. The name felt familiar, somehow.”
“Whoever it is, they’re definitely not from the Enforcement Hall,” Si Nidie said with confidence, sitting down again. Her brush moved swiftly, filling another page of sect rules in neat, disciplined strokes.
Then, as if remembering something more interesting, she added, “Honestly, I’m more curious about Song Li.”
Her voice carried easily through the room.
“The Sect Leader never had anyone like that before. He always sent nominal disciples from Xuantian Peak to fetch jade slips.”
Lou Yuqing considered it. “Maybe a newly accepted nominal disciple?”
“Song Li… Song…” Si Nidie suddenly froze.
The brush dragged across the paper with a harsh stroke, leaving a dark blot.
Her eyes lit up.
“Wait—Sect Leader Qingxuzi is also surnamed Song!”
She didn’t even bother with the ruined page, tossing it aside as she leaned forward eagerly.
“Do you think there’s a connection?”
Lou Yuqing tilted her head, thinking.
“You mean… she’s related to the Sect Leader?”
“Very likely,” Si Nidie said firmly. “Xuantian Peak has a fixed number of registered disciples. If one leaves, another can take their place—but Song Li appeared out of nowhere.”
Lou Yuqing nodded slowly. “That does make sense…”
Before the theory could go any further—
“Song Li isn’t related to the Sect Leader,” Gu Buqi said calmly from the side. “She’s his daughter.”
Silence.
Then—
“Daughter?” Lou Yuqing echoed.
“Daughter?” Si Nidie repeated at the exact same time.
The two of them turned to look at each other, shock mirrored perfectly in their eyes.
Gu Buqi nodded once. “That’s right.”
Si Nidie rubbed her chin, clearly unsettled.
“I’ve been in the Wendao Sect for years and never heard of the Sect Leader having a daughter… Didn’t he not have a Daoist partner?”
Lou Yuqing slowly raised a hand.
“And Song Li looks at least twenty,” she added thoughtfully. “If that’s true… then back then, Sect Leader Qingxuzi must’ve had a… secret relationship with some mysterious woman.”
“Cough—!”
Gu Buqi nearly choked.
He coughed twice, then fixed her with a look. “Watch your words.”
Lou Yuqing blinked innocently. “Senior Brother Gu, am I wrong? I’m just making reasonable deductions based on what you said.”
“…Choose your phrasing more carefully.”
Gu Buqi went quiet for a moment, unable to refute it outright.
It was technically correct.
But hearing it phrased like that…
It made Qingxuzi sound like some wandering heartbreaker leaving emotional debts behind.
Lou Yuqing, meanwhile, thought silently: Senior Brother Gu is so old-fashioned. If gossip isn’t dramatic, what’s the point?
Gu Buqi exhaled slowly.
“Song Li is the Sect Leader’s newly acknowledged daughter,” he clarified. “She wasn’t by his side before, so very few people know about her.”
Lou Yuqing: Oh.
Si Nidie: Ah.
The realization dawned—and with it, a very different kind of awkwardness.
Seeing their expressions twist, Gu Buqi immediately understood.
He sighed. “It’s not what you’re thinking. The Sect Leader didn’t abandon anyone. There were… circumstances. He only recently brought her back.”
Lou Yuqing’s face stiffened for a second—then she straightened.
“I never thought the Sect Leader was deceiving female cultivators and abandoning them after having a daughter,” she said seriously.
“Senior Brother Gu, believe me. I really don’t think he’s that kind of person.”
Si Nidie: You’ve already exposed everything.
Gu Bugai: “……”
The time it took for a stick of incense to burn.
The door to the third section opened.
Song Li stepped out.
Her cheeks were flushed faintly, her eyes bright—too bright, carrying a trace of fervor that hadn’t been there before.
She had found it.
As long as she followed the instructions in that jade slip, her cultivation aptitude could be improved.
The thought burned quietly inside her.
Of course… it wouldn’t be immediate.
There were preparations to be made—conditions to fulfill. It was not something that could be done overnight.
She forced the excitement down, burying it beneath a calm surface.
By the time she reached the outer area, her expression had already smoothed into that same gentle, harmless smile.
As if nothing had happened at all.
She gave everyone a polite nod and walked straight out.
Lou Yuqing watched her go, her brows knitting unconsciously.
“…Why does her smile feel a little strange?” she murmured.
It left a faint discomfort behind—like something slightly out of place.
Not the same as before.
Si Nidie blinked. “I thought it was just me. You feel it too?”
She turned. “What about you, Junior Brother Gu?”
Gu Buqi paused briefly.
“…Same.”
His lips twitched faintly before settling.
He let the matter drop in his mind.
Perhaps it was only natural—she had just learned about her identity. Anyone would act a little differently.
“Senior Sister, how’s your progress?” Lou Yuqing asked.
Si Nidie brightened instantly.
She tapped her storage bag.
A flash of white light—
—and a thick stack of paper appeared on the table.
Neat handwriting. Clean strokes. Perfectly standardized.
The kind that would definitely pass Captain Wei’s inspection.
Si Nidie waved a hand grandly.
“These,” she declared, “are the empires I, the Empress, have conquered.”
Lou Yuqing clasped her hands in admiration. “This humble subject is honored to serve under Your Majesty. May I ask—what land shall we conquer next?”
Gu Buqi: “……”
Si Nidie lifted her chin with regal dignity.
“Only children make choices,” she said solemnly. “I want them all. I will conquer everything.”
“As expected of our Empress—truly domineering.” Lou Yuqing gave a thumbs-up. “Then how long until you unify the continent?”
Si Nidie glanced at the towering stack.
Her answer came without hesitation.
“Today.”
“…That fast?”
This time, Lou Yuqing wasn’t acting.
Si Nidie leaned back, exhaustion creeping into her expression.
“This comes from experience,” she said heavily. “Once, I made a small mistake. Captain Wei punished me by making me copy the sect rules. It took me ten days.”
She stared into the distance like someone recalling past suffering.
“Then I handed it in… and it got sent back. Apparently, my handwriting wasn’t clear enough.”
“Cruel,” Lou Yuqing murmured.
“I copied every word myself,” Si Nidie said, voice thick with grievance. “Didn’t ask anyone for help.”
Lou Yuqing caught it immediately.
“…Did you ask someone else to help?”
“…You’re sharp.”
Si Nidie coughed lightly, then admitted it without shame.
“Fine. The first time, I had my brother copy half of it.”
Si Nanren had resisted at first.
But a hundred spirit stones had convinced him.
Of course—
He never got them.
“You can’t talk about money between siblings,” Si Nidie said righteously. “It hurts feelings.”
Naturally, she had been punished again.
Two different handwritings—who was she trying to fool?
“I kept rewriting it until Captain Wei was satisfied,” she finished. “Only then did I get out alive.”
She sighed.
“After that, I made a few more mistakes. More copying. That’s how I built up experience.”
Then, with pride—
“I can finish one copy in three or four days now.”
Lou Yuqing sucked in a breath.
“Terrifying.”
Si Nidie lifted her chin proudly.
“Of course.”
Gu Buqi: “……”
Was this… something to be proud of?
Wouldn’t it be better to just… not make mistakes?
For the first time, he genuinely felt out of sync with the younger generation.
After a while, the room quieted.
Lou Yuqing’s eyes flickered as she brought up the system again.
Whose gossip should I pick…?
What she really wanted was her master’s.
But that required one hundred thousand points.
At this rate, she’d need months.
Her gaze slid downward.